Timothy A. Villademoros posting on how to survive the Breach of Etiquette

This file is reproduced with Timothy A. Villademoros's permission. Kitsu Sei's commentary is included in a different script.

John Yoshizawa wrote:

"One question, HOW in the world do you defend agaisnt a first turn breach when you are unicorn, lion, dragon, phoenix? It makes it totally impossible to bring out any personalities the first 4 or 5 turns unless you are lucky. I am not whining cause I think it's a cool card, but against a blitz deck it very hard to overcome when your DYH doesn't come up. Has anyone devised a way to overcome this?"

You forgot Naga on your list (possibly the most vulnerable to early honor loss, as I'll explain below). (As of Time of the Void, Naga's vulnerability to Breach of Etiquette is largely gone, due to their ability to ignore honor requirements if they have no Shadowlands cards in play.) Each clan has different solutions to Breach of Etiquette, so I'll address them in turn:

Unicorn:
It sucks to be Unicorn at -1 Honor. This is due to the nature of Cavalry Personalities in Lo5R: Most have a minimum Honor requirement ofat least 0, or cause Honor loss themselves (Kumo, Oni no Tsuburu). There are, however, a couple of notable exceptions: Hida Tsuru and Penaggolan. Penaggolan is just as good as Shinjo Yasamura force-wise, can pump itself up by eating opponent Small Farms, and has a decent Fear effect (useful against Mantis Bushi/Naga followers/Spearmen, if nothing else). Hida Tsuru is kind of expensive for non-Crab players, but you're playing Unicorn after all, the Clan with the highest initial gold production. The only drawback to these two Personalities is that they cannot attach most Cavalry followers, due to their low Personal Honor.
Also, since the Unicorn Stronghold produces 5 gold, it won't cost you very much speed to include Sanctified Temple among your gold-producers. High Force infantry (Hida Tampako, Ogre Bushi) can set up your defense long enough for you to build your Honor back up, and your Stronghold ability will let them saddle up once your ready to go on offense.

With the appearance of Shinjo Sanetama ("-" HR, 7 G, 2 PH) in Time of the Void, Unicorn has a new solution to the early Breach. Sanetama is a respectable 2F, as well, so a Unicorn deck doesn't have to add a worthless personality to defend against the Breach. Additionally, Shinjo Goshi and Iuchi Katta are both strong Scorpion Clan Coup personalities with low honor requirements.

Naga:
Naga has the most problems with Breach of Etiquette (from Scorpion, or that Crab player who brings out Corrupted Iron Mine on turn 1, then Breaches on turn 2). Naga has NO Clan Personalities with a Minimum Honor of -; all are 0. Naga cannot win through Honor (except with Dashmar), and cannot afford Sanctified Temples with its Stronghold, so any Honor-producing Holdings, while necessary to generate Honor when pushed below zero, are so much wasted space in the deck (i.e. only there to defend against 1 card).
However, there are some bright spots. Yotsu Seiki has an Honor Requirement of "-" and a decent Ranged Attack (as good as Shagara, better if you play Oath of Fealty). Moshi Wakiza also has no Minimum Honor, and an even stronger Ranged Attack. Both of these Personalities are Shugenja, which means they can attach spells (Earthquake, Touch of Death, The Fires That Cleanse, etc.) to deal with units that have immunity to Ranged Attacks. These Personalties can go into your Naga deck in place of the Naga females (who are, in my opinion, overpriced and underpowered (with the possible exception of Experienced Shabura)).
A third possibility is Kyoso No Oni. If you're already at negative honor, then bringing out the Oni won't hurt quite so bad. At 3 Honor Loss apiece, Kyoso No Oni won't put you in danger of losing the game through dishonor, particularly since its drawback (discard a holding) means you won't want more than 1 or 2 in your Dynasty deck anyway. Also, Kyoso No Oni is Nonhuman, meaning you can use your Forests to help bring it into play.

As of Time of the Void, Naga ignores honor requirements when it has no Shadowlands cards in play. If you're really worried about honor requirements, pack two Ashlim or Unattuned kihos to deal with that nasty Touch of Despair, a Black Scroll that makes it possible to breach you. Dragon:
Honor loss is annoying to Dragon, but usually not fatal. As with Unicorn, Dragon can afford Sanctified Temples with its Stronghold. Dragon also has Mirumoto Daini, with no Minimum Honor and a Personal Honor of 3. Add to this roster Ginawa, who's almost as good a dueler, and costs 4 gold. With a Daini or Ginawa out, Dragon can generate Honor through dueling, including the occasional Test of Stone or Test of the Emerald Champion.

Phoenix:
Hawks and Falcons are your first key to recovery. What Phoenix also has, however, are several Shugenja Personalities (exp. Isawa Uona, Nameless One, etc.) with Honor Requirements of 1 or less (first-turn Breach territory) that can easily be brought out at full cost with their Stronghold. Phoenix can also hire a lot of unaligned/other Clan shugenja very cheaply, and so shouldn't have trouble marshalling its mystic might. Where a Breach really hurts Phoenix is with its Samurai, most of whom have a high Honor requirement. With its conditional gold production, Phoenix cannot afford to hire many Samurai from outside the clan.

Lion:
Breach of Etiquette slows down Lion, but needn't be crippling. Hawks and Falcons are a good addition, since the Honor Win is certainly attainable for Lion, with all of its high Personal Honor personalities. There are also a number of good ronin (those listed above, esp. Ginawa and Daini) who can carry the attack forward after a loss of Honor. Above all, _never_ underestimate the power of Toku. Put him out, have him lobby for the Favor (which can negate Honor loss), beef him up with Spearmen, Light Infantry, Charge, Oath of Fealty, and/or your Clan Stronghold. While your opponent spends a turn or two dealing with the Rabid Ronin, you can build your Honor back up to a workable level.

Toku is, in this writer's opinion, a substandard solution to the Breach. Better is Ikoma Ryozo (3F 2C "-" 6 3 Shadowlands), if you don't mind playing with Shadowlands. However, Kitsu Okura (1F 3C 0 4 2) and Matsu uri (4F 3C 0 8 2) are nearly as good unless you're double-Breached, and also immune to the Imperial Favor. Best of all, however, is Lies, Lies, Lies, which is the Lion answer to honor loss. Any Lion worried about honor should carry three Lies, Lies, Lies, and toss them to Merchant Caravans if facing Phoenix, Crane, or other honor runners. This post is by no means exhaustive; there are certainly other strategies to explore for shoring up your honor. The point is, HonorLoss is a valid strategy for your opponent to use against you. You must anticipate it and design your deck to compensate. Of course, this dilutes the focus of a speed-kill deck (like Lion or Unicorn) somewhat... which is, I think, the whole point of having cards like Breach of Etiquette in the first place.

Sincerely,
Shinjo Timmy
Unicorn Clan Stable Boy

Last updated by Neil Laughlin on January 28, 1998.