Imperial Command

Legend of the Five Rings card from Promotional–Samurai

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Imperial, Political

Card Text

Reaction: After a target card is destroyed: Remove it from the game.
Reaction: When an action would target your Unique Personality, pay 2 Gold: The action targets another of your Personalities instead, if legal.

Focus Value

4

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial), Race for the Throne (Samurai)

Deck

Fate

Notes

Released in the Kotei 2009 pack

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: (I)f Masaya is put into play using his Open ability, then destroyed, then removed from the game (Imperial Command), would he be put back in the top of his owner's deck?
  A: No.
  Currently (as in, this might be tweaked as we work on the clarification), something that is out of play, but in game, can still be affected by effect, but something that is out of play and out of the game generally can't be. The exceptions would be text that specifically said, "This can do this to a card removed from the game" or something similar. Zen Faulkes, "masaya (put on top of deck) and removal from the game", 3 Dec 2011
• Q: I have a Unique personality in play (Hida Bob) and another personality wearing an Armor of the Heavens (Kakita Joe). The opponent targets Hida bob, and I play Imperial Command to redirect his action to Kakita Joe. Can I gain 2 honor with the armor (as it says when the other [player] targets).
  A: (Change made in brackets, to what I believe was a typo in your question)
  Yes, you may react with Armor of the Heavens. The other player is still considered to be doing the targeting, even though you changed his choice.
  Targeting: "A "change to targeting" is anything that changes the target. Choosing a target is different from, and comes before, the actual targeting. Specifically, if an effect interferes with an action so that another player chooses one of the action’s final targets, the player who originally would have chosen the targeting is still the one who targets the final target." Brook Cunningham, "Armor of the Heavens and Imperial Command", 22 May 2010
• Q: (I)n every other game I've played once an action is allowed to resolve...all effects of that resolution have to complete before anything else (reactions) can be done.
  A: Welcome to L5R, the game that's not every other game. Zen Faulkes, "Imperial Command vs. Wanyudo and resolution", 30 Apr 2010
• Q: Some redirecting cards:
  Chugo Seido Reaction: When another player's action would target one of your personalities, destroy this card: The action instead targets one of your Samurai of your choice at the same location, if legal.
  Imperial Command Reaction: When an action would target your Unique Personality, pay 2 Gold: The action targets another of your Personalities instead, if legal.
  a) One of my personalities is being targeted by a ranged attack. Can I redirect it to another personality who has a follower, or is blocked by the "if legal"? If it can be redirected, what happens? b) One of my personalities is being targeted by ruthless advance. I redirect it to a much expensive unit, and my opponent doesn't have enough gold to pay for the new target. What happens?
  Extra question: c) Can Bayushi Hirose target a bowed dishonored personality opposing him, just to make his controller lose 2 honor?
  Thank you!
  A: A) Targets must be legal, you cannot change targeting of a ranged attack to a personality with a follower unless the ranged attack could target a personality with followers (e.g. Strategic Strike) B) See the FAQ. Generally your opponent will choose to discard the card without effect, rather than bowing out all his gold for no effect. C) Yes, he can. Remember, effects can fail. Dan Jacobson, "Redirection and Targeting and Paying costs", 21 Apr 2010
• 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: Is Imperial Command a performing action? (by the personality?)
  A: http://rules.l5r.com/CE_FAQ#What_performs_an_action.3F
  First action yes if your Personality, second action no. (Fixed.) Zen Faulkes, "Imperial Command", 6 Sep 2009
• Q: My opponent destroys Pekkle no Oni, for example, with a Hired Killer. Can I react with Imperial Command for avoid the honor loss?
  A: No. Pekkle No Oni's trait will kick in before the Reaction can be played. Traits and Reactions are E and F on this list, respectively: http://rules.l5r.com/Timing#Resolving_timing_conflicts Zen Faulkes, "Pekkle no oni + Imperial Command", 18 Mar 2009
• Q: And the second question is about interaction between this two cards. When i use a martyr against a crab personality that have killed my personality he used an Imperial command to redirect it to Jinn-Kuen, and payed 2 gold to negate the action effects, is that legal right?
  A: Not enough information. How did the first Crab "kill" your Personality? Was it via Battle Resolution where Jinn-Kuen was also present in the army? If "no", then Jinn-Kuen is not a legal target to redirect Martyr to. If "yes", was the first Crab Unique? If "no", then Imperial Command cannot be played at all.
  (Replying to a player: "was a duel from benjiro") Then, even though Martyr targets, it can only target Benjiro, because only Benjiro killed your Personality. Jinn-Kuen is not a legal target for redirection. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 14 Oct 2026