“Flying troop that deals area damage. Baby dragons hatch cute, hungry and ready for a barbeque.”
The Baby Dragon card is unlocked from the Training Camp (Tutorial). It is an area damage, short-ranged, flying troop with moderately high hitpoints and low damage. A Baby Dragon card costs 4 Elixir to deploy. The Baby Dragon is a small, green baby dragon with short, stubby wings.
Strategy
- Receiving a Baby Dragon right after finishing the Tutorial is a big advantage in lower arenas since only a few troops can kill and survive it, like the Witch or the Musketeer. It has a level advantage over Commons and Rares since they can't be leveled up to match the Baby Dragon that quickly.
- Its attacks deal area damage, so it can easily defeat low health troops that come in groups. It can be taken out by any air targeting troop if it is distracted by another unit. If the Baby Dragon is surrounded with troops that don't die in one shot to it, such as Minions or the Minion Horde, it will be taken out very quickly.
- The Baby Dragon's area damage allows it to effectively support and protect tanks such as the Giant and the Giant Skeleton from swarms. This is more effective due to its ability to fly, allowing it to attack without endangering itself.
- The Baby Dragon is quite easy to counter, as it does low damage and doesn't have a lot of health. One of the most effective counters is to use a single Musketeer, as her firepower is enough to take on the Baby Dragon alone. The Mega Minion is also effective due to its high damage per second. Other counter cards include, but are not limited to, the Minion Horde, an opposing Baby Dragon, or an Inferno Dragon. After the Baby Dragon has locked on to the tower, Spear Goblins, Minions or Archers can also work.
- If split, Archers can take it out as the Baby Dragon won't splash on to the second Archer. This can also work with Spear Goblins, however this requires incredibly precise timing and, in most cases, the Musketeer is more reliable.
- Two reliable counters to the Baby Dragon are the Inferno cards. Because the Inferno cards' damage intensifies over time against higher health units, they will take down the Baby Dragon without taking much damage in return. This is never a positive Elixir trade, however, and can be be devastating if the opponent has a high health tank and the Inferno card is your only counter to it.
- Some opponents will place a tank in front of the Baby Dragon. An Inferno card will burn straight through both of them, thereby negating the combo for a major Elixir advantage.
- The Tesla can counter the Baby Dragon, but be careful when using it. If the opponent has something like the Royal Giant or Hog Rider, it is better to save the building for that.
- A Tombstone can distract the Baby Dragon long enough for the Crown Tower to take it out.
- The Baby Dragon goes well with Spear Goblins. The Baby Dragon's high health and fast speed allow the Spear Goblins to damage a Crown Tower while the Baby Dragon takes the Crown Tower's shots.
- The Baby Dragon does less damage to the Crown Tower compared to many other cards that are four elixir. Despite this, it is not wise to ignore a lone Baby Dragon, as it can do quite a bit of damage.
- It is effective to pair the Baby Dragon with the Prince. The Baby Dragon can take out swarms, the bane of the Prince, while the Prince does major damage. This is extremely effective at lower levels, as most troops early on can not target the Baby Dragon. However, this combo can be defeated with Barbarians.
- The Baby Dragon can weaken Barbarians, allowing the player's Crown Towers to take care of them.
- Pairing the Baby Dragon with the Inferno Dragon is a good idea since the Baby Dragon takes care of small swarms while the Inferno Dragon takes down high health units; this is known as the Double Dragon Combo. However, this combo is vulnerable to a Minion Horde or Rocket and is easily countered by the Musketeer or Wizard.
- The Lava Hound can be used in front of a Baby Dragon so that it can survive longer. This combo does very low damage, however, so it is a good idea to support it with another troop that complements them both, such as an Inferno Dragon.
- By placing a Baby Dragon at the leftmost or rightmost side of the Arena, it will be able to ignore buildings placed in the center of the Arena.
History
- The Baby Dragon card was released with Clash Royale's soft launch on 4/1/16.
- On 3/5/16, the May 2016 Update fixed the "range bug" and decreased the Baby Dragon's range to 3 (from 3.5), but its effective range remained unchanged.
- On 24/8/16, a Balance Update increased the Baby Dragon's hit speed from 1.8 seconds to 1.6 seconds.
- On 13/2/17, a Balance Update increased the Baby Dragon's range to 3.5 (from 3).
Trivia
- The Baby Dragon is a smaller and weaker version of the Dragon from Clash of Clans. The regular Dragon is not in the game, possibly because it is too large. However, another dragon, the Inferno Dragon, was added instead.
- It is one of the the two troops that are "miniature" versions of another troop in Clash of Clans, the other being the Mini P.E.K.K.A. They are smaller versions of the Dragon and P.E.K.K.A. respectively.
- The Baby Dragon is one of the six troop cards that inspired a troop in Clash of Clans. The others are the Miner, the Night Witch, the Ice Wizard, the Bomber, the Battle Ram, and the Giant Skeleton.
