Ranking The Game Of Thrones Dragons By Size

Few franchises have been able to capture the splendor of dragons on screen as well as HBO's hit series "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon." The original show, which aired for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019, primarily featured three dragons in many moments that stunned audiences in "Game of Thrones." Fans of the hit series got to see Daenerys Targaryen's children grow from adorable babies to terrifying threats that caused massive devastation. 

"House of the Dragon," on the other hand, vastly expanded the number of on-screen dragons. The series examines the pinnacle of the Targaryen rule in Westeros, when dragons were more common and much larger than the ones shown up until that point. By the end of "Game of Thrones," fans could see how massive these creatures could become, but the likes of Rhaegal, Viserion, and Drogon don't even touch the largest dragons that have ever flown over Westeros.

Before "House of the Dragon" returns for another season, let's take a look at all the on-screen dragons that have appeared in both "Game of Thrones" and its prequel series, and rank them from small to large to downright ginormous. 

Contains spoilers for "Game of Thrones," "House of the Dragon," and "Fire & Blood"

The smallest dragon so far on "House of the Dragon" met an untimely end during the finale of the first season. Arrax was the mount of Lucerys Velaryon, son of Princess Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon, and the two shared a strong bond, as they were the same age. As a result, Arrax made for a perfect dragon for Lucerys, but their size was no match for the intimidation and taunting of Prince Aemond and his massive mount Vhagar.

Lucerys and Aemond confront each other at Storm's End, both attempting to seal an alliance with the Baratheons for the Blacks and Greens, respectively. In a shocking twist to end the first season, Vhagar disobeys Aemond's commands and devours both Arrax and Lucerys, making them the first deaths of the Dance of Dragons, and forever labeling Aemond as a kinslayer. 

One of Arrax's wings is later recovered by Rhaenyra in the Stormlands. Based on its size in comparison to Rhaenyra's mount, Syrax, Arrax was incredibly small, even though Lucerys made it look much bigger while riding it. 

Although it's only slightly bigger than Arrax, Vermax likely has some room to grow throughout "House of the Dragon." The dragon is the mount of Jacaerys Velaryon, son of Rhaenyra and older brother of Lucerys. Fans of "A Song of Ice and Fire" believe Vermax's name to be a reference to one of George R. R. Martin's favorite fantasy films, "Dragonslayer" from 1981, which features a creature called Vermithrax Pejorative, also a favorite of Martin's. 

In "House of the Dragon," Jacaerys rides Vermax to both the Eyrie and Winterfell in order to gain allegiance for Princess Rhaenyra's rebellion against King Aegon II. It seems as if the dragon is big enough to impress the Arryns and Starks, given their pledge of support for the Targaryens. 

The dragon has yet to do much in "House of the Dragon," and likely won't have much to do in future episodes, given that in "Fire & Blood," Jacaerys and Vermax are killed during the Battle in the Gullet, one of the bloodiest sea battles in the Dance of Dragons. Hopefully, it gets a little room to grow before it meets its fate.

Moondancer shares a lot of similarities visually with Rhaegal, Daenerys' green-scaled dragon in "Game of Thrones." As the mount of Baela Targaryen, daughter of Daemon Targaryen, she hasn't seen much action in "House of the Dragon" besides being ridden around a couple of times in Season 2. Moondancer doesn't even appear in Season 1, as it was only included in a deleted scene. 

Moondancer is notable for its small size and slender physique, especially its below-average head compared to other dragons. It's not much bigger than a war-horse when Baela first claims it, but its size ends up fortuitous in the Dance of Dragons, given that it successfully is able to injure Sunfyre during the Fall of Dragonstone, though Sunfyre's size ends up getting the best of Moondancer and Baela. Still, Sunfyre's injuries end up killing it months later, so Moondancer deserves a lot more respect than it gets for a smaller dragon that packs a big punch. 

