You can offset the Drake's attack by slapping an Insignia of the Claws, Ioun Stone of Mastery, and a Belt of Giant Strength on it, though it doesn't benefit from it as much as the Animal Companion and Primal Companion since the Drake only attacks once.
Yeah I feel this final version leans more towards a Wis-based tanky-caster build (thinking breaths and Summon Beast, Fey, or Elemental).
Anyone have a 1-Level dip suggestion for this (I despise Foe Slayer)? I'm thinking Druid (frees up my Fighting Style from Druidic Warrior and grants me Healing Word) or Cleric (Nature; Healing Word and heavy armor.), and both don't require me to invest in other ability scores to qualify.
I feel like, if they are going to move away from the Spell Attack Modifier calculation of companions, they should at least do a bit more to make them equivalent. Perhaps a 5+PB instead of 3+PB (caps off at +11, just like the T-BM) or something along those lines.
While it is a little less than the Primal Beasts. The Primal Beasts kind of have other faults. But they are at least consistent for the most part in how they work. So losing a couple of attack isn't too bad for the most part compared to them.
keep in mind the primal beasts average out to about 7 damage at level 3. Moving up to 8 damage at level 5 (the beast of the land does 1 more). And this is all the damage that they do until basically level 11. And then it basically doubles not accounting for PB increases as it levels further. (Basically +1 per attack at 9th, 13th, and 17th levels)
The Drake when we examine it seems to be doing 5 at level 3 when read as written (though oddly doesn't have any kind of attribute damage listed in it's statblock which may be an oversight and is likely +3) but realistically it's likely doing 8 instead (11 if the attribute damage really is an oversight). Because it's adding 3 to a damage roll somebody else is doing more than likely with it's reaction.
Than at level 7 when Magic Fang kicks in for Elemental Damage. It's now doing 9 (+1 PB at level 5, plus 3 average elemental damage), but is more likely doing doing 12 Damage because of the infused strike ability and using their reaction.
this basically means that a Primal Beast Ranger at level 11 is looking at basically 16 damage at level 11 to the like 13 damage provided by the drake but they actually even out by level 15 at 17 damage a piece.
But They basically even out when it comes to just basic attacks. But the Drake still has an ace in the hole. it still has a breath weapon attack that averages out at 24 damage (12 if the save is made, not counting resistance for ease right now) per target hit that primal beasts can't really duplicate. The Downside is that if it just hits one person and they make their save, it's not increasing their DPS. But for each person it hits and each failed save it's effectively like another hit in combat which is increasing the dps done overall. So it's not surprising that they can't attack more than once. On top of this their infused Strikes is still available to be used even on turns that they use their breath weapon so they still have that 3 dps from that on top of it that is applied to an ally's hit.
it should also be noted that if the attribute damage was an oversight and is meant to be on the drake. it actually ends up doing the same amount of damage just from regular attacks that the Primal beast does with two attacks that the Drake will do with one attack and at level 15 the Drake ends up doing more damage than the Primal Beast overall.
But When we consider these possible increases in damage. It's not really surprising that we see a slight drop in accuracy that is mostly obvious at the higher levels. Higher Damage with slightly less accuracy tends to be kind of the way of some things that falls in line with things like GWM and SharpShooter but without having to find additional means or magical weapons to offset the bulk of the attack modifier loss. Most of which the Drake wouldn't have access to anyway. Though the Truth of it is that they made it hit a little less so that the Drake Pet didn't risk overshadowing the Ranger while still being a big boon to the Ranger as their subclass addition. But it seems to be a strong primarily pure damage based choice compared to other pet options.
And I'd just like to make a side note. I am primarily using the Primal Beasts as a comparison because the PHB ranger's pets are not consistent enough to make full blanket statements about. Otherwise we'd practically have to Individually go through possible pets. But the fact that the PHB ranger is a lot more variable and a lot more potential extra abilities to their attacks or the way they function like bonus action dash abilities that the Primal Beast or the Drake do not have access to which continues to be the PHB ranger's biggest comparable strength is all of those extra abilities and fine details to be chosen from.
You can offset the Drake's attack by slapping an Insignia of the Claws, Ioun Stone of Mastery, and a Belt of Giant Strength on it, though it doesn't benefit from it as much as the Animal Companion and Primal Companion since the Drake only attacks once.
Yeah I feel this final version leans more towards a Wis-based tanky-caster build (thinking breaths and Summon Beast, Fey, or Elemental).
