Political Outcast

Legend of the Five Rings card from Web of Lies

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

4

Keywords

Gozoku, Political

Card Text

Gozoku Political Limited: If you have taken no other actions this phase, bow a Courtier or Gozoku Personality controlled by any player, who performs this action if he is yours. If he bowed, until your next turn begins, Limited and Open actions on non-Stronghold cards have the additional cost, "Bow your Gozoku Personality."

Focus Value

2

Legality

Age of Enlightenment (Lotus), Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Affects actions as they are announced, and thus affects actions on cards that are not in play. [Reversal, ZF, web, 9 June 2005] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 29

Rules Q&A

• Q: Some months back it was ruled that when Doji Konishiko copied an action on a card with a gold cost in the coin on the card that the copy did not have the cost. The only way this ruling makes sense is that the gold coin value is the gold cost of playing the card not the action. See here: http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13173&highlight=konishiko
  Therefore since it has been established that an action card can have a gold cost independent of any action on the card it makes sense that actions on the card can have costs independent of any cost of the card. Therfore their costs can be modified independently of the costs of the card due to a particular game state. Therefore Political Outcast adds a cost to open and limited actions on cards independently of the card the action is printed on.
  BTW the inability to respond to rulings in the same thread is very annoying. Would it be possible to set PHPBB to allow the thread author to reply in his threads?
  A: You are splitting hairs unnecessarily. There is no functional difference between the Gold cost of an action card and any additional (rulesheet) costs in the action itself. They must all be paid to take the given action.
  Konishiko doesn't copy the card's Gold cost because it is not written within the text that she copies. This is not a tricky or precedent-setting ruling. Jeff Alexander, "Clarification to game state question", 7 Jun 2005
• Q: Would Political Outcast prevent opponents from using Ninja Mentor's built-in destruction clause?
  A: No. Ninja Mentor creates a Battle action; Political Outcast doesn't affect those. Zen Faulkes, "Ninja Mentor + Political Outcast", 11 Apr 2005
• Q: If I only have bowed courtiers in play, and Shosuro Hokii among them, can my opponent exploit her trait to play Political Outcast?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Re: Shosuro Hokii and Political Outcast", 27 Mar 2005
• Q: If I chose the courtier option, does it have to be a courtier I controll, or is it also affected by the "controlled by any player" clause?
  A: Any player. Zen Faulkes, "Political Outcast question", 17 Mar 2005
• Q: I play political outcast at the start of my turn. Can I still play attachments without bowing a gozoku personality?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Political Outcast and attachments", 14 Mar 2005
• Q: Zen, is there a legal, current Shadowlands stronghold that will allow this?
  A: I make rulings for all cards and strongholds, not just ones that are legal in current storyline simulation play. Zen Faulkes, "Umasu Items and Focus, and Political Outcast in Shadowlands", 20 Feb 2005
• Q: Let's say that, with Umasu Sensei, I have a 3 force peep with no followers. I give him a Hero's Banner. Later on, I give him a follower. Would he be 4 force or 3?
  Also, let's say I put Hero's Banner on a 3 force peep who has a follower. Then, later on he loses his follower. Is he 4 force or 3?
  A: If the suppression ends or begins, recalculate if the force bonus is fram attached cards, because those are checked continuously. Zen Faulkes, "Umasu Items and Focus, and Political Outcast in Shadowlands", 20 Feb 2005
• Q: Focusing in duels (when not using a follower) of force yields values higher than 0 because this increase in force is due to a rulebook effect, correct?
  A: No. Rules Archive, General rules, Duels. Umasu Sensei doesn't say "card effects," it says "from cards," and the Rules Archive entry is broadly worded. Zen Faulkes, "Umasu Items and Focus, and Political Outcast in Shadowlands", 19 Feb 2005
• Q: Items don't count as a force increase for this purpose do they?
  A: For what purpose? Assuming the question is whether Umasu Sensei prevents bonuses from Items: Items are cards. No bonus from them. Zen Faulkes, "Umasu Items and Focus, and Political Outcast in Shadowlands", 19 Feb 2005
• Q: If I am playing out of a SLH stronghold can I play political outcast by bowing one of their courtiers or gozoku, as they are performing the action (as Saori performs the initiating of her duels)?
  A: Which stronghold? The texts are slightly different. Zen Faulkes, "Umasu Items and Focus, and Political Outcast in Shadowlands", 19 Feb 2005