Strength of the Bamboo

Legend of the Five Rings card from Celestial Edition, Battle of Kyuden Tonbo, Three Dynasties

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Heroic

Card Text

Reaction: After an action targets your Hero Personality: Negate his destruction from the action's effects. Give him +1F.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial), Three Dynasties

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Strength of the Bamboo 0G 2FV Heroic Reaction : After an action targets your Hero Personality: Negate his destruction from the action’s effects. Give him +1F." [Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 155

Rules Q&A

• Q: I was trying to explain chi death and got myself confused. I haven't been able to find anything satisfactory for an answer.
  If I give a chi penalty (sufficient to kill) to a hero personality, and they react with strength of the bamboo it seems that there are now two effects that last until the end of the turn. Does the active player choose which 'until the end of turn' ends first, or do they dissolve seperately?
  More directly, in the above example, if I am the active player, at the end of the turn can I choose for the negation effect from Strength of the Bamboo to end before the temporary chi penalty does, thereby killing the hero personality?
  A: The effects end simultaneously; there is no window of time when the "chi death" effect applies but Strength of the Bamboo doesn't.
  Note that while triggered traits, delayed effects, ICE's and Reactions triggered by an effect or other trigger - or by simultaneous effects or triggers - are applied or resolved separately, not simultaneously, other sets of effects can resolve simultaneously. Alex Jones, "Until the End of Turn confusion", 18 Jun 2011
• Q: Strength of the Bamboo can negate a chi death action. However since the game continuously is checking to kill off any character with 0 Chi would they still die anyway? Or do they somehow live for the rest of the turn.
  A: The latter; viewtopic.php?f=59&t=81416 Zen Faulkes, "Chi Death Questions", 26 Jan 2011
• Q: In regards to this: http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=81550&p=1066191&hilit=+Strength+the+Bamboo#p1066191
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Effects#Source_of_effects: "A Personality’s destruction for having 0 Chi (Chi death rule) comes from the cost or effect that last gave the Personality a Chi penalty, or from the rulebook if there was no such effect." (Emphasis added.)
  Can some context be provided for this rule? As I understand it, personalities do not exist that start with a chi of 0, and nothing I can think of will alter a personality's chi without being part of either somethings cost or effect. Under what circumstances would the emphasized part of the above ruling, then, ever occur?
  A: Example (found by searching "chi death rulebook" under the advanced search):
  viewtopic.php?f=59&t=81053 Zen Faulkes, "Chi Death and Strength of the Bamboo", 11 Dec 2010
• Q: If a Hero loses a duel and did not focus, can he use Strength of the Bamboo to prevent his destruction from the Focus Effect?
  A: It's not an action, and it's not targeting the Hero, so that's a "No" twice over. Zen Faulkes, "Impetuous Challenge vs. Strength of the Bamboo", 6 Jun 2010
• Q: I'm thoroughly confused, in particular by this rules post http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=81442.
  What makes Strength of the Bamboo ongoing and Duty instantaneous? I can see Duty being instantaneous, but I'm not sure how the clause "from the actions effects" turns Strength of the Bamboo into ongoing.
  After all, if you ask anyone why the person needed to be saved by Duty, couldn't they accurately reply "They were destroyed by an action's effects."?
  (Please make the answer as crystal clear as you can! Thanks!)
  A: I'm referencing this thread here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=81442
  Do I understand the basic gist of all this as saying that if a card gives an indistinct or open-ended scope of negation "negate his destruction from X's effects" it is an ongoing effect, but a more specific type of negation "[trigger]: negate the destruction" is instantaneous?
  For example, a hypothetical action that said, "Destroy target Samurai. You may destroy target Lion Clan personality," would be able to try and destroy a Lion Samurai Personality twice. Strength of the Bamboo would stop both attempts, while Duty could only stop one or the other? Martin Lund, "Continuous Negation vs Ongoing Negation vs Immediate Negatio", 1 Feb 2010
• Q: Am I wrong in thinking that personality destruction caused from having 0 Chi is a rulebook effect?
  A: Half wrong.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Effects#Source_of_effects: "A Personality’s destruction for having 0 Chi (Chi death rule) comes from the cost or effect that last gave the Personality a Chi penalty, or from the rulebook if there was no such effect." (Emphasis added.)
  You have to look at the source of the effect on a case by case basis. Zen Faulkes, "Chi Death and Strength of the Bamboo", 1 Feb 2010
• Q: re: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=81440&sid=33d25bd2d035a6626c3c362346d61fbb#p1065219
  I looked through all the threads that mention Strength of the Bamboo, and I cannot find the answer. Forgive me if I missed it.
  The differences between Continuous, Ongoing, and Immediate effects and negation confuse me all the time. Especially Continuous and Ongoing. I thought I had it down, and of course now negation changes and reverts all the progress I thought I made. The new rules look like mud to me.
  Is Strength of the Bamboo a Continuous or an Ongoing Negation? Is it the "from the action's effects" wording that makes it one or the other?
