Unicorn Clan Pack

[Duciris 719]

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/11/28/warriors-of-the-wind/

Whoa.

And Novella: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/11/28/across-the-burning-sands/

Edited November 28 by Duciris

[HirumaShigure 432]

To me this screams "honor runner" that doesn't care about breaking provinces. (But I guess a broken province is consider face up too...?)

[Ishi Tonu 2,453]

I bet that is making Unicorn players..............

Wait for it.........

Horny

[Duciris 719]

Amelie Hutt.  Can't no one expect to grace the cover of an L5R novella while she's around!

[HirumaShigure 432]

Call me crazy, but doesn't the character on the front of the clan pack look like... Moto Chagatai? Maybe it's supposed to be Gaheris?

[HirumaShigure 432]

It's definitely Christmas already for the Unicorn clan, and I sure am happy for them!

[HamHamJ2 107]

I think this might be pretty crazy. If you can flip two provinces turn one, and that new character that just flips a province will be a big help in that, you go into turn 2 with 8 fate. And then you could easily be looking at 10 on turn 3 and for the rest of the game. That is potentially huge.

[phillos 770]

I've seen Daniel Lovat Clark'a name attached to the RPG products, but I don't recall him writing any of the L5R card game fiction yet.  I like that Shono is going into the Burning Sands.  I was exactly hoping they would talk about the lands west of Rokugan and the Unicorn history so we can have something more concrete for the new continuity.

[Duciris 719]

7 minutes ago, phillos said:

I've seen Daniel Lovat Clark'a name attached to the RPG products, but I don't recall him writing any of the L5R card game fiction yet.  I like that Shono is going into the Burning Sands.  I was exactly hoping they would talk about the lands west of Rokugan and the Unicorn history so we can have something more concrete for the new continuity.

I have been told that Burning Sands is copyrighted D&D, so I won't hold my breath for it being called the same thing, but I too expect that we'll be headed that way.  I too, too, am excited about it.

[phillos 770]

It's in the title of the book though.  Did someone tell FFG that

[Kakita Shiro 965]

13 minutes ago, phillos said:

It's in the title of the book though.  Did someone tell FFG that

Describing the sand as burning is a different thing from the intellectual property that is part of LBS.

[phillos 770]

4 minutes ago, Kakita Shiro said:

Describing the sand as burning is a different thing from the intellectual property that is part of LBS.

Ridiculous.  If this was really an issue they wouldn't dance on the edge of that knife.  Their lawyers would be pulling their hair out.  I guess we'll get an answer pretty soon.

Edited November 28 by phillos

[Vutall 125]

I'm very excited for this pack! Need more spoilers! Curious how my honor deck is going to evolve with the new cards. Utaku Steed is auto include...

[sndwurks 1,010]

As has been clarified here several times by @DGLaderoute.

Fantasy Flight Games does not have the license for the Legend of the Burning Sands. However, they own the Unicorn Clan fully, and they have a pretty good relationship with AEG, who own the Legend of the Burning Sands IP. As such, FFG has rights to USE elements from the Legend of the Burning Sands in as much as they relate to the Unicorn Clan as part of Legend of the Five Rings. This is why we are actually getting a bunch of material in the Unicorn Clan Novella ABOUT the Qamarist Caliphate in al-Zawira (based on the article and previous fiction), which will likely be radically different than the history of Medinaat al-Salaam and the Legend of the Burning Sands.

But yeah. What a day to wear purple!

[phillos 770]

So then it probably is still called the Burning Sands.

[sndwurks 1,010]

4 minutes ago, phillos said:

So then it probably is still called the Burning Sands.

By Rokugani. It will have a completely different name to the people who live there. Also, I would expect to see little to no mention of the Senpet, Yodotai, and Rashari, as well as the Assassins, the Ebonites, the Jackals, and other elements specific to the Legend of the Burning Sands. Khadi are a possibility? Djinn are definite. And we will likely see references to the Ivinda people of the Ivory Kingdoms to the south, as the Colonies (and the Ivory Kingdoms) were included in the sale of the IP.

[phillos 770]

Yeah I agree.  My point was if they were forbidden from using the name Burning Sands at all then they wouldn't have risked putting it right in the title of a book.  Usually those rules are in place to avoid brand recognition issues.  I'm very interested to see what stuff made the cut off and what didn't.

[Ascarel 48]

The Crab character is an interesting counter card against Unicorn, but it's weird that it does not address directly the new Unicorn game plan that's being introduced. Kitsuki Yaruma already does so naturally on the Dragon side, however.

[Duciris 719]

Just now, Ascarel said:

The Crab character is an interesting counter card against Unicorn, but it's weird that it does not address directly the new Unicorn game plan that's being introduced. Kitsuki Yaruma already does so naturally on the Dragon side, however.

I was just thinking about him.  He's my favorite character to Charge - you flip the contended province facedown, then immediately reveal it and can again use any reaction triggers for revealing, or any printed action a second time.

