Rules for 16 September 2004

Your Rules for Thursday, September 16, 2004

Turn of Fortune and Redirection Legality

My archers in battle target opposed Samurai X. The opposing player plays Turn of Fortune, but the Monk who casts the kiho isn't in battle. The opposing player wishes to redirect my RA to his monk (who isn't in battle). Is this a legal play of the card?

No. The Rulebook gives a default definition for Ranged Attacks, and part of that definition is that they target an opposing card. Cards in your Fief / Home are not opposing anything, so they aren't a legal target for Ranged Attacks - barring some overriding effect like No Hiding Place. Redirection must be to a legal target, so this is an illegal play.

Rules

Question 1: Do battles occur at all of my opponent's provinces during the attack phase created by Retribution? (I assume the answer is yes)

Yes. An Attack Phase creates a battle at each of the Defender's provinces. Retribution says nothing to contradict this.

Question 2: May I use Tireless Assault to move units other than the unit I played Retribution on into battles during the attack phase created by Retribution? ( If not why not?)

Again, Retribution says nothing to the effect of preventing this.

Question 3: May I play Retribution after an Ambush? ( I assume yes)

Ambush creates an Attack Phase. The controller of the Personality who is targeted to defend is the Defender for that Attack Phase. If your Personality is Ambushed, you can play Retribution afterwards.

Question 4: I attack my Opponent. He reacts and plays Retribution. I then react to his Retribution, and play my own. May I target the unit I used in my initial attack?

Again, Retribution says nothing that prevents this choice. Keep in mind that your original attacking unit is likely bowed by this point, though.

Scenario 1: I have 4 Personalities in play. My Opponent has 3 Provinces. My Opponent Ambushes one of my Personalities. After the Ambush I proceed to play three Retributions in succession (allowing my opponent to react to the Ambush between each one), destroying each of his provinces and winning the game. Legal?

Sure, though it seems like overkill if 3 of your Personalities can already crush all of his Provinces. :)

Scenario 2: I have 5 Personalities in Play. My Opponent has four Provinces. My opponent Ambushes one of my Personalities. After the Ambush I play Retribution. I assign my Retribution unit to his fourth Province, and proceed to resolve the other three battles first. I use Tireless Assault to move into and destroy each of these Provinces in succession with my other three Personalities. Legal?

Yes.

Would it make a difference if I resolved the unit assigned by Retribution first?

No.

RULES QUESTION

Assume a personalit loaded with token followers of the Utemaro, Suitero, Matron variety.

Field of Glorious Slaughter is in play.

One the various means of shooting the personality with a ranged attack despite the attached followers is used, killing the personality (and gaining 2 honor via fields for the dead personality).

In other words does their status as cards ("cards are destroyed") last long enough for the honor gain, or are they "removed from the game", and thus not destroyed for the purposes of Field.

The Rules for cleaning up attached cards due to Personality Death (rather than Unit Death) are on page 87 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook: "do likewise to all non-token cards attached to it ... In all cases, remove from the game all tokens that were on it."

So, Follower Tokens are not "non-token cards." They are removed rather than destroyed and do not trigger Field of Glorious Slaughter.

To get a proper "Utemaro Bomb" combo off, you need to hit the loaded up unit with any of the following:

- a unit-killing effect (Overwhelmed, To Do What We Must) - a slew of consecutive Ranged Attacks (Kuro's Fire) - superior force during Battle Resolution (Ambush on a Bowed Personality, for instance).

Knife in the Darkness

Knife in the Darkness can't be negated, according to its text. However, after reading plenty of these Rules posts and the rules themselves, Negate and Cancel are two different things. Can Knife in the Darkness be cancelled by A Test of Courage or an equivalent?

Indeed it can be Canceled.

If A Test of Courage is used against Knife in the Darkness and it's successful, does the Ninja still go home, or does he stay like the target?

The Canceled Action produces no further effects. It will not send anyone home.

Iuchiban in Discard

Can Iuchiban be the target of other player's Spell effects while he is in a player's Discard pile?

No. It says right on his card that it can't be the raget of other player's Spell effects.

(EG, can I dig up my opponent's Iuchiban with my Seppun Jin? This came up last night. I had Uncertainty/Kolated him first..)

Seppun Jin's ability does not produce a Spell Effect. It is neither a Spell nor Kiho Action. Under the Diamond Edition Rules, only these two kinds of Actions produce Spell Effects.

That should cover everything for Thursday, September 16, 2004. If I missed your question from this date, please repost it with the flag [RULES] as part of your clear and distinct subject line. I'll get back to you at the first opportunity.