Matsu Domotai

Legend of the Five Rings card from Gold Edition, Soul of the Empire, Heaven & Earth, Dark Allies

Card Type

Personality

Force

1

Chi

3

Honor Requirement

6

Gold Cost

5

Personal Honor

3

Clan

Lion

Keywords

Lion Clan, Samurai, Scout

Card Text

Domotai's Force has a maximum value equal to his Chi.
Domotai will not defend.
During battles, Domotai has a Force bonus equal to the number of other Lion Clan Personalities in his army.

Legality

Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• In Search of the Future: 1) Reduces all Force bonuses currently active on cards in the current battle to 0 except those provided to or by a directly attached card. [card text] The following bonuses are all reduced: Bonuses from Strongholds, such as the Spawning Grounds. Bonuses from most non-Follower tokens (since only Follower tokens automatically count as both tokens and cards). Bonuses that cards give themselves, such as Matsu Domotai and the Celestial Swords. Bonuses from Tattoos (Tattoos are often attached as a reminder, but this is technically incorrect; they are played, have a permanent effect on the Personality, then get discarded). 2) Will not reduce the bonus that an Item gives to its Personality, but will reduce any bonuses that Item gives to itself first. For example, a Celestial Sword's own bonus to itself will be reduced to 0, and it will then only give +0F to its Personality. 3) Is instantaneous. It affects only bonuses active when it's played. 4) The phrase "in this battle" describes which cards are affected, not the duration of the reduction. Any bonus reduced to 0 stays 0 until end of the turn, no matter where the card may move afterwards, and cards moved into the battle after In Search... is played will not suffer any reduction. 5) A variable or conditional bonus that counts other cards does not come from those cards. It comes from the card it's written on. 6) A card that adjusts its own Force and has a printed Force of "*" is not considered to be giving itself a bonus unless the word "bonus" is used in its text. The Imperial Herald, Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 19

