Defenders of Rokugan

Updated 28 June, 2020.

By paulofhallett#7086

Like their founder Hida, the Crab clan protect the Emerald Empire from the horrors of the Shadowlands. With little time for the complexities of courtly life, the Crab prefer to focus their attention on fortifying the defences of the Kaiu Wall and purifying the taint.

In Legend of the Five Rings Crab players have access to a number of archetypes that keep within the thematic origins of their clan. Traditional competitive decks invest in a small number of powerful characters who are kept in play through a variety of save mechanics. This allows for very efficient fate management, assisted by events that either ready key characters for defence, or prevent these characters from bowing at the resolution of conflicts when defending.

More recently, the theme of sacrifice has found its way into competitive decks with the number of cheap characters that provide economic benefits when discarded reaching a critical mass. While the errata to Those Who Serve and the restriction of Kuni Laboratory and Rebuild have stifled the pure swarm crab deck, Crab players are still able to leverage resources from sacrifice effects to overwhelm their opponents.

This guide covers the most commonly-encountered Crab cards in competitive play and ends with a rundown of the current competitive deck archetypes.

Strongholds

Shiro Nishiyama, the Crab core stronghold, was the Crab box of choice for the first two years of the LCG (indeed, it was the only choice with Crab being the final clan to receive more than one stronghold). Mirroring Yojin no Shiro, it provides a free +1/+1 boost on defence, and its +3 province strength is the highest in the game.

While it has been, for the most part, replaced by Kyuden Hida in competitive decks, it is still worth being aware of.

Kyūden Hida arrived with the Crab clan pack, Defenders of Rokugan, and synergises nicely with the Crab propensity for playing many powerful holdings.

It's power lies in its ability to provide up to 3 additional choices when purchasing characters in the Dynasty Phase. This allows more holdings to be included in decks without fear of blocking the province rown, and for holdings to be potentially discarded, and the recurred, through Rebuild.

It offers 1 less province strength than Shiro Nishiyama, but does offer an (arguably more useful) 1 honour.

Provinces

Defend the Wall synergises well with Crab defensive decks to both deny, and then resolve, elemental ring effects upon a successful win.

Traditional Crab decks use Unicorn splash and Talisman of the Sun to force attackers onto this province, although it can still be found in many other competitive Crab decks. That said, as an Earth province it does mean giving up the powerful Upholding Authority.

Kuni Wasteland prevents attacking characters from using their triggered abilities or keywords during conflicts at this province. Any ability that might affect the conflict, such as those printed on Shinjo Shono or Lion's Pride Brawler cannot be used. However, passive abilities such as those printed on Ichiro or Doji Kuzunobu will still work. Lastly, keywords such as Pride or Courtesy cannot be used. The one exception to this is Covert which can be used on the conflict in which the province is first revealed.

Kuni Wasteland is commonly found on the stronghold so be aware of this when planning a final assault.

Shinsei's Last Hope allows a character to enter play at a two fate discount, although they become dishonoured upon doing so.

Given the low glory of Crab characters this is of little concern and it is a simple matter to used the discounted resources to add fate to the character. This ensures that they stay in play for longer, whilst also delaying the 1-honour penalty incurred when they leave play.

Holdings

Before discussing individual holdings it is worth noting that the Crab clan, more than any other, benefits from the presence of holdings, whether they are actively used or not. This thematically fits with the Crab's focus on fortifications and the Kaiu Wall, and is represented in game by cards such as Hida Guardian and Shrewd Yasuki, each of whom require holdings to be in play to maximise their abilities.

When deck building with Crab, it follows that holdings should be a key consideration.

Cards win card games, and Funeral Pyre allows a character that has expended its usefulness to be sacrificed to draw a card.

This effect is amplified when the character leaving play also provides an inherent economic benefit (such as Kaiu Envoy or Gallant Quartermaster), and Funeral Pyre remains one of the few staple Crab holdings to avoid restriction.

