I just stumbled onto this game and it's really fun, but I just can't really decide on a clan to stick with. Plus, as an Australian player games have so far been between myself and my family, so I haven't gotten a lot of experience. I'd really love to hear people's opinions (technical and lore wise).

Scorpion is good if you like control and Lion is good if you like swarm aggressive play

Play Mantis. When we finally hit the table, it's going to be Epic. Once we're really in the story, it'll be Revolutionary.

Play with each clan a few times over to figure out what kind of style you like.

Scorpion is mainly control right now.

Crab is all about defence and keeping your board alive.

Lion is very much aggro military.

Crane is very much aggro political with some tricks thrown in.

Dragon is a very even clan that is essentially a mid range deck that relies on attachments for buffs.

Phoenix are high glory characters with generally well balanced stats and have abilities dependant on rings.

Unicorn are primarily a military style clan with movement tricks.

These all of course are going to change a bit with the next new cycle out shortly and another clan pack in October.

Mechanically, I like to play Phoenix because it has a lot of effects that depends on the rings and other cards, so when everything suddenly makes “clic” it feels like finally completing a very hard puzzle. It’s... rewarding. Even if you lose at the end.

Lore wise? We’re the most powerful clan on Rokugan (haters incoming...), but also the most restrained. Why? Well, because we have the most Shugenja of all them. Compare it to being a small country, with a small army, but with a lot of nuclear warheads. So yeah, you can have a ten thousand soldiers army marching against us, but what good are they if we can drop a mountain on their heads? And yes, we can. In the old lore we had a Shugenja, Shiba Ningen, that transformed a whole army in a field of white flowers just with a thought (and the power of the Void). Sure, he died a few years later due to that spell, but what samurai is not willing to die for his or her clan?

And that’s where restrain comes in. Phoenix values life. Phoenix values peace, because life and peace are two things the spirits and the soul appreciate. So we have to show restrain when facing our enemies. (Also, because dropping a few mountains over our enemies will bring some censure from the Emperor). We cannot bring our full power out because we’re afraid of causing more harm than good.

So that’s the Phoenix, the duality of our clan, vast power with great restrain.

Go Phoenix.

First, I'm going to link in the Open Beta to the RPG. Reading the Part I: Core Identity (Clan and Family) section of Chapter 2 gives a really good in-depth view of the clans and how each family within behaves.

I'm going to arbitrarily separate them along in-game Military/Political lines. We have 3 Military oriented clans and 3 political oriented clans.

Lion are the most straight forward Military clan to understand and play. They are honor bound and think with their swords. In game the lean toward larger board presence, playing more and cheaper characters than their opponents. They have a number of ways to cycle more cards in provinces (from their dynasty deck) faceup, allowing them to go through more of that deck than any other clan. They have a number of ways to honor their own characters and are good at pressing for a honor victory. They have very strong military options and suffer the most of any clan in political conflicts (by a slim margin). Their starting stronghold can only be used in an offensive military conflict, and is only helpful if they have Bushi in the fray.

Crab have been guarding the wall for ages, and they believe they will never get support from the other clans. If you're a Game of Thrones person, we're pretty sure the wall in the north is based off this. (It could easily not be, but people say the reverse a lot, not realizing that this is older.) Crab are better at defending than anyone outright, and have abilities that only work on the defense. They often pass one or both of their conflicts in early game to build board presence. They break provinces with their beat-sticks and punish their opponents for playing cards from hand. They often sacrifice their own people for advantage, and have ways to both sacrifice opponents and prevent their own characters from leaving play. Their starting stronghold can only be used defensively and is more powerful the more characters they have defending. They are the one of the 2 clans I know that always include their "The Way of..." card. They are one of two clans that pay their honor to hurt their opponent; as so long as they don't lose due to honor loss, they don't care about their honor count.

