Strongest Dragons In Fairy Tail

Key Takeaways

• Fairy Tail featured powerful dragons that were key players in the anime’s most important arcs.
• Characters like Acnologia, Igneel, and Irene were among the most powerful dragons in the series.
• The introduction of the Dragon Gods in the Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest adaptation raised the power levels even further.

Fairy Tail might not have been as popular as some other shonen anime, but it had its highlights. One of the coolest parts of the anime was its dragons, legendary creatures of immense power and influence, who empowered the Dragon Slayers and played major roles in some of the anime’s most important arcs.

It took a while for the Dragons to show up in the flesh, but fans weren’t disappointed when they did. Their raw power dwarfed that of even the show’s most powerful humans, and they even made the Dragon Slayers look like chumps at times. Fairy Tail is arguably one of the best shonen anime ever, and these dragons were one of the best things about the show. However, not all dragons were created equally. Some were much more powerful than others, with one standing above the rest. With the new Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest adaptation about to introduce fans to the Dragon Gods, there’s never been a better time to look back at the original anime’s mightiest dragons.

Updated on November 4, 2024, by Robbie Mitchell: With the release of Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest it’s finally time to take a look at the Dragon Gods. These mighty dragons hail from the northern continent of Guiltina and each is said to be at least as powerful as the anime’s former titleholder, Acnologia. The new series is ongoing, as is the manga, so we haven’t seen all that much of all the Dragon Gods yet. This being considered, we’ll be using some information from the manga to rank them. Those who wish to avoid spoilers might want to wait until both are finished before reading on.

16 Motherglare

Adamantine Skin And Egg Magic

Fans never got to learn that much about Motherglare. It was summoned by future Rogue Cheney using Dragon Tamer Magic during the Grand Magic Games, one of the best anime tournament arcs, and quickly established itself as one of the most powerful dragons. Motherglare mostly uses Diamond Dragon Slayer Magic, which makes it more of a defensive fighter.

Focused on the diamond element, Motherglare can use the Diamond Form spell to up its already naturally high defense and reinforce its jaws for extra powerful bites using Diamond Dragon’s Jaw. Its roar attack, which shoots a diamond beam, can level a mountain. On top of these, Motherglare has another trick up its sleeve, Egg Magic, which allows it to spawn little Dragonoids that fight on its behalf. Motherglare was powerful enough during this arc to hold its own against Atlas Flame, a dragon that ranks much higher on this list. That said, Motherglare gets the bottom ranking because its abilities were mostly defence-based, and it was ultimately a minor player in the anime.

15 Animus

Trapped Inside Sonya

Ranking Animus is kind of difficult because viewers never really got to see him at full power. As the antagonist of Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry, he spent most of the film manipulating people. Before the events of the film, Animus was brutally defeated by Acnologia but, when near death, managed to use the Dragon Soul Technique to seal himself in a young Sonya’s body. He then bided his time, using his powers to manipulate Sonya and the people around her while he healed.

Animus wielded the powerful Dragon Slayer Magic, while his roar attack was a deadly beam of pure energy. While trapped within Sonya, he used his thought projection magic to create a human projection strong enough that others could see it. He used that projection to become King of Stella by convincing Sonya that he would be a kind and benevolent ruler. He could also use his powers of Telekinesis to bind others in place by pointing at them. At the end of the day, however, Animus only appeared in the movie, lessening his impact on the series as a whole. He was also dependent on the Dragon Cry artifact and relied on mind games over brute strength. These factors land him with a low ranking when it comes to power.

14 Grandeeney

The Sky Dragon

Fans can’t be sure how powerful Grandeeney was before she got her soul stolen, and during the anime, viewers never see her use her Sky Dragon Magic, which makes it hard to rank her. Her gentle-looking design would suggest she was never much of a fighter.

However, Grandeeney raised and trained Wendy Marvell, who went on to become one of the strongest female mages in Fairy Tail, even though her training with Grandeeny was never completed. Grandeeny also taught Porlyusica the super powerful Milky Way and Shattering Light: Sky Drill attacks in the hopes they’d be passed on to Wendy. This indicates that once upon a time, Grandeeney was pretty powerful, even if fans never got to see her at full strength during the anime.

13 Skiadrum

The Shadow Dragon

Like several of Fairy Tail‘s other high-profile dragons, Skiadrum had his soul stolen by Acnologia’s Dragon Slayer Magic. This left him in a half-dead state, which means fans never saw all that many impressive feats from him during the anime. His most impressive feat was arguably during the Tartaros arc, one of Fairy Tail‘s best arcs, during which Skiadrum destroys several powerful Face bombs single-handed.

