Type: King
Effect Text: Double the strength of one of your rows. Then halve the strength of all Melee rows this round, Or send any unit to the graveyard.
Flavor Text: "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Flavor Source: Lord Byron, Ozymandias
Artwork: Portrait of Frederick V Elector Palatine by Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1632)
Strategy:
All King cards allow you to double a row of your choosing, essentially functioning as a trump card for the round. Your opponent will likely need to play their King card or some other counter to remain competitive in that round. Remember, Kings also come with the choice of a unique effect (in addition to doubling a row), allowing you to tailor your strategy as the game unfolds. The Winter King’s unique powers give you access to a weather effect (see strategies for Frost), or sending any unit to the graveyard (see strategies for Death).
About the card:
Frederick V of the Palatinate was invited to take the crown of Bohemia after the Second Defenestration of Prague (see also Zealot), the previous King of Bohemia was Matthias Hapsburg of Austria, the Holy Roman Emperor. On his death Matthias' successor Ferdinand II should have inherited Bohemia, and with the imperial army at his command it would be likely he could enforce his claim, but the Bohemian Estates thought that Ferdinand would support the Counter Reformation in Bohemia and so they revolted and unnamed him as King. With little support from across the Protestant parts of the Empire, Frederick V of the Palatinate attempted to raise an army using what little money the Bohemian estates had in order to fight the Emperor and defend his crown.
After the rebel army was sorely defeated at the Battle of White Mountain, Frederick fled Bohemia for Silesia and later the Netherlands and the Bohemian revolt was put down. Many of the lands of the Protestant nobles were redistributed and Frederick was later declared an outlaw in the empire with his lands and title of Elector being handed over to Maximilian I, the Duke of Bavaria. The consequences of Frederick's Bohemian coronation would be devastating for Europe: thirty years of war, plague, and famine awaited the continent.
