The Emperor's Left Hand

Legend of the Five Rings card from Lotus Edition, Honor Bound, Gold Edition

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

1

Keywords

Emperor, Political

Card Text

Reaction: After the player with the highest Family Honor, or who is tied for highest, announces a Political action: Negate its effects.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Age of Enlightenment (Lotus), Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: In a message dated 01-07-18 05:37:26 EDT, the splendiferous Vaughn wrote:
  << Something that reacts to a trigger event (Counterattack, The Wind's Truth, The Emperor's Left Hand) probably doesn't target.
  Okay, I'll be the first to admit that the new targeting rules are still more than a bit unclear to me, but I don't see how this can be true. Don't all these fall under the "All other effects target" clause? (TWT in particular always *has* targeted, to my knowledge, since you had to target a player to redirect the honor to...) In each case, it's likely to be a targeted player, not card in play, and therefore likely irrelevant, but it seems to me that Targeting Rule #4 should apply. Can you explain (in small words, please <grin>) why it doesn't?
  A: The Junta is going to have to discuss this one a little. Sometimes it seems like there's nothing *to* target. I need to find out from Dave how Doomtown handles these, since its targeting rules were the basis of Gold's. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 15-20 July", 26 Jul 2001
• Q: Relevant text: Kakita Atoshi: Atoshi can remain bowed. Political Limited: Bow while you have the Imperial Favor. Select a bowed Personality. The target Personality may not straighten until after one of the following occurs: Atoshi straightens or is destroyed, or you lose the Imperial Favor.
  The Emperor's Left Hand: Political Reaction: Cancel any one political action being taken by the player with the highest family honor.
  Let's say Atoshi has kept Matsu Nimuro bowed for the last three turns. Lion pulls the E's LH. Can he pay the 1G on Crane's turn to cancel the action & unbow Nimuro on the following turn?
  A: No. The action is only 'used' when Atoshi bows to create the effect. After that, it's just an effect with a non-time duration. If, however, Atoshi straightened (or you lost the Favor) and then you tried to use it again, the Left Hand would be legal for play. It can't be used to end the action in the middle of its duration, though. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for July 25th", 25 Jul 2001
• Q: In a message dated 01-07-18 05:37:26 EDT, the splendiferous Vaughn wrote:
  << Something that reacts to a trigger event (Counterattack, The Wind's Truth, The Emperor's Left Hand) probably doesn't target.
  Okay, I'll be the first to admit that the new targeting rules are still more than a bit unclear to me, but I don't see how this can be true. Don't all these fall under the "All other effects target" clause? (TWT in particular always *has* targeted, to my knowledge, since you had to target a player to redirect the honor to...) In each case, it's likely to be a targeted player, not card in play, and therefore likely irrelevant, but it seems to me that Targeting Rule #4 should apply. Can you explain (in small words, please <grin>) why it doesn't?
  A: Well, I'll try. Mostly, I'm just answering the questions as I go. As much as anyone else is struggling with this new rule, I'm struggling as well. I just don't see how a Reaction can target a moment in time. Up until now, the definition of targeting has pretty much referred exclusively to cards and players currently somewhere in the game. The new rules might change that a bit, but I really don't believe that they change it *so* much that an instant should become a targetable 'thing'. I might be wrong, but I'm really just trying right now to fit this new rule in my head with my vision of the framework for targeting. Target an item? Sure. Target a Spell? Yeah. Target a personality? Definitely. Target a moment in time? I'm not so sure. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for", 19 Jul 2001
• Q: Rule 4. All other effects target. As a general guideline (because this is *so* different from the way that Reactions were previously handled), if a Reaction affects a card in play, assume that it targets unless it specifically says otherwise (Poisoned Weapon, for ex). Something that reacts to a trigger event (Counterattack, The Wind's Truth, The Emperor's Left Hand) probably doesn't target. This rule is going to take a while to work out, but will probably be stabler in the long run.
  Then the question becomes: Does it target the card creating the duel, your personality entering the duel, or both?
  A: Enough Talk? It targets both personalities, the one that you pick to challenge the offending talker, and the offending talker themselves. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for", 19 Jul 2001