Inheritance Cycle

The Inheritance Cycle is the third cycle published for the L5R LCG.

Promotional cards with full extended art were released with the Inheritance Cycle icon .

Cards

ID	Name	Clan	Deck	Type	Traits	Text Box
103	Withstand the Darkness		Conflict	Event	—	Reaction: After an opponent plays an event that chooses a character you control as a target – place 1 fate on that character (Max 1 per phase.)
52	Court of Justice		Dynasty	Holding	—	Reaction: After you win a conflict – look at 3 random cards in your opponent's hand.
124	Root Out Heresy		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict – discard a random card from your opponent's hand. Until the end of the conflict, reduce the strength of the attacked province by X, where X is the cost discarded card.
120	Chrysanthemum Steward		Dynasty	Character	Courtier. Imperial.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a card in your opponent's conflict discard pile – put that card on top of its owner's conflict deck.
111	Gallant Quartermaster		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Interrupt: When this character is sacrificed – gain 2 fate.
112	Yasuki Hatsu		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, if you are less honorable than your opponent – search the top 5 cards of your conflict deck for an attachment, reveal it, and add it to your hand. Shuffle.
118	Student of Esoterica		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Earth. Scholar.	You may spend fate from this character to pay for Spell cards.
121	Bayushi Shoju (SD)		Dynasty	Character	Courtier. Champion. Imperial.	Your opponent cannot have the Imperial Favor. Forced Reaction: After the conflict phase begins – each player draws 2 cards and loses 1 honor.
129	Castigated		Conflict	Attachment	Condition. Imperial.	Play only during a conflict, only on a participating character, and only if you control an Imperial character. If attached character's } skill is 0, discard it. (Do not discard if its skill is a dash.)
119	Inferno Guard Invoker		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Fire.	Action: During a conflict, choose a participating character you control – honor that character. If a province is broken during this conflict, sacrifice this character at the end of the conflict.
64	Stride the Waves		Conflict	Attachment	Spell. Water.	Attach to a character you control. Action: During a conflict, if you have the ring claimed – move attached character to the conflict or home from the conflict (limit twice per round.)
61	Callous Ashigaru		Conflict	Attachment	Follower.	Attach to a unique character. Restricted. Reaction: After you break a province during a conflict in which attached character is attacking – discard each card from each of your opponent's provinces.
60	Warden of the Damned		Conflict	Character	Monk.	Forced Interrupt: When the conflict phase ends – each player must sacrifice a dishonored character, if able.
56	Isawa Heiko		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Water.	Reaction: After you play a Water card during a conflict, choose a participating character – swap the base and stats of that character.
55	Acolyte of Koyane		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Air.	Action: During a conflict, choose a participating character and select one – that character either gains or loses pride until the end of the conflict.
51	Trusted Advisor		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Reaction: After you gain fate from a ring during a conflict in which this character is participating – draw 1 card.
113	Daidoji Harrier		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Shinobi.	Reaction: After this character wins a conflict, your opponent chooses 2 cards in his or her hand – reveal those cards. You choose and discard one of them.
48	Hida Sugi		Dynasty	Character	Bushi.	Reaction: After this character wins a conflict, choose a card in a dynasty discard pile – put that card on the bottom of its owner's dynasty deck.
62	Justicar's Approach		Conflict	Attachment	Technique.	Attach to a Courtier character. Attached character gains "Action: During a conflict, initiate a duel – resolve the duel. Dishonor the duel's loser. If that character is already dishonored, bow it. If it is already bowed and dishonored, discard it."
45	Conflict Between Kin		—	Province	—	During conflicts at this province, each participating character your opponent controls cannot be chosen as the target of an event and cannot have an attachment played on it if that card shares a clan affiliation with the character.
46	Effective Deception		—	Province	—	Interrupt: When the effects of a triggered ability would initiate during a conflict at this province – cancel those effects.
