Bayushi Shoju

Legend of the Five Rings card from Scorpion Clan Coup 1

Card Type

Personality

Force

6

Chi

5

Honor Requirement

-

Gold Cost

15

Personal Honor

2

Clan

Scorpion

Keywords

Loyal, Tactician, Unique, Clan Champion, Inexperienced, Samurai, Scorpion Clan

Card Text

Reaction: After engaging at Shoju's battlefield, target a player who controls a unit opposing him: Switch hands with that player. Before each time you play a card from your hand during this battle that you do not own, lose 2 Honor. After the battle ends, you and the target return cards in your hands to their owner's hand.

Legality

Clan Wars (Imperial)

Deck

Dynasty

Printings

Rulings

• Ability may only be used against players who have opposing units in the battle. [FAQ] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 93
• Cards played by him go into their owner's discard pile. [DW, December 1997] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 93
• Cards played by him that stay in play do so until they're destroyed or removed normally. [FAQ] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 93
• The honor loss applies to every card that leaves your hand to produce or pay for some effect. [FAQ] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 93
• You re-swap your entire hands after the battle, even if hands contain cards of mixed ownership. [Card text, DW, email, 14 September 1998] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 93
• Cannot normally be overlayed over Bayushi Shoju (Inexperienced) because he is discarded when turned face up. [DW, 16 December 1997] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 93
• His ability works with the same timing as all other "before the first normal action" effects. [Imperial Herald/FAQ] Accumulated Rulings, February 8, 2000, p. 17
• Erratum: The two point honor loss applies to any card played or used, not just played. Text Change & Errata List, February 15, 2000, p. 14
• Erratum: Stolen cards go into their owner's discard piles when discarded or destroyed. Text Change & Errata List, February 15, 2000, p. 14
• The honor losses are always separate, even when multiple cards are discarded at once. Accumulated Rulings, April 22, 1998, p. 9
• Q: If the Inexperienced Bayushi Shoju steals my cards and manages to put some permanently into play, does he get to keep them after the battle? A: Yes. Don't despair, they're not necessarily gone for good. Check the errata at the end of this FAQ. If you can manage to destroy them, they'll go into your discard pile, not his. By the way, there's a way to stop Shoju from taking your cards in the first place: don't defend against him. (Okay, so I didn't say it was a painless way...) Shoju can only swap with an "opposing player", which means a controller of an opposing unit. Legend of the Five Rings FAQ, Version 3.6.2, May 1998, p. 22
• Erratum: Bayushi Shoju (Inexp): Errata: The two point honor loss applies to any card played or used, not just played. Errata: Stolen cards go into their owner's discard piles when discarded or destroyed. The Imperial Herald, Issue 9, p. 11
• Q: When I use the Inexperienced Bayushi Shoju's new ability and play cards from my opponent's hand, whose discard pile do they go in? And what if it's a card that stays in play? Do I keep control of it after the battle? A: Those cards go into the original owner's discard pile. If you put cards into play that stay in play (for example: you play "Troops from the Woods" to attach a follower to one of your Personalities), then those cards remain under your control even after the hands are switched back. You should carefully mark these cards so that you don't accidentally walk away with them after the game, though. The Imperial Herald, Issue 8, p. 16

