Asahina Naoki

Legend of the Five Rings card from Words and Deeds

Card Type

Personality

Force

1

Chi

3

Honor Requirement

6

Gold Cost

7

Personal Honor

3

Clan

Crane

Keywords

Artisan, Crane Clan

Card Text

Your Market Holdings straighten during each player's Straighten Phase.
Political Battle: Even if Naoki is not at the current battlefield, pay 3 Gold and target an enemy Personality: Move him home. Gain 2 Honor.

Legality

Race for the Throne (Samurai)

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: I am a little confused about your last answer on this guy. The question is, If I have Naoki at home or at the current battlefield defending and There is not an attacking army, therefore a person cannot be sent home. Since the only 'Cost' of his action is the ''Pay 3 gold'' and each effect is separated by a period, can I still pay 3 gold, let the send home fizzle, and still gain 2 honor?
  Yes or No
  I believe it will be yes, since the effects are separate and the only cost is just Pay 3 gold.
  A: I'm sorry, the answer is definitely "no".
  If there is no enemy Personality in the current enemy army, you can't announce the action in Good Faith* because you cannot meet the action's targeting requirements** in such a way that satisfies the Rule of Location ("Any cards in units must be at the current battlefield to be legally targeted by a Battle action.")***.
  See here for further details.
  *Citation
  **Citation
  ***Citation Brook Cunningham, "Asahina Naoki", 31 May 2008
• Q: Asahina Naoki: Since targeting an enemy personality is not in the targeting block of the card text is it possible to use his ability when there are no enemy personalities at the battlefield to just gain the 2 honor.
  A: "Targeting block"? There's no such thing. You may be thinking of the constraints block, which sometimes has targeting in it (http://rules.l5r.com/Card_features#Abilities), but that wouldn't change the answer.
  The Rule of Location (http://rules.l5r.com/Battles#Rule_of_Location) says, "Any cards in units must be at the current battlefield to be legally targeted by a Battle action." It's a blanket rule covering all targeting, whether in the constraints block or not, and the enemy unit is very definitely targeted (card text).
  A related point in the FAQ on where mandatory targets are written may also be relevant to some readers: http://rules.l5r.com/FAQ#What_are_required_targets.3F Zen Faulkes, "Asahina Naoki", 31 May 2008