[GM81 Protocol Droid 127]

Hearing more about the wider world is great! It does make sense that "the Burning Sands" as it is mentioned in oL5R products but not Legend of the Burning Sands is part of the IP. There really wasn't all that much specific in dedicated L5R products. Plenty of mentions for Unicorn and later Scorpion in the RPG books but rarely anything specific. Various flavor texts and a few characters in the card game. Some of the stories did get more specific with the Scorpion Clan Exile and 2nd Rise of Iuchiban areas. The hints of other areas so far seem to indicate some preplanning by FFG, so I am excited to see how it the elements come together.

I'm very happy for my Unicorn rivals to be getting their Clan Pack. Hopefully this helps push them into higher tiers of play. Support of the Unicorn certainly makes the splash interesting. Talisman of the Sun and Unleash the Djinn are role locked out of SotU, but Gaijin Customs is always on and Unicorn do have a few other good attachments.

Seeing Hida Tsuru makes me hope to see Matsu Agetoki in this pack. Tsuru's ability does not trigger from put into play effects, which means it is not a counter to Cavalry Reserves, Charge, or Force of the River. Lion already have a cavalry commander with movement tech, so I wonder what Agetoki could do if he is in the pack.

[Tabris2k 1,019]

Iuchi Farseer can (with some luck) reveal Restoration first turn against Dragon. Before the Draw phase. Only for that, it’s an A+ for me. 

[Coyote Walks 622]

1 hour ago, Ishi Tonu said:

I bet that is making Unicorn players..............

Wait for it.........

Horny

Boooo!  

 

Edit: I might actually buy this book.

And as a person that's played a 6 Fate Stronghold, I look forward to this lunacy.

Edited November 28 by Coyote Walks

[Tabris2k 1,019]

Young Warrior’s stats seems unusually  high for an Unicorn card. The only word I can see in the text box is “attacker”, so maybe there’s the drawback. As in “Can only participate as an attacker”

Ooohh, would be cool if “Young Warrior can only participate as an attacker in MIL conflicts, and as a defender in POL conflicts”

[sndwurks 1,010]

My thoughts:

Shiro Shinjo - We have our first stronghold with a non-standard (+7) Fate production. So, the Unicorn running this will be hurt turn 1, but should be able to basically outproduce their opponent from Turn 2 onwards, because if you are not throwing 2 conflicts on Turn 1 with this box, you are playing it wrong. With cards like Border Fortress, Chasing the Sun, and Iuchi Farseer, it is looking like Unicorn / Crab Seeker of Water with PF and Reprieve is going to be the new Unicorn deck. The question is: can it close?

Iuchi Farseer - .... I CAN POP F----ING RESTORATION OF BALANCE BEFORE MY FIRST DRAW PHASE!!!! Ahem. Hi, Dragon-killer. Good to see you. Oh, and you are a Unicorn Shugenja to boot? I don't care that you're not Cavalry. You are my favorite card in the world now.

Iuchi Daiyu - Excuse me, sir, I was still being amazed by your Farseer that I did not see you there. A 3M/3P/2G for 4F? Yeah. You're a normal Unicorn. At least you have a useful Action that does not require you to be in the Conflict to use? But yeah. I think Shahai is prettier.

Speak to the Heart - My favorite part of this card is that it only buffs Unicorn characters. We now have the strongest Political buff in the game. I do not care if it is max 1 per Conflict. This will give the Unicorn the ability to crack strongholds. And here I am, wondering why they did not slap a 1 Fate Unicorn card tax on it...

Compass - So, nice to see the Dragon and Crane are getting some fun toys in this box. If I am remembering my RRG Steps correctly, I would need to pop Spyglass before this card if I am assigning so... meh? Good for Crane and Dragon. Meh for Unicorn.

Hida Tsuru - Well, now, good to see you again, Tsuru-san. I remember when you would crap Provinces with a surprise Charge! and Wedge! back in the day. Nice to see you back, and with the same explosive potential. Crab are going to love you, but you really don't care about Support of the Unicorn.

Support of the Unicorn - So. Does Support of the Unicorn count as a Unicorn card for Gaijin Customs?

And the two extra in the spread:

Young Warrior - A 3M/3P/2G for 2 Fate? Hm. I am actually expecting your draw back is going to be something like "-1 Skill for each Fate on this card", but you are a Cavalry Battle Maiden, so the Utaku fans will be happy.

Wyld Stallyns - *ROCKS OUT IN AIR GUITAR?*

And from the Novella Announcement:

Utaku Battle Steed - This is the sort of card that the Battle Maiden fans need and love. Having a selective Pride keyword is pretty solid, all things considered. Combine this with I Am Ready for the next attack, or a Fight On, this is going to be good.

Edited November 28 by sndwurks

[Tonbo Karasu 1,628]

I'll just point out that Young Warrior is probably a conflict character.