Kitsuki Judgment

Legend of the Five Rings card from Torn Asunder

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Political

Card Text

Limited: Choose your performing unbowed Magistrate, target a Human Personality, and pay Gold equal to his unit's total Gold Cost, +8 unless he is dishonorable, Kolat, Ninja, or Shadowlands: He commits seppuku.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Age of Conquest (Emperor)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: Seppuku Rulebook
  "An act of ritual suicide. If an effect directs a Personality to commit seppuku, apply the following effects: “Rehonor the Personality, then destroy him; these effects will not be negated.”
  Additionally, all players have an Open ability ordering their dishonorable Courtier, Samurai and Shugenja Personalities to seppuku (see Player Abilities).
  Seppuku counts as destruction and rehonoring, from the action or trait that created the seppuku, for purposes of things that check whether these effects have happened."
  Kitsuki Judgment
  "Choose your performing unbowed Magistrate, target a Human Personality, and pay Gold equal to his unit's total Gold Cost, +8 unless he is dishonorable, Kolat, Ninja, or Shadowlands: He commits seppuku."
  Now my question is ordinarily berserkers, monks, oni's, etc. can't use the open action per the rule book to commit seppuku. If berserker's can't normally commit seppuku normally how does Kitsuki Judgment get around that? Is it since the action on Kitsuki Judgment is an effect as prescribed in sentence one that the open action in sentence two applying who may commit seppuku doesn't apply?
  A: Because of the word "additionally".
  Order Seppuku is a player ability that can only be used with samurai, shugenja and courtiers.
  However, Order Seppuku is not the only way a Personality can commit seppuku. Card effects, such as Kitsuki Judgment and Remorseful Seppuku, can also apply the effects of seppuku, as stated on line 1. And those effects are not limited to certain keywords, as the Order Seppuku player ability is. Jon Palmer, "Kitsuki Judgment and Seppuku Rulebook effect", 12 Mar 2013
• Q: Hi Rules Team,
  As a Kotei player judge during this past weekend, myself, along with others discussed this at great length and I would like an official ruling as it seems many are confused by this interaction.
  Relevant text: Kitsuki Judgment Limited: Choose your performing unbowed Magistrate, target a Human Personality, and pay Gold equal to his unit's total Gold Cost, +8 unless he is dishonorable, Kolat, Ninja, or Shadowlands: He commits seppuku.
  Astonishing Accusation Reaction: After another player's Political action targets your Personality: Negate its effects.
  The way "Kitsuki Judgment" is read according to the rules of L5R is as follows: PERFORMER & COSTS: EFFECT "He commits seppuku." is the effect of the strategy Kitsuki Judgment.
  Seppuku reads, to my understanding, as follows (please correct me if I'm wrong): Player Ability: Order Seppuku Open: Any number of times per turn, target a dishonorable Courtier, Samurai, or Shugenja Personality you control: He commits seppuku. Rehonor him. Destroy him. This destruction will not be negated.
  Now my understanding of it, and our consensus on how it would be ruled should it come up, is that Astonishing Accusation does in fact negate the effects of Kitsuki Judgment, which according to how it is written is "He commits seppuku." If "He commits seppuku" is negated, the Personality is not destroyed, correct?
  EDIT*: If you are going to re-discuss this based on my presented argument, I believe you also have to re-visit the ruling regarding Bad Kharma as well.
  Please advise. Too many people are playing this card without full clarity on how it works.
  Thanks!
  Anthony Head Judge, Vancouver Kotei 2012, 2011 Player Judge, Burnaby/Vancouver Kotei 2013, Calgary Kotei 2012, Tacoma Kotei 2012, Portland Kotei 2012
  A: Conveniently, there's a whole thread about this already, where Donny tactfully used Remorseful Seppuku to ask the question about Kitsuki Judgment before questions about Kitsuki Judgment were allowed.
  "Commits seppuku" on a card is shorthand for “Rehonor him, then destroy him; these effects will not be negated.” from the rulebook, in the same way that "Ranged X" is shorthand for the rulebook definition of a ranged attack of that strength. Just read the card as if it had the full text of the seppuku definition instead of the shorthand used, and you will see that negation effects cannot stop the rehonoring and destruction from any action that orders a Personality to commit seppuku.
  Remember also that Kitsuki Judgment is not ordering anyone to take the Player Ability "Order Seppuku". What you really want to reference is the seppuku definition here. Jon Palmer, "Astonishing Accusation vs. Kitsuki Judgment", 10 Mar 2013
• Q: My opponent has Rejected Mediation in play, and I play Kitsuki Judgement on one of his Personalities. My understanding is that when seppuku is called for by an action its effects will not be negated, but does Judgment trigger the "first Political action" clause of Rejected Mediation, allowing me to take Political actions unfettered?
  Rejected Mediation Any player who controls the Imperial Favor discards it. Until your second turn from now begins, negate the effects of the first Political action taken each turn.
  Kitsuki Judgment Political Limited: Choose your performing unbowed Magistrate, target a Personality, and pay Gold equal to his unit's total Gold Cost, +8 unless he is dishonorable, Kolat, Ninja, or Shadowlands: He commits seppuku.
  A: Yes. Rejected Mediation will see the Kitsuki Judgment, attempt to negate it, fail, and then you may take political actions for the remainder of the turn unfettered by Rejected Mediation. Jon Palmer, "Rejected Mediation", 19 Feb 2013