Alright campers, it's that time again! This time, we're going to discuss the strategy of the Lion Deck is Gold Edition, which is something that I'm sure we've all been waiting for. :) The Gold Edition environment, as I have found, is going to be a difficult one for our Lion bretheren. With the early dominance of the Crane and Shadlowlands factions, it's going to be hard for us to voice our place in the tournament scene. Hopefully by the end of this discussion, I can bring some clairvoyance to you as to how you might be able to better vanquish your oppnents in the Gold Edition environment.

Now, there are a few deck types that have come to me when constructing a deck for Gold Edition, namely military and honor. Either deck is viable in Gold Edition because of two reasons. Honor, because Lion have high personal honor, and high chi personalities (making them excellent duellers), and Military because of fairly priced personalities, and two (!!!) non-unique in clan Tacticians. I'm going to break down this discussion into focusing on both of those victory paths, and how they might be better accomplished. First, the honor-runner....

When building the Lion Honor Runner for Gold Edition, you have to first idealize what you want to do with your deck. Not that it isn't plainly obvious, but how would -you- think you would be better served with an honor runner? A defensive duelling deck perhaps? Or a militant honor runner? Both of these work very effectively for the Lion in Gold Edition, and again, it is up to you which path you use. In either case, I might suggest these personalities:

Akodo Tadenori, Akodo Ijiasu, Ikoma Tsai, Ikoma Sume, Kitsu Dejiko, Matsu Ketsui, Matsu Nimuro, Matsu Hataki Exp.

Tadenori and Ijiasu are excellent personalities in the Gold environment, as they both have a high personal honor, relatively low gold cost, and both sport a whopping 4 chi! Tsai is a low cost, two personal honor shugenja who can utilize spells with a three gold cost, and is also extremely useful in using kihos such as Flee the Darkness. Ikoma Sume is another one of the Lion Clan staples, as his low cost and ability add a lot of stability and metagame for the Gold Edition Lion deck. Now, Dejiko is one of those optional personalities as she has a -very- high cost and honor requirement, for a 4/4 with three personal honor. If she was only eight gold....in any case, I would suggest the Matsu Ketsui personality as for the same gold cost, you get a -1 chi, and the Double Chi trait instead of a useless ability. Nimuro is a given, as he is our clan champion (and a Matsu. ;)) He's also very solid stat wise, a carbon copy of Matsu Tsuko. Matsu Hataki Exp. works wonders for the Lion clan in both a military and honor running deck. His ability makes him able to defend multiple provinces in a single turn, and his 4/4 stats make him a very solid personality. That, and two personal honor, paired with a low honor requirement would rank him among the most useful Gold Edition Lion personalities so far.

As for fate cards, I would suggest Kakita Technique first and foremost. This card is a gem for the Lion Clan, as we boast the most 3 personal honor peeps in all of Rokugan. Paired with the Lion's naturally high chi, this makes for a very powerful card in an honor running deck, the only drawback being you gotta dish out a buck for it. That and it's three focus value makes it a -must- for any Lion honor runner, and even a good consideration for a Tactician military deck with Iaijutsu duel. ;) Next, I might suggest adding in two copies (but no more than two) of Fires of Purity. Many players overlook the usefulness of this spell, heck even I threw it away when first looking at it. But then I realized how stable a card it can be. For three gold (fitting perfectly on the Lion's low gold production), you can get a re-useable Strength of Purity, with a three focus value bonus. This fits like a glove on Ikoma Tsai's spell restriction, and it also gives him a more active role in your deck, both on the offense and defense. Again, due to the Lion Clan having more three personal honor peeps than you can shake a stick at (and I can shake a pretty big stick) this card makes the cut in most any Gold Edition Lion deck...assuming you're running Ikoma Tsai. For the honor runner, three of each Iaijutsu Challenge and Iaijutsu duel are a -must- as they are an inexpensive and effective way of removing personalities from the board, also giving you a 5 honor jump while you're at it. A pretty good bargain if you ask me...now, Iaijutsu Art I might suggest you steer away from. It is in -all- aspects a good card, also being one of the few good cards to come out of the SCC set, but there's the whole "you gotta have just as much chi as I do" clause. It works really well with Matsu Ketsui, as she gets to abuse her low chi and Double Chi traits, though it can still be a gamble...this one's up to you folks. Send-you-home cards like Flattery and Block Supply Lines are also excellent choices as Flattery can help you get out both the Earth and Void Ring at the same time. The last card in particular I'd like to mention is Imperial Edicts. I've seen more use for this card in my Gold Edition than I have in just about any format. A four focus value, paired with an excellent defensive ability makes it an invaluable additon to the Lion Deck. Just by ditching the favor (which the Lion can't seem to get rid of) you can use it's defensive ability, or cancel an innate ability or kiho, -or- political action as well. It's overwhelming versatility in both a Military or Duel deck makes this card a must have in any Gold Lion deck. The rest go without saying for any standard honor runner deck...but never remember the usefulness of Focus. ;)