Iron Mine is a primary tool for Crab players to keep their characters on the board after their last fate is gone (or they are discarded). That said, with its return to the restricted list, and the addition of Kuni Laboratory, it remains to be seen whether Crab players continue to include it in competitive decks.

The most common of the new Kaiu Wall cards to see play, Kaiu Forges allows a Crab player to pick a holding of choice from the top ten cards of the dynasty deck and switch it with a Kaiu Wall holding in the row. In practice, this usually means replacing Kaiu Forges with an Iron Mine, Kuni Laboratory, Favorable Ground or other holding depending on the current board state.

Thankfully (or regrettably for Crab players), Kaiu Forges cannotbe used to search for the now-banned Karada District.

Abilities which affect multiple cards in play are known as "anthem" effects (named after a card from Magic: The Gathering). The power of such abilities increase the more cards that are affected, and thus (the now restricted) Kuni Laboratory is normally seen in decks with a larger number of cheaper characters. While not as ubiquitous as at the height of the 'Crabbits' deck, it is still a strong restricted pick, although the addition of Rebuild may well change this.

Kuni Laboratory is based on the fiction Gaze Into Darkness: a story well worth reading.

Characters

Crab players are spoilt for choice when it comes to 1-cost characters that provide excellent value.

Kaiu Envoy and Gallant Quartermaster both provide excellent economic benefits. Each costs one fate and each provides a benefit upon leaving play (although Quartermaster needs to be intentionally sacrificed for her interrupt to take effect). Both are easy choices for Way of the Crab, and they also synergise well with Funeral Pyre and other cards that benefit from sacrifice effects.

Hida Guardian can also provide excellent value. The most important word in his card text is "each". Because Crab have access to a large number of powerful holdings, and ways to find and put these holdings into play, Hida Guardian's potential can quickly build up. With just two holdings in play he can provide another character with an impressive 5 military and political for just one fate.

Hiruma Skirmisher is a popular conflict card not only for Crab players, but also for players splashing Crab. For just 1 fate she can potentially prevent an opponent’s tower from defending a key conflict. Just be sure to play her in the Conflict phase (rather than the earlier Draw phase action window), and to declare her reaction when she enters play.

Vanguard Warrior is a 2-fate character who can be sacrificed to keep a key character in play for another turn. This should be done after the Void ring has been claimed (to make sure an opponent does not immediately remove the fate put on the key character). It should also be done after Vanguard Warrior has contributed his full potential to conflicts, which usually means using his ability in the final action window of the conflict phase. If he is not used in this window, the framework moves to the first step of the fate phase, which discards any characters without fate. Lastly, Vanguard Warrior can also be used to prevent a character with no fate from being bowed by the Water ring.

Shrewd Yasuki is a very effective source of card draw. As Crab decks almost always have a holding in play, he can be used to draw the most impactful card from the top two cards of the conflict deck when participating in a conflict.

Student of Anatomies provides a powerful 'blanking' effect (much like Cloud the Mind) which can neutralise key opposing characters. The requirement of this effect is that a friendly character is sacrificed. This is best used on characters that are already bowed, and which provide an economic benefit when leaving such as Kaiu Envoy or Gallant Quartermaster.

Crisis Breaker and Steadfast Witch Hunter share similar characteristics in that they can both participate in more than one conflict per turn.

The Keeper-locked Crisis Breaker works best with the first player token, which allows him participate in the first military conflict of the turn as an attacker, and then ready as a defender when the opponent declares a military conflict. This can be done in reverse order, but is inelegant as it requires other Crab characters be declared as attackers, and that the opponent defend with greater military skill than said attackers.

Steadfast Witch Hunter can be used to either ready herself, or another more powerful character, by sacrificing a character. As with similar effects, this is best used to sacrifice characters that will provide a benefit upon leaving play.

Like the Lion and Unicorn Hisu Mori Toride strongholds, Hida O-Ushi allows a player to declare an additional military conflict. The requirement for this is to win a conflict (military or political) on the defensive, a relatively simple task for the Crab. Hida O-Ushi herself does not need to be present in the conflict to trigger her ability.

