Barracks

Legend of the Five Rings card from Ambition's Debt

Card Type

Holding

Gold Cost

2

Keywords

Fortification

Card Text

You may Equip and attach Followers to this Fortification as if it were a Personality, except it does not perform the attaching action, you ignore the Follower's Honor Requirement, and you pay only half the Follower's cost after all other cost modifications, rounded down.
Followers attached to this Fortification will not detach in any way that leaves them in play after doing so.
During battles at this Province's battlefields, if this Fortification has any Followers, it and they are considered a defending unit in your army, except the unit has no Personality and will not move, which is not negation.

Legality

Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• May attach a follower during battle (e.g., Yokatsu Sensei), even in a battle in which you have no other units, because it brings a unit into battle. [ZF, April 2000] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 78
• The Attacker gains 2 Honor for destroying Barracks in battle, because it acts as a defending unit, including being destroyed like one. [VRD, 4 December 2000] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 78
• Under Kaiu Sensei, the Barracks' unit is present in every battle during the Attack Phase, and will be destroyed if the attacking army's force at any province is larger than the defending army's force at that province. [JA, January 2001] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 78

Rules Q&A

• Q: If I am using Shinden Horiuchi as my stronghold, and I have a Shogun's Barracks in play, can I play my spells as battle actions, per the Barracks' ability? I know cards in the deck and cards in the discard are not affected because they aren't technically mine, but I wasn't sure about my hand.
  A: First, I'm going to assume that you mean "The Shogun's Armory," not the Barracks. The Barracks are a holding that can let you refill a Province face-up. The Shogun's Armory has a trait that lets you attach Items out of turn.
  Second, no, this won't let you attach Spells as Battle actions. Cards in your hand aren't "your cards" either. They are just as unaffected as cards in the Discard Pile or a deck. You don't control any of them, which is the only thing a generic "your" looks for in cards. See also Diamond Edition Rulebook, page 105. Martin Lund, "Rules for 27 June 2004", 29 Jun 2004
• Q: Question come up in a top 16 match in tenn Kotei. During your Event Phase a Region is revealed and resolves. The player then uses Shogun's Barracks to flip the Dynasty card over that just refilled the provinice. Now an Event pops up in the same Provinice. Can this Event Resolve? I say No. I believe each provinice is checked only once for a region or event Correct?
  A: The instruction for each card-slot in the province is to reveal, resolve event / attach / region, then refill, then move to the next province. Even if you refill face-up, there is no instruction to resolve / attach the new card. Martin Lund, "Rules for 24 June 2004", 28 Jun 2004
• Q: The Plains of Otosan Uchi allows both cards to be revealed as well as letting you choose the order.
  So the difference is that the cards are revealed as part of the Events Phase, rather than the 'Barracks (and other cards) ability triggering after the cards have been revealed?
  A: Right. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 17 March 2004", 18 Mar 2004
• Q: The ruling on Shogun's Barracks and Events/Regions made me wonder... if a province is only checked once for events, what about Plains of Otosan Uchi? Does this mean that only one event can resolve in that province even though it holds two cards?
  A: The Plains of Otosan Uchi allows both cards to be revealed as well as letting you choose the order. Jeff Alexander, "rules for 12 March 2004", 13 Mar 2004
• Q: Do you have to have the Imperial Favor to use this action if your Wind is Akodo Kaneka?
  A: No (card text). Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 15 November 2003", 15 Nov 2003
• Q: For cards such as Shogun's Barracks. Do you need to have control of the favor to use its ability?
  Depends what wind you have.
  I'm playing Akodo Kaneka. [D]o I have to control the favor in order to use its ability?
  A: No. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 24 August 2003", 24 Aug 2003
• Q: For cards such as Shogun's Barracks. Do you need to have control of the favor to use its ability?
  A: Depends what wind you have. Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 22 August 2003, Part 2", 23 Aug 2003
• Q: Suppose I have Kaiu Sensei in play, and a Barracks with Followers attached.
  * first, is the Barracks considered a unit without a Personality?
  A: Yes, by card text. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 16 January 2001", 19 Jan 2001
