Nexus of Lies

Legend of the Five Rings card from Aftermath, Twenty Festivals, Promotional–Twenty Festivals

Card Type

Holding

Gold Cost

4

Gold Production

4

Card Text

Before another, non-Spider Clan player loses Honor from a card he owns, increase the loss by an amount equal to half his Starting Family Honor, rounded down (this doesn't allow them to ignore Honor Requirements).

Legality

A Brother's Destiny (Ivory Edition), A Brother's Destiny (Twenty Festivals), Age of Conquest (Emperor), War of the Seals (Onyx Edition)

Deck

Dynasty

Story

2012 Name a Holding - Björgvin Johannsson

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: Our playgroup has been reveling in the glorious carnage of the Big Deck Highlander format for a year or two--"There can be only one!" It's great to be able to play with those dusty old cards from aeons ago. Here's the situation:
  Phoenix Clan player is using the City of Blood stronghold with the Iuchiban Sensei, giving him a starting family honor of -2. He's got plenty of cards dealing honor losses to himself which will trigger Nexus of Lies: "Before another, non-Spider Clan player loses Honor from a card he owns, increase the loss by an amount equal to half his Starting Family Honor, rounded down."
  We've been playing it as if the starting family honor were zero, with no additional honor loss, because it didn't seem quite right that Nexus of Lies could result in an honor gain.
  Yorishiku o-negai shimasu, Isawa Jeff, Phoenix Clan Instigator Watakushi wa Watakushi desu.
  A: This is essentially correct, but there are real Rules reasons why it works this way.
  Nexus specifically says it causes a player to "lose" Honor, so trying to lose a negative amount wouldn't result in a gain, in the same way that if you have an effect on a 5F Personality that says, "Raise his Force to equal the Force of another Personality in his army". If your only other Personality has less than 5F, you can't "raise" it to a lower number, so nothing would happen. Brook Cunningham, "City of Blood + Iuchiban Sensei + Nexus of Lies", 13 Aug 2015
• Q: Does the additional honor loss from Nexus of Lies count as a honor loss created for your opponent?
  A: Nexus of Lies modifies an honor loss, it doesn't create one of its own. The source of the honor loss remains the same. Jon Palmer, "Nexus of Lies", 12 Dec 2013
• Q: If I play Faint Praise, and my opponent opts to play an action that would gain him honor, thereby triggering FP, what is the source of the resulting honor loss? Does the loss come from my opponent's Action? Or does the loss come from my FP?
  If the former, would the loss trigger Nexus of Lies?
  A: The honour loss effect is on, and from, Faint Praise. Alex Jones, "Faint Praise: Source of the Loss and Nexus of Lies", 10 Dec 2013
• Q: Another rules question came up in a game today. Does Brilliant Cascade Inn trigger the trait of Nexus of Lies?
  A: Technogashi is correct. To elaborate, an Honor loss (or any effect) "from" a card doesn't make any logical "because of" leaps (like, I imagine you were wondering if the loss was somehow "from" the Personality that Cascade Inn targeted, but no); it literally means "on the card": "FROM # Some things check to see if other effects, actions, or targeting come “from” a given source. The source is the card that the effect, action or targeting is printed on, or the rulebook if it is printed there." -- definition of "From", Comprehensive Rules pg. 78
  (Replying to a player: "So if I'm reading that right, if I were to say do a duel that killed a dishonorable personality then Nexus of Lies would activate because the honor loss is coming from a card they owned?") No. Dying dishonorably honor loss comes from the Rulebook. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 2 Jun 2024