Anyone have a 1-Level dip suggestion for this (I despise Foe Slayer)? I'm thinking Druid (frees up my Fighting Style from Druidic Warrior and grants me Healing Word) or Cleric (Nature; Healing Word and heavy armor.), and both don't require me to invest in other ability scores to qualify.
As someone that tried a 1 level dip into Nature Cleric on a Lizardfolk Wis-based tanky-melee Ranger, don’t ever tell anyone you have a level in Cleric. Because every. Single. Table. I ever played him at would hear me say “he’s a level X Ranger, with 1 level in Nature Cleric” and someone would go “oh! Cleric! We’re good to go, we’ve got a healer.”
You can offset the Drake's attack by slapping an Insignia of the Claws, Ioun Stone of Mastery, and a Belt of Giant Strength on it, though it doesn't benefit from it as much as the Animal Companion and Primal Companion since the Drake only attacks once.
Yeah I feel this final version leans more towards a Wis-based tanky-caster build (thinking breaths and Summon Beast, Fey, or Elemental).
Anyone have a 1-Level dip suggestion for this (I despise Foe Slayer)? I'm thinking Druid (frees up my Fighting Style from Druidic Warrior and grants me Healing Word) or Cleric (Nature; Healing Word and heavy armor.), and both don't require me to invest in other ability scores to qualify.
As someone that tried a 1 level dip into Nature Cleric on a Lizardfolk Wis-based tanky-melee Ranger, don’t ever tell anyone you have a level in Cleric. Because every. Single. Table. I ever played him at would hear me say “he’s a level X Ranger, with 1 level in Nature Cleric” and someone would go “oh! Cleric! We’re good to go, we’ve got a healer.”
I feel ya 😂 I can picture that happening often on Adventurers League pick-up groups.
I liked a dip of War cleric. The extra bonus attack helped before level five as an archer. Taking sharpshooter at four then having the drake dodge when I really need to do damage. After the ASI at eight I plan to take a second cleric level for the + hit channel divinity.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 plus PB to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 plus PB piercing damage
Cost: Your Bonus Action
This is very comparable to having been given the Crossbow Expert feat and using a hand crossbow. The attack modifier and damage is slightly worse, but you can use a longbow instead of a hand crossbow for your main action attack. Many Ranger spells like Hunter's Mark use your bonus action, so this does compete some for your bonus action. As a subclass feature, pretty good. It's important to note that it will steer you away from two-weapon fighting, since that relies on your bonus action.
Infused Strikes. When another creature within 30 feet of the drake that it can see hits a target with a weapon attack, the drake infuses the strike with its essence, causing the target to take an extra 1d6 damage of the type determined by its Draconic Essence.
Cost: Dragon's Reaction
It's your dragon's reaction, so it's essentially a damage buff that doesn't take away from your action economy. I'll take it.
At level 3, the combination of the two amounts to about a 9 point damage buff per turn if the bite hits. Actual added damage per turn is slightly less when you account for the times the bite will miss. Still that's not bad at all.
The dragon will also be absorbing damage the party would have taken. 20 points worth at level 3, and 30 points at level 5, etc. Can it die? Of course. A 1st level spell slot will bring it back to full hit points, no matter what level you are. So let's say you're level 10. Your dragon will absorb at least 55 hit points before it dies. Healing word would bring an ally back up with only a few hit points. A 1st level spell slot brings your dragon back to full hit points.
Now combine all of the above with the chosen damage resistance you get (which IMO is a minor benefit), and I would say tier 1 is really good.
Now level 7 Magic Fang. The drake’s Bite attack deals an extra 1d6 damage of the type chosen for the drake’s Draconic Essence.
A minor buff, but as everyone else brought up the attack does not become magical. To me this is a real bummer. As you start facing more enemies that are resistant or immune to non-magical attacks, this is potentially scaling down instead of up.
Magic Fang. The drake’s Bite attack deals an extra 1d6 damage of the type chosen for the drake’s Draconic Essence.
A minor buff, but as everyone else brought up the attack does not become magical. To me this is a real bummer. As you start facing more enemies that are resistant or immune to non-magical attacks, this is potentially scaling down instead of up.
Well at least the 'elemental' damage fits the theme and an Insignia of the Claws can always solve that problem. Additionally, if you know what you're fighting against beforehand, you can try to fit your Drake's damage against some possible vulnerability.
