Posts
The Loyal Gallant 忠孝的侠士 (zhōng xiào dè xiá shì)
Who is he:
By now you probably know how significant Zhu Ge Liang 诸葛亮 was to Liu Bei 刘备 and the entire era. Yet if not for Xu Shu, Zhu Ge Liang would probably still be a simple scholar residing in peaceful solitude. Xu Shu was one of the friends of the mysterious Si Ma Hui 司马徽 and was Liu Bei's first military advisor. In his first military role for Liu Bei, Xu Shu helped crush Cao Ren 曹仁's forces and sent Cao Ren weeping back to Cao Cao 曹操 in shame. Upon knowing that Liu Bei has found a formidable advisor, Cao Cao made plans to entice Xu Shu over to Wei Kingdom 魏国.
Did Cao Cao succeed? Did Xu Shu betray Liu Bei and hop over to Wei Kingdom?
As you can see, Xu Shu's character colours are in blue, representing that he belongs in the Wei camp. But strangely, his allegiance is Shu 蜀, as can be seen in the red 蜀 character in the upper left corner and his red life units. This is the ONLY character in the entire SGS game that has this abnormal colour coding.
Why is this the case? Read on to find out!
[2011 Old version]
Character ability 1: Silence 无言 (wú yán) [Enforced ability]
With the exception of Time-delayed tool cards, all other tool cards used by you have no effect on all other players. Similar tool cards used by all other players have no effect on you.
Character ability 2: Dragon's Advocate 举荐 (jǔ jiàn)
In the action phase, you can discard up to 3 cards, then allow 1 other player of your choice to draw an equal number of cards from the deck. If you discard no less than 3 cards of similar type (basic, tool card, equipment card), you regain 1 unit of health. Limited to once per turn.
[2012 New version]
Character ability 1: Silence 无言 (wú yán) [Enforced ability]
All damage caused by, or received from, tool cards is prevented.
Character ability 2: Dragon's Advocate 举荐 (jǔ jiàn)
When the ending phase of your turn begins, you can discard 1 non-Basic card (ie: Tools cards, equipment cards, etc). If you do so, you let another player choose 1 of the following 3 possible actions:
1. Draw 2 cards.
2. Regain 1 unit of health.
3. Flip over the character card such that it faces right-side up, and rotated in the vertical orientation (ie: chains are broken).
Ability's relation to story:
The concepts of both ability are related closely to the story, however the mechanics are not congruent. "Silence" mirrors Xu Shu's refusal to offer Cao Cao any advice whatsoever after hopping over to Wei Kingdom. However it is clear that the mechanics of this ability provides a high level of immunity against all other characters, and not just against Cao Cao. Besides, Xu Shu refusing to advise Cao Cao almost got him killed instead of offering him protection.
Xu Shu never offered any advices to Cao Cao(cannot use TOOL CARDS against others). In RoTK, Xu Shu found out that Pang Tong wanted to shackle Wei’s ships to burn them all, but he does not remind Cao Cao. Instead, he stayed away from the battlefield to keep himself safe from the fire, so he is immune to other players’ TOOL CARDS.
I gave the ability translation "Dragon's Advocate" a slight twist. The direct translation of 举荐 means "to recommend". But put into the context of the ROTK story, Xu Shu made one of the most important recommendations of all chinese history: he recommended Zhu Ge Liang and Liu Bei to each other. At that time, Zhu Ge Liang was known by his moniker "Sleeping Dragon 卧龙", thus the name of this ability deserves the Dragon prefix.
Similar to "Silence", the "Dragon's Advocate" ability does have its links to the story. Discarding your cards and allowing another player to draw mirrors Xu Shu's departure from Liu Bei (and withholding his ability thence forth) while creating an opportunity for Zhu Ge Liang. However this ability is not specific towards any character related to the story (such as Liu Bei, Zhu Ge Liang or Cao Cao). Regaining 1 unit of health is completely unrelated to the story/
Additional information based on story:
1. Most famous achievement - Getting tricked by Cheng Yu 程昱 to leave Liu Bei and join Cao Cao. Cheng Yu was one of Cao Cao's advisors and was tasked to entice Xu Shu over to Wei Kingdom. Knowing that Xu Shu is a very filial son, Cao Cao summoned Xu Shu's mother and wanted to win her over, so that she could convince Xu Shu to hop over to his side. Unexpectedly, Xu Shu's mother cursed and insulted Cao Cao, so much so that Cao Cao ordered her executed for her insolence. Cheng Yu quickly intervened and instead ask Cao Cao to treat her like a guest. Cheng Yu then wrote a false letter, in it Xu Shu's mother uses loneliness and old age to convince Xu Shu to return to her side, which happens to be in the Wei Kingdom. Xu Shu reluctantly decides to leave Liu Bei and thus went over to Cao Cao's camp.
