"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."
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Summary
The Dragon is a fearsome flying unit capable of attacking both ground and air units. Similar to the Wizard, the Dragon's attacks are ranged and deal splash damage.
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 to level 2, matching its image in the Barracks.
Dragons have no preferred target when attacking; they will simply attack the closest building. However, once they become aware of enemy Clan Castletroops, Heroes, or Skeleton Trap skeletons (either by being attacked themselves or by being near another friendly troop under attack), they will leave their previously targeted building and instead engage the enemy troops. Once all of the nearby enemy troops are defeated, the Dragons will proceed to attack the nearest structure.
Offensive Strategy
Most Dragon strategies involve taking out as many Air Defenses as possible with other units (infantry, Giants, etc.) or Lightning Spells, as they are a significant threat to this powerful unit.
The Rage Spell and Dragon are like bread and butter. Dragons are slow but deal high damage per attack, so using a pure-Dragon army with Rage Spells can be effective. Since Dragons are air units this also saves the time of them moving through walls significantly.
Try to spread the Dragons along the edge of the base, as they will converge in the middle of the battle, when you have reached the base's center. Then place a Rage Spell for mass destruction.
Dragons are mostly used to get Trophies and in war as their high cost doesn't make them great candidates for Elixir raiding, but strategic planning makes them easier to win battles.
At TH 8 some careless opponents may have poorly placed Air Defenses bunched together that can be taken down by Lightning Spells and Earthquake Spells. If they have a lot of resources, a Dragon raid is usually the best option as they can devastate entire bases once Air Defenses are taken out.
When using mass Dragon raids one should 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 prevent this, attackers should bring some Barbarians or Minions or save their Barbarian King to take out lone buildings in the corners; it might mean the difference between a 99% 2-star and a 100% 3-star raid. A level 4 Clan Castle can hold a Haste Spell which can be used to speed up the Dragons if time is in short, though haste spells are better used for a frontal assault.
Some opponents may also put a Hidden Tesla nearby. In that case one shall simply use their Barbarian King. It's also possible to put the Dragons in one of the corner buildings, then allow them to wreck havoc inside the base.
Dragons will attack the Barbarian King and Clan Castle Troops that cannot target air units if these troops are the closest target, despite their lack of anti-air capabilities. Be careful as these troops can distract your Dragons from attacking other more threatening targets, wasting time.
If the Barbarian King does not move near defenses, one can simply avoid deploying Dragons near him and use a Minion instead.
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.
As a Town Hall 8 player, keeping your Air Defenses semi-spread while protecting them with Storages and other high hitpoint buildings is the key to preventing most 3-star attacks using Dragons. If the Air Defenses are too close together, a single Rage Spell applied to a cluster of Dragons can quickly wipe out all three. Also, if two are placed close enough, an Earthquake + 3 Lightning Spells can destroy both.
Dragons are wonderful Clan CastleTroops. 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). However, you can use spread your archers and wizards in a semi or whole circle around the dragon. This exploits the fact that dragons have a slow hit speed.
Alternatively an army of Dragons can easily overwhelm a single dragon.
Upgrade Differences
The Dragon undergoes significant visual changes at all levels.
Initially, the Dragon has 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 greenish-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 level 5, the Dragon's skin turns into a brownish-crimson color. It also obtains golden horns near the back of its head and spikes on its back. Its wings also gets larger.
At level 6, the Dragon's skin turns dark crimson in color. The edges of its wings take on a reddish shade.
At level 7, the Dragon's skin turns completely red in color. The tip of the tail also starts flaming.
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 amazing feat.
You can have a maximum of 14 Dragons at one time in a complete set of fully upgraded Army Camps. This number increases to 16 if you include the 2 that can fit into a fully upgraded Clan Castle. On the battlefield, you can clone an additional 3 Dragons with three level 2 or higher Clone Spells.
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.
A Dragon's shadow is oval, not dragon-shaped.
The Dragon's upon-death skeleton is human-shaped.
The Dragon is the only troop to have different appearances at every level.
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 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 Castletroops over a wall, etc.).
The January 2013 update added Dark Elixir, stating that this resource is formed over aeons from fossilized Black Dragon (then-maxed level 3 Dragon) bones. However, training or upgrading Dragons never involve Dark Elixir.
This is more likely a reference over oil, a fossil fuel, because Inferno Towers were powered by them.
An event lasted from 29/1/15 through 5/2/15, during which the Dragon's training speed was 5 times faster, along with the Barbarian.
The Dragon has the 3rd highest DPS (140) out of all troops (the others being P.E.K.K.A. 240, and the Electro Dragon 240).
