Rules for 5 and 6 September 2004

Your Rules for Sunday, September 5, 2004 and Monday September 6, 2004.

Hm ... there were not any new Rules Threads for Sunday, so I mashed the day in with Monday rather than send you all a blank email.

Ninja Mentor, Kyuden Bayushi + cancelling

Ninja Mentor reads "While in an army, this Personality may not be targeted by other players' actions unless he has performed an action this Attack Phase."

How exactly does this card work? Specifically, to whom does the "he" refer?

"He" refers to the subject of the sentence - "this Personality."

Also, if a Kyuden Bayushi player uses his stronghold to pay the cost of discarding the favor, and then the action is cancelled (say, by Strange Politics) can the KB player attempt to use the action again by bowing a different one of his scorpion personalities?

That depends.

If the Reaction of Kyuden Bayushi is Canceled, then it does not count towards the maximum number of uses per turn.

If the Reaction of Kyuden Bayushi is not NOT Canceled, and you've already used it to pay the cost of the Action, then Kyuden Bayushi's ability has been used, regardless of whether the Action associated with the cost you paid is Canceled or not. You don't get costs refunded or pretend you didn't pay them.

If your Action gets Canceled before you pay costs, however, you don't have to choose to use Kyuden Bayushi's ability to pay the cost when the time comes. You would, however, have to discard the Imperial Favor if you had it.

This is why my Two-Fisted Monkey Style deck runs 3x Fall on Your Knees. Jokes about hitting below the belt with the Underhand aside, it really hurts to have your attempt at Bayushi-powered Right Hand movement nuked by say, "Confusion at Court" or "Outmaneuvered by Force" when you're trying to sucker-punch someone's Provinces early on.

A Champion's Heart and Kyuden Bayushi

If my opponent uses kyuden bayushi and bows a Scorp as the cost of discarding the favor to, by example, Gozoku one of my peeps, can I bow one of my personalities to gain the favor?

Yes. Anything that triggers off the discarding of the Imperial Favor will trigger off of using Political Adjunct, Commanding Favor or Kyuden Bayushi in the stead of actually discarding the Favor.

If the answer to the first question is yes, can I bow the peep my opponent is trying to gozoku, since they pick the target before paying cost? Like, my opponent targets my Yoritomo Toto, can i react by Toto bowing to the ability of A Champion's Heart to gain the favor?

Indeed you may. Gozoku Sensei has not resolved any effects at this point, so your Personality has not been bowed and you can certainly bow him to pay the cost of a Reaction to the discarding of the Imperial Favor.

Shosuro Maru

Now in an attack where the player has no presence he uses Maru's open as his action telling me to bow a personality.

No presence at all? No. Maru's Action doesn't help you meet Presence at all. It does not move in or create a unit.

If he already had Presence (say he had a Toku in the battle), then it would only be a question of the Relevance of the Action. If Maru is in his home, the only way Maru will be Relevant to play is if all the Personalities he could bow due to her ability were all at the current battle.

If even on elligible Personality were at another battle or in your fief, Maru would not be Relevant.

Questions

How does Tsuruchi Technique work? The Rulebook says Ranged Attacks target cards opposing the cards that produce the RA, but Tsuruchi Technique is not in an army.

No, it is not in the opposing army. Consequently, that restriction must be waived for Tsuruchi Technique to work at all, as per the First Cardinal Rule. Any card that can't be in an army, but still produces a Ranged Attack will bypass the "opposing" restriction on Ranged Attacks.

Can the Attacker use it against a card in the defending army? Against a card in her own army (and vice versa)? Can the Defender play Tsuruchi Technique in a battle where she does not have units using Daidoji Kikaze's Reaction?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I couldn't find anything on the books prohibiting Tsuruchi Technique from shooting cards in your own army in the face.

Which parts of the "announce-target-pay-resolve" chain of an action are considered using the action? More specifically, if a card uses an ability that requires bowing the second time during a turn, at which phase can The Same Old Tricks be played?

Plays / uses / takes / casts / etc. triggers (unless otherwise specified) all happen after costs are paid and Reactions to said payment are resolved, but before effects of the Action are generated.

Timing Question (Blade of Penance and Storm Heart)

If an Honorable personality with Blade of Penance attached wins the duel from Storm Heart against a non-SL personality, does the active player get to decide the order of the 4 honor gain from BoP and the dishonoring from SH?

They are not simultaneous, so there is no choice in the matter.

When you compare Chi Totals, someone wins and someone loses. Take any Reactions or triggers to winning / losing (including that of Blade of Penance). Once those are done, go on to the effects of the duel's resolution itself.

This is analogous to Battle Resolution. First you determine who wins or loses, then you React to victory / defeat, and then finally you resolve the battle by destroying the losing (or tied) army (or armies).

So gain 4 Honor, then Dishonor the winner if the other guy was not Shadowlands.

Fire in the Hidden City

How can a province contain a face up event (in a Diamond Legal situation) when an attacking army destroys one of your provinces?

Bayushi Tai (nonexperienced) The Shogun's Barracks Heimin Laborers Agasha Seruma Kolat Recruiter Oracle of Blood Touching the Elements (Air Action) Trade District War on the Plains

Probably not an exhaustive list, but that's a start.

Can you still use Fire in the Hidden City if the personality or event was face down during the attack and was only flipped face up when it was discarded as the province was destroyed?

No. The card must've been face-up in before the Province ceased to exist for the Province to have "contained a face-up Event."

Mercy in Battle and Yu question.

I was wondering about the interaction of Mercy in Battle and Yu. If I am attacking, win, and play Mercy in Battle, can my opponent use Yu to destroy cards in my army?

He's already done so.

Mercy in Battle says, "Play before destroying an army as the Attacker."

Yu happens when a card with Yu is, "in an army losing to another army in Battle Resolution,"

You determine the winner and the lose by comparing final Force Totals. Then Yu resolves and you can play Reactions to winning or losing the battle. Then (finally) you destroy losing / tied armies and possibly the Province. Mercy in Battle isn't played until you get to the "destroy armies" part of Resolution, which is distinctly after Yu must resolve.

Also, I looked through the accumulated rulings for anything concerning the overlay of the experienced Ruby of Iuchiban over the original. I heard it was ruled that when the ruby is overlaid, it can no longer be destroyed.

That would not be correct. The destruction clause for the Ruby (nonexperienced) is part of its Ability, and Abilities are carried over to more-experienced versions of cards in an overlay situation. Traits, however, are not.

That should be everything for Sunday and Monday. If I missed your question not related to Dawn of the Empire, please repost it with the flag [RULES] as part of a clear and distinct subject line. I'll get back to you at the first opportunity.