The Spades court is built around Regina Depas and her effort to take control of Wonderland. She has an army of her own, and her rivalry with Hearts is already developing while C…

The Spades court is built around Regina Depas and her effort to take control of Wonderland. She has an army of her own, and her rivalry with Hearts is already developing while Calie and Violet are trying to keep themselves safe in the early ongoing series. That gives the story two problems happening at once. The Liddles are dealing with dangers aimed at their family. Spades is gathering the strength to challenge another ruler. Those problems keep intersecting because Regina is willing to use the family's situation to advance her own plans. Her court's strength includes the soldiers she can send into a fight and the shadow magic she can use herself. But she's also willing to operate through more indirect means. Her involvement in Alice's history, and later in Julie Sands' encounter with a mysterious book, gives her opportunities that an army alone wouldn't create. By Wonderland #24, Calie is moving toward a direct confrontation with Spades. Regina's role in the trouble around Calie and Violet has come into focus, and Calie has gathered allies to go after her. The Queen's plans have become something the people affected can finally confront together. The conflict with the other royal courts develops alongside that. In Clash of Queens, Spades is one of the three powers converging on Hearts after Hearts acquires the Ebony Blade. The shared target doesn't erase the rivalry between the attackers. Each Queen still wants power for herself, and Trickster has been working on those divisions. Spades is a major force because Regina can work at both levels. She can build an army against another court while making choices that affect individual people far outside a battlefield. By the time those people understand where the trouble is coming from, there is an organized force waiting behind her.