Imperial Summons

Legend of the Five Rings card from Samurai Edition, Ambition's Debt, Lotus Edition, Ivory Edition, Promotional–Twenty Festivals, Glory of the Empire, Promotional–Samurai, Promotional–Ivory

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Favor Political Open: Discard the Imperial Favor to bow a target Personality.
Political Open: Bow your target unbowed Stronghold to bow a target Personality.

Focus Value

1

Legality

A Brother's Destiny (Ivory Edition), A Brother's Destiny (Twenty Festivals), Age of Enlightenment (Lotus), Hidden Emperor (Jade), Race for the Throne (Samurai), War of the Seals (Onyx Edition)

MRP

Now has two abilities, one "Favor" one not.

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Imperial Summons 0G 1FV Political Open: Bow your Stronghold or discard the Imperial Favor: Bow a target Personality." [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 140

Rules Q&A

• Q: What happened with Imperial summons?
  Oracle has it MRP'd to only have one favor action, as does the Promo Alt-Art version. I found an old topic that said this was a mistake and it's added to my confusion.
  A: Please note that the MRP of Imperial Summons is now in effect. Bowing your stronghold to play Imperial Summons no longer qualifies as a Favor action for Ring of Air. Alex Jones, "Imperial Summons - Alderac Entertainment Group", 7 Sep 2015
• Q: In this ruling: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=114881&p=1486194&hilit=traditionalist&sid=a42731923fbbf8086ff9aa93443fe60e#p1486194 , Gilador says that "It [Traditionalist ] has no effect on actions for which only your Personalities are legal targets"
  But here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=109365&p=1441343&hilit=traditionalist&sid=a42731923fbbf8086ff9aa93443fe60e#p1441343 Palmer says that Traditionalist allows you to bow other players' courtiers (with Shibata Sensei) to meet the requirement of playing Imperial Summons.
  Which is correct?
  A: The earlier ruling has been reversed. Alex Jones, "Traditionalist clarification?", 31 Aug 2015
• Q: I was looking at tools for an Enlightenment deck when I noticed Imperial Summons has new text in the Oracle. Bowing the Stronghold to pay for the cost of Imperial Summons does not count toward the Ring of Air? When did this change occur and when does it take effect? Is this future templating for Onyx Edition rules changes?
  Imperial Summons Favor Political Open: Discard the Imperial Favor to bow a target Personality. Political Open: Bow your target unbowed Stronghold to bow a target Personality.
  Ring of Air Play after you resolve two or more Favor actions in one turn. You may discard this Ring from your hand to use its ability without cost.
  A: Good catch, and our apologies. That's a mistake in Oracle and it's being corrected. Bowing your stronghold to play Imperial Summons does still qualify as a Favor action for Ring of Air.
  PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS RULING IS NOW OBSOLETE DUE TO THE MRP OF IMPERIAL SUMMONS BEING RELEASED. Jon Palmer, "Imperial Summons - Alderac Entertainment Group", 5 Mar 2015
• Q: I'm not following the reasoning here. Traditionalist prevents a Personality from being targeted if there is another legal target, but Shibata Sensei lets you replace discarding the Imperial Favor with bowing one of "your target Courtiers". How can Traditionalist force your opponent's Courtiers to bow as an effect of Shibata Sensei? If you have no other unbowed Courtiers, no Imperial Favor, and in the case of Imperial Summons, no unbowed Stronghold, doesn't the Favor action just fail from Good Faith?
  A: You're looking at the wrong part of Traditionalist. The key is "Your Favor actions may target your Personalities as well as other players'".
  At its most straightforward, this allows you to use the Rulebook Favor Battle action to send home your own guys. However, it also means that in a situation where you're REQUIRED to target your own Personality with a Favor action, you can instead target your opponent's Personality.
  Shibata Sensei, absent Traditionalist, means that a card like Imperial Summons effectively reads "Favor Political Open: Bow your Stronghold or discard the Imperial Favor or bow your target unbowed Courtier to bow a target Personality." Traditionalist then allows you to modify "your target unbowed Courtier" to "any player's unbowed Courtier" due to its trait.
  As for the Good Faith Rule, it says "Favor actions require that their player control the Imperial Favor, or have an alternate effect, substitute, or waiver (“need not”) for discarding the Favor." If your combination of effects allows you to bow another player's Courtier, that satisfies Good Faith. Jon Palmer, "Shibata Sensei + Traditionalist", 26 Sep 2014
• Q: I figured that because Severed From the Emperor interrupt triggers off of a favor action, it should meet the requirements of Ring of Air.
  A: No, sorry. Severed From the Emperor's granted ability is not "Favor" itself (doesn't have the "Favor" keyword preceding its action designator), so it does not count for the Ring of Air's play requirements. Brook Cunningham, "Ring of Air + Severed From The Emperor + Imperial Summons", 22 Mar 2014