If Hida O-Ushi is in play beware of 'poking' Crab provinces. Unless you are prepared to commit to victory your opponent can easily turn the tables and declare 3 attacks this turn.

In addition to having the valuable Rally keyword, Butcher of the Fallen features a powerful Covert-like ability that allows him to shut defending characters out of conflicts.

Butcher of the Fallen is more powerful the more unbroken provinces his owner has. If none of the Crab player's provinces are broken, their opponent cannot declare characters with printed military skill of 5 or lower as defenders. This means almost all characters in the game are ineligible as defenders, and thus the opponent must break Crab provinces to maintain a steady defence. With their strong suite of defensive capabilities, however, the Crab are more than capable of holding such attacks at bay.

Butcher of the Fallen can single-handedly win games. If an opponent cannot secure early breaks against a Crab player they will find themselves increasingly unable to mount effective defences as their stronghold becomes vulnerable to attack.

While calls to ban Butcher of the Fallen were strong in the lead up to the recent Imperial Law updates, as a new card he has thus far escaped attention (although several other Crab cards were themselves butchered, perhaps as compensation).

Expect this debate to resume in the lead up to the September announcement.

Yasuki Broker has terrible stats and high glory, but her ability can allow a Crab player to overwhelm an opponent's economy. Crab have many ways to discard their own characters, usually through some type of sacrifice. Yasuki's passive ability means that any character who leaves play during a conflict in which she is participating will provide one card and one fate. Using abilities from cards such as Vanguard Warrior, Steadfast Witch Hunter, or Funeral Pyre will now provide an additional economic boost.

Kaiu Shihobu, the Kaiu family Daimyo, is a powerful Engineer who can provide a reserve of holdings under her owner's stronghold.

One of these can be brought into play each turn, providing a steady supply of Kuni Laboratory, Funeral Pyre, and Iron Mine as needed.

Note that this card received an errata which confirms that the holding enters play face up.

Hida Kisada (the Great Bear) is not only excellent military value, he also frustrates his opponents during every conflict in which he his owner is undefeated. To play around Kisada an opponent must 'waste' an action before they can do anything useful in the conflict. Note that this only affects action abilities, and not reactions, interrupts, or passive abilities. This action can, however, come from any card type.

If an opponent does not have an action available to 'waste', they will need to either sacrifice a useful ability, or effectively surrender the conflict and try again later in the phase under more favourable conditions. Both of these outcomes are desirable to the Crab, meaning Kisada helps keep pressure on an opponent simply by being on the board (and undefeated).

There is also the possibility that an opponent will forget Hida Kisada is on the board and use a powerful action, only for The Great Bear to cancel it (we've all done it).

Attachments

One of the first cards to be added to the restricted list, Pathfinder's Blade effectively blanks an opponent's province when the attached character is attacking. This is a potent ability, and at 0 cost it is extremely unbalanced (combined with a tidy +1 military). It is somewhat limited by being a seeker only ability, but nonetheless it is a strong pick for Crab players who are not using Rebuild as their restricted card, or for other clans splashing Crab (particularly Dragon with Niten Master).

Potent and reliable, Reprieve remains a common pick for Crab players or splashers. For 1 fate it can prevent a character with no fate from being discarded in the fate phase, or through card effects. It is best played when most needed, which usually means in the action window after the last conflict in the conflict phase. This increases the chances that an opponent has already used their attachment removal, although it requires that one fate be kept throughout the conflict phase. It should also be used if a key character is dishonoured when facing Crane or Scorpion, as this provides protection from cards such as Noble Sacrifice and I Can Swim.

Watch Commander features the dreaded (unlimited) parenthesis at the end of its card text, meaning that it can, repeatedly, cause an opponent to lose honour during a key conflict. While dishonour as a win condition is more favoured by the Scorpion, Watch Commander does allow a Crab player to put pressure on an opponent in a significant way. While it is limited to one per character, there is nothing to stop multiple Watch Commanders being put on multiple characters in a conflict, a prospect which can quickly drain an opponent's honour pool.

