Bend Like a Reed

Legend of the Five Rings card from Gates of Tengoku

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Experienced

Card Text

As a Focus Effect, give your Personality in this duel +2 to their duel stat if facing a Personality whose duel stat is higher.
Interrupt: If the action would bow your Personality and is from another player's unit whose Personality has higher Force, negate your Personality's bowing from its effects and give them +2F.

Focus Value

3

Legality

Shattered Empire

Deck

Fate

Notes

The artwork of Brash Challenger and Bend Like a Reed (Experienced) from this expansion form a horizontal diptych.

Story

Spring Kotei 2015 – Dale Mushinski

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: So if a strategy said "target your personality, bow target enemy personality" bend like a reed still wouldn't work, correct? Sorry, realized I needed to clarify that
  A: The bowing action has to be from (read: on a card in) another player's unit (and that unit's Personality has to have higher Force than yours). So, probably not? But you didn't specify where that hypothetical action was. :/ Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 31 Mar 2025
• Q: Bend like a reed [ShE] - Can this negate bowing when they use a strategy that targets one of their units and then bows my units?
  A: was mistaken. See Technogashi's and Roji's posts. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 31 Mar 2025
• Q: question under gold edition rules. if I play Iaijustu Art, can I play Bend like a reed. The part I am wondering is, the Art says each player focus only once, but does the other play says strike? or the duel ends without the strike part? Or because of the focus restriction in Art I cannot play it? I mean its not a reaction instead of focusing, because the bend like a reed is after focusing
  A: Every duel ends with a strike. Art just makes it so that only 1 Focus can be made before that step. So, there is a trigger for Bend. I would go on to further say that "as if you played this as a Focus" is not equivalent to a Reaction taken "instead of Focusing" nor is it equivalent to actually Focusing, so it would still be legal despite that clause. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 11 Sep 2024