Dragon



"The might of the dragons are known throughout the land. This scaly terror of the skies feels no mercy and nothing will escape the fiery splashes of his breath."


 * Summary
 * The Dragon is a fearsome flying unit and is capable of attacking both ground and air units. Unlike the Balloon, the Dragon is both ranged and deals splash damage, like the Wizard.
 * Also unlike the Balloon the Dragon does not target a specific Building to attack; he targets whatever is nearest.
 * A Dragon does short-range splash damage when he attacks. This can only be noticed when used against Clan Castle Troops and Walls.
 * The purple Dragon icon shown in the Barracks is actually a level 2 Dragon. The Dragon changes from green to purple after upgrading, matching its image in the Barracks.


 * Offensive Strategy
 * Most Dragon strategies involve taking out as many Air Defenses as possible with other units (infantry, Giants, etc.) or Lightning Spells, as it is a significant weakness to this powerful unit.
 * A good strategy involves a mix of Dragons and Balloons. Dragons can suck up fire from Air Defenses and Wizard Towers while Balloons go straight for the Defensive Buildings, though this is a very costly strategy.
 * Dragons are mostly used to get Trophies as their high cost doesn't make them great candidates for resource raiding.
 * Dragons are ultimately useful for Clan Wars, especially against Town Hall 7 and Town Hall 8 players. It's efficient to accompany them with Rage Spell, as they will be very effective to get 3 star in a single raid.
 * When using mass Dragon raids be careful of Buildings in the corners because their relatively slow movement speed does not make it great for moving around from corner to corner, to deal with this problem, bring some Barbarians or Minions to take out lone buildings in the corners; it might mean the difference between a 99% 2-star and a 100% 3-star raid.
 * Defensive Strategy
 * Dragons are one of the most powerful Troops in the game, and as such it can be difficult to defend against them. Multiple high-level Air Defenses are critical for success against Dragons; make sure that your Air Defenses are behind your primary line of defense so that they cannot be taken out early in the battle.
 * Dragons are wonderful Clan Castle Troops. As a flying unit, the Dragon is completely immune to attacks from most ground troops, and his splash damage capability makes it especially suited for destroying groups of Barbarians and Goblins. His high health also helps him survive attacks from even multiple Archers or Wizards (although a large group of either will usually be enough to destroy the Dragon).


 * Upgrade Differences
 * The Dragon encounters major graphic changes at all 4 levels.
 * Level 1 Dragons have green-colored skin and black eyes.
 * At level 2, the Dragon's skin turns from green to purple, matching his image in the Barracks. His eyes also turn the color of elixir.
 * At level 3, the Dragon's skin changes again to dark grayish-brown.
 * At level 4, the Dragon's skin turns a deep red; as part of the update announcement, Supercell referred to it as the new "ancient red dragon." His eyes also start flaming.


 * At Lv5, the Dragon obtains spikes on it's back


 * Trivia
 * The first person to have reached over 4,000 trophies (Jorge Yao) used an all-Dragon army to do so. He used 4 Lightning Spells as support, one to take out Clan Castle troops and the rest to destroy an Air Defense. This was his way to ensure 50% damage practically every time he attacked in order to become the top player and achieve this wonderful feat.
 * The Dragon's attack was given a splash damage component as of the 12 March 2013 update, making them much more powerful against groups of ground troops.
 * The Dragon received new art as of the 23 May 2013 update; the new Dragon receives forelegs along with a line of small spikes down its neck and back. This new look is often debated among fellow players to which one looks the 'best', along with the P.E.K.K.A.
 * The Dragon has a pair of paws and fire in his mouth since the 23 May 2013 update. The appearance has also been changed to a robotic like creature.
 * A Dragon's shadow is oval, not dragon-shaped.
 * The Dragon's upon-death skeleton is person-shaped.
 * The Dragon is one of only two troops to have different appearances at every level (along with the P.E.K.K.A).
 * The Dragon is one of only two troops of which the picture in the Barracks resembles an upgraded troop, the other being the Wall Breaker.
 * The Dragon is one of the five air troops (along with the Healer, the Minion, the Lava Hound and the Lava Pup) that never stop flapping their wings, as they cannot land.
 * The level 3 and 4 Dragon has a very thin see-through line going through the base of the wing. However, this is barely noticeable.
 * Dragons do not attack Walls, but can deal damage if indirectly attacking. (Shooting at Clan Castle troops over a wall, etc.)
 * Despite being a popular troop for trophy pushing and war, it is tied with the Giant for having the lowest DPS per housing space of all Elixir Troops (10 DPS/housing space at max level).
 * The January 2013 update added Dark Elixir, stating that this resource is formed over aeons from fossilized Black Dragon (i.e. then-maxed level 3 Dragon) bones. However, no levels of Dragons are trained or upgraded using Dark Elixir.
 * The January 2013 update added Dark Elixir, stating that this resource is formed over aeons from fossilized Black Dragon (i.e. then-maxed level 3 Dragon) bones. However, no levels of Dragons are trained or upgraded using Dark Elixir.



For additional statistics and information, see the Unit Calculators page.