If faced with Watch Commander, it is worth removing it promptly, avoiding this character in key conflicts, or being prepared to reduce one's bid in future draw phases.

At 2 fate Jade Tetsubo is expensive, but it does provide an impressive 3 military skill and a powerful swing ability. If the attached character is participating in a conflict with an opposing character with lower military skill, Jade Tetsubo can be used to return all fate on said character to its owner's fate pool. This is best used on a tower character with multiple attachments, as these will be lost when the character leaves play in the fate phase. Note, however, that since the introduction of Jade Tetsubo the number of cards which can add fate to a character, or save them from leaving play, has increased, to the point where Jade Tetsubo now rarely sees play.

Sturdy Tetsubo is a recent arrival to the array of Crab clubbing devices and features the powerful ability to discard a card from an opponent's hand. Importantly, this is not a random discard (which is a much more powerful ability), however, it can be used twice per round if the attached character wins a second conflict (something that is more than achievable given the number of Crab cards which can ready key characters).

Expect to see Sturdy Tetsubo being heavily tested in the coming weeks.

Events

Common Cause provides an effective ready for 0 fate. It requires a friendly card be sacrificed, and is best used against a bowed character, or one that will provide a benefit upon leaving play.

While Rebuild has been restricted for some time, the recent addition of Kuni Laboratory, and the readdition of Iron Mine to the restricted lists has Crab players gnashing their teeth in frustration.

While it can still be used to recur other Crab holdings such as Funeral Pyre and the those with the Kaiu Wall trait (not to mention the ubiquitous neutral holdings), its stock has certainly diminished of late.

Spreading the Darkness acts as an additional Banzai! for Crab players. It comes with a heavy 2-honour cost, but the fact that the chosen character cannot be targeted by opponent's card abilities is powerful. This means the character is effectively immune to dishonour, bow, send home, and discard abilities, unless they do not target the character directly (for example, Court Games, Way of the Crab). Note also that Spreading the Darkness is a spell, and thus synergises with Shrine Maiden and Kyuden Isawa.

Fight On and The Mountain Does Not Fall are two of the Crab's signature defence cards. In the more traditional Crab archetype, in which a tower character is loaded with powerful attachments, these two cards are used to ensure this character can participate in as many conflicts as possible.

Fight On requires a Water role and works best with the first player token. This allows a tower character to hit hard as an attacker, and then ready as a defender. Note the chosen character does not need to be participating in the current conflict: If they are at home, they ready and join as a defender; if they are already participating (but are bowed), they ready once again to contribute their skill to the conflict.

The Mountain Does Not Fall works best without the first player token. This allows a player to defend against a powerful attack, and then not bow at the resolution of the conflict. This character should generally not be declared as a attacker for the next conflict, allowing them to once again defend the follow up conflict, and then attack in the final conflict of the turn. Participating in three conflicts for only 1 fate is excellent value, and thus the card is limited to once per round.

If combined, these cards allow a character to participate in all four conflicts for just 2 cards and 2 fate.

A more recent addition to this type of card, The Strength of the Mountain, has thus far proven too expensive to see play.

In Defense of Rokugan fits well with Crab's theme of sacrifice and heroic defence. It is one of the few cards in the game that 'set' a character's skill to a certain amount (in this case, zero). Once set, a skill value cannot be increased or decreased (eg. Banzai!), multiplied (Way of the Lion), or switched (Along the River of Gold). Only another card that sets a skill value can alter this (eg. Unleash the Djinn). In Defense of Rokugan allows a Crab player to sacrifice a cheap character to reduce a powerful character's skill to zero for the current conflict.

The fiction that inspired this card, Dark Hands of Heaven, is also well worth reading.

The threat of Way of the Crab ensures that care must be taken at all times when facing a Crab opponent.

