Waystation of the Path

Legend of the Five Rings card from Emperor Edition, Promotional–Emperor

Card Type

Stronghold

Province Strength

6

Gold Production

4

Starting Family Honor

6

Clan

Phoenix

Keywords

Temple

Card Text

Reaction: After another player's action targets your performing Henshin, target another of your Personalities. The Henshin is reborn. Transfer his attachments and tokens to the other Personality. The action's effects that would destroy your Henshin instead overlay him onto the Personality.

Legality

Age of Conquest (Emperor)

Deck

Pre-Game

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: If in battle I use Unstoppable Strike on a henshin followed by using the battle granted by unstoppable strike. Will using the Waystation of the Path refresh the unstoppable strike ability?
  According to the CR the overlaying card forgets its gamestate so it would forget the unstoppable strike ability right? also same with force bumps or effects like Spirit of the Monk right?
  A: If the Personality who had the Unstoppable Strike ability is the overlaying card, he forgets he ever had it, and forgets any Force bonuses or granted keywords. It's like it's a brand new card that came out of nowhere. Brook Cunningham, "Unstoppable Strike vs Overlay", 4 Sep 2012
• Q: Hi there,
  I have a Henshin that has permanently gained some ability (let's say Spririt of the Monk) and I react to something with Waystation of the Path when said Henshin has become a target. Will the overlaying version of said henshin retain his Spirit of the Monk ability?
  I found it very hard to understand most topics concerning Waystation of the Path and some ended with "under discussion" so I hope you can answer this question for me.
  Thank you!
  A: As a general rule, when it comes to overlaying, anything pertaining to the Personality doing the overlaying ends, and anything pertaining to the Personality being overlaid remains.
  In your example, the overlaying Henshin will lose his ability. If instead you overlaid another Henshin onto the one that had gained the ability, the ability would be retained. Jon Palmer, "Waystation of the Path + Permanent effect", 24 Jun 2012
• Q: I almost feel bad asking this because this seems to be the slipperiest rules area in quite some time. The question is between Waystation of the Path's overlay function and Your Clan needs You putting people back into provinces when the effect is over.
  Waystation of the Path: Reaction: After another player's action targets your performing Henshin, target another of your Personalities: The Henshin is reborn. Transfer his attachments and tokens to the other Personality. The action's effects that would destroy your Henshin instead overlay him onto the Personality.
  Your Clan Needs You: Battle: If any enemy units are at the current battlefield, choose your performing Personality in one of your provincesL Bring him into play at the current battlefield, paying all costs but paying 6 less gold. After the battle ends, if he is in play, discard all of his attachments and put him into one of your provinces, face-up, discarding any card there.
  Version 1 - I have Henshin_A in play at an opposed battle. I use Your Clan Needs you to bring Henshin_B into the battle. Me enemy targets Henshin_A, and using Waystation he is overlaid onto B. After the battle, Henshin_B remembers that he came out of the province and goes back in. THEN WHAT HAPPENS? Does the overlayed personality go back in the province with him, or does it get discarded?
  Version 2 - I again have Hanshin_A in play, and bring Henshin_B into the battle with Your Clan Needs You. This time my enemy targets Henshin_B, who overlays onto A. If I am correct with the rulings so far, the guy who overlaid (B) is no longer the same personality that came out of the province, so he would ignore the ongoing effects of YCNY and stay in play. Is this correct?
  Thanks,
  Ryan
  A: Per the rules on overlaying, delayed effects (such as Your Clan Needs You's putting the Personality back into a province) are cleared off of the overlaying Personality, but stick with the overlaid Personality. Also, please remember that the overlaid Personality is removed from the game.
  Therefore in example 1, Henshin B (affected by Your Clan Needs You) is overlaid by Henshin A. The Your Clan Needs You effect sticks with the "new" Personality. Henshin B's card is removed from the game, and Henshin A's card goes into a province.
  In example 2, the Your Clan Needs You effect ends when Henshin B overlays onto Henshin A. Jon Palmer, "Waystation of the Path vs Your Clan Needs You", 4 Mar 2012
• Q: If I perform an action that is a reaction can I target a card outside the battle with it?
  As an example. I play Master the Elements which states: Reaction: Once per game, after this card enters play, target your Spell and pay Gold equal to its base Gold Cost: This card permanently copies the Spell's keywords, traits, and its base abilities that do not themselves copy abilities.
  If I attach this to my shugenja at Battlefield A can I target a spell at Battlefield B or at my home to copy?
  As another example with Waystation of the Path which states: Reaction: After another player's action targets your performing Henshin, target another of your Personalities: The Henshin is reborn. Transfer his attachments and tokens to the other Personality. The action's effects that would destroy your Henshin instead overlay him onto the Personality.