49	Doji Hotaru (JfS)		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Courtier. Champion.	If you control Doji Kuwanan, discard him. Reaction: After an opponent plays a card during a conflict in which this character is participating – gain 1 honor. (Unlimited.)
50	Doji Kuwanan		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Champion.	If you control Doji Hotaru, discard her. Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a participating character with lower skill than this character – bow that character.
57	Shosuro Ibuki		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Yōjimbō.	Disguised Courtier. Reaction: After this character wins a conflict – remove 1 fate from each other participating character.
47	Into the Forbidden City		—	Province	Imperial.	Keeper role only. Action: During a conflict at this province, choose an attachment on an attacking character – discard that attachment.
53	Matsu Swiftspear		Dynasty	Character	Bushi.	While you have fewer cards in your hand than an opponent, this character gets +2.
63	Sharpen the Mind		Conflict	Attachment	Technique.	Action: During a conflict, discard a card from your hand – attached character gets +3 and +3 until the end of the conflict.
58	Shinjo Gunsō		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Cavalry.	Reaction: After you play this character from your provinces – look at the top 5 cards of your dynasty deck. You may put a character with cost 2 or lower from among those cards into play. Discard the rest.
54	Steward of the Rich Frog		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	While you have fewer cards in your hand than an opponent, characters you control cannot receive dishonored status tokens.
66	Ujik Tactics		Conflict	Event	Gaijin. Tactic.	Action: During a conflict – each non-unique character you control gets +1 until the end of the conflict.
114	Hitsu-do Disciple		Dynasty	Character	Monk. Tattooed.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, if you have played 3 or more cards during this conflict, choose another participating character – dishonor that character.
115	Togashi Ichi		Dynasty	Character	Monk. Tattooed.	Disguised Monk. Action: During a conflict in which this character is attacking, if 10 or more cards have been played during this conflict and if the attacked province is not a stronghold province – break that province.
65	Shosuro Miyako		Conflict	Character	Bushi. Shinobi.	Disguised non- character. This character can only be played by the disguised keyword. Reaction: After you play this character, choose a non-unique character an opponent controls – dishonor that character.
86	Unspoken Etiquette		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict – dishonor each participating non-Courtier character.
70	Graceful Guardian		Dynasty	Character	Bushi.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating – during each player's next action opportunity in this conflict, increase the cost to play cards by 1.
87	Natural Negotiator		Conflict	Attachment	Technique.	Attach to a Courtier character you control. Action: During a conflict, give your opponent 1 honor – switch attached character's base and skills until the end of the conflict.
85	Invoke the Divine		Conflict	Event	—	Action: Play up to 3 Spell cards with printed total cost 5 or less from your hand without paying their costs (This includes costs other than fate costs.)
84	Regal Bearing		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict in which you control a participating Courtier character – set the bid on your honor dial to 1 and draw cards equal to th difference between your honor bid and that of your opponent. (Max 1 per conflict.)
82	Issue a Challenge		Conflict	Event	—	Reaction: After a Bushi character you control attacks alone – your opponent cannot declare more than 1 character as a defender in this conflict.
81	Sharpened Tsuruhashi		Conflict	Attachment	Weapon.	Interrupt: When attached character is sacrificed – return this card to your hand.
79	Ide Ryōma		Dynasty	Character	Courtier. Cavalry.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a character and a non- character controlled by the same player – bow one of the characters. Then, ready the other.
78	Licensed Quarter		Dynasty	Holding	City.	Reaction: After you win a conflict – your opponent discards the top card of his or her conflict deck. (Unlimited.)
76	Starry Heaven Sanctuary		Dynasty	Holding	Temple. Void.	Limit 1 per deck. Reaction: After fate is removed from characters in the fate phase. If 4 or more fate was removed – gain 2 fate.
75	Righteous Delegate		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Action: While this character is participating in a conflict – each participating Bushi character gets -1 and -1 and each participating non-Bushi character gets +1 and +1 until the end of the conflict.
