Drake Knight Vs Simon Alexander

The Renegades

Drake Knight was the last in a long line of renowned Hunters in the Knight line. After his family was butchered by an unknown criminal organization Drake was left alone in the world, with only his ancestor's legacy to guide him. He spent years looking for purpose, having decided vengeance would be a pointless waste of life.

Eventually he was accepted into Beacon Academy, partnered with Rica Sicarius, and placed in command of Team DRGN. While each member of the team preformed their individual duties well a rift formed between the two sets of partners, as Drake had spent all of his time and effort trying to accommodate Rica. These matters came to a head during DRGN's first, and last, mission together.

Rica had repeatedly shown her sadistic tendencies during the mission, and instead of taking action to control his partner Drake had bent over backwards to rationalize her actions. As the mission continued and Rica's actions became increasingly counterproductive the team's rift grew wider. This culminated with Rica's desertion leaving DRGN short a member, and Drake short a partner. He continues his search to this day.

Born to the only human family in the town of Exton, Simon Alexander's life was shattered when the White Fang assassinated both his father and mother. While this chain of events did spark a civil war within Vale Simon wasn't around to see it, having been recruited into the Black Fist as a child soldier.

Serving in the Highlands War, Simon was on a personal crusade against a White Fang assassin known as the Rapier Wasp. After the death of one of Simon's fellow child soldiers and several retaliatory assassinations the Vengeful Shadow had his chance at revenge during the final large scale battle between the Black Fist and White Fang. It didn't go as well as Simon expected, with the Rapier Wasp outclassing him in every way possible. In the end Simon was saved by the timely intervention of his allies, though not without a set of facial scars as a reminder.

Soon after the battle Simon deserted the Black Fist, and after being wounded in a battle with his former allies he underwent several surgeries to repair his body. Despite an extensive recovery period he spent the next six months serving as the bodyguard to Weiss Schnee. During this time he came to the attention of Ozpin, and offered a position at Beacon Academy. After accepting and undergoing initiation he was appointed leader of team SNST.

As the year wore on Simon discovered that one of his fellow child soldiers and former friend Levi Hartman was in Vale, and hunting Fist deserters. Upon hearing this news Simin dropped everything, including his responsibilities as a Hunter in training and as team leader, to find and help his friend. This crusade cost many lives, both civilian and Fist deserters, and eventually escalated to the point where Simon's team was attacked in broad daylight. While Simon was able to capture Hartman, his actions may have caused irreparable damage to his team, and soul.

A message from your hosts: Our original idea for this matchup was going to be Gregory Volker Vs Simon Alexander, but then we had a better idea for Gregory. So we decided find an opponent who has a great number of thematic similarities with Alexander, hopefully Drake Knight was a good choice. We'll also be making an announcement after the verdict.

Remember, this is all our opinions. As such these opinions and the ones stated before are subject to change if sufficient evidence is provided for a different argument. With that out of the way, enjoy Drake Knight Vs Simon Alexander.

Physical Capabilities and Handicaps

When placed side by side Simon and Drake represent two different archetypes. Simon is a strong, durable brawler and Drake is a nimble samurai-esqe warrior. In terms of raw power Simon has a significant advantage in strength and durability, having powered through far more punishment than we've seen from Drake. Similarly, Drake has an advantage is speed and agility. In such a context it is difficult to decide what advantages beat greater significance, as these particular advantages are polar opposites.

Neither side will be given the edge in physical capabilities.

Semblance

Like in physicality Semblance is difficult to call. Drake and Simon are once again opposites. Simon's Semblance slows the relative velocity of an object in close proximity to him, while Drake's Semblance allowed him prodigious applications of speed. Simply put, they're direct counters to one another.

Neither side will have the edge in Semblance.

Aura Strength

Simon Alexander posessed an Orange Aura what was about 1.1 times the strength of the average Beacon initiate. Meanwhile, all indications are that Drake had nothing more than average power, Simon Alexander takes the advantage in Aura strength.

Equipment

Simon Alexander's primary weapon was a 10kg Automatic Dual Bladed Polearm called Umbara Viglanis. A combination of a flechette launcher and dual bladed glaive the weapon was clearly based off of his old weapon, a similar design.

