[krysto2002]

In general, I try to stick with a few main philosophies.
First and foremost, I try to keep cards from becoming overcomplicated.
Second, I try to stick only to figures I have the ability to proxy or own.
Third, I try to avoid posting customs for which I cannot produce a card for visual aid.

On rare occasion, I still succumb to outbursts of creativity, and on rarer occasion, the idea is so special to me that I feel the need to just roll with it.

This is one of those occasions.

To be fair, I'm not certain anyone has tried to do this particular idea- in fact, someone probably already has. That's not going to stop me, either way. The concept here was to create a unit which could mount other units - ie a literal Dragon-Rider. This started with first and foremost - how do I represent this as an ability in a simple and grokkable manner? Second, what benefits do I convey for doing this? Third, how do I make this fit in well with existing 'Scape without making for one-way synergies?

I feel like I hit all of the bullet points here and that the result isn't actually an utter mess. That being said, here is Dragon Speaker (actual name is up in the air) - Keep in mind that the listed stats are all completely arbitrary and subject to change, and that the point value is a complete mystery to me.

Dragon Speaker

• Jandar
• Human (Race is also arbitrary until a figure is chosen)
• Unique Hero
• Marauder (Any non-bonding class will work, will probably change to Dragon Speaker)
• Fearless
• Medium

Stats:

• 5 Life
• 5 Move
• 1 Range
• 3 Attack
• 5 Defense
• ??? Points

And now for the meat on the bones:
Dragon Mount
At the start of the game, you may choose a Large or Huge Dragon Hero you control. For the rest of the game, the chose Dragon is a Mount in addition to its current class.

Spoiler Alert!

This ability originally changed Dragon Speaker's General and Personality to match his chosen Dragon Mount and also labelled the Dragon Mount as his "Dragon Mount" I realized that this reduced synergy, as you'll see below and only served to add a lot of unneeded fluff which did nothing. Adding the Mount class was all that was needed, and it it does a lot of legwork in the card's effects with such a simple change.

Mount Up
After revealing an Order Marker on this card, you may place Dragon Speaker's figure on an adjacent, friendly Mount figure's Army Card. That figure gains the Mounted Strike Special Attack and Dismount special powers. (This ends your turn)

Spoiler Alert!

This is the first of the big mechanics at work here, as mounting a figure on another figure is best represented by putting a figure onto its army card. Some additional wording can be done to ensure that no headaches occur on common Mounts, though none such exist that I am aware of. The only existing Mount in game IIRC is Brunak, though this allows the possibility of simply making new Mounts who by default with synergize with Dragon Speaker. Both special powers added to the card are, obviously, listed on Dragon Speaker's card for reference. Finally, the reminder text at the end is to simplify the result of a figure no longer being on the board: turn = over. The end result of this effect is a player spending a turn in exchange for gaining the benefits of a unit being mounted, as you'll see below.

Mounted Strike Special Attack
Range 1. Attack 4.
Once, at any point before, during or after moving this figure and before attacking, you may attack with the Mounted Strike Special Attack as long as this figure is on a space where it could end its movement. This figure may still attack or use any of its special powers as normal after using the Mounted Strike Special Attack. Use this ability only while Dragon Speaker is Mounted Up.

Spoiler Alert!

So I figured that the simplest and most effective bonus you can convey via mounting is, in addition to the ability to lug around a Hero, the bonus of a free attack each turn with the Mount - a little extra bang for your buck. The bonus attack served several key purposes: it lets a non-flying Mount (Brunak) clear out a figure in its way while marching down the field, it lets you clear the ground to minimize takeoff disengagements, and it lets you attempt to clear engaged figures before making use of a breath weapon from a position which is just too good to pass up. I figured the ability to make this attack mid-movement helped make the effect more flexible and more flavorful for a rider who was independent of the unit flying. The last line of text lets you know that Dragon Speaker can only make his strike while Mounted, and not while simply on foot.

Dismount
After taking a turn with this figure or when this figure is destroyed, you may place the Dragon Speaker on any adjacent same level or lower hex, or on any hex this figure occupied. If the hex is lower, roll for any falling damage that would apply. If you can't, Dragon Speaker is destroyed. Use this ability only while Dragon Speaker is Mounted Up.

Spoiler Alert!

The final effect here, Dismount is the terminal effect to the Mounting mechanic - it lets Dragon Speaker get off his mount, or in the tragic event of the Mount's death, stand his ground and avenge it. I needed a place for Dragon Speaker to go, and I figured putting it nearby was the safest bet - the difficult part however was wording the effect which chose valid hexes, since it makes the ability quite a lot wordier when you need to specify how much higher or how much lower he could go. I feel that the falling damage clause isn't clear enough to specify that he's falling from the same height the mount is at, and I wouldn't mind a wording which let him dismount one hex-level higher, but I feel that simply over-complicates the card. This is the ability which needs, perhaps, the most editing and is the shakiest of the bunch, but a simple solution isn't too far out of hand and depends entirely on how one would want the unit to function - perhaps just making him stop "adjacent to this figure" or "on any hex this figure occupied" is simple enough - as the fringe cases of when the space the Mount occupying suddenly being occupied are few and far between.
"After taking a turn with this figure or when this figure is destroyed, you may place the Dragon Speaker adjacent to this figure or on any hex this figure occupied. If you can't, destroy Dragon Speaker. Use this ability only while Dragon Speaker is Mounted Up."
This might be a better alternative wording, though it denies you the ability to allow Dragon Speaker to leap off a cliff while Dismounting, if you ever felt the need to do so.

And there you have it - a figure which can Mount other figures, granting them the ability to strike at foes as they charge across the battlefield, and then Dismount when needed. On the board, he/she's just a vanilla dude/dudette, but isn't entirely worthless on their own. In terms of OM management, there is rarely a scenario where you aren't fully in control of the duo - you choose when to Mount Up, and if you are Dismounting voluntarily, you have control over which unit will be taking the next turn. There's no awkward handling of Order Markers, and it should work quite well in practice. As for the event of your opponent Mind Shackling your Mount? I've actually considered this and it fits into the rules quite well: you still control the Dragon Speaker, but the Mount is the figure with all the abilities, so your opponent gets to use Mounted Strike and also has control over Dismount, so flying that Mounted Nilfheim across the map, Striking down one of your units, and then dumping the Dragon Speaker into Lava is a perfectly valid play. All the while, you "control" Dragon Speaker, but it only matters where his figure is and who controls that figure, so cheeky use of mind control can be quite costly.

I hope you guys enjoyed this little idea dump, I don't intend to do them quite often, and only when I feel like the result is worth reading. Yes the effects fit on a standard HS card, and yes, they're quite readable when they do, so huzzah, I suppose?