Matsu Hataki

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

Card Type

Personality

Force

4

Chi

3

Honor Requirement

0

Gold Cost

8

Personal Honor

2

Clan

Lion

Keywords

Lion Clan, Samurai, Soul of Matsu Turi

Card Text

Favor and Lobby actions cannot target Hataki.

Legality

Four Winds (Gold)

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• Q: The Experienced Matsu Hataki has this ability: "Battle: If you are the Defender, straighten Hataki (if bowed) and move him into the current battle." A friend of mine swears he can do this as many times as he wants, and even if he's already in the battle! Is that right? How can he move to someplace he already is? A: Your friend is right. I'll try to explain why. There is no rule in L5R that makes an action illegal because all or part of its results won't do anything. Pretend you have an Action card that reads, "Limited: Bow all Monks." You're allowed to play this card even if there are no Monks, or if there are but they're all bowed already. It's also legal to take an action that says, "Gain 2 Honor. Draw a card." even if you're playing a Shadowlands Stronghold that locks your Family Honor at -19, or if someone played a card earlier that said, "No players may gain Honor this turn." -- and, in either case, you'd still draw a card. (One very important distinction to make here is that we're talking only about the effects, or the results, of an action. If something stops you from paying the cost of an action, or you can't pick all the targets the action requires, those are different matters entirely. In the first case, your action is canceled. In the second, your action is illegal and can't even be started.) What does this mean for Hataki? Since his movement is a result of his action and not a cost, and since his card text doesn't say anything about where he has to be to use his ability, he can use it no matter where he is, and if he happens to be in the current battle already, the part of the action that moves him into the current battle simply doesn't happen and all he does is straighten. And since his action doesn't say anything like "Once per turn, ...", he can use it as often as he wants. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, May 21, 2003, p. 9

Rules Q&A

• Q: Jeff, I brought this question up at the Sac Kotei and you said that at the moment you would rule it one way and look into it more later. So the question: Can you use Acquiring Favor plus Tsudao to send an attacking Matsu Hataki home? I said yes, you said no, could you clarify.
  A: Zen found the current ruling, right where he'd left it. Good ol' Zen.
  "If a card is used to pay the cost of an Imperial Favor effect (e.g., Acquiring Favor), it is considered a use of the Favor in all ways. [VRD, 28 December 2001]" Jeff Alexander, "post for 27 June 2002", 28 Jun 2002
• Q: I feel kinda silly asking these, it seems like it should be straightforward enough, I just want to make sure I understand this stuff 100% before I start running Gold tournaments locally.
  OK. First the rulebook quote:
  Gold Edition Rulebook, page 21: "The personalities count together against the per-deck card limit. If either Personality has multiple Experience levels, the "Soul of..." character counts only as the earlier Personality at the same level. "Soul of..." characters don't count as their named personalities for any game-play purposes except deck construction."
  OK. The deck construction part is pretty clear, I can run 2 Matsu Hataki and 1 Matsu Turi. They are all played by the MRP version, which right now is Matsu Hataki from GE.
  This is true in Open, Jade and Gold formats, correct?
  A: Only in Gold formats would Turi count as Hataki. In Open, they'd count as printed because both are legal cards. In Jade, you can't use Hataki. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 10-14 July 2001", 19 Jul 2001
• Q: Now the part that confuses me is where it says: "If either Personality has multiple Experience levels, the "Soul of..." character counts only as the earlier Personality at the same level."
  My take on this wording is that using Matsu Hataki as an example above, I can include in my deck:
  any combination (up to 3) of Non-Exp. Matsu Hataki and Non-Exp. Matsu Turi and either Matsu Hataki exp. or Matsu Turi exp.
  A: Correct. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 10-14 July 2001", 19 Jul 2001
• Q: The deck construction part is pretty clear, I can run 2 Matsu Hataki and 1 Matsu Turi.
  A: Right. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 15 July 2001", 15 Jul 2001
• Q: They are all played by the MRP version, which right now is Matsu Hataki from GE.
  A: Incorrect. There are some Soul Personalities who are not identical to the earlier Personalities. Both are played as written. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 15 July 2001", 15 Jul 2001