Breaking the Rhythm

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

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

As a Focus Effect, after you win this duel, gain 1 Honor and give the winner +1F.
Absent Battle: Negate a target Personality's current Force bonuses or penalties (you choose). (Absent actions may be taken without presence.)

Focus Value

4

Legality

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

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: How about Breaking the Rhythm? Does it negate all the spells' force modifiers/bonuses? tia
  A: Force bonuses from traits on Spells, as well as Force bonuses granted by previous actions, will be negated by Breaking the Rhythm. Alex Jones, "Force on Spells' traits", 9 Sep 2015
• Q: Following viewtopic.php?f=59&t=108055 Reapplied force bonus or penalty do not remember being negated by Breaking the Rhythm and similar abilities. I wonder what change in bonus/penalty is counted as reapplying?
  Bonus/penalty from Contentious Terrain and Moto Naleesh was reapplied again after going home and back to army, but what if force modification is more complicated than binary "there is one", "there isn't".
  If I have e.g. Daidoji Hiroteu in battle and my opponent has a personality with bowed attachment Hiroteru has +1F. Opponent plays BtR, bonus disappears and I bow his Personality. Do I have +0F, +1F or +2F?
  Each is, in my eyes, possible ^^ 1)+0F if changing value of bonus is not considered reapplying, but what if his attachment straighten and my bonus (technically still negated) value drops to +0F and bows again? Is that reapplying then?
  2) +1F if ongoing bonus was negated, but it's new "part" is counted separately, but here again appears problem of unbowing and bowing my opponents cards,
  and
  3) +2F if bowing another card in enemy unit counts as full reapplying of whole trait,
  A: The effect granting Daidoji Hiroteru's bonus lasts as long as there is an enemy army. Breaking the Rhythm will negate the bonus until the effect ends, ie until there's no longer an enemy army - that is, until the battle ends or there are no enemy units at the current battlefield. A change in the number of bowed cards in the enemy army will not reinstate the effect - you'll have to wait until there is a new enemy army after there having been no enemy army. Alex Jones, "More Breaking the Rhythm vs Traits", 15 May 2015
• Q: Does Breaking the Rhythm negate wedges force bump?
  A: No. Breaking the Rhythm only negates current Force bonuses (or penalties), and the Force bonus created by Wedge is a delayed effect which hasn't been applied yet. Alex Jones, "Breaking the Rhythm and Wedge", 31 Mar 2015
• Q: The comprehensive rules state:
  " A token conveys its stat modifications to any card or Province it is on, and these modifications are considered bonuses and penalties. A token’s “printed” stat bonus or penalty is the one it was created with. "
  So can you negate (for a turn) the force bonuses applied by Force Tokens using Courage Beyond Question as an interrupt to the action that creates the tokens?
  Regardless of the above answer, can I just also confirm that Breaking the Rhythm (or similar cards) can be played as an action to negate bonuses that includes those from the tokens, for the turn?
  Thanks.
  A: The force (or other stat) bonus (or penalty) from a token comes "from the last effect that placed the token on the card or area". If that "last effect" is an action, an effect that negates that action's force bonuses will negate - for the same duraction - any force bonuses from tokens created (or transferred) by that action. Alex Jones, "Courage Beyond Question and +F Tokens", 9 Mar 2015
• Q: Just want clarification on the following situation:
  Player A attacks with Nikaru (9F). Player B defends with Tametaka basic (4F). Play goes as follows:
  No engage actions. B: Uses Tametaka's ability to give Nikaru -4F (Nikaru now at 5F) then moves home. A: Plays Creating Order (or Breaking the Rhythm) to negate the force penalty (now back to 9F)
  Could player B now also play Breaking the Rhythm to negate the force bonus created when player A used Creating Order/Breaking on Nikaru? And if so would that now reset Nikaru to 5F.
  Just a situation I was pondering one night.
  A: No. The removal of a penalty is not a bonus, and the removal of a bonus is not a penalty. Jon Palmer, "Creating Order, Breaking the Rhythm & Force penalties", 8 Apr 2014
• Q: Just asking
  1. Since Breaking the Rhythm doesn't specify where the force bonus/penalty is coming from. Does it negate force bonus/penalty from traits that were triggered at that time?
  2. Are those +1F Tokens force bonus or stat modifiers?
  A: 1. Yes, Breaking the Rhythm, unlike Creating Order, will negate bonuses from traits.
  2. Tokens are force bonuses (only items are modifiers). Jon Palmer, "Force bonus questions", 7 Apr 2014
• Q: The ruling on Force bonus tokens has caused me to question. If you are able to negate permanent force bonus tokens with Creating Order or Breaking the Rhythm wouldn't that also negate bonuses from weapons? If it does not negate weapon bonuses then where is the differentiation between permanent tokens/weapons?
  Oh and new question, Can you Reprisal twice if you were down 2 provinces. What if they are played at two different provinces?
  A: Weapons now give modifiers rather than bonuses, specifically for this reason.
  Yes, you may Reprisal twice if you're down two provinces, and they can be played at the same province or different provinces. Jon Palmer, "My Question - Tokens,CO + BtR, and Reprisal", 7 Apr 2014
• Q: From here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=107015
  A similar doubt: Kaiji is oposed by 2 small personalities, So he has a +2F. He is hit by a Breaking the Rhythm, going back to 7F.
  What happens with is force when: a) one of the defenders is sent home, so he is now oposed by 1 guy. b) a third defender moves to the battle, so he is now oposed by 3 guys. c) Both of the above happen during the same battle, so he goes from 2 defenders to 1 or 3, and then back to 2.
  Thanks again!
  A: Kaiji XP's force bonuses (+2F for unopposed, and +1F/opposing Personality) are separate effects, that trigger independently. In your examples however, the +1F per opposing Personality effect never ends by Kaiji becoming unopposed, so Breaking the Rhythm is still negating the bonus, even though the value of the bonus is in flux. Ben Higgins, "RE: Breaking the Rhythm & Hida Kaiji XP", 14 Mar 2014
• Q: Hida Kaiji attacks unoposed. The defender plays Breaking the Rhythm on him, so he goes down to 7F.
  Crab plays Determined challenge to move a little Crane to defend, his Force bonus changes. Then another defender shows up. Then stuf happens (Kill, send home) and Kaiji is left unoposed again.
  What happened with his force during all that?
  Thanks!
  A: The two bonuses are separate, and change based on the current state. If Kaiji is unopposed, loses that bonus, then becomes opposed, then becomes unopposed again, his unopposed bonus will reassert itself. Jon Palmer, "Breaking the Rhythm & Hida Kaiji XP", 5 Mar 2014
• Q: Hi there,
  Does, under Ivory Rules, Breaking the Rhythm negate Force penalties given by tokens (such as Bayushi Jin-E)? Or are they considered the same sort of modifiers as Items? If they get negated, will they re-apply at end of turn?
  Thank you!
  A: Tokens provide Bonuses/Penalties to stats.
  If they are negated, the tokens remain on the card, and their Bonuses/Penalties will indeed reassert themselves when the negation wears off. Ben Higgins, "Breaking the Rhythm and Bayushi Jin-E", 6 Feb 2014
• Q: Two questions from last night's games
  If you are the defender can you use Coward! to move your own personality into the battle?
  Can you use Final Sacrifice to change target of opponent's beneficial Action to your Yojimbo? Let's say redirect Breaking the Rhythm from opponent's character to your own Yojimbo?
  A: Yes.
  Whether your Yojimbo is a legal target for the action is key here, and would/should be assessed case by case. Brook Cunningham, "Oracle of the Void #rules", 16 Mar 2025