In addition to this weapon Simon wears a pair of bladed gauntlets with 12 inch (30cm) blades made from the wreckage of his old staff, these have a foot long blade and provide adequate protection from bladed weapons and small caliber gunshots. Other miscellaneous equipment includes two fragmentation, flash bang, and smoke grenades, a Kevlar cuirass, and knee protection.

While Simon's primary weapon served him well on the battlefields of the Highlands War, allowing him to lawnmower through massed groups on enemies, it had several deficits that made it less than ideal for single combat.

As a polearm, Simon's weapon had more surface area to block with, and on paper had superior reach to most other weapons in addition to a greater lethal area. However the second blade caused several problems, namely robbing the user of reach, range of motion, move set variety, leverage, and attack frequency. Due to the second blade's position it poses a danger to the user and doesn't allow the wielder to utilize the full reach of the weapon. This also means that the user is required to swing the weapon around if they want to place it on the other side of their body, such movement restrictions also has the added consequence of telegraphing attacks and parties. While some of these factors can be considered a boon for fighters who cannot devote their time to develop a more nuanced and sophisticated fighting style, those who must become proficient with several killing tools for example, but that doesn't change the fact that a more committed martial artist can and will suss out your technique very quickly.

In contrast to Simon's extensive kit Drake Knight carried the bare minimum of equipment. A katana called Crescent Moon and an electric bladed gauntlet called Vox Fang. The sword had a blade roughly 27 inches (68.6cm) and the gauntlet had a 19.5 inch (50cm) blade. As supplementary armor he also wore greaves on his lower legs. He didn't carry any ranged weapons.

This is fairly difficult. Simon's armor provides more protection, but his weapon is far heavier and has certain logistical disadvantages that make maneuvering it in close combat difficult. He also has far more ranged firepower. Comparatively, Drake's weapon is shorter, but more maneuverable and his gauntlet blades have nearly double the reach of Simon's own gauntlets.

Ranged firepower doesn't offer much in this contest, as Simon prefers mêlée and Drake will undoubtedly be able to close distance in short order.

So it comes down to four things. Reach, Armor, Maneuverability, and Weight.

Reach is Simon's game, but not to some massive extent. Each blade on Simon's staff is 45cm long, and the shaft is 90cm. Accounting for some space to ensure Simon doesn't flay his upper arm he has roughly 110cm (43.3in) of reach. He could remove one hand to thrust, but that's risky as the weapon would be both slower and easier to deflect. By comparison Drake's katana has 27 inches of reach. That's only a difference of 16 inches.

Armor is also Simon's game, by a considerable margin. His chest is protected, Drake's isn't.

Maneuverability is Drake's, as his weapon has a far greater range of motion and doesn't give the enemy as much of a positional telegraph.

Weight is also Drake's. An average katana weighs, at most, 2.8lbs. (1.3kg) Simon's weapons weighs 22.1lbs. (10kg) This is important because each weapon takes a certain amount of strength and to wield. The longer a fight goes on the more taxing a weapon's weight will be on the wielder, forcing them to draw upon their Auras to bolster their muscles and remain combat effective. This means that the heavier the weapon, the greater drain on Aura, which limits how long a Hunter can fight.

So, Reach and Armor vs Maneuverability and Weight. As important as Weight is armor and reach are more likely to play a factor in this particular contest. Simon Alexander gets the edge in Equipment

Martial Arts Training and Dueling Prowess

As these two fighters are so similar, this will be a side by side comparison of their martial arts abilities, tactics, and prowess in single combat.

Both Simon Alexander and Drake Knight were extremely offensive fighters, who milked their primary physical advantage, strength and speed respectively, for all they were worth. As fighters who were more experienced engaging thugs or low level soldiers on the battlefield their bladework was simple and direct, looking to overwhelm their opponent's defenses in a head in assault instead of undermining or outmaneuvering them.

This experience led to a trade off. On one hand the resulting fighting style that is extremely simple and easy to remember, on the other hand that same style is rather easy to suss out and predict. Both have their own way of trying to break the pattern, Drake often breaks off and momentarily disengages from the battle before darting back in. Simon tries to disengage or integrate his grenades to gain distance and better utilize his firearm. Both will resort to their gauntlet blades and unarmed strikes when disarmed, but do not normally integrate such tactics into their bladework keeping the two separate.

The differences, and the causes behind those differences, are what ultimately decide who is the better martial artist.

