The Emerald Empire has fractured. While the Great Clans wage war against each other, Akuma no Oni has broken through the Wall. The oni lord’s horde of Shadowlands monstrosities threatens to overrun the Crab Clan and conquer all of Rokugan. Meanwhile, the traitorous regent Bayushi Shoju has seized the capital city of Otosan Uchi in a bloody Scorpion Clan coup and declared his allegiance to the Shadowlands. Shoju’s second-in-command, Ikoma Ujiaki, deploys the Imperial Legions to defend the capital against any who would challenge the regent’s rule.

Now, in the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, sixteen great figures from across Rokugan will struggle against the forces of the Shadowlands, and all of you will help decide who among them will prevail in the battle ahead!

You can find the master schedule for this event at the bottom of this article!

 

What is the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow Event?

At its core, this event is a celebration of Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, and we want you, the community, to help share in the climax of the story arc represented in the card game. The celebration begins with weekly fiction releases describing the events taking place in this dramatic moment in the Legend of the Five Rings saga. However, what happens in some of those fictions is directly tied to the results of an online, vote-based single-elimination tournament that will run from now until early May. This voting tournament will shape the storyline of the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow itself and determine which character fights their way through the hordes of the Shadowlands to face off against Akuma no Oni, the Three-Tongued Serpent.

At scheduled intervals throughout the duration of the event, we will present a single-elimination tournament bracket showing all of the remaining participants in the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow. Each round of voting will last for four days (Monday through Thursday), during which time any fan of the Legend of the Five Rings universe can cast one vote for each respective matchup. Since this is a purely online tournament, anyone around the world can participate in voting—there’s no need to be involved in any official community or even the competitive scene. Anybody who enjoys any part of the Legend of the Five Rings franchise (whether it’s the card game, roleplaying game, fiction, etc.) is welcome to cast their vote!

Once a round of voting has completed, you will have to wait until the release of the next chapter of The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow fiction to see the results! Although only the winners of each round will have their chance to shine, every combatant in the battle is giving their all to defeat the invading Shadowlands forces and their twisted commander, Akuma no Oni.

What is the Current Bracket for the Tournament?

Below is the current voting bracket for the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow event. This bracket will update each time the results of a round are revealed, up through the reveal of the champion.

Click here to download a color or printer-friendly PDF of the bracket!

Please Note: The first round of voting will be split into two parts: voting for the first part, featuring the four matchups on the left side of the bracket, will begin as soon as this article goes live. Voting for the second part, featuring the four matchups on the right side of the bracket, will begin on March 8^th.

For those of you who want to see the whole voting schedule, you’ll find it at the bottom of this article.

Heroes of Legend

The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow is the name of the battle taking place outside the border of the Shinomen Forest, where the remnants of the Crab Clan’s defenses join forces with anyone from the other clans who will answer their call to fend off the terrifying hordes of the Shadowlands. However, this battle is not the only one described as part of this community event.

Throughout the event, we will also release chapters of fiction titled Heroes of Legend. This story takes place prior to the events of The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, and it follows the confrontation of the usurper Bayushi Shoju and his second-in-command Ikoma Ujiaki. Each week between now and the event's conclusion, if there is not a new chapter of the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow storyline, then we will publish a new part of the Heroes of Legend story instead. This means that, whether it’s one story or the other, you can look forward to a new chapter of Legend of the Five Rings fiction every week!

You can find a detailed schedule for the publication of both these fictions at the end of this article. 

Contest of Champions

In addition to the voting tournament and fiction releases, fans of Legend of the Five Rings will be able to engage in a Fan Art contest as part of the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow event.

Starting on April 12, we will open submissions for our Legend of the Five Rings Fan Art Contest. The art of the Legend of the Five Rings universe has always been gorgeous, and the fan art from the community is equally wonderful. With this contest, we invite artists and fans of the franchise to bring us their best work. Up to three winners of the Fan Art Contest will each receive a Legend of the Five Rings prize package along with a free copy of Under Fu Leng’s Shadow after it releases. Let those paintbrushes dance and show us your stuff!

This contest's submissions will close on April 23 (UPDATE: Extended to May 7) at 11:59 PM CST. We hope you’re excited!

*Note regarding the originally-planned Costume Contest: In light of recent events that have affected the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, we have decided not to move forward with hosting a costume contest whose submissions could be considered offensive or inappropriate to certain groups. We stand in solidarity with the broader AAPI community and are committed to ensuring everyone feels welcome and safe in our gaming and social media spaces.

The Passage of Fate

As we charge ahead into the finale of the Legend of the Five Rings LCG, we want to take this opportunity to bring the community together (virtually, of course, since the ongoing pandemic prevents us from meeting in person) and celebrate the Legend of the Five Rings universe as a whole.

Below is the master schedule for the Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow event, as well as links to all of the fiction chapters that have released so far. Mark your calendars, and we hope you enjoy it!

 

Master Schedule:

• March 1
  • Voting begins for Round 1 – Part 1, and ends on March 4 at 11:59 PM CST 
  • The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, Chapter 1 releases
• March 5
  • Heroes of Legend, Chapter 1 releases 
• March 8
  • Voting begins for Round 1 – Part 2, and ends on March 11 at 11:59 PM CST
• March 12
  • Heroes of Legend, Chapter 2 releases
• March 16
  • Update for the Legend of the Five Rings Fanfiction Contest - Can be found on FFG OP's Facebook page
• March 19
  • The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, Chapter 2 releases (Round 1 results are revealed)
• March 22
  • Voting begins for Round 2 (Top 8), and ends on March 25 at 11:59 PM CST
• March 26
  • Heroes of Legend, Chapter 3 releases 
• April 2
  • The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, Chapter 3 releases (Round 2 results are revealed) 
• April 5
  • Voting begins for Round 3 (Top 4), and ends on April 8 at 11:59 PM CST
• April 9
  • Heroes of Legend, Chapter 4 releases 
• April 12
  • Submissions open for the Legend of the Five Rings Fan Art Contest, and are due April 23 at 11:59 PM CST (Update: Submissions have been extended to May 7)
• April 16
  • The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, Chapter 4 releases (Round 3 results are revealed) 
• April 19
  • Voting begins for Final Round (Top 2), and ends on April 22 at 11:59 PM CST 
• April 23
  • Heroes of Legend, Chapter 5 releases 
• April 30
  • The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, Chapter 5 is released (Final Round results are revealed) 
• May 7
  • The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow, Epilogue is released 
  • Submissions are due for the Fan Art Contest
• May 12
  • Fan Art Contest winner is announced