Isawa Fosuta

Legend of the Five Rings card from Path of the Destroyer

Card Type

Personality

Force

2

Chi

5

Honor Requirement

-

Gold Cost

7

Personal Honor

0

Clan

Spider

Keywords

Unique, Experienced, Inquisitor, Onyx Champion, Shadowlands, Shugenja, Spider Clan

Card Text

After Fosuta enters play: Lose 8 Honor.
Maho Open: Bow Fosuta: Lose 6 Honor. While Fosuta remains bowed, you may negate his straightening and, at the start of each turn, you may target a Personality and give him a -1F/-1C Curse token. After the next time this game Fosuta straightens or leaves play, destroy all Curse tokens.

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial)

Deck

Dynasty

Story

2008 Onyx Championships - Benjamin Pattou

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: I wanted to request a clarification based on this ruling to make sure I am correct because I think it will come up eventually: viewtopic.php?p=1344008#p1344008
  Is it actually possibly to save a personality from Chi Death with Feign Death if that personality has 2C or higher?
  So take a Personality with 2C. You play Suck the Marrow, its action resolves (gives the -1F/-1C) and sets up a continuous (or is it delayed?) effect to give -1F/-1C. So to my understanding, this is similar to Isawa Fosuta - exp ability in CE.
  It was ruled in CE (viewtopic.php?p=1153810#p1153810) that you could not react with Udo to a personalities Chi death destruction from Fosuta because the action generally had resolved several turns earlier.
  Does the same apply to FD for a personality with 2C or higher? FD looks for the resolution of an action that destroyed the personality, but for a 2C or higher doesn't the resolution of Suck the Marrow happen on a previous turn and is therefore no longer a valid trigger for FD?
  Thank you
  A: Unless the Personality's Chi is 1 when Suck the Marrow is played (reducing them to 0 as part of its resolution), Feign Death will not be able to be played in reaction to destruction from Suck the Marrow. If another effect reduces the Personality to 0 later (say, a 4C Personality with 3 Suck the Marrow tokens is hit with Frozen in Place), you will be able to Feign Death them then, which will remove all of the tokens but not the ongoing effect of Suck the Marrow. Jon Palmer, "Re: Suck the Marrow and Feign Death", 8 Mar 2013
• Q: If I use Last Step Castle "open" action to bow Isawa Fosuta and raise my provinces strenghts. Do I lose the 6 honor for bowing Fosuta and can I start givening curse tokens starting on the next turn. Or do I have to bow Fosuta and us his open action to start using his cure tokens?
  A: The latter.
  You can not take two actions at the same time, nor pay for both their costs (in this case, bowing Fosuta) with one incidence of bowing.
  Also, thank you for using complete card titles in your question, but please also include Experience levels for cards when posting in the Rules Question forum. Brook Cunningham, "Last Step Castle + Isawa Fosuta", 30 Jan 2011
• Q: if my opponent is running Isawa Fosuta and uses his action and i react with Distractions in court, does this reduce all honour losses by 5 until Fosuta straghtens?
  A: No.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Abilities_and_a ... ction_ends: "An action ends after its last effect is applied, if that effect is not a delayed effect. If an action's last effect is delayed, then the action ends instead after that effect is activated."
  I suppose the first part could be clarified to say, "...after its last effect is first applied." The key point is that actions don't end when the very last effect they generate is over; they end before that. Zen Faulkes, "Distractions in Court and Isawa Fosuta", 5 Oct 2010
• Q: If Isawa Fosuto and a p'an ku are in play. and panku decides to copy fosuto's ablitity and use it. will p'anku add tokens on the beginning of the next turn and turns after that?
  A: Yes.
  The duration of the ability's effect is while P'an Ku remains bowed (because copied abilities, per the rules, refer to the card they are copied onto), so as long as P'an Ku remains bowed, the effect will continue. Brook Cunningham, "Isawa Fosuta + copying ability", 1 Sep 2010
• Q: Im friends and I where taking about Isawa Maho open action.
  The question is can Isawa target defrent personality at the start of each turn.
  thanx
  Fu
  A: Yes.
  While Fosuta remains bowed, the effect happens at the start of each turn, and the player who took Fosuta's action may target any Personality he wishes each time. Brook Cunningham, "Isawa Fosuta Exp.", 20 May 2010
• Q: I know you have ruled on this already but the CE15 rulebook makes me wonder if things have changed.
  If Isawa Fosuta xp (unbowed) has Enticement played on him and is than bowed for his ability can the owner of the card straighten him?
  The CE15 rulebook says that the owner of someone with the "may remained bowed" text is the controller of it. Is this rule from the CE15 rulebook for a trait or does it apply to actions as well?
  A: It's for a trait, not an action.
  You'll note, Fosuta's action doesn't even say "may remain bowed", it says you may negate his straightening.
  So, the CE15 Rulebook definition definitely does not apply. Brook Cunningham, "Fosuta vs. CE15 rulebook", 11 May 2010
• Q: Furumaro is targeted by Drinking One's Life (or Isawa Fosuta) and receives his 4th +1F/-1C token. Will his ability to negate his own destruction keep him alive until the end of the turn(?)
