Rules for 15 January 2005
A rules digest from the L5R CCG rules team, copied from the mailing list archive for Oracle of the Void. The askers' names are left out. Rulings are as they stood on this date; later rulings, the rulebooks and the Rules Archive may differ.
Your Rules for Saturday, January 15, 2005
Instead of Focusing is a cost for certain reactions (ie Smoke and Shadow's Claw)
It isn't a "Cost" in the sense outlined in the Rulebook. It is simply part of the mechanic of playing card written in the text. It takes up the opportunity to do something.
So Kakita can play a say Smoke and Mirrors on his opponent 1st focus, then focus 3 cards on the second opportunity???
Yes.
And what is considered "focus" now? Is a reaction "instead of Focusing" who provide no actual focused card (ie Smoke again) considered focus or not? And if yes, how does that interact with the Kakita example above?
No. It is distinctly and explicitly Not Focusing - hence the use of the word "instead." That's why Kakita can Focus at the next opportunity after Smoke and Mirrors and still abide his restriction that he only focuses once.
It is entirely possible, however, that you take a Reaction instead of Focusing that actually causes you to Focus in some special way as one of its effects.
Winds in Open Tournaments
I'm playing Kyuden Bayushi in an Open tournament. Can I choose my two winds to be Hantei Naseru and the Underhand? Or does the "Hantei Naseru" trait in the Underhand somehow preclude you from doing this?
There is no rule prohibiting you from having two cards in play that share a trait, nor any specific rule making the Winds exclusive from one another.
Revisiting Wedge + Explored Territory
I haven't been watching this list as carefully as I used to. However, I was looking at the rules archive and saw that it has been ruled that Explored Territory can save a card in a wedged unit. I recall quite clearly a discussion on this forum where it was ruled that only defending wedged personalities were saved (I have the email saved but I'll spare everybody the repost of it). I apparently missed this change, and I was wondering what the reason is for the change.
There is no change, and it doesn't actually have any direct relationship with being the Defender. Explored Territory clearly states: "The next time one of your cards in this battle ..."
"In this battle" refers to the battle in which Explored Territory is.
Attacking and Allied units typically go home after Battle Resolution, and hence are not at "this battle" to be protected by Explored Territory. If they get sent home by a card effect, they aren't protected either. That's a basic card-text-reading issue, not a Rulings issue.
If I missed your question, 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.