Wáng Yuánjī 王元姬 (Sticker Add-on)

Translated Description:
“Civil and Understanding Empress文明皇后 (wén míng huáng hòu)”

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Who is she:
It is fitting that Wang Yuanji is released together with Sima Zhao 司马昭, simply because these two were husband and wife. From a young age of 15, Wang Yuanji was married to Sima Zhao. Little is known about her except that she’s incredibly scholarly from a very young age, is obviously very smart as you shall read about later on, and is very humble as the wife of the defacto leader of the kingdom. Sounds like the kind of wife most men would want: loyal, humble, and intelligent such that she is his most loyal advisor. Even by today’s standards, such women are incredibly rare!

Character ability 1: “Smother 扶亂 (fú luàn)”
During your action phase, you can discard 3 cards of the same suit to flip the character card of a player within your attacking range. If you do so, you cannot use ATTACK 杀 in your turn. Limited to one use per phase.

Character ability 2: “Virtuous 淑德 (shū dé)”
At the ending phase, you can draw cards such that your number of on-hand cards is equal to your health limit.

Ability’s relation to story:
[By Reijishiki] “Smother” refers to her prediction of the rebellion of Zhong Hui 钟会. Zhong Hui was very talented and presented many schemes to Sima Zhao, but Wang Yuanji reminded Sima Zhao that Zhong Hui was extremely ambitious, and should not be trusted completely. During the invasion of Shu Kingdom, Sima Zhao allocated troops on the boundary, said to be taking precautions against Zhong Hui. The mechanism of the ability is that Wang Yuanji can smother the action of her enemy if given enough power.

“Virtuous” refers to her personality. It is said that Huang Yuanji was wise and frugal. However, the ability does not relate to any virtue. It seems that the designer just needs a name to nominate this ability.

[Ricky’s comments] Technically speaking, the meaning of 扶亂 leans more toward being supportive in nature instead of being antagonistic, however I agree with Reijishiki’s translation of “Smother”, both due to the reference of her smothering Zhong Hui’s rebellion, as well as how the ability is designed to be antagonistic in nature. It may not really be 100% suitable with Wang Yuanji’s personality, if you are very strict about it.

How to obtain this character:
Wang Yuanji can be obtained from the August 2012 issue of Zhuo You Zhi magazine, alongside *SP008 Da Qiao. It is available as an add-on “sticker” to be pasted on the “blank” character cards that are originally provided within the original pack as back-ups.

Sīmǎ Zhāo 司马昭 (Sticker Add-on)

Translated Description:
“The Ambitious Wolf Cub 狼子野心 (láng zǐ yě xīn)”

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Who is he:
This was no ordinary “Prince-to-be”. The contrast between Sima Zhao and Liu Shan 刘禅 is as stark as Ivanka Trump and Paris Hilton – capable and effective versus trashy and generally useless. Despite the bulk of the dirty work being accomplished by his father Sima Yi 司马懿, Sima Zhao did not simply rest and enjoy the fruits of his father’s labour. Inheriting his father’s combination of cunning, prudence and patience, he seized control of Wei and became the puppet master behind the scenes, then struck down Shu kingdom in one fell swoop. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also able to guard himself against the very adviser that aided his Shu conquest, Zhong Hui 钟会, who began to show signs of rebelling with the help of the enemy, Jiang Wei 姜维.

But what is even more interesting is the fact that Sima Zhao did not proclaim himself Emperor of all China when he easily could have. Although Shu was defeated, Wei territory spread across China, and he alone was in control, Sima Zhao chose to leave the formation of the Jin Dynasty to his son Sima Yan 司马炎. Some say that the Sima family learnt this move from Cao Cao 曹操’s family, where the formation of Wei Kingdom was delayed for two generations after Cao Cao.

Though the bad guy that he is portrayed as in the story, there is no doubt that Sima Zhao was an extremely pivotal person that shaped the history of China from 250 AD till today!

Character ability 1: “Obvious Intentions 昭心 (zhāo xīn)”
At the end of your drawing phase, you can immediately display all your on-hand cards. This is seen as having used ATTACK 杀 on a player within your attacking range. Limited to once per phase.

Character ability 2: “Cautious Wolf 狼顾 (láng gù)”
Whenever you sustain 1 unit of damage, you can flip a judgement card and you can replace this judgement card with any of your on-hand cards. Then, inspect the on-hand cards of the player that is the source of your damage. You can discard any of his/her cards with the same suit as the judgement card.

