Before I came to work for Wizards of the Coast, I collected Koku. I sent it in for the Black Scrolls the day I received the issue (was it #5?) and still didn't get them. The next issue I wrote a letter as part of my order for three cards. I still have that letter, written in 1998:

Taka-sama-

I ask you three times ....

Please accept my humble offer of 60 Koku .... Truly, please accept them, for you can use them better than I .... Humbly, I beseech you. Take them before my wife throws them out.

In return I ask you to consider my position: My Isawa Uona has not found her (8-M) Oracle of the Void. My Togashi Yokuni cannot find (8-T) Otaku Kamoko to gather all Seven Thunders. And my (7-T) Arrows Know (not) the Way.

If providence cannot smile my way, I ask you to consider that I shall be forced to fight (7-Y) To the Last Man, to stop the Darkness forseen in the (8-K) Augury, which threatens to strike upon the (7-S) Plains of Otosan Uchi and destroy any chance of my (7-V) Winning Kachiko's Favor.

Your servant,
Iuchi Katsumi
Rokugan Teratologist

And now I am Taka (and Frank is Shiryo no Yasuki). I should ask Frank if he took pity on me or was just rewarding my fanaticism, because I received my three cards ... and a Unicorn Stronghold card!

Nice story, huh? So what? Well, I never understood back then how anyone could ever afford to get a katana. I mean, 2500 Koku! That was probably $6000 or more worth of product!

Then I came to work at Wizards and learned of Koku prizes given out at tournaments. Even the third-place finisher of a four-to- eight-player tournament could get 20 Koku. $50 worth of Koku for playing a game with three-plus friends and doing some paperwork?! And the winner could get 100 or more Koku (nearly $300 dollars worth of product)! After collecting since the Emerald Edition' set and only turning in some 200 Koku, I left some 800 Koku to a friend when I came to Wizards. 1000 Koku over two-plus years-and much more of it thrown out!

So why am I telling you all of this? Two reasons. For one, I empathize with those who don't play in tournaments. But if I had reduced the price of the katana, everyone who had paid full price would scream "Unfair!" Also, I want you to play in some sanctionE tournaments if you think Taka's items are expensive. Better yet sanction some yourself If you have at least eight players (for the three- judge system), you can play in your own tournament. To lea] about sanctioning a tournament, see "The Tao of the DCI" in issu( #12 or .

Andy, a.k.a. Experienced Yasuki Taka (not the Kolat version, really!)

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