Isawa Jon on Spells, part 2

For those of you who are veterans: you probably know most of this already, feel free to comment, add, dispute, etc. That’s what this is here for. For those of you who are new: read, enjoy, and experiment on your own. This is supposed to be a guide, not a definitive answer.

Format:
What it does…
(Good) Where it might be good…
(Bad) Where it might be bad…
(Ugly) What snazzy combos are there…

Common abbreviations:
KA = Kyuden Agasha (Diamond Edition)
MGC = Morning Glory Castle (Diamond Edition)
CoR = City of Remembrance (Reign of Blood)
CoB = City of Blood (Web of Lies)

Fist of Osano-Wo
Elemental Limited: Bow this Shugenja and destroy this Spell to destroy a Holding.

Good: Seeing as gold economy is one of the cornerstones to this game. Controlling your opponent's gold can be very powerful. How many times have you lost a game only to exclaim "I got gold screwed!". If you have a bad gold draw, you might lose no matter how well you deck is constructed. Why do you think they created Gifts and Favors and A Favor Returned? This spell allows you to destroy either your opponent's biggest gold production (Pillar of Flesh), or a very useful one (Ki-Rin's Shrine exp, Shi-Tien Yen-Wang Temple).

Bad: For 5 gold, it's a one shot spell that may end up only exploding your opponent's Barley farm. If it comes out too late, your opponent may laugh off losing one of his gold producing holdings.

Ugly: Combining 3 copies of this spell with 3 copies of Ebb and Flow and 3 copies of Explosives, throwing in Asako Genjo, you can possibly destroy 15 of your opponent's holdings. I've played against decks that don't even have that many. Nasty.

Ebb and Flow
Open: Bow this Shugenja to straighten a bowed Holding. Destroy that Holding the next time this turn it becomes bowed.

Good: Slightly more versatile than Fist of Osano-wo, you can actually use this on your own gold. Sure you'll blow it up, but you'll get gold out of it twice in one turn. If that wins you the game, it's worth it. For the rest of the strategy, see the entry for Fist of Osano-Wo.

Bad: If you do use it in a holding destruction deck, keep in mind that your opponent has the opportunity to NOT bow it. Either pressure him into bowing it or have another card that bows it for him (maybe Embrace the Elements, but that's kind of janky).

Ugly: See the entry for Fist of Osano-Wo.

Inazuma Blade
Weapon. Unique Inazuma Blade is both a Spell and an Item. (Note: this is a +3/+3 spell)

Good: Spell only gold (Henshin's amulet) can pay for it. Item gold (Roadside shrine) can pay for it. It gives you Force. It gives you Chi. It's a weapon AND a spell. What else could you want?

Bad: All it does is add to your stats and give you an attachment. Not really powerful as compared to other spells in its price range (see Kuro's Fire). It's also unique so only one of them in the deck.

Ugly: It works best in combination with other spells. Slap it on anyone, then attach Kuro's Fire or Fire from Within. It also allows your shugenja to get some force for province taking or Chi boost for dueling. You can bow it for Souls in Harmony with no loss of effectiveness. In an attachment heavy force like the Phoenix have, it helps with "I am Ready". It also gives you another card to bounce Into the Darkness off of.

Purity of Seven Thunders
Ritual Limited: Bow this Shugenja and any number of your other Shugenja such that their combined Chi is greater than 14, and destroy this Spell and this Shugenja, to destroy all Shadowlands cards. The Shugenja in this Ritual cannot straighten during your next turn.

Good: If your opponent is Shadowlands, you just won.

Bad: If your opponent is not Shadowlands, it's dead weight. There is the possibility that Shadowlands players (if they expect this) are packing some anti-spell meta.

Ugly: As many spells do, this one becomes unbelievable with Sezaru in play. Step1-cast. Step 2-Straighten all shugenja. Step 3- attack all provinces (hopefully you have enough force. Remember that it says you may not straighten during your next turn. It says nothing about your current turn or your opponent's turn. You can probably get off two good, unopposed attack phases because you have probably destroyed most all of your opponent's gold.

The Fires that Cleanse
Elemental Battle: Bow and destroy this Shugenja and destroy this Spell to destroy an opposing Personality.

Good: Well, it's in battle PK. That's always good. In the extreme, you can destroy your Agasha Seruma to destroy the opponent's biggest attacker. It doesn't care about attachments or stats of your opponent.

Bad: There are ways to stop battle actions and some leave you missing one shugenja and your opponent with all of their people. This environment is also seeing an increase in redirection, therefore you may not take out who you want.

Ugly: If you are playing CoR Dragons, you can blow one up to take anyone out, then use Isawa Sachi to place them in your province and buy them back out this turn. Combo that with Isawa Sueno and some Tengoku acolytes and you have one dead opponent and a crap-ton of honor.

Walking the Way
Limited: Bow this Shugenja and destroy this Spell to search your Fate deck for any one card and put it in your hand.

Good: Toolboxing (being able to go get what you want, when you want it) your fate deck is key to just about any game. It allows you to put only 1 or 2 copies of key meta cards in your deck and get them when you need them.

Bad: Not really anything bad except you end up with a bowed shugenja, but when don't you?

Ugly: The look on your opponent's face when you get the killer card can be priceless. Most other card draw in the game is much more limited. This doesn't care about focus value, or if you have pulled a copy yet, and it doesn't let your opponent know what the card is.

Force of will
Open: Bow this Shugenja and destroy this Spell to switch the Personal Honor and Chi of a target Personality. If you control the target, you need not destroy this Spell.

Good: The obvious use of the card is to kill someone. Either find someone with a 0 Chi or a dishonored personality, and Whammo! Simple and Action phase (less things to stop it and you don't have to be opposed). Dueling is where it's at now. Are you facing a killer crane dueling deck with one or two massive duelists? How good would they be with a 2-4 chi? You can also use it to help your duels. Many Phoenix have good PH so throw some Show me your stance in the deck. Boost your personal honor to 5-7 then duel away. If they become dishonored, you can use the spell on them now!

Bad: Unless you use it on your own guys, it's a one shot. It's also not too effective for killing opponents if they all have personal honor above 0.

Ugly: How about a nice little honor bomb? Have someone in play with a VERY high chi. Give them an item with a large chi boost (larger than their chi). The best combo here is Aikune with the Celestial sword, but you get the point. Cast FoW on them and give them a really low chi and a huge PH. Bow them an move the sword to someone else. The ensuing chi loss will kill them. Either use Isawa Sachi or MGC to get them back in a province this turn. Buy them out. Sure they will die instantly from 0 Chi, but if you pay full, you can get their personal honor (which is still frickin' huge!). I've seen honor gains in the high 20s from this. If you have multiple Sachis in play, enjoy many copies of this person in one turn. You could easily get 60-70 honor. That's why it's called a bomb.

Speed of the Plains
Elemental Air Battle: Once per turn, without bowing this Shugenja, immediately take two additional consecutive Battle and/or Open actions. If this Shugenja has the Air trait, you may use this action if this Shugenja is not in the current battle.

Good: Very cheap. You don't have to bow. Your air shugenja and Chieh exp don't have to be in the battle. The effects chain nicely. Cast three of these puppies and end up with 4 more consecutive actions.

Bad: If you don't have a lot of battle actions to take, it's dead weight. Make sure that your deck can use it to its full effectiveness.

Ugly: Head over to your opponent's provinces. Let him defend against you. Drop a sneak attack, cast three speed of the plains. Action 1-Kuro's fire, react Isawa house guard. Action 2-Kuro's Fire, react Isawa House guard. Action 3-Kuro's fire. Action 4- whatever the heck you want at this point!