Introduction

The original 5 Monster Point Dragons were some of the most powerful cards in Puzzle and Dragons at the time of their release. However, Powercreep has not been kind to the majority of them with only Ra Dragon  staying relevant in today’s meta as a leader. Thankfully, GungHo has decided to release a new evolutions for all 5 of themi n hopes of resurrecting their viability. Unfortunately for North America, the evolution requirements for these MP Dragons will prove troublesome as the only way to currently acquire the Radar Dragons is to clear Arena 3 or the One Shot Challenges.

If you are considering the possibility of purchasing Ra Dragon or any other MP card, I strongly encourage you to refer to my MP Card Tier List for further explanation and analysis.

Video commentary

Evolution requirements

We still do not have the full details of any other card outside of Ra Dragon, but here are the current evolution requirements:

Perhaps one of the main benefits of playing in North America is that we are given additional time to prepare for new evolutions as both of these require a large investment of resources.

Ultimate Evolution Ra Dragon

The Super-Ultimate Fried Chicken has now been electrified to even greater heights with his new evolution. Super Ra Dragon  has had his leader skill and base stats buffed to allow him to better compete with the heart cross meta.

Ra Dragon

God / Dragon
5,605 HP / 1,880 ATK / 340 RCV
1,050 Total
        

Active Skill:
+5s to orb movement for 1 turn
2 turns haste
13 turn CD

Leader Skill:
2x ATK when matching 4 elements. 3x ATK for each additional orb type. 8x with all 6 elements. 1.5x HP/ATK/RCV for God types
2.25x HP / 144x ATK / 2.25x RCV

Pros	Cons
2.25x HP / 144x ATK / 2.25x RCV Very safe and consistent Ample room for utility Can build full bind immune team Can overcome combo shields Less ugly than before	Restrictive team building Slow to play Lackluster base active No sub potential Reliant on Gemstones Still ugly

Ra Dragon Scaling Leader Skill
# Elements	4	5	6
Multiplier	9x	56.25x	144x

Sample gameplay

Reco cruising through a solo Arena 3:

There are plenty of other videos available, but they all predominately use the exact same team. You can do your own research via 全能神・ラー＝ドラゴン

Pros and cons

Upon his original release, Ra Dragon  was simply the strongest card in Puzzle and Dragons. His unprecedented attack multiplier combined with RCV and strong sub support dramatically accelerated the pace of Powercreep as GungHo frantically scrambled to create dungeons that could counter him as he was ranked in his own tier bracket in JP.

However, Super Ra Dragon  will not be able to achieve that same degree of relative greatness as the heart cross meta exists. That being said, Ra Dragon is still an amazing card and is the strongest non-heart cross leader at the moment.

Pros

• 2.25x HP / 144x ATK / 2.25x RCV
• Can easily stall and break 70k HP in solo
• Defensive benefits are unconditional
• Now has SBR 
• 1,050 weighted stats that are boosted by LS
• Ideal team has ample time extends
• Can fully optimize combos on the board
• Scaling ATK multiplier for damage absorb bosses
• Damage is not active reliant
• Lower dependency on running shielding subs
• Can build full bind immune teams
• Nearly limitless amount of utility without sacrificing damage
• The greatest chicken in the history of PAD

Cons

• 300,000 MP price tag
• Evo materials are very hard to acquire for NA
• Ideal team is heavily reliant on 6* GFE
• “Low” damage output – reliant on burst actives (Gemstones)
• Damage is somewhat scattered as you cannot run all light primary cards
• Slow and mentally taxing to play
• Coop provides less benefits for defensive stats as only HP is augmented (compared to heart crosses)

Pros: elaborated

The fact that Ra Dragon can even be compared to heart cross leaders should be indicative enough of his power. GungHo has done a great job of addressing his weaker points through both the SBR and HP multiplier. As such, he is a formidable solo leader as his 70k HP can survive essentially any attack in the game (HP will surpass 100k in coop).  However, the key point to recognize is the fact that his defensive multiplier (2.25x) is always present, unlike heart cross leaders.

