Twenty years after its initial release as a collectible card game, the samurai-fantasy Legend of the Five Rings is now being reborn as part of Fantasy Flight Games' Living Card Game line.  Legend of the Five Rings:  The Card Game will release in the fourth quarter, following a pre-release event at Gen Con.

Set in a fantasy version of Japan called Rokugan, Legend of the Five Rings:  The Card Game puts players in control of one of the mighty clans competing for influence and power, while observing Rokugan’s strict honor code.  Each player uses two decks, a Dynasty Deck of characters and holdings, and a Conflict Deck of tactics, followers, and maneuvers that are used during conflicts.

Players use the game’s two currencies, “Fate” and “Honor” to acquire cards, which are then used during a series of conflicts with their opponent.  Success in a conflict can destroy an opponent’s province and earn one of the five elemental rings that give the game its name.  Victory comes to the first player who can destroy all of their opponent’s strongholds or gather a total of 25 Honor.

Fantasy Flight’s version of Legend of the Five Rings will not be compatible with the original CCG from Alderac Entertainment Group, as it has a number of changes to the game mechanics.  The setting of the game has also been reset to the time of the Emperor Hantei XXXVIII, during which the seven great clans—Crane, Scorpion, Lion, Unicorn, Phoenix, Dragon, and Crab—struggle for dominance while the corrupt creatures of the Shadowlands threaten the Empire from the outside.

See the gallery for images of some of the cards from the new game.

The starter set for Legend of the Five Rings:  The Card Game will be a fixed-card boxed set for two players.  Players who want a complete collection of the maximum number of every card allowed in the game will need to purchase three copies of the starter set.  MSRP is $39.95 per set.

Fantasy Flight acquired the rights to Legend of the Five Rings from Alderac in 2015 (see “Fantasy Flight Games Acquires ‘Legend of the Five Rings’”).