7/3/00
The Soul of the Empire prerelease went well. I played Unicorn (which was probably the worst sealed deck clan of the three). It was quite an outrage--the Moto decks came without any Charges or Rallying Cries! Playing without them, I realized how staple the cards truly are in most military decks. Oh well, I placed third out of twenty. The winner was a Unicorn player (believe it or not), and 2nd and 4th place belonged to Crane players. From what I saw, the Crane decks were chock full of previously released staple defensive cards (i.e. Block Supply Lines, Entrapping Terrain, Refugees, and Emperor's Peace) while the two offensive decks got, for the most part, shafted. It doesn't really matter, though--in L5R, sealed deck tournaments are far from the most popular. Anyway, enjoy the new cards you got at the prerelease. (I got a Void AND a Water Dragon, but I failed to pull either ring. Ugh.) See you around!
Matsu Ukihira
6/30/00
Well, it's been a while. But I'm here. There's been a lot going on recently. Soul of the Empire is drawing nearer--the prereleases are this Saturday and Sunday. I should be attending the Fort Collins, COLO tourney on Sunday. The Stronghold has the complete SotE spoilers up, and The Islands of the Mantis has most of them the last time I checked. There's a lot of stuff for every clan. For Lion, Shiryo no Gohei, Matsu Domotai, and Kitsu Motso exp. 2 look decent. Nori Farm can be used as another Jade Works, which can enormously help a Lion's gold scheme. Along with Empty Crevasse, I will probably stop using Yoritomo Sensei. The set looks nice, and I can't wait to get some of the cards for myself this weekend. I'll try to post more regularly now, so I'll talk to you soon!
Matsu Ukihira
5/09/00
All right, let's get down to business. The Lions and the Crabs are getting along very well, and we're all trying to take it a little beyond that. For the upcoming R2V tournament (this weekend), we (Lion and Crab) are asking that all Lion and Crab winners "request on there entry forms that their win be counted as a win for the Lion/Crab Alliance," as well as for their respective clans. Also, Akodo Andy, keeper of the wonderful Jade Lion suggests that Crabs/Lions play with "some kind of Lion-Crab card that will reflect the alliance, such as Enemy of My Enemy, or Alliance in a Lion-Crab deck." These are some major happenings in the Lion world, and since I know that all of you will be at R2V anyway, why not throw your support to the Alliance?
I'll try to be more diligent in updating the page, and e-mail me with decks or articles. I've still been very much loaded down recently. So long!
Matsu Ukihira
4/25/00
Oh, man have I been loaded recently! School has been slowly beating my time away and I cant seem to get a spare moment for anything. But now that I have some time, I can finally catch up on mail and news in the world of Rokugan. How have your decks been doing with the addition of F&S to the playable-card kingdom? Have you discovered any new awesome Lion cards? I find White Shore Plains (obviously) very useful, and even solid cards with good focus value (like Harsh Lessons and even Defeat the Reserves) can find their way into some versions of decks. I am gradually beginning to hate Command of the Kami and Asako Sagoten--in many situations, Sagoten can be a very broken card and can even keep me from my occasional honor victory. Anyway, Im babbling, so e-mail me (you know the drill) and Ill see you soon!
Matsu Ukihira
4/11/00
Wow, its about time I update the page, huh? Sorry, Ive been extremely busy recently, and getting sick a few days ago hasnt helped either. But dont fret, Im back. So, how have things been recently? Its been about two weeks since Ive checked the Lion mailing list and my e-mail, so I am very behind on news. I would definitely appreciate it if you would mail me with any new updates in the Lion lands, or in all of Rokugan as well. Just a small digression here--Hantei Sensei has been working very well in my Lion deck recently (Breaches are the most common targets, among others). Hey, its something to think about. Anyway, e-mail me, Ill keep posting, and it will all work in harmony.
Matsu Ukihira
3/28/00
Well, lets see whats been happening recently. The Race to Volturnum (R2V) is the next big event in Rokugan. It looks like a winnable one for the Lion, but remember to just say no to any Shadowlands cards. ALL of them! Any slight slip up by a Lion player could mean horrible things for us. Oni no Akuma already has given (and unfortunately will give) us major problems, so the last thing we want to do is dig ourselves into a deeper hole. If we stay honorable, Ree cant penalize us. The new Fire and Shadow cards will be available soon. Everyone will be getting some Ikoma Gunjin exp. and some White Shore Plains for their tactician decks. (I know I will). Matsu Suhada looks promising too, except that he doesnt work too well with Yoritomo Sensei (which is a nice card for Lions--think Hiruma Dojo...) Anyway, sorry for the lack of recent updates, but e-mail me with any news, articles, decks, or anything else!