Heart cross teams are reliant on having 5 heart orbs present to trigger their leader skill and defensive component. Without those 5 heart orbs, they are just as fragile as any other team. This can prove challenging without the usage of actives as it is statistically very difficult to have 5 new heart orbs appear every turn (have to clear all 30 orbs in theory). Thus, they may be subject to vulnerability, active skill usage, or having to alternate between crossing and not crossing to survive. Higher shielding leaders such as Myr  or Kaede  have an effective 4x HP / RCV when they heart cross, but leaders such as Ronove  and Gremory  are essentially on par with Ra Dragon’s defensive multipliers if a heart cross exists.

I want to further elaborate on how Ronove and Ra Dragon are similar leaders as both cap out at 144x ATK for rainbow activation and have comparable defensive multipliers. Ronove provides 57.75% damage reduction with a heart cross while Ra Dragon provides a consistent 2.25x HP/RCV. Furthermore, Ra Dragon has superior stats, awakenings, and a sub colour that put him above Ronove in most regards as you no longer have to run a bind clearer. The main downside is that Ra Dragon is less capable of surviving gravity based attacks. Now, you have to remember that Ronove is considered a top tier leader and if Ra Dragon can be favourably compared, it is saying something.

One advantage Ra Dragon has over mono-colour heart cross leaders is the ability to produce consistent damage without orb changers. A skilled player will be able to fully utilize every combo on the board and realistically trigger the full 144x multiplier in most cases (along with 7-10 combos). You cannot bring orb changers outside of board refreshes and that means you are able to bring as much utility as desired. This provides a certain degree of flexibility on Ra Dragon teams that heart crossers may not enjoy. In addition, this means you are able to repeatedly burst down floors.

Finally, the last major upside to Ra Dragon is the ability to fully utilize the board in terms of combo generation. A heart cross can be tricky to match along with potential limitation to combo count as it does occupy a certain amount of dead space. As such, heavy combo shields (7+) can be troublesome, especially when you have to match either a TPA or rows to trigger damage. Thus, Ra Dragon gains a slight edge for the average player as you are able to fully combo a given board and still produce full damage.

What makes Ra Dragon a premiere leader is his unrivaled consistency if you own the ideal team. This consistency is not to be confused with speed. You will be able to safely clear any dungeon in the game as you are able to easily customize your inherits accordingly, but will cost you additional time as you are forced to match numerous combos and have desirable boards. This sluggishness combined with potential mental fatigue when playing dungeons over and over again is something to be aware of when gaining access to his level of consistency.

Cons: elaborated

Regardless of how powerful a leader is, there will always be drawbacks and Ra Dragon is no exception. First off, he comes at the cost of 300,000 Monster Points which is not too ridiculous by today’s standards due to coop/PreDRAs etc. However, to actually gain the benefit from Super Evo Ra Dragon, you need to be able to clear Arena 3 and get lucky on a Zeus Dragon drop. This is not as difficult for JP players as they have access to PAD Radar which grants them easier access to Rader Dragon drops.

Unfortunately, most North American players will have to clear Arena 3 as that is the only way to actually acquire Radar Dragons. I have have created an A3 guide that will be more updated in the next few weeks (can be found HERE) as I now have 12 Radar Dragon drops and around 55 clears.

On the bright side, Zeus Dragon is one of the universally easiest Radar Dragons to kill and Ra Dragon (in his non-evo form) can clear Arena 3. The drop rates have been estimated at around 33% and there are 5 possible spawns so it may take quite a few attempts to be successful.

Imagining you are able to acquire the Zeus Dragon and the 300,000 MP, you still need to have strong team to support your Fried Chicken. This comes from both the subs you require as well as the inherits you bring as both are expensive from a REM perspective. Ra Dragon was sometimes criticized for requiring two Dark Kali  along with Isis  to be truly effective and presently, these cards remain staples. Furthermore, you also require a L/L Kanna  to build what is considered an optimal team. Three 6-star GFE is a steep price, but it really doesn’t vary that much from the other perfect top tier teams.

Another criticism that Ra Dragon was met with was no buff to his offensive multiplier. He still remains a 144x ATK rainbow leader which is powerful, but some players were yearning for more. You also have to remember that he had 144x ATK a year ago and content has been greatly scaled upwards since. Thus, you will be somewhat forced to bring damage enhance subs for harder content as your attributes are somewhat scattered as you do not always form a light-heavy team.

Furthermore, Ra Dragon trades speed and ease of play for consistency. You are able to clear any dungeon in the game, but will almost always be slower than other viable high-end leaders.

