"I need you to find the Master of Earth. With the Void seat vacant, and Isawa Atsuko needed to protect the initiates of Starry Heaven Sanctuary, there are only three masters on the council, and they need their fourth.”
   –Letter to the Phoenix Clan from Shiba Tsukune

With Rokugan on the edge of disaster, the Great Clans must be united, now more than ever. Not only must they use their incredible skills to fight for the Emerald Empire, they must use the strength of their bonds to attain their full power if disaster strikes.

The Inheritance cycle sees Rokugan splinter like never before and places the emphasis on Bushi and Courtiers, as well as introducing the Disguised mechanic, which allows iconic samurai to remain hidden in the shadows until the perfect moment. Bonds of Blood includes a prolific Phoenix Shugenja, new provinces for the Lion and Unicorn, a deadly new Poison card for the Scorpion, and more!

As an added bonus, if you pre-order Bonds of Blood from the Fantasy Flight Games website, you also gain access to three exclusive art cards featured in the pack!  These cards feature no text, allowing you to enjoy the full art from Leo Avero, Pavel Kolomeyets, and Pius Pranoto!

The Power of the Earth

The Phoenix’s Elemental Council is incomplete. While Isawa Ujina has vanished, Earth Master Isawa Tadaka travels south to the lands of the Crab. While the Phoenix have dispatched an Asako family samurai to bring him home, inIsawa Tadaka’s (Bonds of Blood, 40) newly disguised state, he won’t be so easily found. This new version of Isawa Tadaka is a conflict character, but can only be played by the Crab or Phoenix Clan. He also represents the very first conflict character with the disguised keyword. While your opponent can prepare for a disguised dynasty character to enter the fray, Isawa Tadaka can take your opponent completely by surprise with a powerful ability. As the Earth Elemental Master, Isawa Tadaka can deny your opponent's options by removing characters from your dynasty discard pile to remove a card from your opponent’s hand, completely eliminating threats before they even enter the field.

Not only does the Phoenix Clan gain a new Earth  Shugenja in Bonds of Blood, they also gain a new Earth Spell in the form of Earth Becomes Sky (Bonds of Blood, 41). While Isawa Tadaka can limit your opponent’s hand of conflict cards, Earth Becomes Sky can nullify characters, bowing a character when they would be readied. This can, of course, stop card effects or the Water Ring from readying a character mid-turn, it can also be used during the regroup phase to negate a threat on the next turn, giving Earth Becomes Sky plenty of ways to keep your opponent's best character bowed.

A Dishonorable Refusal

While the Phoenix rely on Shugenja and Spells to overwhelm their opponent, the Crane take a more direct approach, relying on their skill with their blades and their words to pick apart their foes. To go one-on-one with a Crane on the field of battle is to invite death, while standing up to them in court can lead to a humiliating defeat. To refuse these battles brings dishonor… but is always an option for those who value their lives.

The  Arbiter of Authority (Bonds of Blood, 34) is a new conflict character who excels in political conflicts. While two political skill can be a help, the Arbiter’s true power is his ability to initiate a political duel, with the loser becoming bowed and returning home. While this is a powerful effect, your opponent can choose to refuse the duel by dishonoring their targeted character. This dishonor may be a heavy cost to pay, but at least their character might still contribute to the conflict.

While the Arbiter of Authority duels with words, Crane duelists are renowned across Rokugan as some of the finest swordsmen in the land, and to challenge one can be seen as foolhardy.  Duel to the Death (Bonds of Blood, 36) sees you initiate a military duel with the ultimate consequences—the loser is simply discarded from play. This is a heavy cost for any samurai to bear, and your opponent can refuse the duel by dishonoring their character. While this may be seen as an act of cowardice, a samurai’s life is valuable, and living to fight another day, even while dishonored, may still be worth the trade. 

Venomous Sting

Blades, words, and spells are all useful tactics in the conflicts of Rokugan, but the Scorpion take a subtle approach, harnessing underhanded schemes and tricks—including poison—to get the job done.

Softskin (Bonds of Blood, 43) is a Poison attachment that prevents the attached samurai from readying, unless its controller discards the top three cards of their conflict deck. While your opponent can still use the attached character, this could quickly eliminate your opponent’s best cards before they are even played, and potentially lead to your opponent discarding their entire conflict deck, losing valuable honor when playing against the Scorpion. As a Poison, Softskin can quickly be found by Shosuro Hametsu  (Children of the Empire, 35), ready to be unleashed at just the right time.

A Sacred Bond

Whether a clan chooses to harness the power of the elements, tests their skills in one-on-one duels, or uses underhanded methods to defeat their foes, each is mighty in their own right. As Rokugan continues to shift and splinter, each clan, and each samurai, will have to decide where their loyalties lie. What cause will you join?