Simon was conscripted into the Black Fist to be a child soldier, meant to spearhead assaults against White Fang positions in the Highlands war. Since he was attached to a squad often sent on raids into Fang held territory Simon was trained in the use of several killing tools including demo charges, sniper rifles, pistols, knives, grenades, and others. Each of these skills requires time to hone and maintain, especially long range sniping. This forced Simon to divert time and effort away from honing his skills with his primary weapon.

The result of this multifaceted focus was what we refer to as the "Huntsman Soldier." An Aura trained individual who has dedicated themselves to several different combative skills in order to be as flexible as possible, a necessity in the constantly changing environment that is a modern battlefield. While this was undoubtedly useful for such chaotic situations, it had several limitations. The trade off was a masterful application of any one skill, being spread thin.

This weakness is magnified by the fact that many of the skills require the use of specialized equipment, such as explosives or sniper rifles, and such tools wouldn't be available in single combat. In Simon's defense, there's little he could've done to avoid this, as the many hazards of the battlefield mandate a wide skill set. What can't be defended is Simon's arrogance and tactical failings.

Through FHTH Simon has repeatedly shown a self image of being a close combat expert, despite his poor track record in single combat. To put forth a simple example, Simon Alexander faced Levi Hartman in combat several times, both before and after his desertion. However, during their battles during the events of Volumes 1 & 2 Simon failed to utilize his knowledge of Hartman's fighting style, and the logistics of his gauntlets. All the while believing he was the superior fighter.

This was showcased during their final battle. From the beginning of the fight it was clear Levi held the advantage from a martial arts perspective, Simon's only saving grace being his armor and Semblance. The battle came to a head when Levi was repeatedly slamming Simon's head into the concrete floor. He only escaped this hold due to the knife coated in aura penetrating Dust he had in his boot. Up until this point Levi had been dominating the fight. Following his escape and Leci's disengagement he said "You're getting better Levi! But still not as good as me!" The engagement from then on was one sided in Simon's favor, though Levi was severely injured.

His other notable fights against his Aura trained contemporaries follow a similar pattern. Simon's most common victories haven't been through skill, but by external factors and desperation tactics. He hasn't beaten someone through skill unless they're far beneath him, like Sky Lark.

This wouldn't be as much of a problem if it weren't for Simon's self delusion. But, as mentioned before, Simon is arrogant. He believes that he's a juggernaut who can't be stopped. This mindset has gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion, most notably his duel with Schwartzer Belladonna at the White Fang mountain base. Knowing Simon's recklessness, Schwartzer deliberately allowed Simon to spot him at the closing end of the battle. After an extended chase he had led Simon to the top of a building, where he then proceeded to use psychological manipulation to enrage the already unstable child soldier. When battle was joined Schwartzer clearly outclassed Simon on every level, yet Simon refused to retreat continually throwing himself at his adversary, blind to the trap he had thrown himself into. At the end of the duel Simon was defeated, and only saved by the intervention of a pair of allied snipers.

For all of his faults, Simon Alexander was a skilled fighter, and while he did have his faults few could deny his effectiveness on the battlefield.

When placed next to Simon Alexander Drake Knight suffered many of the same problems, though his were due more to inexperience than circumstance. Due to his semi regular battles against criminals and thugs Drake adopted a similar approach to Simon, though he had several key differences that came about due to the logistics available to him. Namely, those logistics that came from being a mêlée exclusive fighter.

Due to the close range nature of his fighting style Drake needed to be skilled in both hand to hand combat and swordsmanship, his method of choice likely being kenjutsu. Like Simon, Drake's technique was simple and straightforward, no fancy blade manipulations or integrated unarmed strikes. Drake also chose to disengage from his opponents to gain distance, though he reengaged immediately after with his semblance, either activating a gauntlet or attacking from a different angle.

Drake's simple bladework left him vulnerable to hybrid offensives, such as the method used by Rica Sicarius during their sparring match, her Faunus traits allowing her to contend with his rapid fire assault.

On a more technical level, Drake's method was based around speed. Using his blades Drake threw himself into an offensive storm, analogous to a buzz saw. When forced on the defensive he momentarily broke off before reengaging from a different angle.