Ability’s relation to story:
[By Reijishiki] “Obvious Intentions” comes from Cao Mao 曹髦, the puppet emperor of Wei Kingdom. As Sima Zhao’s power and influence increased day by day, Cao Mao feared that Sima Zhao would kill him to seize the seat as an emperor. Cao Mao gathered his loyalists and launched a resist, but Sima Zhao’s subordinate killed him. The name of the ability “昭心” also has the meaning of “Sima Zhao’s intention”. The mechanism of this ability is that Sima Zhao exposes his intention (showing all his on-hand cards) and launches an attack on someone (use and ATTACK on a player within the attack range).

Oddly, “Cautious Wolf” refers to his father, not Sima Zhao himself. It is said that Sima Yi could turn his head 180° around on his neck to look backwards without turning his body. The game mechanism symbolizes a damage-triggered ability that involves making a judgement, correlates to the two abilities of Sima Yi. Perhaps this ability symbolizes Sima Zhao inheriting his father’s awareness to the surrounding environment and his ability to seize power?

How to obtain this character:
Sima Zhao can be obtained from the August 2012 issue of Zhuo You Zhi magazine, alongside *SP008 Da Qiao. It is available as an add-on “sticker” to be pasted on the “blank” character cards that are originally provided within the original pack as back-ups.

Zhōng Huì 钟会

Translated Description:
“The Audacious Schemer 桀骜的野心家 (jié ào dè yě xīn jiā)”

Click here for Q&A!

Who is he:
This is one of those guys who smiles at you and could seem to be the most reliable guy, except that he’s been secretly plotting to take over the world! Unlike “Brain” from “Pinky and the Brain”, Zhong Hui doesn’t just talk about it, he has consistently taken action to carry out his audacious plans. In the final few chapters of ROTK, Deng Ai 邓艾 had led the Wei forces to successfully defeat Shu Kingdom. Although Jiang Wei 姜维 surrendered, Jiang Wei never lost hope in reviving Shu. It just so happened that Zhong Hui was jealous of Deng Ai’s success, and plotted with Jiang Wei to rebel and take back the kingdom for themselves again.

Alas, like a hollywood double agent script, Zhong Hui’s actions over the years had already raised suspicion and his ploy to rebel was uncovered quickly. In the madness that followed, both Wei forces and the rebels of Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui clashed in the bloody melee. Neither Jiang Wei nor Zhong Hui survived, and thus sealed the fate of Shu kingdom forever.

Character ability 1: Amassing Power 权计 (quán jì)
After you receive 1 unit damage, you can draw 1 card, then place 1 on-hand card on your character card. This card will be known as a “Power” card. Every “Power” card you have on your character card, your on-hand card limit increases by +1.

(Note: “Power” cards are viewed as being removed from play.)

Character ability 2: Uprising 自立 (zì lì) [Awakening ability]
At the beginning of your turn, if you have 3 or more “Power” cards, you must reduce 1 unit of your maximum health limit, then either regain 1 unit of health or draw 2 cards.

You also acquire the ability “Eradicate 排异”.
(In the action phase, you can discard 1 “Power” card and allow any player to draw 2 cards. After drawing 2 cards, if that player has more on-hand cards than you, you inflict 1 unit of damage on that player. Limited to once per phase.)

Ability’s relation to story:
[By Reijishiki] The abilities of Zhong Hui are simple yet well-designed, contrast to those of OKF2012 characters, who are sophisticated and poorly-designed. They represented different actions in Zhong Hui’s life and shared similarities with Deng Ai (his rival) and Jiang Wei (his seemingly comrade). “权计” was a mixture of权(power) and 计(schemes). It showed how Zhong Hui was promoted to his place. He seized power by presenting schemes to his boss in the Rebellion of Zhuge Dan, while plotted secretly to steal the troops from his comrades in the Conquest of Shu Kingdom, against Zhuge Xu and Deng Ai. Noticeably, he could use this ability only when he suffered damage, referring to the fact that he crawled to his place by his actions in military campaigns. If Zhuge Dan did not rebel, he would not be able to present his schemes; if Jiang Wei did not attack Wei Kingdom, Sima Zhao would not initiate the Conquest of Shu Kingdom, and Zhong Hui would not have seized power from his comrades.

