Words Have Strength

Legend of the Five Rings card from Emperor Edition, The Dead of Winter

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Political

Card Text

You may only play one copy of Words Have Strength in reaction to any one resolution.
Reaction: After a battle's resolution, or the resolution of another player's Battle action, if the resolution or action destroyed any of your Courtiers or Magistrates: Choose a player, who loses 3 Honor.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Age of Conquest (Emperor), Destroyer War (Celestial)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rules Q&A

• Q: If a courtier upon whom I have played Shadow Court is destroyed, and the card drawn is Words Have Strength, can I immediately play it as a reaction to the destruction of the courtier?
  The Shadow Court:
  Battle: Choose your performing defending Courtier and target an enemy Personality: Bow him. After the next time this turn another player's action or a battle resolution destroys your Courtier, draw a card, and choose a player, who gains or loses 2 Honor.
  Words Have Strength:
  You may only play one copy of Words Have Strength in reaction to any one resolution. Reaction: After a battle's resolution, or the resolution of another player's Battle action, if the resolution or action destroyed any of your Courtiers or Magistrates: Choose a player who loses 3 Honor.
  Many thanks in advance.
  A: Yes, more than likely.
  Most destruction from effects happens while the action or battle is still resolving.
  In your broad example, you would draw the Words Have Strength before the action that killed your Personality finished resolving, where at you could then play Words Have Strength, based on it's own trigger (After a battle's resolution, or the resolution of another player's Battle action,...). Ben Higgins, "The Shadow Court + Words Have Strength", 2 Mar 2012
• Q: I was looking for a clarification on the use of Words Have Strength. In particular, I was hoping for confirmation on whether or not multiple Words Have Strength's can be played in reaction to a single deadly Battle action. I initially thought that the trait restricting it to once per resolution was only referring to the resolution of a battle (during which Personalities are destroyed), but then my friend pointed out that the card itself triggers with a battle's resolution or "the resolution of another player's Battle action" (emphasis added) (though the ability goes on to refer to the Battle action as the "action," rather than referring to the resolution of the action). Does this phrasing mean that one can only play a single Words Have Strength in reaction to a Battle action that destroys that player's Courtier or Magistrate, or was the trait only meant to restrict the playing of multiple copies in response to a battle's resolution?
  Thank you for your time.
  Words Have Strength says: Political You may only play one copy of Words Have Strength in reaction to any one resolution. Reaction: After a battle's resolution, or the resolution of another player's Battle action, if the resolution or action destroyed any of your Courtiers or Magistrates: Choose a player who loses 3 Honor.
  A: The word "resolution" on Words Have Strength can refer to either the resolution of an action or the resolution of a battle. Therefore, you may not play multiple copies in reaction to the resolution of a Battle action that destroys your Courtier or Magistrate. Jon Palmer, "Multiple Words Have Strength with One Battle Action", 19 Feb 2012
• Q: Does Words Have Strength get a chance to act immediately during part i: simultaneously destroy the enemy army? Or must it wait until the entirety of the battle resolution has completed (after part iii: gaining honor) before it could be used?
  A: The latter.
  http://rules.l5r.com/CE_Battles#C._Resolution_Segment: "A battle’s “resolution” refers to this Segment." That is, the whole thing, not just the first step. Zen Faulkes, "The Shadow Court and who loses the game.", 24 Feb 2011
• Q: Words have Strength: If a player is destroying multiple courtier and/or magistrate personalities in battle resolution, can the losing player react to each individual personality dying at resolution with a copy of Words have Strength?
  A: No.
  Words Have Strength does not react to individual deaths. It reacts to time ("After a battle resolution or the resolution of another player's Battle action") and checks if something happened ("if the resolution or action destroyed any of your Courtiers or Magistrates").
  What you're thinking of would be something like, "After the death of one of your Courtiers or Magistrates from battle resolution or a Battle action". Zen Faulkes, "Army Destruction and Words Have Strength", 12 Feb 2011