Come to think of it, considering Satan's strengths, limitations, and tactics, he really isn't much like a dragon at all. Dragons are large and powerful. They have tough hides, terrible claws and teeth, and the ability to breathe fire and fly. They are also usually brightly colored, mostly because they are so powerful, they have no need of stealth.
Satan is actually quite the opposite. He is not physically imposing, largely because he actually has no body at all. While he may be strong-willed, we are stronger; he cannot mentally overpower us. Because of these limitations, and knowing that he can't beat us in a head-on battle of wills, he primarily uses stealth and deception rather than grandiose displays of power, and when he does attempt to intimidate us with his power, it's usually just another deception. In terms of abilities and tactics, Satan is actually very different than dragons, so our tactics against him should be slightly different as well.
Distance is still a strong advantage. If we can keep Satan at a distance, he can't hurt us. The bad news is that he uses stealth and deception to get close. To avoid that, we need to be vigilant for his subtle influence and fight him off as soon as we realize he's there. The good news is that we are stronger than him, so we don't have to retreat from him. Unlike a dragon, we can easily fend him off.
However, it is imperative that we fight him off as quickly as possible. We must not allow him to get or stay close. The reason for this is that, lacking powerful claws or teeth, Satan uses poison in an attempt to weaken and destroy us. He knows he can't defeat us normally, so he uses temptations and evil thoughts to weaken us, or rather to get us to weaken ourselves. The longer we allow him to hang around us, the more his poison takes hold, and the harder it'll be to fight him off.
Thankfully, as children of God, we will almost always have enough strength to resist Satan, and if we ever find ourselves weaker than we ought to be, we can pray to God for strength. He can help us drive Satan away and clean the poison out of our systems. Healing from Satan's poison and developing our spiritual strength can take time, which is why it's important to keep Satan's weakening influence as far away from our hearts as possible.
A battle with a dragon is typically a single, epic encounter, with a powerful opponent and a high probability of death. Our battle with Satan is more of a battle of attrition. He tries to weaken us as we try to gain strength. He tries to sneak up on us as we try to watch out for him. He needs to get close and stay there for a while in order to harm us, whereas if a dragon gets close enough to bite you, the battle won't last much longer. Fighting Satan is a matter of a lifetime of vigilance and preparation, whereas a battle with a dragon is a matter of a few heart-pounding moments.
They're also different in what happens if they win. When a dragon wins, it's opponents die. When Satan win, his opponents go to hell. For that reason alone, on top of all the other reasons, I'd rather fight a fantasy dragon than the biblical dragon.
Yet, I don't have that option. I can't just go slay or be slain by a dragon and be forever free from Satan's influence. It doesn't work like that. In order to be free from Satan's influence, we need to constantly shore up our defences against him and make sure he doesn't get or stay close enough to weaken them. It's a life-long fight, but it's a fight we can win, and we actually have a much better change against him than we would have against a real dragon.
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