Celestial Alignment

Legend of the Five Rings card from Celestial Edition, Imperial Edition, Emerald Edition, Obsidian Edition, Diamond Edition, Gold Edition

Card Type

Event

Keywords

Unique

Card Text

After you reveal cards in your Provinces at the start of your turn, if this Event is face-up in one of them, until your next turn begins, you may ignore the bowing of Shugenja Personalities for conditions upon Kiho or Spell actions they perform.

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial), Destroyer War (Celestial), Four Winds (Gold), Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Read, "Celestial Alignment Until the beginning of your next turn, Shugenja Personalities need not bow to cast Spells or Kihos or to use innate abilities. Until the beginning of your next turn, no action on each Spell and Kiho card can be used more than once and no innate ability can be used more than once." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 69
• Q: Some shugenja, like Isawa Natsune, can't bow to produce spell effects. What if something like Celestial Alignment is in play, which lets shugenja cast spells without bowing? A: Then he can cast them. Natsune isn't completely incapable of casting spells, he's just out of practice and can only cast them if something makes it easier. Also, he's allowed to bow to assist Rituals, since the tulebook says only the primary shugenja is considered to be casting the spell. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, Version 3.6.2, May 1998, p. 5
• Q: Isawa Natsune can't bow to produce spell effects. What if something like Celestial Alignment is in play, which lets shugenja cast spells without bowing? A: Then he can cast them. Natsune isn't completely incapable of casting spells, he's just out of practice and can only cast them if something makes it easier. Also, he's allowed to bow to assist Rituals, since the rulebook says only the primary shugenja is considered to be casting the spell. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, Version 3.4 & errata, June 1997, p. 4
• Q: If I bow several shugenja to cast a Ritual, are they all producing spell effects, or just the primary shugenja? A: Just the primary one. However, they all gain any benefits they'd normally get when casting spells, such as gaining extra Chi from an Apprentice and not needing to bow during a Celestial Alignment. The Imperial Herald, Vol. 1, Issue 4, p. 8
• Q: Isawa Natsune says he can't bow to produce spell effects. What if something like Celestial Alignment is in effect, which lets shugenja use spells without bowing? A: Then he can use them. Natsune isn't completely incapable of casting spells, he's just out of practice and can only do it if something makes it easier. Also, if you re-read that last answer, you'll see he's allowed to bow to assist Rituals. The Imperial Herald, Vol. 1, Issue 4, p. 8
• Erratum: Reads, "Celestial Alignment Until your next turn begins, Shugenja Personalities need not bow as a cost of Kiho or Spell actions they perform." [MRP, Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 125

Rules Q&A

• Q: 3) Do participating shugenja bow for a ritual under Celestial Alignment?
  A: "The primary Shugenja is the only Shugenja considered to be casting the spell." (Diamond Edition Rulebook, page 90, "Casting Spells")
  Ergo, the only Shugenja that need not bow is the primary Shugenja (typically the Shugenja holding the Spell). Martin Lund, "Rules for 16 April 2004", 16 Apr 2004
• Q: 5) If the answer to #3 is No and the answer to #4 is "A shugenja can cast multiple copies of the same spell", does three copies of Essence of Gaki-Do when Celestial Alignment goes off really wreck your opponent's day?
  A: One copy of Essence of Gaki-do is usually enough to get the job done. Just keep the other copies on hand for when your opponent drops a pair of Kolat Assassins followed by a pair of Naval Ambushes and clears out all your copies of Shiba Danjuro AND the Shugenja holding the spell in a single Action Phase. :) Martin Lund, "Rules for 16 April 2004", 16 Apr 2004
• Q: So he does not work with Celestial Alignment either?
  From Jeff: You cannot use City of Remembrance with Naokazu. He is unusual. He does not bow to use his innate ability -- he bows to create an optional effect during it.
  His optional effect isnt part of the innate ability?
  A: Naokazu is unusual. He does not bow to use his innate ability. Once he HAS used it, he might have to bow for something during it, but that's different. He does not combo with effects that allow Shugenja to use their innate abilities without bowing. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 2-3 March 2004", 4 Mar 2004
• Q: Celestial Alignment Until your next turn, Shugenja Personalities need not bow to create Spell effects or use innate abilities. Until your next turn, no Shugenja may create a given a Spell effect more than once or use a given innate ability more than once.
  Eternal Halls of the Shiba Reaction: Once per turn, after one of your cards successfully casts a Kiho and you discard the Kiho, add the Kiho to your hand. Then discard a card from your hand. You may take this action once per game for each copy of each Kiho
  Dark Allies Rulebook, page 30. A Kiho is actually an Action card, although it produces a Spell effect.
  Question: I have a Shugenja in play. As an Open action, my Shugenja casts "Facing you Devils" without bowing, thanks to the Celestial Alignment. I use the Stronghold ability to take the Kiho back to my hand once it has been resolved. Can the same Shugenja cast the same "Facing your Devils" again ?
  A: No. Jeff Alexander, "post for 5 May 2003", 6 May 2003
• Q: One Unravelling can cancel another, right?
  And bowing the shugenja is a cost of the spell, so that wouldn't be refunded if the spell is canceled, so you wouldn't have an infinite battle of Unravelling if there are two copies of the spell on the table, right?
  ...unless, of course, Celestial Alignment just went off. Then you could have an infinite Unravelling battle.
  So what happens if Celestial Alignment goes off and then I try to cast Fury of Osano Wo in a battle while both my opponent and I each have another unbowed Shugenja with an attached Unravelling (not necessarily at that battle, but they can be if it makes the question easier)? You can only take a single reaction per copy of a card, so we could each only use Unravelling once, but... whenever either of us uses Unravelling, it canceles the other Unravelling, so that means that it never happened (other than the fact that costs are not refunded) and the other can react with their own Unravelling.
  Hmm?
  Cast Fury of Osano-Wo.
  React with Unravelling A against Fury of Osano-Wo.
  React with Unravelling B against Unravelling A.
  Does anyone wish to react to Unravelling B? No? Unravelling B occurs, cancelling Unravelling A. Unravelling A is now not considered to have been used.
  React with Unravelling A against...Unravelling B?
  Isn't Unravelling B already done? Why is Unravelling B hanging around, waiting to be reacted to again, when it already had its effect?
  A: Wow. Good job! It looks like I don't have to make any kind of stalling judgement at all. The situation, though compicated, is not infinite and requires no special rulings to determine. I hereby RESCIND what I said before. Jeff Alexander, "post for 9 December 2002", 10 Dec 2002
• Q: And bowing the shugenja is a cost of the spell, so that wouldn't be refunded if the spell is canceled, so you wouldn't have an infinite battle of Unravelling if there are two copies of the spell on the table, right?
  ...unless, of course, Celestial Alignment just went off. Then you could have an infinite Unravelling battle.
  So what happens if Celestial Alignment goes off and then I try to cast Fury of Osano Wo in a battle while both my opponent and I each have another unbowed Shugenja with an attached Unravelling (not necessarily at that battle, but they can be if it makes the question easier)? You can only take a single reaction per copy of a card, so we could each only use Unravelling once, but... whenever either of us uses Unravelling, it canceles the other Unravelling, so that means that it never happened (other than the fact that costs are not refunded) and the other can react with their own Unravelling.
  A: I'm going to rule that the second attempt to use Unraveling in a back-and-forth battle by the player who used it first counts as stalling on his behalf. Jeff Alexander, "post for 6 December 2002", 7 Dec 2002