Welcome back to the Emerald Empire. This issue of the Imperial Herald represents the continued growth of the Emerald Empire and our dedication to the fans of L5R and future Emerald Empire products. Taka would never let us skimp on the portions of cards and promos to his best customers, so this month you have the biggest bonanza of Imperial Assembly goodies yet - and as we are fond of saying, the best is yet to come. This month's poster was done by L5R artist Randy Gallegos and depicts Toturi and his crew doing a little recon. Just who they are waiting I am not sure, but you can bet that Yogo lunzo is not far off.

This issue also has 10 (that's right, 10) cards enclosed. The first two (Hida Sukune & Time of the Void) are your Imperial Assembly cards only available to members; there's one for this issue and one for last. The other two (Exile & A Time for Legends) are insert cards which are appearing in The Canzer and Lotus Noir magazines. The last six are some of the stronghold cards from the Emerald Edition and Anvil of Despair deck boxes. Taka had enough this time to give them away for free, and he has other things for you to spend your Koku on.

Finally you will find your new Imperial Assembly card. These cards were donated by the fine folks at Yaquinto Printing who print and provide all the L5R game cards. (Thanks Katie.) This card is much more than a simple membership card - you can use it at participating Stronghold of the Empire stores to get discounts and special offers throughout the year. If your local store is not a Stronghold urge them to sign up. Qualifying is easy and the benefits are great.

Look for the Obsidian Edition of L5R to release in late June or early July. We have upscaled the look and size of the Obsidian Edition deck boxes. Each Obsidian Edition deck will also come with 20 clan color-coded glass tokens, a double-sized rule book, an overview sheet (which lets you know which sets you can find your favorite clan characters in) and a Forbidden Knowledge booster pack. We have updated about 20 pieces of art for Obsidian and as usual we will try to make some of these cards available for purchase with Koku. With the release of the Obsidian Edition Emerald will be leaving store shelves soon. If you are still putting together your sets the time to get them done is soon.

As a final note this month, we would like to thank all of you for continuing to spread the word about Legend of the Five Rings and the Emerald Empire. Every day new players discover the exciting world of Rokugan. As the Imperial Herald grows in page count we are going to need your help to fill the pages with new and interesting information about the card games, RPG and other products we have coming in the future. If you are interested in writing, send a SASE to Imperial Herald Writers Guidelines at 4045 Guasti Rd. #212, Ontario, CA 91761.

May the blessing of Shinsei be upon you and your clan.

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