[Squirrelloid]

Dragons also don't need Dom9 to be SCs, so a respectable Dom 5-6 can be sufficient. This is the major advantage of the Wyrm - dom 9 is cheap - but the Wyrm doesn't have the high protection to rely on. (Do playtest to see how much of a difference this makes in your willingness to attack various indies, as obviously dom9's awe does increase survivability, and that may be a factor against some indies).

Which isn't to say the classic awe-fear combo isn't nice. But that dom9 is awful expensive starting from dom1.

(Blue Dragons may be the best dragon for early expansion without dom 9 because water magic improves their defense stat).