Lion - Honor Deck

Main Goal is to score 25 honor. Requires High tempo and good timing. This deck has a possible surprise win on turn 1.
Desire to go First.
To pull this off require Dynasty Characters Akodo Toturi and one of the following, Ikoma Prodigy, Matsu Berserker. Desired Opening Conflict hand would require Charge! and Way of the Chrysanthemum.

Dynasty Phase:
Place one of the non-Toturi characters into play, If Ikoma Prodigy Is played Honor Total will be 13, Then Pass.

Draw Phase:
Bid 1
If opponent bids 4 or higher play Way of the Chrysanthemum and if you have it Contingency Plan. This will make your honor total anywhere from 18 to 23 Depending on Card Draw.

Conflict Phase:

Attack Miliatry Air. Charge Toturi. No need to break Province if going for one turn Win. Win the Token, If honor was 21 when Combat started you will win the game with a turn one honor victory.

Additional Strategy.

If turn one win is not possible by low opponent bid, or Bad Card draw. follow this mantra. Attack, Attack, Attack.

Dynasty Phase Strategy

Be willing to drop guys into play with little to no fate. This deck can honor guys decently and when they leave the table they generate more honor. Exception to this is the Kitsu Spirit Caller, Use to get your High Priced Characters back onto the board to create the High Tempo attack strategy. As for Holdings, When Store House comes up, Discard almost immediately, This will allow you know what cards you have going to the draw phase allowing you to bid low.

Draw Phase:

Try to keep Bids Low, This deck plays out of the Dynasty Deck. Almost every card you will draw is useful. No need to have a high Hand count. And the low Count will sometimes allow your opponent to Draw High giving you the honor edge this deck plays for.

Always keep 2 fate in your pool when entering the Draw Phase. This will allow you to Play one of there pivotal cards, Display of Power, Seeker of Knowledge, and Way of the Chrysanthemum. This will allow you to gain honor from the air token no matter what your attack is be it military or political. With Venerable historian, Ikoma Prodigy, and Seeker of Knowledge, you have a decent Political back-up as this deck does not need to break provinces to win, leave that to the military. keep the honor pressure high and your opponents will be force to draw low cards. If they forget about the Way of the Chrysanthemum, you can pull a surprise victory when they are lease expecting it. outside of the turn one win, be willing to play Way of the Chrysanthemum on lower bids as it can generate 4 honor on just a 2 bid difference. This will also lull your opponent into a false sense of security if you happen to have 2 in your hand, as they be inclined to bid high the following bid thinking they can sneak one by!

Conflict Phase:
Attack, Attack, Attack

Keep the pressure on. Don't worry about losing a province, defend only if you absolutely need to. All but one province punishes your opponent for breaking it. Many times your opponent will go in full force and suddenly not want break the province, buying you more time for the honor victory. Also the Display of Power allows for you to take a loss and turn it into a victory, particularly if your opponent is trying to deny you the air ring.

The Seeker of Knowledge allows you to gain the air ring advantage twice per round depending on what rings are available. This is of strategic importance in this deck. Don't play the character until needed to allow for a surprise when your opponent has gone all in on the political attack against you.


Warning this deck has plenty of potential and has been regarded as a high pressure deck requiring your opponent to keep up their tempo as well. Most opponents don't like it as they have to be careful on their card bids and have to hold up guys to prevent both the military and honor victories buying you time for that right moment to win.