Unexpected Arrival

Legend of the Five Rings card from Glory of the Empire, Onyx Edition, Shattered Empire

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Card Text

Absent Battle, : If any enemy units are at the current battlefield, Recruit a target Personality in one of your Provinces, paying 2 less Gold and ignoring his Honor Requirement.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Destroyer War (Celestial), Race for the Throne (Samurai), Shattered Empire, War of the Seals (Onyx Edition)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: If Oishi is brought into play in a battle (e.g. with Unexpected Arrival), where does the created Personality appear?
  A: Home. Just like always. Zen Faulkes, "Oishi reaction - where does it enter?", 30 May 2010
• Q: I was asked this question a few days ago; and while I believe I have the right answer, I would like a confirmation.
  If Chuda Atsuro is brought into play via Unexpected Arrival; where does the Personality created by his Reaction comes into play?
  Chuda Atsuro Spider Clan • Shadowlands • Shugenja After Atsuro enters play: Lose 4 Honor. Maho Reaction: After Atsuro enters play from a province: Create a 2F/2C/0PH Shadowlands • Undead Personality.
  Unexpected Arrival Battle: If any enemy units are at the current battlefield: Target a Personality in one of your provinces. Bring him into play at the current battlefield, paying 2 less Gold and ignoring his Honor Requirement.
  A: Default location for created personalities is at home. Dan Jacobson, "Chuda Atsuro and Unexpected Arrival", 22 Apr 2010
• Q: If a player who has Akuma no Oni xp2 in one of their provinces while Decree of Peace is in effect, would using Unexpected Arrival to bring Akuma into play as the attack trigger the event's province destruction due to Akuma's province-destruction cost occuring while "as an Attacker"?
  A: No. A player is not destroying the Province; Akuma no Oni's trait is destroying the Province. Zen Faulkes, "Akuma no Oni xp2 / Unexpected Arrival / Decree of Peace", 5 Aug 2009
• Q: 2) Can a card that brings a personality into play through non "normal" means, such as Unexpected Arrival, get around the Will not enter play normally. trait?
  A: Yes. Just as her own effect can bring Shinjo into play, any other effect that brings a Personality into play will also work (otherwise, she'd say, "Will only enter play from her own ability"). The prohibition on her entering play "normally" only applies to the normal way you bring Personalities into play; buying them in the Dynasty Phase. Brook Cunningham, "Kami, entering play and honor requirements", 20 May 2009
• Q: Is Unexpected Arrival considered to create presence in a battlefield the same way cards like Doomed Intentions, Unwavering Assault, etc. do*? Can I play it in a battlefield with enemy units where I don't have presence and thus create presence there?
  A: Unexpected Arrival is similar to Will in the sense that you must have presence to play these actions.
  Creating presence does not fulfill the requirements of the exception to the Rules of Presence and Location. Dan Jacobson, "Unexpected Arrival question", 30 Mar 2009
• Q: So by the wording it means if my opponent uses unexpected arrival, and I use misdirection. If he chooses not to or cannot pay the new costs, the targetted personality is discarded from the province, as it was a cost for the personality to enter play.
  A: This is what the rulings above do indeed state. Zen Faulkes, "Unexpected Arrival and Misdirection", 12 Feb 2009
• Q: Following viewtopic.php?f=59&t=73823
  The personnality in the Unexpected Arrival / Misdirection is just a target of the effect, why should the card be discarded?
  A: There are two sets of costs involved with Unexpected Arrival: the costs of the action and the costs of the Personality. In general, Unexpected Arrival has no costs, so you move straight to the effects, which involve bringing the Personality into play.
  Bringing a Personality into play has at least one mandatory cost, the gold cost of the Personality. To announce Unexpected Arrival in Good Faith, you must have a Personality face-up in your provinces whose cost(s) you can pay. If the Personality you try to bring into play isn't the one you were planning on targeting when you announced the action, this is treated as interference with a mandatory cost. If a mandatory cost is interfered with, you don't need to pay it. If you don't pay the mandatory cost of a card you are bringing into play, the card is discarded.
  As well as the section I quoted earlier, see also Using Personalities. Alex Jones, "Unexpected Arrival and Misdirection", 10 Feb 2009
• Q: My opponent has two people in his provinces, a 4 gold cost personality, and a 12 gold person, and has the ability to pay 8 gold with his holdings. During a battle, he attempts to Unexpected Arrival the 4 gold personality into play, and I misdirect the action to his 12 gold cost personality. Is he forced to bow his gold in an attempt to bring the personality into play, or does the action fail with no cost?
  A: Mandatory costs: The mandatory costs of a card entering play are its Gold Cost (if any) and any other costs for entering play listed in its traits.
  Costs must be payable when an action is announced under the Good Faith Rule. If, due to interference from other effects, a mandatory cost cannot be paid at the point when it must be paid: * No remaining costs need be paid, but costs already paid are not refunded. * No effects of the action or trait resolve, and the ability or trait is considered to have been “used.” * If the cost was for a card to enter play, it is discarded.
  The mandatory cost of bringing the 12g Personality into play cannot be paid, even though the action was announced in good faith, so your opponent does not need to pay that cost and the Personality is discarded. Alex Jones, "Unexpected Arrival and Misdirection", 10 Feb 2009
• Q: May I target a face-down card with Unexpected Arrival if it's known to me that it is a Personality? (it's known to me from Overflowing Fields, as one example)
  If the answer is 'No', does the answer change if it's known to everyone that it's a Personality?
  A: The answer is "No" to both. Prior knowledge of what a card is neither helps nor hinders your choices of available targets. Dan Jacobson, "Unexpected Arrival and face-down Personalities.", 5 Feb 2009