The Book of Sgt. Drake Alexander

[dnutt99]

The Book of Sgt. Drake Alexander

Rise of the Valkyrie - Master Set

If you cannot see the Army Card graphic, check Hasbro's Unit Page for stats and special powers, plus "character biography" and other non-game unit info.

Character Bio: Though he is incredibly agile and strong in hand-to-hand combat, Sergeant Alexander was injured and weaponless after
being whisked away to Valhalla by Jandar. Healed by the Valkyrie Kelda, he was then given two powerful weapons by Jandar: The Katana
of Thorian, and Bleakwood's Grapple Gun. He learned to use them quickly, for Jandar's forces were already under attack. The Katana, an
enchanted sword that channels the powers of the great warrior Thorian, obscures Alexander's image from afar, making him almost
impossible to strike. With his magical sword, his laser-guided Grapple Gun and his steely will to conquer evil Sgt. Alexander has
become one of Jandar's best soldiers. (Hasbro)
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-Rulings and Clarifications-

• - THORIAN SPEED : Applicable Attack Types
  Can Sgt. Drake Alexander be hit by any ranged attacks?
  Sgt. Drake Alexander can be hit by any ranged special attacks only. He cannot be hit by normal attacks unless
  they are from an engaged opponent. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - GRAPPLE GUN 25 : Downward Movement
  Can Sgt. Drake Alexander travel down up to 25 levels with his Grapple Gun without taking falling damage?
  No, The wording for Grapple Gun states: “This space may be up to 25 levels HIGHER.” If Sgt. Drake Alexander travels
  down, he would take falling damage like any other figure. His Grapple Gun only helps him to travel up, not down. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - GRAPPLE GUN 25 : Upward Movement Over Battlement <25
  Can Sgt. Drake Alexander Grapple onto a Fortress Wall Walk that is 10 levels high, but has a battlement on it? This
  battlement would cause him to go up 12, but down 2 to get to the level 10 Fortress Wall Walk.
  Yes, his total upward movement was less than his Grapple Gun’s 25 level limit. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - GRAPPLE GUN 25 : Upward Movement Over Battlement >25
  Can Sgt. Drake Alexander Grapple onto a Fortress Wall Walk that is exactly 25 levels higher, has a battlement on it? This
  battlement would cause him to go up 27 levels, but down 2 to get to the level 25 Fortress Wall Walk.
  No, because his total upward movement was more than his Grapple Gun’s 25 level limit. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - GRAPPLE GUN 25 : Grappling Over A Ruin
  Can Sgt. Drake Alexander Grapple over a ruin and onto the hex on the other side?
  Yes he can, as long as the addition height of the ruin (6 levels) does not exceed his Grapple Gun’s total height limit of 25 levels. Note, if he does Grapple over the ruin, he will take falling damage on the other side (fall of 6 levels). (Hasbro FAQ)

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

• - MARCUS DECIMUS GALLUS : Soldier Leadership
  As a soldier, Sgt. Drake Alexander may benefit from Marcus Decimus Gallus’ SOLDIER LEADERSHIP movement bonus
  
  - MARCUS DECIMUS GALLUS : Soldier Attack Enhancement
  As a soldier, Sgt. Drake Alexander may benefit from Marcus Decimus Gallus’ SOLDIER ATTACK ENHANCEMENT

Synergy Benefits Offered

• - 4th MASSACHUSETTS LINE : Valiant Army Defense Bonus
  Having a Valiant personality, Sgt. Drake Alexander may aid the 4th Massachusetts Line with their VALIANT ARMY
  DEFENSE BONUS
  *NOTE: See The Book of 4th Massachusetts Line for proper application.

C3V and SoV Custom Synergies

Spoiler Alert!

Synergy Benefits Offered

8TH INFANTRY PATHFINDER : MARCHING ORDERS
As a Unique Soldier Hero that follows Jandar, Order Markers revealed on Sgt. Drake Alexander trigger the 8'th Infantry Pathfinder's MARCHING ORDERS ability.
As a Unique Soldier figure that follows Jandar, Sgt. Drake Alexander can be used as the end-of-movement adjacent figure for the 8th Infantry Pathfinder's MARCHING ORDERS ability.

