The 40 Best Hydras in Magic Ranked

Last updated on December 20, 2025

Hydroid Krasis | Illustration by Jason Felix

Mythology has always been a source of inspiration to MTG, especially Greek mythology. Hydras are no exception.

Hydras are powerful mythical creatures in Magic based on the legend that if you cut one of its heads off, two more grow in its place. This leads to +1/+1 counters and damage prevention being a common theme among hydras, and some of them even deal damage with their heads.

Looking for a hydra to build around, or some good beefy creatures to include in your decks? Well, look no further! Here’s everything you need to know about hydras, and the best among them.

What Are Hydras in MTG?

Wildwood Scourge | Illustration by Bryan Sola

Hydras is a creature type usually represented by large green X-spell creatures, and often found at higher rarities. Hydras are an “iconic” creature type in green, the same way dragons are to red or angels to white.

To convey the idea that the hydras have a lot of heads and that you need to cut all of them off to kill the creature, these creatures usually have +1/+1 counters that are removed when the creature is damaged. Other iterations have the hydra grow when mana is spent or when it takes damage. Hydras are usually big piles of power and toughness that sometimes have evasion like trample or flying, like Hydroid Krasis and Shivan Devastator.

Most hydras in Magic suffer from the “dies to Doom Blade” syndrome, meaning that they’re blanked by removal that says “destroy” or “exile.” So most hydras here are Limited bombs, but hard to make work in a Constructed deck. Other hydras have an enter- or leave-the-battlefield effect that raises their playability by a lot.

As of now, hydras’ primary color is green on the color wheel. Some hydras in the past were red which also fits since they deal damage which is in red’s color pie. Some hydras are multicolor and it’s common to see 3-color hydras thanks to the popularity of Commander and the needs of Standard along with the themes of Limited.

There are about 70 hydra cards printed in MTG, and today I take a look at the best ones ever printed. Ready? Let’s get started!

Honorable Mention: Darksteel Hydra

Although it exists only on MTG Arena as an Alchemy card, Darksteel Hydra is a powerful card. It’s got synergies with oil counters and counters in general, it protects itself, and you get some cards when it ETBs.

You can cast it for as low as 4 mana and get a mana rock and a Darksteel Plate to further protect your commander.

#40. Hooded Hydra

Although somewhat inefficient for Constructed, Hooded Hydra is nice if you have a lot of mana. It’s also great as a Limited bomb. Morph is the fastest route to playability if it survives since 5 mana nets you a 5/5 that converts into five 1/1s. Double that if Doubling Season is involved.

#39. Mistcutter Hydra

Mistcutter Hydra saw Standard play out of the sideboard against blue decks, and haste was a big reason why. R&D wanted a hydra to be playable so badly and this one made the cut.

#38. Phytohydra

Phytohydra is a relic of MTG’s past. A 1/1 for 5 is bad but it basically can’t die by damage. If it blocks a 5/5 it becomes a 6/6, so attacking into it is heavily discouraged.

#37. Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager

Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager is an interesting card that saw Constructed play here and there. When all your creatures naturally have +1/+1 counters it becomes a house and even leaves a corpse behind.

#36. Phyrexian Hydra

I don’t think Phyrexian Hydra was played in Constructed because decks with infect are usually more explosive and want lower drops. But hey, it’s a 7/7 with infect for 5, I guess?

#35. Briar Hydra

Briar Hydra is a baseline Colossal Dreadmaw, but it has massive upside when it deals any combat damage to a player. In decks with 3+ colors with +1/+1 counter synergies, it will be fairly easy to put three or four +1/+1 counters on a creature each turn, and you should really have a good double strike or lifelink creature around to benefit from the extra counters.

#34. Ramunap Hydra

Ramunap Hydra can be a 5/5 with vigilance, reach, and trample, which is a solid collection of abilities for only 4 mana. Still, it’s best to leave it in your Limited decks, where it's obviously very good.

#33. Stumpsquall Hydra

If your commander and deck care about +1/+1 counters then Stumpsquall Hydra is a solid inclusion. Otherwise, there are better hydras out there.

#32. Savageborn Hydra

Very similar to Apocalypse Hydra, the double strike part makes a big difference. Savageborn Hydra is softer to removal because it won't leave anything meaningful behind, but one hit can be lethal.

