15 Strongest & Biggest Dragons in Game of Thrones (Ranked)

The Game of Thrones universe is one that is full of mysteries and wonder, but the most captivating creatures that we have ever seen in George RR Martin’s literary world are the dragons. Even though the dragons were scarce during the time period of Game of Thrones, they once ruled Westeros and were the symbols of the Targaryen dynasty. Nevertheless, we did see what three full-grown dragons could do to an entire continent.

As mentioned, there were once more than just three dragons in the world, and it was House Targaryen that had control over these dragons in Westeros after they fled Valyria. Throughout the history of this great house, there have been quite a number of dragons under the command of the Targaryens. So, with that said, we are here to rank the strongest and biggest dragons in Game of Thrones.

15. Dreamfyre

Dreamfyre was the pride and joy of House Targaryen during the Dance of the Dragons because of the fact that this was a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing beast that was more majestic than any of the other dragons that the Targaryens had ever had. That’s why it was the source of pride for its riders, as only those who were just as beautiful as Dreamfyre were worthy of this dragon.

Nevertheless, as beautiful as Dreamfyre was, it was never able to fight during the Dance of the Dragons. This dragon was one of the beasts that were able to draw many characters to it because of its silvery blue color, as it was also believed that its beauty was matched by its ferocity in battle. Nevertheless, it never saw action during the Targaryen civil war, as it remains a “what if” story that could have changed things had it been able to fight.

14. Meleys

Meleys was never the biggest dragon during her time, but she was actually one of the fastest dragons in the history of Westeros, as it could outfly and outmaneuver any other dragon that it faced during the Dance of Dragons. Nevertheless, it was ultimately its lack of size that doomed it because it was never able to match the strength and power of the bigger dragons that it fought.

Known as the Red Queen, Meleys actually died quite early during a battle when the Dance of the Dragons was in full effect. It was the fact that it couldn’t match the size advantage of its enemies that led to the dragon’s death. Nevertheless, Meleys was quite fast and is the type of dragon that anyone would rely on when it comes to quickly scorching enemies.

13. Silverwing

The Dance of the Dragons was what ultimately led to the downfall of the dragons during the Targaryen dynasty, as the deaths of the bigger and stronger dragons and the fact that the Targaryens were no longer as powerful as they were eventually weakened the younger dragons, who were kept locked and chained. Nevertheless, Silverwing was one of the dragons that actually survived the Targaryen civil war during its adulthood.

Silverwing, a majestic dragon that comes with beautiful silver scales, fought in several battles during the Dance of the Dragons. Nevertheless, despite its experience, it was able to survive through the civil war and went on to die of old age when the dragons eventually declined in a few years. Silverwing was well over a hundred years old by the time it died as it was one of the oldest dragons that survived the Dance of the Dragons.

12. Rhaegal

Rhaegal was one of the three dragons that Daenerys Targaryen was able to hatch during the events of Game of Thrones, as she began raising him together with Drogon and Viserion. This dragon was described to have a greenish and bronze-like color that made it look quite beautiful. Other than that, it looks almost exactly like its siblings but is slightly smaller than Drogon.

Even though he was usually overshadowed by the size and ferocity of Drogon, Rhaegal became the personal mount of Jon Snow during the Long Night. Rhaegal fought hard enough against a reanimated Viserion, who was mounted by the Night King. While Rhaegal did indeed survive the Long Night, he was too tired and injured after that. It was eventually killed by the scorpion weapons that were mounted on Euron Greyjoy’s ships during a surprise attack.

11. Quicksilver

After Aegon Targaryen conquered Westeros, he and his sisters continued to breed more dragons to make sure that the Targaryen dynasty lived on. Quicksilver was one of the dragons that were born after Westeros had already been conquered, as this was one of the most unique dragons because of the fact that it had a pale white fiery breath.

