On the weekend of October 23rd, L5R players across North America waited in anticipation for the newest addition to the Emerald Empire. The greatest gathering of players was at the Your 2000th Card celebration, where players were honored for their contributions to the game. But for this little Mantis, the story was different.

Having awakened early and traveled to my local stronghold, I wasted time desperately, trying to hurry the day along. And finally, at noon, we began the Ambition's Debt pre-release. There were 12 of us, exactly one box of starters worth. I pulled Lion, and prepared to revel in darkness for a day. I received a large selection of Force boosting Fate cards, including the classic Charge, Ashigaru Levies, and the Way of the Zokujin. This Fate support was Lion's strength, allowing Daoquan or Ryozo to take a 2nd turn province. With only 10 gold producers, I was often able to run off the stronghold without much difficulty for several turns. I faced two Naga, another Lion, and a Shadowlands, winning each time. I beat Naga by losing honor quickly to ensure Daoquan was large, then Charged/Levied/Zokujined to victory. Against the Lion, I raced down in honor below him, then rolled over him as he tried to deal with an insufficient gold scheme against my lucky pull of two Daoquans in the first two turns.

Against the Shadowlands player, I pulled Ryozo and the exp 2 (who?) and ran over him with Ugulus in tow. I won only because I kept his 14+ Force unit of Ugulu and many followers away for three successive turns with Blocked Supply Lines and an Imperial Summons (this card won me the tournament, I'm convinced). And just like that, I had won the tournament (we only went 4 rounds because many people needed to leave).

For the Ambition's Debt pre-release, each faction had to exploit their strength to win. Lion had to make a quick attack with Fate support and Ryozo/Daoquan as spearhead to win against the building tactics of Naga and Shadowlands. The Naga had a scary buildup potential with Naga Shugenja and Olyah, giving a potential +5 or +6 force bonus to all Naga in the late game. Shadowlands pulled the short end of the stick, with a strange gold scheme and a lack of Personalities off-the-box. With a 4 Gold Production, they would have been over the place. The Spawning Grounds, like the Sepulchur, are a build-up stronghold. They need more time to build up, which they have some of with their higher Province Strength of 7

The Ambition's Debt pre-releases were the second L5 event where players were using almost entirely new cards to make up the majority of their decks. Pre-relea! es require all of the best qualities in a game player, an, give new players an equal standing with old veterans a far as cards go. Players need to be able to build decks the spot, quickly scanning and judging cards. In a prerelease, some cards will be much more effective than others. Force boosters are incredible in a limited environment, as are 'go-away' actions, such as Blocked Supply lines or Refugees. Each personality is more vah able, and more likely to be loaded up to make a big tu for attacking.

The Ambition's Debt environment was almost completely military, with the highest starting honor belonging to Naga, sporting a mighty 2. In a pre-release, a player needs to be ready to accommodate for nearly anything, since you may see a card for the first time as it threatens to win the game for your opponent. This kin of game makes for good players, players who are adapable and inventive, ready for any strategy in any form. Many Lion players raced to -19 honor, 'knowing' that dishonor was not existent in this set. They were wrong, Fallen Lion Fortress probably led to many suprising Lion losses.

The players who got Fallen Lion Fortress may have noticed the huge potential of a card in a limited environment to win some games. But they also had to be wary of the possible power it gave to Shadowlands. This card should have a much smaller effect outside of sealed play, but may have been very crucial in some events. But the way players react to a loss like that is what determines their skill as pre-release players. The bad players cursed and did nothing different, while good players became wary and changed their play style, going only to -13, knowing if it can happen once, it will happen again. By the end of the tournament, those who stood victorious were the adaptable, the imaginative masters of the pre-release format. The pre-release mast is a slightly different player than the constructed master, but just as impressive a player. Imagine what a prerelease master can do with *all* the cards after squeezing all they can out of a limited selection?

Pre-releases are a big part of the future of Rokugan. Be ready, or be left in the dust, as players hone their skills on a limited format in preparation for constructed play. New players can accommodate for their lack of cards with skill acquired in pre-releases. Older players can quickly master the newer cards and have a head start once the cards are in the constructed environment. Will you be ready?

This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com