Isawa Ochiai

Legend of the Five Rings card from Samurai Edition, Promotional–Samurai

Card Type

Personality

Force

4

Chi

5

Honor Requirement

6

Gold Cost

9

Personal Honor

4

Clan

Phoenix

Keywords

Duelist, Loyal, Unique, Elemental Master, Experienced, Fire, Phoenix Clan, Shugenja

Card Text

You may ignore the cost of bowing your Fire Shugenja at Ochiai's location for Fire actions they perform.
Open: Target another player's Personality: After the first time he is assigned to attack this turn, Ochiai duels him. Bow the duel's loser and negate his straightening until after his controller's next Straighten Phase ends.

Legality

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

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, “Isawa Ochiai 4F/5C 6HR 9G 4PH Phoenix Clan • Elemental Master • Shugenja • Fire • Duelist • Experienced • Unique • Loyal Fire Shugenja at Ochiai’s location need not bow as a cost of Fire actions they perform. Open: Target another player’s Personality. After the first time he assigns to attack this turn, Ochiai challenges him. The loser bows and cannot straighten until after his controller’s next Straighten Phase.” [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 141

Rules Q&A

• Q: (I)f Isawa Ochiai xp uses her Open action, then is destroyed, can she issue her challenge from the discard pile?
  A: No. http://rules.l5r.com/Challenges_and_duels: "A challenge is an effect that can create a duel: an individual confrontation between two personalities controlled by different players." Nobody controls Ochiai, so the duel does not occur. Zen Faulkes, "Duels from beyond the Grave: Isawa Ochiai xp", 17 Jun 2008
• Q: If during my turn my opponent he uses Isawa Ochiai Exp. open ability on my Yoritomo Random. When I declare an attack and assign my personality she will make the duel from her ability that will end up bowing my Yoritomo. Assuming I had Pincers and Tail attached to my personality can I use the item battle action? Based on the "who's performing" rule I guess not. But I had that doubt, so here I am.
  Thanks in advance.
  Pincers and Tail
  Reaction: After a Battle action targeting one of your Personalities resolves, if this card is in your hand: Attach it to him, paying 2 less Gold. Battle: Bow and destroy this card: Ranged 3 Attack. You may compare this attack's strength against the target's Chi instead of Force if he is a Personality.
  [Mod edit: Thread title, typos. -ZF]
  A: Generally, the bowed status of a Personality does not affect whether you can use an ability on an attached card.
  The rule is, "Abilities on a bowed card can not be used," not, "Bowed Personalities can't perform actions." Those are two very different things. Zen Faulkes, "Bowed personality and items.", 2 Oct 2007
• Q: How would Inferno's tooth work if I have it attached to Isawa Ochiai (Experienced) or any other Fire shugenja. Can I decide to bow the Shugenja, which doesn't need to bow since Ochiai is out(?)
  A: Yes, as "need not" provides the option. Zen Faulkes, "Inferno's Tooth and Isawa Ochiai", 3 Sep 2007
• Q: (O)r am I forced to bow the spell since she has the Fire Keyword?
  A: You are never forced to bow the spell. It's an optional method of paying the cost you get in some conditions. Zen Faulkes, "Inferno's Tooth and Isawa Ochiai", 3 Sep 2007
• Q: We've been digging through the Samurai rulebook and have not seen anything relating to whether or not a bowed personality can issue a challenge. Another thing we noticed was that most of the duel cards now specify to "target an unbowed..." thus limiting it that way.
  So, my question:
  Can a personality who is bowed issue a challenge provided the card initiating the duel doesn't specify otherwise? Specific example being Isawa Ochiai (Experienced).
  Text: Fire Shugenja at Ochai's location need not bow as a cost of Fire actions they perform. Open: Target another Player's Personality. After the first time he assigns to attack this turn, Ochiai challenges him. The loser bows and cannot straighten until after his controller's next Straighten Phase.
  She uses her open action to target a personality. then later on bows to cast a spell (or something). The targeted personality now assigns. Does Ochai (who is now bowed) get to use her duel?
  Thanks!
  A: Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition Rules Changes overview: "Rule preventing bowed cards from issuing challenges removed." Zen Faulkes, "Bowed personalities and Dueling", 7 Aug 2007
• Q: Isawa Ochiai's ability forces a duel and the loser bows and cannot straighten until after the controller's next straighten phase.
  Can the temple of death be used to straighten the loser regardless?
  A: I don't see any magical text on Temple of Death that says, "even if he may not straighten."
  Ochiai says you can't straighten. Temple of Death tries to straighten you, and fails to do so because its straighten effect is Negated. Martin Lund, "Isawa Ochiai and Temple of Death", 3 Aug 2007
• Q: I play for Phoenix and have simple questions. Isawa Ochiai (SE) and Tamori Nakamuro (KD) have similar traits. Please, or give me example of shugenja, that works with this traits, or answer, how they (Ochiai and Nakamuro) play in SE? With new keywords rule I don't know anyone shugenja with Air shugenja/Fire shugenja keyword in SE. And in SE Fire shugenja don't may cast spells, because he is not Shugenja.
  A: "Fire Shugenja" as printed on those cards is a not a Keyword - it is a description.
  A card which has both the Fire and Shugenja keywords is a positive match for any game text looking for the description of "Fire Shugenja." Martin Lund, "Isawa Ochiai, Tamori Nakamuro", 30 Jul 2007