Insurmountable Obstacle

Legend of the Five Rings card from Celestial Edition, Words and Deeds

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Terrain

Card Text

After an action moves a Personality home from this battlefield: Dishonor him.
Battle: If there are no Terrains at the current battlefield: Put this card into play there. You may take an additional Battle action.

Focus Value

1

Legality

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

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Insurmountable Obstacle 0G 1FV Terrain Battle: After each time an action moves a Personality home from this battlefield, dishonor him. You may take an additional Battle action after playing this Terrain." [MRP, Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 140

Rules Q&A

• Q: If I declare an attack, assign a unit and use one of the two legal methods for playing a Terrain "sneak-style", can I then play Sneak Attack for a total of two Battle Actions before the defender's first chance to act (one from Sneak and one from Insurmountable Obstacle's granted additional Battle action)?
  A: Well, technically, you'd get three Battle actions before the defender's first action in that scenario, counting your playing of Insurmountable Obstacle in the first place.
  But, yes, that's all quite correct:
  Upon engaging, the delayed effect of Untested Scouts' Recon action would trigger, allowing you to play Insurmountable Obstacle, which gives you another additional action immediately after it resolves, and after all that's done, we move down the A-F "timing tree" (see here) from D, delayed effects, to F, Reactions (such as your Sneak Attack). Ouch.
  Almost the same scenario if you're using Removing the Advantage. Upon engaging, you can React with that, allowing you to play Insurmountable Obstacle, which gives you another additional action immediately after it resolves, and after all that's done, your opponent can React to engaging. Assuming the poor soul passes, you can then take another Reaction to engaging (such as your Sneak Attack). Still ouch. Brook Cunningham, "Sneak Attack + Insurmountable Obstacle + Jank", 5 Jun 2008
• Q: I attack with Kaiu Shoichi, the other player defends with 4 guys. Both Removing the advantage and shoichi both trigger at the same time; "after engaging", so I chose order of resolution. So I trigger Removing to play Insurmountable Obstacle, then trigger shoichi to force the other player to move home 3 of his guys dishonoring each of them. This right?
  A: That all looks correct. Zen Faulkes, "Kaiu Shoichi+Removing the advantage+Insurmountable Obstacle", 21 May 2008
• Q: Kaiu Shoichi 3F, 3C 5/5/2 Crab Clan * Samurai * Engineer * Siege
  Reaction: After engaging, if Shoichi is in the current attacking army and it has fewer units than the opposing army: The Defender chooses units in his current army equal to the difference. Move them home.
  Removing the advantage 0 Reaction: After engaging in a battle: Negate the effects of the first Terrain action or action on a Region any other player takes during this battle. Reaction: After engaging in a battle, if you control a unit at the current battlefield: Play a Terrain card as an additional Battle action.
  Insurmountable Obstacle 0GC Terrain Battle: After each time an action moves a Personality home from this battlefield, dishonor him. You may take an additional Battle action after playing this Terrain.
  Alight my question is this: I attack with Kaiu Shoichi, the other player defends with 4 guys. Both Removing the advantage and shoichi both trigger at the same time; "after engaging", so I chose order of resolution. So I trigger Removing to play Insurmountable Obstacle, then trigger shoichi to force the other player to move home 3 of his guys dishonoring each of them.
  This right?
  A: I think these are Words and Deeds cards, so you might want to check the sticky. We're not quite ready to answer questions on these yet. Zen Faulkes, "Kaiu Shoichi+Removing the advantage+Insurmountable Obstacle", 20 May 2008