Dragon Masters

Dragon Masters, or Dragon Knights outside North America,https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c93uk2&p=23 was a Castle subtheme introduced in 1993 and phased out in 1995.
== Details ==
In contrast to previous factions of Castle, which were more or less accurate renditions of medieval life, Dragon Masters ventured into the realm of fantasy by introducing classical fantasy elements such as dragons and wizards. The Dragon Master army was led by the wizard Majisto, noteworthy for his pointed hat, his glow-in-the-dark magic wand, and his long white beard, all new elements that year, and for being the first Castle minifigure to have a proper name - in fact, Majisto was one of the first minifigure to be a character. Majisto commanded a small regiment of knights and guards, whose shields bore a recolored (green) variant of the Black Knights' shields, as well as dragons. In the UK the dragon was given the name of Ogwen.https://images.brickset.com/library/view/?f=catalogues/c95uk2&p=41
The Dragon Masters competed with the Wolfpack and Black Knights, both of whom feared the great power of Majisto, as shown in the 1993 and 1994 catalogue dioramas, while the Wolfpack were often guests in Dragon Masters sets. They are also shown to be fighting the Royal Knights in certain 1995 catalogues and commercials/adverts, and the 1996 idea book (even though Dragon Masters sets had already been discontinued).
The theme's primary colours are black, light grey, and bright red, with dark grey, brown and bright green detail pieces. The flag is yellow with a red border and blue and red dragon. The shields have a green and red dragon instead, and the torsos have a golden dragon head.
All of the Dragon Masters sets included in the catalog, excepting the Crossbow Cart, were released in 1993. The following year saw the release of two further sets, and in 1995 only one other small set was released. Dragon Masters minifigures made guest appearances in Royal Knights sets until the end of 1996.
==Background==
=== Castles and Equipment ===
Dragon Masters was one of the smaller Castle factions, although they possessed numerous vehicles. 6048 Majisto's Magical Workshop was the only residence in Lego Castle released during the 1990s. 
Interestingly the total number of dragons included in the entirety of Dragon Masters sets was three; with 6082 Fire Breathing Fortress, 6076 Dark Dragon's Den, and 6056 Dragon Wagon each containing one dragon. These sets also featured less minifigures and horses than other similar-sized sets in Lego Castle, due to the inclusion of the dragon which was larger and presumably more expensive to produce.
=== New and Exclusive Pieces ===
Dragon Masters brought a whole array of new minifigures. The wizard Majisto necessitated new pieces including his pointed hat, beard, and glow-in-the-dark wand. There were three new variations of bearded faces (instead of the simple facial expression of two solid black dots for eyes and a smile painted in solid black), and for the torso there were three different dragon heads printed on them, all of this which never appeared outside of Lego Castle and were only in use during the 1990s.
New additions to the equipment included the large grey halberd and the dragon helmets with side plumes, both pieces which would reappear in later themes. There was also a new head armor piece for the horses.
This was also one of the first themes to introduce cloth pieces as flags and capes. In this case both were yellow and printed with a green dragon and not reused in other themes.
Dragon Masters also marked the first appearance of the later ubiquitous flame piece 6126, which has been reused a countless number of times ever since.
The dragon creatures that the Dragon Masters introduced to Lego Castle have points of articulation at the jaw, both shoulders, both wings, and the tail, with studs on their back to allow for the carrying of riders. For the Dragon Masters, their captured/tamed dragons were green with red wings. Although the Dragon Masters were discontinued after 1995, meaning no sets with dragons were available in catalogues for 1996, the green dragons with red wings would appear in some Fright Knights sets debuting in 1997. 
== Sets ==
;Other appearances
* 6105 Medieval Knights (1994) contained three Dragon Masters minifigures.
* 6078 Royal Drawbridge (1995) contains a Dragon Masters knight (the helm and torso are Dragon Masters) albeit with an oval Black Knights shield. 
* The oval Dragon Masters shield with the green dragon reappeared on a cart in 6079 Dark Forest Fortress from 1996.
* 6079 Dark Forest Fortress (1996) contained two Dragon Masters minifigures, albeit bearing triangular shields of the Black Knights.
* 5704 LEGO Racers
* LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed
== Characters ==
== Gallery ==
Dragon Knights promotion.jpg|An ad for the Dragon Knights from Bricks 'n' Pieces Summer 1993 issue
Dragon Master Story.jpg|A box cover with the story of the Dragon Masters theme
== See also ==
* Black Knights
* Wolfpack
Category:Castle
 
Category:Themes introduced in 1993
Category:Discontinued Themes
Category:Castle Factions
Category:Subthemes