Muscle and Steel

Legend of the Five Rings card from The Dead of Winter

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Reaction: After another player's action targets one of your Personalities, bow one of his attachments with a base Gold Cost of 7 or more: Negate either the action's bowing, destruction, or movement of cards in his unit.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: I have a Personality with a weapon in battle against a Crab personality with a base force of 7. My opponent plays Only Action Speaks on my weapon (Since it targets a card). Can I respond with Muscle and Steel to negate the bowing of my unit?
  A: No. Targeting an attachment does not automatically target the unit or the Personality. (You may be thinking of the rule that targeting a unit also targets the Personality; http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_U#Unit). Targeting the attachment doesn't "spread" to any other card. Muscle and Steel isn't a valid play here.
  Thanks for the explanation of your thinking behind the question; it helps. Zen Faulkes, "Muscle and Steel + Only Action Speaks", 22 Sep 2011
• Q: I play Muscle and Steel to negate destruction after my opponent targets my personality with a Steel on Steel and he focuses Superior Opponent. Does the attachment still stay in play if my personality loses the duel, or is it destroyed?
  A: If your opponent chooses to destroy your attachment with Superior Opponent's Focus Effect, it WOULD still be destroyed.
  Muscle and Steel only negates destruction from the action whose targeting it reacted to, which would be Steel on Steel in this case (see From). Brook Cunningham, "Muscle and Steel vs Superior Opponent/Steel on Steel", 17 Mar 2011
• Q: Muscle and Steel Text Reaction: After another player's action targets one of your Personalities, bow one of his attachments with a base Gold Cost of 7 or more: Negate either the action's bowing, destruction, or movement of cards in his unit.
  Overwhelming Pressure This card has -1 Gold Cost for each Samurai you control. Battle: Target your unbowed Samurai: Destroy a target enemy attachment. You may target and bow an enemy Personality with Chi lower than or equal to your Samurai's Chi.
  I just want some clarification on this issue since I have had this come up against me in top 8 and i have heard it go both ways.
  I have a unit with a Rising Sunblade(8g attachment). My opponent pays all costs and plays overwhelming pressure. Can i react with Muscle and Steel to save the attachment's destruction or is overwhelming pressure's timing different. Such as since it is destroy a target enemy attachment period then target with the bow action.
  Thanks
  A: You cannot react with Muscle and Steel to prevent the destruction of the attachment by Overwhelming Pressure.
  The Reaction on Muscle and Steel is taken after the action targets one of your Personalities, but the only required target for Overwhelming Pressure is the attachment; this is the only targeting done before the effects resolution step of the action. The optional targeting of the Personality is done during the resolution step, after the destruction of the attachment, which is too late to negate the destruction of the attachment.
  See Abilities and Actions, Using Abilities. Alex Jones, "Muscle and Steel vs Overwhelming Pressure", 14 Mar 2011
• Q: Does Muscle and Steel negate the destruction effect of Flanked by Nightmares?
  A: I'm guessing that the issue here is: "If my opponent uses an action that forces me to target one of my own cards, it that card targeted by 'another player's action'?"
  Yes. Muscle and Steel cares not which player does the targeting, just which player's card is requiring the targeting. Zen Faulkes, "Flanked by Nightmares + Muscle and Steel", 2 Feb 2011
• Q: I have a personality with expensive weapon on him. My opponent plays Superior Mobility. Now... what happens if we assume I have Muscle And Steel in my hand, and my opponent has Cowed By Wisdom.
  1. I react with Muscle And Steel. Do I choose which effect I negate or do I negate the first one that happens? 2. If my opponent chooses not to react with Cowed By Wisdom. Do I negate the movement and then die ? 3. If my opponent chooses to react with Cowed By Wisdom. Will he negate movement and after that, I will negate dying?
  Superior mobility TEXT : Battle: Choose your performing unbowed Personality and bow a card in his unit: Move a target enemy Personality home. If the movement fails, destroy him.
  Muscle and Steel TEXT : Text Reaction: After another player's action targets one of your Personalities, bow one of his attachments with a base Gold Cost of 7 or more: Negate either the action's bowing, destruction, or movement of cards in his unit.
  Cowed by Wisdom TEXT : Text Reaction: Before an action's resolution: Negate the action's movement of Personalities that are not yours from the current battlefield.
  A: You must choose one of the three.
  If you choose to negate the destruction, your opponent can decide not to play Cowed By Wisdom and your Personality will move home. If you choose to negate the movement, your opponent doesn't need to play Cowed By Wisdom and you Personality will be destroyed.
  Best option? Play 2x Muscle and Steel... Alex Jones, "Superior Mobility + Cowed By Wisdom + Muscle And Steel", 28 Jan 2011
• Q: [CE] Hello guys. Question under celestial rules with dark naga and Muscle and steel If Dark naga targets a personality can the oponent negate the destruction? I beleive it cant because its an ongoing effect
  A: You mean "delayed" not "ongoing", but Krynillix is correct. Opponent can negate the destruction with M&S. The negation will wait around until the end of the turn to do its thing.
  Although, note that M&S only negates movement, bowing, OR destruction from the action, not all of them. The person playing it has to pick one, and if they're picking the destruction, hopefully the targeted guy survived being bowed by the Dark Naga during combat. :/ Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 18 Apr 2026
• Q: [EEEX] Mysterious Deaths says: "Each player targets their lowest cost personality", and Muscle and Steel says: "After another player's action targets one of your personalities"
  Can you respond to the targeting of Mysterious Deaths with Muscle and Steel, provided that personality has a 7+ cost attachment to bow?
  A: Sure, but what are the odds that he will, if he's your lowest-cost unit? ;P Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 8 Feb 2026