He seemed to be aware of his limitations, trying to avoid the aforementioned sparring match with his partner, (though she was bolstered by rage and a desire for revenge) and he has disengaged from fights before he was overwhelmed. This tactical awareness was what caused Ozpin to appoint him team leader of DRGN. However, Drake has just as many problems as Simon.

The most prevalent of these was Drake's lack of variety in his move set. It was all direct cuts meant to incapacitate or kill his opponent, when Drake was disarmed most of the strikes he preformed with those blades were direct jabs and thrusts. The most likely cause of this lack of variety is Drake's own inexperience. To our knowledge, Drake doesn't really have any dedicated dueling experience or training in single combat.

This would place Drake in the same camp as Ruby Rose or Nora Valkyrie. Fighters who, for the most part, lack combat experience but make up for this in talent and power.

Such a lack of experience puts Drake at a massive disadvantage against more seasoned duelists, such as Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Neo, Roman Torchwick, Sun Wukong, Adam Tarus.

Drake, while talented, lacked refinement and experience against skilled human enemies. Though those close to him would not question his skill.

In Drake Knight and Simon Alexander we have two very similar fighters who were born of different circumstances. Their skill level is roughly equal. Simon is the more aggressive of the two, has more combat experience, and survived serving in the highlands war. By comparison Drake doesn't have Simon's experience, most of his opponents being thugs and Grimm. Neither of them are very experienced in single combat, and their skill sets are clearly optimized for the battlefield.

As we said earlier the devil is in the details. Simon may be the more experienced fighter, but he's also arrogant, and doesn't know when he's in over his head. Drake, knowing that he's inexperienced, is cautious and knows when he's not equipped to deal with a given situation. Drake's methods give him better defensive viability, and the edge in Martial Arts Training and Dueling Prowess

Verdict

We're experimenting with a new style of verdict. Let us know what you think. Thank you to Antoine Bandele for the blatantly copied idea. This is just easier for us to write.

The early fight would begin with Drake using his Semblance to close distance with Simon before he can inflict too much damage with his firearms and explosives. Once they are within mêlée range both Drake and Simon would engage in a bout of fencing before one or both attempted to break off. After this happens Simon will attempt to bring his ranged firepower back to bear. Drake would then close distance again.

I'll give Simon a 2-1 advantage over Drake in this stage of the fight, his ranged firepower has the possibility to inflict major damage to Drake after he disengages.

The mid fight would look very different. Drake would keep up the pressure with his katana, the shorter blade allowing him to stay inside of the lethal area of Umbara Vigilans. At this point Simon may attempt to use his Semblance to gain distance, though this would be countered by Drake's own Semblance. By now Drake would start scoring hits on the exposed areas of Simon's body. Simon may attempt to disengage, but his lesser agility wouldn't allow him to escape from Drake.

By our estimates Drake would have a 2-1 advantage over Simon in this stage of the battle, the logistics of Drake's CQC weapons and more conservative approach optimizing him to exploit the openings Simon's weapon and fighting style provide.

As the battle wore on into the late fight two things would set in, fatigue and desperation. Simon's staff would wear on the muscles in his arms forcing him to use his Aura to compensate, and both fighters wouldn't want this battle to drag on any longer. We may see Simon abandon his staff and try using his gauntlets, but this would sacrifice his primary advantage of reach and make defending his unarmored extremities, his legs in particular, extremely difficult. By comparison Drake's weapon won't start to fatigue him until much later, and his Aura will be saved for defense.

Simon may try to close and grapple with Drake, but this would most likely be unsuccessful. Drake's own gauntlet blade is longer and electrified, granting it more lethality and reach, and Drake's superior ability and speed would allow him to keep Simon at arms reach.

We would once again have to give Drake a 2-1 advantage over Simon, brining the tally to 6/4 in Drake's favor. It should be stressed that this is by no means an easy victory, likely coming by inches, but at the end of the day Simon's overly aggressive approach and tendency to leave himself open would prove fatal against the more conservative Drake Knight.

Just a few announcements.

1. As you may know, Wa7chface will be shipping out to Boot Camp soon. So if a new chapter doesn't come out before early April it may be a very long wait for the next one.

2. This is made more difficult by the increasing difficulty of my college classes.

3. On a happier note, #BradyisGOAT

So, if you have any comments please PM myself or Wa7chface. Feel free to yell at us in the review section, and have a nice day.