Quicksilver was originally the mount of Aenys, who was the second Targaryen king to rule Westeros. However, when Maegon usurped the crown, Aenys’s son Aegon rode Quicksilver and fought Balerion above Harrenhal. But because Balerion was so much bigger and stronger, the Black Dread quickly killed Quicksilver by tearing off its wings and burning it off the sky. And we don’t blame Quicksilver for losing to the strongest and biggest dragon the Targaryens have ever had.

10. Syrax

Syrax was the first dragon that we saw during the events of House of the Dragon, which is the story behind the Targaryen civil war that led to the extinction of the dragons. This is the personal dragon of Rhaenyra Targaryen, who we saw riding it early in the series. Syrax wasn’t entirely big during the events of House of the Dragon, but she could end up becoming even bigger later in the storyline.

With its golden yellow color, Syrax is a majestic dragon that people will instantly recognize whenever she is flying. Of course, it might be majestic, but it is also an incredibly powerful dragon as Syrax and another dragon were able to intimidate an entire city to submit to Rhaenyra during the Fall of King’s Landing. Nevertheless, after King’s Landing Fell, Syrax ended up getting chained until Dragonpit was stormed, and she was killed during the battle.

9. Sunfyre

We haven’t seen Aegon II yet because he is yet to be born during the events of House of the Dragon, but he will come soon enough as he is one of the claimants to the Iron Throne during the Dance of Dragons. Of course, as one of the people who have the strongest claim to become king of Westeros, he needed to have a strong personal mount in the form of Sunfyre, who is said to be the most beautiful out of all of the dragons due to its bright golden scales.

As beautiful as Sunfyre is, this dragon is just as deadly in battle because it faced a lot of opponents during the Dance of the Dragons. Nevertheless, the different battles eventually wounded Sunfyre as it was left wounded until its dead after Aegon II claimed victory and was able to sit on the Iron Throne.

8. The Cannibal

One of the most mysterious and terrifying dragons in the history of the Game of Thrones storyline is The Cannibal, which is an old and large wild dragon that lived in Dragonstone. As the name implies, this is a terrifying dragon because, for some odd reason, it cannibalized on its own kind. It loved eating dragon eggs and hatchlings and was not even too shy of eating another grown dragon.

Due to its wild and ferocious nature, The Cannibal was never ridden to battle during the Dance of the Dragons, even though it lived through the Targaryen civil war. The reason why no one was ever able to ride it was the fact that no Targaryen was ever brave enough to attempt to claim this vicious creature. The Cannibal eventually disappeared after the war and was never seen again, as it is widely believed that this untamed beast died soon after.

7. Vermithor

After Aegon and his sisters were finally able to conquer Westeros, the dragons that they had under their control produced many eggs that soon hatched into ferocious dragons of their own. Eventually, the Old King Jaeharys I, who ended up becoming the longest-reigning Targaryen monarch in history, claimed one of those dragons as his personal mount. That dragon was Vermithor.

Vermithor is a dragon with bronze scales and was quite massive. Among all of the different dragons in history, Vermithor was behind only Vhagar and Balerion in size. After Jaeharys died, Vermithor was still without a mount until Hugh the Hammer was able to tame the dragon and claim it as his own mount during the Dance of the Dragons. Vermithor ended up engaging in many different battles but was killed by Seasmoke and Tessarion because of an ambush.

6. Caraxes

A dragon would have to be completely powerful and terrifying if it was called “The Blood Wyrm,” as Caraxes is truly one of the most intimidating dragons to have ever set foot on Westeros. Originally the mount of Prince Aemon Targaryen, Caraxes bonded with Daemon Targaryen just before the events of the Dance of the Dragons as this dragon had the ferocity that matched Daemon’s cruelty.

With its reddish scales and bloody appearance, Caraxes was a force to be reckoned with and was one of the strongest dragons in existence. It wasn’t as big as the bigger and older dragons during the Dance of the Dragons, but it was incredibly ferocious in battle. In fact, Caraxes was able to give Vhagar, one of the original dragons that conquered Westeros, a good fight despite the fact that the older dragon was so much bigger. The fight ended in a draw, with Caraxes, Vhagar, and their riders dying as well but with Caraxes being ferocious enough to crawl its way to the shore before dying due to its injuries.

