Iuchiban Sensei

Legend of the Five Rings card from Wrath of the Emperor

Card Type

Sensei

Province Strength

+0

Gold Production

+0

Starting Family Honor

-2

Keywords

All Clans

Card Text

Non-Bloodspeaker Personalities you own in and out of play have +1 Gold Cost.
When your Stronghold is paying for a Bloodspeaker Personality, it produces 1 additional Gold which may only pay for him.
Reaction: After a Maho action resolves that a Bloodspeaker Personality performed, straighten him.

Legality

Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Pre-Game

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: I have a Jama Suru (Exp.) with a Force of Will attached. I am Iuchiban’s Citadel player with Iuchiban Sensei. I use Force of Will.
  Q: Can I unbow Suru due to Iuchiban Sensei?
  I am not sure if the “Spell effects created by Suru are Maho” make Maho the Open Action from Force of Will, because Suru’s trait only talk about effects, not complete action.
  A: The Action is not a Maho Action. The Effects, however, are considered to be Maho due to Suru's trait. Martin Lund, "Rules for 13 December 2004", 15 Dec 2004
• Q: If a player has City of Blood for a stronghold and Iuchiban Sensei, does the stronghold produce 5 gold for paying for Phoenix shugenja?
  A: Only if that Shugenja has the Bloodspeaker Trait in the Province. The preview I saw on Tsuruchi.com for City of Blood doesn't give anyone the Bloodspeaker Trait until they are under your control, which requires them to be in play, not in the Province, so it won't help for City of Blood "converts" as it were. Martin Lund, "Rules for 8 November 2004", 12 Nov 2004
• Q: It seems like the text of Iuchiban Sensei "Reaction: Once per turn, after a Bloodspeaker Personality performs a Maho action, straighten him." would qualify, as you have to have a maho action to react to, hense a "Reaction played in response to an action".
  A: This ruling doesn't have anything to do with Playing With Madness / Iuchiban Sensei because Iuchiban Sensei has a Reaction with a much more restricted and specific trigger than Kyuden Ikoma or Faith in My Clan. The trigger isn't just "having a Maho action," or even "a Maho Action being Performed," but the Maho Action being performed - by a Bloodspeaker -. In the case of Playing With Madness and a non-Bloodspeaker, this trigger isn't met until much later in the Playing of the Action (during Resolution, rather than before it, like with Faith in My Clan).
  The fundamental principle in common with both plays is that you must play a Reaction to a trigger at the first window of time it is Legal to take that Reaction, or forfeit the opportunity for good. In the case of Faith in My Clan, the first time it is Legal to play it is before Effect Resolution, if the case of Iuchiban Sensei w/ Non-bloodspeaker + Playing With Madness, the first time it is Legal to play is - during - Effect Resolution, when the caster is first both a Bloodspeaker AND Performing the Maho Action. Martin Lund, "Rules for 23 October 2004", 25 Oct 2004
• Q: A shadowlands player can use de Iuchiban sensei, or with de the starting honor modifier of -2 it loses automatically.
  A: There is entire section in the Accumulated Rulings under the entry "The Shadowlands Horde" with special information about their Strongholds and how they relate to effects that would raise or lower their Family Honor.
  The short form is that every Shadowlands Stronghold that isn't "Sepulchre of Bone" completely ignores any "+X" or "-X" Family Honor modifiers from Sensei. Martin Lund, "Rules for 17 October 2004", 20 Oct 2004
• Q: Your Rules for Wednesday, October 6, 2004
  * * * * * * * * * *
  I think your answer is wrong.
  * An action is successfully performed after all costs are paid and giving other players the opportunity to perform Reactions to it. [JA, 26 April 2002]
  The trigger time for Iuchiban Sensei's Reaction is as described in this ruling: after costs are paid, but before any effects resolve. "After the action has resolved" is too late to take an "after a Personality performs an action" reaction.
  A: [MARTY] You're wrong on an important count, there are TWO conditions to using Iuchiban Sensei. Until you have the Bloodspeaker Trait, only ONE condition is met, so the Reaction Trigger is not valid yet. Hence you haven't passed your opportunity to take the Reaction.
  Once you acquire the Bloodspeaker Trait from Playing With Madness, both conditions are met and the following are all now true:
  1.) A Bloodspeaker Personality is Performing a Maho Action (you're Performing while all immediate effects of the action resolve)
  2.) The Action is considered to be "Performed" (legally targeted, paid for)
  3.) You have not already moved past the timing window of opportunity to React to 1 & 2 being true at the same time. (all players passing on Reactions)
  You must then immediately respond to this trigger with Iuchiban Sensei's Reaction, or not at all.
  - Marty Lund Deputy Rules Monkey Martin Lund, "Rules for 12 October 2004", 19 Oct 2004
• Q: can the practioner of madness who was not a Bloodspeaker prior to the Kiho be straightened by Iuchiban Sensei. i think, yes. since the reaction on Iuchiban Sensei is decidedly after the action has resolved, at which point, the personality is a Bloodspeark who has just performed a Maho action.
  A: Iuchiban Sensei says, "Reaction: Once per turn, after a Bloodspeaker Personality performs a Maho action straighten him."
  Playing with Madness says, "Kiho Maho Limited: Bow one of your Shugenja. That Shugenja permanently gains +2F/+2C and the Shadowlands and Bloodspeaker traits, and permanently loses all current innate abilities."
  OK, bear with me here. This one is a little complicated in the explanation. If you don't want the rules base behind it, but just the end result, skip down to the part I put in Asterisks * *.
  First point: The Reaction on Iuchiban Sensei is not decidedly after the action has resolved. "Performed" has two criteria that must be met before it is considered to be true:
  1.) The personality is considered to be "Performing" the Action as per the criteria on page 71 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook.