You may notice the similarity between Deng Ai’s “Amassing Terrain” and Zhong Hui’s “Seizure of Power”. Both of them involve cards removed from game, and these cards served functions before and after awakening. However, the sources and functions of these cards were different, presenting the difference in their lives. For the sources, Deng Ai’s “Amassing Terrain” is activated by loss of cards outside his turn. This is because Deng Ai was originally a low-ranked agricultural official, who developed farmlands when there were deficiencies. Zhong Hui’s “Seizure of Power” is activated by suffering damage. This is because Zhong Hui was born of high class as a strategist of Wei (symbolized by damage-triggered ability like “Bequeathed Strategies” and “Eternal Loyalty”), and he seized power in military campaigns. For functions, Deng Ai’s “Terrain” allowed he to reach his enemies easily for improved logistics, while Zhong Hui’s “Power” allowed him to store more cards, symbolizing Zhong Hui hiding his ambition before his rebellion.
His awakening ability, “Uprising”, referred to his notorious rebellion after the Conquest of Shu Kingdom. The ability mechanism resembled Deng Ai and Jiang Wei, as he needed to accumulated three cards removed from game (similar to Deng Ai), and he could choose to regain 1 unit of card or draw 2 cards (similar to Jiang Wei). It should be noted that Zhong Hui’s “Uprising” was more difficult to activate when compared to Deng Ai’s “Conduit”, suiting the historical fact. Deng Ai was promoted for his contribution of constructing canals and became a general to “Blitz” the Shu Kingdom, which turns out to trigger the rebellion of Zhong Hui.

Literally, “排异” means “eliminating those who oppose you”. This ability allowed Zhong Hui to use his political and military “Power” accumulated before his rebellion to seemingly support a character. However, if that character has more on-hand cards than you, you are indeed injuring him. This is reflected by the fact that Zhong Hui denounced Deng Ai by accusing him to be ambitious and rebellious (with too many cards that can harm someone).

Tactics:
[By Reijishiki] As foretold by ZYZ # 17, this ability correlated to Jiang Wei and Deng Ai very much. Zhong Hui can delay the awakening of Jiang Wei by letting him to draw cards (Jiang Wei awakens if he has no on-hand card at the beginning of his turn), while replenishing Jiang Wei’s combat ability by allowing him to draw more cards after awakening without damaging him. On the other hand, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai were independent to each other before awakening (before Zhong Hui’s uprising, they both served Sima Zhao and fought against Shu), while Zhong Hui can suppress Deng Ai by activating “Conspiracy” against him. After Deng Ai’s awakening (becoming a general against Shu) and uses of “Blitz” (victory over Shu Kingdom), he would have lower health and a whole bunch of cards. It would be easy to deal damage to Deng Ai by “Conspiracy”, while the damage would not activate “Amassing Terrain” (Deng Ai cannot resist Zhong Hui’s false accusation).

BTW, if you observe carefully, Deng Ai had an advantage when fighting Zhong Hui, because Zhong Hui’s “Taunt” on Deng Ai would always activate “Amassing Terrain”, while “Amassing Terrain” would allow “Deng Ai” use “Blitz” on the weakened Zhong Hui.

How to obtain this character?
Zhong Hui is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Wáng Yì 王异

Translated Description:
“The Elated Damsel 快意的巾帼 (kuài yì dè jīn guò)”

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Who is she?
The more I studied up on this new female character, the more confused  I became. The confusion stems from the disparity between Wang Yi in literature/history, and Wang Yi as described in this card. The last adjective I would use to describe her is “Elated”! She attempted suicide twice, covered her body in mud and sh*t for a year, then eventually roused herself up to be a fearsome fighter and steely, ruthless loyalty. Put it this way: how could you call someone “happy and blissful” when this person rather let her sons die in the hands of the enemy than talk peace?

I seriously don’t get it. If someone out there knows more about this than I do, please do share!

Wang Yi was the wife of an official called Zhao Ang 赵昂. Her husband is so insignificant that he does not have his own Wiki write-up. Yes, the curry is all Wang Yi, whose life story can be summed up as Princess Diana-turned-Whitney Houston (during her drug episode)-turned-Joan of Arc. While her husband was away, a revolt happened and both her sons died while attempting to quell the rebellion. In the face of certain death, she chose suicide, then decided not to so as to bring up her daughter. She covered herself up in mud and crap so as to stay chaste (and not get savaged by the enemy). When the rebellion ended, Wang Yi and daughter journeyed to meet her husband, but halfway decided to complete her suicide since her daughter was now safe. However she was rescued… then years later became quite the fighter! How did that happen? Read on the find out.

