Night Battle

Legend of the Five Rings card from Gold Edition, Anvil of Despair, Pearl Edition, Promotional–CWF, Honor Bound, An Oni's Fury

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Terrain

Card Text

Players may not take actions during this battle unless they control a Shugenja or Shadowlands card at this battlefield or the action will destroy this Terrain.
Battle: If there are no Terrains at the current battlefield: Put this card into play there.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial), Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Notes

Some variants of the Anvil of Despair version of this card were printed with a different text alignment.

Printings

Rulings

• Prevents the playing of all non-terrain-destroying actions within the Battle Action and Resolution Segments [card text], including Reactions played "when" or "after" a card is destroyed. Does not prevent Reactions played "after resolution" or "after the Attack Phase". [DW, email, 6/2/97] [partial REVERSAL] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 22
• For an action to be legal, it must directly destroy Deadly Ground. Actions which destroy the terrain in a roundabout way, such as by cancelling the battle, aren't legal. [DW, l5rinfo, 10/10/96] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 22
• Focus on... The Wind's Truth: The Wind's Truth is Political, by glossary definition. "Another player" means someone other than the one who is going to gain/lose the Honor, not someone other than the caster. The Honor gain from winning or tying in a battle is one single gain. Deadly Ground, and possibly Night Battle, render it illegal, since they last for the entire battle and Honor is gained during the Resolution Segment. The source of the gain/loss remains unchanged. The Ring of Air can redirect it, but only to another "another player," so you can't send the gain/loss right back to the player from which it was just taken. In a two-player game, the Ring of Air cannot be used on it. The Imperial Herald, Issue 12, p. 34

