Steel on Steel

Legend of the Five Rings card from Emperor Edition, Reign of Blood, Celestial Edition, Promotional–Emperor, Enemy of My Enemy

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Iaijutsu

Card Text

Battle: Choose your performing unbowed Personality and target an enemy Personality: Your performer duels the target. Destroy the duel's loser.

Focus Value

3

Legality

Age of Conquest (Emperor), Destroyer War (Celestial), Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Steel on Steel 0G 3FV Iaijutsu Battle: Target your unbowed Personality: He challenges a target enemy Personality. Destroy the duel's loser." [MRP, Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 155

Rules Q&A

• Q: If there is my 'Fields of Glorious Slaughter' battle terain in play (gain 2 honor each time card you not control is destoryed in this battle) . Does a my Personality is involved in a Honor gain if : - makes a ranged attack that destroys opposing Follower / Personality - performs a ranged attack that destroys opposing Follower / Personality ('perform' is not the same as 'make' as far as I know) - kills another personality in duel (example : Steel on Steel) - makes / performs another action that destroys another opposing card (example : using Nezumi Technique to destroy an item)
  A: Yes. Martin Lund, "Rules for 1 February 2005", 5 Feb 2005
• Q: Let's say that a player has Kakita Chiyeko bowed in a battle. He plays a Steel on Steel, using Chiyeko's Reaction, but his opponent negates the unbowing with Victory of the Wolf. What happens in this situation?
  A: He's failed to pay the Cost of the Action. The Diamond Edition Rulebook, page 72, paragraph 3, addresses this.
  To summarize, the player gets Steel on Steel back wherever it came from (probably his hand), no other costs are refunded, and the attempt is Canceled. The next player now gets an opportunity to take a Battle or Open Action, or Pass. The player whose Action was canceled does not count as having Passed. Martin Lund, "Rules for 1 October 2004", 4 Oct 2004
• Q: If steel on steel is played on Kyofu, to issue a challenge to x personality. Then if the reaction from Private Dojo is played (raising the chi by the non-variable Fear strength -- 8 in the case of Kyofu), can I play 3 to get 24 chi (8 chi x 3 private dojos), making his chi 30?
  A: Yes. That's exactly what each card does.
  Just remember that after you take a Reaction, the opportunity passes left around the table to each player before it comes back to you to play your next Reaction as detailed on page 75 of the Diamond Edition Rulebook. Martin Lund, "Rules for 11 May 2004", 15 May 2004
• Q: I have a couple of questions : 1/Honor and Glory has resolves earlier this game, and one of my dishonored personalities challenges another one during battle (either with Steel on Steel or using one of her own abilities). Is she considered involved in the challenge, and thus rehonored, or do I only gain 2 ?
  A: Well, your personality was involved in the honor gain. He issued the Challenge, triggering a 2 point honor gain from Honor and Glory. That will rehonor your dishonored challenger instead. Martin Lund, "Rules for 10 April 2004", 12 Apr 2004
• Q: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=100201&view=unread#p1321684
  Legion of Pain's trait: "Actions performed by Personalities with a Gold Cost of 7 or lower may not target this Personality. " If my opponent attacks me with a single personality with an equipped Leion of Pain, and I defend with Doji Yoshitada, who has a gold cost of 7 and has been targeted by incense mill earlier this turn, am I able to announce and perform Yoshitada's action? " Political Battle: Target an enemy Personality: Bow him. If he is dishonorable, choose a player who gains or loses 2 Honor. " Does the answer change if I want to play Steel on Steel instead of using Yoshitada's printed action?
  A: Incense Mill will only negate effects that specify the target Personality. Effects that apply to all Personalities or a group of Personalities specified by some condition will not be negated by Incense Mill. Alex Jones, "Incense Mill clarification", 25 Oct 2012
• Q: A) My 9F Kensai is targeted by a Ranged 5 Attack and I do not react to it with Hundred-Fold Cut, then my opponent plays a Sniping: can I now react with Hundred-Fold Cut to prevent my Kensai from dying or should I have reacted to the initial non-lethal Ranged Attack?
  B) When my Kensai is dueled by a lethal duel(e.g. Steel on Steel), when do I use Hundred-Fold Cut to prevent him from dying: after losing the duel or when the duel is initiated?
  Thank you for your time!
  A: A) Both Sniping and Hundred-Fold Cut react "After targeting", so are both played in the same action round procedure for Reactions to after targeting, as described in Step D of the Timing Sequence.
  B) Hundred-Fold Cut reacts after targeting, which is before the duel begins. Alex Jones, "Hundred-Fold Cut, Sniping, Duels", 17 Apr 2012