Character ability 1: Death over Desecration 贞烈 (zhēn liè)
Before your judgement card takes effect, you can display the top card of the deck and use it as a substitute.

Character ability 2: Hatch a Plan 秘计 (mì jì)

If you are injured before the beginning (or ending) phase of your turn, you can flip a judgement card. If the judgement card is black-suited, you can view X cards from the top of the deck (X being units of health lost), then give these cards to a player. 

Ability’s relation to story:

[By Reijishiki] “Death over Desecration” referred to Wang Yi’s action to protect her daughter’s and her own chastity. During her husband’s leave, some rebellous troops sieged the city and killed her sons, she intended to commit suicide, but he did not so so because no one would protect her daughter after her death. Instead, she covered herself in clothes soaked in sewage of feces. When her husband returned, she intended to commit suicide because it was a responsibility to commit suicide to protect her chastity for her husband in dangerous situations, and she merely delayed this process to protect her daughter.

“Hatch a Plan” referred to Wang Yi’s ability to plot when falsely serving her enemies.

Trivia:
For what ever reason, Wang Yi’s failed suicides turned her resolve and loyalty to her country as hard as heat-treated steel. She once rode into battle beside her husband, using the bow and arrow as her weapon. She also gave the troops her jewellery, which did wonders for morale. Even after Ma Chao 马超 captured the heir to Zhao Ang (I suspect the heir is not her son, but son of another wife), she bluntly told her husband not to succumb to blackmail, but fight to the death and let the heir die. Die the heir did, but it just shows how merciless and cold Wang Yi became in her fight for her their sovereignty.

Comments by Authors:
[By Reijishiki] I am disappointed by both her illustration and her abilities. The illustration was too sexy, not suiting the fact that she forfeited her beauty to protect her daughter. Her abilities just did not fit the mechanisms. “Death over Desecration” did not show how Wang Yi protected herself. Instead, it showed that she did not surrender to fate. This is a judgment tinkering ability, which makes it complicated when multiple judgement tinkerers are present. Imagine what would happen if Sima Yi, Zhang Jiao and Wang Yi were present… Also, “Hatch a Plan” did not have any relationship to her plots!

[By Ricky] I noticed that “Death over Desecration” has been amended since Reijisihki first translated it. Now the ability applies only to her own judgement cards, which would make more sense now since she was protecting herself in the story. However “Hatch a Plan” is an enigma to me. I didn’t find much reference to her hatching any plans, or what those plans were. It seemed more like she was the trumpet-blower, rallying everyone to fight for their cause. And I still cannot understand why her description is “快意的巾帼”!! Can someone please enlighten us??

Contributing Authors:
– Reijishiki
– Ricky

How to obtain this character?
Wang Yi is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Cáo Zhāng 曹彰

Translated Description:
“The Yellow Bearded Son 黄须儿 (huáng xū ér)”

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Who is he:
We all have funny nicknames given by our parents, which is their way of personalizing that bond between child and parents. Thus to have Cao Zhang’s father, Cao Cao 曹操, endearingly nickname him “my yellow bearded son” was a sign of his father’s fondness. In his youth, Cao Zhang was said to have wrestled with live beasts using his bare hands. His ferocity and his courage would make him an excellent general.

But did Cao Cao want Cao Zhang to be a general? No. Instead, Cao Cao wanted Cao Zhang to be a doctor! Cao Zhang gave his father the 3rd century equivalent of the finger, and pursued military warfare against his father’s wishes. In later years he would again disobey his father’s orders, but for prudent reasons that turn out to be right.

A brave and accomplished warrior with tactical smarts, surely Cao Zhang should have succeeded Cao Cao as ruler of Wei… but why didn’t he? Read on to find out!

Character ability: Versatile Fighter 将驰
During the drawing phase, you can choose 1 of 2 options.

1. Draw 1 extra card. If you do so, you cannot use or play any ATTACK 杀 cards until your turn is over.

2. Draw 1 card less. If you do so, any ATTACK cards used during your action phase has unlimited range. You can also use 1 more ATTACK card in that turn. Effects last till your turn is over.

Ability’s relation to story:
[By Reijishiki] This ability was meant to show off the military talent of Cao Zhang. According to the character designer, he wanted to depict a general riding and fighting in the Northern regions of China, thus giving the name of this ability (于是一个纵马驰骋在北疆的将军形象出现在我眼前，也就是【将驰】这个技能名字的来历。) .