5. Meraxes

Meraxes was one of the three dragons that Aegon the Conqueror and his sister wives brought to Westeros during the conquest of the continent. This dragon was one of the biggest and strongest to ever set foot on Westeros and was only second to Balerion in size when it was still alive. During its peak years, it was even bigger than Vhagar, although the latter became almost as big as Balerion later in life because of how old it is, as dragons never stop growing as they age. Had Meraxes lived a longer life, it would have surely been bigger than Vhagar because it was already bigger during Aegon’s conquest.

As one of the original dragons in Westeros, Meraxes was not only big but was also quite ferocious. It could swallow an entire horse whole due to its size. Rhaenys Targaryen claimed Meraxes more than a century before the events of House of the Dragon and was able to show her ferocity as a rider. 

4. Vhagar

Vhagar was one of the original three dragons that conquered Westeros and was actually smaller than Meraxes. However, due to the fact that it outlived the original three dragons that conquered Westeros, Vhagar ended up growing to a size that was close to Balerion. In that regard, it is the second-largest dragon in the history of Westeros.

Originally the mount of Visenya Targaryen, the wielder of Dark Sister, Vhagar was one of the most ferocious dragons during the conquest of Westeros. This dragon was also partially responsible for the fall of Harrenhal, which was supposed to be an impregnable fortress. Vhagar reached 181 years old before it fell during the battle with Caraxes, who was mounted by Daemon Targaryen, near the end of the Dance of the Dragons.

3. Viserion

Viserion was one of the three dragons that Daenerys Targaryen hatched during the time of Game of Thrones. Normally, Viserion wouldn’t be one of the strongest dragons because it was never the biggest and most ferocious of the three Daenerys dragons. In fact, it was smaller than Drogon. However, when Viserion was killed, it was reanimated as the personal mount of the Night King.

The undead version of Viserion was faster and stronger than its original version and was able to destroy a good chunk of the Wall with its incredibly potent blue flames. It was also strong enough to fight both Drogon and Rhaegal on par. Viserion injured Rhaegal before getting rammed by Drogon to dismount the Night King from the undead dragon. It was only when the Night King was defeated that the undead Viserion was also defeated. Considering that it survived dragon fire, it is possible that, other than the Night King’s death, only Valyrian steel was strong enough to kill the undead Viserion.

2. Drogon

You would have to be an incredibly strong and ferocious dragon to be called the second coming of Balerion the Dread. With its black scales, Drogon was as fearsome as any dragon in the history of Westeros. He was one of the dragons that Daenerys hatched and was bigger than both Rhaegal and Viserion. Drogon also became a lot bigger than his siblings when he ran away and roamed the world on his own while both Rhaegal and Viserion were chained.

Due to his ferocity, Drogon was actually difficult to handle until Daenerys learned how to tame him properly. Thanks to his size and strength, Drogon was able to destroy an entire Lannister army almost on its own and was even able to withstand a hit from a scorpion harpoon. On top of his size and strength, Drogon is quite mobile and nimble as well as he was able to avoid all of the scorpions that attacked it during the destruction of King’s Landing. Drogon is also the last known living dragon in the world of Game of Thrones.

1. Balerion

As King Viserys said, Balerion was the last dragon to have seen Valyria because he was the only one out of the five dragons that House Targaryen brought to Dragonstone when they fled Valyria 12 years before the destruction of the once great kingdom. Known as the Black Dread, Balerion was the biggest and strongest of all of the dragons that set foot on Westeros, as his massive head alone was big enough to swallow at least two horses whole.

Balerion was the dragon that Westeros feared the most during Aegon’s conquest because of how big and powerful it was. In fact, it was so big that its shadow was able to cover entire towns and was powerful enough to easily defeat Quicksilver. Out of all of the dragons in the history of Westeros, Balerion is also the only one known to have died due to old age, as it reached two centuries. Its skull remained in the Red Keep for centuries as a reminder of how big and powerful this creature used to be.