• Q: I realize that this question has probably already been asked, but I probably missed the answer.
  If using Kaiu Sensei, and you have a Barracks in play, do the followers in the barracks contribute force to defending all of your provinces?
  A: Yes. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 17 January 2001", 19 Jan 2001
• Q: When using Kaiu Sensei:
  1. Has it been ruled conclusively that Followers at a Barracks are considered to be at all Provinces?
  A: Yes. Barracks says "During battles at this province, the Barracks and its Followers act as a defending unit if the Barracks has any Followers attached." That's a trait, so it's active during battles at all your Provinces as though it were at that Province. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 13 January 2001", 16 Jan 2001
• Q: If the answer to question #1 is yes:
  2. I have 8F of Followers attached to a Barracks at Province #1. My opponent attacks Province #2. During Resolution, he has 9F. Are my Followers destroyed?
  A: Yes. By its own text, the Followers + Barracks is considered a defending unit at Province #2, and so will be destroyed during resolution upon losing or tying in a battle. Each card will also be worth honor, including the Barracks itself. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 13 January 2001", 16 Jan 2001
• Q: 3. I have a Defenders of the Walls in a Barracks at Province #1. There are two other Fortifications at Province #1, for a total of three. My opponent is attacking Province #2, which has no Fortifications attached. What is the total Force of Defenders of the Wall in the battle at Province #2?
  A: An unadjusted 2. There are no Fortifications at Province #2. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 13 January 2001", 16 Jan 2001
• Q: Hello everybody. Yes, my friend is trying to break Barracks.
  Barracks http://imperialassembly.com/oracle/#cardid=706 Fortification You may attach Followers to this card as if it were a Personality, except it does not perform the attaching action, you ignore the Follower's Honor Requirement, and you pay only half its cost after all other cost modifications, rounded down.
  Shogun's Advisors http://imperialassembly.com/oracle/#cardid=7073 Follower Political Limited: Bow this card and target a Personality: This Personality duels the target. Each Personality uses his Personal Honor as his duel stat. The winner's controller gains 3 Honor. Dishonor the loser.
  Personal Champion http://imperialassembly.com/oracle/#cardid=5930 Follower Reaction: Any number of times per turn, after this Personality enters a duel, bow this card: Until the duel ends, this card is considered to be a 3C Personality and enters the duel instead.
  Can Shogun's Advisors attached to Barracks issue a challenge then be replaced by Personal Champion?
  Thank you!
  A: No, because the challenge must be issued by a Personality. Alex Jones, "Barracks", 14 Feb 2013
• Q: Barracks of the damned: if you make Kaiu Hisayuki Shadowlands, he only gets +1 force because Barracks is using a trait to give force, not ability?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Kaiu Hisayuki", 10 Apr 2008
• Q: Hi. Kozan Force 7 is in an army with a tsi blade attached +2 force and has +1 force from Barracks of the Dammed and has had the crab strength played on him +4 force (total 14)
  He is destroyed and uses his reaction. What force does he contribute to the army after he is dead?
  Thanks for your time, Adrian.
  A: 11. He doesn't have the Tsi blade attached, so he loses that bonus, and he isn't in play, so he loses the Barracks bonus. Chris Fuchs, "What force does Hida kazan contribute?", 30 Oct 2007
• Q: [OBH] So Barracks and Kaiu Sensei... some questions:
  - As it doesn't perform the attaching action, I assume Luxurious Silk's ability (now that it can no longer be used for recruit or attach actions) allows you to pay for those followers?
  - During battle at provinces where Barracks is not attached, am I correct in understanding that this creates a sort of quantum unit, which can perform actions and be targeted by actions (provided they don't require a personality); adds its force to the defending army, but isn't destroyed for losing as the cards are not actually at the battlefield?
  A: 1. In an environment where Luxurious Silk cannot pay for Recruit or Equip, no, its Reaction cannot pay for Followers going onto the Barracks. Barracks's trait simply modifies what you can do with the Equip action.
  2. The Barracks is considered to be a defending unit at every Province's battlefield under Kaiu Sensei's effects and will therefore be destroyed like one at any losing battle, even if not physically present at that Province. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 24 Dec 2025