In addition, I believe 将驰 was a pun on 张弛 (elasticity, malleability, flexibility, skillful), so I translated it as “Versatility” (subsequently modified by Ricky into “Versatile Fighter”), referring to the versatile warrior and the meaning of skillfulness. According to the designer, he must be versatile enough to defeat the normadic tribe known for their high mobility and hit-and-run tactics. When it was not the time to attack, Cao Zhang prepared himself for the coming battle (draw one more cards without attack). When he found chances, he struck his enemies with full strength without hesitation (no drawing cards for more aggressive actions). Being the northern defense line that support Cao Cao’s southern campaigns, he could draw more cards to trigger Cao Cao’s Ruler ability “Royal Escort 护驾”.

Trivia:
You probably know by now that Cao Cao was succeeded by Cao Pi 曹丕 instead of Cao Zhang. There are a few versions of what happened following the ascension of Cao Pi, but all seemed to agree on 2 things:

1. Cao Zhang was away during his father’s death. He was on his way back to see Cao Cao but never made it back in time.

2. Cao Pi was paranoid and insecure about Cao Zhang challenging his succession.

History recounts that Cao Pi sent Cao Zhang away to lord over a region of Wei, far from the capital to be a threat. Cao Zhang died soon after due to an illness. However another version of history says that Cao Pi deviously poisoned Cao Zhang over a game of chess. Which is the truth, we may never know. As for ROTK, the author made Cao Zhang’s return to the capital seem like a military campaign, bringing with him thousands of troops. However Cao Zhang had no intention to strike Cao Pi, but instead came and left as a mourner, and nothing more.

Personal opinion, I think Cao Zhang would have made a better ruler than Cao Pi, but that’s not to say that Cao Pi wasn’t successful in his own way.

How to obtain this character:
Cao Zhang is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Xún Yoū 荀攸

Translated Description:
“Master Strategist of Cao Wei 曹魏的谋主 (cáo wèi dè moú shì)”

Click here for Q&A!

Who is he:
In a time where heroes and talents sprouted like cow grass after a blaze, there were simply too many important people for all of them to have gained as much attention as they deserve. Xun You was one of these lesser known greats. Many of the big achievements behind Cao Cao 曹操’s early conquests had Xun You’s influence. He was on of Cao Cao’s most brilliant and effective advisors, playing a key role in the eradication of Lu Bu 吕布 and Yuan Shao 袁绍. It also happens the Xun You is the nephew of another brilliant advisor to Cao Cao, Xun Yu 荀彧.

Xun You was a quiet and low-profile figure, but his strategies were wickedly effective! For this reason, Cao Cao very much trusted Xun You. Alas, his low-profile prevented stories and fables, and ultimately he never got the popular hype he rightly deserve in history. But perhaps, that was just how he would have preferred it.

Character ability 1: Contrivance 奇策 (qí cè)
In the action phase, you can use all your on-hand cards (minimum of one) as any one non-time-delay tool card. Limited to once per turn.

Character ability 2: Playing Dumb 智愚 (zhì yú)
Every instance after you receive damage, you can draw a card, then display all your on-hand cards. If all your on-hand cards are of the same colour, the source of your damage must discard one on-hand card.

Ability’s relation to story:
[By Reijishiki] “Contrivance” originated from Xun You’s ability to plot numerous stratagems. He was responsible for the flooding that defeated Lu Bu, as well as the victory over the Yaun Shao and his sons (some were contributed by Guo Jia 郭嘉). It was said that he plotted twelve contrived schemes for Cao Cao in his life, but no one knew what those schemes were. Only his close friend, Zhong Yao 钟繇, knew the exact details of each scheme, but Zhong Yao died before ever publicizing them. The game mechanism allowed Xun You to use his on-hand cards as one of the twelve tool cards (corresponding to the 12 contrived schemes). As the loyal supporter of Cao Cao (unlike his uncle, Xun Yu, who was loyal to the Han dynasty), he could convert his on-hand cards as AOE to give all his on-hand cards to Cao Cao, symbolising his presentation of schemes to Cao Cao.

“Playing Dumb” referred to Xun You’s personality. Xun You liked to pretend to be a mediocre adviser, and revealed his wisdom only when it was needed. Cao Cao said “公達外愚內智，外怯內勇，外弱內強 Gongda (the style name of Xun You) feigned ignorance to hide his wisdom, feigned cowardice to hide his courage, feigned weakness to hide his strength”. In Xun You’s early life, he and his friend plotted the assassination of Dong Zhuo 董卓, but they failed and were arrested. His friend commited suicide for fear of tortures, while Xun You stayed calm and lived casually in prison. When Dong Zhuo observed this, he spared his life.