Matsu Ukihira
3/23/00
Hello. The F&S story (and whatever lies beyond) look at least semi-favorable for us. Theres not many bad things happening to any of the clans of the Empire either, however. The next expansion, as you all are probably aware, is planned to take place 30 years after the current storyline. The question arises--What Lions will still be alive then?? In my own predictions, Matsu Mori and Morishigi will definitely still be here. Matsu Ketsui might still be the Matsus aging daimyo. Even Tsanuri, if she survives her current situation on the Kaiu Wall, might stick around for the next story arc. Im fairly certain that the Lion perennial basic set-ters (like Matsu Goemon, Matsu Seijuro, and Ikoma Kaoku) will not be here then. Let me know what you think! We will just have to wait and see...
Matsu Ukihira
3/20/00
Well, Ive gone and added another new section to the page, but this one is really cool. Its called L5R Quizzes, and, as you can probably guess, it will be an area where I will put little---well, just go check it out! I hope you will all enjoy it, and I will try to update it as often as I can.
Matsu Ukihira
3/20/00
Greetings once again. I've added a new section to the page entitled Old News. I'll keep all the news from previous months there, instead of here on the main page. Right now, it has everything from the beginning of the site through the end of February. That's about all there is to say now, so see you tomorrow!
Matsu Ukihira
3/19/00
Hello there. Me and Hida Kiruma were playtesting new stronghold ideas when we came across a cool and fairly balanced idea for a Matsu stronghold. We call it "The Fields of Tsukos Heart." It has 5ps, 4gp, 5fh and the ability: Battle: Once per turn, give an attacking Lion personality +2F until the end of turn. You may not draw a card during your next end phase. Its very cool, and well-balanced without being overpowering. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. Maybe we should submit it to FRPG?? Anyway, e-mail me with comments on anything. See ya.
Matsu Ukihira
3/18/00
Well, the new Imperial Herald is out, which means that the new Lion letter is out. I cant post it yet (not until a month after its release), but I can say that everything looks hopeful for the honorable Lion. That is some very good news to hear, considering our recent troubles. Anyway, e-mail in anything you want, and go check out some of the other great Lion-ey sites on the links page. The Jade Lion is definitely one of my favorites. Check it out!
Matsu Ukihira
3/17/00
Greetings, Happy St. Patricks Day! Well, now theres a rumor that the tourney looming ahead at Gencon will be a mix of Open and Jade Extended. Apparently, there will be no restrictions on the use of personalities, but the restrictions on events and spells will remain untouched. If so, this could mean good things for the Lion. Gohei and Yojo will be ready to heed our call once again! Start pondering a Tactician-LSD deck.
Anyway, Im starting the flavor text library. It will be filled in gradually and systematically (theres barely anything there now), so dont worry. E-mail me with any comments, suggestions, articles, decks, or any other news and Ill be sure to post it! (matsuukihira@hotmail.com). So long!
Matsu Ukihira
3/15/00
Hello, Lions. Im back--sorry about the lack of updates. Im sure youve been able to amuse yourselves with awesome sites like The Stronghold, which I added to the links page. (Im not sure why it wasnt there already). Anyway, things arent looking so good for the Lion in the future. There are rumors of Akuma-trouble lurking in upcoming sets. (FRPG, how could you??) Just as we were starting to recover from the blows weve been dealt, it looks as though were in for another pounding. Oh well--all we can do is stay focused, win some tournaments, and keep the Shadowlands out of our decks! (Completely! I mean it! No Ryozos, Daoquans, Oni no Okuras, and especially no Akumas). Were Lions--we cant and wont lose.
By the way, Im working on a new spotlight card, and the odds of a flavor text library look favorable indeed.
Matsu Ukihira
3/6/00
No, Im not dead. It has been a week since Ive updated, but Im back. I will be working on updating the rest of the page in the near future as well, especially in adding a new Spotlight Card in the strategy section. I hope youre all aware of the terrain White Shore Plain coming in F&S. Its great for our honorable tactician decks. On the spoiler releases, it was a terrain with a mass force bonus for tacticians and three focus value (!!!), and were all hoping that the three was not a misprint. Keep your fingers crossed.
Matsu Ukihira
The Ten Orders of the Noble Lion
Links to other areas of the page
L5R Roleplaying Game Page
Lion Clan Letters Page
L5R History Page
Links To Other Sites
L5R Spotlight Cards--Strategy Section
Flavor Text Library
Old News
L5R Quizzes