SIR ORRICK : A BROTHER'S CALL
As a Human who follows Jandar, Sgt. Drake Alexander may aid Sir Orrick with his A BROTHER'S CALL movement bonus.

Synergy Benefits Received

CAPT. JOHN VARAN : PURPLE HEART
As a Human who follows Jandar, Sgt. Drake Alexander may benefit from Capt. John Varan's PURPLE HEART wound reassignment.

EBON ARMOR : ANIMATED MATERIEL & ETERNAL WAR
As a Unique Human, a destroyed Ebon Armor you control may be placed on Sgt. Drake Alexander's Army Card to replace the figure upon his own destruction.

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-


Strategy Notes:

• - While Drake doesn't have the greatest defense in the game, he more than makes up for it with his Thorian
  Speed and Grapple Gun 25 Special Powers. Enemies must be adjacent to hit him with anything except Special
  Attacks. Once they get near him, he can attack with 6 attack dice (More if he is strategically placed on height)!
  (Hasbro FAQ)

Who is affected by Sgt. Drake Alexander's Special Powers?

• - Thorian Speed: Attacking figures that are not adjacent.
  - Grapple Gun 25: Only Drake.
  (Hasbro FAQ)

Who else could I draft with Sgt. Drake Alexander?

• - Marcus Decimus Gallus
  Marcus Decimus Gallus is well suited for working with Drake because of his Soldier Leadership and Soldier
  Attack Enhancement. Both affect Drake and make him even more dangerous on the field of battle.
  (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - Raelin the Kyrie Warrior
  Drafting Raelin can help Drake's one flaw; his defense. As long as you can keep her safely behind him, she
  makes Drake a very dangerous enemy for anyone delusional enough to engage him. (Hasbro FAQ)

Who does Sgt. Drake Alexander work well against?

• - Krav Maga Agents
  The Krav Maga cannot hit Drake from a distance and when the Sgt. finally closes one the agents he should quickly
  destroy them, one by one. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - Taelord the Kyrie Warrior
  If Taelord is on the battlefield, he should be your first objective. He only has a defense of 3, but his wings can
  be used to shield him from ranged attacks. If you run up to him with Drake, you can normally take him down
  before Drake is destroyed. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - Charos
  Charos is a dangerous foe because of his Counter Strike ability. The only way to take him out besides hitting him
  with ranged figures is to run up and engage him with a strong Hero. Drake works well against him because of
  his 6 attack dice. However, he won't last too long against Charos with his 3 defense dice, so only use him for final
  attacks when Charos is wounded. (Hasbro FAQ)
  
  - Brunak
  Brunak's high defense makes him a tough target to take down. Use Drake to run up and engage him so he cannot
  Carry anyone across the battlefield, and as long as Drake is still alive, he cannot use his Blood Hungry Special Attack.
  Brunak has a relatively low attack at 4, so Drake should be able to spar with him for multiple rounds. Eventually,
  Drake's 6 attack dice will break through, and with only 3 life, Brunak won't last long. (Hasbro FAQ)

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-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

Power Ranking and Master Index

Originally Posted by MKSentinel

Power Ranking
Sgt. Drake Alexander- With more and more special attacks releasing, Drake’s value keeps going down. Once a safe bet,
Drake’s Thorian Speed isn’t always fast enough nowadays. B-

Sergeant Drake Alexander
Speculation about New Master Set? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=6509
Attackable by Ranged Double Attack? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=6819
General Assessmet? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=7718
General Assessment? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=8213
Falling and Grapple Gun? http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=3856
How High Can He Go with Grapple? http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ead.php?t=7865
Travelling Drake!! http://www.heroscapers.com/community...218&highlight=
Grappling Down? http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ead.php?t=7137

Unit Strategy Review

• - TBA

[Matthias Maccabeus]

Drake is a stud when attacking a castle. His thorian speed allows him to get to the castle wall usually without even taking a hit and his grapple gun allows to get on top of the castle wall and start wacking. Drake may be less effective because of the increase of unit(s) with specials, but he still has his glory days.

