The game is played using L5R CCG cards, but a collection of cards is not required to play the game. It comes with four pre-built decks, ready to go right out of the box! Featuring tiles that determine alliances and wars, including strategies for placement of tiles, War of Honor incorporates boardgame sensibilities into the L5R CCG, making it a great way for those somewhat wary of a CCG to try this dynamic and proven game.
The Lion Clan marshals its forces at the Plains of Thunder, determined to exact revenge against the scheming Scorpion Clan. The Dragon Clan attempts to reconcile the two armies, even as it refuses to reveal evidence that might exonerate the Lion, and incriminate the Scorpion. And the Phoenix Clan races to intervene before the situation becomes a War of Honor to turn the Empire against itself.
In this exciting new multiplayer format for the Legend of the Five Rings collectible card game, you will form and dissolve alliances, engage in political maneuverings, and wage mighty battles to determine which Clan will triumph.
· Includes a scoring board, markers, and movable tiles that give a different game play experience every time.
· Also included: tiles for each of the other five Great Clans, making War of Honor fully expandable with your existing Legend of the Five Rings cards.
· The basic game is for 2-4 players, but can be played with more if customized using your own L5R cards.
War of Honor is played using a modified version of the Legend of the Five Rings CCG rules. Legend of the Five Rings is now in its 15th year of publication, making it the second longest running CCG of all time. The game comes with four completely built decks, ready to play: Lion, Scorpion, Phoenix, and Dragon.
In Legend of the Five Rings, players build two separate decks to make up their “deck”. One is the Dynasty Deck, which contains characters, gold holdings, events, and regions. These enter play via four provinces in front of the player, which hold one card each until it is purchased (or resolves, in the case of an event). The Fate Deck is made up of tactics, equipment, followers, and spells, and is drawn into a hand of five cards which the player can use at any appropriate time (including playing tactics or attaching equipment, spells, and followers to your characters for later use).
• Military: Attack with your personalities and destroy the opponents’ four provinces.
• Honor: Through various means (politics, winning battles, duels, art), gain up to 40 points of honor.
• Dishonor: Through various means, drag your opponent down to -20 honor and have him driven from the Empire like the honorless dog he is.
• Enlightenment: Put all five of the elemental rings into play at the same time. Much harder than it sounds, but if you can complete this legendary victory condition, you are declared an elemental master and win.
All the Clans in War of Honor can attempt these four, though each is more attuned to one than the others (Lion – Military, Phoenix – Honor, Scorpion – Dishonor, Dragon – Enlightenment). When you use extra cards from L5R, you can play any of the Clans in War of Honor, even the ones not included such as Crab, Crane, Mantis, etc. and you can change the decks so that the Lion deck focuses on honor, the Scorpion on enlightenment, or whatever you wish! Best of all, War of Honor will support open events, where ANY L5R card is usable, so even those you’ve had in your closet for years are back or those you find in the bargain bin at the local store!
