The Shadow Court

Legend of the Five Rings card from Emperor Edition, The Dead of Winter

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Battle: Choose your performing defending Courtier and target an enemy Personality: Bow him. After the next time this turn another player's action or a battle resolution destroys your Courtier, draw a card, and choose a player, who gains or loses 2 Honor.

Focus Value

4

Legality

Age of Conquest (Emperor), Destroyer War (Celestial)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: If a courtier upon whom I have played Shadow Court is destroyed, and the card drawn is Words Have Strength, can I immediately play it as a reaction to the destruction of the courtier?
  The Shadow Court:
  Battle: Choose your performing defending Courtier and target an enemy Personality: Bow him. After the next time this turn another player's action or a battle resolution destroys your Courtier, draw a card, and choose a player, who gains or loses 2 Honor.
  Words Have Strength:
  You may only play one copy of Words Have Strength in reaction to any one resolution. Reaction: After a battle's resolution, or the resolution of another player's Battle action, if the resolution or action destroyed any of your Courtiers or Magistrates: Choose a player who loses 3 Honor.
  Many thanks in advance.
  A: Yes, more than likely.
  Most destruction from effects happens while the action or battle is still resolving.
  In your broad example, you would draw the Words Have Strength before the action that killed your Personality finished resolving, where at you could then play Words Have Strength, based on it's own trigger (After a battle's resolution, or the resolution of another player's Battle action,...). Ben Higgins, "The Shadow Court + Words Have Strength", 2 Mar 2012
• Q: The Shadow Court: "After the next time this turn another player's action or a battle resolution destroys your Courtier", (does this mean) courtier how was targeted to preform this action or any "your" courtier?
  A: Just the one.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Special_wording ... References: "Once a card or other game element is identified by a keyword in a trait or action’s text... further references to that keyword within that trait or action are meant to only identify the particular game element clearly(.)" Zen Faulkes, "The Shadow Court", 5 Mar 2011
• Q: Does Words Have Strength get a chance to act immediately during part i: simultaneously destroy the enemy army? Or must it wait until the entirety of the battle resolution has completed (after part iii: gaining honor) before it could be used?
  A: The latter.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Battles#C._Resolution_Segment: "A battle’s “resolution” refers to this Segment." That is, the whole thing, not just the first step. Zen Faulkes, "The Shadow Court and who loses the game.", 24 Feb 2011
• Q: When exactly does the honor loss caused by the shadow court trigger?
  A: When the personality is destroyed (card text). That is, Step 2.i. Zen Faulkes, "The Shadow Court and who loses the game.", 17 Feb 2011
• Q: The question is, during resolution does the personality get destroyed first thus the military player goes down to -20 honor and loses, or does the province get destroyed first and the control player loses?
  A: The steps of resolution go in order. "i" comes before "ii" in the text you quoted, so the first player would lose from Dishonor before the other would lose from losing all his provinces. Brook Cunningham, "The Shadow Court and who loses the game.", 11 Feb 2011