74	Ikoma Kiyono		Dynasty	Character	Courtier. Storyteller.	Interrupt: When a glory count would begin, if you are more honorable than your opponent – ready this character.
67	Fortified Assembly		—	Province	—	Cannot be a stronghold province. This province gets +2 strength for each honor token on it. Reaction: After an attack is declared against this province – place 1 honor token on it.
69	Student of Anatomies		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Earth.	Action: Sacrifice a (friendly) character. Choose a character – until the end of the phase, treat that character as if its printed text box were blank (except for Traits).
73	Truthseeker		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Reaction: After this character enters play, choose a deck – look at the top 3 cards of that deck and put them back in any order.
116	Hero of Three Trees		Dynasty	Character	Bushi.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, if you have fewer cards in your hand than your opponent, select one – either gain 1 honor, or the attacked province gets -1 strength until the end of the conflict (to a minimum of 0.)
72	Togashi Yoshi		Dynasty	Character	Monk. Tattooed.	Reaction: After this character wins a conflict – gain 1 fate from an unclaimed ring.
83	Rising Stars Kata		Conflict	Event	Technique.	Action: During a conflict, choose a participating unique character – that character gets +3 until the end of the conflict (+5 instead if that character has won a duel this conflict). (Max 1 per conflict.)
88	Overhear		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict – your opponent reveals a random card from his or her hand and puts it on top of his or her conflict deck. If you control a participating Courtier character, you may give your opponent 1 honor to resolve this ability twice.
77	Emissary of Lies		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a participating character controlled by your opponent – your opponent guesses the name of a card. You may reveal your hand. If you do, and the named card is not in your hand, move the chosen character home.
68	Emperor's Summons		—	Province	—	Seeker role only. Reaction: After this province is revealed – search your dynasty deck for a character card and put it faceup into a non-stronghold province you control, discarding each other card in the province. Shuffle.
80	Hantei Daisetsu		Dynasty	Character	Courtier. Imperial. Crown Prince.	Sincerity Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a participating character – until the end of the conflict, treat that character as if its printed text box were blank (except for Traits).
130	Know the Terrain		Conflict	Event	—	Interrupt: When an attack is declared against a non-stronghold facedown province you control, before revealing that province – switch it with another facedown non-stronghold province you control.
128	Cloak of Night		Conflict	Event	Spell. Air.	Play only if you control a Shugenja character. Action: During a conflict, choose a participating character – until the end of the conflict, that character gets +3 glory and cannot be chosen as the target of opponent's card abilities.
127	In Service to My Lord		Conflict	Event	Tactic.	This card can be played from your discard pile. Action: Bow a (friendly) non-unique character and choose a unique character – ready the chosen character. Put this card on the bottom of its owner's conflict deck.
126	Mantra of Air		Conflict	Event	Kihō. Air.	Reaction: After an opponent declares an conflict, choose a Monk character or a character with a Monk attachment – honor that character and draw 1 card.
125	Kakita's Final Stance		Conflict	Event	Technique.	Action: During a conflict, choose a participating character – until the end of the conflict, that character cannot be bowed by opponent's card effects. If it is involved in a duel during this conflict, it does not bow as a result of this conflict's resolution.
123	Moto Outrider		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Cavalry.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating – ready this character.
122	Golden Plains Raider		Dynasty	Character	Bushi.	Action: After this character wins a conflict as an attacker, choose a faceup card in a province controlled by your opponent – discard that card.
117	Persuasive Counselor		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating – each event you play during this conflict cannot have its effects canceled.
59	Wayfarer's Camp		Dynasty	Holding	Battlefield.	Action: During the dynasty phase – play two characters from your provinces. Then, turn a card in your provinces faceup.
14	Give No Ground		Conflict	Event	Philosophy.	Action: During a conflict, choose a defending character you control – until the end of the conflict, that character gets +2 and cannot have its skills reduced. (This includes by attachments, lasting effects, and status tokens.)