How to obtain this character:
Xun You is available in the 2012 release of OverKnight Fame, otherwise known as OKF2012 (一将成名2012). Click here to purchase now!

Cao Ren 曹仁 (*SP003)

Translated description:
“Quitting is not an option 险不辞难 (xiǎn bù cí nán)”

Click here for Q&A!


Who is he:
You are probably familiar with him by now. Before this SP release, Cao Ren was considered one of the least popular characters. I especially did not look forward to skipping one full round of action despite having additional cards. I felt like a wealthy paraplegic whenever I used him.

Sad to say, I’m still not a fan after this update. True, his defensive abilities have remained, and its usefulness is now pegged to player skill. He now has a 2nd ability that gives him slightly more playability. His portrait also looks fantastic and I would gladly hang a life-size poster on my bedroom wall.

But his most crippling weakness still remains: that “skip-a-turn” cost for using his first (and most useful) ability. Ultimately, I feel like i’m still handicapped and restrained. It’s an improvement no doubt, but I’d still wouldn’t use him.

Why is he an SP character?
The answer is simple. The old Cao Ren was as energetic as a kettle, and just as respected. If there was a character that needed tweaking, he was it.

Character ability 1: “Break Out 溃围 (kuì wéi)”
At the Ending phase of your turn, you may draw 2 + X cards, then flip your character card over. If you do so, you must discard X cards at the beginning of your next drawing phase. X is the total number of weapon cards in all the equipped areas of all characters.

Character ability 2: “Discipline 严整 (yán zhěng)”
If the number of your on-hand cards is larger than your health, you may use any of your equipped cards as NEGATE 无懈可击.

Additional info based on changes:
[Contributed by Reijishiki] Being a master of defensive warfare, Cao Ren knew that simply entrenching was the worst defensive tactics, as the cut of supply would slowly deplete the defense. Only by counterstriking and breaking through the encirclement could save his troops. Cao Ren himself performed two amazing breakthroughs in the history. The first one was in the defense of Jiang Ling 江陵. After the defeat of Cao Cao 曹操 in Red Cliffs, Zhou Yu 周瑜 led his troops to attack the city of Jiang Ling. Cao Ren was assigned to protect Jiang Ling, and he sent Niu Jin 牛金 and 300 troops to challenge  the vanguard of Zhou Yu’s troops. Niu Jing’s troops were encircled quickly. Neglecting the advice of Chen Jiao 陈矫, Cao Ren managed to lead some elite cavaliers personally to save Niu Jing, which was a success. The adviser stopped him just before exclaiming, “General, you are truly a man from Heaven!”.

Betrayed by the name, “Breakthrough” is actually a defensive ability like his previous ability “Entrenchment”. Perhaps the action of drawing cards reflected the preparation of Cao Ren and the action of discarding reflected the depletion of power after counter attacking?

“Discipline” was the backbone of army, and Cao Ren was good at promoting discipline of his army, just as almost all Wei generals. Discipline was an essential concern of Cao Cao, who aimed at conquering/liberating (pick the one you like) the whole China, Being a respected general and a master of defense, Cao Ren knew the importance of discipline very well. His army was one of the most disciplined troops at that time. This ability allowed you to convert equipped cards to NEGATE. Perhaps it shows that you have to discard the impure troops to maintain “无懈可击 (No flaw to be exploited)”?

How to obtain this character?
Purchase the 14th issue of Zhuo You Zhi magazine (March 2012) to get this limited character card as a free gift! Or simply purchase it separately through Sino-Games.com!

Contributing Writers:
– Reijishiki
– Ricky Chua

Páng Dé 庞德 (SP006)

Translated Description:
“Carrying The Coffin 抬榇之悟(tái chèn zhī wù)”

Click here for Q&A!

Who is he?
An admirable man. He is Pang De,a brave fighter and an exceptional general living in the Three Kingdoms era. In his entire life, he changed rulers multiple times, but nobody questioned his loyalty. He proved his devotion with his own life: he fought against enemies valiantly, and he even carried his coffin into battle to show his courage (See Ricky’s write-up about him, the “Most famous achievement” part). Unlike Lu Bu 吕布, who also changed ruler quite often (because the idiot killed his own ruler before jumping ship), Pang De gains all the
valiant titles from the historians, which I guess proves his heroic personality. Lu Bu, on the other hand, gets titles such as “Brave but without cunning, violent but without benevolence”, titles worthy only for a short-sighted boar.

