rules for 2-3 March 2004

Purification & a Wish Granted

Assuming all other circumstances are correct, can you use as a reaction Purification to fill a province, and then at you second chance for a reaction use a Wish Granted on the Purified Personality?

Yes.

Spirit Drums

Can this card bring in and opposing player's personality into the battle that the spirit drums personality is at?

Yes.

Rules Questions--

Hey Jeff, here are more questions about YU and Pick Your Battles

Pick Your Battles

Reaction: Play before your army is destroyed for losing or tying in a battle. Only one unit of your choice in your army is destroyed. The rest return to their controllers' homes, bowed…."

Yu (from p93 of the rule book)

"[The Yu Effect] occurs immediately before the losing army is destroyed."

Which effect goes first?

Yu.

Question #3

When Hida Sozen is in a tied army and is not the highest force but the opposing player plays Pick Your Battles, removing all but one unit from his army and Sozen is now the highest force is he destroyed? (Yes this actually came up in a game). When does the force test occur?

The test occurs when Sozen would be destroyed. In this instance, he does not die.

And finally, I know that if you tie in a duel you both loose the duel, but is that the same for any other contest? IE, if we tie in battle, do we both loose the battle? Can you play reactions that trigger off you loosing a battle?

Tieing in a battle is not a loss for both sides, but it DOES count as destroying an opposing army (barring something like Sozen).

Opposing player?

Bloodied Ground Reads Delayed Terrain . Attacker and Defender only. Political Battle: You may play a Fate card face down from your hand. If you do, the opposing player may likewise play a card. Alternate until one of you refuses to play a card. Turn all these cards face up, add their Focus values to your respective army totals (even if an army has no units) then discard them. This is not a duel.

If your opponent has no defenders at the time that Delayed Terrain resolves, does this mean they can not play a fate card for the bonus to the army totals? If they have a defender that is oppossed in another battle, can they play a card?

Bloodied Ground refers to "THE opposing player". There will always be one regardless of presence -- either the Attacker or the Defender.

This means I can use Tansho and Kuon against someone with no units in a battle?

No, you can't.

I cant see any difference in the wording of

them.

The difference is subtle: "an" opposing player (which is open-ended) versus "the" (always exactly one).

BLOODPACT

Does Blood pact requires a opposing personality to play?

Yes, because it has a mandatory effect that applies to one.

Naokazu (again)

So he does not work with Celestial Alignment either?

From Jeff: You cannot use City of Remembrance with Naokazu. He is unusual. He does not bow to use his innate ability -- he bows to create an optional effect during it.

His optional effect isnt part of the innate ability?

Naokazu is unusual. He does not bow to use his innate ability. Once he HAS used it, he might have to bow for something during it, but that's different. He does not combo with effects that allow Shugenja to use their innate abilities without bowing.

Xushen/Kuro's Fire Question

This question came up at a tournament this past weekend, and I'd like to verify that the ruling that was made was correct:

If Shinjo Xushen xp is in a battle, and has assigned as infantry (lowering the strength of all ranged attacks by 2), does this have any effect on the total strength allowed to the caster of a Kuro's Fire?

No. Kuro's Fire applies to the total adjusted strength, as it does not say anything about using base values.

That is, if a 4/4 shugenja has Kuro's Fire attached and targets Xushen with the first ranged attack, does that attack use 6 or 4 of the total force that the shugenja can cast for?

If he hits Xushen with a final strength 4 ranged attack, it uses up 4.

Additionally, if the shugenja were a 2/3, could they target Xushen at all?

Sure, he can target Xushen. He can always target Xushen.

Now, if you're asking if he can produce a ranged attack large enough to kill Xushen, the answer is still "yes".

rules for 1 March 2004

I'm sorry, but I'm confused by a ruling/clarification you made in the subject above. The confusion stems from the following:

Re: [L5R-CCG] Opposing Player Questions

[begin excerpt] Bloodied Ground refers to "THE opposing player". There will always be one regardless of presence -- either the Attacker or the Defender.

Moto Gaheris Question

Unicorn Clan Champion*Moto Clan Khan*Cavalry*Double Chi*Experienced*Unique Gaheris will only join a Unicorn player. Opposing players cannot play Action cards during the Battle Action Segment of a battle containing Gaheris unless the Action removes Gaheris from battle.

If an opponent has no personaliteis in the battle, could the opponent or ally of the opponent in theory play actions to bring personalities into the battle to opposed Gaheris, like say Tireless Assualt?

Yes. [end excerpt]

Gaheris would seem to prevent one from playing cards if all of the following conditions apply: 1) The action is a card. 2) The opposing player wants to play the card during the Battle Action Segment. 3) The card does not remove Gaheris from the battle.

"AN" opposing player. Someone with no units there yet is not "an" opposing player.

Stay Your Blade

Stay Your Blade:

"Battle: Bow and send home one of your opposed Samurai Personalities in the current battle to draw three cards"

If the personality that is the target of this card is already bowed, can this card be played on him?

No. Bowing him and sending him home are both costs, as they must be done "to" draw three cards.

