Type: Weather Power
Effect Text: Halve the strength of all Siege rows or all Melee rows this round.
Flavor Text: Hell is not fire; Hell is mud.
Flavor Source: The Wipers Times
Artwork: The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt (1633)
Strategy:
Weather cards, like Storm, which halve the strength of a row should be used to punish your opponent for playing heavily in a single row, counter a King’s doubling effect, or make a row unattractive to your opponent. It’s best either to (1) play these cards late in the round to take your opponent by surprise, or (2) play these cards early in the round to set up a bluff (e.g. in a combo with Gale). Remember, you must declare the weather’s row when the card is played.
About the card:
It is often underestimated how important things like dry socks and hot food are for the success of an army. Some of the best Generals in American history, including Sherman, Patton, and Ridgway, have understood this well. A good leader cannot lead from a continent or even a mile away, they must constantly be seen by their men and remind them of the basics, cause when the rain comes it is better to be prepared by tedious repetition than by the enemy. This is not however, the common outlook of many less than successful leaders who rather rely on numerical and supply advantage than sound leadership. If this is an outlook you share, I recommend reading The Savior Generals by Victor Davis Hanson or listening to his talks on the book.
In many ways Allied leaders on the western front of World War I took the opposite view, they were often miles behind the front line, they did not bother much with the hygienic health of their soldiers, and their was a real separation between the leadership and their men. This often ended tragically in many ways with unnecessary loss of life and high rates of disease deaths.
For a more complete view of the muddy and blood soaked trenches read All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the novel is excellent as well as the recent film adaptation on Netflix.
Another interesting World War I film Paths of Glory directed by Stanley Kubrick contains many of the same themes and relies less on gorey images.
"See that cockroach? Tomorrow morning, we’ll be dead and it’ll be alive. It’ll have more contact with my wife and child than I will. I’ll be nothing, and it’ll be alive."
*Splat*
"Now you got the edge on him"
