Kolat Master

Legend of the Five Rings card from Gold Edition, Imperial Edition, Emerald Edition, Obsidian Edition, Jade Edition, Pearl Edition, Celestial Edition 15th Anniversary

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

10

Keywords

Kolat

Card Text

Limited: Target another player's Personality with 3 or less Chi: He is a Kolat in your pay. Take control of him. Destroy each of his Followers with an Honor Requirement of 1 or greater. Lose 4 Honor.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial), Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Kolat Master 10G 2FV Limited: Take control of another player's Personality with under 4 Chi for the rest of the game. Destroy each of the Personality's Followers with an Honor requirement over 0. Lose 4 Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 23
• Refers to the Minimum Honor of the Followers, not their Personal Honor. Followers do not have a Personal Honor stat. Does not change the Clan affiliation of the targetted Personality. [DW, email, 7/1/97] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 38
• Clarified: Personality gains the Kolat trait. Text Change & Errata List, February 15, 2000, p. 4
• Clarified: Followers with an honor requirement, not a Personal Honor, above 0 are destroyed. Text Change & Errata List, February 15, 2000, p. 4
• Q: My opponent has a Personality in play that won't normally join my Clan. Can I play Kolat Master on it and steal it? A: No. Coming under your control from someone else's still involves joining your Clan, which that Personality cannot do. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, Version 3.6.2, May 1998, p. 18
• Q: I just stole a Personality using the Kolat Master. Does the Personality I took gain the trait "Kolat"? A: Yes. The card text on the Kolat Master says "This Personality is a Kolat who is in your pay." That Personality has the trait "Kolat" until the end of the game (or until they leave play). The Imperial Herald, Vol. 1, Issue 1, p. 11