Unicorn have been the underdogs since the release, bringing up the rear of the meta. That is going to change over the next 6 weeks as the devs have purported to included a boost to Unicorn's options. (On that note, this is the first cycle that was created and playtested after the release of the game. It is the first time they've been able to address the meta with new cards.) Unicorn operate by mobility - switching which province they are defending if they feel the other province is more damaging/useful or if they wish to protect whatever card is on top of the defended province. They also have a number of options to allow their characters to enter and leave in the middle of conflicts. They have good conflict deck card draw and a number of options that allow them to react well to what their opponent is doing. They have a card (Captive Audience) that allows them to preform 2 Military attacks rather than 1MIL and 1POL, and their "The Way of..." card allows them to retain the first player token. Their starting stronghold allows for 1 Calvary character to enter or leave a given conflict.

Crane is the political side of the Lion coin. They are focus on honoring their characters as well, but are more focused on conflict deck cards - i.e. playing cards from hand. I haven't really played as or against them, so my technical understanding is limited. Their starting stronghold bows an opposing character with low political skill during any political conflict.

Phoenix are less traditional in their seeking of rings. They have bonuses when contesting specific rings, and some of their characters can treat any ring as a different, specific ring. They can also manipulate unclaimed rings in unique ways. Their clan pack has given them alternate options for gameplay, offering them offensive military options and a second stronghold. Their starting stronghold gives bonus glory. Phoenix have the greatest glory values, offering them greater options for Imperial Favor and are more potent when honored. When dishonored, however, their characters struggle to offer any aid.

Scorpion are the less attacking oriented than any other clan (in my experience). They use character and cards from hand to dishonor themselves and their opponents. They deny their opponent's play and honor run with manipulation, blackmail and poison. They are the strongest at the "control" style of play, and if they can shut down your board game, they'll win by either dishonoring you or taking your stronghold. They take their opponents' honor with their starting stronghold, provided that they are less honorable. They are looking to remain ever so slightly less honorable than their opponent, until they can finish that opponent with dishonor.

If we've seen the 3 Military clans and the 3 Political clans, the we must be down to Dragon. Dragon aren't the best at Military, nor are they the best at Political. They are, however, pretty good at both. Dragon are very much the water clan - no, they don't seek the water ring as rule, they just have a lot of options for changing their strategy mid-game or at the outset depending on whom they are playing. Dragon build "towers" by using attachments to beef up their characters - the so called "Voltron" character(s). They are more prone to fielding fewer and more expensive characters and then winning with them than anyone else. The bulk of their strength is two-fold. First, they play unique characters (not necessarily unique, named characters) with formidable abilities, often adding extra fate to keep them around. Second, they change the conflicts in which they are participating by adding permanent boosts, via attachments, to those characters. To achieve this second component, they try to draw as heavily as they can from their conflict deck while watching the honor change hands. They do have a few ways to search their deck for attachments or draw additional cards, but this is the crux of their conflict options so they do draw as much as is safe. Their starting clan-specific province punishes their opponent for the size of their hand (forcing them to discard down to 4 cards). Until it is revealed (or discovered not to be present), their opponent may very well hold off on drawing cards, which plays counter to Dragon's previously named need to draw their own cards. Their starting stronghold boosts one of their characters during a conflict by +1/+1 or +2/+2 if they have one or two-or-more attachments respectively.

The core set gives a really good feel for how each clan behaves. Most of the product since then has supported those play-styles or added new play options for the clans. The consensus I've gathered (more from other people on these forums than from my own observations) is that the clan packs are opening up new avenues for their given clan, rather than giving them more power. The first (Phoenix) clan pack has offered good options for the other 6 clans as well.

That should summarize my findings on game play, and the Beta should give good fluff (fiction and backstory and motivation) for the given clans and their families. The starting fiction (Core Set Fiction and the fluff in the Learn to Play) give a really good entry point for Rokugon, the Clans, and their champions.

I chose my clan based on the old fiction and their families (Dragon). To date, I have yet to want to play any clan more than them, although I also want to play a few of the other clans as well.