• Q: 2) My opponent attempts to play Imperial Summons against me when I have Severed From the Emperor in play. He however bows his stronghold to do this (therefore not using the Favor). I attempt to react with Severed From the Emperor.
  Q3) If a substitute action is taken that is equivalent to discarding the favor, can Severed from the Emperor be used?
  A: Well, let's start by saying that Severed From the Emperor's granted ability can Interrupt any action, if you want to lose 5 Honor for the fun of it. Its negation effect, will then just fail, unless the action you Interrupt is Favor and it then targets your cards.
  That said, yes, Severed CAN negate Summons no matter how the other player chooses to the fulfill the conditions of the effect. All Severed cares about that the action has the "Favor" keyword and that it then targets your card(s); after that, boom, negated. Brook Cunningham, "Ring of Air + Severed From The Emperor + Imperial Summons", 22 Mar 2014
• Q: Favor actions require that you control the Imperial Favor, or have an alternate effect, substitute, or waiver (“need not”) for discarding the Favor.
  A: Imperial Summons itself has the inherent substitution of bowing your Stronghold.
  Because of this, Imperrial Summons is legal to announce if any of the following is true: A) You control the Imperial Favor. B) Your Stronghold is unbowed. C) You control and have available to use another effect that would substitute itself for discarding the Favor (An Ivory templated version of Kyuden Otomo or Doji Kurohito XP3, for instance). Ben Higgins, "Follow up to Imperial Summons", 14 Mar 2014
• Q: Regarding this post, I am unclear as to what happens in the following situation:
  I control the imperial favour and my stronghold is bowed.
  I announce the action on Imperial Summons (controlling the imperial favour satisfies the good faith rule): Favor Political Open: Bow your Stronghold or discard the Imperial Favor to bow a target Personality.
  Can I choose to bow my stronghold as an effect? It can't bow (as it is already bowed), so the personality I targeted won't bow either, but is the choice and its (failed) effects legal? If not, why not?
  A: As long as you can fulfill the ability to announce the Action by satisfying the Good Faith Rule (which in your example, you have), you can indeed choose to use an alternate Favor requirement.
  If that alternate requirement fails, the effect will fail as well. Ben Higgins, "Re: Imperial Summons", 14 Mar 2014
• Q: So with all of this new "everything is an effect" wording, I'm confused.
  On my turn, I do not control the Imperial Favor. The player ability: "Favor Political Limited: Discard the Imperial Favor and a card to draw a card." does not have any costs or required targeting. So, can I announce it even though I don't have the favor, and not discard a card or draw?
  On my next action (still do not control the favor) could I play Imperial Summons "Favor Political Open: Bow your Stronghold or discard the Imperial Favor to bow a target Personality." choosing to discard the Imperial Favor, but failing to and thus failing to bow anyone, and play the Ring of Air?
  [Ring of air text: Play after you resolve two or more Favor actions in one turn.]
  A: The Good Faith Rule for IvE will include the fact that in order to take a Favor action, you must either control the Favor or have another way of paying the cost of the discard of the Favor. So you cannot have Favor actions "Fail" to play the Ring of Air. Jon Palmer, "Ring of Air", 5 Mar 2014
• Q: Is "discarding the Imperial Favor" still a base cost of Imperial Summons (thus qualifying it for the reaction granted by Severed From the Emperor) if the player of Imperial Summons chooses to bow his stronghold?
  Imperial Summons: Political Open: Bow your Stronghold or discard the Imperial Favor: Bow a target Personality.
  Severed From The Emperor's granted ability: Reaction: Any number of times per turn, after an action with a base cost of discarding the Favor targets one of your cards: Lose 5 Honor. Negate the action's effects.
  A: Yes. It is a base cost of the card and that doesn't change just because you have multiple costs to pay or cost options to choose from. Martin Lund, "Severed from the Emperor vs Imperial Summons", 3 Mar 2008
• Q: [20f]
  I feel like I'm going crazy trying to find this question that I know has been asked and answered in here
  Can you "over pay" a 0gc (no gold cost listed) strategy?
  (For example: can I announce [imperial summons], and "pay 2 gold using [temple fortress]" to gain honor?) (In addition, for this example, does that make 2g float for the phase?)
  A: No. Sorry, I'm not by the CR currently to cite that, but I'm quite sure you can't.
  I believe it came up in here most recently asking about creating a copy of a card with an Invest trait, and because you don't pay for the copy, there is no trigger/step in which you even have any option to pay, which is what causes Invest to trigger. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 28 Mar 2026