Rules Q&A

• Q: You say: On a card type which can be in battles, "an opposing player" means "a player who controls one or more cards opposing this card". Tishi must be in the current battle. (to use his reaction)
  1) Ok, I re-read the Rules archive, and found this entry about Bayushi Shoju (inex.): Ability may only be used against players who have opposing units in the battle. [FAQ]
  I assume Tishi can not use his reaction if there is no opposing units (ie can't react to refugees, imperial favor). Right??
  A: Right. [GE p. 74] Jeff Alexander, "post for 14 May 2003", 15 May 2003
• Q: - defend my opponent's Bayushi Shoju (inexp.) with a Purusha and make the Ranged attack before the switch of fate hands?
  A: It depends. The player to the left of the active player gets the first reaction to the beginning of a Battle Action Segment. Most of the time (since most games are 1-on-1 and the active player is usually the Attacker), Purusha will shoot first in your example. Jeff Alexander, "replies to 22-23 September 2001", 24 Sep 2001
• Q: And If we have a Bayushi Shoju (inexp.) in the Battle ... may his controller switch hands?
  A: Depends who controls him. In a multiplayer game, the player to the left of the active player will get the first chance to use any 'before first action' stuff. If that player is the one who controls Shoju/Purusha/Scout, then he's the one who's going to get to use it first. Then the player to the left of the one who just had a chance to React will get a chance, and so on, and so on. Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for July 20th", 20 Jul 2001
• Q: Jeff Alexander writes:
  I made a full search for the word "opposing" in the online rules before posting yesterday, so I read the relevant paragraph. Here it is, for reference:
  If a card's text targets or refers to an "opposing" card, "this battle," or "another attacking/defending" card, the card must be in the same battle as the target to create the effect. A reference to "an opponent" in relation to a battle means "a player with units in the opposing army." A reference to "your opponent" in relation to a battle means either "the Attacker" or "the Defender," as appropriate, regardless of whether the player has units present. "Opposing army" means "one or more units attacking one of your Provinces or defending a Province you are attacking."
  Nothing about "opposing player", which is the words I was looking for. Does you reply mean that it is equivalent to "your opponent"?
  "An opposing player" and "an opponent" are equivalent when it comes to battles. Same with "the opposing player" and "your opponent".
  Jeff,
  Does this change the way Bayushi Shoju (inexp) should be played?
  BS uses the words "opposing player", and was ruled to only work against an opponent who had units present.
  A: It does not change the way Shoju Inexp. works. Jeff Alexander, "Rulings for 22 March 2001", 29 Mar 2001
• Q: Red Leaf Cut Reaction: Before Focus Effects resolve: Discard a focused card; its owner may focus an additional card from his hand or focus pool.
  If my opponent ends up focusing a card that is owned by me (via, e.g., Doji Nagori exp or Bayushi Shoju inexp), and I use Red Leaf Cut to discard that card, do I get the additional focus?
  A: Assuming you've actually got a participant in the duel (might not have one in a multi-player game), sure, you can do exactly what the card tells you to do.
  You do, however, have to cackle maniacally while doing so or it won't be anywhere near as demoralizing as it is supposed to be. Martin Lund, "Red Leaf Cut and non-owned focus cards", 26 Nov 2007
• Q: Yogo (Scorpion Personality) Cost: 15
  Scorpion Clan Fire Shugenja • Disciple of the Kami Accursed • Experienced Asako Yogo • Unique
  Limited: Once per turn, target a Personality with less Chi than Yogo. Straighten the Personality.
  Battle: Shuffle Yogo into your deck from the current battle: Search your Provinces and deck for any number of Personalities with a total Gold cost less than Yogo’s. Bring them into play in your army, ignoring costs.
  Shoju's Armor (Item)
  +1F +1C 8G 4Fo
  Unique. May only be attached to a Scorpion Clan Samurai. Attaches to Bayushi Shoju without gold cost.
  This Personality gains a 1F/1C bonus for each Black Scroll in play. The gold cost of your Scorpion Personalities is reduced by
  two while this card is in play.
  Do these two play well together? I mean, the rulings state:"Effects that reduce a card's cost do not affect the cost of abilities on cards already in play." So, I'm guessing that although I have the armor in play, Yogo's gold cost is still 15 for use with his ability. But are the Scorpions in my deck playable through Yogo's ability at -2 cost, or do I need to count their full gold cost for my total of 15?
  A: No, it's 13; Shoju's Armor doesn't say "printed." Zen Faulkes, "Yogo and the Armor of Shoju", 17 Mar 2005
• Q: [Clan Wars]
  Which goes first-- opponent's Sneak Attack or my Bayushi Shoju-inexp ability?
  A: Sneak Attack. Per its OE printing, it's played just before the "Battle Action" phase begins, and Shoju's Reaction is before the first action of that phase is played, which is clearly after the phase itself begins, allowing actions to be played. Brook Cunningham, "Sun and Moon #rules-questions", 10 Oct 2025