A Samurai’s Legacy

So, as a community, we’ll have the opportunity to create a new character.

We will be given a poll to vote every week, and our votes will shape a new card.

Hurry up, first poll is at the bottom of the article, and is up for just 24 hours!

First Poll: Choose Clan

Winner: Unicorn

Second Poll: Choose Family

Winner: Utaku

Third Poll: Choose Theme

Winner: Out-of-clan allies.

Fourth Poll: Choose Skills and Glory

Winner: Balanced Skills, High Glory.

Fifth Poll: Choose Identity

Winner: Worldly Shiotome

Sixth Poll: Choose ability

Winner: In search of Honor

Seventh Poll: Choose Art

Winner: 1

Final look of the card:

Voted Phoenix. But dang Unicorn was getting lots of love with Scorpion right behind.

Hmm... I'll have to take some time to consid-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAB!

1 minute ago, Hida Jitenno said:

Hmm... I'll have to take some time to consid-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAB!

Right, right, we can make another Crab character, and kill it before their card is even released.

I mean, it has happened before.

Just now, Tabris2k said:

Right, right, we can make another Crab character, and kill it before their card is even released.

I mean, it has happened before.

Not saying you're wrong...

6 minutes ago, Hyperjayman said:

Voted Phoenix. But dang Unicorn was getting lots of love with Scorpion right behind.

You can see the results? Where?

2 minutes ago, Tabris2k said:

Right, right, we can make another Crab character, and kill it before their card is even released.

I mean, it has happened before.

??

We eat his nicely steamed crab after that kinda burn right??

Edit- Can’t see it anymore but right after i vote you could click a link to see the percentage.

25 minutes ago, Hyperjayman said:

Edit- Can’t see it anymore but right after i vote you could click a link to see the percentage.

Yeah, I found the link, but they restricted the view, so it’s not working anymore.

But dang... more than 900 votes already

No option for it to be a neutral card.

Too bad. It means a large portion of the community will lose interest as soon as the first vote is over as it will be a card they can never use.

I decided to go with Dragon because currently Phoenix and Scorpion have 39 characters each, Crab, Crane, Lion and Unicorn all have 31 each and Dragon only has 28. What happened to the other 3 Dragon Clan characters?

If there had been an option for the neutrals? Well, there are only 18 neutral character cards so far. And within that we have Imperial (7), Mantis Clan (4, 2 of which are mutually exclusive), and Shadowlands (2). I'd like to see these numbers all get up to 12-13 eventually.

Anyway, I went with Dragon as it seems that they lost 3 characters somehow.

I have to imagine that no options are going to be presented to make this card a faction-saver, it'll no doubt be thoroughly average. So if some group is going get a filler cad and it isn't one of the strongholdless factions, it may as well go to the faction that is short.

3 minutes ago, Tabris2k said:

Yeah, I found the link, but they restricted the view, so it’s not working anymore.

But dang... more than 900 votes already

Turns out this fanbase is both larger and more engaged than I know...
Or, maybe it is fans of other FFG properties who saw the poll and engaged with it?

Especially now that FFG is supporting the RPG as well the fandom is potentially way larger than just people who show up for the LCG tournaments. That said I always assumed L5R had a very large silent casual community around it considering you can get a good deal of enjoyment out of the game just by reading the fictions, collecting cards and playing casually on your kitchen table (without ever engaging in organized play).

19 minutes ago, Coyote Walks said:

Also, I don't want to give FFG access to my google data. The least they could do was link it to the forum logon.

I think this is because is probably cheaper for FFG to do a googleForm than to do their own pol in their website.

Also, a lot of people have a Google Account, but few people have an Asmodee Account.

@Coyote Walks Dude chill out. The Mantis are already slowly getting brought into the game. And when they fully bring both clans into the game, FFG more than likey will give them a focused big expansion and a clan pack to catch up with then other clans. Bonus point if the Spiders inroduction product is called ‘Along came a Spider’ and the clan pack is called ‘Web of Treason’

Card by committee!

1 hour ago, TheHobgoblyn said:

I decided to go with Dragon because currently Phoenix and Scorpion have 39 characters each, Crab, Crane, Lion and Unicorn all have 31 each and Dragon only has 28. What happened to the other 3 Dragon Clan characters?

If there had been an option for the neutrals? Well, there are only 18 neutral character cards so far. And within that we have Imperial (7), Mantis Clan (4, 2 of which are mutually exclusive), and Shadowlands (2). I'd like to see these numbers all get up to 12-13 eventually.

Anyway, I went with Dragon as it seems that they lost 3 characters somehow.

Arguably, this is because the Dragon do not NEED more characters. Having less characters one of their central themes, and the fact that the Dragon Clan characters are widely believed to be the best characters in the game.

1 hour ago, Coyote Walks said:

then doesn't 'understand' inclusiveness with the players that have been waiting to fully get back into the game (Mantis & Spider).

Good lord. This is just a game. You are not being discriminated against. None of your rights are being baffled. Your personal wishes are not FFG's roadmap, nor are mine. A one year old game will not include all the content of the previous incarnation that lasted many years, nor should it.

I've said it before, I find this attitude grating, as a new player. Being unsatisfied with FFG's own way of negotiating the fine line between new and old stuff is one thing, but when any piece of news just becomes a reason to say "But I wanted more of what I wanted!!!", this gets a bit too silly, if not self-caricatural.

Yeah, no, inclusiveness in gender identity, ethnicity, religion, race, sexual preference really, REALLY is not the same thing as inclusiveness in faction preference. If L5R ever reaches a level of cultural importance that people are getting killed over being Crab Clan or Mantis Clan, we will talk. But seriously, yeah, no.

