When you discuss the dragon cards from Blackrock Mountain there’s the good, there’s the bad, and then there’s Hungry Dragon. Most of the Hearthstone community has dismissed this 5/6 monstrosity as a detriment that has no real place in constructed play; so today we’re going to figure out exactly why that is.

When it works

Hungry Dragon’s benefits are readily apparent before you get to its Battlecry. As a 5/6 for four mana it can be a devastating turn four play against all but the strongest turn five creatures (such as Druid of the Claw), and since it’s a dragon type you can take advantage of other powerful dragon deck effects if you draw it later in the game.

“Later in the game” is probably the best way to describe Hungry Dragon, because most of the time it shines more as a late game option than an early one. Hungry Dragon works best when you have other tools on hand to deal with whatever minion it summons, which usually means that it’s best to play him after turn four. Playing a 5/6 and then clearing the board with something like Consecration or Blade Flurry can quickly change the momentum of the game, but it also limits when you would normally like to play a four-drop.

Hungry Dragon can also synergize with other cards like Mind Control Tech, Shadow Madness, and Cabal Shadow Priest, but again these are all plays that can only happen on turn seven or beyond. Some might argue that this is all intentional, that Hungry Dragon was always meant to be used in combination with other cards on later turns, but considering that cards like Dr. Boom or Ragnaros exist I don’t think that specifically planning such specific combos is worth your time.

If you want to play Hungry Dragon earlier, such as on turn four, then you’ll usually need some kind of weapon or a minion that’s already on the board from an earlier turn. This is why I’ve found that Hungry Dragon works best in Rogue decks due to their hero power weapon and the option to Backstab whatever the Dragon summons. Warriors can also work with Hungry Dragon thanks to their weapons and because they usually run things like Acolyte of Pain, a card that would be more than happy to attack a one-cost minion.

Why it doesn’t

So we’ve looked at when Hungry Dragon can work: as a large minion when you have options to deal with whatever he gives your opponent. But what happens if you don’t have those sorts of cards readily at hand? What’s the worst-case scenario?

I threw that image together to illustrate the eighteen worst cards to give your opponent when you play Hungry Dragon. That’s around a fifty-three percent chance that your opponent will get something worthwhile, for those of you doing the math. They’re in no particular order, but let’s run through them.

Cogmaster, Undertaker, and Secretkeeper: These cards are obviously bigger threats if there are mechs, Deathrattles, or Secrets around, but in the current meta all three of those are common place. Especially with common mechs and Deathrattles such as Piloted Shredder and Sludge Belcher hitting the board around turn four.

Mana Wyrm, Northshire Cleric, and Lightwarden: While similar to Cogmaster and his ilk, Mana Wyrm and the others in this section can spiral out of control at an incredible rate, especially if you accidentally give them to a class that can use them effectively. The Northshire and Lightwarden can be very painful if you’re trying to run Dragon Priest, since your own healing effects will benefit your opponent.

Young Priestess and Blood Imp: Suddenly whatever your opponent plays next turn has more health. This is especially devastating if it’s a creature with five health like Loatheb or Sludge Belcher, because now your poor Hungry Dragon can’t kill them himself.

Dust Devil, Agent Squire, and Young Dragonhawk: Dust Devil will always be a threat on its own, but the popularity of Warlock Zoo in the current meta means that an Abusive Sergeant or Power Overwhelming could be hiding around the next corner to deal some serious damage.

Leper Gnome, Worgen Infiltrator, and Clockwork Gnome: The 2/1s give your opponent something for free, be it guaranteed two damage or a Spare Part in their hand. The fact that they’re 2/1s is even worse, since they can easily pick off any 3/2 you might have played earlier at no cost while also gaining these other benefits.

Flame Imp: A free 3/2. Not much else to say.

Shieldbearer, Voidwalker, and Goldshire Footman: Taunts are one of the biggest threats that Hungry Dragon can summon because if you can’t deal with them quickly then your opponent will have an opportunity to build his own board. This makes Shieldbearer very strong if he’s summoned on turn four, because you probably won’t have anything with four potential damage on the board to deal with him other than your own Hungry Dragon. This is a huge waste of Hungry Dragon’s board presence and thus your own tempo.

In fact almost all of these threats are exactly that: a waste of your momentum. Hungry Dragon summoning a Dust Devil or Flame Imp will ruin any potential plan you had for the rest of your turn, unless one your plans was to use your hero power or other options on whatever Hungry Dragon summoned. No matter how you deal with one of these threats it’s more likely you’d be better off simply playing a 4-drop like Piloted Shredder or even one of the Yetis, since you’d get to keep your wasted removal/minions to use against one of your opponent’s threats rather than one that you created yourself.

Even if your opponent just gets a 2/1 and sends it into your Hungry Dragon, that means that you spent four mana for a 5/4. For those stats you could have played a Lost Tallstrider without the risk of giving your opponent a better card, but you’re not going to see people queuing up in excitement over a 5/4 for four mana. In fact I’d be willing to bet that this is exactly why Hungry Dragon is a 5/6, because other versions of the card left it as a 5/3 when it was attacked by its own summon. At least a 5/4 can theoretically survive your opponent’s own 3/2 attacking it as well.

The lower attack and health of other options on turn four, such as Piloted Shredder, is a small price to pay for the sake of maintaining board presence, which is absolutely essential when you play Hearthstone. Hungry Dragon does have several small benefits, but when you consider the cost of playing it early you can see that it’s not worth the risk. If you’re going to try to run it in a dragon deck then it’s probably better to hold Hungry Dragon in your hand until later in the game, so you can take advantage of “dragon in hand” abilities while waiting to combine it with other effects that remove the one-cost minion from the board. Hungry Dragon is just not worth the cost on its own.