That's right! Legend of the Five Rings is FREE to print and play through the end of March 2012. With Emperor Edition on our doorstep, we wanted to give L5R fans and new players curious about the game a way to get started at no cost to them! In the attached PDF flyer, you can learn all about Legend of the Five Rings, and find links to the rulebook, and NINE fully playable printable decks, one for each Clan. And these are not cheap beginner decks, these have rares and were designed to hold their own at tournaments!
You can use them to play with friends, play in official tournaments (they are acceptable through March), or use to add to your War of Honor games. Not only are these decks available, you can download and print the ENTIRE Emperor Edition base set at http://www.l5r.com/news/kolat-edition-pdf-available/ if you want to tweak the contents of your deck as you become better at the game!
A few notes for the new players:
- "Kolat Edition" is our name for the free version of Emperor Edition, as you learn more about the story, you know why the dastardly Kolat are giving away our product for free…
- You will need two sets of opaque sleeves and some playing cards to "back" these printouts with, to give them some weight when playing.
The following link will download a pdf flyer with additional information: http://www.l5r.com/images/L5R-FREE-Decks-Flyer.pdf
Below are descriptions and links to nine pre-built decks from the flyer. The deck's below have about 9-12 cards per page rather than 1 per-page of the link above.
The Great Clans of the Emerald Empire
Led by the mighty Hida Kisada, the Crab Clan values courage and duty above all things. They are the sentinels of Rokugan, standing guard against dark forces that threaten to overwhelm the Emerald Empire and all within it. The other clans find them crude and brutish but the Crab care little about it, for they understand that they are all that stands between the Empire and a relentless army of evil.
Click Here to download a printable Crab Clan deck themed around Berserkers.
The Crane Clan are the unparalleled masters of court. No other clan can utilize politics and status as weapons quite in the way the Crane do. Guided by Doji Makoto, the darling of a dozen Winter Courts, the Crane carefully navigate the perils of alliances and enmities, always one step ahead of those who might prove to be an opponent. If court is a battlefield, then Crane are the ultimate warriors.
Click Here to download a printable Crane Clan deck focused on Honor Dueling.
No one truly understands the enigmatic Dragon Clan, nor their unique and eccentric Champion, the lord Mirumoto Shikei. Philosophers, monks, and deadly swordsmen, there are few within the clan’s ranks that might be described as typical or average. It is the Dragon who now fulfill a most difficult task: monitoring the activities of and ensuring the loyalty of the sinister Spider Clan.
Click Here to download a printable Dragon Clan deck featuring Military Dueling.
For one thousand years, there has been no more feared military force than the assembled armies of the Lion Clan. Despite the devastating losses suffered a generation ago in the Destroyer War, the Lion and their Champion Akodo Dairuko have worked ceaselessly to return to their former might, and once again the world trembles at the march of their armies. In a drastically changing world, however, the Lion’s greatest enemy might be the death of tradition itself.
Click Here to download a printable Lion Clan deck using Tacticians.
Alone among the Great Clans, the Mantis embrace the new world with all of their being, and at the direction of their lord Yoritomo Hiromi, they work tirelessly to make the Colonies their domain. The other clans may rule the Empire, but the Colonies and the seas that separate the two are the dominion of the Mantis Clan, and they will tolerate none who seek to say otherwise.
Click Here to download a printable Mantis Clan deck featuring Scouts.
Few organizations in the known world can claim even a fraction of the sheer volume of knowledge possessed by the brilliant Phoenix Clan. Led by Shiba Tsukimi and the Council of Elemental Masters, the Phoenix have proven that none deserve the accolade “masters of magic” more so than they. Now, with an entirely new land and many hidden secrets waiting to be discovered, the Phoenix must fight against the temptation and ruin that too much dark knowledge can bring.
Click Here to download a printable Phoenix Clan deck focused on Shugenja Military.
The secret blade of the Empress, the Scorpion Clan is the villain that must exist for the Empire to function. For one thousand years, they pitted the clans against one another so that war would not come to the throne, and now they have no choice but to delve into the shadows to protect their Empress and the Empire against a myriad of foes, known and unknown. Bayushi Nitoshi and his loyal legions serve the Empress, but the welfare of the other clans is of little interest to them.
Click Here to download a printable Scorpion Clan ninja deck.
Reviled by the other clans, the dark and sinister Spider Clan embraces the terrible secrets that others find repugnant. Accepted as a Great Clan only as a means of placating a great spiritual evil, the Spider owe their allegiance to the Realm of Evil and its favored scion, their dark lord Daigotsu Kanpeki. One day the Spider shall rule the Empire. Until that day, they grudgingly serve the Empress and wait in the shadows for the dawn of their age. Click Here to download a printable Spider Clan deck using Commanders.
Forever outcasts in an empire of traditionalists, the Unicorn Clan were absent from the Empire for seven centuries while they explored the world and catalogued the various dangers Rokugan might once face. Even four centuries after their return, the Unicorn stand apart from the other clans, ostracized for their strange customs and their compassion for the lesser castes. Few dare speak their distaste, however, for the power of the Unicorn cavalry is feared throughout the known world.
Click Here to download a printable Unicorn Clan deck featuring Commanders.
Click Here to download the Legend of the Five Rings Emperor Edition Rulebook. Note that the book was sized to fit into a starter deck, so it may appear oversized on your screen.