His true power, though, lay in his Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic. This allows him to turn his body into shadows and move at high speeds. He also has the Shadow Dragon’s Illusion, which gives him the ability to manipulate and change any human’s memory – something he did to his son, Rogue. In the wrong hands, that could be a dangerous power indeed. Skiadrum’s half-dead nature and the fact that viewers never saw that many impressive physical feats from him earned him a low-to-middle place ranking.

12 Weisslogia

The White Dragon

Weisslogia and Skiadrum appear to be on a similar power level, but the White Dragon just edges into the lead. Weisslogia’s White Dragon Slayer Magic has potent offensive abilities. His stigmata attack can freeze opponents, while his roar attack takes the form of a deadly laser beam. During the Tartaros arc, Weisslogia is also seen destroying a good number of Face bombs by both ramming them and summoning impressive pillars of light.

Like Skiadrum, he also possesses the ability to alter human minds, something he did to Sting. Everything viewers see from Weisslogia suggests he’s more powerful than the previous dragons on this list, and if he hadn’t lost his soul, he could have given the higher-ranked entries a run for their money.

The Iron Dragon

Straight out of the gate, Metalicana’s body is made out of metal, and that alone is enough to earn him a decent ranking. Fairy Tail‘s dragons are intimidating enough, but one with an iron hide would be downright terrifying to fight in battle.

Unfortunately, fans never got to see Metalicana use his Iron Dragon Slayer Magic, but he did teach it to Gajeel. Considering how powerful Gajeel is and the fact that Metalicana would be even more powerful himself, Metalicana must deserve a high ranking. During the Tartaros Arc, Metalciana didn’t need any fancy tricks to destroy the Face bombs; he simply flew into them, his sheer force smashing them to bits.

10 Atlas Flame

The Fire Dragon And The Eternal Flame

Atlas Flame is a pretty big step up from the earlier entries. While he was originally introduced as an antagonist, it soon turned out that he was under the influence of the Dragon Supremacy Magic and that he’s actually a pretty cool Dragon. It is a surprise, considering he tends to be engulfed in flames.

According to Atlas Flame himself, his flames are as powerful as the flames of hell. The flames that make up his body make him immune to all but the most deadly attacks, and he can dispel any magic that has been cast on his opponents. His Hell Flame Roar lets out a blast of devastating flames powerful enough to take out all the members of Fairy Tail, and his Fire Spin attack is one best avoided. He’s so powerful that a village of giants even worships him as a god.

9 Irene Belserion

The Queen Of Dragons

Irene is a fairly unique entry in that she is a human who becomes a dragon. As one of the best female villains in Fairy Tail, she was an immensely powerful 400-year-old mage who had grown inhuman over the years. As one of the first Dragon Slayers, Irene’s mastery of enchantment magic allows her to manipulate reality and augment her abilities significantly.

Irene’s sheer age means her combat experience is extensive, and she’s honed her powers over countless battles. Her transformation into a dragon was a result of her intense magical power and the curse of the Dragon Seed. She can enchant whatever she wishes, and during her battle with Erz, Scarlet manages to summon a massive meteor. Her dragon form simply magnifies her existing powers to terrifying levels, giving her the ability to cast spells and enchantments much more powerful than any mere human ever could.

8 Igneel

The Fire Dragon King

Igneel’s title as the Fire Dragon King should be a good indicator of just how powerful he is. He’s a giant, legendary dragon who possesses mastery over all fire magic, which he uses for both deadly long-range and melee attacks. His roar attack takes the form of a giant explosion that destroys everything nearby, while his Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist is powerful enough to blow away the Dragon King Acnologia.

His defenses are just as impressive, and Igneel is the only powerful dragon to go toe-to-toe with Acnologia and walk away with just a handful of cuts and scrapes. Whereas most dragons ultimately fled from the Dragon King, Igneel was confident enough in his might to take the fight to him. He’s an incredibly powerful dragon and one of the most iconic anime dragons ever.

7 Acnologia

The Dragon King/ Black Dragon Of The Apocalypse

Acnologia wasn’t just the most powerful dragon in the anime (before the recent debut of the Dragon Gods). He was easily Fairy Tail‘s most powerful character, and it’s not even close. Acnologia was once a Dragon Slayer who made a vow to slay every Dragon in existence. Instead, he overused his magic, and after bathing in dragon blood, he became the very thing he hated.

His element is Magic itself, something that makes him almost unstoppable. His Dragon’s Roar ability destroyed Tenrou island, leaving nothing but a crater behind, and with his Eternal Flare ability, he’s able to summon actual stars that rain down on his enemies. His dragon form simply takes his many powers and amps them up to untold levels. Acnologia managed to kill almost all the dragons single-handedly, and his very name instilled fear in all who heard it.

