Mark of Heaven's Favor

Legend of the Five Rings card from Twenty Festivals

Card Type

Spell

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

A Holding may only be targeted by one Mark of Heaven's Favor per game.
Air Open, w: Permanently increase a positive numeral on a target Holding by one (2 is a numeral, two is not). Remove this Spell from the game.

Focus Value

4

Legality

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

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: Howdy!
  We had the following question come up.
  Can you use Mark of Heaven's Favor on a Clan holding?
  It is my understanding that you cannot use Mark of Heaven's Favor on Clan holdings since there is no positive numeral on them. They have been reprinted with new text for 20F but haven't been updated in Oracle.
  Shinomen Marsh: This holding has -1GP if you are not Spider Clan Mark of Heaven's Favor: A Holding may only be targeted by one Mark of Heaven's Favor per game. Air Open, w: Permanently increase a positive numeral on a target Holding by one (2 is a numeral, two is not). Remove this Spell from the game.
  A: The gold production in the top right of the card is a positive numeral on the card. You may increase it. Jon Palmer, "Mark of Heaven's Favor + Clan Holdings", 1 May 2015
• Q: 0) While I think I understand why the text of Mark of Heaven's Favor specifies "positive numeral", I am unsure about what that means. I would understand "positive integer" or "positive number" but it would appear a "numeral" can not be positive or negative. "-5" is not a numeral, for example, but it is written using the numeral "5".
  1) In the context of L5R rules, is "0" a positive or negative numeral?
  2) What happens if Mark of Heaven's Favor is used to increase one of the instances of "4" appearing on the Obsidian Dojo (20F)? Will the Fear 5 affect only targets with 4F or less, or will the Fear 4 affect targets with 5F or less?
  2bis) What happens if Mark of Heaven's Favor is used to increase an instance of "2" appearing in the description of the Kharmic ability appearing on, say, Voice of Experience (TCS)? Is the GC increase to 3 affecting both players or only the owner of the Marked Holding?
  A: 0. On L5R cards, "numeral" is used as a shorthand for "number written with numerals".
  1. 0 is neither positive nor negative.
  2. There is only one 4 on Obsidian Dojo that can be affected by Mark of Heaven's Favor. Reminder text does not affect play.
  2b. As above, numbers in reminder text are not affected by Mark of Heaven's Favor. Alex Jones, "Mark of Heaven's Favor", 12 Mar 2015
• Q: What does happen when I use Mark of Heaven's Favor on my opponent's Forgotten Legacy and increase the numeral in the phrase "You must have at least 16 Holdings in your deck construction." to 17?
  Will my opponent lose the game when he or she has only 16 holdings in their deck? At which point is deck construction checked? At the start of the game? Constantly through the game?
  A: Deck construction is only checked at the start of the game. This is why you don't automatically lose if one of your cards is removed from the game and you have a 40 card deck. Jon Palmer, "Mark of Heaven's Favor + Forgotten Legacy", 5 Mar 2015
• Q: I have two questions: Does Temple Fortress give 1 honor on the turn it comes into play? Also, can Mark of Heaven's Favor target it even if it is in my province and not yet in play?
  A: No, and no. 1. Entering play in a bowed state =/= bowing 2. Cards out of play cannot be targeted without explicit text allowing that. Brook Cunningham, "Oracle of the Void #rules", 12 Jun 2023