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This is a common card from a previous set, Heaven and Earth. It was
nice, but so reactive, no one really used it. With Web of lies, i think
it whould be looked at again. As a reaction, play this card when a
personality moves into a battle to give that personality -3/-2, to a
minimum of 1 chi. It costs 0 gold, and has a focus of 2.
In the past, this card depended on your opponent choosing to move, and
having that card in hand. It was used by a few chi-loss decks, in the
hopes of being able to combo it with something more lethal, like Written
in Blood, but was very sporadic. However, with Web of Lies, there are
now three new ways to maximize use of it. Subterfuge was then slightly
useful as a chi lowering card, but it also lowers force, useful for both
saving provinces and when in actual interactive battles. So, how to use
it?
The first way is the new Unicorn stronghold, Khol Walls. This
stronghold allows the user to bow a region they control to switch the
places of two straight personalities, controlled by either player. Thus,
you can choose to switch 2 of the opponents units, and play Subterfuge on
one or both of them [with multiple copies] to lower their force and chi.
Note, the wording on Subterfuge is such as to allow it to be played when
a unit enters any battle, not just the current one. Subterfuge will
lower their force, allowing you to then kill them with ranged attacks, or
even just at the end of battle.
The second way is also very Unicorn focused. The ability on Savagery of
the Moto that is only available to Unicorns allows any Unicorn player,
not just Khol Wall players, to switch two units controlled by another
player. This again sets up any of the above, but for other strongholds.
Great, but for non-Unicorn players, is this card worth thinking about?
There is another card that allows it to be used, but it is more
restrictive. False Trail allows you, for 2 gold, to move any one unit
controlled by another player to any battlefield that unit is not at. It
can be used to move a unit from the current battlefield to another, or
from another to the current one. This is not a great combo, and
Subterfuge is better for Unicorn players, but it is something to consider
if looking at either of those cards.
Samoshii adds: Isawa Moriko also lets you move people around. Everyone forgets the water shugenja...
I can just imagine the Unicorn players out there looking at this and
comparing it to Slaughter the Scout. StS is clearly superior, since it
kills a unit, while this one just makes it weaker. So, why even consider
Subterfuge? First, there is only a limited number of times you can use
StS. You could only have 3 in one deck, and there is no guarantee you
will draw them. Subterfuge gives you more options, and makes it so you
have other reasons to use the switching of other player's units, even if
StS is not in hand. Besides, Subterfuge will stack, so you can use
multiples to make one big, scary unit, into a small, not as scary unit.
Hope that this article helps you, and lets you consider an old card in a
new light.
Isawa Letomo
Phoenix clan Librarian-Shugenja
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