With the Crane’s emphasis on beauty and grace, it can be easily forgotten that mighty samurai well-versed in the trials of battle and the intrigues of court make up their ranks. This is a lesson that won’t be soon forgotten with their recent victory at the 2018 Winter Court World Championship. Now, this power can be yours!

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the Winter Court 2018 World Championship Deck for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game!

This pre-constructed Crane Clan deck is identical to the deck used by Shogun Erik Baalhuis during the 2018 Winter Court World Championships! Now the power of these 87 cards can be yours with each card boasting a new extended art layout, created through Fantasy Flight Games's in-house manufacturing!

Step by Step

The Winter Court 2018 World Championship Deck not only allows you to enhance your Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game decks with extended art cards, but it is a powerful tool in its own right.

The Shogun’s deck is built to control the tempo of the match so that as the game goes on, it builds on small advantages until they become overwhelming. During the first few turns of the game, the deck wants to use as few resources as necessary to win conflicts or break provinces. Often the deck only wants to play a single character each round from its provinces, prioritizing cheap characters such as Doji Whisperer (Core Set, 41) and Brash Samurai (Core Set, 42) while it defends and builds up its resources. The powerful keystone characters that are positioned to push for victory are Guest of Honor (Core Set, 51) and Kakita Yoshi (Into the Forbidden City, 43). By playing only a few characters and passing early in the dynasty phase, the deck can steadily accumulate a fate advantage over its opponent.

Because this deck favors a patient control strategy, much of its strength comes from its conflict cards, including eight conflict characters that allow the deck to participate in conflicts even when playing conservatively out of its dynasty deck. Steward of Law (Core Set, 139) and Political Rival (Core Set, 140) both defend excellently, particularly when backed up by For Shame! (Core Set, 207). When it comes to claiming rings and breaking provinces, the deck wants to use cards like Banzai! (Core Set, 204) to win conflicts with a single character and a single card from hand whenever possible. Because of the importance of Kakita Yoshi and Censure (Into the Forbidden City, 60) for this deck, claiming the Imperial Favor at the end of the conflict phase is important, so don't be afraid to pass conflicts when the board state does not present a favorable attack opportunity.

This deck is enhanced by taking aid from the Dragon Clan, using Mirumoto’s Fury (Core Set, 159) and Let Go (Core Set, 155) to mitigate your opponent’s powerful characters. Especially when combined with cards like For Shame!, the Crane/Dragon alliance is difficult to overcome for any foe.

The Seeker of Air role also grants access to Soul Beyond Reproach (The Ebb and Flow, 74), which supplements Way of the Crane (Core Set, 146) to allow your characters to stay honored, not only providing a stat boost but also giving you access to Voice of Honor (Core Set, 145) whenever you need it most.

Should your opponent brave your honored defenses, they still must confront a deadly province row. Magistrate Station (Elements Unbound, 102) is one of the most effective provinces in the game, giving you extra value out of an honored character, while Shameful Display (Core Set, 24) has been a staple in province rows since the launch of the game in 2017. Manicured Garden (Core Set, 19) and Fertile Fields (Core Set, 18) provide solid resource generation during a conflict and Ancestral Lands (Core Set, 15) provides a defensive wall that’s difficult to overcome. No matter where your opponent chooses to attack, they must be prepared to fight the full might of the Crane.

By only playing cards when absolutely necessary, the deck hopes to grind its opponent out of cards and fate until your foes can no longer muster the skill necessary to win conflicts or prevent their stronghold from breaking—or to prevent themselves running out of honor. Each of the 87 cards featured in the deck contains extended art, allowing you to view the world of Rokugan like never before. The full deck list can be found below.

A Perfect Cut

To see the deck in action, check out the finals of the Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game 2018 Winter Court World Championship here. Then, prepare to defeat your opponents with the utmost beauty and perfection with the Winter Court 2018 World Championship Deck!