Fix this elemental imbalance problem if you are so powerful Phoenix clan

Crab clan is best clan. Why you say? We'll it's because they are the defenders of the most dangerous border of the empire. The south borders the shadowland. A Crab not only risks their lives when fighting the shadowlands but the corruption of their very soul as well. At any moment they could become the very thing they fight against. They hold off an unending horde of Jingoku (The realm of evil whose agents include things like oni, undead, trolls, ogres and goblins). Their entire lives focus on this one goal, and they are very pragmatic in their jobs. They value performing this duty above all else, and their sacrifice allows the rest of Rokugan to live in relative peace and security. Their single minded focus on their duty to protect the Carpenter Wall in the south has caused them to care less about maintaining their own honor or dignity and because of this the other clans can see the Crab as rough, rude and unkempt. Though it's hard for them not to recognize the Crab clan's strength and courage. The clan is compose of people shaped by a constant and unending defensive war against the shadowlands and as such all their families and schools are tailored for that single purpose. The Kuni specialize in studying the shadowlands and countering it corruptive influence, the Hida specialize in defensive warfare, the Kaui specialize in designing and maintaining fortifications, the Hiruma are expert scouts and infiltrators, and the Yasuki are a shrewd merchant family who help make sure the rest of the families have the funding and provisions they need to fill their functions. If you want to play a deck based around a group defending against impossible odds, but persevering (along the lines of the movies 300, The Predator, Aliens, Saving Private Ryan) then maybe it's the clan for you. If you like the idea of playing a group of no nonsense demon hunters who risk their own souls in their fight against the corrupting darkness then maybe it's the clan for you. Not everyone want's to play such a dour and dire faction

Mechanically the Crab clan is the best to play because they have many tricks to keep your characters on the board. Then even if they can't (or don't want to) keep their characters on the board, the Crab can usually benefits from the character dying. Another aspect of the Crab clan is they usually have the advantage on defense. A third is the Crab is very good at slowly draining an opponent of their resources (honor, fate, cards) throughout the game. This means the Crab are experts at the slow attrition game. We hold the line and watch the enemy break against our walls. Then we finish the enemy off while they are vulnerable.

Pffft! Crab shells break easy under the blackend claw of my Oni foot!

Shadowlands for life.......and then some!

2 hours ago, Ishi Tonu said:

Pffft! Crab shells break easy under the blackend claw of my Oni foot!

Shadowlands for life.......and then some!

Too bad Shadowlands is just a trait and not an actual clan/faction to play as.

Phoenix.

Because no one punches us in the face as hard as we punch ourselves in the face!

23 minutes ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

Phoenix.

Because no one punches us in the face as hard as we punch ourselves in the face!

Quoted for Truthiness!

I obviously like to play Lion, the fierce and honourable clan. The main reason I chose and kept playing Lion through the 3 years I have been playing (the rpg and now the lcg as well) is the lore. Tabris2k said the Phoenix are the most powerful clan in Rokugan... I tend to disagree. And mainly for the same reasons. The Lion have the largest army in Rokugan, surpassing the other clans by far. To be Lion is to accept no compromise, to honour your ancestors with your deeds and to prove your supremacy in the battlefield... because a samurai is a warrior first and foremost. Unfortunately the emperor decreed long ago that there could be no war between Great Clans, only minor skirmishes. So the Lion can never deploy their forces for the war they live for. And there lies the restraint I like about my clan. We will keep having the largest and best trained army even if we cannot use it. We will keep being the empire's strength. And just like Matsu herself said before the day of thunder, we will do it because there is no one else.

17 hours ago, Kaito Kikaze said:

Too bad Shadowlands is just a trait and not an actual clan/faction to play as.

Honestly, I like it better that way. I'd rather corrupt as many clans as I can in whatever way synergizes with their individual strategies, then I would want to have a stronghold that somewhat dictates how I am able to play the Shadowlands.

@Averander - As you can see, the community is a... lively one. Honestly, L5R players have more in common with diehard sports fans than with most other gamers. They will root for their team when they are winning. They will root for their team when they are losing. They will always believe their team is the best team, and tell you why at length.

