L5R Legend of the Five Rings Strategies and Clan Characteristics

The following is one of the parts of a series on how to build a good deck for Legend of the Five Rings, more commonly know as L5R, an Oriental-based trading-card game. In this installment, I will explain the advantages and disadvantages of each clan. The Eight Great Clans are Crab, Crane, Dragon, Lion, Phoenix, Mantis, Scorpion, and Unicorn, but there are also various other factions you can play as. Those are the Shadowlands, Brotherhood of Shinsei and Ratling.

Brotherhood of Shinsei - These are the monks of Rokugan. Their most easily attained victory is that of enlightenment, or playing all five Elemental Rings from you fate hand.
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Crab - The Crab have one of the most powerful armies in all of Rokugan. Their most easily attained victory is that of military domination, or the destruction of all of the opposing players' provinces.

Crane - When you think of the politics of Rokugan, you either think of the Crane or the Scorpion, but when you think of honorable politics, you only think of the Crane. Their most easily attained victory is that of Honor victory, or being the first to gain the required amount of honor (typically 40) and then begin their turn, though with some work, they can also be a militical deck. As well, they are excellent duelists, though that, in and of itself, is not a form of victory.

Dragon - The Dragon, self-exiled from the rest of Rokugan, live in tall mountains - the perfect lifestyle for harsh physical conditioning. As such, found amongst their people is a versatile combination of monks, samurai, and shugenja (which is the prime spellcasting people of Rokugan). The Dragon are one of the best choices for an enlightenment deck as they are so diverse in capabilites, though they can effectively be a military deck or, with very specialized cards, an honor deck.

Lion - The Lion clan is one of the most honorable clans in Rokugan, and their prowess on the battlefield and tactical abilities are unequaled. Their most easily attained victory is that of military domination, though they are great at honor victory, as well.