Southern Blockade

Legend of the Five Rings card from The Dead of Winter

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

4

Card Text

Personalities and Holdings will not enter play from the province last targeted by this card's ability, and its player has the ability, "Limited: Pay 4 Gold: Discard a card in play titled Southern Blockade."
Open: If it is not the active player's first turn of the game, target a province: Put this card into play.

Focus Value

3

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: Does Southern Blockade stay in play until the end of the game?
  A: That or until something removes it. Entering play is an instantaneous effect (http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Effects#Instantaneous_effects), which has no duration. Zen Faulkes, "Southern Blockade", 21 Jul 2011
• Q: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=90568&p=1207356#p1207356 Monthly update check!
  A: Roger has updated the definition of On: An ability, a trait or a keyword on a card is one either printed on the card, or granted to it by some effect. Abilities granted to a player by cards or the rulebook are "on" the player, but come "from" their card or rulebook source.
  This means that the definitions of "on" and "from" are no longer equivalent, and the rulings are changed thus: Offices of the Emerald Magistrates cannot pay for an action granted to a player by a Strategy. The ability granted by Storm-Filled Sails is not a Thunder ability.
  Unchanged: Abilities granted to players can be used. Ring of the Void, etc, check for actions "from" cards, so granted abilities count. Alex Jones, "Offices of the emerald magistrates and Southern Blockade", 7 Jun 2011
• Q: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=90568&p=1203020#p1203020
  So...Do you have any final decision about the cards nerfed to oblivion or not?
  A: Not at this time. Zen Faulkes, "Offices of the emerald magistrates and Southern Blockade", 19 May 2011
• Q: So I saw this ruling. I don't believe the previous rulings for Ring of Water/Ring of Void can be applied here.
  The text of Offices of the Emerald Magistrates specifically says an action "on" a strategy, rather than the "from" phrase used on the Rings.
  From the Glossary
  On An ability, a trait or a keyword on a card is one either printed on the card, or granted to it by some effect.
  The ability granted to the player is not on Southern Blockade (as an ability), It is granted to the player, by Southern Blockade. Therefore it is "From" and also an "Effect" of Southern Blockade, but not an ability "On" Southern Blockade. Thus doesn't apply to the Gold Generation Ability (the Reaction) of Offices of the Emerald Magistrates which is looking for an ability "On" a strategy. Otherwise "From" and "On" are redundant terms in the glossary and we should get rid of one of them to avoid this sort of confusion.
  Believe me I wish it were otherwise, but the rules just don't say that.
  A: On An ability, a trait or a keyword on a card is one either printed on the card, or granted to it by some effect.
  From The source is the card that the effect, action or targeting is printed on, or the rulebook if it is printed there. There are three exceptions: ... 3. Costs and effects of traits and abilities given to other cards, copied from other cards, or on created cards, come from the card they are currently on.
  The ability granted to the player by Southern Blockade is "on" Southern Blockade, and the action is "from" Southern Blockade. Alex Jones, "Offices of the emerald magistrates and Southern Blockade", 28 Apr 2011
• Q: This has been a point of some debate for a little while.
  If I play Southern Blockade on another player's province, can he use the reaction from Offices to pay for the Limited ability granted to him to remove the Southern Blockade from play? Their argument is that the limited action is granted by a strategy card. My argument is that the limited ability is not a strategy, just an action granted to them by one.
  Offices of the emerald magistrates Reaction: When paying the Gold cost of an action on a Strategy, if you control a Magistrate: Produce 2 Gold.
  Southern Blockade Open: If it is not the active player's first turn of the game: Target a province and put this card into play. While this card remains in play, Personalities and Holdings will not enter play from that province and its player has the ability "Limited: Pay 4 Gold: Discard a card in play titled Southern Blockade."
  A: The ability is granted to the player, but it is "on" a Strategy; you can pay with Offices of the Emerald Magistrates' ability.
  See this thread about Kata and Ring of the Void for more information. Alex Jones, "Offices of the emerald magistrates and Southern Blockade", 28 Apr 2011