post for 12 June 2002

Season of the Mantis Question

Yeah, I know that it hasn't even come out yet, but I have more of a question about what is included in the packages. Here's what it says on the AEG website:

*****Contents: 6 Mantis Cards Boxes 1 Mantis Booklet 1 Mantis Poster 20 Moshi Miyaki Cards 15 Not Another Step Cards 10 Ten Koku Cards Cards*****

I just have to ask...what is the prize card? I know that Moshi Miyaki will have a foiled card as part of the prize, but what about the clan sword? Are the Mantis not getting a foiled clan sword because it was foiled in DA?

That is correct.

Dragon Clan Tattos and Balance of the clans.

Hey all, I was wondering about what process the game designers go through when giving a clan cards that are usedable only by that clan, or provide a boost to that clan beyond that provided to others. I was talking with a friend the other day about how many cards his clan had that were specific to that caln and he mentioned the number the Dragon has. Tattoos are used almost exclusively by the Dragon. All calm have their house guard and followers and occasionally an item like the Dragon Claw Katana for Crane, but the number of tattoos is far in excess of any other clans fate deck support. There are at least 10 non unique cards that can only target Tattooed personalities. As they are all for Tattooed personalities, they are the almost exclusive domain of the Dragon Clan. No other clan has this level of fate support and I was hoping Jeff or someone similar could tell me why the Dragon has been so blessed with such support.

We were able to rectify the shortcoming of a deliberate LACK of Clan-specific support, and give the Clan a very Dragon-like focus, in one fell swoop.

The immediate suggestion is that they are lacking else where, but I don't belive this is the case, at least not to the extent of such support.

Prior to Gold it was very much the case. There was nothing they were particularly good at, nothing they excelled at or could use more easily than anyone else. That's great aesthetically, bad mechanically.

The other point of view is that since with tattoos Dragon are not running roghshod over other clans they must be lacking elsewhere or they'd now be overpowered. Do Dragon need the tattoos to be competitive? Is this level of support unfair? I was wondering what other though. Thanks for your time.

Any argument along the general lines of "Only Clan X can use Card Y. Clan X does not win a lot, even with Card Y. It's not fair that other Clans can't use Card Y." has to fight an uphill battle before it can make an impression on me.

PS The last school of thought is that Dragon players just suck. I'm not certain this is true but if we don't win at least one Kotei I may have to conced the point..

This sort of language is inappropriate to this mailing list.

This sort of inflamitory post is also inappropriate to this mailing list.

Exercise more self-control in the future.

Dragon Clan Tattos and Balance of the clans.

I was wondering about what process the game designers go through when giving a clan cards that are usedable only by that clan, or provide a boost to that clan beyond that provided to others.

The truest example of this, however, is the Phoenix - the only clan that can build a good all-Shugenja deck, and therefore get the most value out of spells and kihos

Let me see if I understand your point.

Every Clan has numerous in-Clan shugenja which they can include in their decks. Aside from Dragon, there are NO clans with any Tattooed Personalities at all, save for Crane, which has one single Unique one. Yet somehow Phoenix receives an even more exclusive Clan-specific benefit from Spell cards than Dragon does from Tattoo cards.

I can't say that I agree with that sentiment. I've seen far too many good decks in the past five years that didn't need every single one of their Personalities to be a shugenja to get good use out of Spells.

Quicky Question

Are completed battles still considered battles? Can you still Superior Tactics a *defending* personality out of a resolved battle?

Yes. Yes. Any movement into, from, or between battles works for all the Defender's Provinces, even when their battles have ended.

Forgotten Tombs

Just checking out forgotten tombs, it states (basically) place a shadowlands personality or follower card under the forgotten tombs. After a number of dynasty phases equal to the force of the card, they enter play for free.

1. Do zero force people (eg: goblin wizard) come out for free same turn?

Yes.

2. If your cards are under a permenant bonus (eg: spawning grounds) do you take the printed or actual force (I would assume actual)

All cards refer to the current value of a stat unless they specifically say the "printed" or "base" value. [p. 32]

3. If you have a card under the forgotten tombs, does it count as in play for card effects (eg: oath of fealty, Tsukune (sp?) ascends, Iris festival)

Cards under the Tombs are not in play.

Question about Kokus

we can use plunders (koku for 7th Sea CCG) to buy L5R cards.

Not a chance. You can't even use clan war koku for ccg koku. - Mirumoto Yashin

Sorry, but you're wrong. Koku, Plunder, Dinari, and Ghost Rock are fully interchangable, and Clan War koku is just as good as CCG koku.