• Q: Halls of the Forgotten Reaction: After another player's Battle action targets your Berserker: Delay its effects on him until after this battle ends.
  Steel on Steel Battle: Choose your performing unbowed Personality and target an enemy Personality: Your performer duels the target. Destroy the duel's loser.
  If my berserker personality is targeted by an enemy personality using steel on steel(or similarly worded duel) and i react with Halls of the forgotten, does The reaction(halls of the forgotten) delay the process of the duel until after the battle ends?
  If the duel is delayed, i assume that:
  1) if the challenging enemy personality is killed, the duel will not take place 2) if the challenging enemy personality is bowed, the duel will not take place 3) if the challenging enemy personality is sent home or to a different battle field, the duel will not take place 4) if my berserker is dead, the duel will not take place 5) if my berserker is sent home or to a different battle field,the duel will not take place
  are these assumptions correct?
  Thank you for your time.
  A: The process of the duel is not an effect ON the berserker. Therefore, Halls of the Forgotten will not delay the duel from happening, merely its consequences. Jon Palmer, "Halls of the forgotten vs duels", 8 Feb 2012
• 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: I choose to negate the bowing of my personality from the action, regardless of the fact that the card is not actually bowing my personality now. In fact, with this wording, I could react to any action at all, regardless of whether one of that cards effects was a bow or movement effect (Steel on Steel, for example) with 'Hold! even though it would actually have no effect on that particular action (legal as it changes the game state in terms of cards played to drop Ring of Void).
  A: Just to clarify, you may indeed play Hold! as a Reaction to any action (as long as you can "target your unbowed Commander at the current battlefield"), regardless of whether that action can bow or move any Personalities - you could play it in response to Sneak Attack if you really wanted to. Alex Jones, "Hold! and Heart of Darkness", 4 Oct 2011
• Q: I'm running out of Embassy of the Crane.
  My opponent uses Ambush to attack one of my Personalities.
  I declare Steel On Steel in the ensuing battle to duel the ambusher with my ambushed Personality.
  Do I gain the Focus Value bonus from Embassy of the Crane, as the Battle phase created by Ambush is technically within the Actions phase, or does the Battle created stop it being the Actions phase for the purposes of the bonus?
  Embassy of the Crane Your Fate cards in and out of play have +1 Focus Value during the Action Phase
  Ambush Limited: Target your unbowed Personality: Create a battlefield (not at any province). Assign your Personality's unit to attack there. Assign another player’s target unit to defend there, even if its Personality is bowed. Other units will not move there. Fight a battle there (after this action's resolution). After the battle ends, lose 5 Honor.
  A: Before anyone asks, no, this does not mean you can play Limited or Open actions during an Ambush.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Battles#Battles: "When a battle is created in a phase other than the Attack Phase, rules for taking actions during Combat Segments override rules for taking actions in that phase, but it is still that phase (see Additional phase or segment).
  "Example: During a battle created by a card effect during the Action Phase, you may not take Limited actions, because they may not be played during the Combat Segment. You may, however, take Reactions during this battle that look for triggers 'during the Action Phase.'" Zen Faulkes, "Is the Ambush battle still in the Actions phase?", 5 Apr 2011
• Q: in regards too http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=89757#p1190138 Zen leaves the answer pretty ambiguous and doesn’t even answer his own question
  "More generally, "Is duel destruction a card effect?"
  "Duels come from the effect that created their associated challenge, not the rulebook."
  this just says the duel comes from an effect and nothing about the destruction. just to clarify this a bit, Steel on Steel states that the duel destroyes the loser, whereas the rulebook states There is no default consequence of winning or losing a duel. Some effects may use the phrases "for winning a duel" or "for losing a duel." These phrases refer to another effect that was triggered by, or conditional on, winning or losing a duel -- such as, an honor gain "for winning a duel" refers to effects such as "If he wins the duel, gain 2 Honor" or "Reaction: After one of your Personality wins a duel: Gain 2 Honor."
  surely this means that the destruction from the duel is an effect of the card correct?
  A: Yes.
  The destruction from Steel on Steel is a card effect, and that destruction occurs during the resolution step of the action. Alex Jones, "Draw Attention and Duels", 1 Apr 2011
