Unfamiliar Ground

Legend of the Five Rings card from Celestial Edition, Enemy of My Enemy, Samurai Edition

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Terrain

Card Text

After this card enters play: Bow each card with 5 or higher Force at this battlefield.
After a card's effect destroys this Terrain: Straighten all cards its first trait bowed.
Battle: If there are no Terrains at the current battlefield: Put this card into play there.

Focus Value

1

Legality

Age of Enlightenment (Lotus), Destroyer War (Celestial), Race for the Throne (Samurai), Rain of Blood (Diamond)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• Bowing is a one-time effect when played, rather than recurring every time while the terrain is in play. [JA, email, 18 April 2005] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 38
• Erratum: Reads, "Unfamiliar Ground 0G 1FV Terrain Battle: Bow each card with 5 or higher Force now at this battlefield. If a card's effect destroys this Terrain during this battle, straighten all cards it bowed." [MRP, Celestial Edition, 29 June 2009] Comprehensive Rules, Celestial Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, February 2012, p. 161
• Erratum: Reads, "Unfamiliar Ground 0G 1FV Terrain Battle: Bow each card with more than 4F now at this battlefield. If this Terrain is destroyed before this battle resolves, straighten all cards it bowed." [MRP, Samurai Edition, 25 July 2007] Comprehensive Rules, Samurai Edition, with specific card rulings, final version, May 2009, p. 166