93	Strategic Weakpoint		Dynasty	Holding	Trap.	Interrupt: When this holding's province is broken, your opponent chooses an attacking character – discard that character.
104	Shukujo		Conflict	Attachment	Weapon.	Attach to a unique character you control. Ancestral. Restricted. If attached character has the Champion trait, it gains "Action: during a conflict in which this character is participating – switch the conflict type."
24	Untamed Steppe		—	Province	Battlefield.	Action: During a conflict at this province, choose another unbroken province – turn that province facedown.
23	Dishonorable Assault		—	Province	Battlefield.	Action: During a conflict at this province, discard one of more cards from your hand. Choose an equal number of attacking characters – dishonor each of those characters.
34	Arbiter of Authority		Conflict	Character	Courtier. Duelist.	Action: During a conflict, initiate a duel – your opponent may dishonor his or her character to refuse the duel. Otherwise, resolve the duel. Bow and move home the duel's loser.
36	Duel to the Death		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict, initiate a duel – your opponent may dishonor his or her character to refuse the duel. Otherwise, resolve the duel. Discard the duel's loser.
41	Earth Becomes Sky		Conflict	Event	Spell. Earth.	Earth role only. Reaction: After a character an opponent controls is readied – bow that character.
25	Festival of the Departed		—	Province	Festival.	Keeper role only. During conflicts at this province, characters cannot have their skills increased by the effects of event cards.
40	Isawa Tadaka		Conflict	Character	Shugenja. Earth. Elemental Master.	and clan only. Disguised Shugenja. Action: During a conflict, remove one or more characters in your dynasty discard pile from the game – look at that many random cards from your opponent's hand. Choose and discard one of those cards.
43	Softskin		Conflict	Attachment	Poison.	Attached character cannot ready unless its controller discards the top 3 cards of his or her conflict deck.
30	Yogo Preserver		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Air.	Each dishonored character you control gains sincerity.
101	Petal Village Estate		Dynasty	Holding	Imperial.	Each Imperial character you control gets +1 and +1.
109	Current of the Beryt		Conflict	Attachment	Spell. Water. Meishōdō.	Attach to a Shugenja character. Action: During a conflict – take two actions.
107	Erudite Prestige		Conflict	Attachment	Condition.	Attach to a Courtier character. Reaction: After you play a card during a conflict – attached character gets +1 (Unlimited.)
106	Fan of Command		Conflict	Attachment	Item.	Action: During a conflict in which attached character is participating, choose a participating Bushi character – ready that character.
102	Keeper of Secret Names		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Water.	Action: During a conflict, choose an unbroken province – resolve that province's action ability as if the conflict were at that province.
28	Akodo Kaede		Dynasty	Character	Shugenja. Void.	Immune to opponents' ring effects. Interrupt: When another character would leave play – remove 1 fate from this character instead.
100	Palace Guard		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Imperial.	This character cannot be declared as an attacker against a less honorable player than you.
99	Asako Takahiro		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Pride. During a conflict in which this character is participating, it gains +2 for each other participating dishonored character and +2 for each other participating honored character.
98	Unified Company		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Army.	No attachments except Weapon. Reaction: After this character wins a conflict, if you have fewer cards in you hand than your opponent – put a non-unique Bushi character with printed cost 2 or less into play from your dynasty discard pile.
97	Quarrelsome Youth		Dynasty	Character	Bushi.	Reaction: After this character loses a conflict as an attacker, if you have fewer cards in your hand than your opponent – your opponent discards 1 random card from his or her hand.
95	Daidoji Kageyu		Dynasty	Character	Courtier. Shinobi.	Disguised Courtier. Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating – draw 1 card for each card you opponent has played in this conflict.
94	Court Musician		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating – during each player's next action opportunity in this conflict, decrease the cost to play cards by 1.
90	Henshin Mysteries		—	Province	—	Interrupt: During a conflict at this province, if a player would claim the contest ring – return it to the unclaimed ring pool instead.
