Traversable Terrain

Legend of the Five Rings card from Pearl Edition, Imperial Edition, Emerald Edition, Obsidian Edition, Jade Edition, Shadowlands, Anvil of Despair, Crimson and Jade, Time of the Void, Hidden Emperor Starter, Scorpion Clan Coup Starter, Ambition's Debt, Soul of the Empire

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Terrain

Card Text

Before this battle's resolution: Target one of your units at a battlefield and move it to the current battlefield.
Battle: If there are no Terrains at the current battlefield: Put this card into play there.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial), Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Erratum: Reads, "Traversable Terrain 0G 1FV You can only play this card if you have one or more units in this battle.Battle Terrain: Move one of your units into this battle from the Province it is attacking or defending." [MRP, Soul of the Empire] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 37
• Erratum: Changed: may no longer be played if you have no units in the battle. Text Change & Errata List, February 15, 2000, p. 5
• Clarified: may be played if you have no units in the battle. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, Version 3.4 & errata, June 1997, p. 23
• Q: Well, how about Traversable Terrain? A: Traversable Terrain is kosher. I quote: "Battle: Terrain. Defender may move one unit he controls from an unattacked slot into this slot. Terrain effects are resolved at the end of the Battle Action Phase." It's an action which brings in a unit, so you're clear to play it. This does not mean that you can then merrily begin playing more Battle Actions in that battle. That last bit says, in effect, "The last thing you get to do before starting to add up Force Totals is move in one of your units." It doesn't say that they move in immediately. For that you need Superior Tactics or something similar. The Imperial Herald, Vol. 1, Issue 1, p. 10

Rules Q&A

• Q: But that doesn't settle the issue. The card that you are talking about is an Imperial edition card. All other MRPs have either "You may play this in a battle which you have no units" thus making the Presence issue moot or some statment making it only legal to play when you have one or more units in the battle.
  Greetings,
  The question at hand is, "Does Ancient Battlefield fulfil the Rule of Presence?" Yes. Precedent: Traversable Terrain (not the most recent printing, however). Under its original wording, it was used for years to slide in units in a battle where you had none.
  A: I agree. Traversable Terrain is not a precedent. The rules of Presence and Relevance were not the same in Imperial Edition, which is the only edition of the rules where Traversable lacks the explicit exception to the Rule of Presence.
  Regarding Ancient Battlefield:
  Page 80 says the action meets Presence only if the gaining of a unit in the battle is an unconditional result of the action.
  Examining the Glossary on page 98 reveals that the definition of "conditional" is incorrect and needs to change.
  The exact wording has yet to be determined, but it will either be similar to or replace the definition of "variable". The movement of the unit into the battle IS conditional -- it is not a preordained mandatory effect of the action, but instead relies on something not determinable at the time of playing (in this case, a future player decision made when Delayed Terrains resolve).
  In the interim, since the movement of the unit is conditional, the action of playing Ancient Battlefield does not meet the Rule of Presence. It is not legal if you have no units in the current battle. Martin Lund, "Rules for 29 November 2004", 2 Dec 2004
• Q: The reason I ask is because I find I have cards that you can basically put in 2 categories. 1. Printing errors i.e., wrong colored backs, wrong size like some HB, Arrows from the woods with its 2 wrong versions, etc.
  OR
  2. Cards like Traversable Terrain, that had a serious text change, completely altering the card. Kitsu Okura with 3 FH req. Garrison with 0 gold cost.
  A: Cards that have had text or numbers changed through MRP or errata are NOT redeemable for koku. Only gross errors in the layout or cutting of a card qualify. Jeff Alexander, "post for 3 April 2002", 4 Apr 2002