Summary
Aerial troops. Cost 4AP. Move 1200p. Combat factors are +6 vs foot or Stronghold, +6 vs mounted.
If they lose any combat they flee the field.
If they are doubled in combat they are destroyed.
They may only be deployed by expending 6 PIPs, and cannot provide overlap support for other troops.

Ian Thomson writes:
Tactical use - line your target up and head straight for it. Preferably, line up a target that has other targets directly behind it!

Jeff Bolton writes:
I am usually in the role of dealing with dragons as an opponent rather than dealing with them in the same army.

The reason for this is that my usual opponent is Chow Li - user of the semi-hysterical Chinese list from the HOTTs rules. For those of you without (Shame! Shame!) your lists handy, means that when old Chow Li rolls a 6, two (TWO!) dragons show up! To top it off, Chow Li plays a delaying game until the dragons do show.

Here's my take on dragons:

NEVER send them straight up the middle, especially if the other side has a hero lurking behind those luscious lunch-like foot; next thing you know, a hero and a bunch of foot are swarming all over your dragon.....

Watch out for shooters! The buggers will sneak up on you from the rear and shoot you in the delicate parts. Ouch!

Have a plan to win without the dragons showing up. (This is for those of you that seem to dislike throwing 6's for PIPs.)

Have a plan to win when the dragons leave. (This is for those of you that like to roll low for combat resolution.)

Dragon elements can make good dioramas. In fact, this seems to be the only reason I have any....

Chow Li writes:
I field an army with two dragons, the Chinese from the book. My usual tactic is wait. Wait for the enemy and wait for your dragons. In that army it is a third of your army.

A wise opponent will rush me and start hacking away as soon as he can. There in lies the weakness of dragons; Timing.

Once on the table I use them to nibble away at the flanks and take out stray elements.

I have never worried too much about heroes and such as they are still a good match. This brings out the second weakness; dragon pride. They flee all too often from everything. But, as long as you start with the weakest, work your way around and keep winning, you're good to go.

There is also a keen psychout edge going on with them. Just having the dragon on the table is sometimes enough to bug another player.

Bill Bennett writes:
When playing with a dragon element, I have found the most useful tactics are to either attack weak units on an enemy flank or fly around behind the enemy battle line and pick an opportune moment to fly into rear contact to stomp an enemy in combat. Or both if you can swing it.

Jason Wallace writes:
Dragons seem a difficult buy because they cost 4AP and may never appear. Once they appear, they are at risk of fleeing from combat. As aerials, they can also be difficult to control.

If it fits into your overall strategy, however, plenty of examples from the mailing list have shown how devastating a dragon can be. You can't use the dragon alone to capture a stronghold, but its presence on the field and range of attack poses a powerful threat to the rest of the enemy's army.

Alan Saunders writes:
Play to their cowardice. Avoid direct combat and, instead, fly them behind the enemy line, turn sideways and block recoils.

Remember that dragons can neither give, nor receive overlap support, but can still provide (and be assisted by) flank and rear contacts.

Heroes are obviously the best choice for dealing with dragons, but shooters and magicians can get rid of them in time and can certainly keep them either moving or under extreme risk.

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