Silent Rot

Legend of the Five Rings card from Celestial Edition, The Heaven's Will

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Ninja

Card Text

Battle: Choose your performing unbowed Ninja and target an enemy card: Bow it if it has no attachments. Destroy it if it has any Poison tokens.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial), Race for the Throne (Samurai)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Silent Rot 0G 1FV Ninja Battle: Target your unbowed Ninja: Target an enemy card. Bow it if it has no attachments. Destroy it if it has any Poison tokens." [MRP, Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 154

Rules Q&A

• Q: This was inspired by viewtopic.php?f=59&t=94545 but has no actual relation to it.
  Can I Iron Will a Silent Rot even if Silent Rot is using a Ninja for the area before the colon? Similarly, can Steel on Steel be Iron Will'd, since neither action is performed, but simply targets?
  Iron Will: Reaction: After another player targets your Paragon with a Battle action performed by a Personality with lower Personal Honor: The action's costs are ignored and its effects are negated. That player may take an additional Battle action.
  Steel on Steel: Battle: Target your unbowed Personality: He challenges a target enemy Personality. Destroy the duel's loser.
  Silent Rot: Battle: Target your unbowed Ninja: Target an enemy card. Bow it if it has no attachments. Destroy it if it has any Poison tokens.
  A: Silent Rot and Steel on Steel are both performed when a Personality is targeted in the constraints block, per the rules on performing, specifically the reference to cards printed before The Plague War.
  If Silent Rot is playing targeting Red Crane Dojo in a manner similar to the referenced question, it is not performed, and therefore Iron Will cannot be used against it. Jon Palmer, "RE: Silent Rot/Steel on Steel and Iron Will", 24 Oct 2011
• Q: On this topic: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=94545#p1251870
  Since Silent Rot predates The Plague War, does its constraints block imply performing?
  Or phrased another way, would Silent Rot targeting Red Crane Dojo have been a legal choice BEFORE the change in card format in BtD?
  A: Since Silent Rot predates The Plague War, does its constraints block imply performing? Not exactly - targeting in the constraints block in abilities printed prior to The Plague War implies performing only when the targeted card is a Personality or Follower.
  Or phrased another way, would Silent Rot targeting Red Crane Dojo have been a legal choice BEFORE the change in card format in BtD? Yes Alex Jones, "Silent Rot and Red Crane Dojo", 23 Oct 2011
• Q: This is a follow-up to this subject: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=94545&p=1251827
  I'm actually surprised of your answer. It wasn't actually the rule of location that was preventing it from happening, in my opinion.
  Our debate mostly resolved around the definition of "perform" made in the comprehensive rules.
  In that chapter, two things are stated:
  (Which Silent Riot is)
  My point was to basically say: - You have to choose a Ninja to perform an action. As per the second quote, it would have to be a Personnality or a Follower.
  His point was to say: -> U choose a holding to perform my action, therefore my action is not performed so I don't fall into any of the "perform" cases.
  While Celestial is almost over and letting such an "oddity" continue for the couple of months left is ok in my opinion. But, since it was discuessed on the french forums, we believe there might something to cover here for Emperor Edition to avoid this kinds of things to happen in the future (with the new wording on cards, it might disappear by itself but I believe it might be good to put this under scrutiny to avoid bad things to happen).
  A: Targeting in constraints only indicates performing if the targeted card is a Personality or Follower (and the ability is on a card printed prior to The Plague War).
  If Silent Rot said, "Choose your performing unbowed Ninja" then you would have to choose a Personality or Follower, but it doesn't, so you don't.
  As you point out, this situation can't occur (hopefully) in Emperor Edition, because of the introduction of explicit performing. Alex Jones, "Silent Rot and Red Crane Dojo", 22 Oct 2011
• Q: I have a player who thinks we can perform Silent Riot with an unbowed Red Crane Dojo.
  Silent Rot Ninja Battle: Target your unbowed Ninja: Target an enemy card. Bow it if it has no attachments. Destroy it if it has any Poison tokens.
  Red Crane Dojo Ninja • Dojo Bow this card: Produce 3 Gold, or 4 Gold when paying for a Ninja card.| Reaction: Even if this card is bowed, after an action targets your Personality: Remove Ninja and Shadowlands from him until the action ends.
  Even though Im' pretty sure that you cannot and Ithink I have demonstrated that to him, I guess he'll only listen to an official ruling or maybe a more accurate reason than mine.
  Can you help clearing it out ?
  A: That works.
  The Rule of Location (which I am assuming is what you think would stop it) says: A card in a unit must be at the current battlefield to be targeted by, or explicitly perform, a Battle action.
  However, a Holding is not "a card in a unit", so it is not bound by the Rule of Location. Alex Jones, "Silent Rot and Red Crane Dojo", 22 Oct 2011