Courage in Death

Legend of the Five Rings card from The Truest Test, Samurai Edition Banzai

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle, target another Personality: Give him a Force bonus equal to the first Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay the first Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Age of Enlightenment (Lotus), Race for the Throne (Samurai)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: Kaiu Shiro
  If you delay the destruction of your personality using Courage in Death and you win the battle, does Kaiu Shiro trigger when you finally destroy your personality at the end of your turn? Or does it trigger before the death is delayed?
  A: If you delay the destruction, Kaiu Shiro will never trigger.
  Its trait triggers after the action resolves. If your guy didn't die from the action during that resolution, then nothing happens. Brook Cunningham, "Kaiu Shiro and Delay destruction", 20 Oct 2014
• Q: Following the thread with the same name
  As of this discussion: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=74517&p=975465&hilit=courage+in+death#p975465
  Why isn´t Rekai allowed to attach the follower to a personality at another location and Courage in Death force bonus is?
  Thanks
  A: Reactions do not need to follow the Rules of Location or Presence.
  Battle actions do. Dan Jacobson, "Daigotsu Rekai Experienced 4", 19 Apr 2009
• Q: I was reading the comprehensive rules and finding myself a little confused.
  i also searched the forums, and asked on the scorpion boards...and all answers lead me to the solution i was looking for.
  yet i think i still need a little clarification, because i don't want to cheat.
  Chi Death
  This destruction from zero Chi is continuously applied. Special rules apply to its negation. Ongoing and instantaneous effects that negate destruction, such as the trait "Before this card is destroyed: Negate the destruction," will not negate destruction from zero Chi (see Effects). Only a continuous negation effect (for example, "This Personality cannot be destroyed" as a trait), or an effect that specifically refers to the zero Chi rule (for example, "Until the end of the turn, he is not destroyed for having 0 Chi") can overcome the Personality's destruction.
  Crab Stuff
  Razor of the Dawn Castle: Text Before another player's card's effect destroys one of your Samurai: Once per turn, you may delay the destruction until the current turn ends
  Courage in Death: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  Do Razor of the Dawn Castle and Courage in Death stop death from 0 chi?
  I don't think they do, and everything i've read tells me they don't. Sorry if this has been asked a lot.
  A: Please use the search function before posting: it didn't take me long to find this. Alex Jones, "Continuous Issue (Chi Death vs Crab)", 13 Mar 2009
• Q: A subject came up in the Crab forum that stated the force bonus from courage in death may be given to a personality at another battlefield, thus allowing you to sleaze another possibly undefended province. I seem to remember seeing this discussed previously and that it could not happen. The target has to be at the current battlefield, even if it is an enemy perosnality, or atleast that is what I thought. I searched thru the archives and can't find a post that answers the question, nor in the comprehensive rules.
  Courage in Death Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  Thanks in advance
  A: Reactions are not governed by the Rules of Presence nor Location.
  You may target another Personality anywhere for the Force bonus of the action, but you *must* target somebody that isn't the recipient of Courage in Death's benefits. Dan Jacobson, "Courage in death force bonus", 9 Mar 2009
• Q: Scenario: Crab personality dies. I play Courage In Death, delaying their destruction until after the battle is over. I have a Hida Itsuma in play. Can I react with him to negate their destruction once it occurs?
  Would the answer be different if it occurred in a battle after the other three provinces battles had already been resolved. (i.e. Declare, assign, resolve province 1's battle, resolve province 2's battle, resolve province 3's battle, in the resolution of province 4's battle, above scenario occurs)
  Card Texts:
  Courage In Death Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  Hida Itsuma Reaction: Before one of your other Samurai is destroyed, if it is not the Action Phase or the Attack Phase, destroy Itsuma: Negate the other Samurai's destruction.
  A: See Attack Phase, in particular Attack Phase: Battles: The Attack Phase ends immediately once the Attacker is at the opportunity to choose a battlefield, but battles have happened at all battlefields.