  In question to being able to differentiate between Continuous and Ongoing, is the following a good way to remember this stuff? If it uses wording similar to "while", then it is Continuous. If it uses wording similar to "until", then it is Ongoing.
  A: I'm assuming the section you're finding confusing is Duration of Effects. I'll pull out some key sentences and hopefully clarify it for you.
  Continuous effects are those found in non-triggered traits, as well as modifier effects that are not triggered (such as stat modifiers on Items or tokens). Instantaneous effects involve a change in the game state that is officially recorded by changing the position, orientation, or count of a physical game element. Ongoing effects may be thought of as “virtual” effects because they are not officially recorded with a physical game element; for example, giving stat bonuses or penalties, granting keywords, or putting a condition on a card such as “may not assign.” Unlike continuous effects, ongoing effects start and end at definite times stated by the effect itself and do not end if the card they came from leaves play.
  Continuous effects are created by traits, etc on cards in play. Actions cannot create continuous effects. Instantaneous effects involve a visible change to a card: it changes its location, or becomes bowed or dishonoured, etc. Another instantaneous effect is required to undo the first. Actions and triggered traits can create instantaneous effects. Ongoing effects apply for a certain duration; they are undone when the duration ends, without a new effect being required or created. Actions and triggered traits can create instantaneous effects.
  Strength of the Bamboo creates an ongoing negation. It will negate any destruction of your hero caused by any of the action's effects. Duty creates an instantaneous negation. It negates only the instance of destruction which it's being played in reaction to. Alex Jones, "Continuous Negation vs Ongoing Negation vs Immediate Negatio", 28 Jan 2010
• Q: According to the ruling here, Strength of the Bamboo can negate chi death by Isawa Fosuta XP.
  Relevant card text Strength of the Bamboo: Reaction: After an action targets your Hero Personality: Negate his destruction from the action's effects. Give him +1F.
  Isawa Fosuta XP: Maho Open: Bow Fosuta: Lose 6 Honor. While Fosuta remains bowed, you may negate his straightening and, at the start of each turn, you may target a Personality and give him a -1F/-1C Curse token. After the next time this game Fosuta straightens or leaves play, destroy all Curse tokens.
  Strength reacts to an action. Fosuta's ability has already resolved, making his doling out curse tokens an effect not an action, so shouldn't the opportunity window to react have already passed?
  A: You're confusing the triggers "before targets are chosen" and "after an action targets a XXX". The first is a trigger that occurs at a particular stage in the process of taking an action, namely Step B, Required Targeting; it doesn't care what is to be targeted or even if any targets are chosen at all. The second is a trigger that can occur at any time targeting occurs for an action: this can be during the Required Targeting step, during the Action Resolution step, or at any later time when an ongoing or delayed effect of an action requires a target to be chosen when that effect is applied.
  See also this post. Alex Jones, "Strength of the Bamboo + Isawa Fosuta", 27 Jan 2010
• Q: Now with the comprehensive rules change, can Strength of the Bamboo react to Isawa Fosuta's chi death effect (and therefore any chi death effect that targets a hero) and delay the destruction until the end of the turn?
  A: Chi Death from tokens is still coming from the source that created that token.
  Yes. Dan Jacobson, "Strength of the Bamboo + Isawa Fosuta", 26 Jan 2010
• Q: If I have personality A who is being destroyed via an effect, if I react with Duty, target personality B who has the Hero trait, can I react to Duty being used on Personality B with Strength of Bamboo? If so, does that allow both personalities A and B to be saved, or A only, or B only..?
  A: If you use Strength of The Bamboo as described, the cost of Duty won't be paid, and the first Personality stays in the discard pile. Costs have to happen for the effect to happen. See http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Costs_and_restr ... nd_changes. Zen Faulkes, "Duty and Strength of the Bamboo", 10 Dec 2009
• Q: Can I use Strength of the Bamboo after I have targeted my Hero with Wedge?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Wedge+Strength of the Bamboo", 22 Nov 2009
• Q: If it is legal to play, do I get the doubling off of the +1f from Strength?
  A: Yes. Zen Faulkes, "Wedge+Strength of the Bamboo", 22 Nov 2009
• Q: My opponent targets a hero with Test of Sincerity. Can I choose the first part of the action (seppuku to gain 4) and react with Strength of the Bamboo on the Seppuku?
  A: No.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_S#Seppuku: "If an effect directs a Personality to commit seppuku, apply the following effects: “Rehonor the Personality, then destroy him; these effects will not be negated.” (Emphasis added.) Zen Faulkes, "Test of Sincerity+Strength of the Bamboo", 12 Sep 2009
• Q: I play a flanked by nightmares on Hida Kuon who is alone and my Crab opponent plays an anti kill effect on my flanked by nightmares and his Kuon is still alive (see Strength of the Bamboo, Does not die so easily!, will). At this point is Kuon's trait still active, or has the flanked by nightmares targetting (even if death is negated) counted as the first action.
  A: Negating one effect does not mean the targeting never took place. Kuon's trait (note: not ability) will ignore all later actions of the enemy leader that target him. Zen Faulkes, "Hida Kuon (Experienced 6): The compilation", 9 Jul 2009