91	Smuggler's Cove		—	Province	—	Seeker role only. During a conflict at this province, choose a character you control and select one – either move that character to the conflict or move it home.
96	Army of the Rising Wave		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Army.	No attachment except Weapon. Reaction: After this character enters play – place 1 fate on each unclaimed ring.
108	By Any Means		Conflict	Event	Tactic.	Action: During a conflict, if your honor bid is higher than your opponent's, choose a participating Bushi character you control and a participating character your opponent controls – until the end of the conflict, set your character's base skill to the current skill of your opponent's character.
105	Deduction		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict, return a ring from your claimed ring pool to the unclaimed ring pool. Choose a participating character with printed cost 3 or lower – bow that character.
92	Frontline Engineer		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Engineer.	This character gets +1 glory for each holding in play. Action: During a conflict in which this character is defending – search the top 5 cards of your dynasty deck for a holding and put it into play in the attacked province, discarding each other card in that province. Shuffle.
110	Outflank		Conflict	Event	Tactic.	Reaction: After an opponent's province is revealed during a conflict, choose a non-unique character – that character cannot be declared as a defender in this conflict. (Max 1 per conflict.)
89	Shiro Kitsuki		—	Stronghold	Castle.	Reaction: After a conflict is declared, name a card – after each time your opponent plays that card during this conflict, choose an unclaimed ring and claim it as a ring, gaining all fate from it. (Unlimited.)
26	Hiruma Yoshino		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Daimyō. Scout.	Disguised Bushi. Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a character card in the attacked province – that character contributes its printed skill towards your side during the resolution of this conflict.
32	Utaku Rumaru		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Cavalry. Battle Maiden. Daimyō.	Each honored character you control gets +1 glory. Each dishonored character you control gets -1 glory. Reaction: After this character wins a conflict, discard a card from your hand. Choose another participating character – honor that character.
15	Moment of Perfect Beauty		Conflict	Event	Philosophy.	Action: During a conflict, if you control more honored participating characters than your opponent – after your opponent's next action opportunity, resolve the conflict as if both players passed consecutively.
9	Akodo Zentarō		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Commander.	Disguised Bushi. Action: During a conflict in which this character is attacking, choose a non-unique holding in the attacked province – gain control of that holding and move it to one of your unbroken non-stronghold provinces, if able, discarding each other card in that province. Otherwise, discard it.
20	False Loyalties		Conflict	Event	—	Reaction: After an opponent wins a conflict, if he or she is more honorable than you, choose a participating character that opponent controls and a character in that opponent's home – switch those character's locations.
19	Command Respect		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict, if you have fewer cards in your hand than your opponent – as an additional cost for your opponent to play an event during this conflict, that opponent must give you 1 honor. (Max 1 per conflict.)
3	Gateway to Meido		—	Province	—	Cannot be a stronghold province. During a conflict at this province, you may play characters from your dynasty discard pile into the conflict as if they were in your hand.
16	Greater Understanding		Conflict	Attachment	—	Attach to a ring. Reaction: After fate is placed on attached ring – resolve that ring's effects as if you were the attacking player.
17	Blade of 10,000 Battles		Conflict	Attachment	Weapon.	Attach to a unique character you control. Limited. Restricted. Reaction: After attached character wins a conflict, if you are more honorable than your opponent, choose a card in your conflict discard pile – add that card to your hand.
21	Adorned Barcha		Conflict	Attachment	Gaijin. Weapon.	Attach to a unique character you control. Limited. Restricted. Action: During a conflict in which attached character is not participating, choose a participating character – bow that character and move attached character to the conflict.
4	Hiruma Signaller		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Scout.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is defending, sacrifice this character and choose a character you control – ready that character and move it to the conflict.
11	Shameless Gossip		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose two characters controlled by the same player – move one status token from one of those characters to the other.
2	Scene of the Crime		—	Province	—	Reaction: After this province is revealed – look at your opponent's hand.
6	Sententious Poet		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Reaction: After your opponent spends fate to play a card during a conflict in which this character is participating – gain 1 fate.