• Q: As topic says... am I allowed to react with Draw Attention after a destruction duel (using Steel on Steel as an example)?
  Draw Attention: Focus Effect: After a Personality loses this duel, his controller loses 2 Honor. Reaction: After the resolution of one of your Battle actions whose effects destroyed an enemy card: Gain 2 Honor.
  Steel on Steel: Iaijutsu Battle: Target your unbowed Personality: He challenges a target enemy Personality. Destroy the duel's loser.
  Thanks!
  A: More generally, "Is duel destruction a card effect?"
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Effects#Source_of_effects: "Duels come from the effect that created their associated challenge, not the rulebook." Zen Faulkes, "Draw Attention and Duels", 31 Mar 2011
• Q: Superior Opponent Fear • Iaijutsu Focus Effect: You may destroy an attachment at the current battlefield if your Personality in this duel is there. Battle: Target your unbowed Duelist: Target an enemy unit. Bow each Follower and Personality in it with equal or lower Force than your Duelist's Chi.
  Chagatai's Armor Armor • Unique Reaction: Before the resolution of another player's action: Negate either the bowing, destruction, or movement of this Personality from the action's effects. Battle: Bow this card: Straighten this unit or move it to the current battlefield.
  Steel on Steel Iaijutsu Battle: Target your unbowed Personality: He challenges a target enemy Personality. Destroy the duel's loser.
  If challanged with Steel on Steel, when can chagatai's reaction be taken? Would a focused Superior Oppnenet destroy the armor before it's reaction could be triggered? At what point is resolution of the action? Before or after the process of the duel?
  A: Chagatai's Armor can only be played right after costs are paid for the action it is responding to. See the sequence at http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Abilities_and_actions.
  You can't wait to see how the duel turns out and then decide to use Chagatai's Armor. Zen Faulkes, "Superior Opponent vs Chagatai's Armor", 23 Mar 2011
• Q: I play Muscle and Steel to negate destruction after my opponent targets my personality with a Steel on Steel and he focuses Superior Opponent. Does the attachment still stay in play if my personality loses the duel, or is it destroyed?
  A: If your opponent chooses to destroy your attachment with Superior Opponent's Focus Effect, it WOULD still be destroyed.
  Muscle and Steel only negates destruction from the action whose targeting it reacted to, which would be Steel on Steel in this case (see From). Brook Cunningham, "Muscle and Steel vs Superior Opponent/Steel on Steel", 17 Mar 2011
• Q: I announce Steel on Steel being performed by Kakita Hideo xp, and my opponent reacts with Only Actions Speak... (W)ill Only Actions Speak negate that honor gain?
  A: Yes. Winning is at step H in this sequence, well before the action resolves. Zen Faulkes, "Only Actions Speak and Kakita Hideo xp", 29 Jun 2010
• Q: So I was reading the comp rules, and I want to make sure I'm interpreting this correctly... there are times when being a duelist is a drawback, in that it actually limits your available options? For example.
  I play Steel on Steel, targeting my 4C non-Duelist personality who challenges my opponent's 4C non-Duelist. Now, my opponent may choose to focus or strike, correct? Now, instead, I challenge my opponent's 4C Duelist personality. According to the comp rules, his Duelist MUST focus first, and CANNOT choose to strike? This seems odd to me, but that's how I'm interpreting the rules.
  A: Under discussion.
  The rulebook has a different wording, such that only the challenger is forced to focus if he is a duellist, which I'm sure was the intent: Duelist: Immediately before the first opportunity to focus or strike in a duel, if a Duelist Personality is the challenger, and the challenged is a non–Duelist with an equal or higher duel stat, the Duelist gains the first chance to focus. The Duelist must use this chance to focus instead of strike, if possible. Alex Jones, "Duelist as a drawback?", 26 Apr 2010
• Q: B. If one of my other personalities loses a lethal duel, for example a Steel on Steel, do I get to play Duty with my Bokusui before he is destroyed?
  A: No.
  A lethal duel's loser must be deterimed first. Then, after that, he is destroyed. But immediately after the determination of the loser, Bokusei's trait destroys him. Therefore, he is no longer in play at the timing point "Before another player’s card’s effect destroys one of your Personalities", which would come just after that. Brook Cunningham, "Mirumoto Bokusui", 13 Apr 2010
• Q: MacBeth2001 said "Since Focus Effects aren't actions, their resolution (which occurs during the resolution of Steel on Steel) wouldn't trigger The Thriving Light." this means that hamstrung's honor gain would go through.
  A: No, that's not what my statement means. Alex is correct, and my post has no bearing upon his.
