“If you are fighting only the present battle, you have already lost the war.”

–Kitsu Motso

The time has come to show off your Clan pride with the release of the Imperial Cycle! The balance of power in Rokugan is shifting—which Clan will you support?

Starting this week, Fantasy Flight Games will be releasing six Dynasty Packs for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game over a period of six weeks. Once per week, players will be able to head to their local game store and purchase a newly released Dynasty Pack, featuring three copies each of twenty brand-new cards. These new cards will give you new options every week, and while you're in the store, you can learn more about a chance to play with fellow Legend of the Five Rings enthusiasts—ask about our Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Season One Kit, which features exclusive prizes for participating in Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game events!

The Imperial Cycle has begun… but what does it have in store for the world of Rokugan? Join us today as we dive into the first Dynasty Pack of the Imperial Cycle: Tears of Amaterasu.

A Test of Skill

Today, we’re looking at two powerful provinces found in Tears of Amaterasu. Both provinces manipulate the ways that fate can be used during a conflict, and they're two sides of the same coin. One province prevents any fate from being spent, while the other provides a possible fountain of fate for the defender. In addition, both provinces can never be found in the same player's deck—one can be played by clans using the Keeper role, and the other used by clans who bear the Seeker role.

The first province card found in Tears of Amaterasu is Blood of Onnotangu (Tears of Amaterasu, 1). At three province strength, Blood of Onnotangu is not the hardest province to break based on numbers alone, but its ability makes it a province that no attacker wants to see revealed. While a conflict is taking place at Blood of Onnotangu, each player cannot spend fate from his or her fate pool. Not only does this stifle many conflict cards your opponent may want to play, but it can also stop abilities like the Togashi Initiate's (Core Set, 55) which require spending fate to activate. With conflict tricks shut down, only the skillful can survive at the Blood of Onnotangu.

Blood of Onnotangu is a Fire province, which means that it competes for space in your deck against cards like Night Raid (Core Set, 21) and Meditations on the Tao (Core Set, 20). However, because Blood of Onnotangu corresponds to the Seeker roles, the Clan which claims the Seeker of Fire role would be able to include two of these provinces. A Dragon Clan player would also have to weigh Blood of Onnotangu against Restoration of Balance (Core Set, 10), their unique province that forces an opponent to discard down to four cards.

Blood of Onnotangu is a strong answer to clans who like to play a lot of conflict cards, such as the Scorpion. The province may be favorable to any clans who rely on characters with naturally large skill values, like the Dragon.

With roles just assigned last week at the 2017 Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Winter Court World Championship, the Crane, Dragon, and Scorpion Clans can use Blood of Onnotangu in a deck.

Tears of Amaterasu

The other new province to be found is the pack’s namesake, Tears of Amaterasu (Tears of Amaterasu, 2). With four province strength, Tears of Amaterasu is harder to break than Blood of Onnotangu from a strength standpoint, and it offers an ability that is nearly opposite of its counterpart.

After this province is revealed on your side, you can immediately gain one fate for each attacking character, fueling your fate economy and allowing you to play powerful conflict cards. Tears of Amaterasu can be a powerful stronghold province, since your opponent will likely send a great host of characters as they try to win the game. With its significant boost to your fate, Tears of Amaterasu can help you muster a strong defense with not just your characters on the field, but the cards in your hand as well.

As a Void province, Tears of Amaterasu competes for space against Pilgrimage (Core Set, 22) and Shameful Display (Core Set, 24). Tears of Amaterasu is the only one of these provinces that gives you additional fate, so if you're running a deck that relies heavily on spending fate during the conflict phase, Tears of Amaterasu is a great choice of province.

The Phoenix Clan has an additional province competing for the Void slot—their unique province, Kuroi Mori (Core Set, 12). While Kuroi Mori is one of the most powerful provinces in the game, Tears of Amaterasu could give the Phoenix the fate to play powerful events like Display of Power (Core Set, 179) before it is broken. The choice is up to you, and every Void province provides a powerful effect for the mighty keepers of knowledge.

Tears of Amaterasu is a solid province choice for any decks that relies on deadly conflict cards to win conflicts.

With roles just assigned last week at the 2017 Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Winter Court World Championship, the Crab, Lion , Phoenix and Unicorn can use Tears of Amaterasu as a province in their decks.

A New Beginning

It’s a new era for the world of Rokugan. Head to your local game store this Thursday for the release of Tears of Amaterasu, the first Dynasty Pack of the Imperial Cycle. Then, be sure to revisit your local retailer every Thursday for the next six weeks for a new pack guaranteed to shake up the game's meta. It’s a brand-new era for the world of Rokugan. Will you be a part of it?