  If Henshin A dies at Battlefield A can I react to overlay him with a Personality at Battlefield B or on a Personality at my home?
  A: Reaction targeting is not covered by the Rules of Presence and Location, so in both of these instances, you may target a card not at the current battlefield. Jon Palmer, "Reactions in a Battle Targeting Outside the Battle", 29 Feb 2012
• Q: Will the attachments be destroyed since they were targetted when the unit was targetted, despite being on another guy currently?
  A: The attachments were never targeted, so will not be destroyed. Ben Higgins, "A Stain Cleansed and Waystation of the Path", 23 Feb 2012
• Q: When I go to pay costs, is the unit cost still considered Henshin + weapon + follower? or just the Henshin?
  A: A unit's cost is the sum of the Gold Costs on each card in the unit, which at this point in your example is just the Henshin. Ben Higgins, "A Stain Cleansed and Waystation of the Path", 23 Feb 2012
• Q: Since I know that my A Stain Cleansed will not destroy the Henshin, can I choose not to pay his cost in the unit cost and just destroy the attachments?
  A: The Unit cost has been changed by adding/removing cards in the unit. Under the rules for interference with mandatory costs under step D, this allows you to decide to pay the costs or not. If you choose to not pay the cost, the effects will fail and A Stain Cleansed will be discarded.
  You may not elect to retarget the action at this point in the sequence, so the attachments will still be safe, having been transferred to the other Personality. Ben Higgins, "A Stain Cleansed and Waystation of the Path", 23 Feb 2012
• Q: If the above is true, or if I choose to not pay any of the costs, do the attachments still transfer and the Henshin is stuck there at the battle with me without attachments?
  A: The timing for the Reaction on Waystation of the Path does occur before costs are paid, so you are correct that the attachments would still transfer and the Henshin would remain still at the battle, sans protection, if you elected to not pay the costs of A Stained Cleansed. Ben Higgins, "A Stain Cleansed and Waystation of the Path", 23 Feb 2012
• Q: I control a Henshin. I play Ambush performed by the Henshin and targeting my opponent's personality. At the Ambush battle, my opponent tries to destroy my Henshin, so I use Waystation of the Path's reaction to overlay that Henshin on to another one of my personalities.
  My question is, can that Henshin now move back in to the Ambush battle, or is he considered a different personality and would then be unable to move in to the Ambush battlefield?
  Thank you!
  A: In this case no, you may not move back in. The new Personality is not the same as the original, overlaying Personality from the Ambush, and therefore may not move back in. Jon Palmer, "Waystation of the Path + Ambush", 21 Feb 2012
• Q: Consider I overlay a Monk via Waystation of the Path
  onto a Ronin generated by Recruitment Officer
  Is removing the Ronin either a "ongoing effect" (I'd say "no", as it looks like a "delayed instantaneous effect") a "reference" (I'd also say "no" as I think this means explicit references in abilities like "he bowes to:") to the Card that is inhereted by him through:
  All in one simple question: Is my Henshin removed at the end of the turn, if he overlayed a Recruitment Officer Token?
  A: In this case you're right that it's a delayed instantaneous effect, however, that is part of the game state of the overlaid card, which will be inherited by the new card. So your Henshin will be removed from game at the end of the turn. Jon Palmer, "Overlaying: Waystation of the Path + Recruitment Officer", 19 Feb 2012
• Q: What happens to attachments that can't legally attach to the target Personality?
  For example A spell and a non-Shugenja target; A pair of weapons attached to a Kensai Henshin; A follower with a higher HR than the target's PH
  A: Per the rules on transferring, you must be able to legally attach the cards. Anything that cannot be attached will fail to transfer, and if it no longer has a Personality to attach to will be discarded. Jon Palmer, "Waystation of the Path & illegal attachments", 9 Feb 2012
• Q: Because of the order of effects on the card, can one use Temple of the Waystation's overlay and transfer effect to result in a game state where a non-henshin has two weapons because the target of the overlay was a kensai with a weapon? Or is the second weapon discarded?
  Relevant text: Waystation of the Path Reaction: After another player's action targets your performing Henshin, target another of your Personalities: The Henshin is reborn. Transfer his attachments and tokens to the other Personality. The action's effects that would destroy your Henshin instead overlay him onto the Personality.
  Kensai: May attach two Weapons. (Rulebook glossary)
  The Game state: Personality A: Asako Yorisada with a Wyrmbone Katana. Personality B: Any Kensai with a 2nd Wyrmbone already attached.
  If Yorisada is targeted with a kill action and I use the stronghold targeting the Kensai, the stronghold transfers the weapon. Then the stronghold overlays Yorisada over the kensai. As the personality now lacks the Kensai trait, but has two weapons, do both Wyrmbone Katanas remain in play?
  A: Yes, if a card has the ability to have two weapons and then loses that ability due to another effect, he does not have to discard one of the already attached weapons. Jon Palmer, "Temple of the Waystation + Kensai", 8 Feb 2012