Deflection

Legend of the Five Rings card from Path of the Destroyer

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

4

Card Text

This card has -1 Gold Cost for each Courtier you control.
Reaction: When another player's action would target one of your Personalities: Choose another one of your Personalities at the same location. The action targets him instead, if legal.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: First the Card Text:
  Deflection:
  Reaction: When another player's action would target one of your Personalities: Choose another one of your Personalities at the same location. The action targets him instead, if legal.
  In Aikune's Name
  Battle: Destroy this Shugenja: Destroy two target cards without attachments in the enemy army.
  Can Deflection protect against something that targets multiple personalitys (burn the village is another example) or is the pural targeting an invalid trigger for it?
  A: Yes, Deflection may be played in response to In Aikune's Name or other such cards with multiple targeting.
  Deflection is not looking for exactly or only one target in order to trigger.
  Numbers of things: "If the presence of an exact number of things is being checked for, this will be noted by language such as "exactly two" or "only one," or by mentioning two or more specific numbers such as “zero or one.”" Brook Cunningham, "In Aikune's Name vs Deflection", 3 May 2010
• Q: This seems like an obvious question, but my friends and I cannot come to an agreement, and I didn't see anything when I did a search.
  Akodo's Guidance gives +1 PH to attacking lions, and lets you kill someone with equal or lower personal honor. You must discard Akodo's Guidance as a cost though, so am I right to assume that the bonus PH goes away before he gets to kill my guy?
  Basic example A: My opponent attacks me with a Lion who has 2 printed personal honor. He also has Akodo's Guidance out. He blows his guidance and his guy to kill my defender with 3 personal honor.
  Is that a legal play?
  I know he picks targets first, then pays costs, but by the time the cost is paid he on longer has equal or more personal honor, so the effect would fizzle and he would learn a valuable lesson about trying to kill my clan champion with a 5 gold scrub.
  The obvious related question is how would this timing work with something like Deflection or Seiden Sanzo thrown in? Could I redirect to a target that is legal during the targeting phase, but not legal by the time he pays the cost in order to make the effect fizzle? Please say yes.
  Thanks.
  Akodo's Guidance
  Attacking Lion Clan personalities +1F and +1 PH.
  Battle: If you are a Lion Clan player, discard this card and destroy your target Lion Clan personality: destroy a target enemy personality with equal or lower Personal Honor.
  A: All targets must be legal at the time targets are chosen.
  The order:
  A) Announce the action (Akodo's Guidance) B) Choose Targets This is where you have to meet the requirements of the personal honor check. All effects that change targeting must still meet the targeting requirements of the original action. Sorry, no "fizzling" in this manner at least. C) Pay Costs (Discarding Akodo's Guidance and Destroying the Lion personality come here) D) Effects (Kaboom!) Dan Jacobson, "Akodo's Guidance Timing", 19 Feb 2010
• Q: The second case is if the target is redirected to another unit using Deflection or Chugo Seido. I believe the player using Yoritomo Tatsuhiko's action would get to decide whether or not to pay the cost of the new target after the redirection occurs because the redirection occurs during the cost block. Is this correct?
  A: Same as Dramatic Assassination: http://rules.l5r.com/CE_FAQ#What_happen ... ld_cost.3F Zen Faulkes, "clarification on Yoritomo Tatsuhiko", 7 Feb 2010
• Q: If my opponent pays 8 gold to assassinate Udo (8 gold cost) and I use deflection to redirect it to a zero gold cost personailty, what happens, considering this ruling on the faq: http://rules.l5r.com/CE_FAQ#What_happen ... ld_cost.3F
  Dramatic Assassination: Limited: Bow your target Ninja Personality and pay Gold equal to the targeted unit's total Gold Cost: Destroy a target unit. Lose 4 Honor
  Deflection: Reaction: When another player's action would target one of your Personalities: Choose another one of your Personalities at the same location. The action targets him instead, if legal.
  Does he bow his ninja, pay the 8 gold, but nothing happens? Or does he choose not to pay the 0 gold, and HAS to destroy the zero gold cost personality?
  A: He may choose one of two things:
  A) Bow his Ninja, pay the new GC (0), and destroy it. He will lose 4 honor.
  OR
  B) Pay no costs, and discard the card without effects.
  Read the FAQ as it deals with situations that are quite similar. Dan Jacobson, "Dramatic Assassination and redirection", 2 Feb 2010
• Q: Just wanted to ask... what am I missing?
  The current ruling on how Deflection works against tokens generated by Isawa Fusota seem to indicate that the previous ruling on Shikibu no Oni and Seiden Sanzo might be at odds with the idea of the resolution of an action. As I understand it, Shikibu ignores the destruction effect of Seiden Sanzo because he is not facing a destruction effect as the action resolves, but it is delayed. But if a targeting still occurs for one, and counts as an action... wouldn;t the destruction effect also count as a resolution of a created delayed action?
  A: What rulings are you talking about?
  Mod nudge: When referring to old rulings, please include relevant links to those rulings. We need context to have a hope of answering things correctly. Thanks! Zen Faulkes, "Fusota and Shikibu confusion?", 26 Sep 2009
• Q: If my personality with Eternal Armor is not targeted, but somebody else is, can I redirect the action to the one with the armor, for example with Imperial Command or Deflection?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Eternal Armor questions", 25 Sep 2009
• Q: If the personality with the armor is targeted first, can I wait for him to discard, and then play Imperial Command or Deflection?
  A: No. They are both "would target," and Eternal Armor is triggered "after" targeting. It would always go last. Zen Faulkes, "Eternal Armor questions", 25 Sep 2009
• Q: *Can I play Deflection to redirect the Enough Talk! to duel a different one of my personalities? (I assume no since Enough Talk! doesn't target)
  *Can I play Enough Talk! to react to an opponent playing Deflection? (I also assume no since Deflection doesn't have any personalities performing it).
  A: You assume correctly in both cases. The answer to both questions is "no". Brook Cunningham, "Deflection vs Enough Talk!", 12 Sep 2009