Rules Q&A

• Q: I'm confused about this ruling.
  viewtopic.php?f=59&t=92900
  It was ruled that personalities do not maintain their -2F/-1C for the rest of the battle using Doomed Undertaking+Unshakable.
  Previously it was ruled that personalities will remain bowed by Unfamiliar Ground+Unshakable.
  viewtopic.php?f=59&t=75749&p=993235&hilit=unfamiliar#p993235
  I'm just confused. I see the explanation but it just doesn't make sense to me.
  A: Bowing is an instantaneous effect. It has no duration to "end" when the Terrain leaves play.
  Stat changes, however, are ongoing. Brook Cunningham, "Doomed Undertaking&Unshakable", 30 Jul 2011
• Q: (I) I play Unfamiliar Ground at a battlefield where Naota is present will he bow?
  A: Yes.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_T#Terrain: "If requirements, costs and any required targeting of a Terrain action have been met, the Strategy card enters play at the current battlefield as a rulebook effect, before the Terrain action resolves."
  Terrain enters play, force bonus gained, Terrain's effects start to happen, and you can bow that Unicorn, thankyouverymuch. Zen Faulkes, "Shinjo Naota and Unfamiliar Ground", 11 Jul 2010
• Q: (D)oes Unfamiliar Ground target each card that it bows?
  A: No.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_T#Targeting: "The word 'target' must appear as a verb or an adjective for the procedure to be considered targeting" (emphasis added). Zen Faulkes, "Unfamiliar Ground and Setting Sun Strike", 20 May 2010
• Q: I tried looking over the rules and did a quick search but didn't see anything. I have a couple of questions. I also want to be clear that I enjoy having fun with L5R as well as any card game and my intentions are not to be offensive or crude.
  #1: Are there any restrictions as to what can be used to represent tokens in a tourney? For example, would I be able to print a few of the following and use them in actual koteis and tourneys?
  http://www.alderac.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=77329#p1022014
  #2: Are there any restrictions against using cards that have been drawn on in tournaments? Could I take a card like Sneak Attack and draw my own art over the existing art and still be able to play it legally in tourneys? Could I take a rubber stamp that says "Neutered" and stamp the Central Castle with it and still have it be tourney legal? Can I draw the phrase "Son of Jor-El, Kneel Before Me!" over the artwork on Unfamiliar Ground and still have it be tourney legal?
  Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone or disrespect any artists out there, but I do try to get as much fun out of my CCGs as I can and I do enjoy drawing. BTW, I didn't come up with the follower token idea, however I do love the movie.
  A: Questions about Tournament Floor Rules should be asked here, please.
  This forum is just for the Rules of the CCG, as noted here. Brook Cunningham, "Questions about Tourney Floor Rules", 8 Apr 2010
• Q: Would playing Unfamiliar Ground bow Shinjo Naota?
  A: Yes. The terrrain has to enter play -- activating Naota's trait -- before any of its effects start resolving (http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Glossary_T#Terrain). Zen Faulkes, "Shinjo Naota vs Unfamiliar Ground", 21 Jan 2010
• Q: Lets say that there is an enemy 5F personality equipped with Chagatai's Armour and I play Unfamiliar Ground. I understand that I can bow both cards. Can I choose the order in which cards are bowed or they are bowed simultanously? Does it matter if I am the attacker or the defender?
  A: They will all bow together when they bow, when they bow.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Effects#Order_of_effects: "If multiple effects are caused by a single piece of text they occur simultaneously, unless otherwise specified by language such as 'consecutively.'" Zen Faulkes, "Unfamiliar ground and Chagatai's Armour", 22 Nov 2009
• Q: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=75730
  So if I'm to understand this ruling, all effects of a terrain are continuous effects that should end when the terrain leaves play. Ergo, a Unfamiliar Ground + Unshakable is now ruled to immediately unbow all 5+ Force personalities as soon as it leaves play?
  [Mod edit: Thread title. -ZF]
  A: Unfamiliar Ground's effect causes a game state change, i.e. an instantaneous effect.
  Removing Unfamiliar Ground from the game (i.e. Unshakeable) does not reverse its own effects.
  The cards that Unfamiliar Ground bowed, will remain bowed. Dan Jacobson, "Unfamiliar Ground + Unshakable", 14 May 2009
• Q: This has already been covered in: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=75603
  They are NOT both continuous effects. Only the O Dragon is. Obsidian Dragon is a blanket penalty that constantly checks and rechecks. Doomed Undertaking is an instantaneous effect (like Unfamiliar Ground) and applies immediately, ending at the end of turn. Making someone Shadowlands after the terrain effects begin changes nothing.
  Also, I don't see an argument for a timing conflict. There is no conflict. There are two possible scenarios: Dragon started there, Doomed Undertaking is played. In this case, Dragon's penalty is on already. Then something else (the terrain happens). Hey look, 2 things didn't try to happen at the same time. Active player decides nothing.
  Doomed Undertaking is on, Dragon moves in. Again, not two things going on, just one at a time. However in this case, the dragon won't take anyone to 0 because he limits his own chi loss (the minimum 1 applies). Again, active player decides nothing.
  A: See http://rules.l5r.com/Timing
