Ikoma Yasuko

Legend of the Five Rings card from Samurai Edition, Enemy of My Enemy

Card Type

Personality

Force

2

Chi

3

Honor Requirement

0

Gold Cost

5

Personal Honor

1

Clan

Lion

Keywords

Experienced Shosuro Yasuko, Unique, Courtier, Lion Clan

Card Text

Home Battle: Target a Personality not at the current battlefield. Move him there. If you do not control him, straighten him.
Political Reaction: Before another Lion Clan Personality is destroyed, destroy Yasuko to negate the Personality's destruction.

Legality

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

Deck

Dynasty

Story

2002 Bonds of Fate - Bryan Reese

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, “Ikoma Yasuko 2F/3C 0HR 5G 1PH Lion Clan • Courtier • Experienced Shosuro Yasuko • Unique. Battle: Even if Yasuko is home: Target a Personality not at the current battlefield. Move him there. If you do not control him, straighten him. Political Reaction: Before another Lion Clan Personality is destroyed, destroy Yasuko: Negate the Personality’s destruction.” [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 139

Rules Q&A

• Q: Regarding this topic:
  Cut Them Off reacts after the whole action resolves, so it would be after the straightening of the unit because of Ikoma Yasuko's ability, right?
  A: Cut Them Off: Reaction: After an action resolves that moved any units to a battlefield, target one of your Personalities there: Bow one target unit that moved; if your Personality is not Cavalry, the target unit’s Personality must have lower Chi than yours.
  Yasuko's Action resolves completely, including straightening the unit, before Cut Them Off is played. Alex Jones, "Cut them off and Ikoma Yasuko", 18 Nov 2008
• Q: I control Ikoma Yasuko at home, and a cavalry personality at the current battlefield. If I use Yasuko's ability to "hook" one of my opponent's personalities to the current battlefield, can I play Cut them Off AFTER Yasuko's ability straightens him, or will I have to play it right after the personality moves, and therefore it will straighten anyways?
  A: The only option with playing Reactions is whether to play it or not -- you do not get to pick times that are convenient.
  Cut Them Off comes after the straightening effect of Ikoma Yasuko, because it is played after the action resolves, not after the individual effect (Fixed -- see also below). Zen Faulkes, "Cut them off and Ikoma Yasuko", 17 Nov 2008
• Q: Ikoma Yasuko Political Reaction: Before another Lion Clan Personality is destroyed, destroy Yasuko: Negate the Personality's destruction.
  If Yasuko is in an army with another personality, and her army loses the battle, can she use her ability to negate the destruction of the other personality from resolution?
  A: Yes, she can use her ability before she would be destroyed herself.
  (Note: since neither Yasuko nor the protected personality are destroyed by battle resolution, your opponent will gain no honour for destroying them.) Alex Jones, "Ikoma Yasuko and Battle Resolution", 1 May 2008
• Q: If my opponent has a dead Ikoma Yasuko experienced in the discard pile, when he tries to copy the ability from Yasuko experienced onto another personality, can I react with Share the Blame?
  A: Yes. The Courtier was targeted. http://rules.l5r.com/Glossary_X-Z: "When “your” and other possessive forms such as “the player’s” or “his” refer to a card, this means “controlled by that player" if the card is in play, or "owned by that player" if the card is not in play." Zen Faulkes, "Share the Blame with Hall of the Ancestors", 17 Mar 2008
• Q: If my opponent has a dead Ikoma Yasuko experienced in the discard pile:
  Lion Clan • Courtier • Experienced Shosuro Yasuko • Unique Battle: Even if Yasuko is home: Target a Personality not at the current battlefield. Move him there. If you do not control him, straighten him. Political Reaction: Before another Lion Clan Personality is destroyed, destroy Yasuko: Negate the Personality's destruction.
  When he tries to copy the ability from Yasuko experienced onto another personality, can I react with Share the Blame?
  Hall of Ancestors Dead Personalities you own can not be removed from the game. Battle/Open: One of your target Personalities copies an ability or keyword from a target dead Lion Clan Personality you own (until the turn ends).
  Share the Blame Political Reaction: After another player targets a Courtier with an action, dishonor one of your Courtiers: Dishonor the Courtier the other player targeted. You, then the other player, each lose 3 Honor.
  Thanks,
  -Steve
  A: Yes, when a Hall of the Ancestors player targets his dead Ikoma Yasuko, you have a valid trigger for playing Share the Blame and can do so as long as you have one of your own Coutiers to pay the cost.
  Please note, though, Share the Blame will not dishonor the dead Yasuko, as I found ruled here, via the Search feature (I'm truly happy to help, but your continued aversion to said feature does perplex). Brook Cunningham, "Share the Blame with Hall of the Ancestors", 17 Mar 2008
• Q: I read it but I still can't believe it
  Yasuko's first ability:
  Battle: Even if Yasuko is home: Target a Personality not at the current battlefield. Move him there. If you do not control him, straighten him.
  Supposing Yasuko is home, can I declare an attack, not assign anything and then move one of my units to a battlefield where there are no defending units using the mentioned action?
  A: That is what the card text says. Chris Fuchs, "Ikoma Yasuko", 18 Oct 2007
• Q: Effects that move, assign, or create units controlled by another player on a side at a battlefield can establish the other player's allying status, keeping in mind that he or she must currently invited to ally by the appropriate leader for those effects to work in the first place. [ADDED Jul 23 07]
  A: You can see the whole run-down on Allying in the Comprehensive Rules.
  There is nothing that requires an invited player to be the one who initiates a move-in effect that establishes him as an ally. Ikoma Yasuko can certainly force the issue, and whoever used her ability gets to decide exactly which army at the Battlefield the moved unit gets put into. Martin Lund, "Ikoma Yasuko experienced", 9 Oct 2007
• Q: Can I use Ikoma Yasuko's battle action to move one of Player X's units from Province B to Province A during the battle at Province B?
  A: I wouldn't think so, based on the text you just provided. I'll highlight the relevant portion in Blue Text. Martin Lund, "Ikoma Yasuko and Actions at Other Battlefields", 19 Jul 2007
• Q: Ikoma Yasuko Battle: Even if Yasuko is home: Target a Personality not at the current battlefield. Move him there. If you do not control him, straighten him.
  A: By definition, a unit in Province B during the battle at Province B can't qualify as "a Personality not at the current battlefield." Martin Lund, "Ikoma Yasuko and Actions at Other Battlefields", 19 Jul 2007
• Q: Can I use Ikoma Yasuko's battle action to move one of my units from Province A to Province B during the battle at Province B?
  A: Only if Ikoma Yasuko is the unit you target and move. While moving a unit into the Current Battlefield (Province B's battlefield) will get you around the Rule of Presence, the Rule of Location is a greater obstacle. Martin Lund, "Ikoma Yasuko and Actions at Other Battlefields", 19 Jul 2007
• Q: EXCEPTION: A Battle Action can target or be taken by a card in a unit at another location if its costs or effects say they move the unit to the current battlefield. Choices within the action must then be taken, if possible, such that they do move the unit there.
  A: So she can use her ability if and only if they move her card to the current battlefield - and you have to make your targeting decision to target her to make the play legal.
  Now, Yasuko's ability does say, "Even if Yasuko is home," but you said you assigned her to Province A. If you'd left her at home you'd indeed be able to use her to move any one of your units in Province A to the Current Battlefield at Province B. Martin Lund, "Ikoma Yasuko and Actions at Other Battlefields", 19 Jul 2007