#31. Apocalypse Hydra

Apocalypse Hydra is a good reason to ramp, because for 7 mana you get a 10/10, which is already powerful. And with spare mana the damage can be dealt to any target. Untapping with this much power is very frightening.

#30. Khalni Hydra

Unfortunately for Khalni Hydra, Ghalta, Primal Hunger exists. Still, the design for the time had a very mythic feel and devotion already existed in the form of “chroma.”

#29. Neverwinter Hydra

Neverwinter Hydra gets the nod for a couple reasons. It has ward 4 which helps a lot in surviving opposing removal. It also has a cool dice component (yes, luck-based). As of Forgotten Realms there are even some cards that that synergize with dice rolls.

#28. Gyrus, Waker of Corpses

As a commander, Gyrus, Waker of Corpses requires self-mill and a lot of small value creatures, preferably with enters- and leaves-the-battlefield abilities. Plus a lot of ramp so that it can be cast for a huge X to be more effective.

#27. Goldvein Hydra

Goldvein Hydra has all the makings of a great Standard card, but not much to push it over the edge in Commander. It'll give you a nice windfall of Treasure when it dies, which can be filtered into your next big hydra or X-spell.

#26. Rampant Rejuvenator

Rampant Rejuvenator can give you a bunch of lands on demand coupled with a sacrifice outlet, and you can make better use of this hydra by buffing its power or doubling its +1/+1 counters. If this card is a 4/4 or bigger, players won’t kill it or else they risk giving you 4+ lands.

You can exploit this creature by playing it, sacrificing it, and playing again every turn in a Muldrotha, the Gravetide deck.

#25. Polukranos Reborn / Polukranos, Engine of Ruin

Polukranos Reborn is a nicely-stated creature as a 4/5 with reach for , and you can transform it into a Wurmcoil Engine-style creature that gives the death trigger ability to all your hydras. You can play Polukranos Reborn as a Selesnya () hydra commander, or as a card in a hydra typal Commander deck.

#24. Hydra Omnivore

8/8 for 6 is a fine deal, and Hydra Omnivore is a big threat to punish all your opponents if you have ways to give it trample or evasion.

#23. Hydra Broodmaster

I found Hydra Broodmaster so cool when it was first revealed. 7/7 for 6 is good. Monstrosity is a cool mechanic and makes a lot of hydras. Limited bomb for sure, but it leaves a lot to be desired for Constructed applications.

#22. Bristling Hydra

Bristling Hydra was played a lot in Kaladesh Standard’s energy decks as a difficult threat to remove. It’s a 4/3 that survives the first removal by itself, and it’s better if you have energy going. A good threat in general.

#21. Rampaging Aetherhood

Talk about generating energy, Rampaging Aetherhood looks to have enough wind power to light up your home at peak hours. The rate of one energy counter per +1/+1 counter is very good. The trample and ward turn this into a well-rounded threat for more than just energy decks.

#20. Kalonian Hydra

Kalonian Hydra saw some Constructed play and was part of the “let’s push creatures” movement. A 4/4 that attacks as an 8/8 is huge, and pairing it up with +1/+1 counter support gives you a very good incentive to play around with +1/+1 counter shenanigans.

#19. Shivan Devastator

Shivan Devastator is almost like a Blaze with wings. This dragon hydra is efficient in almost any point of the mana curve, and it’s been a staple of aggressive red decks in Standard ever since it was printed.

This is a dragon and a hydra, two well-supported typal decks in EDH. You can also play this in decks that care about the damage dealt to an opponent like Rakdos, Lord of Riots.

#18. Whiptongue Hydra

One of the more unique hydras, Whiptongue Hydra is a flier terminator. It’s great tech against your friends playing bird/spirit/angels-matter decks. I think you get the idea.

#17. Managorger Hydra

A storm hydra? Managorger Hydra naturally grows since it counts the spells from all your opponents, so you don’t need to go deep on spell casting and cantrips.

#16. Steelbane Hydra

Besides being equal to almost all hydras, Steelbane Hydra does something very different in being a Naturalize. It has a lot of targets in a Commander deck.

