“When you face the darkness of the Shadowlands, you must be unflinching, lest you become the subject you wish to study.”

–Kuni Ritsuko

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The Kaiu Wall stands in defiance of the evil gathering at the border of the Emerald Empire. But calling this massive structure a simple wall is a disservice to the last defense Rokugan has against Fu Leng’s domain. Most samurai of the Emerald Empire will never know the horrors that await them should this wall fail. But the Crab Clan know this threat all too well.

The Crab understand their duty, and what it means should they fail. Maintaining the Wall, fighting on the frontlines, and using jade to cleanse the warriors that return are all essential parts of the machine that ensures the Emerald Empire remains safe.

Join us today as we preview the Crab Clan’s tools found in Defenders of Rokugan, a new Clan Pack for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game!

Defenders of Rokugan includes 78 new cards (3 copies each of 23 different cards and 1 copy each of 9 different cards) mostly focusing on the Crab Clan and their role as protectors of the Emerald Empire from the deadly southern Shadowlands.

A Towering Structure

Defenders of Rokugan is unique among the Clan Packs of Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, featuring six unique 1-per-deck holdings representing the massive Kaiu Wall. These holdings will change the way the Crab operate within the game, each becoming stronger the more Kaiu Wall holdings you currently have in your provinces. We’ve previously revealed Northern Curtain Wall (Defenders of Rokugan, 13), River of the Last Stand (Defenders of Rokugan, 14), and Watchtower of Valor (Defenders of Rokugan, 17). But the Wall still holds many surprises. Seventh Tower (Defenders of Rokugan, 15) can reward the Crab for their vaunted defensive maneuvers, and becomes stronger the more Kaiu Wall holdings you control. Should your whole province row feature Kaiu Wall holdings, the Crab will be rewarded every time they win a conflict on defense.

With so many holdings on the field, it can be difficult to recruit dynasty characters to your field. Luckily, Defenders of Rokugan features plenty of ways to recruit Crab samurai even if your provinces are filled with holdings.

The Favorable Dealbroker (Defenders of Rokugan, 9) offers a special two for one-deal. When he enters play, you may search your dynasty deck for a character with a printed cost of 1 and put it into play. This gives you access to a wide variety of Crab reinforcements, including the Purifier Apprentice (Defenders of Rokugan, 4), who can further enhance your rewards for a strong defense. Picking a new character out of your deck to place immediately on the field circumvents the space restriction brought on by constructing to many holdings, and can quickly overwhelm your opponent if they are ill-prepared.

The Unyielding Sensei (Defenders of Rokugan, 8), on the other hand, provides a different path to recruiting Crab Samurai. The Sensei can dig deep into your deck, filling your provinces with multiple cards. This is a unique situation in Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, and allows the Crab to recruit new samurai from provinces while they also contain transformative holdings.

While holdings can often block the recruitment of new samurai, the ingenuity of the Crab allows them to be as efficient as possible.

A Fair Fight

The Crab are not ones for subtlety, most preferring to rely on their strength and political prowess instead of tricks and wit. When they come in conflict with other clans, they will meet them on the battlefield or in the court head on. Desolation (Defenders of Rokugan, 29) is a powerful Spell that will only cost the Crab a part of their soul. For two honor, you can blank your opponent’s provinces for the turn, erasing any abilities and ensuring the Crab will have no nasty surprises when they go on the offensive.

The Crab can also mitigate surprises during defensive conflicts. If your opponent is foolish enough to attack the Kuni Wasteland (Defenders of Rokugan, 2), their samurai can quickly lose their identities as their character abilities and keywords become restricted. This can throw your opponent’s plans into chaos, as they scramble to readjust their strategy when the Kuni Wasteland saps their samurai of their will.

With these new tools in their arsenal, the Crab are ready to defend Rokugan with a might unmatched throughout the Emerald Empire.

The Last Defense

The Kaiu Wall stands as a massive fortress, daring the forces of the Shadowlands to try and invade the Emerald Empire. There, the Crab are waiting, ready to defeat threats both internal and external, and perform their sworn duty. Will you stand with Rokugan’s stalwart defenders when Defenders of Rokugan releases in the fourth quarter of 2019?