My only real problem with the Drake is its to hit bonus. I can't get it past +11 from what I've seen (+3 (Str), +7 Prof (Ioun Stone of Mastery), +1 (Insignia)) without slapping a Belt of Giant Strength on it, and you don't get as much benefit from the Belt when compared to a Tasha's Primal Companion or a PHB Panther because the Drake makes only 1 attack.
Magic Fang. The drake’s Bite attack deals an extra 1d6 damage of the type chosen for the drake’s Draconic Essence.
A minor buff, but as everyone else brought up the attack does not become magical. To me this is a real bummer. As you start facing more enemies that are resistant or immune to non-magical attacks, this is potentially scaling down instead of up.
Well at least the 'elemental' damage fits the theme and an Insignia of the Claws can always solve that problem. Additionally, if you know what you're fighting against beforehand, you can try to fit your Drake's damage against some possible vulnerability.
My only real problem with the Drake is its to hit bonus. I can't get it past +11 from what I've seen (+3 (Str), +7 Prof (Ioun Stone of Mastery), +1 (Insignia)) without slapping a Belt of Giant Strength on it, and you don't get as much benefit from the Belt when compared to a Tasha's Primal Companion or a PHB Panther because the Drake makes only 1 attack.
The elemental part isn't what I'm concerned about. At level 7 the melee damage is more than the elemental, and if an enemy has immunity to non-magical S/P/B damage, that goes away. You're left with with a 1d6. It doesn't completely ruin the class, but it for me it knocks it down a peg.
Does anyone else have an issue with the Drake's stat block not "leveling up"? As written, the Drake is a Small Dragon. At 7th it becomes Medium and 15, large. Shouldn't the statblock grown with it? Seems pretty off to me for a Large dragon to have the same stats as a Small one. Any chance that there will be a stat block for all three stages or is this something we'd have to homebrew?
Does anyone else have an issue with the Drake's stat block not "leveling up"? As written, the Drake is a Small Dragon. At 7th it becomes Medium and 15, large. Shouldn't the statblock grown with it? Seems pretty off to me for a Large dragon to have the same stats as a Small one. Any chance that there will be a stat block for all three stages or is this something we'd have to homebrew?
The hit points go up by 5 per level, and all the other stats scale up with proficiency bonus. Magic Fang and Empowered Bite are also scaling it up.
My biggest complaint is the piercing damage from its melee attack never becomes magical.
Does anyone else have an issue with the Drake's stat block not "leveling up"? As written, the Drake is a Small Dragon. At 7th it becomes Medium and 15, large. Shouldn't the statblock grown with it? Seems pretty off to me for a Large dragon to have the same stats as a Small one. Any chance that there will be a stat block for all three stages or is this something we'd have to homebrew?
By the end of it, the Drake has stats numerically comparable to those of pretty much every other pet class in the game. What more do you want to give it?
Does anyone else have an issue with the Drake's stat block not "leveling up"? As written, the Drake is a Small Dragon. At 7th it becomes Medium and 15, large. Shouldn't the statblock grown with it? Seems pretty off to me for a Large dragon to have the same stats as a Small one. Any chance that there will be a stat block for all three stages or is this something we'd have to homebrew?
By the end of it, the Drake has stats numerically comparable to those of pretty much every other pet class in the game. What more do you want to give it?
For me, at level 7 piercing damage from their bite is magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunities.
Does anyone else have an issue with the Drake's stat block not "leveling up"? As written, the Drake is a Small Dragon. At 7th it becomes Medium and 15, large. Shouldn't the statblock grown with it? Seems pretty off to me for a Large dragon to have the same stats as a Small one. Any chance that there will be a stat block for all three stages or is this something we'd have to homebrew?
The hit points go up by 5 per level, and all the other stats scale up with proficiency bonus. Magic Fang and Empowered Bite are also scaling it up.
My biggest complaint is the piercing damage from its melee attack never becomes magical.
I didn't see anywhere that talked about how it scaled up as you level. Would you please point to where this info comes from? My group's Ranger is very interested in changing subclasses and I want to have this understood before we go forward with it.
By the end of it, the Drake has stats numerically comparable to those of pretty much every other pet class in the game. What more do you want to give it?
There was nothing written in the preview about the specific scaling up for this companion, so I was coming here for help. Thank you very much for your helpful response.
"Hit Points 5 + five times your ranger level (the drake has a number of Hit Dice [d10s] equal to your ranger level)" "Saving Throws Dex + 1 plus PB, Wis + 2 plus PB" "Bite. Meele Weapon Attack: +3 plus PB to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 plus PB piercing damage."