Consider the following:

A Crab player has the first player token and begins the dynasty phase by playing a Gallant Quartermaster with 0 fate. Their opponent begins their tower strategy by playing Matsuo Agetoki with 3 fate. As their second action of the dynasty phase, the Crab player plays Way of the Crab. Both characters leave play, and Gallant Quartermaster refunds 2 fate, resulting in no net fate loss for the Crab player, but a 6 fate loss for their opponent.

This is a huge swing, and all Legend of the Five Rings players have been on the receiving end of it at least once.

The counter to Way of the Crab is to also keep an expendable character in play at all times. However, this forces an opponent to expend resources in response to the mere threat it poses. Even if there are 0 copies in their deck, it is almost always correct for a Crab player to present the threat of it.

Once the Conflict phase begins Assassination can also be played upon an opponent's smaller characters, which allows Way of the Crab to threaten important characters once again. The opponent may have conflict characters to drop here, but again this forces them to expend resources on suboptimal plays, lowering their tempo.

Way of the Crab can also be used in the Fate Phase during the action window after characters without fate leave play. If a Crab player bought a cheap character with 1 fate during the Dynasty phase and their opponent did not, Way of the Crab can now be played to discard an opponent's key character. The Crab player can also drop a conflict character here to enable Way of the Crab, assuming their opponent cannot do the same.

If the opponent did save a character to die during the fate phase, but the Crab player will take the first player token, and thus have the first action in the next Dynasty phase, Way of the Crab can again threaten key characters

Way of the Crab isn't providing value whilst staying in the hand and should be played wherever possible.

Archetypes

Tower

The traditional Crab play style focuses on playing a powerful character, giving them multiple attachments, and then keeping them in play for as long as possible through Reprieve, Valiant Oathkeeper, and Iron Mine. This character should participate in as many conflicts as possible with Fight On and The Mountain Does Not Fall, and can use Defend Your Honor to help win key conflicts.

A common splash for this build is Unicorn, which uses Talisman of the Sun to steer opponents into Defend the Wall, and Iuchi Wayfinder or Shinjo Ambusher to fuel Gaijin Customs or Way of the Crab.

Economy

An evolution of Mozi's 'Crabits' deck, which sought to swarm an opponent with cheap characters which then provided an economic benefit upon leaving play, this more balanced deck is a response to changes in the meta, and recent card errata and restrictions.

The deck aims to bring cheap characters into play through Kyuden Hida, and then buff these with Kuni Laboratory. As the game progresses more impactful cards such as Steadfast Witch Hunter and Hida O-Ushi are introduced, with the powerful Butcher of the Fallen used to close the game.

Importantly, sacrifice effects should be used to maximise economic benefits, whether that be synergising Way of the Crab with Gallant Quartermaster, or using Funeral Pyre on a bowed character.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), Rebuild can no longer be used to recur Kuni Laboratory (and Iron Mine), although Kaiu Shihobu can be used to offset this to an extent.

As of the date of publication this deck is very much in flux (the link above is already obsolete), and updates will made as the post-June Imperial Law meta begins to emerge.

Dishonor

Boothberry90's 'Spicy Crabcakes' deck aims to use Scorpion splash to help dishonour out an opponent. A mostly-defensive deck, it will occasionally attack to pressure key ring effects when needed. It leverages dishonour effects from in-clan cards such as Purifier Apprentice and Intimidating Hida, along with Scorpion cards such as Shosuro Miyako and Backhanded Compliment. It also aims to bid low at all times and offset this with card draw from Kaiu Envoy and Shrewd Yasuki.

The Crab Clan

Like their founder, and their philosophy, Crab players are resilient and resourceful. Their key characters refuse to die because of their multitude of save mechanics, and their smaller characters deliberately put themselves in harms way to provide greater service to their clan.

This can be difficult to play against and hard lessons must often be learnt before Crab opponents can be overcome. This can be achieved, however, through a combination of aggressive plays against tower decks to force resources to be spent on finite saves, and smart conservative plays against economic or dishonour decks.

Expect Crab to have answers, but not to everything.

Thank you to WhackedMaki#0078i for feedback, clarification, and content for Way of the Crab.