[edit] answered my own question lol

I think I misunderstood the context of "turn." Technically, the placement phase consists of multiple turn sequences where players place combat tokens until they have only one combat token left.

In this case, the start of the first players turn occurs 5 times and therefore the first player card can be used during any of those times.

[Original question]

Question regarding battle for rokugan:

The first player card states, "Play at the start of your turn during the placement phase. Choose one combat token on the board belonging to any player. Look at the token without revealing it to the other players, then return the token to its owner's token pool."

I'm confused as to how this card effect works as the first player. Based on my understanding of the rules, the first player places the first combat token on the board. This means there would be no combat tokens placed on the board for the card to work.

I appreciate any clarification!

I think I misunderstood the context of "turn." Technically, the placement phase consists of multiple turn sequences where players place combat tokens until they have only one combat token left.

In this case, the start of the first players turn occurs 5 times and therefore the first player card can be used during any of those times.