Rules Q&A

• Q: if I play Kolat Master on a Towers of the Asako Samurai, and the action is canceled, the pay of 10 gold is no necessary? and if I play To do what we must, my personality survives?
  A: No. See Rules Archive, General Rule, Canceling and Negation (http://l5r.alderac.com/rulings/#Cancel). Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 17 October 2003", 17 Oct 2003
• Q: First, can kolat master effect personalities with the descripter of "Will only join 'clan'"?
  A: No (Gold Edition rulebook, pg. 73). Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 30 September 2003, Part 2", 1 Oct 2003
• Q: Towers of the Yogo, from the errata:
  If a non-Yogo Towers player copies (e.g., Egg of P'an Ku) or takes control of (e.g., Kolat Master) your Scorpion personality, the personality lacks, or loses, the ability. [ZF, March 2000]
  My question is, why is this true?
  A: Because the Yogo Towers only gives the ability to "your" Personalities. "Your" personalities are defined as all the personalities you control. If you lose control of one of your personalities, it's no longer your personality, and loses the action given to it by the Stronghold. Vaughn Derderian, "Post for July 15th, 2003", 15 Jul 2003
• Q: The line that says a player is "...removed from the game along with all the cards he or she owns..." makes me ask the question, in a multi player game if a person is eliminated, and one or more of their personalities have been taken by other players (e.g Kolat Master), what happens to the personalities? Are they given back? Do they stay in play with the person who now controls them?
  A: Well, exactly what the rulebook says. Ownership remains the same regardless of control, so when Player 5 is eliminated from a multiplayer game, all of his owned cards leave with him, no matter where they happen to be at the time. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for June 12th", 12 Jun 2003
• Q: Play Hantei 39, play Know the Evil, giving him the Ninja trait and attach a night medalion, he becomes then Hantei 41. Your opponent then plays his own Hantei the 39[.] Kolat Master him[.] Now one player has Hantei 39 and Hantei 41 on the table on his side. He bows his Hantei 41 to gives the night medalion to another personality... What happens?
  A: This: Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 10 April 2003", 11 Apr 2003
• Q: Does Agasha Hamamari cancel reactions played to his player actions (For example, he plays Kolat Master and i play The Time is not Right. Can Hamanari "cancel" mi reaction?
  A: Canceling an action targets the action, but only target's the action's CARD if it's an Action card. Hamanari could cancel your The Time Is Not Right when you play it against his Kolat Master, but not when you play it against his Judgement, for example. Jeff Alexander, "post for 27 February 2003", 28 Feb 2003
• Q: Monkey Magistrates
  reaction: bow MM when this Per. is targeted by another player's action to give this personality +2c. ( if the per. is now an illegal target, the action does not affect him or her.)
  So my question is: If a per. with MM attached has 3 chi and is targeted with a Kolat Master what happens?
  a. KM is canceled, gold is not refunded and the player taking the action does not lose the 4 honor
  b. KM is not canceled, gold is not refunded and the player taking the action loses 4 honor.
  A: b. In addition, all Followers attached to that Personality with Honor Requirements above 0 would still be destroyed. [GE p. 48] Jeff Alexander, "post for 28 January 2003", 29 Jan 2003
• Q: Second, if a personality I have stolen from another player (such as with Show of Good Faith or Kolat Master) is killed while under my control (by my card effect), the personality goes to the discard pile of the original owner, right?
  A: Wrong. GE rulebook p. 60:
  ] Destroyed and discarded cards leave play and go to their ] current controller's appropriate discard piles Jeff Alexander, "post for 17 January 2003", 18 Jan 2003
• Q: I Kolat Master my opponent's Moto Kadu-Kai, and then attack. During the battle, I use Kadu-Kai to kill one of my opponent's units with his ability ("Battle: Bow and destroy Kadu-Kai to destroy an opposing Personality with equal or lower Force").
  In my opponent's next Events Phase, he resolves Vengeful Dead. Does the Personality who I destroyed with my opponent's Kadu-kai trigger VD?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 15 January 2003", 16 Jan 2003
• Q: I think I remember that a personality with the "will only join X Clan" (1st case) or "will not join Y Clan" (2nd case) can't be targeted by a Kolat Master played by a non X Clan player (1st case) or a Y clan player (2nd Case). I didn't find the ruling in the rules archive, nor under joining and taking control, nor under Kolat Master. Is that correct?
  A: Aye, you remember correctly. Well, almost correctly. You can play the action, and all effects of it will happen *except* for the part where they come over and join you. This applies not only to Kolat Master, but to all change of control effects, unless they specifically say that they will override Clan restrictions (The Dark Sanctuary being the only such card I can think of at this time, but there may be others). Vaughn Derderian, "Rulings for January 5th", 6 Jan 2003