So my suggestion? Play all the Great Clans you can, but find a community in the game that welcomes you and makes you feel good to be a part of. Loyalty is a great thing, but most top tier players will play the top tier deck, but will always have their favorite Great Clan to play.

So find a Great Clan that jives with you, makes you feel welcome, and above all else? HAVE FUN. Dress up in costume. Argue about the morality of fictional characters in a fantasy world. Get your Clan Mon tattooed (a LOT of people have done this). Celebrate the community of this game, and settle in wherever you feel at home. Because mechanics come and go, but Great Clans? They stick with you.

(Said as a Naga player who joined the Spider Clan in the last game, and now plays Unicorn Clan and Dragon Clan decks.)

I like Dragon the most. The clans all identify themselves with virtues and dutys, that they break when it is oportune for them. You heared that Phoenix values life and peace, but the moment people were drawn to different religions and believes, they either banished or killed them. The crab always talk about how they protect Rokugan, but they disrespect clans that try to preserve peace and at the moment it looks like they will become the thread they swore to protect Rokugan by casting Maho spells.

The Dragon clan on the other hand understands that people have different outlooks and goals in life and they try their best to enable them to do so.

30 minutes ago, Ignithas said:

The Dragon clan on the other hand understands that people have different outlooks and goals in life and they try their best to enable them to do so.

Yep thats the Dragon for you and you wont even notice your already a member of their Perfect Land Sect. Luckier if you land Aqua-sama as your priestess.

Anyway yup so many choices in clan you just really gotta try them all!

...All eventually serve our Dark Lord anyway. ? ?

there are a few ways you could look at picking a clan.

Do you want the gameplay style?

do you want more of a aesthetic style?

A mix of both?

Wow I have so much to think about. I've played 2 games as pheonix so far and really like the play style (played with the basic deck), but I'm not sure I want to commit to a group that's (from the stories I've read so far) kind of unwelcoming of difference. I love Crane and the artistry on the cards, but haven't read a lot of lore about them yet, and Crab... well crab people, taste like crab, talk like people right? I've looked at the Scorpion deck and they look so cool! I haven't really looked at Dragon and I haven't seen any stories. Lion's story arc looks epic, and they intrigue just super interests me, but they're way too military minded for my liking (plus why is there such a large military in a country with no clear enemy? Like, there's the wall, but no one seems to be really talking about it, it confuses me, so Lion makes my inner nerd rage fire up, sure they're all 'it's because all the clans are secretly at war' but then the Emperor is like 'no don't' so....why are armies even allowed?). Unicorn seems like the one with the most potential story wise (plus the whole mystery magic? **** yeah) but their deck is just... poop. It's poop. I'm not even going to call it ****. It's poop. My brother rage quit in my first pheonix match against him.

Man, I can't wait to go to the cool stuff that happens in America for clans and competitions to enjoy all this when I get into it. It just sounds so awesome. I wish it was bigger here so there was such a loving community. I am 100% stoked.

Also there are more clans from before Five Flights owned the game? Is there a dog clan? Because I would 100% be dog clan.

42 minutes ago, Averander said:

Also there are more clans from before Five Flights owned the game? Is there a dog clan? Because I would 100% be dog clan.

There were a ton of spin off factions and clans from the pre FFG days

Crab, Crane, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, Scorpion, Unicorn, Shadowlands, Naga, Mantis, Spider, Toturi's Army, Monks, Ninja, Ronin, Ratling, Spirits, Imperial ...............I'm probably forgetting some, but those are the ones I can recall of the top of my head, and there were many variations of each of these throughout the 20 year history of that game.

I'm expecting there to be at least a couple other clans/factions pop up in the FFG version, namely Mantis and Shadowlands are the two that I am expecting as those two had the most prominent role in the story of Rokugan of any of the side clans/factions.