6 Dogramag

The Earth Dragon God

Ranking the dragon gods isn’t easy, except for Dogramag. He has explicitly been described as being the weakest of the group but, despite this, he was still immensely powerful. He wielded mighty earth magic that was so powerful that, after his death, his body merged with the Earth to create a never-ending underground maze. Before his death, his earth element was said to be nigh indestructible and wasn’t affected by heat, powerful blasts, or physical attacks.

However, Dogramag was murdered after eating the Law Dragon’s heart. The fact he was killed by a human (even if it was a powerful one) alone is enough to single him out as the weakest of the dragon gods. Still, at his peak, he was able to eat the Law Dragon’s heart, meaning he held all the information in the Magic World. Unfortunately for him, it couldn’t save him.

5 Selene

The Moon Dragon God

Selene gets the next ranking because, compared to the other dragon gods, she seems to be the least physically powerful. Instead, she tends to rely on her immense magical power and cunning to take on her foes. When she decided to take out the other dragon gods, who wanted to kill her, she did so by recruiting the priestess Faris rather than taking them on directly.

Yet Selene is no slouch in a fight. Her element is the stars and moon, meaning she uses space magic. When attacking others directly, she can generate moon-light-based attacks that can burn, slash, and overwhelm her opponents. She can also simply transport them somewhere else using her relocation magic. Most impressively, Selene uses her Aqua Aera magic to travel between dimensions, meaning she is one of the few beings capable of visiting Elentear, an alternate world much richer in magic. Not as physically strong as the other dragon gods, it’s still unwise to underestimate Selene.

4 Aldoron

The Wood Dragon God

Aldoron is a very big boy. As the largest of all the dragon gods, entire cities rest in the palm of his hands. One of his coolest abilities is absorbing the life force of living things, which he turns into nutrients. These nutrients are then used to make him even bigger and even more powerful. After battle, these nutrients are responsible for healing him.

Aldoron protects himself by containing his power in five orbs called God Seeds. These take the form of guardian deities tasked with keeping a resting Aldoron safe after his battle with Acnologia. The fact that Aldoron survived a battle with Acnologia is impressive, but his recovery did take 300 years. In the manga, Aldoron is eventually defeated by Natsu and transforms into an enormous forest upon death.

3 Mercphobia

The Water Dragon God

Mercphobia is one of the nicer dragon gods. He’s worshiped as the protector god of the city of Ermina and even took a human girl called Karameel under his wing. His command over the ocean is unrivaled, and he’s been shown not just to be capable of splitting the ocean but even lifting entire seas into the sky.

He also wields powerful transformation magic and can turn humans into fish at will. He even gave the inhabitants of Ermina the ability to morph into sea animals at will. While most dragons revel in their power, Mercphobia worried that he was losing control and would one day hurt those who worshiped him. While ultimately defeated by Natsu, he was never killed. He gave Natsu a good run for his money and was able to negate many of Natsu’s attacks using his water magic. Rather than die, he decided to stay in his human form and live among his people as a normal person.

2 Viernes

The Gold Dragon God

Major spoilers ahead as Viernes has only been glimpsed so far in the anime and manga. Viernes is one of the most mysterious and abstract of the dragon gods. Using his powers over alchemy, he transforms himself into “concepts” rather than a normal physical form. When in battle, he can use his roar to transmute almost anything into gold and can summon heavy gold coins which rain down from the sky and crush his enemies.

At this point, little else is known about Viernes, but everything fans have been told suggests he’s one of the most powerful dragon gods. With several other gods already defeated, it makes sense that the writers would be saving one of the most powerful for last.

1 Ignia

The Fire Dragon God

Ignia is the son of Igneel, who was already one of the most powerful dragons. Whereas Igneel was a pretty good dragon and a father figure to Natsu, Ignia is the opposite. He is obsessed with strength and power and cares only about tests of strength. All he wants is to prove he’s the strongest and bring back the Age of Dragons. In doing so, he has burned countless cities and even entire countries to a crisp.

After learning of Acnologia’s death at the hands of Natsu, Ignia set his sights on the hero. After being granted just a small percentage of Ignia’s power, Natsu was able to take out Mercphobia. That alone should hint at just how powerful Ignia is. He has the sheer arrogance and firepower (pardon the pun) to be called Fairy Tail’s strongest dragon. Essentially a foster brother to Natsu, their rivalry is personal, and it seems likely Ignia will be the hero’s ultimate test.