The Lady
The Lady isn't dealt — she's made. Play a Queen onto a Knight that's survived one full turn and it rises into an Upthrown Lady, the single strongest engine card in Kongedraeber for pulling ahead on cards.
RULES
Upthrown requires a target Knight that has already survived one full turn on the Throne or in Court, plain (not already Upthrown). Playing your Lady onto it converts the Knight into an Upthrown Lady in the same zone it already occupied, and draws you 2 cards immediately.
Every Draw Phase from then on, each Upthrown Lady you control grants you +1 extra card on top of your normal draw — the effect stacks if you control more than one.
An Upthrown Lady can still be Assassinated like any Court card, but targeting her specifically triggers Dethronement: instead of being removed outright, she reverts to a plain Knight. She survives the attempt, at the cost of her Lady status and the extra draw it granted.
If an Upthrown Lady is occupying the Throne when her side loses or ties a Siege, she falls to the Dungeon exactly like any other Throne card — Dethronement only applies to Assassination, not to losing a Siege.
LORE OF THE COURT
No one ordered the crown placed on her head. That's the part the histories leave out, when they tell it later — that she simply survived long enough that someone, watching from the Court, thought she should wear one.
The soldiers who serve under a Lady say she fights differently than a Knight ever did — less like someone proving she belongs on the Throne, more like someone who has already decided she isn't leaving it.
They came for her once, blades already drawn, certain the Court's newest crown would fall as easily as any Knight's. She did not fall. Some say a Lady who survives an Assassination never truly falls again — the Court remembers her name regardless of what comes next.
STRATEGY
When to play it
Upthrow the instant a Knight clears the one-turn survival requirement — every turn you delay is a turn of extra draws you never collected. A Lady is the closest thing Kongedraeber has to pure card advantage, so prioritize creating one over almost any other Main Phase action.
Counters
You cannot prevent Dethronement outright, but you can make it not worth attempting: keep your Lady on the Throne rather than exposed in Court, since only Court cards can be Assassinated. Racing the Siege that would let an opponent even attempt a Straight Flush or Royal Flush is the real defense.
Synergies
Family Reunion lets you Upthrow an eligible Knight immediately, skipping the survive-a-turn wait entirely — pair it with a Knight you've already been protecting for exactly this moment. Multiple Ladies stack their +1 Draw Phase bonus, compounding your card advantage each turn.