Elder Dragon
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Excellent (9/10)
Epic Relics
High Investment Required
Elder Dragon is an exceptionally powerful champion who excels in the game's hardest content, including high-Defiance runs and the 10-star Zoe adventure. While his early game can be slow and his starting deck relies heavily on low-cost support units, his late-game scaling and 'Unstoppable' level-up condition make him a dominant force. He is highly reliant on Starforged Gauntlets for mana acceleration.
The Unstoppable Behemoth
Provides a crucial +1 starting mana gem because Elder Dragon is a Titanic champion.
Grants a free attack and Barrier upon play, instantly progressing his level-up condition.
Generates discounted high-cost units upon summoning Elder Dragon, instantly flooding the board with massive threats.
Strategy
This is the definitive optimal build for maximizing Elder Dragon's tempo and immediate impact. Starforged Gauntlets is essential for accelerating his high-cost game plan, allowing him to reach the board turns earlier.
When played, Cease and Desist forces an immediate free attack with massive stats, which often instantly levels him up. Portal Pals provides an overwhelming board state to secure the victory.
Found Fortune Control
- Accelerates the mana curve to deploy Elder Dragon earlier.
- Forces an immediate attack to accelerate the level-up condition.
Draws a high-impact card and reduces its cost to 0, providing targeted draw rather than random generation.
Strategy
This build is highly effective for challenging encounters like the 10-star Zoe adventure. Found Fortune is preferred over Portal Pals here because it offers more control over which cards are drawn, ensuring you find specific game-winning threats from your deck rather than relying on random generation.
Titanic Spellweaver
Refills spell mana upon summoning, ensuring you can cast Redoubled Valor immediately.
Creates a Redoubled Valor in hand upon summoning.
Copies spells cast once you reach 6 mana gems.
Strategy
This build utilizes only common and rare relics and focuses on a massive single-turn power spike. The goal is to survive until you have 6 mana gems, then deploy Elder Dragon.
Lost Chapter immediately refills your spell mana, allowing you to cast the Redoubled Valor generated by Hymn of Valor. Because you have 6 mana gems, Chemtech Duplicator copies the spell, quadrupling Elder Dragon's stats and ensuring a devastating attack.
Other Relic Options
Provides Scout for multiple attacks per round. Crucially, once Elder Dragon levels up, his 'Unstoppable' keyword prevents Galeforce from shuffling him back into the deck at round end, leaving a massive Scout unit permanently on the board.
An excellent choice before reaching his 6-star constellation, as it provides Overwhelm to prevent his massive units from being chump-blocked. However, it becomes redundant at 6 stars when Dragon Boons inherently provide Overwhelm.
Players disagree about this relic's viability. Some use it to deploy him earlier, while others find it ineffective due to his exceptionally high base cost requiring too wide of a board to achieve a meaningful discount.
Constellation
Elder Dragon's constellation tree is highly impactful, transforming him from a slow, vulnerable champion into an inevitable win condition. His upgrades focus heavily on mana acceleration and amplifying the power of his Dragon Boons, making him one of the most reliable late-game threats in the roster. He is particularly strong in 0-star Defiance challenges (Mortality 4) where constellations are disabled, as his base kit is already incredibly potent.
Dragonsire
Allies with base cost 6+ cost 1 less.
Aspect of the Dragon
+1 Starting Mana. When you play a base 6+ cost ally, play a random Dragon Boon on it.
Dragonsire II
Allies with base cost 6+ cost 2 less.
Early Bird
Game Start: Summon your weakest follower from deck.Review
Highly valued for enabling turn 1 ramp strategies. Players often cut 2-cost units from their starting deck to guarantee this early acceleration.
Manaflow
Game Start: Get a mana gem.Review
Provides a crucial starting mana gem. This is a massive power spike that significantly improves his early-game consistency and speed.
Souls of Dragons
Your Dragon Boons are replaced with Dragon Souls.Review
Upgrades Dragon Boons to provide massive stat increases, enhanced effects, and Nexus healing. This transforms him into a premier champion for high-difficulty encounters
Gameplay Tips
- The Unstoppable Keyword
Once leveled up, Elder Dragon is immune to almost all negative effects. He cannot be stunned, recalled, entombed, killed by Ephemeral, or even blocked. If he attacks, the damage will connect unless the opponent can destroy your Nexus at Fast speed.
- Play vs. Summon Mechanics
Dragon Boons are only granted when a unit is Played from hand. Effects that Summon units onto the board (like Frozen Tomb, Feel The Rush, or Spectral Scissors) will not trigger boon generation.
- Drafting Strategy
Prioritize drafting 6+ cost units to maximize the value of Dragon Boons. Avoid drafting 5-cost units, as they are considered highly inefficient for his game plan.
- Galeforce Interaction
If Elder Dragon levels up on the same turn he is played with Galeforce equipped, his 'Unstoppable' keyword will prevent him from being shuffled back into the deck at round end, allowing you to keep a massive Scout unit on the board permanently.