Although these dragons did not get as much attention and favoritism in "Game of Thrones" as Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion still had their moments. The other two children of Daenerys Targaryen were frequently similar in size, given that Daenerys subjected them to captivity at the end of Season 4 when they were getting too dangerous to let roam free. Rhaegal, named after Daenerys' late brother Rhaegar, had a distinct green color, while Viserion, named after her brother Viserys, was cream-colored. 

Rhaegal eventually becomes the mount of Jon Snow in Season 8, which turned out to be quite fitting, given that one of the biggest mysteries to be solved in "Game of Thrones" revealed that Jon was the bastard son of Rhaegar, the dragon's namesake. Viserion, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky when it came to its eventual dragonrider. In Season 7's penultimate episode, Viserion is killed from an ice spear thrown by the Night King, and later resurrected as the White Walkers' biggest weapon. 

Although Rhaegal and Viserion never reach Drogon's enormous size by the time they both die in Season 8, they still make for pretty stunning spectacles throughout "Game of Thrones." If only fans of the series knew what monstrous dragons awaited them in "House of the Dragon." 

There's a lot to admire about Sunfyre beyond its size. Nicknamed "Sunfyre the Golden," its glimmering color inspires the golden sigil of the Targaryen house. It later becomes the mount of King Aegon II, despite being relatively young in "House of the Dragon."

Sunfyre gets its moment to shine, both literally and metaphorically, in Season 2 of "House of the Dragon," when Aegon II rides it into the Battle at Rook's Rest. The dragon gets into a nasty skirmish with Meleys, and is later caught in the crossfires of Vhagar's fire-breath on the command of Prince Aemond. Sunfyre suffers pretty severe injuries by the end of the battle and is even presumed dead by Rhaenyra, but "Fire & Blood" states otherwise.

One of the major events from "Fire & Blood" fans can expect to see in "House of the Dragon" is Princess Rhaenyra eventually being fed to Sunfyre after she is captured by King Aegon's men. It'll be quite the tragic fate for Rhaenyra, but at least fans of Sunfyre have a lot more to look forward to involving this dragon after its brutal crippling at the Battle at Rook's Rest.

Syrax is far from the largest dragon fighting on Princess Rhaenyra's side in "House of the Dragon," but it is the personal mount of the Black Queen herself. Named after a Valyrian goddess, Syrax is a unique color in the franchise, having resplendent yellow scales and horns that make it look like it has slicked-back hair. 

Despite being a much smaller size than many other dragons, Syrax is capable of some serious intimidation, as evidenced when Rhaenyra reclaims a stolen dragon egg from Prince Daemon at Dragonstone in the first season. The dragon is also joined by Vermithor and Silverwing to scare off Prince Aemond and Vhagar in Season 2 of "House of the Dragon," though fans will have to wait until Season 3 to actually see it in action in battle. 

A big reason for Syrax's smaller size is the fact that it was claimed by Rhaenyra when both were quite young. Hopefully, fans of Princess Rhaenyra will get to see her and the dragon do some pretty amazing things in future episodes, including capturing King's Landing.

Seasmoke may not be the biggest dragon, but it is one of the most underrated in terms of its design. Seasmoke has a pale color, matching the hair of its rider, Laenor Velaryon. However, Laenor abandons the dragon when he fakes his death and self-exiles himself in Season 1. 

In Season 2 of "House of the Dragon," Seasmoke's abandonment has its consequences, as even Rhaenyra can tell that it misses its original rider. Several characters try to claim Seasmoke, including Daemon's daughter Rhaena and Ser Steffon Darklyn, though the latter is burned alive by the disobedient dragon. Seasmoke later makes its choice of rider in Addam of Hull, the bastard sun of Corlys Velaryon. 

According to "Fire & Blood," Seasmoke is apparently three times smaller than Vermithor, though its size allows it to be much more quick and nimble in the air. Still, its size difference ends up making it fodder for Vermithor during the Second Battle of Tumbleton, which will certainly make for one of the most shocking moments in "House of the Dragon" when it comes. 