7	Esteemed Tea House		Dynasty	Holding	Tea House.	Action: During a conflict in which you control a participating Courtier, choose an attachment on a participating character – return that attachment to its owner's hand. That player cannot play copies of that card until the end of the phase.
12	Shinjo Kyōra		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Cavalry.	Disguised Cavalry. Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating – switch the contested ring with a ring in the unclaimed ring pool. (The attacking player gains all fate on that ring. Retain the ring's conflict type.)
13	Hantei Sotorii		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Imperial. Crown Prince.	Pride. Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a participating character — that character gets +3 glory until the end of the conflict.
22	A Perfect Cut		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict, choose a participating Bushi character – that character gets +2 until the end of the conflict. If it wins the conflict, honor it.
35	A New Name		Conflict	Attachment	—	Void role only. Attached character gains the Bushi and Courtier traits.
19	Purity of Spirit		Conflict	Event	—	Action: During a conflict, choose a participating Bushi character – honor that character. At the end of the conflict, discard any status tokens on it.
10	Shiba Sophist		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Scholar.	Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating – search the top 5 cards of your conflict deck for a card that shares a Trait with an element of the contested ring, reveal it, and add it to your hand. Shuffle.
5	Fifth Tower Watch		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Army.	No attachments except Weapon. Interrupt: When you sacrifice a character, choose an opponent. That opponent must choose a character he or she controls with lower skill than the sacrificed character – bow that character.
8	Magistrate of Reason		Dynasty	Character	Courtier. Magistrate.	As an additional cost for your opponent to trigger a character ability during a conflict in which this character is attacking, that opponent must spend 1 fate to an unclaimed ring.
1	Toshi Ranbo		—	Province	Imperial.	This province starts the game faceup and cannot be turned facedown. It cannot be a stronghold province. Characters played from this province enter play with 1 additional fate on them.
37	Niten Pupil		Conflict	Character	Bushi. Duelist.	Water role only. Reaction: After honor dials are revealed for a duel, if this character is involved in the duel – double this character's base and skills until the end of the phase.
27	Kitsuki Yuikimi		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Champion.	Reaction: After you gain a fate from a ring during a conflict in which this character is participating – this character cannot be chosen as the target of your opponent's triggered abilities until the end of the conflict.
29	Valiant Oathkeeper		Dynasty	Character	Bushi.	—
31	Benevolent Ambassador		Dynasty	Character	Courtier.	Courtesy. (When this character leaves play, gain 1 fate.) Reaction: After this character wins a conflict – you and your opponent each gain 1 honor.
33	Fury of the Damned		Conflict	Event	—	Fire role only. Action: During a conflict, choose any number of participating Bushi characters you control – double the base skill of each of those characters until the end of the conflict. At the end of the conflict, sacrifice each of those characters.
38	Two-Heavens Technique		Conflict	Attachment	Technique.	Attach to a Bushi character. While there are exactly 2 Weapon attachments on attached character, attached character gains covert.
44	Unfulfilled Duty		Conflict	Event	—	Earth role only. Action: Choose any number of characters with no fate that have a total printed cost of 6 or lower – ready each of those characters.
42	Alluring Patron		Conflict	Character	Courtier.	Fire role only. Action: During a conflict in which this character is participating, choose a character your opponent controls in his or her home. Your opponent selects one – either move that character to the conflict, or dishonor it.
39	Forebearer's Echoes		Conflict	Event	Spell. Air.	Air role only. Action: During a conflict, choose a character in your dynasty discard pile – put that character into play in the conflict. If that character is still in play at the end of the conflict, put it on the bottom of your dynasty deck.
71	Iron Crane Legion		Dynasty	Character	Bushi. Army.	No attachments except Weapon. During conflicts in which you are the attacking or defending player, X is equal to the number of cards in your opponent's hand. (Otherwise, X is zero.)