"Hit Points 5 + five times your ranger level (the drake has a number of Hit Dice [d10s] equal to your ranger level)" "Saving Throws Dex + 1 plus PB, Wis + 2 plus PB" "Bite. Meele Weapon Attack: +3 plus PB to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 plus PB piercing damage."
Well, there's that. And I am, apparently, not a very deep reader. Thank you very much.
I guess that my question should have been phrased: Will there be stat blocks for all of the "levels" for the drakes?
I noticed a very surprising issue with this subclass if you want to use your drake as a mount as it is suggested with the new level 7 mounting feature:
Since its creature type is dragon this "specific" rule in mounted combat is used: "While you’re mounted, you have two options. You can either control the mount or allow it to act independently. Intelligent creatures, such as dragons, act independently."
This means only the independent mount rules may be used for your drake: "An independent mount retains its place in the initiative order. Bearing a rider puts no restrictions on the actions the mount can take, and it moves and acts as it wishes. It might flee from combat, rush to attack and devour a badly injured foe, or otherwise act against your wishes."
As I read it, since the Drake will always act AFTER your turn (regardless if you use a bonus action to command it or not), a drakewarden mounted on a drake can only move AFTER his turn which is really awkward. Of course the Drake could ready a move action for your turn, but that would use his reaction which is needed for infused strikes...
And even if a DM would rule that it may use the controlled mount rules (which I think is against the rules, because dragons are explicitely independent mounts) you would be limited to the Dash, Dodge and Disengage actions. As I read it: No other actions, meaning no attack from the drake and no Reaction.
This leaves mounted combat on your drake in a very bad place... (RAW).
That's an interesting point. Under the "Drake Companion" section it does specifically state that the drake obeys your commands, so based on that I would say the controlled mount rules apply. But as far as I read it you are correct that this would limit the drake's actions, which would be really disappointing and a major drawback.
The drake going directly after you in initiative isn't as big of a deal IMO, if you need the drake to move you could always ready your action and take it after the drake moves. You'd be giving up your reaction, but at least it would allow the drake to use its infused strikes. Though that's all moot if the mounted combat restricts the drake to just dash, disengage, and dodge. I'll be curious to see if there's any additional clarification in the actual book.
Remember: That ready actions usually remove a significant part of the damage. for example extra attack. ready actions on the drakes turn are not on your turn. (unless you belive your refers to player and not pc)
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
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You can offset the Drake's attack by slapping an Insignia of the Claws, Ioun Stone of Mastery, and a Belt of Giant Strength on it, though it doesn't benefit from it as much as the Animal Companion and Primal Companion since the Drake only attacks once.
Yeah I feel this final version leans more towards a Wis-based tanky-caster build (thinking breaths and Summon Beast, Fey, or Elemental).
Anyone have a 1-Level dip suggestion for this (I despise Foe Slayer)? I'm thinking Druid (frees up my Fighting Style from Druidic Warrior and grants me Healing Word) or Cleric (Nature; Healing Word and heavy armor.), and both don't require me to invest in other ability scores to qualify.
Art Portfolio
Maybe Rogue for baby sneak attack and expertise?
While it is a little less than the Primal Beasts. The Primal Beasts kind of have other faults. But they are at least consistent for the most part in how they work. So losing a couple of attack isn't too bad for the most part compared to them.
keep in mind the primal beasts average out to about 7 damage at level 3. Moving up to 8 damage at level 5 (the beast of the land does 1 more). And this is all the damage that they do until basically level 11. And then it basically doubles not accounting for PB increases as it levels further. (Basically +1 per attack at 9th, 13th, and 17th levels)
The Drake when we examine it seems to be doing 5 at level 3 when read as written (though oddly doesn't have any kind of attribute damage listed in it's statblock which may be an oversight and is likely +3) but realistically it's likely doing 8 instead (11 if the attribute damage really is an oversight). Because it's adding 3 to a damage roll somebody else is doing more than likely with it's reaction.
Than at level 7 when Magic Fang kicks in for Elemental Damage. It's now doing 9 (+1 PB at level 5, plus 3 average elemental damage), but is more likely doing doing 12 Damage because of the infused strike ability and using their reaction.
this basically means that a Primal Beast Ranger at level 11 is looking at basically 16 damage at level 11 to the like 13 damage provided by the drake but they actually even out by level 15 at 17 damage a piece.