The black-scaled dragon named after Khal Drogo was not just the favorite of Daenerys Targaryen, but also fans of "Game of Thrones." Out of Daenerys' three dragons, Drogon grows the quickest, since it isn't stunted by captivity like Viserion and Rhaegal. Drogon proves to be a massive threat, especially if you're one of Daenerys' enemies. In Season 5, it becomes the first dragon ridden in the entire television franchise. 

Drogon has a lot of highlights throughout "Game of Thrones," from climactic battles like the Battle of the Goldroad in Season 7, the Battle of Winterfell in Season 8, and even as a baby when it burns Kraznys on the orders of Daenerys. Though the dragons in "House of the Dragon" are much bigger, viewers get to see Drogon grow into one of the largest dragons we've seen. 

However, the final seasons see Drogon suffer a lot of loss. Its sibling Viserion is killed by the Night King, and Rhaegal is killed by Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet in one of the "Game of Thrones" moments that outraged fans the most. To make matters worse, in the series finale, Daenerys is assassinated by her own lover, Jon Snow, but rather than burn Jon alive, Drogon uses its fire breath to destroy the Iron Throne, and flies off to who-knows-where with Daenerys' body. 

Despite surpassing all the living dragons in "Game of Thrones," Meleys met an unfortunate fate in the most recent season of the prequel series. Because of its scarlet-colored scales, Meleys is given the nickname "Red Queen," a fitting name for the mount of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was, who rides it while wearing a red-lined armor. 

Meleys was originally the mount of Alyssa Targaryen, the mother of King Viserys I and Prince Daemon, who appears in a pretty strange vision of Daemon's in season 2 of "House of the Dragon." Daemon tried to claim Meleys as a child, but it preferred Rhaenys, for obvious reasons. In one of the best scenes of "House of the Dragon," Rhaenys rides Meleys out of the Dragonpit in the middle of King Aegon II's coronation, setting the stage for a big battle to come.

Unfortunately, Rhaenys' tragic death in "House of the Dragon" Season 2 also spells the end for Meleys, as they are both killed by Vhagar at the Battle at Rook's Rest. The dragon's severed head is paraded throughout the streets of King's Landing soon after, but at least Rhaenys' mount got to put up a good fight against one of the largest dragons Westeros has ever seen. 

Although it's not the largest dragon depicted in "House of the Dragon," Caraxes certainly is the most memorable. With its dark red scales and serpentine neck, the dragon is nicknamed the "Blood Wyrm." It was originally ridden by King Jaehaerys' son Prince Aemon, though after Aemon was killed in the Fourth Dornish War, Caraxes was left unmounted. 

Caraxes appears a lot throughout "House of the Dragon," given that it became the mount of Daemon Targaryen. One notable appearance early in the series shows off its size during a confrontation between Daemon and Otto Hightower at Dragonstone. The dragon also accompanies Daemon to Harrenhal in Season 2 — and unbeknownst to Caraxes, Harrenhal will later be the site of its demise, per "Fire & Blood." 

Caraxes' design in the television show was inspired by the appearance of dragons in Chinese mythology, which definitely makes it one of the more interesting dragons in the series. According to "Fire & Blood," Caraxes is half the size of Vhagar, the mount of Prince Aemond in "House of the Dragon," who we'll learn more about shortly. 

It's a shame that Dreamfyre hasn't been seen on screen more. The dragon belongs to Queen Helaena Targaryen, sister-wife to Aegon II. As a result, Dreamfyre doesn't see much action in "House of the Dragon," despite being one of the few dragons in the series who comes from the era of Aegon I. Even in Season 2, when Aemond tries to convince Helaena to join him in battle with Dreamfyre, Helaena refuses to use her dragon to burn innocent people, which, as far as characters in this franchise goes, is pretty humanitarian of her. 