Rules Q&A

• Q: 2) Wasn't it ruled a failure to meet the Rule of Relevance to use any action that would move someone who cannot attack/defend into the appropriate army, such as Matsu Domotai? I runderstand that this ruling was made specificly on Tireless Assault (though Carrier Pigeon and a few other cards could also come-to-mind), but why wouldn't it logicly carry over to other, similar, instances - regardless of the source?
  A: It doesn't carry over "regardless of the source" because an action is Relevant if it's on a card in the current battle even if it doesn't target or affect anything there. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 17 Feb. 2004", 19 Feb 2004
• Q: If I play Tireless Assault on Matsu Domotai while I am a defender, I know he can not move into the Battle but will he still straighten?
  Yes.
  How exactly is that supposed to work? The personality targeted by Tireless Assault must be in your home, so you must move that personality into the battle to satisfy the Rule of Relevance. Since Domotai cannot move into a defending army, he will make that action illegal. Am i right?
  A: Oops! You're right. You know beforehand Domotai will not enter the battle, so the action doesn't meet Relevance. (It also does not meet Relevance if you have no units in the battle.) So although the action WOULD simply straighten him if it were legal, it is not legal. Jeff Alexander, "post for 30 May 2003", 3 Jun 2003
• Q: If I play Tireless Assault on Matsu Domotai while I am a defender, I know he can not move into the Battle but will he still straighten?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 May 2003", 30 May 2003
• Q: Matsu Domotai says he "cannot be assigned to or move into a defending army". Does this exclude him from being used with "Plains of Fast Troubles" (... bring the Personality into play waiving all costs and ignoring Honor requirements, as a defending unit in this battle)? The obvious answer is "no, he cannot be brought in using the Plains because he can't be moved into a defending army" but I could see him possibly getting around this because he's not in play yet so maybe his restriction isn't active until he's in play and then it's too late? Am I reaching here? :-)
  A: You are reaching. Traits are active even when cards aren't in play. Domotai can't move into a defending army that way. Jeff Alexander, "post for 10 June 2002", 11 Jun 2002
• Q: Matsu Domotai
  (relevant text) Domotai's Force cannot exceed his Chi.
  Charge
  (relevant text) Give an attacking Lion Clan Personality +3F.
  So, let's say Domotai is at his base 1f/3c. When I Charge him, does the Charge itself get modified to give him 2f, or does the Charge give 3f, and Domotai shakes off the extra point? And, more importantly, when is that decided?
  A: Rulebook, p. 31, any Gold or later edition: "If a value has any minimum or maximum values, apply that limit last, after adding all current bonuses and penalties together."
  The Charge gives him +3F, always. Then you check his total Force against his total Chi and adjust his Force if it's higher. Jeff Alexander, "post for 4 June 2002", 5 Jun 2002
• Q: On a slightly different tangent, I also think this classification of actions ties in with the Ranged Attack / Item issue. Bows don't generally shoot themselves. The need to be USED by their wielder. Hence, Matsu Domotai (subject) makes an attack by means of Fox Nagamaki (means) against Ikoma sume (direct object). All 3 cards here are targeted.
  A: Incorrect. "Deciding which among several different actions to use or play is not a targeting decision." [DA rulebook p. 46] You aren't targeting a Follower, Item, Personality, etc. just by deciding to use an action on it instead of an action on one of your other cards. The only thing targeted in this example is Ikoma Sume. Jeff Alexander, "post for 5 April 2002 pt. 1", 5 Apr 2002
• Q: I remember a combo some people listed which gave Matsu Domotai 'hidden' Force bonuses because his Chi increased in a duel, something like this:
  Matsu Domotai : "Domotai's Force cannot exceed his Chi. Domotai cannot be assigned to or move into a defending army. During battle, Domotai gains a Force bonus equal to the number of other Lion Clan Personalities in his army. "
  Attack with Matsu Domotai 1F3C + 2 other Lion peeps. He now has 3F Charge Matsu Domotai, now he's still 3F, but wants to be 6F Matsu Domotai gets in a Duel. He focuses for 3. Now he is +3Chi, (+3Force also)
  But this bonus won't stay, because immediately after the duel, he loses all bonuses from the duel! Assuming he survives the duel, now he goes back down to 3F/3C
  Correct?
  A: Correct. Jeff Alexander, "post for 19 March 2002", 20 Mar 2002
• Q: Ok, this brings up a strange question. Does this mean that Matsu Domotai is completely screwed in a Test of Might?
  A: Not completely. You can focus a 2...or two 1s... Jeff Alexander, "post for 21 February 2002", 22 Feb 2002
• Q: Second, Matsu Domotai (non-exp). The text in question: "Domotai's Force cannot exceed his Chi." With a Force of 1 and a Chi of 3, can you play a Charge on him, knowing that he cannot gain the full bonus, or can he not even be targeted by anything that would normally bring his Force higher than his Chi.
  A: Treat him as having a maximum value to his Force of whatever his Chi is at the moment.
  Maximums and mimimums are applied last, after all bonuses and penalties are added. [AOF rulebook pp. 31-32] Domotai with a Charge played on him is a 3/3. Domotai with a second Charge played on him (which is legal) is still a 3/3. If, somehow, he finds himself with a brand new Wakizashi (+1C) during the battle, he'll become a 4/4. Jeff Alexander, "post for 19 February 2002", 20 Feb 2002
• Q: Matsu Domotai gains a force bonus equal to the number of Lion personalities in the battle...
  When is this calculated/recalculated?
  A: Whenever he's part of an army. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for August 17th", 17 Aug 2001
• Q: _1_ Does Strength of Purity give Matsu Domotai its full Force and Chi bonus? If so, why? "Domotais force cannot exceed his chi." If the bonuses are both instantaneous, the result is slightly ambiguous.
  A: As per the Gold rulebook, minimums and maximums are applied after all other adjustments. It's no longer ambiguous. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 1-2 July", 5 Jul 2001
• Q: Three questions.
  _1_ Does Strength of Purity give Matsu Domotai its full Force and Chi bonus? If so, why? "Domotais force cannot exceed his chi." If the bonuses are both instantaneous, the result is slightly ambiguous.
  A: The bonuses both happen simultaneously, so Domotai's force never actually exceeds his Chi. He would instantly go from 1/3 to 4/6, with no stops in between. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for July 3rd", 3 Jul 2001