Outer Walls

Legend of the Five Rings card from Celestial Edition, Lotus Edition, Samurai Edition, Hidden City, Tomorrow, Three Dynasties, Glory of the Empire, Promotional–Samurai

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Battle: Even if you control no units at the current battlefield: Give its province +3 strength.
Reaction: After a Ranged Attack is targeted: Give it -2 strength.

Focus Value

3

Legality

Age of Enlightenment (Lotus), Destroyer War (Celestial), Race for the Throne (Samurai), Rain of Blood (Diamond), Three Dynasties

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Ability is used immediately before resolving the Ranged Attack effect. [ML, 23 May 2004] Rules Archive, November 11, 2006, p. 43
• Erratum: Reads, "Outer Walls 0G 3FV Battle: Even if you control no units at the current battlefield: Give its province +3 strength. Reaction: After a Ranged Attack is targeted: Give it –2 strength." [MRP, Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 147
• Erratum: Reads, "Outer Walls 0G 3FV Battle: Even if you control no units at the current battlefield: Give its Province +3 Strength. Reaction: After a Ranged Attack is targeted: Give it -2 Strength." [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 150

Rules Q&A

• Q: Well, number 2 was wrong. Just remember that, if there's nothing about a before/when/after in the trigger you just have to consider it a when. Then, tsuruchi tech and outerwall have the same timing, no problem to do so
  Outer Walls reads : Reaction: Reduce a Ranged Attack's strength by 2.
  The RA reaction doesn't have a trigger, or timing. Obviously it modifies an RA, but is it when the RA is announced, played, targets, resolves, what?
  A: By the rulebook, it would be as soon as whatever the Reaction tries to modify exists. Martin Lund, "Rules for 6 August 2004", 9 Aug 2004
• Q: Rule Question 1: Reactions
  I bow a personality to perform range four attack against a personality with a current force of three. As a reaction, my opponent plays Outer Walls, to reduce the strength of the ranged attack (making the ranged attack have no real effect on the game since the ranged attack is now less than the personality's force). Outer Walls resolves, reducing the strength of the ranged attack. Can I now play Tsurichi Technique as a reaction to the original ranged attack to increase the strength of the ranged attack?
  A: Sure you can. Both Outer Walls and Tsuruchi Technique have the same timing trigger, so you have to go around the table during that time, letting players take Reactions until all players pass in a row. That means a bunch of players could pile on various plays of Outer Walls and Tsuruchi Technique on one Ranged Attack before it finishes resolving. In addition, a single player could play multiple Outer Walls or Tsuruchi Techniques on this one Ranged Attack, but he must wait his turn for priority to do so. Martin Lund, "Rules for 24 June 2004", 28 Jun 2004
• Q: Player A takes a Ranged attack action from a personality that has exactly enough strength to kill an opposing personality. Let's say a Tsuruchi Hiro targets a 4 Force personality with his built in Ranged 4 attack.
  My opponent reacts with Outer Walls to reduce the strength of the attack to 2.
  Is it a legal play for me to now react to the original Ranged attack reaction with Tsuruchi technique to increase the strength of the attack to 5?
  A: Sure. Tsuruchi Technique and Outer Walls both have the same timing trigger (immediately before the Ranged Attack effect resolves), so they'll get played during the same window of Reactions, passing around the table until each player passes in a row. Martin Lund, "Rules for 7 June 2004", 10 Jun 2004
• Q: 1. If I target a ranged attack at my opponent's personality and he reacts with Outer Walls, can I then react with Tsuruchi Technique?? Or is it too late due to different timing on the Reactions??
  A: I don't see the Reactions having any different timing. They both happen right before you resolve the Ranged Attack effect. They have the same trigger, so you can keep going around the table playing Tsuruchi Techniques and Outer Walls until everyone passes consecutively. Martin Lund, "Rules for 20 May 2004", 24 May 2004
• Q: It seems that my opponent must choose to Outer Walls the ranged attack from Takako before I choose the value.
  A: That's what was said in the previous answer.
  Required targets come before costs (http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Abilities_and_actions). The value chosen is chosen as part of costs. Zen Faulkes, "Moshi Takako + Outer Walls", 23 Mar 2010
• Q: When do you announce the amount you'll pay for the ranged of Moshi Takako. Before or after the targets?
  Moshi Takako Mantis Clan • Thunder • Shugenja • Naval • Unique Battle: Bow Takako, choose a number from 1 to 10, and pay that much Gold: Ranged Attack with strength equal to the number chosen.
  Outer Walls Reaction: After a Ranged Attack is targeted: Give it –2 strength.
  Ranged Attack http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_R#Ranged_Attack
  A: After targeting.
  The choosing of the number is part of the "pay costs" step, being sandwiched in between two costs and dictating the latter of them as it does. Brook Cunningham, "Moshi Takako + Outer Walls", 22 Mar 2010
• Q: Arrows do not falter: Reaction: After a Ranged Attack targets a card: Give the Ranged Attack +2 strength.
  Outer Walls: Reaction: After a Ranged Attack is targeted: Give it -2 strength.
  Laying in Wait: Battle: Target your unbowed Samurai: Ranged 6 Attack whose strength is compared against Gold Cost instead of Force.
  Ok, laying in wait tagets my 6 GC personality, I react with outer walls to make it a ranged str of 4 rather than 6. Is it then possible for the player of laying in wait to react to my reaction with arrows do not falter, or do they have to react initially when they play laying in wait?
  It sounds like at any time after a ranged attack is taken you can play either card which makes me
  thanks
  A: Technically the Reaction of Arrows do not Falter does not "react to" the Reaction of Outer Walls.
  It is a Reaction that is timed "After a Ranged Attack targets a card".
  The sequence goes like this.
