Pick Your Battles

Legend of the Five Rings card from 1,000 Years of Darkness

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Reaction: Before your army is destroyed by battle resolution, target a unit in your army: Negate the destruction of your units from battle resolution, except for the target. Move them home. If they moved, bow them. The enemy leader still gains Honor from battle resolution as if it had destroyed your entire army.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Four Winds (Gold), Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• The one Personality destroyed is destroyed by the battle, not by Pick Your Battles. [ZF, 3 September 2003] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 28

Rules Q&A

• Q: If the battle is a tie. Does the other side still get destroyed as a result of the tie if I play Pick Your Battles?
  A: Pick Your Battles refers to "your army," in the first sentence and never changes that context through the rest of its effects. All it does, it does within the context of your army. It does nothing to the other army. Martin Lund, "Rules for 1 August 2004", 5 Aug 2004
• Q: Let's say Hida Sozen is in a losing or tying army, but will not be destroyed because there's no Unit in the opposing army with higher Force than Sozen's.
  In this case, when we get to the Resolution Segment, can Sozen's controller play Pick Your Battles, choosing Sozen to stay behind?
  A: Jeff wrote in "rules for 12 March 2004": Martin Lund, "Rules for 2 July 2004", 2 Jul 2004
• Q: Hey Jeff, here are more questions about YU and Pick Your Battles
  Pick Your Battles
  Reaction: Play before your army is destroyed for losing or tying in a battle. Only one unit of your choice in your army is destroyed. The rest return to their controllers' homes, bowed…."
  Yu (from p93 of the rule book)
  "[The Yu Effect] occurs immediately before the losing army is destroyed."
  Which effect goes first?
  A: Yu. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 2-3 March 2004", 4 Mar 2004
• Q: Question #3
  When Hida Sozen is in a tied army and is not the highest force but the opposing player plays Pick Your Battles, removing all but one unit from his army and Sozen is now the highest force is he destroyed? (Yes this actually came up in a game). When does the force test occur?
  A: The test occurs when Sozen would be destroyed. In this instance, he does not die. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 2-3 March 2004", 4 Mar 2004
• Q: Relevant Card Text: Hida Sozen: Sozen cannot be DESTROYED WHILE IN AN ARMY unless there is an opposing unit with more total Force than his unit or the destruction is an effect of your own card or Stronghold. This does not protect attached cards from effects that destroy this entire unit.
  Pick Your Battles Reaction: Play BEFORE your army is destroyed for losing or tying in a battle. Only one unit of your choice in your army is destroyed. The rest return to their controller's homes, bowed. Your opponent in the battle still gains honor as if your entire army had been destroyed.
  I have a few questions Jeff.
  1.) If the cards attached to Sozen are NOT protected from destruction (i.e. this does not protect attached cards from effects that destroy this entire unit), why is the destruction of the army not satisfied? I would think that this would seem contradictory, since only Sozen's destruction is hindered.
  A: Sozen himself is as much a part of his army as the rest of his unit is. Destroying an entire army except for one card is not destroying an entire army. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 23 Feb. 2004", 24 Feb 2004
• Q: FROM RULES POST:I have been informed that it was ruled that Hida Sozen cannot be the one unit to die for Pick Your Battles (and subsequently not die from his trait).
  Pick Your Battles cannot be played at all if Sozen is in the battle and isn't going to die because the trigger for Pick Your Battles isn't there.
  QUESTION: Does this ruling mean that Sozen is untargetable with Pick your battles while he is in an army? Or does it mean that while Sozen is in an army and his trait is in effect Sozen's controller cannot play Pick your battles?
  A: When I say "it can't be played", I mean "it can't be played." I don't mean "you can play it but can't target Sozen". Jeff Alexander, "rules for 20 Feb. 2004", 21 Feb 2004
• Q: To me it doesn't make sense that Sozen's trait prohibits the playing of Pick your Battles. The trigger on Pick Your Battles reads: "play before your army is destroyed for losing or tying in a battle." If Sozen's trait is in effect your army is still being destroyed.
  A: Sozen is in your army. If the situation is right, you know Sozen isn't going to be destroyed -- his effect is unconditional and is known to all players. That means you know your army isn't going to be destroyed. That means there is no trigger to react to. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 20 Feb. 2004", 21 Feb 2004
• Q: I have been informed that it was ruled that Hida Sozen cannot be the one unit to die for Pick Your Battles (and subsequently not die from his trait).
  A: Pick Your Battles cannot be played at all if Sozen is in the battle and isn't going to die because the trigger for Pick Your Battles isn't there. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 16 Feb. 204", 18 Feb 2004
