Strike At the Tail
Legend of the Five Rings card from Diamond Edition, Shadowlands, Gold Edition, Storms Over Matsu Palace
Open in Oracle of the Void
- Card Type
- Strategy
- Gold Cost
- 0
- Card Text
- Battle: Choose your performing Personality, bow his unit, and target zero or more enemy Followers with total Force less than or equal to your unit's Force, plus 2 if your performer is Unicorn Clan: Destroy the targets.
- Focus Value
- 2
- Legality
- Clan Wars (Imperial), Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade), Rain of Blood (Diamond)
- Deck
- Fate
Printings
Diamond Edition
- Rarity
- Fixed
- Flavor Text
- The Baraunghar crush bandits throughout the southern provinces, leaving the Crab free to push back the Horde.
- Artist
- Mark A.W. Jackson
- Card Number
- 307
- Publisher
- Alderac Entertainment Group
Shadowlands
- Rarity
- Rare
- Artist
- Bob Hobbs
- Publisher
- Five Rings Publishing Group
Gold Edition
- Rarity
- Rare
- Flavor Text
- "Do not wait for a battlefield. Ride your foes down before they realize they are fighting." - Shinjo Shono
- Artist
- Mark A.W. Jackson
- Card Number
- 416
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
Storms Over Matsu Palace
- Rarity
- Fixed
- Flavor Text
- "No!" Hanari screamed, seeing his bloody blade. "My son!"
- Artist
- Bob Hobbs
- Card Number
- Unicorn 18
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
Rulings
- Erratum: Reads, "Strike at the Tail 0G 2FV Battle: Bow one of your units to destroy a number of opposing Followers with total Force less than or equal to the Force your unit had before bowing. If a Unicorn Clan Personality leads your unit, the unit gains +2F for this effect." [MRP, Gold Edition, 1 July 2001] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 35
Rules Q&A
- Q: I believe what he was asking here about Kuon is whether or not Kuon can initiate his action.
A: Oh, you mean without any opposing players? Sure he can. His Action doesn't target or anything. You pay the cost and generate the effect, which in this case wouldn't be much of an effect. Martin Lund, "Rules for 28 June 2004", 30 Jun 2004 - Q: Can a player use Strike at the Tail with no opposing units? How about Hida Koan exp2
A: Strike at the Tail appears to give you the option of choosing 0 units, as 0 is a number, and the total force would certainly fit the bill.
Hida Kuon xp2 does not have any abilities that refer to opposing. He straightens a unit in his army once per turn.
Hida Kuon xp3 causes an opposing player to discard cards. To qualify as an opposing player for Kuon's ability, that player would have to control a unit opposing Kuon XP3 in the current battle. Martin Lund, "Rules for 24 June 2004", 28 Jun 2004 - Q: does the strike at the tail target?
A: Yes. Why wouldn't it? Zen Faulkes, "Rules for 18 May 2002", 18 May 2002 - Q: What is the current reading of "Strike at the Tail"? Does it hit all followers in play, or just the followers of one unit?
A: The MRP does not limit it to one unit. It does, however, still limit it to opposing Followers only, not "all followers in play". Jeff Alexander, "post for 15 October 2001", 16 Oct 2001