[UtgarsWorstFear]

Ever since me and my buddies first got the master set, drake has always been one of the most feared pieces. It used to be the fact that the only person that could kill him without getting killed back was DW9K, but even then drake could still find a way to take the big robot out. Now that Q9 and DW8K (the most efficient drake killer in my opinion) are out he has lost some (but not nearly all) of his luster. I think that if the designers of heroscape want drake to be feared as much as he used to, then all they need to do is change thorian speed to: You must be adjacent to Sgt. Drake Alexander to attack him. Simple as that. Now you have the old Drake back and ready to rumble. Yea his grapple ability could use a little polish, but I believe that if you altered thorian speed just as previously stated, you would have a much more loved character on your hands.

P.S. How he can be shot by Kamon Awa and not Syvarris makes no sense to me.

[rdhight]

Originally Posted by UtgarsWorstFear

P.S. How he can be shot by Kamon Awa and not Syvarris makes no sense to me.

Drake is a feared draft in my group as well. I just lost a game not too long ago where a lone Drake finished off two Krav and three Marro Warriors for the win. But comparing those two opponents is apples to oranges. With range 9 and defense 2, Syvarris is a standoff fighter whose goal is to plink you from outside your own range. He's exactly what Sarge, the killer of range specialists, was designed to counter. That's supposed to be a great matchup for Drake, and it is.

With his 3 defense, Drake is not supposed to go up against the game's top close-combat heroes, especially not ones who cost more than he does. Counterstrike and the ability to choose between ranged normal attack or ranged special attacks is a thing of beauty, making Kaemon a well-rounded opportunist who can find the weak points in many units who depend heavily on defensive special abilities, not just Drake. That's supposed to be a great matchup for Kaemon, and it is.

[Kinseth]

Drake still impresses me, his 6 attack is huge. And its rare that more than one character on the board has a special attack that can get him.

[legoboy]

If I'm playing Drake and my opponent has him engaged with one (or several) of his Gladiatrons, is Drake still unable to be targeted by an unadjacent Blastatron?

I believe that according to the cards he is not able to be attacked, but then why have the Gladiatrons? Common sense, to me, that if Cyberclaw is locking Drake to a space, he should be unable to wriggle his way around whatever is fired through that space.

I would play as the Blastatrons were unable to attack since they are unadjacent, but it seems like a bit of a break down in the Cyberclaw ability.

Just a thought that came to me in the shower this morning.

[sigmazero13]

Same as the other thread

[cmgames]

This was posed in another thread, and part of the question was answered there, but the other question remained and I thought I'd ask it here ('cause I don't know the answer).



Can RotV Drake get to the yellow hexes using his Grapple Gun (in either diagram)? It is only one space away, and is not more than 25 levels higher. So if I go by what the card says, he should be able to get there. But... ?

~Z

[wriggz]

He is just that good!

It is kind of like Grimok fitting through a one hole space between levels, where he can fit on both his starting and ending space.

[killercactus]

I'm pretty sure he can't get up there.

Let's pretend, for argumen't sake, that it wasn't Drake, but Raelin trying to get up there. Can she get up there by using 1 Movement point? No, because she can't fly through the overhang. Neither can Drake.

Grapple Gun says he can "Move 1 space". You can't move through an overhang (at least, I didn't think you could). If Drake can get up there, then all of the fliers and leapers can, too. Of course, this could be a...

"You have no power here, killercactus the Grey!"

[rednax]

Originally Posted by killercactus

I'm pretty sure he can't get up there.

Let's pretend, for argumen't sake, that it wasn't Drake, but Raelin trying to get up there. Can she get up there by using 1 Movement point? No, because she can't fly through the overhang. Neither can Drake.

Grapple Gun says he can "Move 1 space". You can't move through an overhang (at least, I didn't think you could). If Drake can get up there, then all of the fliers and leapers can, too. Of course, this could be a...

"You have no power here, killercactus the Grey!"

I believe that Drake can. They only have an example in the RotV rulebook for flying with Raelin. Grapple is instead of Drake's normal movement, whereas flying affects normal movement.

"Grapple gun away! Oww! Who placed that rock tile there?"

[NecroBlade]

No, he can't get up there (in one turn anyway).