  The Crab Personality whose destruction is delayed is destroyed "after the battle ends", which is before you choose which battlefield's battle to fight next, so the destruction occurs well within the Attack Phase. Alex Jones, "Courage In Death and Hida Itsuma", 27 Jul 2008
• Q: Personalities chi is reduced to 0, I delay the death until the end of the turn (say, through Courage in Death), and somehow manage to raise their chi above 0.
  Would they still die?
  A: Delaying the destruction doesn't work: the destruction effect from 0 chi is immediately reapplied and the personality is destroyed.
  The question has been asked before. Please use the search function: http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=61615 Alex Jones, "0 Chi, and delayed death", 30 Apr 2008
• Q: Put this up elsewhere, but was unable to reach a conclusion.
  "Unshakable" -- Tactical Battle: Target an Action card in your discard pile. Play it for one of its Battle abilities as an additional action. Remove this card and the target card from the game, even if out of play, after that action ends. (Observe restrictions on the ability's number of uses, such as the default "once per turn.") "Courage in Death" --Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  Due to Unshakable's lack of colon to create specific costs, as I understand it everything listed on Unshakable is an effect. Here's the question:
  Unshakable can target a copy of Courage in Death in the discard pile that has resolved this turn. What happens next? A) Unshakable resolves. Courage in Death cannot. Unshakable and Courage in Death are then removed from the game after Courage in Death's delayed effect ends at the normal time. B) Unshakable resolves. Courage in Death cannot. Neither Unshakable nor Courage in Death are removed from the game because Courage in Death does not have an "ending" trigger based off of Unshakable's timing. C) Unshakable resolves. Courage in Death cannot. Unshakable and Courage in Death are then removed from the game immediately following the targeting, as Courage in Death has no legal action which can resolve, regardless of once-per-turn.
  GENERALIZATION QUESTION: If Unshakable targets an Action card without a Battle action that can be resolved, does Unshakable fizzle and leave itself in the discard rather than remove itself from the game due to never reaching the necessary timing trigger? (I ask this in all seriousness for multiple reasons, primarily Unshakable being much easier to play "pointlessly" to satisfy the Ring of Water.)
  ALTERNATE GENERALIZATION QUESTION: As the targeting is not behind a colon, is it a cost that must be satisfied, or is it an effect targeting that can fail? Can I simply toss Unshakable away as a Tactical Battle action with no legal targets in the discard pile?
  A: You know, this seems like it would fall under the Good Faith Rule.
  If it were a question of a card that you were supposed to put into play, rather than simply play for an action, the Good Faith Rule as it already reads would prohibit playing Unshakable.
  I'll bring it up to the Rules Team to see if an extension / clarification of the Good Faith Rule can cover this.
  For the time being, assume you can't choose an Action Card that you can't play in good faith. Martin Lund, "Unshakable & Courage in Death", 9 Apr 2008
• Q: Can i react with courage in death (in order to use the Force bonus, not the anti-kill) after one of my personality is destroyed by Wedge?
  A: No. Wedge specifically says it destroys after battle, Courage in Death is triggered during battle. Zen Faulkes, "Wedge and Courage in Death", 8 Mar 2008
• Q: http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=60609&hilit=Courage+in+Death
  As a corollary to this ruling, is the delayed destruction caused by the original card effect or by Courage in Death?
  Additionally, if the delayed destruction is somehow negated, is the personality removed from the game?
  Thanks,
  -Steve
  A: If I have Card A - which has an effect of "destroy target Personality," and I delayed that effect with Card B that says, "He is not destroyed until the end of the turn," it is still Card A doing the destroying.
  Additionally, if somehow you managed to cause the destruction action modified by Determination to fail to destroy the Personality (maybe with a destruction Negating card + your own Determination), then Determination could not remove the Personality from the game - thanks to it's own card text.
  "After the action destroys any Personality, remove him from the game."
  If the Personality isn't destroyed by the action, you can't have an "after the action destroys any Personality," trigger - thus you don't get a remove from the game effect. Martin Lund, "Courage in Death + Determination followup", 15 Jan 2008
• Q: I have a Hida Yaheiko in battle and she is being destroyed and I play Courage in Death on her. Would then taking Yaheiko's Reaction cause Courage in Death to fail?
