Defenders of Rokugan

For centuries, the Crab Clan have manned the Kaiu Wall with a ruthless efficiency. They stand against the legions of Shadowlands hordes with fierce determination and will do whatever it takes to make sure the Emerald Empire does not fall. These are the warriors who keep the horrors of Fu Leng at bay; These are the defenders of Rokugan.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Defenders of Rokugan, a Crab Clan Pack for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game.

Defenders of Rokugan includes 78 new cards (3 copies each of 23 different cards and 1 copy each of 9 different cards) mostly focusing on the Crab Clan and their role as protectors of the Emerald Empire from the deadly southern Shadowlands.

Furthermore, if you pre-order Defenders of Rokugan from Fantasy Flight Games website, not only will you get free shipping within the continental United States, you’ll also receive five double-sided province backers. These province backers sit behind your province in the same sleeve to show off beautiful art by Amélie Hutt and Juan Carlos Barquet while the card is facedown!

In Defense of Rokugan

The Crab have one job in the land of Rokugan: The defense of Rokugan from the corrupted forces of the dreaded Shadowlands. Their greatest asset in this never-ending war is the massive Kaiu Wall , an extraordinary achievement in engineering that stands in defiance of Fu Leng’s domain. In Defenders of Rokugan, the Kaiu Wall is represented by six new holdings for the Crab Clan, each representing a different area of the wall, and each boosting other Kaiu Wall holdings adjacent to it.

The simplest of these new holdings is the Northern Curtain Wall (Defenders of Rokugan, 13), an impenetrable fortress that gives its province an additional four strength. The Curtain Wall also reinforces the wall around it, giving adjacent Kaiu Wall Holdings an impressive boost and proving it’s foolish to try and break through the Northern Curtain Wall and the might of the Crab Clan.

But this is not the only impenetrable part of the wall. If you have the River of the Last Stand (Defenders of Rokugan, 14) in a province, any attack on the Kaiu Wall forces your opponent to randomly discard cards from their hand, meaning they are choosing to attack before they are sure of their actions. They can’t rely on a well-timed  Banzai! (Core Set, 204) to save them during the attack, as it may become a victim of the River of the Last Stand.

The advantages of these holdings can make it even easier to win conflicts as a defender, which rewards you with cards like Watchtower of Valor (Defenders of Rokugan, 17) on the field. This watchtower celebrates every victory that takes place at the wall, and lets you prepare a vicious counter-attack by providing you with additional conflict cards.

Each of these holdings is limited to one-per-deck, which can make them difficult to find in the heat of conflict. However, with a little help from Kaiu Daimyō Kaiu Shihobu  (Defenders of Rokugan, 10), you can guarantee the wall will be operating the way you want it by making preparations beforehand. The Kaiu are brilliant engineers, and under the leadership of Shihobu can guarantee the wall will be at full strength for upcoming conflicts.

Stacking your provinces with holdings also provides new advantages, like utilizing Subterranean Guile (Defenders of Rokugan, 26) to give one of your samurai a way around their foes through routes only they know. Sneaking by your opponent’s best defender using secret paths is a sure way to bring down your enemy's province before they even realize what’s happening. You can also take a more direct route, engaging in Siege Warfare (Defenders of Rokugan, 28) to overwhelm your foes!

Leadership by Example

With the addition of six Kaiu Wall holdings, it can be difficult for Crab decks to get their dynasty characters on the battlefield. Luckily, new Stronghold Kyūden Hida (Defenders of Rokugan, 1) lets you bring fresh recruits to the battlefield, bypassing your holding-filled provinces completely! Once per turn, you can view the top three cards of your dynasty deck and play a dynasty character form among them. If you intend to utilize the power of holdings, that often leaves little space for your samurai to populate your provinces. Kyūden Hida is a clever way around this problem, letting you construct your holdings while still offering up plenty of samurai to the conflicts of Rokugan.

With Kyūden Hida at your side, the Crab Clan can always find new samurai when they are needed most.

The Cost of Sacrifice

Like all Clan Packs, Defenders of Rokugan includes three copies of one new character for each of the other Great Clans of Rokugan to counter powerful Crab Clan strategies.

The Crab place a heavy emphasis on sacrifice, honoring those who give their life in service of the fight against the Shadowlands and drawing strength from their loss. Daidoji Netsu (Defenders of Rokugan, ) puts a stop to this sacrifice, denying samurai the ability to leave the field during the conflict phase except through keywords. This means the Crab cannot trigger abilities that key off of sacrificing characters. This can throw a massive wrench in the Crab’s plans, limiting their options during conflicts by refusing to allow their samurai to sacrifice themselves. Daidoji Netsu also protects your own samurai from an untimely Assassination (Core Set, 203).

Defenders on the Wall

The Kaiu Wall stands in defiance to the Shadowland hordes, daring these monstrosities to try and cross into Rokugan, where the vigilant Crab Clan wait. Will you join the ranks of these fierce samurai when Defenders of Rokugan releases in the fourth quarter of 2019?

Defend the Emerald Empire with Defenders of Rokugan (L5C26), available now for pre-order from your local retailer or our website with free shipping in the continental United States!