Shinjo Suboto

Legend of the Five Rings card from Web of Lies

Card Type

Personality

Force

4

Chi

2

Honor Requirement

-

Gold Cost

8

Personal Honor

1

Clan

Unicorn

Keywords

Cavalry, Bushi, Unicorn Clan

Card Text

Battle: If Suboto is face-up in one of your provinces and any enemy units are at the current battlefield: Bring him into play there, paying all costs unless you are the Defender.
Battle: Target a Region: Straighten it.

Legality

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

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• Ability may be used if you are not the Defender. [JA, 15 November 2004] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 123

Rules Q&A

• Q: I have Shinjo Suboto face up in my provinces. My opponent plays Ambush on one of my Personalities. Can I bring Suboto into play, either in the Ambush battle or in my fief?
  A: You can bring him into play at that battlefield. Ambush prevents Personalities from Assigning or Moving into the Battefield, not being brought into play there. Martin Lund, "Rules for 1 January 2004", 6 Jan 2005
• Q: Shinjo Suboto: "Pay Suboto's Gold cost if you are not the Defender: If Suboto is face-up in one of your Provinces and will be opposed, bring him into play in the current battle." Does this technically count as "moving" him into the battle?
  A: No. Bringing a card into play at a Battlefield is not the same as moving a card into a battlefield.
  This is why you can use Essence of Gaki-do in an Ambush. Martin Lund, "Rules for 29 November 2004", 2 Dec 2004
• Q: If you are not the Defender, can I still bring him into play in the current battlefield by paying his gold cost?
  A: "If you are not the defender" only refers to the condition under which you must pay Suboto's Gold Cost as a cost of the Action - nothing more. Martin Lund, "Rules for 29 November 2004", 2 Dec 2004
• Q: My opponent is the defender and brings Suboto into play in the current battle. I have a clan champion there and I play faith in my clan to cancel the action. What happens to Suboto?
  A: Not a lot. See Diamond rules, pg. 72. Zen Faulkes, "Faith in My Clan + Shinjo Suboto", 14 Mar 2005
• Q: Shinjo Suboto has the ability to enter play during a battle that reads:
  Battle: Pay Suboto's Gold cost if you are not the Defender: If Suboto is face-up in one of your Provinces and will be opposed, bring him into play in the current battle.
  Can you bring him into play as the defender for free. I think you cannot because you cannot pay the cost of the ability which requires you to not be the defender.
  A: Short answer: what Zen said. ["Yes."]
  Long answer: Everything between an action's type keyword and the second main colon describes that action's cost(*). Restrictions on when the action can be taken appear at the beginning of the targeting & effects section. Any conditional clauses in the cost part only alter the cost; they don't change when the action is usable.
  If you are not the Defender, this action's cost is "pay Sabuto's Gold cost".
  If you are the Defender, there is no cost at all.
  The only built-in restrictions on using this action are that Sabuto be face-up in one of your Provinces, and that he be opposed if he enters the current battle in your army.
  * Don't forget that Action cards have a Gold cost, too. It's also part of the cost of every action on the card. Jeff Alexander, "Shinjo Suboto coming into to play", 3 Mar 2005