But They basically even out when it comes to just basic attacks. But the Drake still has an ace in the hole. it still has a breath weapon attack that averages out at 24 damage (12 if the save is made, not counting resistance for ease right now) per target hit that primal beasts can't really duplicate. The Downside is that if it just hits one person and they make their save, it's not increasing their DPS. But for each person it hits and each failed save it's effectively like another hit in combat which is increasing the dps done overall. So it's not surprising that they can't attack more than once. On top of this their infused Strikes is still available to be used even on turns that they use their breath weapon so they still have that 3 dps from that on top of it that is applied to an ally's hit.
it should also be noted that if the attribute damage was an oversight and is meant to be on the drake. it actually ends up doing the same amount of damage just from regular attacks that the Primal beast does with two attacks that the Drake will do with one attack and at level 15 the Drake ends up doing more damage than the Primal Beast overall.
But When we consider these possible increases in damage. It's not really surprising that we see a slight drop in accuracy that is mostly obvious at the higher levels. Higher Damage with slightly less accuracy tends to be kind of the way of some things that falls in line with things like GWM and SharpShooter but without having to find additional means or magical weapons to offset the bulk of the attack modifier loss. Most of which the Drake wouldn't have access to anyway. Though the Truth of it is that they made it hit a little less so that the Drake Pet didn't risk overshadowing the Ranger while still being a big boon to the Ranger as their subclass addition. But it seems to be a strong primarily pure damage based choice compared to other pet options.
And I'd just like to make a side note. I am primarily using the Primal Beasts as a comparison because the PHB ranger's pets are not consistent enough to make full blanket statements about. Otherwise we'd practically have to Individually go through possible pets. But the fact that the PHB ranger is a lot more variable and a lot more potential extra abilities to their attacks or the way they function like bonus action dash abilities that the Primal Beast or the Drake do not have access to which continues to be the PHB ranger's biggest comparable strength is all of those extra abilities and fine details to be chosen from.
As someone that tried a 1 level dip into Nature Cleric on a Lizardfolk Wis-based tanky-melee Ranger, don’t ever tell anyone you have a level in Cleric. Because every. Single. Table. I ever played him at would hear me say “he’s a level X Ranger, with 1 level in Nature Cleric” and someone would go “oh! Cleric! We’re good to go, we’ve got a healer.”
I feel ya 😂 I can picture that happening often on Adventurers League pick-up groups.
Art Portfolio
I liked a dip of War cleric. The extra bonus attack helped before level five as an archer. Taking sharpshooter at four then having the drake dodge when I really need to do damage. After the ASI at eight I plan to take a second cleric level for the + hit channel divinity.
So here's my take. At level 3:
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 plus PB to hit, reach 5 ft., one
target. Hit: 1d6 plus PB piercing damage
Cost: Your Bonus Action
This is very comparable to having been given the Crossbow Expert feat and using a hand crossbow. The attack modifier and damage is slightly worse, but you can use a longbow instead of a hand crossbow for your main action attack. Many Ranger spells like Hunter's Mark use your bonus action, so this does compete some for your bonus action. As a subclass feature, pretty good. It's important to note that it will steer you away from two-weapon fighting, since that relies on your bonus action.
Infused Strikes. When another creature within 30 feet of the
drake that it can see hits a target with a weapon attack, the
drake infuses the strike with its essence, causing the target
to take an extra 1d6 damage of the type determined by its
Draconic Essence.
Cost: Dragon's Reaction
It's your dragon's reaction, so it's essentially a damage buff that doesn't take away from your action economy. I'll take it.
At level 3, the combination of the two amounts to about a 9 point damage buff per turn if the bite hits. Actual added damage per turn is slightly less when you account for the times the bite will miss. Still that's not bad at all.
The dragon will also be absorbing damage the party would have taken. 20 points worth at level 3, and 30 points at level 5, etc. Can it die? Of course. A 1st level spell slot will bring it back to full hit points, no matter what level you are. So let's say you're level 10. Your dragon will absorb at least 55 hit points before it dies. Healing word would bring an ally back up with only a few hit points. A 1st level spell slot brings your dragon back to full hit points.
Now combine all of the above with the chosen damage resistance you get (which IMO is a minor benefit), and I would say tier 1 is really good.
Now level 7
Magic Fang. The drake’s Bite attack deals an extra
1d6 damage of the type chosen for the drake’s
Draconic Essence.
A minor buff, but as everyone else brought up the attack does not become magical. To me this is a real bummer. As you start facing more enemies that are resistant or immune to non-magical attacks, this is potentially scaling down instead of up.