  Player A is the active player. Player A announces Laying in Wait Player A targets his Samurai, and an opposing card with 6GC (and lets say 5F just so it is obvious which effect Player A will choose) --Player A chooses to pass on reactions to after targeting ---Player B announces and plays the Reaction on Outer Walls ---Player's A and B pass on reaction to the reaction on Outer Walls --Player A then chooses to react to the targeting, and announces and plays the Reaction on Arrows do not Falter
  Etc., the targeted card is still destroyed assuming no other reactions, etc.
  Please do not forget the timing of when a card is able to be used.
  To answer your question though, The timing of Outer Walls' Reaction and the Reaction on Arrows do not Falter is the same. Dan Jacobson, "Arrows do not falter and timing", 19 Feb 2010
• Q: I guess the general question is: Is a ranged attack only a successfully performed action if it destroys its target? (I'm only looking at Celestial Edition cards, so feel free to ignore what would happen if Kyuden Ashinagabachi was involved)
  A: Correct. Dan Jacobson, "Ranged Attacks, Outer Walls, "Successfully"", 24 Jul 2009
• Q: My opponent uses an action: "Battle: Ranged 2 Attack" targetting my 4F personality. Has my opponent successfully resolved a battle action for Ring of Water purposes?
  My opponent uses a Ranged 2 attack targetting my 4F personality, and I use the reaction on Outer Walls to lower the ranged attack's strength by 2. Have I successfully resolved an action for Ring of the Void purposes? Part of me wants to say yes because I changed some numerical value, but part of me wants to say no because I didn't change the final outcome (the personality wasn't dying either way).
  Final question: My opponent uses a Ranged 2 attack targetting my 2F personality. I use one copy of Outer Walls to reduce its strength by 2, and then I use the reaction on a 2nd copy of Outer Walls. Does the 2nd copy of Outer Walls count as a successfully resolved action? I'm not sure because the strength was already zero. Would anything change if the target was a 0F personality?
  Thanks for any help!
  A: Ranged Attacks' effects are conditional destruction. Did they destroy anything?
  If the answer is no, then the action is not successful.
  As for the Second Outer Walls: Was the Ranged Attack's Strength reduced? In the case of Outer Walls, barring stuff like Fall on Your Knees, it will always be successful. A Ranged 2 Attack who had its strength reduced by two Outer Walls would need it's strength increased by 4 to reach its original strength. Dan Jacobson, "Ranged Attacks, Outer Walls, "Successfully"", 24 Jul 2009
• Q: Can Outer Walls be played at a battlefield created by an ambush or surprise attack for its battle action?
  A: There is no required target so the action is legal. There is no province whose strength can be increased, however, so no effects occur. Alex Jones, "Ambush + Outer Walls", 29 May 2008
• Q: Actions and triggered traits each have a distinct time they start; two actions or triggered traits will never start at the same time.
  Once an action or triggered trait starts, apply all its costs, targeting, and effects in sequence before proceeding, even if another action or triggered trait is under way.
  That passage implies that you resolve Akagi's reaction before resolving the Outer Walls reaction.
  A: I do not understand how that would be implied at all.
  The first sentence quoted says nothing is simultaneous, which does not address the order of Reactions. (The Reaction order is handled by the sequence described at http://rules.l5r.com/Timing).
  The second sentence quoted says once you start an action, you finish it.
  Daidoji Akagi's Reaction is triggered, "After you target a Ranged Attack from an action...". Outer Walls' Reaction is triggered, "After a Ranged Attack is targeted...". Both have the same trigger: after a Ranged Attack is targeted.
  The sequence is:
  Ranged Attack targeted.
  Active player has first opportunity to play a Reaction in response to targeting. Active player passes.
  Next player in turn order has the opportunity to play a Reaction in response to targeting. Outer Walls is played and resolves, decreasing Ranged Attack strength.
  The next player in turn order has another opportunity to play a Reaction in response to targeting. The opportunity to play Reactions to targeting of the the Ranged Attack has not expired, because not all players have passed consecutively. The active player uses Daidoji Akagi's ability and resolves, increasing Ranged Attack strength.
  The next player in turn order has another opportunity to play a Reaction in response to targeting. In this case, she passes (although she could play another Outer Walls, say, if she had one in hand.)
  The next player in turn order (i.e., the active player) has the next opportunity to play a Reaction in response to targeting. He passes (although he could, say, use another copy of Daidoji Akagi if he had one).
  All players have now passed consecutively on Reactions. The Ranged Attack action moves on to the cost payment step.
  No Reactions occurred simultaneously (in accord with the first quoted sentence).
  No Reactions were left unfinished (in accord with the second quoted sentence). Zen Faulkes, "Daidoji Akagi/outer walls", 24 Apr 2008
• Q: My opponent is attacking me with an army that includes Daidoji Akagi basic. I defend, and on his opportunity to act he uses Akagis 'ranged 2 attack' ability. He passes his react, then on my opportunity to react, I play Outer Walls to reduce the RA by 2. He then claims he can use akagi's react to increase his RA, but I disagreed, claiming he already had his opportunity to react, and a reaction at this point would have to be a legal reaction to Outer Walls. Who is correct?
  A: In general, Reactions continue to go around the table until everyone passes.
  http://rules.l5r.com/Timing: "Reactions may now be taken following an action round procedure. Starting with the active player, each player in turn order has the option to take a Reaction to the trigger or pass. When all players pass consecutively, no more Reactions to that occurrence of the trigger may be taken." Zen Faulkes, "Daidoji Akagi/outer walls", 22 Apr 2008
• Q: Can you play Outer Walls at a battlefield without a province?
  A: Yes, but it produces no effects. Zen Faulkes, "Outer Walls & Battlefields without a Province", 27 Sep 2007