Lightning Dragon

* Normal
* Upgrade

**Lightning Dragon** is a character card. It is a 10/1 with Flying that makes a bonus attack at the start of each brawl.

## Strategy

**Lightning Dragon** can be clutch on-curve, killing a variety of back line threats before the fight even starts. Examples of good targets include Supports like Sporko, characters that build up over the courts of the fight like Queen of Hearts or Bearded Vulture, or even just powerful Ranged characters in the back like Spell Weaver and Shadow Assassin.

**Lightning Dragon**, while fine on-curve, struggles with the fact that at best, it will trade with your opponent's best character, as with its 1 Health it is quite unlikely to survive its bonus attack. So at best it will even the playing field for a few turns, and then it will fall off once backlines become sturdy enough to withstand its attack. It does not have many synergies as a Dragon either, though it can break synergies on the opposing side. It also can be inconsistent, as Ring of Meteors and many spells including Falling Stars snipe it before it gets to do anything, and a Soltak Ancient on the opposing side ruins its day, causing its bonus attack to simply cause it to commit suicide at the start of the fight.

For **Lightning Dragon** to shine on-curve, a source of Health is necessary, as if it survives the first attack, it gets to deal twice as much total damage. Haunted Helm, Dragon Nest, and Lady of the Lake Support work well with **Lightning Dragon** - even a little Health can let it survive its opening attack against many of its intended targets, and even snipe a second character in your opponent's backline if you put it in first (its second attack being its standard attack). If it survives both those attacks, it can even kill a 3rd character on counterattack, allowing it to trade for an impressive 3-for-1.

**Lightning Dragon** has particularly good synergy with Riverwish Mermaid, as it will Slay quite consistently with her Support, and gain health in the process, allowing it to make good value trades, and with enough health, frequently Slay twice in a fight. Throw Bad Moon and a second **Lightning Dragon** to eventually upgrade it with into the mix, and this can become truly impressive scaling, allowing **Lightning Dragon** to be a threat to your opponents' boards into the endgame. Bad Moon with Sad Dracula's Hero power can accomplish this to a lesser extent. Even if you accomplish this, be prepared for your final few opponents to put a Soltak Ancient in to counter it, and when they do you may want to sideline **Lightning Dragon** (but hold on to it to keep them guessing). **Lightning Dragon** is also especially good with Coin of Charon, as it will almost guarantee that all of the buffs will go to **Lightning Dragon** every round, and the toughness boost will eventually allow it to survive the first attack.

Soltak Ancient is extremely effective at shutting down **Lightning Dragon**, as it gives 2 of 3 characters in the backline complete immunity from **Lightning Dragon** (while **Lightning Dragon** will still take retaliation damage). As such, if an opponent is playing **Lightning Dragon**, it may be worth it to remember that opponent's name, and play Soltak Ancient against them during the next brawl.

If the player is using a strategy that requires their second character to attack first (most commonly Copycat), **Lightning Dragon** actually might make a good character to place in slot 1. This is because, if **Lightning Dragon** dies during their bonus attack, your second character will be your first character to make their normal attack.

## Notes

* **Lightning Dragon**'s bonus attack goes before any other attack (except possibly other **Lightning Dragon** bonus attacks on your side or your opponent's), even if your opponent has Hermes' Boots. However, it attacks after all abilities/treasures that trigger at the start of combat (such as Ashwood Elm's), and triggers after all spells have resolved.
* **Lightning Dragon** does not gain an extra attack upon being upgraded. This means that there are scenarios in which having 2 unupgraded **Lightning Dragon**s might be stronger than a single upgraded one.

## Gallery

*Lightning Dragon* card art*Lightning Dragon* card art pre August 11, 2022 patch
## History

 June 18, 2021 | Released in *Storybook Brawl's* Early Access launch.