Finally, the last downside of Ra Dragon is how his defensive multiplier works in coop. You are somewhat reliant on the additional health and RCV to succeed and while you do gain more HP in coop, there is no RCV to balance it out. It may be a small factor, but is worth mentioning.

Team building your Fried Chicken

Building a Ra Dragon team requires some forethought and a lot of REM luck. With his defensive components boosting all parameters to God types, it would be truly unwise to use non-God cards. Thus, it will almost always be better to use a God card as a base and inherit a relevant active over top.

Dream team

From my research on the JP server, it becomes clear that a team consisting of Ra Dragon, 2 Dark Kali, Isis, and Kanna is the strongest bases. These cards provide full colour coverage along with relevant awakenings while being completely bind immune. Finally, you inherit various actives as the dungeon requires.

Ra Dragon
Card
Inherit

This is of course a template, but you should try your very best to adhere to it as these subs provide utility, offensive awakenings, and board changers. The full bind immunity is also valuable as you will never have to fear that mechanic.

There are a few cards available in JP that we do not have access to at the moment and that should not influence your team building decisions at this point in time.

What if I am missing those cards?

Provided you have the dual Dark Kalis (or her various other versions), you can still effectively use Ra Dragon as you can easily use any God card with a low cooldown provided you can cover all your elements. For example, cards like Dark Metatron , Reincarnated Parvati , and Anubis all technically fulfill those requirements. You can use various Reincarnated Gods as subs to better take advantage of their high base stats and simply inherit defensive actives or utility as needed. Even if a potential card has a longer cooldown, you can still use them as Ra Dragon has amazing stalling capabilities and will be able to heal through most attacks.

One thing I want to stress is that Ra Dragon is heavily dependent on board refreshes from Dark Kali for success, especially if you are not able to always fully match a given board. This also means you should carefully rethink purchasing him if you are missing one or both Kalis.

I go into more information in a subsequent posting which can be found HERE.

Skill Inheritance

As mentioned numerous times, Ra Dragon is heavily reliant on Skill Inheritance for success. You may be using subs with non-synergestic actives along with the need to upgrade Ra Dragon’s own ability. Skill Inheritance is also a way to address the various mechanics presented in challenging content. What you choose to use will be based on your own Monster Box as well as what the situation calls for.

Ra Dragon	+5s to orb movement for 1 turn 2 turns haste 13 turn CD
Inheritance Options
Damage Enhance
True Damage / Poison
Board Changer
Damage mitigation
Delay
Orb Changers	Cannot use

If I have missed any crucial inherit, please let me know in the comments below.

Latent Awakening set-up

Due to the wonderfully high base HP on Ra Dragon, HP Latents  are an ideal candidate for him. Furthermore, the benefit is further augmented from his Leader Skill and it would be wise to not use the 1% damage resists on him and instead use them on a less stat-heavy sub.

However, if your goal is heavily skewed towards end game content, you may find immense value in Skill Delay Resist  latents as they can protect your actives and has beautiful synergy with his haste component. For example, if you are delayed by two turns and have two SDR latents, you can use Ra Dragon’s original active and provide 2 turns of haste for your entire team. This could save you in situations where you need to use other actives to survive.

Finally, there is no “perfect” latent set up for Super Evo Ra Dragon as your health pool is significantly larger and it is mostly a matter of modifying your subs for added utility as you can essentially survive any reasonable attack in the game.

Solo badge recommendation

I am working under the premise that you have nearly the ideal team and you should be utilizing the +15% HP badge in most cases. Your team should have more than enough recovery to sustain incoming damage and your limiting factor will become how large of a hit you can absorb or how many turns you can go without healing.

Conclusion

Super Evolution Ra Dragon is a powerful leader in Puzzle and Dragons. He is able to keep abreast with the heart cross meta due to his unconditional tankiness and ease in activation without actives. He is able to bring more utility than a heart cross team along with being able to fully optimize a board and easily overcome combo shields.

However, Ra Dragon is not without limitations as he has “low” damage output as he cannot stack rows nor bring offensive orb changers. In addition, he is challenging to team build for the average player along with having relatively inaccessible evolution materials.

Let me know what you think of Ra Dragon and how you plan to build your team.

Happy Puzzling!