However, upon seeing her son arrive in Wei Kingdom, Xu Shu's mother was enraged! She repeatedly scolded Xu Shu for being so stupid as to have fallen for such a simple ploy, at the same time giving up the opportunity to serve a noble such as Liu Bei. She leaves the room in anger, while Xu Shu ponders in disappointment. Within minutes, a maid alerts Xu Shu to terrible news. In a final act of defiance, Xu Shu's mother hangs herself, and thus Xu Shu is deeply overcome with sorrow. Although he is officially with Wei Kingdom, he never offered any advice to Cao Cao in his time there.
2. Cause of death - Unknown. The widely accepted view is that Xu Shu died of either old age or sickness. There was no mention of him dying in battle or anything honorary. In fact ever since his mother's death, Xu Shu received very little attention due to his reclusion.
Wiki Link
Xu Shu Wiki
Thank you so much for posting the new expansion!
ReplyDeleteFor the purposes of this game, does Xú Shù belong to Wei, Shu, or both? Can he provide Liu Bei with attacks and provide Cao Cao with dodges?
He belongs to Shu. He can help Liu Bei with his Ruler ability, but not Cao Cao.
ReplyDeleteRefer to the upper corner writing in red instead of the blue frame.
Dragon's advocate is like two abilities in one. Is it possible to regain health AND let someone draw 3 cards, or not?
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what you mean by two abilities in one. I thought that Ricky's translation was clear enough. You can discard up to 3 cards and let another player draw an equal number of cards. If you discarded 3 cards with similar types in this way, you may gain a life.
ReplyDeleteFor the first ability does that mean you can use Negate 无懈可击 on tools, because it doesn't actually target any players, but the tool card? Also does 无中生有 and the redraw function of 铁索连环 still work? How about 五谷丰登 does that turn into basically draw 1 card that you show everyone? Oh and 桃园结义 used by you is basically a peach? As your translation states "all other players". Sorry for all the questions, just wanted to get rid of some technicalities.
ReplyDeleteYou can only use NEGATE on time-delay tools played on you. Draw 2 and the re-draw function still works. For Grand Harvest I think it becomes reveal X cards but only draw 1 and discard the rest. Yes, Peach Garden becomes a peach.
ReplyDeleteAnd also, if Grand Harvest is used by other players, Xu Shu cannot take any card from Grand Harvest
ReplyDeleteHello! My chinese friend who reads chinese said that it is only the Time-Delay tool cards that doesn't work with him and others. Basic tool cards works on him like steal or dismantle. Can you re-read the character's abilities please? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHave re-read it and I suspect your friend missed out a word. 非 means "not". So it literally says those not time-delay tool cards that you use.
ReplyDeleteMy friends still argue with me that it means all the cards EXCEPT time-delay tool cards works on Xu Shu and on the other players which means that Xu Shu can steal or dismantle other player but cannot be the target of any AOE cards or lightning/Acedia/Ping Liang/Xu Du, etc... Can you confirm that? They are chinese so they are pretty sure it means that but you guys tell me the opposite.. I'm confused haha.
ReplyDeleteWe guys are Chinese too. Have re-read it again and still stand by my translation, but let me get Ricky to come along and double check.. Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteHiya. I'm pretty certain that the translation is correct. Princemousey is right, the word 非 is the critical word here.
ReplyDeleteI can also further confirm that Xu Shu is impervious to most tool cards because the link to the story is also congruent.
延时类锦囊 = Time-delay tool cards
非延时类锦囊 = Non-time-delay tool cards (everything other than time delay tool cards)
Ok thank you for your help! :)
ReplyDeleteJia Xu has a similar ability saying that the black cards do not effect him. But Negate does effect the cards that he plays. To my understanding once a card leaves a player it is not part of the player and just a card, so Xu Shu should be able to Negate it since it does not effect a player.
ReplyDeleteHello! Is this following on from a previous discussion or a new topic? I'm not following you.. What cards do you want to NEGATE?
ReplyDeletei think he means if Jia xu wants to use draw 2 card, can other player use negate to cancel it out
ReplyDeleteThat and if someone targets the King with a Negate can I Negate his Negate?
ReplyDeleteIS it me or did anyone realise that Pictures of 徐庶(Xú Shù) on the SGS Card look very like
ReplyDelete金城武 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who acted as 诸葛亮(Zhu Ge Liang) in the movies 赤壁(Red Cliff) ??? :-D
Jia Xu has a similar ability saying that the black cards do not effect him. But Negate does effect the cards that he plays. To my understanding once a card leaves a player it is not part of the player and just a card, so Xu Shu should be able to Negate it since it does not effect a player.