  2.) It is after the action is properly Targeted and its Costs are paid, but before any Effects resolve.
  If this case, Playing With Madness is "Performed" at the same time it is considered "Cast" and "Played" - before any Effects resolve, but after all costs are paid.
  Second point: You are still "casting" or "performing" through the whole time of resolving all the immediate effects of the Action. This is why effects that give you a stat bonus while casting a Spell or Kiho continue are useful - if you have +2C while casting a Kiho (say with "Blessed Dojo"), you have +2C through the whole duel effect created by the "Facing Your Devils" Kiho. It is also why you keep "Monk" or "Shugenja" status all through the casting when using Hitomi Dojo or Bloodspeaker Sanctum.
  Third point: Reactions have to be taken - immediately - upon coming to their trigger, or not at all. For example, when your opponent's Attack Phase ends, you must IMMEDIATELY play "Retribution" in response, or pass on your opportunity to React to that trigger for good. You can't, for instance, wait until your next Dynasty Phase or some other arbitrary point in time and THEN play "Retribution."
  Now, all three of these points come together in how this play works out.
  If your Personality were - already - a Bloodspeaker, the trigger for Iuchiban Sensei would be after the Action was successfully paid for, before any effects were generated. You would have to use Iuchiban Sensei then or not at all.
  However, since your Personality is not a Bloodspeaker until that effect of Playing with Madness resolves, you don't have a valid trigger for the Reaction until that point. * Once your Personality gains the Bloodspeaker trait (and at the same time he's lost all his innate abilities, received +2/+2, and Shadowlands), you've met the Trigger for Iuchiban Sensei: you have a Bloodspeaker Personality who is Performing a Maho Action, and the Action is considered successfuly played. You must then immediately use Iuchiban Sensei to straighten him, or decline to use it at all. *
  Keep in mind, this only works because the Shugenja gained the Bloodspeaker Trait while still performing the Maho Action. If the Shugenja cast a different Maho Kiho, finished resolving its immediate effects, and then afterwards gained the Bloodspeaker trait somehow, you could not straighten him - because he was never both Performing Maho and a Bloodspeaker at the same time. Martin Lund, "Rules for 6 October 2004", 11 Oct 2004
• Q: If I bow a Goblin Wizard to use the Kiho Playing with Madness, may I use Iuchiban Sensei to straighten the peep?
  Is a Maho Action considered performed before or after it resolves? In other words, does the Goblin Wizard become a Bloodspeaker in time to use the Sensei's Reaction?
  A: "After taking / casting / playing / performing" all normally happen as soon as the Action is considered a successful play, with is after all Costs are paid and Reactions to such payment are made, but before the Action produces any effects, including the effect of making your card a Bloodspeaker Personality.
  No Dice. Martin Lund, "Rules for 9 September 2004", 13 Sep 2004
• Q: Our playgroup has been reveling in the glorious carnage of the Big Deck Highlander format for a year or two--"There can be only one!" It's great to be able to play with those dusty old cards from aeons ago. Here's the situation:
  Phoenix Clan player is using the City of Blood stronghold with the Iuchiban Sensei, giving him a starting family honor of -2. He's got plenty of cards dealing honor losses to himself which will trigger Nexus of Lies: "Before another, non-Spider Clan player loses Honor from a card he owns, increase the loss by an amount equal to half his Starting Family Honor, rounded down."
  We've been playing it as if the starting family honor were zero, with no additional honor loss, because it didn't seem quite right that Nexus of Lies could result in an honor gain.
  Yorishiku o-negai shimasu, Isawa Jeff, Phoenix Clan Instigator Watakushi wa Watakushi desu.
  A: This is essentially correct, but there are real Rules reasons why it works this way.
  Nexus specifically says it causes a player to "lose" Honor, so trying to lose a negative amount wouldn't result in a gain, in the same way that if you have an effect on a 5F Personality that says, "Raise his Force to equal the Force of another Personality in his army". If your only other Personality has less than 5F, you can't "raise" it to a lower number, so nothing would happen. Brook Cunningham, "City of Blood + Iuchiban Sensei + Nexus of Lies", 13 Aug 2015
• Q: Can you BK an event that's being held in the province by Yokuni Sensei, and if so does it resolve again if it's re-revealed later in the game (beyond the turn it was originally revealed in)?
  Other question, if I'm playing Sacred Temple of the Phoenix with Iuchiban Sensei, will the stronghold produce 6 gold / 8 gold for a bloodspeaker shugenja?
  Thanks!
  A: 1. Yes, because Border Keep does not discard the event. It will resolve again as there's no rule against that anymore.
  2. Yes, it's producing gold so Iuchiban Sensei boosts it. Jon Palmer, "Yokuni Sensei, Iuchiban Sensei, Sacred Temple of the Phoenix", 30 Oct 2012
• Q: According to the EE Special Wording Rules, it appears that City of Blood now works as one assumes was intended. That is, you can benefit from Kinuye's Garden and meet the conditions of Iuchiban Sensei on any Phoenix Clan Shugenja when bringing one into play, rather than just those with the base Bloodspeaker keyword. I recall this being an issue in the past, but I must ask if my assessment is correct?
  A: The use of "your" does not override the fact that effects normally cannot affect cards that are out of play.
  However the rules on effects in and out of play do state that effects affect your cards while they are in an entering play area. Since Personalities enter the entering-play area before you pay for them, both Kinuye's Garden and Iuchiban Sensei will treat your Phoenix Clan Shugenja as having the Bloodspeaker trait while buying them. Jon Palmer, "City of Blood", 27 Mar 2012