53 minutes ago, Averander said:

Lion's story arc looks epic, and they intrigue just super interests me, but they're way too military minded for my liking (plus why is there such a large military in a country with no clear enemy? Like, there's the wall, but no one seems to be really talking about it, it confuses me, so Lion makes my inner nerd rage fire up, sure they're all 'it's because all the clans are secretly at war' but then the Emperor is like 'no don't' so....why are armies even allowed?).

Clan's aren't exactly at peace, so a military is still required to show martial prowess. It's honorable to have strength like that, so it's a point of pride among the Lion. They are also the might of the Empire, in case anything unthinkable should happen. Perhaps enemies from outside Rokugan show up, or perhaps a Great Clan gets too ambitious for their own good, and needs to be confronted.

The Scorpion's duty as a clan is to be the 'bad guys,' so that at the best of times, the clans despise the Scorpion instead of eyeing the Imperial throne, and at the worst of times are too great of a threat for the Clans to make a move against the Empire because they are too busy handling the Scorpion Clan. Their role and presence is to be a stabilizing factor by any means necessary. Similarly, the Lion's military might is not strictly necessary, but its existence alone is enough to prevent rebellion or necessitate its actual use.

Basically, the Lion have a strong military because it's better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have one.

52 minutes ago, AradonTemplar said:

Clan's aren't exactly at peace, so a military is still required to show martial prowess. It's honorable to have strength like that, so it's a point of pride among the Lion. They are also the might of the Empire, in case anything unthinkable should happen. Perhaps enemies from outside Rokugan show up, or perhaps a Great Clan gets too ambitious for their own good, and needs to be confronted.

The Scorpion's duty as a clan is to be the 'bad guys,' so that at the best of times, the clans despise the Scorpion instead of eyeing the Imperial throne, and at the worst of times are too great of a threat for the Clans to make a move against the Empire because they are too busy handling the Scorpion Clan. Their role and presence is to be a stabilizing factor by any means necessary. Similarly, the Lion's military might is not strictly necessary, but its existence alone is enough to prevent rebellion or necessitate its actual use.

Basically, the Lion have a strong military because it's better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have one.

I guess, it just seems like a weird waste of resources and a risk for the Emperor to be saying 'don't fight guys but seriously it's cool for you to have this giant army'. I can get that it's good 'business' to turn a blind eye and let the clans sort out their differences, pretending not to see it so that they stay balanced and don't stab you in the back instead for getting too hands on, but it still means they have a lot of power. Considering the lack of outside aggressors, the amount of internal conflict being actively stirred and allowed seems... weird. But then I guess people are weird.

Rokugon has outside threats. The Shadowlands are an imediate threat to the south-southwest. However, there are threats from the Burning Sands and across the sea. That portion of the lore isn’t my bag though, so soneone else will have to address it.

In the real world, the Emporor’s military having too much power and the Emporor not acting to stop them fast enough led to Japan’s invasion of mainland China and spur its involvement in WWII. So your concern is warranted.

I view the Scorpion as the CIA. They opperate in the shadows to prevent coups and uprisings. They will use assassination, bribery, and other people to thwart enemies of the empire. That’s a dagger’s fine edge to walk though, and it can lead to coruption of purpose.

The reason there are armies is that samurai are warriors. It is so ingrained in their culture that even the Phoenix and Crane, Rokugan's most pacifistic clans, have armies. The emperor needs to control all of these warriors who want nothing more than to settle their differences with their razors, so he lets them "blow off steam" and even encourages them to fight each other so they don't think to oppose him. It's a fine balance, but the empire has kept it for 1000 years of peace (we like to call them peaceful, but they really weren't).

Best reason to go Crab: our Clan champion looks like the Shredder mixed with Optimus Prime.

11 hours ago, Averander said:

Wow I have so much to think about. I've played 2 games as pheonix so far and really like the play style (played with the basic deck), but I'm not sure I want to commit to a group that's (from the stories I've read so far) kind of unwelcoming of difference.

Most of Rokugan is unwelcoming of difference... and the novella includes a really cool bit that kinda/sorta addresses this...