Legend of the Five Rings (CCG Emperor Edition)

Okay, before I start, I just want to say that this is one of the most intense games I've ever played.  Seriously. I don't even think you want to read this.  If you're not an avid gamer like me, or if you don't know the rules (I would not recommend reading them, unless you absolutely want to play), just continue on; read the next post. I'll be talking to you as if you already know how the game works.

If you don't know yet, Legend of the Five Rings (I'll call it L5R) is a card game, where you are a general or some type of leader of one of the nine clans of Rokugan.  I personally favor the Phoenix clan, but don't let that influence your opinion.

Like I said before, I'm going to act like you already know how to play, so I'll just skip the mechanics of the game.

Anyways, before you even start the game, pick a stronghold that you know works well with not only your cards and/or clan, but with how you yourself play.  Your stronghold is an important aspect of the game; you want its abilities/actions to help you as much as possible in play.

Also, some strategies have abilities affecting only personalities with certain keywords, so make sure some of your personalities have keywords corresponding with those strategies.

Now we can actually get into the game.  When you start, try and buy a lot of holdings, while also bringing in a constant supply of cheap (or expensive if you have enough money) personalities.  Remember you can get a clan discount of the personality you are buying has your clan alignment keyword.

You also don't necessarily need to play any actions, but if they help you, go ahead.  Also, try to have more personalities than your opponent(s).  When you know the time is right (I would qualify this to be having more than ten battle actions ready in your hand and on the table- but hey, circumstances change), go ahead and attack.  Play your most important battle actions first, like destroying/removing your opponents powerful or opposing personalities before they get to yours.  

But before this, while you are deciding what provinces to attack and with whom, strategically place your personalities into different groups so each section has a sufficient amount of force.  That is if you're attacking more than one province; you could always have a giant overwhelming force take over a single province at a time.

Cavalry is also a great option, but make sure the amount of cavalry personalities don't exceed that of non-cavalry personalities.  You want to have them evenly balanced for the best possible outcome.

Finally, try and fulfill the requirements for the rings in your hand, so you can play them for an easier win.

After the battle, if you won, then hooray for you.  If you lost, better luck next time.

On your next turn, if you're playing with only one other person, and you feel like you still have enough personalities to take another province, go ahead.  But try not to kill too many of your personalities every turn.  L5R isn't all about war.  And don't forget about your stronghold abilities!

As the game continues, try and make strategic decisions that will benefit you and your clan.  Watch what your opponent does and plan accordingly.

As you know, there are a couple different ways to win.  Remember the honor victory: you can get this easiest by buying your personalities with your clan alignment keyword without the discount.  Likewise, obtaining the military victory is somewhat simple.

Well, there you go, and thanks for reading yet another piece of insight from Kid Superman.  Happy gaming!

-Kid Superman