Design Diaries: Onyx Remastered:
Iaimiko (Ikokawa) Sensei - Phoenix Yojimbo

Initially conceived as a Phoenix Yojimbo deck with a focus on Shugenja, Spells, and Duels, Ikokawa Sensei aimed to draw from the multifaceted themes explored in Onyx Edition. Both Crane and Dragon featured Dueling and Yojimbo Focused decks, and several Clans highlighted spellcasting themes. The intention was to empower Phoenix players to construct their desired style by tapping into these diverse resources and a flexible mix of both aggressive and honor-related Personalities.

A conscious decision was made not to constrain Phoenix toward another Honor deck specifically, even though their other onyx theme was strictly military. We were aware of issues with Phoenix honor in the 20F environment, and had already prepared things like the change to the Honor keyword to try and address them,  so offering Phoenix a more adaptable framework seemed reasonable, which has historically also resonated with Phoenix players. However, in practice this led to an unfocused deck, with disjointed components. To maximize the Sensei ability (involving intricate steps for mediocre effects), players needed Spells, Shugenja, and Yojimbo, often resulting in hands of Yojimbo/Duelist actions or Spells without the necessary Personalities.

When revisiting the theme, having pushed through the Honor changes that didn't happen in the game's original life, we felt it would be okay to have an Honor theme, and leaned into it and dueling. This inadvertently created a "Red Genshin" deck, but we eventually honed in on a more focused approach. The reimagined Sensei retained Yojimbos and Spells but with clearer direction. This incarnation facilitated Shugenja inclusion and effective dueling (though without a direct emphasis on either), yielding a defensive honor deck where Spells remained useful even without available Shugenja. This realignment led to Shiba Iaimiko replacing Shiba Ikokawa as the Sensei, as flavorwise she aligned better with the theme's essence.

The Personality base also needed adjustment. While Kudome and Hongo were serviceable for the original theme, their synergy with Iaimiko was lacking. Unlike the past when budget constraints on art commissions favored finding "Soul of" cards and then trying to make them work in context, now we were able to create cards that better fit our vision of the theme. Kudome and Hongo were replaced by newcomers: Shiba Hiroyuki and Shiba Kudotai. With a clear vision of the deck's role as an honor deck and the moving parts in it, we introduced further targeted support, replacing the generic Isawa Kaisei with Isawa Kiyoemon. This revamped vision for Iaimiko Sensei can also be seen in RtR cards like Shiba Tetsunori, whose abilities align more coherently with this reimagined card.

There are some other changes to Onyx Phoenix, predominantly pertaining to templating, typo corrections, or non-mechanical refinements.