Footsteps of Madness
Legend of the Five Rings card from Emperor Edition, Ambition's Debt
Open in Oracle of the Void
- Card Type
- Strategy
- Gold Cost
- *
- Card Text
- Reaction: Before the resolution of an action from a Stronghold, pay Gold equal to the Stronghold's base Gold Production: Negate the action's effects.
- Focus Value
- 2
- Legality
- Age of Conquest (Emperor), Hidden Emperor (Jade)
- Deck
- Fate
Printings
Emperor Edition
- Rarity
- Rare
- Flavor Text
- "Unlike some other clans, we keep a close watch on our holdings in the new lands, to prevent embarrassing incidents from occurring." - Yasuki Jinn-Kuen
- Artist
- Thomas Denmark
- Card Number
- 300
- Publisher
- Alderac Entertainment Group
Ambition's Debt
- Rarity
- Rare
- Flavor Text
- For a thousand years, the Hantei who did not ascend to the throne stepped aside, renouncing their name to clear the line of the true Emperor. Yet there is one who made no such sacrifice....
- Artist
- Ben Peck
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
Rules Q&A
- Q: Because Footsteps of Madness says so. Cards can override rules.
So can Flee the Darkness, then. Tell me why *that* one doesn't?
Why can't Flee break the rules - cancels the action AND negates it effects? Isn't that what the card actually says?
A: I see your confusion.
The rulebook, under "Canceling Actions and Negating Effects", says that a canceled action is not considered to have been used, but one whose effect is negated still is. This looks like a paradox.
One possible way to resolve this is to read the second rule not as saying that negating sets the action's state to "used", but that it DOESN'T RE-set it to "unused". It's still the opposite of what canceling does, only it's not a paradox now.
If it truly is a paradox, nothing will resolve it except Word from On High...which you've already gotten. Coincidentally, it just happens to be exactly the same as the last paragraph: negating an effect, or even all effects, of an action has no effect on the action's "used" status. Only canceling does. That's why there's no paradox, and that's why Flee the Darkness doesn't break the rules. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 17 January 2001", 19 Jan 2001 - Q: So let me ask you, then, Jeff -
What is the difference between this, and Footsteps of Madness?
after all, if an Action is canceled (and thus "never happened"), how can it be considered to have been used?
A: Because Footsteps of Madness says so. Cards can override rules. Jeff Alexander, "Rules for 15 January 2001", 18 Jan 2001 - Q: Can you negate the action from Journey's End Keep with Footsteps of Madness?
A: Nope.
The "will not be negated" portion is not an effect itself, but rather modifies the effect it succeeds. Brook Cunningham, "Footsteps of Madness vs Journey's End Keep", 29 Mar 2012