  A: Yes. The wording in those two cases are parallel. Zen Faulkes, "Furumaro vs Drinking One's Life", 19 Apr 2010
• Q: For some reason I was unable to follow up on this with a reply in the same topic.
  A: That reason is because, as mentioned in the "Please read" post at the top, the board is deliberately set up so only the Rules Junta members can reply. This prevents confusion as to whether answers are from Rules Team members or not.
  We looked into whether the forum software would allow the original poster to reply to his or her own post, which seemed a possible compromise. Unfortunately, this is not currently possible. Sorry. The merged threads are all done manually by one of the Rules Team. Zen Faulkes, "Isawa Fosuta XP - clarification", 24 Mar 2010
• Q: I am just wanting to clarify that my thinking is correct:
  I understand that is I have Isawa Fosuta in play, I bow him to use his action, then my opponent takes control of him somehow, that I can negate his straightening (Ruled here).
  Does this also mean that I can also continue to have Isawa Fosuta give out tokens each turn, even if he is no longer under my control? I would believe that I could, especially since effect giving tokens is part of the same effect that allows you to negate straightening ("and, at the start of each turn,").
  Maho Open: Bow Fosuta: Lose 6 Honor. While Fosuta remains bowed, you may negate his straightening and, at the start of each turn, you may target a Personality and give him a -1F/-1C Curse token. After the next time this game Fosuta straightens or leaves play, destroy all Curse tokens.
  A: Apologies for the delayed reply.
  You may continue to give out tokens, even if you no longer control him.
  I.e. The player that took Isawa Fosuta xp's action is the player that can choose to negate straightening and the player who gives out the -1F/-1C Curse tokens. Dan Jacobson, "Isawa Fosuta XP - clarification", 16 Mar 2010
• Q: I am just wanting to clarify that my thinking is correct:
  I understand that is I have Isawa Fosuta in play, I bow him to use his action, then my opponent takes control of him somehow, that I can negate his straightening (Ruled here).
  Does this also mean that I can also continue to have Isawa Fosuta give out tokens each turn, even if he is no longer under my control? I would believe that I could, especially since effect giving tokens is part of the same effect that allows you to negate straightening ("and, at the start of each turn,").
  Maho Open: Bow Fosuta: Lose 6 Honor. While Fosuta remains bowed, you may negate his straightening and, at the start of each turn, you may target a Personality and give him a -1F/-1C Curse token. After the next time this game Fosuta straightens or leaves play, destroy all Curse tokens.
  A: Currently clearing up specifics in Rules Junta-land now. Will return with results. Dan Jacobson, "Isawa Fosuta XP - clarification", 12 Feb 2010
• Q: Hello!
  According to various sources (examples below), if Isawa Fosuta's ability is used by one player, then this personality changes controller, still the first player decides what is going with Fosuta's ability. In short.
  May I ask for some rules link on which this ruling is based? I cannot find anything in comprehend rules that states that control could extend to lingering card actions even after control change. Rules in comprehensive rulings treat (Personality) card as final step in controlling, there's nothing about possible exceptions. An they are very precise about YOU word. Rules about delaying effects? Even some of O-Rulu Team (viewtopic.php?f=59&t=80638&p=1054505), while caught unprepared, cited the same rules supporting cause 'current controler controls whole Fosuta'.
  Current ruling is based on interpretation : In the effect "While Fosuta remains bowed, you may negate his straightening" (Fosuta's text), 'you' is the player who controlled Fosuta when this effect began. interpretation. Where in rules we can find something that can support that? Thanks!
  Isawa Fosuta ruling example : viewtopic.php?f=59&t=79202&p=1037685
  A: Under discussion.
  However, although I can't find anything in the current Comprehensive Rules, the ruling on Isawa Fosuta has long precedent, for example His Most Favored: The original player of this card loses the honor when the targeted Personality is destroyed. This may not be the controller of the Personality at that time. [RD, 22 September 1996] Alex Jones, "YOU, but not YOU", 12 Feb 2010
• Q: If I (phoenix player) bows Fosuta with Katashi's ability, can Fosuta's controller (at the beginning of his or her turn) negate his straightening and place a curse token? Or, is the bowing of Fosuta a requirement to initiate the creation of curse tokens?
  A: The latter. Bowing is a cost, because it's written between the colons. Zen Faulkes, "Asako Katashi and Isawa Fosuta (experienced)", 4 Feb 2010
• Q: The search function would be much more helpful if it one could select certain sub-forums to only search in.
  A: I have wonderful news for you:
  It can. (Cue fanfare.)
  Click on "Advanced search" underneath the main search box in the upper right, or click: http://www.alderac.com/forum/search.php
  The first option is after the keywords is: Zen Faulkes, "Asako Katashi and Isawa Fosuta (experienced)", 4 Feb 2010