Also, there is no proof that this card cannot be Mantis Clan, Shadowlands, or anything like that. It just can't be Neutral.

And if a Neutral Akodo Toturi, champion of the Lion Clan is proof of anything? It is that you can have in-faction cards that are not in your Great Clan. Bring on the NagaMcBoatface no Oni of the Scorpion Clan!

38 minutes ago, Coyote Walks said:

I wasn't saying it was. They are two different kinds of inclusiveness.

But thanks for trying to put words in my mouth. (Honestly Dave, I'm disappointed in you. You're better than this.)

Actually, you compared them directly, implying that if they were good at one, they should be better at the other. Nobody put words in your mouth but you. To further complain that people calling you out are 'better than this' is just poor behavior.

27 minutes ago, Coyote Walks said:

As I find the attitude of 'screw-you-I-got-mine' to be grating.

And to anyone else who got their knickers in a twist about my above post, I'm under no illusion that Mantis would have been picked had we been included. Looks like I need to get more of those 'Extra Salty' card sleeves.

Actually, the immediate reaction on Discord when the poll was shown was a number of people asking "Why not a neutral card?" After all, a neutral card would be playable in any number of Clans they might play. So such a choice wouldn't necessarily be crushed in the polls.

Anyway, I think you should try to understand that you are being too demanding, and that is coming from me of all people.

I'd like to see the number of Mantis characters available rise to 13 (maybe more as I think Mantis tend towards being a Conflict Deck Character faction). And making 2 of the 4 created so far contingent on a person playing two entirely separate elemental roles was not a good start towards that. It looks like it will be 2020 by the time that happens.

And it would be nice if there were as many neutral cards spread across the various "other" factions as there are cards in each faction.

But you can't expect things to work out exactly like they did in the original story. Don't think it is automatic that the Centipede and Wasp and certainly not the Fox will automatically join their clan. Don't think Yoritomo will have exactly the same opportunity to blackmail the Empire into giving him Great Clan recognition by threatening to side with Fu Leng and everyone just being cool with that afterwards.

Instead, be excited that you don't know how this is all going to play out, but unlike the Spider Clan (who have a bigger fanbase it seems) the overwhelming majority are in favor of letting the Mantis into the club. And each time the Mantis have appeared in the fiction, they have gotten to look competent, respectable, interesting and even in their single instance of defeat, pretty much got the last word and to ride off without consequence.

That is a lot more than one can say about the Imperials presented so far even though we are much closer to being able to create a full Imperial dynasty deck than a Mantis one. (Not that one can expect to find victory with a deck of neutral characters since they seem to be docked a -1/-1 in exchange for being usable by everyone)

And as bad off as Mantis is, the game is even shorter on Shadowlands cards. I believe there are only 3 Shadowlands cards, 1 of which is really a tainted Crab Clan card. It is much weirder to have L5R where there is no Shadowlands trait floating around causing players to make Faustian pacts with. That mechanic was far more a consistent staple of the L5R game than the Mantis Clan. I think we all expected it was the Shadowlands who were going to get their turn first.

Originally it took a year and 4 months for the first Shadowlands and Imperial (I guess we could call it that) strongholds to be released. It was another 4 months for Mantis Clan and Monks to be released. And I feel like AEG regretted expanding its factions so much so quickly and FFG is trying to avoid that mistake. So maybe it'll take twice as long.

Really, when it boils down to it, you aren't being "excluded", you are just rooting for a faction that is not a current main focus or player in the game-- a game we were told, have basically always been told, focuses on the 7 Great Clans. Especially since we haven't even got to the Day of Thunder yet-- and the Day of Thunder has to have 7 Thunders.

And do remember-- AEG ended its setting by entirely annihilating the Mantis Clan. So its not like FFG is taking away the ability to play as the Mantis Clan, that was already planned to be removed.

Oh, exciting. And looks like they are going to keep a brisk pace on the voting choices.

Not that we really need more Phoenix characters, but I don't think I'd ever NOT vote for another Phoenix on the off chance we get cool Ishiken. I'd be happy to see another good Battle Maiden, too.

I voted Crane b/c of Fumio.

Meow Meow

11 hours ago, TheHobgoblyn said:

I decided to go with Dragon because currently Phoenix and Scorpion have 39 characters each, Crab, Crane, Lion and Unicorn all have 31 each and Dragon only has 28. What happened to the other 3 Dragon Clan characters?

All 3 were jailed by an unscrupulous (what else?!) Scorpion magistrate who was following fictitious Imperial orders presented by a Crane representative. The offense committed by the Dragon party? They didn’t possess enough honor to make the trip.... ??‍♀️

?

Vote Lion, we need some good lion cards.

10 hours ago, Schmoozies said:

I plan to take every Mantis theme option I can for the card

Well, I doubt they’ll put a “Should this card have the Traitorous Pirate trait?” poll.

I voted Phoenix because of course I did.

But I must say, I find the exercise (which, overall, seems to be a popularity contest despite the best efforts of individuals to vote for clans with fewer people or clans which need shoring up) a bit... eh.

59 minutes ago, Shiba Gunichi said:

I voted Phoenix because of course I did.

But I must say, I find the exercise (which, overall, seems to be a popularity contest despite the best efforts of individuals to vote for clans with fewer people or clans which need shoring up) a bit... eh.

Well, they have to start somewhere. Hopefully this first time will serve them to hone the basis for more community-created cards in the future.

And that’s why it’s important to get involved in this first time, through the whole process, so they can see the community is committed to this game and this kind of developers-players interactions.