Why is he an SP character?
Because the previous drawing of him is too ugly!!! But no, ZYZ magazine simply chose to release several SP characters with different allegiance and portraits. Pang De is just another one of them. All the new designs are supposed to help complete the whole Three Kingdoms’ story. The original version of him is considered as a neutral hero, whereas this SP version represents his last days as a general of Wei Kingdom. Anyway, personally, I am really happy to see this “carrying coffin” version of Pang De, which makes him 30% cooler!

Character ability1: “Horsemanship 马术 (mǎ shù)”
You will always have a -1 distance advantage (default “-1 horse” equipped)

Character ability2: “Fearsome Advance 猛进 (měng jìn)”
Whenever your ATTACK 杀is evaded by DODGE 闪, you can forcefully discard one of the opponents cards (on-hand or equipped). Note that you select the card for discarding and not the opponent.

Additional info based on changes:
Nothing special to say about this part. Both of his abilities are aggressive ones. Change of his allegiance really does not affect him too much. On the whole, his abilities are not cooperative with any Ruler Abilities and he could die early in the game from lack of defensives.

Wiki Links:
– Pang De Wiki

How to obtain this character?
He is not available on SGS online yet. For obtaining a card, purchase ZYZ magazine issue #7 (July 2011).

Contributing Writer:
– Cherry Cat

Guān Yǔ 关羽 (SP007)

Translated Description
“Marquis of HanShou 汉寿亭侯(hàn shòu tíng hóu)”

Click here for Q&A!

Who is he?
Even if you cannot identify him through his new appearance, you should have noticed the Red Hare 赤兔 and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade 青龙偃月刀. Bingo! He’s our loyal “second brother”, the warrior saint in legend, the bearded gentleman in history, Guan Yu.

Wait a minute… The frame of this card is blue? Is this like 徐庶Xu Shu, who has a blue frame but still belongs to 蜀 Shu? Oh my god he doesn’t even belong to Shu Kingdom any more? Why was his allegiance changed to 魏 Wei? Designer’s mistake? Printers ran out of blue ink? Don’t panic, Guan Yu never betrayed his only ruler and “Elder brother” 刘备Liu Bei. Want to know what’s going on here? Keep reading and find out!

Why is he an SP character?
Just like the SP Sun Shang Xiang 孙尚香, SP Guan Yu was created for the completion of the whole Three Kingdoms’ story. This SP version is designed to represent Guan Yu’s life experience under Cao Cao 曹操’s military. In return for being treated respectfully after being captured by Cao Cao, Guan Yu fought for Cao Cao against Yuan Shao 袁绍 for a short while, and was very successful! So successful in fact that Cao Cao really wanted Guan Yu change his allegiance. Guan Yu, of course, refused because of his loyalty to Liu Bei. It was actually Cao Cao who gave him the title of Marquis of Han Shou whilst under his service. After some time Guan Yu left Cao Cao with nothing but his Red Hare and Green Dragon Crescent Blade, riding through thousands of miles to finally rejoin his brothers. This special experience also explains why he let Cao Cao escape after the huge loss at Battle of Red Cliffs 赤壁之战. For more info, just check Ricky’s write up of Guan Yu (蜀Shu) under the “Most famous achievement” section.

Character ability1: “Warrior Saint 武圣 (wǔ shèng)”
Every card with a “heart” or “diamonds” suit (effectively all red-suit cards) can be used as an ATTACK 杀card.

Character ability2: “Single Calvary 单骑(dān qí)” [Awakening ability] 
At the beginning of your turn, if your number of on-hand cards is larger than your current health units, AND the RULER for the game is Cao Cao, you must reduce your maximum health by 1 unit. You then permanently acquire the ability “Horsemanship 马术”

(Recall: Horsemanship 马术 = You will always have -1 distance in range calculations).

Additional info based on changes:
I guess it would really take some time for the players to get used to his new allegiance, because he cannot use ATTACK 杀 for Liu Bei any more! However, he can now react to both “Royal Escort” of Cao Cao and “Exalt the Powerful” of Cao Pi 曹丕.

Wiki Link:
– Guan Yu Wiki

How to obtain this character?
He is not available on SGS online yet. For obtaining a card, purchase ZYZ magazine issue #8 (August 2011).

