Countermove

Legend of the Five Rings card from Celestial Edition, Code of Bushido, Samurai Edition

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Tactical

Card Text

Tactical Battle: Target your performing Tactician who is not at the current battlefield to target one of the enemy leader's Personalities who is not at the current battlefield. Move them both to the current battlefield. Straighten their units.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Age of Enlightenment (Lotus), Destroyer War (Celestial), Race for the Throne (Samurai), Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Countermove 0G 2FV Tactical Battle: Target your Tactician who is not at the current battlefield: Target one of the enemy leader’s Personalities who is not at the current battlefield. Move both targets to the current battlefield. Straighten their units." [MRP, Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 126
• Erratum: Reads, "Countermove 0G 2FV Tactical Battle: Target one of your Tacticians who is not at the current battlefield: Target one of the enemy leader’s Personalities who is not at the current battlefield. Move both targets to the current battlefield. Straighten their units." [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 130

Rules Q&A

• Q: Akodo A attacks province P1, Akodo B (tactician) attacks province P2. Hiruma A defends at province P1. No units at province P3 and P4.
  First resolving province P2. Battle resolves and Akodo B returns home and bows. Next declaring battle at province P3. Can i play Countermove and target Akodo B and Hiruma A to move Hiruma A into defending army at current battlefield, (Akodo B stays at home) and straighten both units?
  A: Yes, due to the Blind Cards Rule (see http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Battles#Rule_of_Presence) and that effects are independent Zen Faulkes, "Countermove and units after battle resolution", 18 Mar 2011
• Q: Countermove: Tactical Battle: Target your Tactician who is not at the current battlefield: Target one of the enemy leader's Personalities who is not at the current battlefield. Move both targets to the current battlefield. Straighten their units.
  Hamstrung: Reaction: Before the resolution of an action: Choose a Personality. Negate his movement into attacking armies from the action.
  Question: I've searched the forum for this, but only found an answer containing Ambush.. and this one: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=80454&p=1052218&hilit=unpredictable+strategy#p1052218 According to this, if I hamstrung Unpredictable, both movements are negated.
  Anyhow, I have Akodo tactician X, my opponent has defender chode Y. I declare a battle, assign nobody, use Countermove to move in both X and Y. My opponent reacts with Hamstrung. Who moves? X, Y, neither? Who straightens? X, Y, neither.
  A: Unpredictable Strategy uses the defined game term Switch, which involves moving two units in opposite directions as one effect, so that if one movement is negated the other will also fail.
  Countermove moves the two units to the current battlefield, but these are separate movements: there is no dependency between them. If the movement of one unit fails, the other unit will still move. Furthermore, the straightening of each unit is independent of any movement: even if one or both movements fails, both units will straighten. Alex Jones, "Countermove vs Hamstrung", 16 Mar 2011
• Q: Relevant text:
  Title Outsider Keep Text Reaction: After engaging at a battlefield where you control an opposed unit: Give each of your Personalities there +1F. Draw a card. Discard a card unless one of your Personalities there is a Tactician.
  Title Ambush Text Limited: Target your unbowed Personality: Create a battlefield (not at any province). Assign your Personality's unit to attack there. Assign another player’s target unit to defend there, even if its Personality is bowed. Other units will not move there. Fight a battle there (after this action's resolution). After the battle ends, lose 5 Honor.
  Title Countermove Text Tactical Battle: Target your Tactician who is not at the current battlefield: Target one of the enemy leader's Personalities who is not at the current battlefield. Move both targets to the current battlefield. Straighten their units.
  Question 1: I assume, that I can create a battlefield with Ambush in my Limited Phase and then fire the stronghold reaction. I'm asking just to have a written confirmation in case someone less agile in understanding the rules will not agree. Can't see why though.
  Question 2: Let's assume that the battle never happend due to some negation effects (not redirection). Will the honor loss occur? I assume not, since there was no battle.
  Question 3: Assuming mentioned Ambush happens - during a battle I've been send home from the created battlefield. Can I jump in with Countermove if my enemy has some another personality (movement of his would be negated, mine will work) ? What if he has only one personality, currently present at the created battlefield - can I just skip targeting of his personality ? If so - can Countermove be used to just jump into unopposed battle everywhere (don't think so) ?
  A: Question 1: I assume, that I can create a battlefield with Ambush in my Limited Phase and then fire the stronghold reaction. I'm asking just to have a written confirmation in case someone less agile in understanding the rules will not agree. Can't see why though. Ambush creates a battlefield at which a battle is then fought; you may indeed use Outsider Keep's Reaction during it.
  Question 2: Let's assume that the battle never happend due to some negation effects (not redirection). Will the honor loss occur? I assume not, since there was no battle. The honour loss from Ambush is not contingent on the battle being fought. See Abilities and actions, Action resolution: Effects of an action are independent. If any effect fails to occur (for example, bowing an already bowed Personality, moving him to a location he was already in, or being negated), the other effects still happen.
  Question 3: Assuming mentioned Ambush happens - during a battle I've been send home from the created battlefield. Can I jump in with Countermove if my enemy has some another personality (movement of his would be negated, mine will work)? Yes - Effects of an action are independent.
  What if he has only one personality, currently present at the created battlefield - can I just skip targeting of his personality ? No. The "enemy leader's Personality" is a required target.
  If so - can Countermove be used to just jump into unopposed battle everywhere (don't think so)? Sort of, but only if you can find an enemy target who won't move. Alex Jones, "Ambush, Outsider Keep, Countermove", 25 Oct 2010
• Q: Suppose personality A and B are both tacticians. Personality A attacks province #1; B attacks province #2. Province #1 resolves, and A goes home bowed due to battle resolution. At province #2, I target A and one of the enemy leader's personalities at home with Countermove. My personality may not move into the battle due to having already been in battle resolution. My opponent's personality moves into the battle at province #2. My personality, and the opponents both straighten. Is this correct?
  A: Yes. The Rule of Location only requires that the Action's effect states that it moves the target Personalities. It does not care if other card effects or rules will prevent the targets from actually moving.
  Further, even if one effect of the Action is Negated or Fails, the other effects attempt to resolve as normal. Thus even if the movement is Negated, the straightening still happens.
  This is why you see some card say, "Move X. If X moved, straighten him," because then you don't straighten unless you actually moved. Martin Lund, "Countermove", 15 Jan 2008
• Q: Assuming this above is legal, could I also perform the above series of actions if I only had personality A? ie Personality A attacks and sees battle resolution at province #1. I play countermove at province #2 without presence to attempt to move mine and the oppoent's personality in, and straightening personality A at home.
  A: Yes. Again, Presence and Location only care that the Action instructs you to move the target. They do not check to see if outside effects or rules would stop the movement effect. Martin Lund, "Countermove", 15 Jan 2008