Unusual Tribes 9: Hydras

Introduction

This week’s Unusual Tribes article will focus on Hydras. The Hydra was a many headed beast slain by the Greek hero Heracles, or Hercules in adaptations made by the Romans and the Disney corporation. Each time one of the Hydra’s heads was cut off two more would grow in its place, unless the stump of the neck was burned away with fire. Hydras are considered green’s ‘iconic creature type’, a term meaning that they are large creatures typically, although not always, printed in a single colour. This places them alongside Angels, Sphinxes, Demons and Dragons, who are the iconic creatures of white, blue, black and red respectively.[1] Despite their modern association with green, Hydras were initially printed exclusively in red. Rock Hydra, the first Hydra ever printed, was a red card. Rock Hydra was then followed by several other mono-red Hydras including Balduvian Hydra, Ancient Hydra and Molten Hydra.

The first green Hydra would not see print until 2005 in Ravnica: City of Guilds. Phytohydra was a green/white Plant Hydra aligned with the Selesnya Conclave.  Phytohydra would later be joined, in the same block, by Ulasht, the Hate Seed and Sprouting Phytohydra. Interestingly, of these 3 hydras, only Ulasht, the Hate Seed was not a Hydra/Plant. As Ulasht is the only one of the three to have red in its colour identity this suggests that red was still the colour primarily associated with hydras, with the green of the other Hydras coming stemming from their Plant creature type. The printing of Khalni Hydra in 2010’s Rise of the Eldrazi marked the decisive shift of Hydras from red to green. Khalni Hydra is officially the greenest card ever made. It costs 8 green mana, that is to say it has 8 individual green mana pips in its casting cost. This gives Khalni Hydra the single most mana pips of any, black-bordered, card in the game. It loses out only to B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster), a joke card printed in Unglued, which costs 15 black mana. Khalni Hydra’s cost is reduced by one green for each green creature controlled by its owner, demonstrating further that Hydras are now aligned with green.

Although Theros: Beyond Death will undoubtedly contain a handful of Hydras, as the plane of Theros is inspired by Greek mythology, this article will be spoiler free. After the set is released, if any of these Hydras are notable enough to warrant mention here, information about them will be retroactively added in.

Heads and Tails

Typically, Hydras many heads are represented through +1/+1 counters. This is made clear when looking at the first hydra printed,  Rock Hydra. Like many of Magic the Gathering’s oldest cards, Rock Hydra’s original rules text is incredibly bizarre by modern standards. The card costs 2 red mana + X and states, ‘Put X +1/+1 counters (heads) on Hydra.  Each point of damage Hydra suffers destroys one head unless R is spent.  During upkeep new heads may be grown for RRR apiece’. The first clause of Rock Hydra’s effect has been replicated on many of Magic’s later Hydras. Of the 48 Hydras in the game, 18 of them (or 37.5%) have X in their mana cost. Each of these Hydras enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it.

Protean Hydra is one of the more flavourful Hydras in the game. It perfectly captures the idea of two heads growing back from the stump each time a single head is decapitated. Whenever Protean Hydra takes damage, it loses that number of heads, in the form of+1/+1 counters. 2 +1/+1 counters are then placed upon it at the next end step, for each counter which was removed that turn. This shows new heads sprouting from the severed stumps.

Interestingly, Phyrexian Hydra works in the opposite way to Protean Hydra. Any damage dealt to  Phyrexian Hydra is prevented, but in return, a -1/-1 counter is placed on the card. This, coupled with the card possessing the ability Infect, demonstrates that Phyrexian Hydra grows more and more diseased and sickly as it takes more and more damage. This is an interesting demonstration of the nature of the Phyrexian infection, which spread across Mirrodin, but a slightly strange take on a Hydra. Perhaps the card does the opposite of what other Hydras do to reflect Phyrexia’s status as an absurd and nightmarish world where nothing works as would be expected.

Kalonian Hydra is a peculiar card, in terms of how it conveys the idea of being a Hydra, but a brilliant support card to other members of the tribe. Kalonian Hydra enters play with 4 +1/+1 on it. Whenever it attacks, the number of +1/+1 counters on it is doubled as well as the number of counters on every other card its owner controls. This effect works brilliantly when played alongside other Hydras, as many of them will also be covered in +1/+1 counters. The flavour text of  Kalonian Hydra ,‘Even baloths fear its feeding time’, implies that the +1/+1 counters on the Hydra are doubled due to it feasting on prey. This is slightly inconsistent with other members of the tribe, where the +1/+1 counters are used to represent additional heads. Perhaps feasting on baloths causes Kalonian Hydra to sprout new heads?

+1/+1 counters are not the only way that the multiple heads of Hydras are demonstrated through game mechanics. In multiplayer, Hydra Omnivore deals its combat damage to every opponent, reflecting how each of its heads is lashing out at a different foe. Similarly, Savageborn Hydra  possesses Double Strike to reflect how its multiple heads enable it to bite opponents several times simultaneously.

Gargos and Other Hydra Legends

Until the release of Core Set 2020 Hydras did not really have a lord.  That all changed with the printing of Gargos, Viscious Watcher.