  The Obsidian Dragon and Doomed Undertaking both have a "conditional continuous trait": 3. Effects of conditional continuous traits, if the triggering occurrence means that their condition becomes true, begin at the "when" point. Effects of such traits that no longer apply because their condition is now false, also end at the "when" point. See Duration of effects. Example: "This card has +2F while bowed." The Force bonus is gained "when" the card bows and lost "when" the card straightens.
  These are resolved in step B of "Resolving Timing Conflicts": B. If the point in time is a "when" timing, continuous conditional effects that depend on the triggering occurrence take effect now.
  This is missing an explicit "The active player decides the order in which more than one of these effects apply," but that is still true.
  Note that there is a triggering occurrence for these effects: the Personality moving to the battlefield causes them to both start to apply. Alex Jones, "Obsidian Dragon and Doomed Undertaking", 14 May 2009
• Q: (Can you use) Misdirection on Unfamiliar Ground?
  A: No. Unfamiliar Ground does not target. Clarification: Misdirection can be played, but it does nothing to the outcome.
  The ruling is referring to when Misdirection is played, not what it is played in response to or what it will allow you to change. Zen Faulkes, "Confusing Misdirection rules", 25 Mar 2009
• Q: If Unfamiliar Ground was played first and then you play Wolf's little lesson would you negate the effects of the bowing?
  A: Unfamiliar Ground has already bowed cards as an instantaneous effect. Wolf's Little Lesson is a negation effect that specifies a period of time. It applies once it is played until the battle ends. It does not retroactively straighten cards.
  http://rules.l5r.com/Effects#Negating_effects: "If a non-continuous negation effect specifies a period of time, it has the duration of that period of time..." From when the card is played until the end of battle.
  "...prevents instantaneous effects from happening..." Irrelevant, as bowing has already occurred.
  "...prevents new ongoing effects from taking place, also ends existing ongoing effects (which do not reappear when the period of time ends), and suppresses continuous effects until the duration ends." Irrelevant, because bowing is instantaneous. Zen Faulkes, "Unfamiliar Ground vs Wolf's little lesson", 10 Mar 2008
• Q: The following questions are in regard the this post: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=65494
  In the above post you cited a whole page. Could you cite the specific line or lines of CR text that applies?
  A: I did. I included it in the quotation box. Do "ctrl + F" search of the linked page for "order of simultaneous triggers" and you'll see the exact line I quoted. Martin Lund, "Unfamiliar Ground + Moto Chagatai xp5", 26 Feb 2008
• Q: " If the Unicorn player is Attacking, he gets to choose which Unicorn he wants to save from bowing. If the Unicorn player is Defending, he's probably going to get hosed. "
  This quote is taken from the aforementioned post.
  Is " hosed" some new type of rules jargon? Can you clarify?
  A: "Hosed," vernacular slang - "To be subject to an unfavorable or undesirable outcome without recourse." Martin Lund, "Unfamiliar Ground + Moto Chagatai xp5", 26 Feb 2008
• Q: If the order of simultaneous triggers to an occurrence needs to be determined, the active player determines their order.
  A: Cited
  If the Unicorn player is Attacking, he gets to choose which Unicorn he wants to save from bowing. If the Unicorn player is Defending, he's probably going to get hosed. Martin Lund, "Unfamiliar Ground + Moto Chagatai xp5", 11 Feb 2008
• Q: I play unshakable to use unfamiliar ground from my discard pile. All the units with more than 4f bow. Then unshakable leaves play taking the unfarmiliar ground with it. All the now bowed units then straighten. Is that correct?
  A: No.
  Bowing is not an effect with a duration, so it does not end automatically when the terrain leaves play by the default rule as described here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=60968
  Unfamiliar Ground straightens cards if it is "destroyed." Unshakable does not destroy anything. It removes it from the game. Zen Faulkes, "Unshakable and Circle of Steel and Unfamiliar Ground", 13 Oct 2007
• Q: I use unshakable to play circle of steel from the discard pile. All the units I control get +1/+1 as long as they have an attachment. The unshakable leaves play taking the circle with it. Do the units now lose the +1/+1?
  A: Yes. That's an effect with a duration, so it ends due to the terrain leaving. viewtopic.php?f=59&t=60968 Zen Faulkes, "Unshakable and Circle of Steel and Unfamiliar Ground", 13 Oct 2007
• Q: Are units able to be targeted on my next turn?
  A: Yes, because that's a delayed effect. viewtopic.php?f=59&t=60558 Zen Faulkes, "Unshakable and Circle of Steel and Unfamiliar Ground", 13 Oct 2007
• Q: Will Unfamiliar Ground bow personalities that have a BASE force of less than four but have an item attached that brings their force above 4?
  A: Yes. Always use current stat values unless card specifies base. Zen Faulkes, "Item's Bonuses and Unfamiliar Ground", 7 Aug 2007
• Q: Will Unfamiliar Ground bow items that give a force BONUS of more than 4 (i.e. a sword of victory with 2 victory tokens)?
  A: Yes. Rules, Card types, Item Stats: "If the Force or Chi of an Item needs to be checked, its value is the value of its corresponding modifier if it is positive, or zero if the modifier is zero or negative." Zen Faulkes, "Item's Bonuses and Unfamiliar Ground", 7 Aug 2007