Ryokan's Sword

Legend of the Five Rings card from Gold Edition, Pearl Edition, Time of the Void

Card Type

Item

Force

+1

Chi

+1

Gold Cost

3

Keywords

Weapon

Card Text

During a duel involving this Personality, cards you focus from the top of your deck do not count toward the four times you are allowed to focus in a duel, but you may not look at such cards until they are revealed and if any are revealed that could not have been legally focused from your hand, they are immediately discarded (before Focus Effects resolve).

Focus Value

3

Legality

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

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: General questions about Oracle of Fire
  1. Can you look at the Card before you focus it, or is it like Ryokan's Sword where you just take it from the fate deck and place it as a focus? (Sorry.. the only one I have is the Imperial edition, where it says "Draw a card from your Fate Deck and use this as an additional focus". Don't know if it's been reworded)
  A: l5rsearch.com, baby!
  The Gold edition card reads as:
  Elemental Reaction: Before a duel begins, if your Personality can Focus, bow the Oracle of Fire and pay 1 gold to play your Fate deck's top card as an extra Focus card.
  So, no. When you use the Oracle, you have to Focus the card not knowing what it is. Vaughn Derderian, "Post for June 16, 2003", 16 Jun 2003
• Q: Ryokan's Sword When this personality focuses, you may play your Fate deck's top card as the Focus card. Do not look at the card until someone strikes. If you cannot focus with the card, discard it when you reveal it.
  1) ARE there any fate cards that cannot be focussed?
  A: There are none that can never be focused, but there are cards that cannot be focused under certain situations, like The Second Shout, and that cause such situations, like Blade of Truths. Jeff Alexander, "post for 20 February 2003", 21 Feb 2003
• Q: Also, how would this extend to focussing with Ryokan's Sword?
  A: Okay now, this one will need to go to the Rules Team. Jeff Alexander, "post for 30-31 January 2003", 1 Feb 2003
• Q: "No More Games, Yasuki"
  You may play this card face-up as a focus in a duel to force the opposing player to focus, if able, at his or her next chance to focus or strike. The focus is chosen randomly from the cards that player can legally focus."
  Ryokan's Sword
  When this Personality focuses, you may play your Fate deck's top card as the Focus card. Do not look at the card until someone strikes. If you cannot focus with the card, discard it when you reveal it.
  If I am duelling a Personality w/ Ryokan's Sword attached, and play "No More Games, Yasuki," can I "randomly" choose to make him focus the top card of his Fate Deck, as it is by card text legal for him to do?
  A: The choice to focus from the top of the deck still belongs to the sword's controller, and if it's taken, nothing is chosen randomly -- the top card of the deck is focussed. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 October 2002", 30 Oct 2002
• Q: First question : How do Ryokan's Sword and the Blades of Truths interact ? What if the top card of my deck is of the focus value I was prohibited from using with the blade ?
  A: In that case, you read Ryokan's Sword...particularly the part where it says "If you cannot focus with the card, discard it when you reveal it." Jeff Alexander, "post for 22 October 2002", 23 Oct 2002
• Q: Why would the secon dcard have to come from your hand?
  Look at Ryokan's Sword. It says "when this personality focuses". The secodn card is still a focus so shouldn't he be allowed to take either (or both) from the top of his deck?
  A: The only potential problem I see with Zen's ruling is that Ryoken's Sword refers to "THE Focus card" (emphasis mine), which is arguably grounds for the point of view that the Sword's trait can't be used if more than one card is focused. Still, as worded, the Sword does not allow multiple replacements per focus, and Uso IS only focusing once when he puts those two cards down, so I'm going to side with Zen on this one. Jeff Alexander, "post for 29 May 2002", 30 May 2002
• Q: Why would the secon dcard have to come from your hand? Look at Ryokan's Sword. It says "when this personality focuses". The secodn card is still a focus so shouldn't he be allowed to take either (or both) from the top of his deck?
  A: I'll leave the general question for Jeff. As to the specific one, you didn't quote all of the text for Ryokan's Sword: "When this personality focuses, you may play your Fate deck's top card as the Focus card."
  While he gets to use two cards, Uso focuses only once (see Archive). Ryokan's Sword allows one card off the top per focusing opportunity. So only one card can come from the Fate deck. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 24 May 2002", 25 May 2002
• Q: I have a question about the Ring of Fire and Ryokan's Sword and how they interact if a Personality with the Sword is dueling a Personality controlled by a player with the Ring in play..
  Ring of Fire: The contoller of any Personality dueling any of your Personalities must play Focus cards face up.
  Ryokan's Sword: When this Personality focuses, you may play your Fate deck's top card as the Focus card. Do not look at the card until someone strikes....
  Which takes precedence? The Ring which makes your opponent play Focus cards face up? Or the Sword which specifically states that you don't look at it (presumably meaning face down)? I'm inclined to say that the Ring wins out, since the Sword seems to just mean that even the player focusing the cards should have no idea what they are. Clarification for one of my players, however, is desired. Thanks!
  A: They'd be focused face-up due to the Ring. The Sword's player would then see them. Jeff Alexander, "post for 15 April 2002", 16 Apr 2002
• Q: If a personality has multiple copies of Ryokan's Sword attached, can that personality focus as many times as he/she has swords attached as one single focus?
  A: It doesn't matter how many card effects you stack together that all say "you can do A instead of B". As soon as you choose to do B, you're no longer doing A, so you can't take advantage of any of the other bountiful opportunities to do B instead. So, no, you don't get to place extra focusses. Jeff Alexander, "post for 28 February 2002", 1 Mar 2002