ReplyDelete>> From what I do understand of the translation, Xu Shu's "Silence" ability is an effect on the tool cards, NOT on the players. Perhaps a more understandable translation is: "With the exception of time-delayed tool cards, all of Xu Shu's tool cards have no effects on others except on/for himself. Similar tool cards used by others have no effect on you." Note that "all his tool cards" are affected by the ability, including NEGATE. Thus, as Princemousey mentioned in one post, the NEGATE card, even if targeting another player's tool card, has no effect UNLESS you are negating a time-delayed tool card that was used ON you. That, however, does not mean that Xu Shu CANNOT be targeted by non-time-delayed tool cards (STEAL, BLAZE, etc.) - they just have no effects on him.
As an example, if Xu Shu uses BARBARIANS, what I'd interpret happened is that other players targeted, but the effect of the tool card is neutralized by "Silence". In the same light, Xu Shu CAN still be targeted by any tool cards, but their effects are neutralized.
Contrast this with Jia Xu, who CANNOT be targeted at all. However, since his tool card is not part of himself, you can use NEGATE on it.
Someone please point out if I was wrong on this interpretation.
reply to anonymous^
ReplyDeleteyes, you are right, if Xu Shu can play Negate towards Jia Xu's tool cards, because, and this is a fact that everyone should know, Negate targets the tool card that is being played, not the person itself.
and yes, Xu Shu can be targeted by non time delayed tool cards, but it will just have no effects on him, just like you use a black suited kill on Ren Wang Shield.
^ No.
ReplyDeleteXu Shu can become the target of time-delay tool card and the time-delay tool card takes effect on him, just like other characters.
"With the exception of Time-delayed tool cards, all other tool cards used by you have no effect on all other players. Similar tool cards used by all other players have no effect on you."
^ Unknown said "non-time-delayed tool cards", not time-delayed tool cards.
ReplyDelete^ Oh I see.
ReplyDeleteWell, according the majority of discussions in SGS communities in China, Xu Shu and Jia Xu can be affected by NEGATE, simply because this card`s target is not a player but a tool card. It means that other players can negate their DRAW2, PEACH GARDEN etc.
ReplyDelete^ I have played online, and my experiences with these two characters seem to agree with the above anonymous' statement. These characters' tool cards can be negated (in Jia Xu's case, negated by black negate cards). In the case of Xu Shu, he can negate other characters' tool cards.
ReplyDeleteCan someone verify for me? According to my friend, "Dragon's Advocate" needs only three cards of the same suit (hearts, diamonds, spades, or clubs) to activate the healing effect and not the same type. Which one is the correct one?
ReplyDelete^your friend is wrong
ReplyDeletethere is a major difference between 同一類別 (same category of cards) and 同一花色 (same suit). In Xu Shu's case it the "same category of cards" that would activate his skill.
so for his dragon's advocate ability, if he discards three similar category of cards, he will gain 1 health AND another player draw three cards?
ReplyDeleteOr EITHER he gain 1 health OR another player gains cards?
If he discards 3 cards, another player gets to draw 3 cards.
ReplyDeleteIf he discards 3 cards of the same type, another player gets to draw 3 cards and Xu Shu gains 1 health.
Do you have to let someone choose three cards after discarding three of the same kind, or can you just discard them for the life?
ReplyDeleteWe have so far played that you have to let some1 else take three cards, which makes this one weak when being alone (I suppose it is only a supporter)
You must pick a recipient that receives the card. You cannot discard 3 cards of the same type to heal yourself without letting someone to draw cards. After all, he is designed to be a supporter...
DeleteFor his new second ability, is this after he discards down to his health or before?
ReplyDeleteDuring the end phase so this is after the discard phase
DeleteCan new or old xu shu discard cards from hand and equip zone or just hand cards?
ReplyDeleteboth can discard from equipment zone as well.
DeleteNew Xu Zhu is now susceptible to STEAL and DISMANTLE
ReplyDeleteHelp please! What does "Flip over the character card such that it faces right-side up, and rotated in the vertical orientation" mean? When can the character card be horizontal?
ReplyDeleteWhen you are under the affects of Iron Shackles [铁索连环], your character card will be horizontal to indicate it is being shackled. Thus, Xu Shu can allow the player to choose to un-shackle AND unflip themselves, given they are under the affects of both, with that third option.
DeleteOh I see, so it's only for the Shackles. Thanks a lot :)
DeleteUnder usual situations, yes. There are also some weird, officer-specific [VERY rare] situations like this:
Deletehttp://sanguoshaenglish.blogspot.sg/2013/04/xiahou-dun-sp010.html