Contributing Writer:
– Cherry Cat

Yáng Xiū 杨修 (SP001)

Translated Description: 
Genius Unrestrained 恃才放旷 (shì cái fàng kuàng)

Click here for Q&A!

Who is he:
Famed to be one of the most brilliant advisers to Cao Cao 曹操, Yang Xiu was either a genius or a lunatic. Going by his track-record of excellent advice and superior logic, he was mostly trusted, even respected, by Cao Cao. On the other hand, Yang Xiu has a nasty habit of thinking way too far and conjuring up dramatic assumptions for harmless incidents. He was the ancient equivalent of a conspiracy-theorist, and that ultimately cost him his life. Learn from the ancients, don’t be too smart for your own good.

Why is he an SP character?
Yang Xiu is not a new character to SGS. In fact Yang Xiu has been around for a while as an original pack character in “Q version” of SGS. Why they left him out of the “mature version” of SGS is anybody’s guess. Rumor has it that YOKA left him out on purpose so as to make the Q version more marketable for collectors. Now they’ve turned the situation around and made him as an SP character, collectible only through the 1st ever issue of Zhuo You Zhi 桌游志. The first issue is now out of print, together with this character! The official YOKA Yang Xiu card is listing for over SGD$50 per card, making this one of the most collectible SGS cards ever!

Character ability 1: Have your Cake (and eat it) 啖酪 (dàn lào)
When you are targeted by a tool card that also affects other players, you can immediately draw a card. If you do so, that tool card has no effect on you.

Character ability 2: The Wishing Bone 鸡肋 (jī lèi)
Whenever you receive damage, you can voice out a card type (basic cards, tool cards or equipment cards). The player that caused you damage can no longer use, play, or discard any on-hand cards of that type until the end of that round.

Ability’s relation to story:
You probably heard the phrase “have your cake and eat it too”, but a literal version of this scenario actually happened to Yang Xiu. A nomadic tribe sent a box of cakes to Cao Cao as a gift. Cao Cao wrote on the box the words “一合酥” (a box of cake). Upon seeing this, Yang Xiu grabbed a spoon and shared the cake with all of Cao Cao’s followers. A puzzled Cao Cao asked for an explanation, to which Yang Xiu replied, “You wrote the words “one mouthful for every person”, dare I not obey?” The answer lies in breaking up the words “一合” (a box) into its constituent parts “一人一口” (a mouthful per person). Cao Cao probably gave him the WTF-look. He wasn’t happy that his cake was eaten. The mechanics of this ability seems to create that benefit of “eating your cake” by allowing you to draw a card, but it does miss out on the danger to himself that occurred in the story.

“The Wishing Bone” is another famous incident. Cao Cao was contemplating a retreat after his general Xiahou Yuan 夏侯渊 was defeated by Huang Zhong 黄忠. He could not decide if it was better to stay and fight or to withdraw, and it weighed heavily on his mind. He repeatedly muttered the words “chicken bones” as he drank his chicken soup, probably not referring to anything specific. Yang Xiu got wind of the words “chicken bones” and told all the generals to prepare for a retreat. “Chicken bones are tasteless if eaten, but its a pity to discard them as they are useful for soup. He is signalling that advance is futile, and a retreat is imminent. Prepare to retreat, lest there be panic when the order is given.” Boy was Cao Cao pissed when he heard that troop morale was dampened by the smart-aleck Yang Xiu!

So what’s the relation of “The Wishing Bone” to the story? Not much. It seems more like a defensive mechanism while the story shows that incident was anything but defensive!

Additional info based on story:
1. Most famous achievement – Pulling stories and reasoning out of thin air. The two stories listed above are but two incidents. There are others as well, some completely illogical (or logical, depending on your perspective) but all very creative.

2. Cause of death – Executed by Cao Cao. Seriously, he outsmarted himself. The signal for retreat in the “Wishing Bone” story was a military breach of conduct, and people have been executed for much less. Cao Cao bit the bullet and executed Yang Xiu. After Yang Xiu’s death, Cao Cao did not retreat but instead advanced on the enemy. It was a horrible defeat, and Cao Cao regretted not listening to Yang Xiu after all.

How to obtain this character?
Purchase Zhuo You Zhi 桌游志 magazine issue #1 (January 2011) and #2 (February 2011). Unfortunately this issue is no longer in print, and will cost you an arm to buy it!

Wiki Link:
Yang Xiu Wiki

Contributing writer:
– Reijishiki