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."***

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* **Summary**
	+ The Dragon is a fearsome flying unit and is capable of attacking both ground and air units. Unlike the Gasbag, the Dragon is both ranged and deals splash damage, like the Conjurer.
	+ A Dragon does short-range splash damage when he attacks. This can only be noticed when used against Clan Hall 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 Anti AirCrafts as possible with other units (infantry, Huges, etc.) or Bombing Spells, as it is a significant weakness to this powerful unit.
	+ The Rampage Spell and Dragon is like bread and butter. So try using a Pure-Dragon army and the Rampage Spell can be effective.
		- Try to place the dragons separately, as they will join on in the middle of the battle, when you have reached the base's center. Then put Rampage Spell for mass destruction.
	+ A powerful, but costly, strategy for Stronghold 7 and Stronghold 8 players (especially for Clan Wars) uses a combination of Dragons and Gasbags. Dragons can tank the Anti AirCrafts and Conjurer Towers while Gasbags target the Defensive Buildings. Which spells to bring ultimately depend on the layout of the defending base - an attacker should have a plan to destroy every Anti AirCraft, whether that involves extra Gasbags, Bombing Spells, Generation Spells, or Rampage Spells.
	+ Dragons are mostly used to get Trophies and in war as their high cost doesn't make them great candidates for Food raiding.
	+ 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 Warriors or Fire Bats or save their God of War to take out lone buildings in the corners; it might mean the difference between a 99% 2-star and a 100% 3-star raid.
	+ If the Dragon appear to be jamming your defense, you can lure it out, then surround it. Due to its attack and movement speed, it will be overpowered soon.
* **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 Anti AirCrafts are critical for success against Dragons.
	+ As a Stronghold 8 player, keeping your Anti AirCrafts 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 Anti AirCrafts are too close together, a single Rampage Spell applied to a cluster of Dragons can quickly wipe out all three.
	+ Dragons are wonderful Clan Hall 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 Warriors and Thiefs. His high health also helps him survive attacks from even multiple Rangers or Conjurers (although a large group of either will usually be enough to destroy the Dragon). However, you can use spread your Rangers and Conjurers in a semi or whole circle around the dragon. This exploits the fact that dragons have a slow hit speed.

* **Upgrade Differences**
	+ The Dragon encounters major graphic changes at every level.
		- 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 Food.
		- 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, referred to it as the new "ancient red dragon." His eyes also start flaming..

* **Trivia**
	+ The Dragon has a pair of paws and fire in his mouth
	+ A Dragon's shadow is oval, not dragon-shaped.
	+ The Dragon's upon-death skeleton is human-shaped.
	+ The Dragon is one of only two troops 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 Zombomb.
	+ The Dragon is one of the six air troops (along with the Soul, the Fire Bat) 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 Hall troops over a wall, etc.).