• Q: Errata on Pick Your Battles makes the destruction a part of the battle not a card effect (The one Personality destroyed is destroyed by the battle, not by Pick Your Battles. [ZF, 3 September 2003]). The only valid reasoning behind that set of rulings would be for the destruction to be a cost. But on the card it is clearly not worded that way.
  A: There is no errata to Pick Your Battles. Zen's ruling is a clarification. The card is ambiguous whether the one unit that doesn't move is destroyed directly by the action or only because it isn't saved from the destruction that was already going to happen to it. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 16 Feb. 204", 18 Feb 2004
• Q: 2. Why no Sozen/Pick Your Battles if it isn't a cost?
  A: Lack of trigger makes the Reaction illegal. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 16 Feb. 204", 18 Feb 2004
• Q: Yu of the personalities is solved after or before using the Pick Your Battles?
  A: Before, because traits resolve before actions (Rules Archive, timing). Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 24 October 2003", 24 Oct 2003
• Q: if the person you pick to be destroyed is a Samurai w/ the Yu trait, can you save them with Kisada's Shrine?
  A: Save? No; a Personality targeted by Kisada's Shrine fully hits the graveyard. Return to play? Yes. (I know, picky.) Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 21 October 2003", 22 Oct 2003
• Q: A friend and I had a dispute this weekend about the timing of "Pick Your Battles". The wording on the card states that you are reacting to the part of the Resolution Phase where your army would normally be destroyed. (You pick one unit to be destroyed instead of the entire army...)
  I would like to play "Suspended Terrain" to lock down my opponent's army and then bail out using "Pick Your Battles", but my friend said that since "Pick..." lets my army live, they would be locked down, too.
  My argument was that "Suspended Terrain" clearly states that it resolves *after* the Resolution Phase, and "Pick..." happens *during* the Resolution Phase, so my units would already have been sent home bowed (and therefore would not be affected by the Terrain). But, since they were bowed by "Pick..." and not "Suspended...", they could unbow during my next straighten phase as normal (leaving my opponent ripe for destruction).
  How does this work? Am I right, or is my friend?
  A: Suspended Terrain only applies to "all units in this battle when the Resolution Segment ends". Those are the only units forced to bow and the only ones prevented from straightening.
  (For what it's worth, Suspended Terrain resolves at the usual time for a Delayed Terrain. It creates an effect that happens a short time later.) Jeff Alexander, "post for 12 May 2003", 13 May 2003
• Q: Can you use the Yu ability of your personalities and then play pick your battles in orther to avoid the destrution of them?
  A: Yes.
  The destruction of cards in the winning army happens between determining which army has won and destroying the losing one. Pick Your Battles is played immediately before the losing army is destroyed. [card text] Jeff Alexander, "post for 25 April 2003", 26 Apr 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: Can " fall on your knees " cancel " pick your battles" ?
  No. Pick Your Battles is not played in the Battle Action Segment. "Battle resolution is the only time the phrase 'destroying an army' is satisfied." [GE rulebook]
  Can you "Fall on Your Knees" a "Rallying Cry"? Can you "Faith in my Clan" a "Rallyiing Cry"?
  A: Let's read the cards:
  Fall on Your Knees Reaction: Play this card when a player plays a Reaction during the Battle Action Segment. Cancel the Reaction.
  Faith In My Clan You may play this card only if a Clan Champion from your Faction is in your army. Reaction: Cancel an action.
  Rallying Cry Reaction: Play this card after a Resolution Segment. Your units in the battle do not become bowed by the combat.
  Fall On Your Knees can't cancel Rallying Cry because Rallying Cry is played during the wrong Segment.
  Faith In My Clan can be played if you have an army anywhere on the board that contains one of your Clan Champions. It can't cancel a Rally after the very last battle, but it might be able to cancel one at an earlier battle. Jeff Alexander, "post for 7 November 2002", 8 Nov 2002
• Q: Type Action Title Pick Your Battles Rarity/Edition 1000 Years of Darkness Text Reaction: Play before your army is destroyed for losing or tying in a battle. Only one unit of your choice in your army is destroyed. The rest return to their controller's homes, bowed. Your opponent in the battle still gains honor as if your entire army had been destroyed. Gold 0 Focus 2
  How well will this combo with the yu trait. It seems to me with the way that I am reading it that I can dish out my yu and still save my army. Since destruction is not a requirment of the yu trait. I could play this right before they are killed but after I do my yu.
  A: You are correct. The trigger for activating the Yu trait is losing (not tying) a battle. Your units do not actually have to die, so sparing them does not deprive you of their return destruction. Jeff Alexander, "post for 4 November 2002", 5 Nov 2002
• Q: 4) Pick Your Battles Are you targetting the one person destroyed?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "post for 4 Oct 2002", 7 Oct 2002