Liu Xie

Imprisoned Emperor 受困天子

**Mandate of Heaven** 天命
When Liu Xie is attacked, he can discard two cards (or all of his cards if he has less than two) then draw two cards. If there is a player whose current health level exceeds that of all other players, they can choose to also carry out this action.

**Secret Edict** 密诏
Once during his turn, Liu Xie can give his entire hand to any player and chooses a second character that has at least one hand card. The target of the ability then conduct a Points Duel 拼点 with the second character chosen by Liu Xie. The winner of the Points Duel 拼点 attacks the loser.

**Clarification:**

* Please see Points Duel.
* If Liu Xie has fewer than two cards when he activates "Mandate of Heaven," he discards all of them. If he has no cards, he simply draws two cards.
* Note that Liu Xie can discard equipped cards to activate "Mandate of Heaven." In fact, if he has no hand cards and only equipped cards when he is attacked, he must discard these cards if he wants to activate "Mandate of Heaven."
* When Liu Xie is attacked, "Mandate of Heaven" is activated before the he is prompted to play an *Escape*. As a result, "Mandate of Heaven" can help Liu Xie to draw an *Escape*.
* When "Mandate of Heaven" is activated, only a character with more health than all other characters can choose to discard two cards then draw two cards. If two characters are tied for having the most health, neither is allowed to carry out this action.
* If Liu Xie has the most health when "Mandate of Heaven" is activated, he cannot carry out the action twice.
* If there is a character with more health than all other players when "Mandate of Heaven" is activated, note that they are not required to carry discard two cards then draw two cards. This is optional for the character with the most health.
* In QSanGuoSha, if both players tie in the competition when Liu Xie activates "Secret Edict," neither character is attacked. On web.sanguosha.com, the general rule for competitions is followed, with the challenged character winning the competition in the result of a numerical tie.
* If Liu Xie activates "Secret Edict" by giving his entire hand to the only character with hand cards, no competition takes place and no other character is attacked.
* The *Attack* produced by "Secret Edict" is colorless and has no element properties. Weapon effects, armor effects, and character abilities are also taken into consideration for this *Attack*.

* "Secret Edict" and "Mandate of Heaven" work very well together. After using "Secret Edict," Liu Xie will have no hand cards. If he is attacked, he can activate "Mandate of Heaven" to discard zero cards (assuming he has no equipment) then draw two cards.
* "Mandate of Heaven" can be useful when used on enemies if Liu Xie has one hand card, especially if it is a low-numbered and useless hand card (such as *Peach Garden*). He can give this hand card to an enemy, select a second enemy, then have them compete.
* "Mandate of Heaven" is particularly powerful when used on a character with the *Ancient Scimitar* equipped. If the second character has only one hand card, the *Attack* produced will do two units of damage.
* While "Mandate of Heaven" gives Liu Xie defense against *Attacks*, there is no guarantee that he will draw an *Escape*. Also, using this ability makes it difficult for Liu Xie to keep equipped items.
* Liu Xie has no defense against tool cards and abilities that deal direct damage. With only three units of health, a character with the right cards or abilities may be able to kill him quickly.

**Notable Combinations:**

* Liu Bei - Liu Xie can give his entire hand to Liu Bei via "Secret Edict," then Liu Bei can distribute the cards as he sees fit with "Kindness."

* Xun Yu/Lu Su - These characters work well with characters who frequently find themselves with few hand cards. With "Secret Edict," Liu Xie definitely qualifies as one of these characters.

* New Fa Zheng - New Fa Zheng's "Grudge" works well with Liu Xie's "Secret Edict," allowing Liu Xie to draw a card each time he gives at least two cards to him with this ability.

* Empress Fu - When she is attacked, Empress Fu's "Plead" allows her to force another character to give her a card and potentially have them be targeted by the *Attack.* This makes her an ideal target for "Secret Edict," since she will be attacked if she loses the competition. Also, with the extra cards, it will be easier for her to activate "Anxious Fear."

* Zhang Jiao - Zhang Jiao is a fantastic partner for Liu Xie. Liu Xie can give him many cards via "Secret Edict" (including an *Escape* and a spade card), select an enemy, and force them to compete with Zhang Jiao. Win or lose, the outcome is bad for the enemy. If they lose the competition, they are attacked by Zhang Jiao. If they win the competition, they attack Zhang Jiao and leave them open to "Lightning Strike."

* Dong Zhuo/Hua Xiong/New Hua Xiong/God Lu Bu/God Guan Yu - These characters have large maximum health levels, and as such, often have more hand cards than all of the other characters in play. As a result, they will frequently be able to discard and draw cards when Liu Xie activates "Mandate of Heaven." This is useful when they are allies, but can sometimes put Liu Xie at a slight disadvantage if they are on the opposing team.

* Lu Bu/Xu Sheng/Ma Chao/Zhu Rong/Ma Dai/Pan Zhang & Ma Zhong - These characters have abilities that make their *Attacks* more powerful than the those of the average character. These are great candidates for "Secret Edict." However, if they are enemies, Liu Xie may be putting his ally at risk if he activates "Secret Edict" on them and has them compete with one of these characters. Note that Huang Zhong is not in this list. His "Strong Bow" only works with *Attacks* played during his action phase, so he cannot activate this ability with "Secret Edict."

* Cao Cao/Zhu Rong/Xun You/Yuan Shao - These characters have an easy time playing tool cards that can cause damage to Liu Xie. They are a big threat to him.

* Cao Pi - Cao Pi's "Exile" is incredibly dangerous to Liu Xie. By flipping him, Cao Pi prevents Liu Xie from using "Secret Edict." When activating "Mandate of Heaven," Liu Xie would lose the few cards he would draw as a result of this ability.

* Dian Wei/Xun Yu/Zhou Yu/Ling Tong/Zhang Jiao - These characters have abilities that can directly damage Liu Xie and bypass "Mandate of Heaven."

 Loyalist
 Rebel
 Spy

**Final Remarks:**

Liu Xie is a great addition to San Guo Sha. His abilities have significant relevance to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms story. They leave him weak to the correct characters (Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Dong Zhuo) while still being useful in a plethora of other situations. When using him, do not focus on playing equipment, as they will often have to be discarded for "Mandate of Heaven." A couple of exceptions to this rule are *+1 Horses*, the *Silver Helmet*, and *Rattan Armor*.