• Q: Encircled Terrain *Reads, "Encircled Terrain 0G 1FV Delayed Terrain. Battle: The Attacker and Defender each target one of their own units in this battle. Send all other units in this battle home without bowing." [MRP, Broken Blades, 8 August 2002]
  Q: How interact the '...one of their OWN units...' (emphasis mine) with Kolat Master?
  A: Kolat Master permanently changes the Personality's controller. Encircled Terrain requires all the affected players to choose a Personality that he or she controls. Jeff Alexander, "post for 20 November 2002", 21 Nov 2002
• Q: Kage exp4 Unaligned Kolat Master * Tactician * Exp 4 * Unique Reaction: Whan a human personality is being discarded during a player's dynasty phase, bow Kage and pay the personality's costs. The personality enters play under your control, ignoring honor requirements, and permanently gains the kolat trait
  -Does it have to be only my opponent's dynasty phase (or mine for that matter) that I can effectively use kage, or can I, on my dynasty phase use disarmament and then activate Kage to buy my opponent's personality.
  A: Kage can be used during any player's Dynasty Phase. Jeff Alexander, "post for 11 October 2002", 12 Oct 2002
• Q: As is stated in the rulebook that ancestors can not be moved or destroyed unless the personality is destroyed, I have 2 questions.
  Peep A has an ancestor with an HR of 2 attached. Peep Z has and ancestor with an HR of 0 attached.
  What happens to the these ancestors if I Kolat Master both personalities?
  A: Nothing, since Ancestors aren't Followers. Jeff Alexander, "post for 1 October 2002", 2 Oct 2002
• Q: Does Kolat Master: ignore the "will only join X Clan" trait of Matsu Nimuro, Togashi Hoshi etc.?
  A: No. See Dark Allies rulebook, Glossary, "join," page 73. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 8 July 2002", 9 Jul 2002
• Q: Hello,
  I bring Otomo Dsichi into play. My opponent uses Kolat Master on him. I kill Dsichi. Who loses the Province ?
  A: Your opponent, since he controls Dsichi and is therefore the player Dsichi refers to whenever his text mentions "you" or "your". Jeff Alexander, "post for 17 June 2002", 18 Jun 2002
• Q: If I Kolat Master one of my opponent's personalities, and it gets killed, can I get the Personality with Shrine of the Evening Star?
  A: If it is a member of your Clan, yes. (Otherwise you can't use the Shrine.) Destroyed cards go to their current controller's discard pile. [rulebook p. 60] Jeff Alexander, "post for 14 June 2002", 15 Jun 2002
• Q: Only to clarify: Is legal kolat master a Bayushi Kaukatsu, then use his reaction to make the other player lose the same amount of Honor (=4).??
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 23 May 2002", 24 May 2002
• Q: ********************************************************
  Errata/Rulings for Kolat Master
  Most Recent Printing (MRP) changes Clarified: Personality gains the Kolat trait.
  Zen's Rules Archive Reads, "Kolat Master 10G 2FV Limited: Take control of another player's Personality with under 4 Chi for the rest of the game. Destroy each of the Personality's Followers with an Honor requirement over 0. Lose 4 Honor." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001]
  ********************************************************
  So does the targeted person gain the Kolat Trait or not?
  A: Not. Jeff Alexander, "post for 13 May 2002", 15 May 2002
• Q: Qu 1. came up in play. Qu 2. is just for curiosity.
  1.Shiba Tsukune Exp3 states that she will only join a phoenix player. As such, should her chi be reduced below 4 could she be kolat mastered by a non phoenix player.
  A: Kolat Master would not take control of her. However, it is still legal to play it, and both its other effects -- the destruction of all Followers with an Honor Requirement above 0 and the loss of 4 Honor -- would still happen. Jeff Alexander, "post for 24 April 2002", 25 Apr 2002
• Q: Also, what precisely happens when you take control of a card with cards attached to it, as with the Kolat Master, Cross-Clan Wedding, or Wandering Monk? Do the attached cards also belong to the new controller?
  A: Yes. [DA rulebook p. 25] Jeff Alexander, "post for 23 April 2002", 24 Apr 2002
• Q: If a non-Yogo Towers player copies (e.g., Egg of P'an Ku) or takes control of (e.g., Kolat Master) your Scorpion personality, the personality lacks, or loses, the ability. [ZF, March 2000] To clarify, what about if a Yogo player takes control of another player's Scorpion clan personality?
  A: It would gain the ability while under the Yogo player's control. Jeff Alexander, "post for 5 April 2002 pt. 1", 5 Apr 2002
• Q: If I play Kolat Master on one of my opponents' Daidoji Rekai, and his Kolat Duplicate resolves, and he selects Rekai, would she go into my deck and be free, or his?
  A: His, since he's Rekai's owner. Jeff Alexander, "post for 26 November 2001", 27 Nov 2001