In one of Dreamfyre's few scenes in the first season, it scares away Aemond Targaryen when the young boy is attempting to visit the Dragonpit, which is a pretty humorous moment if you're an audience member who thinks Aemond is one of the few "House of the Dragon" characters who wouldn't survive today. 

One of the few important details about Dreamfyre that is yet to be confirmed is that the dragon is the mother of the eggs that later hatch into Daenerys Targaryen's three dragons: Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. Although Dreamfyre has yet to have any big moments in "House of the Dragon," diehard fans should keep their eyes on it in the future seasons. 

Because of its dark gold color, Vermithor has earned itself the nickname "the Bronze Fury." It was originally the mount of King Jaehaerys I, the grandfather of Viserys I, who briefly appears in the first episode of "House of the Dragon." Vermithor has yet to be claimed by the start of the HBO series, only appearing once when Daemon Targaryen visits the Dragonmont in a failed attempt to bond with the dragon. 

In Season 2 of "House of the Dragon," Vermithor is responsible for a pretty foul massacre of Valyrian illegitimate children. Rhaenerys sends numerous individuals to attempt to claim Vermithor, only for them all to get burned alive, except for one: King's Landing blacksmith Hugh, the bastard son of Princess Saera, who surprisingly manages to bond with Vermithor and is accepted as its new rider. 

What's most surprising about Vermithor's size and status as one of the strongest dragons in "House of the Dragon" is that it was seemingly born after Aegon I's death, making its massive size quite an anomaly in terms of dragons we've seen so far in the television franchise. Hopefully, Daemon doesn't get too jealous of Hugh for being able to successfully claim it as his own in "House of the Dragon." 

As far as dragons that have appeared in the flesh on "House of the Dragon," Vhagar is the biggest there is. During Aegon's Conquest, it was ridden by Aegon's sister-wife Visenya. Vhagar played a major part in some of the most bloody conflicts of the conquest, including the Field of Fire, in which Aegon and his forces defeated the Gardeners and Lannisters. 

The dragon is later claimed by Laena Velaryon, wife of Daemon, though when she suffers a fatal childbirth, she commands Vhagar to burn her alive as a mercy-kill. Soon after, Vhagar is claimed by Aemond Targaryen, son of King Viserys and Alicent Hightower. It becomes Aemond's ride to Storm's End to gain support for his brother, King Aegon II, but even he is unable to tame the vicious dragon. Vhagar ends up becoming responsible for killing Aemond's cousin Lucerys, son of Rhaenyra, as well as Arrax, one of the most devastating deaths in season one of "House of the Dragon." 

Vhagar is only responsible for more bloodshed in the second season, killing Rhaenys and Meleys in the Battle at Rook's Rest. Only those who have read George R. R. Martin's novella "The Princess and the Queen" know of Vhagar's fate at the end of the Dance of Dragons, which we won't spoil here, but suffice it to say it'll make for one heck of a cinematic scene when it comes. 

It's difficult to imagine a dragon more massive than Vhagar, but perhaps that's why both "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" have left it up to the imagination. Balerion the Black Dread is one of the most legendary dragons in Westerosi history. It was ridden by Aegon I during his conquest over Westeros, and was responsible for both the destruction of Harrenhal, and the forging of the Iron Throne out of the weapons of Aegon's enemies. 

Balerion was also ridden by Viserys I prior to his ascension to the throne, though it eventually died of old age. In both "House of the Dragon" and "Game of Thrones," its skull remains in the catacombs of the Red Keep in King's Landing. To the relief of HBO's visual effects team, Balerion has yet to be shown in its prime aside from these remains.

Unfortunately, "Game of Thrones" doesn't leave Balerion unscathed. The skull is damaged during Daenerys Targaryen's attack on King's Landing, its snout destroyed in the rubble that kills Cersei and Jamie Lannister. It does, however, seem prophetic that the dragon's skull is broken only an episode before the Targaryen dynasty comes to an end, even if it's not the ending of "Game of Thrones" we really wanted.