  A: You couldn't use Yaheiko's Reaction then, because Yaheiko is not being destroyed due to the effect of Courage in Death. Zen Faulkes, "Negating costs of actions.", 21 Dec 2007
• Q: If I have a personality and target him with Inner Fire would it then be possible to later use Astonishing Resilience or Courage in Death on him because these cards do not target the personality?
  A: Yes. Nothing targets unless the card says so. Zen Faulkes, "Target or Nontarget?", 21 Dec 2007
• Q: Regarding this thread...
  Why not?
  If the quoted text is correct (I don't have cards with me; l5rsearch at least gives the same text), the Personality supposed to get the bonus can be any Personality; since we're talking about a Reaction, it can be anywhere, so I'd say the player can target any of his Personalities, or even an opponent's Personality.
  So, unless the Personality about to be destroyed is the only Personality in play, I'd expect a "yes" answer.
  A: Fixed now. Zen Faulkes, "Courage in Death followup", 21 Nov 2007
• Q: Courage in Death: If I only have 1 personality in battle, can I still use this card after his destruction?
  A: If there is another Personality you can legally target. (Fixed.)
  http://rules.l5r.com/FAQ#What_are_required_targets.3F Zen Faulkes, "Courage in Death", 21 Nov 2007
• Q: You Die With Me! Heroic Reaction: After another player resolves a Battle action which destroyed one of your Hero Personalities: Destroy a target Follower, or Personality without Followers, in the current enemy army.
  Courage in Death Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  Just to check, can I play the 2 reactions on the same death ?
  If so can you describe me the timing please.
  Thanks
  A: Yes, unless you are a Crab Clan player.
  The timing is pretty simple. Courage in Death says, "Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle," which means you have to play it before he's destroyed.
  And You Die With Me says, "After another player resolves a Battle action which destroyed one of your Hero Personalities," which means you have to play it after the Battle action in question resolves all its effects that weren't Delayed.
  So the Action starts to apply its effects. When it goes to kill your Personality you drop Courage in Death before he dies. If you are a Crab Clan player, he doesn't die at all right now, but rather that effect is Delayed until the battle ends.
  Assuming you are not a Crab Clan player, the Action finishes resolving effects, killing your Personality along the way. Once it has finished resolving you play You Die With Me.
  If you are a Crab Clan player, when the Action finishes resolving it hasn't killed your Personality yet, so you can't play You Die With Me, and by the time he DOES die it is too late to take a Reaction to the action Resolving - it already resolved during the Combat Segment. Martin Lund, "Courage in Death & You die with me.", 12 Nov 2007
• Q: Courage in Death: Can I target an opposing personality and give it a force bonus in order to delay the death of my personality?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Courage in Death and targeting another player personality.", 27 Aug 2007
• Q: Ok, Courage in death:
  Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  Now, the meat of my question is does this delay death from the action or effect which destroyed the targeted personality, or does it delay ALL effects that would otherwise destroy the personality until the stated end of battle?
  More specifically, let us suppose that a crab player has one of his personalities destroyed as the result of a duel, applies CiD to effectively postpone destruction, then another duel was issued to this pesonality and killed it again, would he evaporate into a pool of meat and gristle or continue fighting further without the aid of a second CiD?
  Now, for this next part from the Comprehensive Rules site - Card Features:
  If the Chi of a Personality in play is ever zero, destroy him. This destruction has special rules about its source.
  This destruction from zero Chi is continuously applied. If a one-time triggered effect negates the personality's destruction from zero Chi, he is destroyed again immediately after the negation happens. Only a continuous negation effect (for example, "This Personality cannot be destroyed") can overcome the Personality's destruction.
  Continuing, assuming that this personality is first hit with a very nasty chi penalty and is about to collapse, but before his body gives out to exhaustion and infirmity, he tosses an ineffectual +0 force bonus to one of his friends and continues fighting, assuming this personality were not immune to multiple deaths, would a chi penalty cause a second death after it's first death were delayed due to him having 0 chi[A chi death that was negated would still in the end kill the personality per , so what really happens in this case]? Assuming that this personality is dieing many many times over in sequence, coughing and spasming while his brave friends fight onward, is this causing multiple different deaths that could be reacted to? Opposite situation, assuming that chi death happens ONCE and is put on hold until battle's end, if he were hit with a second chi penalty, would he have been hit by two death effects then?
