The Fires that Cleanse
Legend of the Five Rings card from Samurai Edition, Forbidden Knowledge, Jade Edition, Diamond Edition, Gold Edition, Pearl Edition, Storms Over Matsu Palace, Promotional–Samurai
Open in Oracle of the Void
- Card Type
- Spell
- Gold Cost
- 4
- Keywords
- Fire
- Card Text
- Battle: Bow and destroy this Shugenja and target an enemy Personality: Destroy him.
- Focus Value
- 2
- Legality
- Clan Wars (Imperial), Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade), Race for the Throne (Samurai), Rain of Blood (Diamond)
- Deck
- Fate
Printings
Samurai Edition
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Flavor Text
- The Phoenix have no wish to kill, but are more than able if needed.
- Artist
- Paul (Prof.) Herbert
- Card Number
- 390
- Publisher
- Alderac Entertainment Group
Forbidden Knowledge
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Flavor Text
- I saw his veins swell up beneath his skin and burst into flame, just as his foe exploded in an unearthly light.
- Artist
- Heather Hudson
- Publisher
- Five Rings Publishing Group
Jade Edition
- Rarity
- Rare
- Flavor Text
- From the ground at our feet, the shugenja raised a bloodied hand and clutched my daimyo's armor. "Today we both die."
- Artist
- Heather Hudson
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
Diamond Edition
- Rarity
- Rare
- Flavor Text
- "The fire kami are a vindictive and spiteful lot, sometimes inflicting as much pain upon their summoners as their enemies." - Isawa Ochiai
- Artist
- Paul (Prof.) Herbert
- Card Number
- 442
- Publisher
- Alderac Entertainment Group
Gold Edition
- Rarity
- Rare
- Flavor Text
- "There are times the kami exact a steep price for fulfilling your requests." - Asako Ryoma
- Artist
- Paul (Prof.) Herbert
- Card Number
- 446
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
Pearl Edition
- Rarity
- Rare
- Flavor Text
- "From the ground at our feet, the shugenja raised a bloodied hand and clutched my daimyo's armor. "Today we both die."
- Artist
- Heather Hudson
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
Storms Over Matsu Palace
- Rarity
- Fixed
- Flavor Text
- "Be brave, be valiant, and be Lion. If any of you begin to walk the path of dishonor or of cowardice, I will watch you die on Lion spears. For the sake of my clan and my ancestors, I swear it will be done." - Matsu Ketsui
- Artist
- Heather Hudson
- Card Number
- Lion 19
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
Promotional–Samurai
- Rarity
- Promo
- Flavor Text
- The Phoenix have no wish to kill, but are more than able if needed.
- Artist
- Paul (Prof.) Herbert
- Publisher
- Alderac Entertainment Group
Rulings
- Erratum: Reads, "The Fires that Cleanse 6G 2FV Elemental Battle: Bow and destroy this Shugenja and destroy this Spell to destroy an opposing Personality." [MRP, Diamond Edition, 27 October 2003] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 63
- Erratum: Changed: Now only destroys the caster, not the caster and the spell. Text Change & Errata List, February 15, 2000, p. 8
- Erratum: Reads, "The Fires that Cleanse 4G 2FV Fire Battle: Bow and destroy this Shugenja: Destroy a target Personality opposing this Shugenja." [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 161
Rules Q&A
- Q: The search engine refuses to accept "few against many" as keywords, so my apologies if this is old news...
If I cast The Fires That Cleanse against a unit with an unbowed follower, can my opponent react with Few Against Many, or would the follower be destroyed by the spell before the reaction takes place? The SE version of Fires specifies that it destroys the target unit, not just the personality.
A: Since Few Against Many is played before the destruction effect, it can be used by a Follower in a unit that is about to be destroyed to save that unit's Personality. Martin Lund, "Few Against Many vs. The Fires That Cleanse", 9 Oct 2007