From the article review - http://www.cardgamed...-review-n-r2091

Benjoewoo – 4/5
This card is really 5/5 for the clans that have enough courtiers to viably run this without relying on Otomo Courtier for the trait restriction, and is a 3/5 for clans that don’t have enough in clan courtiers to do so or do have the courtier count but for play style purposes do not necessarily want it.

nyxnyxnyx - 4/5
Few hoops to jump through with requiring a participating Courtier character, but the decks that are willing to make those jumps will likely enjoy playing this card a lot.

Grendel - 4/5
Courtier trait can be a huge limitation for this card and the selection makes this card worse as the value of dishonor can range from being impactful to completely irrelevant. All that being said I think this card will be played fairly frequently in the core set environment as a free combat trick is a free combat trick.

Kingsley - 4/5
This is a strong combat trick that is somewhat hampered against low glory opponents or in decks that don't run very many Courtiers. However, I think it will still be a staple for several factions.

Can an opponent choose to dishonor and already dishonored character (thus negating the effect)? Or would they be forced to bow it? The dishonor is not a cost so it seems like it would be the former, but that really cuts into the potency of the card.

The opponent cannot dishonor an already dishonored character or bow an already bowed character.  In general in this game, if you have a choice between two options, you much choose an option that can be resolved.  If neither option has an effect (i.e. the target character is already bowed and dishonored), I believe that you can't even play the card (as it can't have any effect), but I could be wrong on that.

The opponent cannot dishonor an already dishonored character or bow an already bowed character.  In general in this game, if you have a choice between two options, you much choose an option that can be resolved.  If neither option has an effect (i.e. the target character is already bowed and dishonored), I believe that you can't even play the card (as it can't have any effect), but I could be wrong on that.

All I could find in the rulebook was that costs had to be paid for the effect to happen. But that part of the card is not a cost. Which is what is confusing.

rules reference guide, page 6:

Effects: - If an ability instructs the player to select among multiple effects, an effect that has the potential to change the game state must be selected.

Page 3 under Bow, Bowed : ◊ A bowed card cannot bow again until it is ready. Cards are typically readied by a game step or card ability.

Page 12 under Personal Honor: ◊ A character with an honored status token cannot become honored. A character with a dishonored status token cannot become dishonored.

When you have to do A or B and A is impossible, you have to do B.

Oh, and actually more to the point, pg 8 under Effects: ◊ If an ability instructs a player to select among multiple effects, an effect that has the potential to change the game state must be selected.

That's the rule I needed to see. I would argue that the fact that a dishonored character cant be dishonored was never in doubt, and the point was that given the choice, could a player make a choice that did nothing. Turns out the MUST chose the option to change the game state. That's all I needed to see. Thanks.