The Legion of Two Thousand and Hida Katai

If I retrive The Legion of Two Thousand(TLOTT) using Hida Katai do I get to search for a follower from my fate deck and add to my hand? Does this work each time TLOTT goes to the discard pile and is retieved by Hida Katai?

Yes and yes. You are playing The Legion of Two Thousand.

Ring of Air

A play my 3 kiho/spell on the same turn, for example I bow my shugenja to cast walking the way.

A) If I had the Ring of air in my hand can I play it and use his reaction to unbow the shugenja I used to cast my 3 spell/kiho (the one I used to cast walking the way)?

You may not play the Ring of Air and immediately use it to straighten the Personality that cast the Spell or Kiho that triggered playing the Ring. The Ring's play timing is later than its benefit's use timing.

B) Can I use walking the way to take the ring from my fate deck and then play it?

No. The Ring's play timing is before any of the Spell's effects happen.

If I can, can I then unbow the shugenja I bowed to use walking the way?

No. (See A.)

Latomu and Northen Provinces of the Moto

Hi! We have here a strange problem. Some unicorns players claim that if you have two personalities in the same battle (one or both of the Moto Latomu (Reaction: After an action moves Latomu into a battle, bow Latomu for a Ranged 4 attack, or make a Ranged 2 Attack without bowing.))

and switch them using the Northern Provinces of the Moto.

(Battle:Switch the locations of two of your unbowed Cavalry Personalities that this action has not targeted this turn. You may do this when your Stronghold is bowed.)

then Moto Latomu can use his ranged attack.

If they are in the same battle, there is no movement, and the "moves in" on latome doesn´t kick, I think.

You are correct. There is no movement if the unit does not change locations. No movement means no reactions to movement.

I want to know the official answer.

Heh. You've already quoted at least three official answers to this question. I'm not sure a fourth will help.

So Jeff

I would like to thank you for your reply, mostly for the very interesting examples you showed, some of which I didn't know about (B.Claws and I.Art, Citadel ot Hiruma and Hida Tech.)

Can you or anyone tell me the "basis" explanation behind these two current rulings?

Also, concerning specifically Iaijutsu Art, I'd like to know if it is legal to use with:

Iaijutsu Art prohibits Reactions that take the place of a normal focus. [card text] That's it. It does not prohibit Reactions to entering a duel or that add as if focused but are played in some way other than in place of focusing.

1) The Shadow's Claw

Not legal because it is a Reaction that is played instead of focusing. Do not be distracted by the fact that you still focus a card as a result of playing it! It is still a Reaction, and it is still played instead of focusing normally.

2) Bend Like a Reed

3) Kakita Dojo

4) Private Dojo

5) Kakita Kenjutsu School

Legal because they're not used instead of focusing.

rules for 1 March 2004 / Agasha Chieh XP

I've got this strange idea forming in my mind :

Agasha Chieh XP is considered in an army when she cast a spell. That's how she works, but what is the status to the cards in her unit?

They're not.

And what is her status (is she an attacking unit?)

If you are the Attacker or an attacking ally.

Practical exemple where this can matters : She is played out of Castle of the Wasp, does the *insert name of a Range Attack Spell here* is considered an attacking card while she cast it.

No.

I'm pretty much confused here. Sometimes I like to play devil's advocate for the rules game, but I'm actually befuddled right now.

Please point out any flaws in the following reasoning: 1)The instant I declare that I'm using Agasha Chieh's trait for cast as if she were in the battle, she then becomes in the battle for all intensive purposes other than moving into the battle.

"Intents and purposes". But, yes.

2) Only Agasha Chieh is considered in the battle (but not actually in the battle), not any of her attached cards.

That's what her card says.

3)Reactions can be used that affect her as if she is in the battle (ie Isawa House Guard).

Sure.

4) If she uses a ranged attack spell that my opponent could somehow redirect to a card in my army, then she could be targeted as if she doesn't have followers even if she has them because only she, and not her followers, is she treated as if she is in the battle. 5) If only she is considered in the battle, how does she cast spells that are attached to her if they're not considered in the battle? (After all, doesn't that imply that she is the source of the ranged attack and not the spell?) If she casts a ranged attack spell, why can't she use the Castle of the Wasp trait?

Hmm. Good point. I guess her whole unit would have to be there then.

I'm having a really hard time, both logically and intuitively how this works.

It's not intuitive. It's what the card says. Remember how the two don't always match?

Still, you are absolutely correct that her Spells would have to be there too for their actions to work properly. So...

The trait of Agasha Chieh Exp. causes her entire unit to be considered in the current battle, not just herself. This is a REVERSAL.

Ring of Air

I only disagree in one term, the text in the ring says this: "Play Ring of Air after casting three or more Spells and/or Kiho in one turn. Elemental Reaction: After one of your Shugenja or Monks bows to cast a Spell or Kiho, bow Ring of Air to straighten that Shugenja or Monk."

If I take the ring with Walking the Way I still would have played 3 spells or kihos in my turn so why can I don't puit him in play?

Because you must play it immediately after casting the Spell. That means immediately after you've paid all its costs and everyone has had a chance to cancel it but refuses. This is still before it's done anything.