post for 3 September 2002

Q: Armor of shadows (exp) + Ninja Thief

Question to Jeff / Zen: If I use Ninja Thief to MOVE Armor of shadows (exp) from pers. A to pers. B, pers. B permanently gains the Shadowlands trait ?

Yes.

(in other words, when I move 'something' from A to B, is considered that I attach 'something' to B?)

Yes.

Seiko no shiryo and B. Kwanchai! !??

Seiko No Shiryo Scorpion Clan Ancestor +0F +1C 0HR 0G and Bayushi Kwanchai

if a player challenging a Scorpion Clan Personality and i have B.kwanchai with seiko no shiryo atached can i react with B.K. and later use the seiko's reaction ?

You must use Seiko when the challenge is issued, which is before you can use Kwanchai's reaction (he reacts to a Personality entering a duel). Plus, Kwanchai doesn't change who was challenged, so Seiko wouldn't make your opponent discard three cards even if she could be used second.

L5R-CCG-Digest V2002 #609

Is there a deadline on the 1000yod payment?

Get it to us before we run out of them.

Ancient Pre-Imperial Promos

If you will remember the now ancient Pre-IE promos given out at Gencon '95, There where several cards that had their names changed before the release of IE. For instance: The card "Energy Transference" was called "Inversion of Energies". Since these cards technically have different names, even though they are otherwise the same, wouldn't it be legal to play (an open game of course) 3 of each card?

No. The new titles are considered MRPs of the old titles.

Daidoji vs. Yasuki Hachi

To All, Sorry if this is a dead issue, but I never really thought much about it until someone brought it up. Can DAIDOJI Hachi be brought into play by a Crane player using the Iron Fortress of the Daidoji in a strict gold format tournament?

Yes. Daidoji Hachi and Yasuki Hachi are distinct cards and are both played as written in both Open and Gold formats.

Also, if he is brought in using the stronghold's reduction, is the reduction permanent?

The Iron Fortress should reduce the Honor Requirements of all Daijoji Personalities you "own". (As worded, it technically doesn't reduce them until after you buy them, which is useless.) The reduction is also always in effect. It is not voluntary.

L5R-CCG-Digest V2002 #610

2. I will be changing address in two weeks. Where should I call/write/fax/email to let AEG know about this?

3. Does anyone have the old Hida Yakamo (Crab Clan Oni) from Imperial Edition? If so, what border does he have? The blue-grey of the crab or the brown of a shadowlands personality?

Blue-gray.

A couple of questions [JEFF]

1) Since I'm the active player on my turn during my Straighten phase, can I choose to straighten my personality and after having done that, choose to resolve Chukandomo's effect, since Chukandomo doesn't specify when during my Straighten phase I have to check for it?

I can't believe it. Didn't this already come up? Didn't someone already try to wiggle out of this obvious drawback by reading the card while standing on their head?

No. No, you can't. Add the words "Any time" to the front of the first sentence if you need to see why.

2) If I've got Akodo Yobi in a battle at province A and I'm resolving a battle at Province B and play Accessible Terrain there, can I use Yobi's ability to draw a card off of the Terrain?

Yes.

If so, does it count as Yobi's use of Tactician at Province A or Province B?

B, since you're resolving B's battle.

Tactician + Siro Matsu

The Tactician bonu on a personality X can be used once per battle, per personality. With Shiro Matsu, that gives them two force boosts through the Tactician. Are there any plans to change the rules of Tactician to once per turn, per personality?

No.

In time of War Q

It blocks you from ending the turn with more than 5FH than you started it. My questions are:

What happens if you gain more than 5 honor (and didn't loose any), in a single gain (say 8, from a battle) a) you gain the full ammount, and when the turn ends are droped down to the 'started the turn FH' +5

b) you get squat

a)

Remember that it dosen't forbid you from gaining, or having more during the turn, just ending one with more than 5.

Actually, it does forbid you from having more at any point during the turn. It works like a maximum on a stat, like Domotai's cap on total Force.

Acquiring Favor

Concerning "Acquiring Favor":

"Political Reaction: Bow your Stronghold and play this card to satisfy a cost of using the Imperial Favor."

Q1: Is playing this card effectively equal to discarding the Imperial Favor?

Yes.

Q2: If an opponent currently holds the Favor, does playing this card take the Favor from him?

No. The actual Favor does not move.

Q3: Would it be legal (assuming one is using Tsudao and doesn't currently have the Favor) to play this card during a battle to send home an attacking unit?

Yes.

Q4: If one already has the Favor, can this card be played to use the Favor's effect in place of the normal cost of discarding it?

Yes.

Q5: Because this is a Political reaction, is it correct to say that Shadowlands can't use it?

Yes.

Yakamo's Smile/Losing the game timing question? [JEFF]

I had a question about Yakamo's Smile:

"Kiho Reaction: Play this card when a player destroys the second or later Province he or she destroys this turn. Bow one of your Monks, Shugenja or Yakamo cards to make that player choose to either destroy one of his or her Provinces or target another player, who gains a Province to the left of his or her leftmost Province."

When exactly do you lose the game from losing all of your provinces?

Immediately.

I had an interesting situation in mind. It may never come up in play, but I wondered how it would turn out:

1) I'm playing Shiba Halls, just so I can stand a reasonable chance at casting Yakamo's Smile multiple times.

