Beyond the borders of the US and Canada, Legend of the Five Rings has a loyal international following. In the Asia Pacific/Oceania region, there are many active players and collectors in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Singapore.

L5R IN THE PHILIPPINES

By Nonoy Ativo

It was the story that began it all. The sweeping saga of the Clan Wars, with its broad majestic strokes made vibrant by the many other smaller stories, plus the riot of color and art captured our hearts.

Unlike the other games at that time, we began to care about the characters, and the effects of the actions on the game and vice-versa. Clan loyalty became a matter of honor, and hotly contested duels erupted to defend the family's name.

That was in 1995, when the world was young. Today, the Philippines boasts a regular tournament scene in Manila, Baguio City, Cebu City and Davao. In these tournaments, players who have become closer as a result of competing regularly vie for prizes and honor. Formats vary, with the Open format having the most devotees. While a large majority of the players are male, the occasional rose among thorns, like Sunshine David, is enough to prove that Rokugan's saga is not just any man's tale.

Highest-ranking player Francis Profeta is a great example of the Filipino L5R player - intelligent fluent and creative. Players like him take pains to keep the interest in the game alive - by teaching new players and helping them prepare for the tournaments. Veteran players, Clint Aranas, a lawyer, and Alver Ganiron, a financial analyst, support L5R by showing that old cards or new, the best deck is simply a matter of construction and style.

Novelty Entertainment Inc., the strategic partner of Wizards of the Coast, is devoted to the welfare of the game and its players. Numerous regular tournaments, pre-releases and special events have been held under Novelty's aegis. All that remains is to be able to have Philippine representation in the World Championships at the US GenCon.

And now the landscape has changed yet again. The Shadow dreams dark dreams and an Empire is at risk! but the Filipino samurai will stand against it...

L5R IN SINGAPORE

By Hansen Chew

L5R in Singapore has grown in popularity since the start of the Hidden Emperor story arc. Many of the players who played L5R during the Clan Wars story arc are picking up the game again and bringing new players into the game.

Clan distribution in Singapore tends to heavily favor the Lion and Unicorn. Most of the Lion players started playing L5R during the LSD (Lion Speed Deck) fever back during the Clan Wars story arc when the Lion Clan was arguably the most powerful. The Unicorns tend to be players who started playing during the Hidden Emperor story arc when PCP (Province-Crushing Ponies) decks started to dominate the tournament environment. Some of the other well represented clans are: Phoenix, Dragon, Crane and recently Toturi's Army and Ninja. The remainder of the clans are played by players who like the clan philosphy rather than the overall power of the clan.

Most players are fanatically loyal to one clan. This was shown in The Storming of Morikage Castle Worldwide tournament. 31 participants entered the tournament, and every one of the 12 clans had at least one player. Almost every deck was not corrupt and many of them were constructed with a point to prove. There were among the more unusual a few Phoenix Military Decks, a Corrupte Monk Deck, a Yoritomo Six-Sword Deck and a Scorpion Military Deck.

Most Singapore players are avid followers of the L5R storyline. The fact that players can actually influence the story by playing in tournaments excites them. For this reason, The Storming of Morikage Castle Tournament produced double the usual amount of players than normal and I expect that the L5R Nationals will draw an even larger amount of players due to this. Players here play 2 kinds of decks, one which is their own clan, which they try to keep free from influences such as kolats, Shadowlands and other undesirables, and decks which sabotage other clans where the reverse is true. Currently, regular monthly tournaments are organized in the Comics Mart Tournament Centre and demos are organized in various L5R retailer locations. Future large events we intend to run at the Tournament Centre include the Pearl Edition Pre- Release and the L5R Nationals.

Here is the contact information for general information about L5R in Asia Pacific/Oceania. See pages 29 & 30 for the list of Stronghold Stores worldwide.

AUSTRALIA Mr. Peter Stone jedko Games 134 Cochranes Road PO Box 164, Moorabbin Victoria, Australia 3189 Tel: 9555-1022 Fax: 9553- 3339 e-mail: peter@milsims.com.au

INDONESIA Mr. Vincent Sucianto Planet Comics Setrasari Mall, Block B1, No. 1 Bandung 40163 Indonesia Tel: 62-22-200-1128 Fax: 62-22- 216155 e-mail: sucianto@ibm.net

MALAYSIA Comics Mart 10 Jalan Serene #02-05/05 Singapore 1025 SINGAPORE Tel: 466-4213 Fax: 462-2751 e- mail: comicsmt@pacific.net.sg

NEW ZEALAND Mr. Tony Hamblyn Wizard Distributors PO Box 3261 15 Rautangi Rd, Mt. Eden Auckland, New Zealand Tel: 6300569 Fax:6306879 e- mail: wizard@ iconz.co.nz;

PHILIPPINES Novelty Entertainment Don Santiago Bldg. 1344 Taft Avenue Ermita , Manila 1007 PHILIPPINES Tel: (632) 526-3911 Fax: (632) 526- 0896 e-mail: nei@philonline.com

SINGAPORE Mr. Hansen Chew (Shuyouryo Shinigami) Comics Mart Tournament Centre 51 Cantoment Road Singapore 089752 Tel : (65) 2262801 Fax: (65) 4622751 e-mail: shuyouryo@hotmail.com or hansen@cyberway.com.sg

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