Yakamo's Smile

Legend of the Five Rings card from The War of Spirits

Card Type

Strategy

Gold Cost

0

Keywords

Kiho

Card Text

Reaction: After a player destroys the second or later province he has destroyed this turn, bow your performing Monk, Shugenja, or card with "Yakamo" in its title: That player must choose to either destroy one of his provinces or target another player; if he targeted a player, the target gains a province to the left of his leftmost province.

Focus Value

2

Legality

Four Winds (Gold), Hidden Emperor (Jade)

Deck

Fate

Printings

Rulings

• The Provinces destroyed need not belong to the same player. [Card text, VRD, 8 November 2000] Rules Archive, August 18, 2007, p. 60

Rules Q&A

• Q: I had a question about Yakamo's Smile:
  "Kiho Reaction: Play this card when a player destroys the second or later Province he or she destroys this turn. Bow one of your Monks, Shugenja or Yakamo cards to make that player choose to either destroy one of his or her Provinces or target another player, who gains a Province to the left of his or her leftmost Province."
  When exactly do you lose the game from losing all of your provinces?
  A: Immediately. Jeff Alexander, "post for 3 September 2002", 4 Sep 2002
• Q: I had an interesting situation in mind. It may never come up in play, but I wondered how it would turn out:
  1) I'm playing Shiba Halls, just so I can stand a reasonable chance at casting Yakamo's Smile multiple times.
  2) Somehow (maybe through Black Wind From the Soul or some other province destroying effect, or just actually taking provinces) I'm at two provinces and my opponent is at two provinces as well.
  3) My opponent comes across and takes my last two provinces. Reacting with Yakamo's Smile, my opponent obviously chooses to blow up one of his provinces, leaving him with one. If I react and cast it again, however, I can force him into either losing his last province or giving me a new province, keeping me in the game.
  My question here was whether I really have any time to actually cast Yakamo's Smile or whether once that last province was taken I lost immediately?
  A: You don't have any time. Jeff Alexander, "post for 3 September 2002", 4 Sep 2002
• Q: * Yakamo's Smile is played "when" a player destroys his second or later Province this turn. Can it be played by a player whose last Province is being destroyed? And if so, and the Province-destroying player has only one remaining Province, what would happen if he chose not to let the other player gain a Province: a draw, or would he lose before?
  A: You always lose immediately when you lose your last province. Any Reactions to the destruction of that province can't be taken by you, and can't be taken by *anyone* if the game is currently over due to one player winning.
  Note that Yakamo's Smile *could* be played by a third player in a multiplayer game, to pretty good effect (especially if the third player is now the only other remaining player in the game, and the only legal remaining target for the 'gain a province' effect). Vaughn Derderian, "Rules for November 26th", 26 Nov 2000