• Q: Search in forums: Select the forum or forums you wish to search in. Subforums are searched automatically if you do not disable “search subforums“ below.
  A: "L5R CCG Rules questions" is down near the bottom, but it is in there. Zen Faulkes, "Asako Katashi and Isawa Fosuta (experienced)", 4 Feb 2010
• Q: EXCEPTION 2: A Personality’s destruction for having 0 Chi (Chi death rule) comes from the cost or effect that last gave the Personality a Chi penalty, or from the rulebook if there was no such effect.
  A: Giving out tokens that have a -1C value is the same as giving the personality -1C directly in terms of the source. Dan Jacobson, "The Last One + Isawa Fosuta XP", 27 Jan 2010
• Q: According to the ruling here, Strength of the Bamboo can negate chi death by Isawa Fosuta XP.
  Relevant card text Strength of the Bamboo: Reaction: After an action targets your Hero Personality: Negate his destruction from the action's effects. Give him +1F.
  Isawa Fosuta XP: Maho Open: Bow Fosuta: Lose 6 Honor. While Fosuta remains bowed, you may negate his straightening and, at the start of each turn, you may target a Personality and give him a -1F/-1C Curse token. After the next time this game Fosuta straightens or leaves play, destroy all Curse tokens.
  Strength reacts to an action. Fosuta's ability has already resolved, making his doling out curse tokens an effect not an action, so shouldn't the opportunity window to react have already passed?
  A: You're confusing the triggers "before targets are chosen" and "after an action targets a XXX". The first is a trigger that occurs at a particular stage in the process of taking an action, namely Step B, Required Targeting; it doesn't care what is to be targeted or even if any targets are chosen at all. The second is a trigger that can occur at any time targeting occurs for an action: this can be during the Required Targeting step, during the Action Resolution step, or at any later time when an ongoing or delayed effect of an action requires a target to be chosen when that effect is applied.
  See also this post. Alex Jones, "Strength of the Bamboo + Isawa Fosuta", 27 Jan 2010
• Q: Now with the comprehensive rules change, can Strength of the Bamboo react to Isawa Fosuta's chi death effect (and therefore any chi death effect that targets a hero) and delay the destruction until the end of the turn?
  A: Chi Death from tokens is still coming from the source that created that token.
  Yes. Dan Jacobson, "Strength of the Bamboo + Isawa Fosuta", 26 Jan 2010
• Q: Does the destroy all curse tokens straightening clause just refer to ones from his own card or all in play period?
  A: The special wording rules (http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Special_wording_rules) say nothing about "all" meaning "all a card made," so normal English applies. Every Curse token on the table must go! Zen Faulkes, "Isawa Fosuta xp and "all curse tokens"", 17 Jan 2010
• Q: Hello,
  There are 2 different replies for the same question about Isawa Fosuta xp and straightening:
  http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=79202&p=1037685&hilit=+fosuta#p1037685 http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=80638
  So which is the good one?
  Thank you.
  A: Loïc's. Ignore what I said above. Zen Faulkes, "Isawa Fosuta XP and "you"", 21 Dec 2009
• Q: (Sorry for the pun, I had to make it)
  Maho Open: Bow Fosuta: Lose 6 Honor. While Fosuta remains bowed, you may negate his straightening and, at the start of each turn, you may target a Personality and give him a -1F/-1C Curse token. After the next time this game Fosuta straightens or leaves play, destroy all Curse tokens.
  The bolded part is the concern here, particularly the meaning of "you". Should Fosuta XP change controller, who would be able to decide whether Fosuta negates the straightening or not? His current controller or the player who originally took the Open action? The "you" in the wording seems to indicate that a change of controller wouldn't work (unlike older cards with "X may remain bowed" wordings).
  Thank you in advance.
  A: [Oops! See last post!]
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Physically_mark ... rd_control: "A card’s text (such as, “Lose 3 Honor” or “You may not take Political actions”) is to be read from the perspective of its controller while the card is in play."
  The new controller would gets to decide if Fosuta straightens or not. Zen Faulkes, "Isawa Fosuta XP and "you"", 20 Dec 2009
• Q: Can I redirect with Kosoku and if not then why not?
  A: Yes you may, for the reason you give.
  The effect and targeting of Fosuta's action may be delayed, but it's still that action doing it, as per Kosaku's text. Brook Cunningham, "Shiba Kosoku vs. Isawa Fosuta -Exp", 6 Dec 2009
• Q: Isawa Fosuta Exp.: IF my card says Straighten or bow target personality, Could he cancel it?
  A: "Cancelling" does not exist any more. Zen Faulkes, "A few questions and Rules and Opinions", 17 Sep 2009
• Q: Does someone's chi being reduced to zero by Fosuta's action trigger Udo's reaction? Simple Yes/No please.
  I have no idea what this means: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=78880&p=1035020&hilit=fosuta#p1035020
  A: Where was it said Path of the Destroyer questions are being answered? Not trying to be snarky, but would like to know. I still see the announcement at the top saying, "Please hold your questions." Zen Faulkes, "Isawa Fosuta Experienced + Udo", 8 Sep 2009