“There was something formless before the universe was born. Serene. Empty. Infinite.”

The mystical Phoenix mediate between worlds—the physical and the spiritual, appealing to the very soul of the land. Mountains collapse at their whispered requests, dry rivers are convinced to flow again, plagues are banished, restless ghosts return to slumber, and crops flourish in previously barren wastelands.

More than that, the Phoenix are the caretakers of the Emperor’s soul. In tune with the spiritual side of Rokugan, they would be the first to know if things were to fall out of balance…

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Disciples of the Void, a Phoenix Clan Pack for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, available for pre-order from your local retailer or our website!

What Is a Clan Pack?

Somewhere between a Dynasty Pack and the deluxe expansions found in our other Living Card Games®, this Clan Pack contains 78 new cards (three copies each of twenty-five different cards and one copy each of three different cards). Primarily focusing on the Phoenix Clan, Disciples of the Void features a different spell for every element, a legion of Shugenja with powerful effects, a new Role card, the highest-costed character yet to enter the game, and much more.

Elemental Prowess

Near the dawn of the fifth century, a time of great strife for the Empire, a demon appeared in the lands of the Phoenix Clan. This demon terrorized the northern mountain range bordering Rokugan, desecrating shrines and destroying villages, and threw the entire Garanto Province into disarray. With the Phoenix Clan Champion’s attentions fixated on greater events in the Empire, it seemed that nothing could stop the demon. But then, a lone woman, with only her bow and the aid of the kami, confronted the demon on a tall mountaintop. Unflinching beneath the great beast’s shadow, she slew the demon with her arrow, and then gave her life to trap its spirit, freezing it deep in the bottom of a well.

That woman was Isawa Kaito. She was an accomplished archer and priestess, and her teachings have informed many of the shrine-keeper traditions still observed to this day. Her legendary battle with the demon saved the Garanto Province—and perhaps all of the Phoenix lands—from a terrible enemy. In honor of her sacrifice, her family was raised in status, becoming a vassal family of the Isawa.

Her ancestors still maintain Isawa Kaito’s skill with the bow, with the Air Shugenja Kaito Kosori (Disciples of the Void, 18) using her archery skills to assist in conflicts with no danger to herself. So long as you control at least one character during an Air conflict, Kaito Kosori contributes her skill to the conflict from your home area. Not only does this protect Kaito from events like Fallen in Battle (Core Set, 201), it ensures that she will not bow at the end of conflict resolution, allowing her to remain standing for battles to come. This also can give your total skill a boost when Seeker of Knowledge (Core Set, 171) is played in the midst of a conflict, as Kaito Kosori begins contributing her skill as soon as the conflict gains the Air element. Not only that, but Kaito Kosori has the ever-valuable Shugenja trait, synergizing with many other cards found in Disciples of the Void.

The Phoenix Shugenjas' main focus is the powerful Spells they produce. Disciples of the Void features a new spell for every element, including Katana of Fire (Disciples of the Void, 20). A Spell that’s the first of its kind, Katana of Fire gives the attached character additional military skill for each Fire card you control. Furthermore, the character wielding the Katana of Fire gains two additional military skill while you have claimed the Fire ring. Plenty of previous Spells have required the presence of Shugenja, but this is the first spell that grows in strength as you control characters aligned with a certain element. If you build a deck around Fire-centric cards, Katana of Fire is a very strong addition.

Disciples of the Void also features the mythical Fushichō (Disciples of the Void, 11). At six cost, this Creature is the highest-costed character in the game, dwarfing the various Clan Champions. It's true that Fushichō’s stats of six military and six political skill will remain mostly static, with zero glory and text that prevents any attachments from you or an opponent. Still, six political and military skill is enough to make a difference in any conflict. Furthermore, when the mythical creature’s time is at an end, one of the characters in your dynasty discard pile can be brought into play with one fate. Ultimately, Fushichō can give you incredible value, especially if you bring back a character like Isawa Kaede (Tears of Amaterasu, 9) or Shiba Tsukune (Core Set, 93).

While the Phoenix stronghold of Isawa Mori Seidō (Core Set, 5) focuses on the Phoenix theme of glory, many cards in Disciples of the Void forgo this theme in favor of Spells. As such, the Phoenix receive a new stronghold to reflect this, Kyūden Isawa (Disciples of the Void, 1).

During a conflict, you may bow Kyūden Isawa to play any Spell event from your conflict discard pile as if it were in your hand, removing it from the game after it's played. This means that any Spell event you play during the game essentially goes to a second hand, where it can be played during a conflict at a later time. This makes cards like Supernatural Storm (Core Set, 175) doubly effective and dramatically increases your options during conflicts.

Mystical Foes

Of course, the Phoenix aren’t the only Great Clan who field Shugenja. Disciples of the Void features characters for the six other clans, many of which directly counter the powerful Phoenix strategies found in the Clan Pack.

Yogo Kikuyo (Disciples of the Void, 25) serves the secretive Scorpion Clan as a Shugenja, and like many of the clan’s best, she excels in the shadows. Whenever the effects of a Spell would initiate, you may put Yogo Kikuyo into play from your hand to cancel those effects. Not only does this erase the effect of the Spells the Phoenix so often rely on, you gain a new character on the field for free, putting you in a very favorable position. Any Clan running Spells is a perfect target for Yogo Kikuyo.

The Disciples of the Void

Shugenja, Spells, mythical Creatures—this is the domain of the Phoenix Clan. Will you study the elements and align with this mystical clan?