Unmatched
Dracula
Overview
The legend of vampires can be dated as far back as early 18th-century Europe; however, none are more famous than Dracula. Created in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel of the same name, he has featured in over 200 stories and films since. Some of these include the cult-classic 2004 film Van Helsing where he was portrayed by Richard Roxburgh, and most recently the 2023 film Renfield where he is portrayed by Nicolas Cage.
Dracula can be considered a blood-thirsty monster, but he is so much more. He is a Transylvanian nobleman, scholar, scientist, and sorcerer. Dracula is exceptionally gifted, even for a vampire. Setting aside his immense strength, vitality, and the powers his vampirism grants him, his talent and intellect make him all the more dangerous. In Unmatched, Dracula uses his vampiric nature to unleash monstrous strength and recover health at his enemy’s expense.
Dracula is included in Unmatched: Cobble & Fog
Hero Stats
Health: 13 / Attack: Melee / Movement: 2
Special Ability
At the start of your turn, you may deal 1 damage to a fighter adjacent to Dracula. If you do, draw a card.
Sidekick: The Sisters
Health: 1 / Attack: Melee / x3
Strategies and Tips
Dracula is an incredibly powerful hero who is capable of recovering health through card effects. With his special ability, simply being near him can cost your opponent a point of health which might seem insignificant but makes an impact. Dracula is also a master of the shadows and comes equipped with card effects allowing him to appear anywhere on the board to stalk his prey. His playstyle fits a vampire and feels intuitive, even to new players. Properly utilizing his sisters may be his most complicated aspect since they have low health and their utilization relies on positioning.
Primary Strengths
Healing capabilities
High mobility with card effects
Incredibly powerful attack card
Primary Weaknesses
Low health
Few defensive options
Tip #1: Stalk From the Shadows
“Denn die Todten reiten Schnell. (For the dead travel fast.)”
– Dracula
Depending on your hand, your first instinct may be to jump into the heat of battle. While Dracula’s cards and abilities may encourage aggression, we believe it is more beneficial to play generally unaggressively. Chip away at your opponent’s health with his special ability and perform sneak-attacks. Your goal is to slowly whittle down their health so that when you play Beastform, it will win you the game.
No one wants to be near Dracula since he can deal damage to anyone next to him at the start of his turn, so they will likely run away or choose to attack from afar. Dracula has the perfect card for just this scenario:
Mistform allows Dracula to appear in any space and gain an action. This scheme gives you the opportunity to bridge the gap, take your opponent off guard, and attack them twice. This is especially effective against ranged fighters who typically do not have many defensive options. Use it wisely, as Dracula only has two of these cards in his deck.
Mistform also works well against heroes surrounded by sidekicks, as you can combo it with Prey Upon, which allows you to damage all adjacent fighters and gain health for each fighter that’s damaged. This is an excellent sidekick killer and a quick way to recover some health in the process.
Getting in close is essential, but tread lightly. Dracula does not have high health or many defensive options. The ones he does have, however, has excellent card effects that will halt your opponent’s momentum:
Do My Bidding is a defense card with a value of 3 that allows you to return your opponent’s card to their hand, look at their hand, and choose the card you would rather them play. Hand knowledge is huge when setting up for a Beastform attack.
Look Into My Eyes is a defense card with a value of 1 that adds the boost value of your opponent’s card to the value of yours. This card is risky since many high value cards have low boost values.
Tip #2: Strength in Numbers
“But we are strong, each in our purpose, and we are all more strong together.”
– Dracula
The Sisters are the trickiest part of playing Dracula. They are frail without many offensive options; however, keeping them together as a group may make your opponent second guess attacking them.
Ravening Seduction is the card you should keep in mind when setting up the sisters. This card allows you to move a fighter up to 2 spaces and deal 1 damage to the fighter for every Sister adjacent to them.
Thirst for Sustenance is their only attack card and has a value of 3. The attack value is decent, and if you win the combat, you can place Dracula in any space adjacent to the opposing fighter. This is great for setting up surprise attacks and pins.
Additionally, Dracula has access to Feeding Frenzy, an attack card with a value of 2 whose value is increased by 1 for each sister in the same zone as the opposing fighter during combat.
Do not be afraid to lose a sister. Dracula can use Baptism of Blood to revive an individual sister and recover 2 points of health. Additionally, Dracula can use his special ability on a sister if you so choose.
Tip #3: Unleash the Beast
“..the world seems full of good men–even if there are monsters in it.”
– Dracula
Dracula may be a gentleman and a scholar, but he is still a monster. Use his monstrous strength to unleash carnage on your opponents.
Beastform is his most powerful card and can defeat any opponent in an instant. This card comes equipped with a base value of 6 and can add +1 damage for every card you discard from your hand.
If you start your turn with a full hand of 7 cards while adjacent to your opponent and maneuver on your first action, you can deal a maximum of 14 damage. This is enough to defeat nearly every hero in the game. Your entire strategy should be to slowly chip away at your opponent’s health until you are ready to end them with Beastform. There are two of these cards in your deck, so this gives you two opportunities to strike in case one is countered by a Feint. You should try to keep your hand as full as possible at all times to keep your opponent fearful of Beastform.
Final Thoughts
Dracula brings a new layer of fear to Unmatched. Each turn your opponent will have to respect the power Dracula commands or else suffer defeat. His weak defenses balance his immense strength. Dracula does require some planning which may not suit newer players, but in experienced hands he is one of the most devastatingly powerful fighters in all of Unmatched.