  Lastly, in the event that all of this silliness has happened at once in the same battle (two lethal duels and one lethal chi penalty followed by a second in frustration) and all deaths have all been delayed until the end of the battle by either one or infinite CiDs, at the battle resolution, do they all hit simultaneously, thus creating an opportunity to use a reaction to death on two duels and 1 or more chi deaths all at once? With the following imaginary ability;
  Reaction: when a crab clan player's personality dies, cry one tear.
  How many tears would be shed for the crab clan player's personality and at what points during the battle? Thank you very much for your help, I tried to cover every possibly question I may encounter regarding this card, ever, and still be clear about what I was asking. Gave myself a small headache in the process.
  A: Courage in Death will only delay one death effect. You would need multiples to survive multiple kill attempts. A Chi of 0 will continuously kill the personality, so Courage in Death will not prevent chi death.
  Without Will or some other way to revive your dead, only one tear will be shed. Regardless of how many death effects are delayed, the first one will kill the personality, and the rest will be negated assuming the personality remains dead. (Gotta cover the inevitable Daizu followup.) Chris Fuchs, "Courage In Death(s)", 23 Jul 2007
• Q: See original topic here.
  Could he not give the force pump to an opposing personality? the card states:
  Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  So he could give his opponents personality the force bonus and presuming his personality is crab his destruction would be delayed until battle ends, correct?
  A: In the example given, nowhere does the original poster state that there are any Personalities in the Defending Army.
  Moreover, he specifically says, "Can I respond with Courage in Death although there is no other target for the force boost?"
  The answer to that question is "No."
  Sure, if there is actually another Personality at the battlefield - even an enemy Personality - you could use the card.
  And yes, there are plenty of instances where you'll have one of your Personalities get hit with a destruction effect while the enemy army has no Personalities. "Chump-blocking," with a single Defender and playing a destructive action that requires you to kill your Defender as a cost, for example, was a very popular strategy at many points in L5R's history. Overwhelmed and To Do What We Must were staples of that kind of approach. Martin Lund, "Regarding Courage in Death Question", 20 Jul 2007
• Q: Hello all.
  Let's make up a fictional 1 man attack by the Crab. So I have Hida A assigned to one battlefield. My opponent's first action is killing my lone unit. Can I respond with Courage in Death although there is no other target for the force boost? Or, rephrasing, can I simply delay the destruction of my personality until after the battle ends?
  Here is the card text:
  Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  Thanks in advance for your time.
  A: No, as the other personality to gain the force bonus is a required initial target of the action. Chris Fuchs, "Courage in Death question", 20 Jul 2007
• Q: If I perform an action, and the cost is destroying a personality. What happens if I do something to delay that death?
  As a concrete example, say, Ikkaku's battle action, and Courage in Death.
  Ikkaku:
  Battle: Destroy Ikkaku: Destroy a target non-Unique Personality opposing Ikkaku with more Force than him.
  Courage in Death:
  Reaction: Before one of your Personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target Personality a Force bonus equal to your Personality's Chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your Personality's destruction until after the battle ends.
  A: If the personality is not destroyed, you have not paid the cost. Chris Fuchs, "Delayed deaths in paying costs.", 10 Jul 2007
• Q: Hi,
  Courage in Death:
  Before one of your personalities is destroyed during battle: Give another target personality a force bonus equal to your personalities chi. If you are a Crab Clan player, delay your personalities destruction until after the battle ends.
  As far as I know this is the first time that an action allows destruction from my own card effects (the card does not mention whose effect destroys, so it could be my own) to be delayed.
  What if I play a card that has a cost of destroying a personality, e.g. To Do What We Must, and then delay the destruction?
  1. Cost not paid, action fails
  2. Cost is paid but delayed, action succeds
  Is it 1. or 2. ?
  A: Cost is not successfully paid, you may attempt to use other resources to pay the cost or allow the action to fail. Chris Fuchs, "Courage in Death", 24 May 2007