A few more questions

Okay, even based on the rulings and rulebook these ones sent to me by a friend are a little odd:

For all the questions assume Domotai is in province A with two other Lion puds, and there is a Lion pud in province B. Battle A is resolved first and the defender plays In Search of the Future. The difficulty comes in because I'm not sure if Domotai's bonus switches off when he moves to another province or whether it's on, but not doing jack squat.

1) Suppose Domotai moves to province B, is his force now up to 2?

I may have been a little hasty answering the first time around. According to the Gold Edition wording, Domotai has a bonus "during battle". If one battle ends and another starts, he gets a fresh, new, sparkly-clean bonus, free of the oppressive onus of In Search of the Future. His Force will be 2 once the battle at Province B begins. It does not rise to 2 when he moves -- in fact, it drops to 0! His bonus was set to 0 by ISotF, then it went down by 1 because the number of other Lions in his battle went down by 1.

2) Suppose Domotai moves out of province A and then back in again. Does he go up to 3 or does he stay at 1?

It will possibly change to something else when he leaves, then back to 1 when he returns.

3) If Domotai is sent home from the battle unbowed and then sent back in again, does he get his 3F (this one I'm fairly sure is yes as he actually switched off from attacking)?

No, because the condition is "during battle", not "while attacking". It has not stopped being "during battle".

post for 10 June 2002 [JEFF]

The physical Ring card put into play by Tadao goes back into your hand when Tadao's effect expires regardless of where it is, unless it's been removed from the game entirely.

I believe that Jeff meant that the Ring gets "shuffled into your Fate deck," as Tadao's text instructs, not "back into your hand," as Jeff misspeaks.

Correct. Oops.

post for 10 June 2002

As of Gold Edition, Flee the Darkness doesn't care who does the targeting. It can cancel an Encircled Terrain that YOU played, even. In any case, it would be played when Encircled Terrain did its targeting, which would be when the terrain resolves, not when it's played.

I thought the newest printing of Encircled Terrain only targeted the personality who was not leaving the battle. Wouldn't that mean that it could not be canceled by Flee? Or by Asako Towers? Not sure, just asking.

You're confusing Flee the Darkness, which cancels a Battle or Open action taken during battle, that targets one or more of your Personalities, with A Test of Courage, which moves one of your Personalities out of a battle.

post for 10 June 2002

Playing the retrieved card is not a new and separate action, so it doesn't pick up the extra cost.

(About hunting tiger) So, if I play a Mushin, I only have to discard a card to play the Mushin, right?

Wrong. Mushin gives you fully-fledged extra actions.

Shinmaki Monastery Question?

Shinmaki Monastery bow to produce 2 gold bow to produce 3 gold when paying for a retainer or monk personality.

Does this holding produce 3 gold for a Dragon Clan monk personality??

Yes. He's a Monk. That's all that matters.

Can Flee the Darkness cancel Stand Against the Waves (in whole or in >part)? Stand is a Battle action. If it targets one or more of your Personalities, Flee can cancel it.

I distinctly remember it being ruled that Stand Against the Waves does not target and as such could not be canceled by Asako Tower, Flee the Darkness etc....

has this now changed.

It has not "now" changed. It changed December 18, 2001.

"The first effect always occurs (or attempts to) and always targets Personalities (i.e., Reactions to an action targeting a Personality are always playable). It does not sometimes skip to the second, untargeted effect. [JA, 18 December 2001]"

Dragon Clan Tattos and Balance of the clans.

Cavarly cards, Crane with courtier action cards, Regards

LOL

Have you looked at the Crane clan courtier choice?

Have you looked at the Scorpion one?

At the moment Courtier cards are generally much more useful to the Scorpion than to the Crane at least while looking at in Clan Courtiers.

I'd very much like to see Crane get a Courtier that is as playable as our Samurai and Shugenja. Currently they have HR or Gold cost issues that make them poor second choices to our Samurai and Shugenja personalities, something I'd very much like to see change.

But Crane has one political keystone that Scorpion doesn't: frequent control of the Imperial Favor. For that reason alone, if we wish to keep the *overall* political action balance even between Crane and Scorpion (and I wouldn't mind doing so), Crane is always going to appear shorted if you analyze only their Courtier Personality selection.

Finding the Harmony and Hoshi Tadao - Consistency?

I like consistency. I'd like to see this phrase "This Ring does not count for an Enlightenment Victory" have one meaning regardless of what current or future card it appears on.

What you are more likely to see is the exact duration spelled out on the card.

If someone uses Cascading Fire for its multiple attacks ability, and someone uses a canceling action (Towers of the Asako, Flee the Darkness, etc.), is the entire action canceled, and no further ranged attacks may be made, or is just the one ranged attack canceled?

You cannot "cancel" just one effect of an action. The word for that is "negate". Any relatively recent card that uses the word "cancel" will stop Cascading Fire entirely.