Gargos is the ideal commander for a mono-green hydra deck. Although Gargos does not provide +1/+1 to each Hydra you control, he reduces the price of every other Hydra in his controller’s deck by 4 and fights an opponent’s creatures whenever one of your creatures is targeted by a spell. Gargos’ price reduction effect is extremely valuable. Being able to bring out Oran-Rief Hydra or Hydra Omnivore for a mere two mana is quite intimidating. Furthermore, this cost reduction ability synergises effectively with the series of Hydras who have X in their mana cost, such as Protean Hydra and Hooded Hydra. As each of these Hydras get +1/+1 equal to the value of X, Gargos effectively grants each of these Hydras four extra power and toughness. Gargos’ fight ability is also useful, as it essentially turns your opponent’s removal spells into two for ones. Gargos will fight, and presumably destroy, one of their creatures in the event that they attempt to target one of your Hydras with Swords to Plowshares.

For all of Gargos’ strengths, the card has one major flaw as a commander. Sadly, due to only possessing green in his colour identity, a deck led by Gargos loses access to several of the most powerful members of the tribe. This includes such cards as Hydroid Krasis and Savageborn Hydra. This leaves EDH decks which want to run many non-green Hydras with several potential alternatives, namely, Gyrus, Waker of Corpses, Ulasht, the Hate Seed and Progenitus. Although each of these cards are Hydras, they do not synergise nearly as well with other Hydras as  Gargos’ does, and pull you towards other strategies. Gyrus, Waker of Corpses works best in a graveyard reanimation deck. Ulasht, the Hate Seed wants to be in a go-wide deck. Progenitus, as one of only two cards to bear the clause ‘protection from everything’, wants to act as the centrepiece of a battlecruiser strategy. [2] In summary, despite losing access to several members of the tribe, the sheer impact of Gargos’ ability in a Hydra deck makes him the premier choice for Hydra tribal. The other legendary Hydras encourage you to run alternative strategies.

Arbitrary Grades

Flavour: A

The primary attribute which distinguishes Hydras from each of the game’s other creature types is their multiple heads. By tying heads into +1/+1 counters, Wizards of the Coast have created an effective and consistent means of showing off what makes Hydras novel, and demonstrating them losing and gaining heads over the course of a fight. It is perhaps curious that this ability is not universal amongst all Hydras, and some have a predetermined amount of power and toughness, or else do not interact with +1/+1 counters at all. Overall, however, it is probably for the best that every Hydra in the game is not simply a creature with X in its mana cost that gains +1/+1 counters equal to the value of X. This ensures that the design space for Hydra cards is significantly wider than merely being a series of, marginally altered, duplicates of Rock Hydra. Cards such as Hydra Omnivore and Savageborn Hydra are also effectively able to portray their multiheaded nature.

Viability: B

Hydras have always been powerful creatures, yet green has no shortage of strong threats. Gargos has done a lot to make the tribe more viable collectively as he circumvents Hydras’ most significant weakness, their high cost. Given how recently Gargos was released, and Hydras’ status as green’s iconic creature type, it seems highly possible that more Hydra tribal support is incoming in the future. The many Hydras who rely on +1/+1 counters also make them a great fit in decks that revolve around Proliferate and other mechanics which increase the number of +1/+1 counters in play. Kalonian Hydra is an essential component in any EDH deck in which +1/+1 counters are a major component, and works well alongside other Hydras. Furthermore, as was discussed above, there are several Legendary Hydras who make interesting centerpieces to novel deck concepts.

Best and worst cards:

Hydroid Krasis is certainly the most used card of the tribe at the present moment. Simic Ramp decks are currently very popular in Standard, even if they don’t dominate the meta as they once did in the days prior to the banning of Oko.  Hydroid Krasis is able to offer these decks the dual utilities of card draw and life gain attached to an incredibly evasive threat. A Hydroid Krasis, with enough mana thrown into it, effectively makes its caster’s victory an inevitability. 

Voracious Hydra is another member of the tribe made powerful due to its versatility. Voracious Hydra fits into the long line of Hydras where X can be paid in order to give it +1/+1 counters. As Voracious Hydra enters the battlefield it can either fight a creature your opponent controls, or the number of +1/+1 counters on it can be doubled. The Hydra can thus be a removal spell attached to a decently powerful creature, or simply an overwhelmingly powerful threat. 

A final Hydra worthy of mention here is Hydra Omnivore. An 8/8, for a mere 6 mana, Hydra Omnivore has stats worthy of its cost. The Omnivore deals damage to every single opponent in multiplayer games. If it can be made unblockable, such as through the use of Aqueous Form, then the Omnivore quickly shifts the balance of multiplayer games in its controller’s favour. Although this comes with the downside of Hydra Omnivore being a lightning rod for removal and often drawing out the fury of the other players at the table.

Not every Hydra can get ahead like those mentioned above. Molten Hydra is one of the absolute worst cards of the tribe. It hits the battlefield as a 1/1 for 2 mana. Though Molten Hydra has the ability to place +1/+1 counters on itself, and to remove these counters to damage opponents, the fact that placing each of these counters costs 3 mana ensures that you’re merely sinking more mana into an already overcosted card.  Balduvian Hydra is another member of the tribe headed straight for the trash. Unlike every other Hydra with X in its casting cost, Balduvian Hydra places +1/+0 counters on itself, rather than +1/+1 counters, ensuring that it will only ever enter play with a single point of toughness.  this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that a counter can be removed to prevent a point of damage from being dealt to the Hydra. Having a 4/1 for six mana is a terrible deal. This is especially notable, considering that Balduvian Hydra grows weaker every time it is blocked by creatures with a single point of power or more.

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[1] More information about Iconic Creature types can be found in this article by Mark Rosewater which defines the term https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/building-better-monster-2013-11-11
[2] Hexdrinker is the 2nd card to have 'Protection from Everything'.