• Q: No cards in Gold were MRPed for purely storyline reasons. None. We specifically avoided doing so across the board because of the unfavorable player reactions such changes engendered in Jade Edition.
  Uhmmm...I was told that Kolat Master was MRP'd because the "powers that be" (tm) no longer wanted Kolats in the storyline.
  A: Alright. How about "no Personalities were MRPed purely for storyline reasons"? Jeff Alexander, "replies to 24 September 2001", 25 Sep 2001
• Q: Zen's oh-so unofficial Gold MRP list has a Kolat Master that does NOT give the victim the Kolat trait. I don't have a Gold ed. Kolat Master to check (I'll never pull one of the damn things), so I wanted to know:
  -- from anyone: is this MRP correct or was there a mistake on Zen's page.
  A: The MRP is correct. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 1-2 July", 5 Jul 2001
• Q: <!-- Joining and changing controllers
  If a Personality changes controllers, he or she always enters play in the new controller's fief. This may cause a Personality to leave a battle (overriding effects prohibiting leaving the battle) or a duel (causing the duel to be abandoned without resolution). [JA, 27 September 2000] -->
  If you read this, it seems that playing a Kolat Master will make the target personality to enter play again, so it could activate its entering into play effects.
  This isn't correct, is it?
  A: No, it's not. I shouldn't have used the term "enters play" in that ruling, since merely changing controllers does not count as entering play. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 27 June", 5 Jul 2001
• Q: If a Personality changes controllers, he or she always enters play in the new controller's fief. This may cause a Personality to leave a battle (overriding effects prohibiting leaving the battle) or a duel (causing the duel to be abandoned without resolution).
  If you read this, it seems that playing a Kolat Master will make the target personality to enter play again, so it could activate its entering into play effects. This isn't correct, is it?
  A: No, it's not. The idea is that things go to their controller's fief by default when they enter play or switch controllers. I see the ambiguity, but I'm not immediately sure how to word it properly. I'll fix it, but I probably won't have a chance to do it for a week or so. More below. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 28 June 2001", 29 Jun 2001
• Q: Quoth Kakita Yasuyo: Now onto Nicks Newbie questions. So how would YOU explain this interaction to a newbie? You explain to me, and I'll be the newbie. Here's a list of my questions:
  Winter Warfare says my card cannot be sent home. How come it's bowing instead?
  Yes Winter Warfare says your card cannot be sent home, it doesn't dsay it cannot be bowed. The rules are that if one effect is stopped then other effects are not necassarily stoped.
  Next newbie question: So that means I can use Kolat Master on someone who won't join my clan to kill most of their followers, give them the Kolat trait, and reduce their personal honour to zero, right? What is the difference?
  A: That's not a newbie question. That's a very good question. There is no difference. So, like many times before, an old ruling on an individual card will need to be reversed so it matches the way other cards with similar mechanics work. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 28 March 2001", 5 Apr 2001
• Q: [Imperial]
  Can I copy Matsu Tsuko using an Egg of P’an Ku if I’m not a Lion player?
  Does the same apply to Bayushi Yojiro’s restriction if I’m not a 6-4-2 Scorpion player? (Personally I think so) What about Kolat Master? Can I control them if they are not aligned to my clan?
  A: 1. Egg can copy them. Egg makes a copy that doesn't enter play; it just becomes a copy after already being in play, so the restrictions aren't ever checked.
  2. No. The restrictions against control will make Kolat Master fail if you don't meet them.
  Sidenote: Did you misread Yojiro? He won't join one particular Stronghold. Anyone else can buy/control him freely. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 3 Jul 2026
• Q: [Jade] for Kolat Master, that doesn’t change the personality’s clan, right? For instance you can’t give an ancestral weapon later on to someone from another clan that you’ve grabbed with Kolat Master, right?
  A: Correct. Changing control does not implicitly change Clans. Such an effect would have to be explicit (see Oath of Fealty). Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 29 Mar 2026
• Q: Question: Can the Kolat Master target a loyal personality and keep it?
  A: You can target any other players' Personality with 3 or less Chi, but if they are Loyal and you don't have their Clan Alignment, or if they "Will not join [X]" and you are X, then taking control of them will fail. The Follower destruction will still happen, though, if you're playing in an environment that doesn't just ignore any interaction with Follower HR. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 23 Jul 2025