  The answer I gave was in response to being asked if a player could wait until Focus Effects began resolving to play The Thriving Light's Reaction. I was only saying that a Focus Effect's resolution is not a valid trigger to play The Thriving Light. Brook Cunningham, "The Thriving Light + Hamstrung", 29 Mar 2010
• Q: Regarding this viewtopic.php?f=59&t=82601
  The only question I have is in regards to timing. The Thriving Light relevant text is Reaction: Before an action's resolution: Until that resolution ends, reduce the next Honor gain or loss by 5 (minimum zero).
  When exactly does a Duel action resolve? If someone plays Steel on Steel in a battle may I wait until after Focus effects are revealed but before they resolve to play The Thriving Light as Steel on Steel hasn't resolved yet?
  A: An action begins resolving in its Resolution Step.
  This is the step that comes after Announcing it, making Required Targeting, and Paying Costs and where its effect begin being applied. In the case of Steel on Steel, its first effect is the issuing of the challenge. So, just before that is when you would React with The Thriving Light.
  Since Focus Effects aren't actions, their resolution (which occurs during the resolution of Steel on Steel) wouldn't trigger The Thriving Light Brook Cunningham, "The Thriving Light + Hamstrung", 29 Mar 2010
• Q: Steel on Steel fizzles?
  A: No, since the original target, (Personality B, the one Final Sacrifice was trying to move the effect away from) is still there. Personality B is going to a duel. Zen Faulkes, "Targeting: Final Sacrifice, Elite Guard", 11 Mar 2010
• Q: I am playing against a Dragon Clan player who has Mirumoto in play. I Egg of P'an Ku his Mirumoto. On his turn he issues an unrefusable challenge to me (if the challenge in question matters, let's say it's a Steel on Steel). I understand we both keep our 6 Chi, but who focuses first?
  A: Diamond rules, pg. 34: Third cardinal rule. Active player picks. Zen Faulkes, "Mirumoto and Egg of P'an Ku", 11 Apr 2005
• Q: Let's say I have a personality with 2 PH. My opponent, playing Uso Sensei, has just killed him with Steel on Steel. I play two Feign Deaths to save my peep. How much honor do I lose if the personality was honorable before he died the first time? 4 or 6?
  A: We'll just walk through the effects one at a time.
  Duel Resolution starts.
  The first "Destroy the Loser" effect resolves.
  --> Respond with Feign Death
  --> Return the Personality
  --> Dishonor the Personality
  --> Lose 2 Honor
  The second "Destroy the Loser" effect resolves.
  --> Lose 2 Honor for Dishonorable Death
  --> Respond with Feign Death
  --> Return the Personality
  --> Dishonor the Personality (Fails)
  --> Lose 2 Honor
  Total loss = 6 Honor Martin Lund, "Feign Death/Uso Sensei Question", 11 Apr 2005
• Q: In a Steel on Steel, I target Two personalities, My challenger and the challenged personality.
  Can a Misdirection change who the challenger will be and at the same time who the challenged personality will be Provided of course that the challenger is still my personality and challenged personality is still his personality?
  A: Diamond rules, pg. 74. Were they legal targets in the first place? If so, then the redirection is legal. Zen Faulkes, "A new kind of Misdirection query", 31 Mar 2005
• Q: May i use FAM to negate the destruction of a Steel on Steel or any other duel that implicity destroy the target? Because the destruction is an effect of the card or a rulebook effect?
  A: See Archive, General, Death & Destruction. Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Few Against Many", 9 Mar 2005
• Q: Ok, the setup is as following
  Wrath of the Emporer and Shattered Focus are in Play
  I play Steel on Steel in battle. I have no cards in hand.
  The question is:
  Do I have the ability to strike or do I have to play wrath?
  I did search for the answer before looking, if it was there, I missed it.
  Thanks in advance
  A: You may strike. You are never obliged to play a Reaction. Zen Faulkes, "Shattered Focus and Wrath of the Emporer", 7 Mar 2005
• Q: well maybe they should reprint steel on steel… just sayin’
  (I’m aware that I advocated for less lethal duels with more interesting focus effects. I’m aware that this might be a contradiction. I’m also aware that I had fun playing that card.)
  A: Clearly we need to reprint Iaijutsu Challenge and iaijutsu Duel Jeremy Sumerlin, "Onyx Lives #rules-questions", 19 Dec 2025
• Q: The cards in question are Steel on Steel (RoB wording) and Doji Kurohito xp2. So it seems Keen Eye does work since the "targeting" is part of the challenge?
  A: Yep to both. If they had said something like, "Target another player's Personality. Your Personality challenges him... etc" the targeting would've been outside the scope of the challenge, but those two don't. Also, sidenote, you meant "Twist" not "Turn" of Fate, above. 🙂 Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 14 Oct 2024