Shosuro Saemon

Legend of the Five Rings card from Web of Lies

Card Type

Personality

Force

2

Chi

3

Honor Requirement

-

Gold Cost

7

Personal Honor

1

Clan

Ninja, Scorpion

Keywords

Ninja, Samurai, Scorpion Clan

Card Text

Reaction: After another player's action targets Saemon, target your Personality: Create a 1F Ninja Follower and attach it to him.
Battle: Target your Personality: Create a 1F Ninja Follower and attach it to him.

Legality

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

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• An action that targets multiple times (e.g., consecutive Ranged Attacks) may be responded to multiple times and create multiple follower tokens. [ML, web, 16 February 2005] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 124

Rules Q&A

• Q: The scorpion player uses tangen to redirect to saemon, and saemon uses his ability to pass out a follower token. However because tangen sensei's restriction is "once per battle" and the declaration degment isn't a battle, he then uses tangen's ability to redirect the already-redirected action back to saemon, and it triggers saemons ability. Repeat this process an infinite number of times.
  Does this infinite combo work?
  A: No. See Jeff's explanation below. Martin Lund, "Rules for 2 February 2005", 7 Feb 2005
• Q: If I target Shosuro Saemon with a Ranged Attack (at least Range 2), what happens?
  A: Um ... traits and Reactions triggering off of Targeting are played?
  If what you are trying to ask here is, "What happens if I respond to Saemon being targeted by a Ranged Attack by giving him a follower, thereby making him an illegal target for the Ranged Attack," then I've got an answer for you.
  "If one or more of an action's targets become illegal between when they are chosen and when the action begins to resolve, that action will not affect those targets. This remains true even if they become illegal, then return to being legal. [JA, 15 June 2004; 22 June 2004]" (Accumulated Rulings, "Actions and abilities")
  The Action with the Ranged Attack happens, but it has no effect on Saemon. Martin Lund, "Rules for 31 January 2005", 4 Feb 2005
• Q: Shosuro Saemon: -If I make a ranged in Shosuro Saemon and, as a reaction, he give himself a 1F ninja follower, what will happen? Will the ranged become ilegal because he have a follower attached? Will the follower be destroyed or he will be the one who dies?
  A: [MARTY]
  "If one or more of an action's targets become illegal between when they are chosen and when the action begins to resolve, that action will not affect those targets. This remains true even if they become illegal, then return to being legal. [JA, 15 June 2004; 22 June 2004]" (Accumulated Rulings, "Actions and abilities")
  The Ranged Attack will have no effect on Saemon. Martin Lund, "Rules for 21 January 2005", 24 Jan 2005
• Q: 1) If my opponent uses his Maru to make me bow someone, and I chose to bow Shosuro Saemon, can I use Saemon's reaction to give himself a follower? I suspect the answer is yes because Saemon says "Whenever he is targetted by an opponent's action", which he is, though it isn't the opponent doing the targetting.
  A: Saemon only cares that is is another player's Action doing the targeting, not which player is doing the targeting. It is completely legal to choose Saemon as your Maru-victim and use the Reaction to make a Follower. Martin Lund, "Rules for 14 January 2005", 19 Jan 2005
• Q: I am a little confused by how Shosuro Saemon's reaction works with cards that specifically check for the presence of followers, (such as Refugees, Peasant Vengeance, etc.)
  A: "If one or more of an action's targets become illegal between when they are chosen and when the action begins to resolve, that action will not affect those targets. This remains true even if they become illegal, then return to being legal. [JA, 15 June 2004; 22 June 2004]" (Accumulated Rulings, "Actions and abilities")
  Saemon says, "Reaction: After another player’s action targets Saemon: Target a Personality you control. Give him a 1F Ninja Follower token."
  That happens before the Action begins to resolve effects, so Saemon can cause the effects of such cards to fail against him by using his ability on himself. Martin Lund, "Rules for 27 and 28 December", 4 Jan 2005
• Q: A player targets a Ranged Attack on Shosuro Saemon. Saemon's controler uses his reaction to attack a 1F Ninja Follower to Saemon.
  What happens to the Ranged Attack?
  A: Saemon would be destroyed. The Ranged Attack was legally targeted, and nothing about adding a Follower to him after that fact will negate or alter its effects (without specific text to that effect, ala Goju Yurishi or Snake Tattoo). Brook Cunningham, "Shosuro Saemon and Ranged Attacks", 11 Sep 2012
• Q: My opponent targets Shosuro Saemon with a Peasant Vengence or a ranged attack. Saemon uses his reaction to attach a follower. What happens to the Peasant Vengence or ranged attack?
  A: It still happens now. Jeff Alexander, "Lotus - Actions that become illegal", 12 Oct 2005
• Q: 2.- 2F Ranged Attack vs. Shosuro Saemon
  I target Saemon without Followers with a 2F Ranged Attack
  Saemon reacts and give him a 1F Follower
  A: Again, the existing rules cover this regardless of the expanded ruling. Jeff Alexander, "Re: Saori, breaking the rules and make a ruling", 5 Mar 2005
• Q: In short, can Shosuro Saemon use his Reaction each
  time Kuro's Fire targets him with one of its
  Consecutive Ranged Attacks, or only the first time?
  I'm leaning towards "every time," on this one.
  Reaction: After another player's action targets
  Saemon:
  Me too. Each targeting is a new and chronologically separate
  trigger. There is no issue of multiple uses of one printed Reaction
  to one trigger.
  --
  Jeff Alexander
  Lead Designer, L5R CCG
  Alderac Entertainment Group
  A: - Marty Lund
  Deputy Rules Monkey Martin Lund, "Saemon and consecutive ranged attacks", 16 Feb 2005