Lion Mempo

Legend of the Five Rings card from The Truest Test, Samurai Edition Banzai

Card Type

Item

Force

+2

Chi

+0

Gold Cost

2

Keywords

Unique, Mempo

Card Text

Reaction: After a Personality in this battle is destroyed: This Personality copies a Battle action on the destroyed card (until the turn ends) and may take an additional battle action to perform it.

Focus Value

3

Legality

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

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: I control a personality with an attached Lion Mempo. His army loses battle resolution. May I take the action on Lion Mempo to copy and perform an action on a different personality in his army? If his army wins battle resolution, may I take the action on Lion Mempo to copy and perform an action on a personality in the opposing army?
  Thanks!
  A: Paraphrasing the first paragraph of this, a Battle ability can only be used in the Combat Segment. You may use the ability on Lion Mempo, but you cannot take a Battle action during the Resolution Segment. Alex Jones, "Lion Mempo + Battle Resolution", 14 Mar 2008
• Q: I have two Spider clan personalities at a battlefield, one of which has the Lion mempo attached. If the non-mempo'd personality is destroyed, can I use the mempo to take the Ruined City battle ability on the destroyed Spider personality?
  A: http://rules.l5r.com/Effects#Effects_in_and_out_of_play
  No. Zen Faulkes, "Lion Mempo and Ruined City", 14 Feb 2008
• Q: Lion Mempo: Reaction: After a Personality in this battle is destroyed: This Personality copies a Battle action on the destroyed card (until the turn ends) and may take an additional battle action to perform it.
  This topic seems to indicate that Lion Mempo can copy a spell that was attached to a destroyed personality. Is this correct? I was under the impression that "the destroyed card" must refer to the card referenced by "a Personality in this battle is destroyed" earlier in the Action text. Is that not the case, or are actions on spells considered to be actions "on" (granted to) the Shugenja they are attached to, or something else?
  Thanx.
  A: Pronoun trouble, plus a little GIGO. I was concentrating on the "action" part and overlooked that Lion Mempo can only copy something from a Personality.
  The general principle, though, is correct: when you copy an action, you don't copy any other text on the card referring to that action. Zen Faulkes, "Lion Mempo and Kami's Embrace", 7 Jan 2008
• Q: This happened during a casual game, and I was wondering about the legality of it in case it pops up in a stricter setting.
  During a battle, my opponent has a shugenja with Kami's Embrace, and a samurai with Lion Mempo. With a battle action, I destroy her shugenja. She used Lion Mempo to take the action "Fire Battle: Ranged 6 Attack" from Kami's Embrace. At the time, we let it fly, but I have an issue with the trait on Kami's Embrace. It grants each ability on it a cost and a restriction, the cost being "bow this spell" and the restriction that an action can only be taken by a shugenja that shares its element trait. My argument was that (1) the samurai witn Lion Mempo cannot pay the additional cost of "bow this spell," and (2) it's not a fire shugenja.
  Was this legal? Or should she not have been able to take that action with Lion Mempo?
  Arigatougozaimasu.
  A: Lion Mempo copies only the action, not any other text on the card. Zen Faulkes, "Lion Mempo and Kami's Embrace", 6 Jan 2008
• Q: I am a little bit confused.
  viewtopic.php?t=47625
  What allows journeys end to override the rule?
  (A Samurai`s fury should only work for the movement action.)
  A: What makes you think Journey's End is different? Multiple posts make the same ruling for it as Lion Mempo.
  viewtopic.php?t=47475
  viewtopic.php?t=47484
  viewtopic.php?t=47487
  The Search button is everyone's friend. Small though it is, is can be quite effective when used properly.
  A Samurai's Fury does not take place in the Resolution segment, incidentally. It takes place after Delayed Terrains resolve, which is still firmly in the Combat Segment. Zen Faulkes, "Re: Lion Mempo and battle resoulution", 13 Jul 2007
• Q: Can I use the reaction on Lion Mempo while resolving an opposed battle I won?
  A: The Reaction is legal, but you cannot take the additional Battle action, since nothing on the card allows you to override the rule about when Battle actions are legal. Zen Faulkes, "Lion Mempo & Battle Resolution", 12 Jul 2007