Well at least the 'elemental' damage fits the theme and an Insignia of the Claws can always solve that problem. Additionally, if you know what you're fighting against beforehand, you can try to fit your Drake's damage against some possible vulnerability.
My only real problem with the Drake is its to hit bonus. I can't get it past +11 from what I've seen (+3 (Str), +7 Prof (Ioun Stone of Mastery), +1 (Insignia)) without slapping a Belt of Giant Strength on it, and you don't get as much benefit from the Belt when compared to a Tasha's Primal Companion or a PHB Panther because the Drake makes only 1 attack.
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The elemental part isn't what I'm concerned about. At level 7 the melee damage is more than the elemental, and if an enemy has immunity to non-magical S/P/B damage, that goes away. You're left with with a 1d6. It doesn't completely ruin the class, but it for me it knocks it down a peg.
Does anyone else have an issue with the Drake's stat block not "leveling up"? As written, the Drake is a Small Dragon. At 7th it becomes Medium and 15, large. Shouldn't the statblock grown with it? Seems pretty off to me for a Large dragon to have the same stats as a Small one. Any chance that there will be a stat block for all three stages or is this something we'd have to homebrew?
The hit points go up by 5 per level, and all the other stats scale up with proficiency bonus. Magic Fang and Empowered Bite are also scaling it up.
My biggest complaint is the piercing damage from its melee attack never becomes magical.
By the end of it, the Drake has stats numerically comparable to those of pretty much every other pet class in the game. What more do you want to give it?
For me, at level 7 piercing damage from their bite is magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunities.
I'd be totally OK with the Drake getting a +2 Strength every time its size increases. 🤔
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I didn't see anywhere that talked about how it scaled up as you level. Would you please point to where this info comes from? My group's Ranger is very interested in changing subclasses and I want to have this understood before we go forward with it.
There was nothing written in the preview about the specific scaling up for this companion, so I was coming here for help. Thank you very much for your helpful response.
Its on page 2 with the statblock
https://dndcelebration.com/downloads/preview-2.pdf
"Hit Points 5 + five times your ranger level (the drake has a number of Hit Dice [d10s] equal to your ranger level)"
"Saving Throws Dex + 1 plus PB, Wis + 2 plus PB"
"Bite. Meele Weapon Attack: +3 plus PB to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 plus PB piercing damage."
Well, there's that. And I am, apparently, not a very deep reader. Thank you very much.
I guess that my question should have been phrased: Will there be stat blocks for all of the "levels" for the drakes?
I noticed a very surprising issue with this subclass if you want to use your drake as a mount as it is suggested with the new level 7 mounting feature:
Since its creature type is dragon this "specific" rule in mounted combat is used:
"While you’re mounted, you have two options. You can either control the mount or allow it to act independently. Intelligent creatures, such as dragons, act independently."
This means only the independent mount rules may be used for your drake:
"An independent mount retains its place in the initiative order. Bearing a rider puts no restrictions on the actions the mount can take, and it moves and acts as it wishes. It might flee from combat, rush to attack and devour a badly injured foe, or otherwise act against your wishes."
As I read it, since the Drake will always act AFTER your turn (regardless if you use a bonus action to command it or not), a drakewarden mounted on a drake can only move AFTER his turn which is really awkward. Of course the Drake could ready a move action for your turn, but that would use his reaction which is needed for infused strikes...
And even if a DM would rule that it may use the controlled mount rules (which I think is against the rules, because dragons are explicitely independent mounts) you would be limited to the Dash, Dodge and Disengage actions. As I read it: No other actions, meaning no attack from the drake and no Reaction.
This leaves mounted combat on your drake in a very bad place... (RAW).
That's an interesting point. Under the "Drake Companion" section it does specifically state that the drake obeys your commands, so based on that I would say the controlled mount rules apply. But as far as I read it you are correct that this would limit the drake's actions, which would be really disappointing and a major drawback.
The drake going directly after you in initiative isn't as big of a deal IMO, if you need the drake to move you could always ready your action and take it after the drake moves. You'd be giving up your reaction, but at least it would allow the drake to use its infused strikes. Though that's all moot if the mounted combat restricts the drake to just dash, disengage, and dodge. I'll be curious to see if there's any additional clarification in the actual book.
Remember: That ready actions usually remove a significant part of the damage. for example extra attack. ready actions on the drakes turn are not on your turn. (unless you belive your refers to player and not pc)
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.