2) Somehow (maybe through Black Wind From the Soul or some other province destroying effect, or just actually taking provinces) I'm at two provinces and my opponent is at two provinces as well.

3) My opponent comes across and takes my last two provinces. Reacting with Yakamo's Smile, my opponent obviously chooses to blow up one of his provinces, leaving him with one. If I react and cast it again, however, I can force him into either losing his last province or giving me a new province, keeping me in the game.

My question here was whether I really have any time to actually cast Yakamo's Smile or whether once that last province was taken I lost immediately?

You don't have any time.

Also, if my opponent did choose to lose his last province, would he still win anyway (since my province was the first to go) or would the game be a draw?

He would still win.

Old Rules Question

Geisha Assassin, creates a personality for the duration of the duel. Does she enter play before the challenge is issued or after it is issued?

If she enters play after the challenge is issued, is she then considered to have had 0 chi before the duel begins, thus if she wins enables you to play ring of fire?

She counts as a Personality "during the challenge and duel". She is not a Personality before the challenge. The Ring of Fire can't be played.

Isawa Suma/The Emerald Armor

The rulings for Isawa Suma include:

* The cost of destroying the spell is still considered to have been paid.

Does this mean that the cost of destroying the spell is replaced by the chi loss, or is the chi loss an effect of his ability? That is, if the chi loss is prevented with The Purity of Kitsu, The Emerald Armour or Badge of Purity, is the spell not cast?

Forwarded to the Rules Team

1,000 Years of Darkness [Someone official]

I am ready to order my 1,000 Years of Darkness set, and I have a few questions. First off, I want to pay with a check, who should I make this out to? I figured just Alderac Entertainment Group, but since the ad didn't specify, I just wanted to check.

That's fine.

Secondly, my copier is out of toner, and I don't want to tear up my herald, so is it ok to just write out all the info?

Yes.

Third, and finally, I am going off to college in just over a week. I want to make sure I don't miss any vital info (wink) from AEG, and I also want to make sure my Bounty Hunter/TO shippings get sent to my new address. Unfortunatly, the Housing Unit I live in has two seperate mailing addresses for me: One for letters and such, and the other for packages. How can I go about making sure the right people get my change of address, and make sure that my event support packages go to a seperate one? I've asked this before, and it is now getting to the critical(ish) point! I am hoping to keep running events at college, but I need to ensure that my stuff goes to the right places! Thanks for any help!

Email customersupport@alderac.com, or call us at (909) 390-5444 and ask for Estella.

Overwhelmed (Rules)

If there is only 1 unit in the opposing army, can they send it home or do they have to destory it?

They have to destroy it.

ATTN Jeff: Promo legality question

Since the last Herald was released before Broken Blades, do Hanabi and Shousa become legal when Broken Blades becomes legal or is it 30 days after the release of the Herald?

Promo cards become legal along with the next full set that becomes legal. Hanabi, etc. can be used when Broken Blades can.

Rules Question (JEFF)

Question about Badge of Purity and Face Me!. Badge of Purity: Reaction: Bow Badge of Purity before this Personality receives a Chi penalty to negate the effect or destroy the token creating the penalty. Face Me!: Reaction: Play after one of your challenged Personalities enters a duel and target both duelists. Replace their Chi with their Personal Honor until the duel ends. Situation, personality A with a Badge of Purity attached challenges personality B. Personality B's controler plays Face Me! Personality A's Personal Honour is less than his current Chi so he is receiving a Chi penalty due to Face Me!. Personality A's controller bows the Badge of Purity to "negate the effect... creating the penalty". Question: What is negated? Obviously personality A's Chi & personal Honour remain unchanged but do personality B's Chi and Personal Honour still switch? My reading of Face Me! would seem to say that because the switching effect is simultaneous on both personalities that neither personality would have their stats switched but I'd like a clarification on that.

Badge of Purity only negates the penalty to its own Personality.

Rules Question

I was playing a game last week and we had a question. My opponent was playing a Phoenix deck, with a Sorrows Path out, and I attacked. I obviously didn't attack that province and he dedfended at a thrid. I resolved the battle I was at, and my opponents first action was to use the ability on one of his personalities at a different battle, I forget his name

"Her" name. Isawa Riake.

but he was the soul of Isawa Tomo, and proceded to move my biggest unit from the current battle into Sorrows Path.

Anyway my question is, is that action legal? I tried telling him that because he dosen't have a unit in the battle, and isn't moving anyone in, it's not legal. All the non-Phoenix players here agree with me but that dosn't stop the Phoenix players from playing the combo.

Riake needs to satisfy Presence and Relevance, just like every other Battle action that doesn't say otherwise. If your opponent has no units in the battle currently being resolved, his only legal use of Riake would be to move one of his own units into it.

a few questions

I had a few questions come up in a couple of games in the past few days.

1. Can the naval trait be used defensively?

Yes. [DA rulebook p. 66]

And if so does it cancel out cards like Sneak Attack?

Yes.

2. The Yu Trait. If my followers gain a yu bonus because of an ability like Hida Reiah Exp. can they use the Yu even if they are not samurai?

Yes. The Broken Blades rulesheet answers this.

Secondly can yu be used offensively or not?

You mean if you're attacking? Yes.