Rules Q&A

• Q: If Shiba Yoma exp is in battle with all shugenja at home or in other provinces and Night Battle is in play, can you take actions in this battle or cast into the battle still?
  A: No. Yoma doesn't say, "treat shugenja as if they were present in the battle." Do you have shugenja? No? No actions for you. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 19 August 2003, Part 2", 20 Aug 2003
• Q: Greetings,
  Could One Life, One Action be played in response to Deadly Ground or Night Battle, or is it considered playing an action in the current battle?
  A: One Life, One Action is not a legal response to Deadly Ground or Night Battle, as OLOA has to wait until the action has completely resolved before it can be played. After either of those Terrains have been played, no more Actions can be played, so...no One Life, One Action.
  Vaughn
  * Rules Guy * The Random Ninja Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for July 22nd, 2003", 22 Jul 2003
• Q: Now, my call in the tourney was that [Ruins of Isawa Castle] could NOT be used to get this kiho [Mercy Shrouds the Earth] after the Deadly hit the table, and the rulings support it:
  "Ruins of Isawa Castle
  * May not get a kiho that destroys a terrain during Deadly Ground or Night Battle. [Reversal; JA, 25 June 2001]"
  A: I guess I should add "or negates" to the archive ruling above. The ruling in the Archive is still correct, and the box power can't be used. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 20 April 2003", 20 Apr 2003
• Q: I've got a question.
  A: No preamble needed -- just ask it! ;) Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 14 April 2003, Part 1", 14 Apr 2003
• Q: Night Battle was played and I had no Shugenja in the battle. I had Shugenja in another battle, however, and wanted to use Kaneka's Advance to move my Shugenja into the Night Battle battle.
  A: Can't do it. "No player without a Shugenja... in this battle can take actions." The Shugenja must be there to make any action (besides detroying the terrain) legal. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 14 April 2003, Part 1", 14 Apr 2003
• Q: Specifically, I'm wondering if reactions can >be taken during the resolution segment of a battle in which Deadly Ground, Night Battle, or some other action denial terrain has been played.
  A: Terrains not eliminated by any player stay in play until after battle resolution. [GE p. 58] So all Terrains are still in play during Resolution, including Deadly Ground -- which will still have its effect due to being Immediate. Jeff Alexander, "post for 27 January 2003", 28 Jan 2003
• Q: 3. Pick Your Battles/Night Battle:
  If Night Battle is in play, and you do not have a shugenja or shadowlands card in the battle, can you even play Pick your Battles? Once the battle segment ends, and the terrain resolves, aren't the restrictions on playing actions/reactions off? Night Battle says specifically during the battle-not the battle action phase??? Pick your battles is played before your army is destroyed by a battle, which means during resolution.
  A: Immediate Terrains affect play while the Terrain is in play. [GE p. 55] Terrains still in play at the end of the Battle Actin Segment stay in play until after resolution. [GE p. 58] Night Battle (and Deadly Ground) stay in play during the Resolution Segment, therefore, and continue to have their stated effect of prohibiting actions that don't destroy them. That includes Pick Your Battles. Jeff Alexander, "post for 18 November 2002", 19 Nov 2002
• Q: This was something that came up in a game, I had Isawa Norikazu AKA Agasha Haminari I played Night Battle: no player without a shugenja or shadowlands personality in this battle can take actions for this battle except an action that destroys this terrain.
  He tries to destroy the terrain using Sup Tacs I bow Norikazu to cancel the sup tacs, was my move legal or did he have to use deversionary tactics. Or can I do that at all?
  A: To someone with no shugenja or Shadowlands Personalities in the battle, Night Battle is identical to Deadly Ground. Diversionary and Superior Tactics are both legal if played to destroy it.
  To someone with a shugenja or a Shadowlands Personality, Night Battle is a piece of cardboard that says "Immediate Terrain". Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 May 2002", 30 May 2002
• Q: Ok here's my question, if you have no shugenja in the battle and you opponent plays night battle can you sup tactic the terrain or does night battle screw you?
  A: You are allowed to destroy it. It's actions that don't destroy it that you're not allowed to take. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 May 2002", 30 May 2002
• Q: Example: Ninja Stronghold - As a battle action, send home attacking army if it has less than 10 chi. This action can still occurr if the stronghold is bowed.
  What if I walk in with a Sneak Attack and Dead Ground/Night Battle. Or play Secret Entrance. Since the stronghold cannot destroy the terrains, and the player won't have a means to destroy it, does the fact the action is on the stronghold, negate the "lock" and allow him to take the action to send me home? Also, on Secret Entrance, if he has no defenders, and SE comes into play as my reaction, since he can't use actions that he normally could use if no defenders (imperial favor), then he doesn't get the stronghold affect now, right?
  From the Archive:
  A: The Dark Path of Shadow
  Ability is usable if prohibited by a card effect (e.g., Deadly Ground, The Secret Entrance) or with no units in the battle. [5 May 1999] Ability is not usable if you do not have a chance to perform Open/Battle actions (e.g., Crushing Attack). Ability can be cancelled (e.g., Storms of War).
  Essentialy, I think you're missing something about the Dark Path. The reason that the action can be used under Deadly etc. is because it says it can (you may take this action in a battle where you cannot take actions). That phrase isn't 'written' on all Strongholds, but it's definitely part of the Dark Path's ability, and it extends to all situations where the DPoS player is prevented from taking actions by card effects, in addition to situations where he's prevented from taking them normally because he doesn't have a guy there. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for December 11th", 11 Dec 2000
• Q: If Night Battle is in play and a player has neither a Shadowlands nor a Shugenja Personality in the battle: can he take an action that would move a Shadowlands or Shugenja Personality into the battle?
  A: No. It does not destroy the terrain (card text). Zen Faulkes, "Night Battle", 8 Aug 2008
• Q: When the rulings were still happening over an l5r email list, I convinced the designers to allow my abuse of the foo rule. I was using "scout" in a Naga deck, and would be able to drop a night battle or deadly ground before the battle at every single province. It took many years before they declared that stuff to only apply to cards self-referentially.
  A: when the rulings were still happening by mailing list, I asked a question about Garrison that literally got it MRP'ed to work the way I had asked about (back in the day when "bringing a unit into the battle" was always Absent by default) Jeff Williamson, "Oracle of the Void #rules", 25 Sep 2024