L5R: ‘Bonds of Blood’ Announced As Next Dynasty Pack
The Second Dynasty Pack of the Inheritance Cycle has been revealed. Come see the previews from Bonds of Blood!
Legend of the Five Rings is growing with the next cycle of cards as the second Dynasty Pack has been announced by Fantasy Flight Games. Bonds of Blood brings in a new keyword and a host of new cards for each of the Clans of Rokugan.
The Inheritance cycle sees Rokugan splinter like never before and places the emphasis on Bushi and Courtiers, as well as introducing the Disguised mechanic, which allows iconic samurai to remain hidden in the shadows until the perfect moment. Bonds of Blood includes a prolific Phoenix Shugenja, new provinces for the Lion and Unicorn, a deadly new Poison card for the Scorpion, and more!
Rise of the Hidden Phoenix
Kicking things off, FFG showed off two of the new cards that will be included for the Phoenix Clan. Up first we have the Disguised Shugenja Isawa Tadaka:
While we don’t know the full impacts of the Disguised mechanic yet, Isawa Tadaka is going undercover in this Dynasty Pack. For starters, he can be played by both the Phoenix and Crab Clans. In game, you can use his Action to remove cards from your dynasty discard pile, then you can view that same number cards from your opponent’s hand. Then you can choose one of those cards to discard it.
Earth Becomes Sky is another card that will benefit the Phoenix Clan. This card allows you to bow a readied character! That can be extremely powerful for locking down scary targets from your opponent’s line-up. They may have ways to ready those characters, but if you can force them to spend the resources now, that will stop them from doing that later.
Patience of the Crane
Two new Crane cards were also revealed today and they both deal with forcing your opponent into a bad decision. First up we meet the Arbiter of Authority:
The first thing the Arbiter does is that as an Action you can force a Political Duel. Remeber, duels are 1v1 and typically take place during conflicts (as is the case with this card). As a Political Duel, you’re going up against a 2 power card already and you can BET Crane have some boosts that they will be ready to toss out in that duel as well. That’s where the risk comes in. Because of that, you have the option of ignoring the duel, but that target character becomes dishonored. The other option is face the challenge and possibly get sent home bowed…
And speaking of duels, we also have Duel to the Death as a new Event card for the Crane Clan. This initiates a military duel during a conflict and it’s a similar set of choices as the Arbiter above. However, the penalty for losing this duel is that the loser is Discarded. Now THAT is a tough decision!
Sting of the Scorpion
The Scorpion Clan is known for there underhanded tactics and they aren’t above using poisons to get the job done. They have a pretty nasty one with the new Softskin card:
First off, gross. That guy’s skin is melting or leaking or …I dunno. It doesn’t look good and he should probably see a doctor. Anyhow, this card is potent because it forces your opponent into another set of tough choices: Do I leave the character bowed or do I discard 3 cards from my conflict deck and hope that I didn’t need those anyways? That a tough one! Depending on the target of the poison, this card can be really effective! If you manage to tag a character with a lot of fate and they are going to stick around for awhile the effects are just going to pile-up.
Pre-Order Bonus
As an added bonus, if you pre-order Bonds of Blood from the Fantasy Flight Games website, you also gain access to three exclusive art cards featured in the pack! These cards feature no text, allowing you to enjoy the full art from Leo Avero, Pavel Kolomeyets, and Pius Pranoto!
Not a bad deal from FFG if you ask me! Be sure to keep an eye out for this pack and the previous pack in the Inheritance Cycle – hitting stores later this year.
Bonds of Blood $14.95
Step into the world of Rokugan with Bonds of Blood, the second dynasty pack in the Inheritance Cycle for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game!
The Inheritance Cycle sees Rokugan splinter like never before and places on emphasis on Bushiand Courtiers, as well as introducing the Disguised mechanic, allowing iconic samurai to remain in the shadows until the perfect moment. Bonds of Blood includes a prolific Phoenix Shugenja, new provinces for the Lion and Unicorn, a deadly new Poison card for the Scorpion, and more!
Face the challenge or face dishonor!
