Rampant Plague

Legend of the Five Rings card from Shadowlands

Card Type

Event

Keywords

Unique, Plague

Card Text

After you reveal cards in your Provinces at the start of your turn, if this Event is face-up in one of them, until the game ends, before your Action Phase begins each turn, each player gives one -1C Plague token to one of his own Personalities and to another Personality, and each player has the ability, "Dynasty: Once per game, destroy all your Personalities with Plague tokens; if this destroyed them all or you had none, then until the game ends, your Personalities will not be given Plague tokens."

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial)

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• You may destroy "all" your plague-bearing Personalities if you have none. [FAQ 3.0.1] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 75
• Q: If I end up with zero Personalities with plague tokens while Rampant Plague is out, can I become immune by killing "all" of them? A: You sure can. Destroying all your plague-bearing Personalities is easy when you don't have any. (Point of interest: there are other cards, such as Plague Zombies, which generate plague tokens too. You'd need to destroy anyone with these tokens as well if you want to become immune to Rampant Plague.) Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, Version 3.6.2, May 1998, p. 20

Rules Q&A

• Q: For the event "Rampant Plague", let's say it resolves when I have no personalities out. Is my opponent forced to give a token to a second personality of his own? If he only has one personality, is he exempt from that because of the "other" clause?
  A: Yes and yes. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 9 Feb. 2004", 10 Feb 2004
• Q: - select one of the personalities of the plyer of my right under the effect of a Occult Murders or a Rampant Plague if I'm using an Yodin Sensei?
  A: No and no. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 22-23 September 2001", 24 Sep 2001
• Q: [I know you guys are busy with the Ivory stuff right now, but anyway...]
  Back in 2003, I asked what was the possible sequence for resolving a Rampant Plague's effect. Since it mentions "each player gives one -1C Plague token to one of his own Personalities and to another Personality", the global effect is different depending on who does this first. Let's assume you have no personalities in play when you resolve RP:
  - if you (Rampant Plague's controller) do the effect first, you pick one of your opponent's personalities for the second plague token. Then your savvy opponent gives his first Plague token to the same personality, and his second token to another one of his personalities. Total peeps contaminated = 2.
  - if your opponent does the effect first, he is forced to pick two of his personalities; then you choose ANOTHER of his personalities for your second token. Total peeps contaminated = 3.
  Back at the time, Jeff Alexander replied saying "active player decides who resolves the effect first". I was wondering if this is still vaild in today's Age of Ivory?
  A: Nothing has overturned this; the active player will still decide which player gives out the tokens first. Jon Palmer, "Rampant Plague effects", 20 Mar 2014
• Q: Following up on this ruling:
  I know that interpreting Legacy wordings is as much art as science. However, why is it legal for a player to "apply the effect, 'Destroy all of [your] Personalities with Plague tokens,'" if that player controls zero Personalities? From the Comprehensive Rules about numbers, "'All' does not include zero. A cost that refers to affecting 'all' of a certain thing requires that one or more of those things is affected. A requirement that refers to 'all' of a certain thing requires that there be one or more of those things. [ADDED 18 July 2009]"
  The destruction of Personalities to grant Rampant Plague immunity seems to be the cost of that effect, and so would be subject to the "all" rule.
  A: True, but the destruction of the plague-bearing Personalities is not a cost of becoming immune, it's an effect; the rules you quote about "all" only apply when it is used in the context of a cost or condition. Alex Jones, "Rampant Plague", 21 Mar 2011
• Q: Following this: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=89569
  What I meant was this for example:
  I reveal Rampant Plague turn 1 and I buy no personalities. On my dynasty phase I decide to destroy all my personalities with plague tokens to become immune. Since I don't have any personalities in play is this legal? Do I become immune since I took that option?
  Thanks,
  Javier
  A: You do not have to destroy any Personalities to become immune to the plague, you just have to apply the effect, "Destroy all of [your] Personalities with Plague tokens." Alex Jones, "Rampant Plague", 21 Mar 2011
• Q: Is it required by a player to destroy at least only personality to end its effects?
  A: Strictly speaking, no; practically speaking, probably. "When all players are immune, the plague ends." So if you have a way to become immure that doesn't require destroying Personalities, go for it. I cannot recall off the top of my head if there are other ways for a player to become immune, though. Zen Faulkes, "Rampant Plague", 20 Mar 2011
• Q: Hi there,
  What will happen in the case player A doesn't have any personality in play, player B has lots, with this event?
  So in player's A turn he will add a -1C token to none of his personalities (because he doesn't own one) and one -1C token to one of player's B personalities, right?
  And what about in player's B turn? He will add a -1C token to one of his own personalities and then, since player A doesn't have any personality he will have to choose another one of his own personalities to add a -1C token to it?
  Rampant Plague All players give one -1C Plague token to one of their own Personalities and any one other Personality in play. During each of your Events Phases, all players must repeat this. A player may, during his Dynasty Phase, destroy all of his Personalities with Plague tokens and becomes immune to the plague. He cannot be the target of plague tokens this game. When all players are immune, the plague ends.
  A: Yes, all of the above is correct. Brook Cunningham, "Rampant Plague + No Personalities", 14 Feb 2011