The gold scheme for both a military and honor running Lion deck are pretty much the same. I would recommend you run Large Farms, as it always works well in the Lion Deck, Small Farm for free bucks, Copper Mines (duh) and Gambling House, as the Lion's high focus values make this card another gem a well. Jade Works are also another given, but you should try to balance your gold scheme to come out to as close to 14 as possible. Two Gambling House or two Jade Works and three of each seems to have worked best for me, but you should experiment and see what type of gold scheme works well for -you-.

The Lion military deck seems to follow the same suit as for a personality lineup. The two in-clan Tacticians (Ijiasu and Tadenori) will always make the cut in the deck, again because of their cost effectiveness. Otemi works beautifully as well, as he's 5 gold for a 3/2 cavalry. If onle he had a seven honor requirement. ;) An early full priced personality or Imperial Gift make him useable right away, and with a Charge he can crunch Asako Phoenix, Kosaten Crane, Unicorn, Akodo Lion and Shadowlands Horde SH provinces. Domotai is another must, though his no defending clause make him a pain to make a lot of use with. His ability to have force equal to chi can be a real hamper on early attacks, though The Rising Sun event can make him quite a powerhouse. Alas, it looks like the most use Domotai's going to find in the second turn category is "Favor Monkey." Sume's versatility is again a very potent addition to the Lion deck, as is Matsu Hataki. This guys ability make him a great offensive addition, for all the same reasons he fits into an honor runner...send him on the attack without Rallying Cry and he's still good to use as a defender. Again, very solid. His non experienced version also makes the cut in any Gold Edition Lion military deck, as his immunity to the favor, and 8 gold cost make him the perfect personalty for crunching Cranes. ;) He's second turn, four force, and has a nasty temper. Ikoma Tsai also adds a lot of versatility to the Lion deck as he pairs with Fire of Purity and Flee the Darkness quite well. Dejiko...she had so much potential. Had she only been eight gold...

The Fate deck should be given the unmentionables such as Superior Tactics, Rallying Cry, Counterattack, etc. Kakita Technique and Iaijutsu Duel, again, make great additions to the deck, though they are not suited for every Lion miltary deck. Before addings these cards, lay your fate deck out in front of you, and estimate an average focus value of the dck. If you like what you see, then throw them in. Again, you have to build around what works for you. With two in clan Tacticians, Superior Strategist is another gem as it allows you to get ANY open or battle action from your fate deck and throw it into play, paired with a four focus value. Such an excellent card, though I have yet to own one. White Shore Plain...eh, this card has been butchered if you ask me. It's been reduced to a one focus value with a four gold cost! Had it been a three gold cost, I would still toss it in, however...I just can't see any use for it in much of any Lion decks, even in the open environemnt. It's just too pricy. Imperial Edicts is another one of those great cards to use, as it's high focus value makes it great for your Tacticians to use, with great abilities attached to it. If you ever decide to put Bushi Dojo in your deck, Mantis Samurai and Lion's Pride are also two excellent cards for the Lion, Mantis Samurai for the whole personal honor deal (;)) and Lion's Pride for the fact that we boast the most Tacticians in Rokugan. But again, whatever works for you.

Well, that about sums it up. There's many different kinds of Lion military you can construct, and personally I've also found that a follower deck can be quite devastating with Stand Against the Waves. This is only one particular type of military deck, though I was going for a general overview of cards. :) Have fun campers, I hope I've helped.

-Matsu Kusinagi