#15. Polukranos, World Eater

Polukranos, World Eater saw play mainly as a 5/5 for 4 with an upside, and anything with two colored mana symbols is fair game in the green devotion decks. Plus it's a very real threat with big mana generating abilities.

#14. Voracious Hydra

Having an immediate effect when entering the battlefield is a good way to be playable in Constructed, and Voracious Hydra has it. It either fights a small creature or becomes a big threat.

#13. Wildwood Scourge

Wildwood Scourge was played for a while in decks that ran +1/+1 counters as a theme. Unfortunately the non-hydra clause (to avoid counting its own counters) means that it’s not as interesting in a hydra themed deck.

#12. Warden of the Grove

The one counter per turn is slow but still good. Where Warden of the Grove shines is when you have lots of nontoken creatures to play after it. You easily go tall and wide, and I love the minimal mana investment for lots of creatures or power.

#11. Zaxara, the Exemplary

Zaxara, the Exemplary does a lot of things a hydra deck wants. This nightmare’s in three colors with access to hydras, it generates 2 mana of any color, and it makes a little one whenever you cast a spell with X. So you want to ramp your mana and put a lot of powerful X spells on your deck.

#10. Benevolent Hydra

Benevolent Hydra combines the Hardened Scales ability with a large creature, and you can move counters around from your hydra to your other creatures. What’s more, you take one counter from your Benevolent Hydra every time you do that and put two counters on your other creature, increasing your overall resources.

Benevolent indeed.

#9. Ulvenwald Hydra

A good mix of abilities makes Ulvenwald Hydra worthy of consideration. It’s a big creature with reach, plus it ramps you and fixes your mana. Besides, it can tutor for any land in case you have special lands that need to be found.

#8. Progenitus

The soul of the world has protection against everything, and it was the first time this expression was used on a MTG card. But Progenitus isn’t immune to wrath or sacrifice effects. It’s also very hard to cast.

Progenitus EDH decks are built in such a way that it’s cast, gains haste and some extra power, and then double strikes someone for lethal commander damage.

#7. Polukranos, Unchained

Another staple in its Standard, Polukranos, Unchained is a 6/6 for 4 which is a good rate these days, and it comes back as a 12/12 thanks to escape. The fight effect means that Polukranos is never just a “big beater,” it’s also a killer. This was the card you wanted to mill against Rogue decks that wanted to mill you to death.

#6. Apex Devastator

For 10 mana you get a 10/10. You can get better deals out there, but four cascades means you’re getting at least four cards out of Apex Devastator. As unreliable as cascade can be sometimes, you’re getting at least four cards for your trouble. One of the best incentives to ramp out there.

#5. Hydroid Krasis

A card that defined Standard and became one of the most interesting Simic cards, Hydroid Krasis is never bad. It’s usually played as a 4/4 for 6 that draws you two cards and gains you 2 life.

It becomes even more powerful in a ramp deck. The interesting part is that the lifegain and card draw is on cast, not on resolution. This makes Krasis a good card against aggro, control, and midrange decks.

#4. The Goose Mother

The Goose Mother is generally an improvement over Hydroid Krasis, though not always. Krasis was always a great late-game, top-end way to refuel your hand and push into the late lategame, but it's miserable early on. The Goose Mother gives you more steady card advantage and lifegain over time, but I can't understate how important it is that you can just cast it as a 2-mana 2/2 flier in situations where you need to be blocking early on.

#3. Gargos, Vicious Watcher

One of the few hydra lords out there, Gargos, Vicious Watcher is powerful. An 8/7 creature with vigilance for 6 is very good and your opponent will think twice before pointing removal spells at your creatures. One of the most interesting commanders to build a hydra deck around.

#2. Genesis Hydra

Genesis Hydra was one of the first Constructed-playable hydras. It was one of the key pieces in the monsters/devotion deck in Theros Standard. Spend a lot of mana, make a big threat, and gain another card in the process.

#1. Mossborn Hydra

Mossborn Hydra at is a terrifying turn 2 followup to Forest and Llanowar Elves. Grow the Mossborn with all the +1/+1 cards Wizards likes to print each year and it easily grows into the hundreds without an infinite combo. Practice your addition and multiplication tables, because you want to build in a bunch of extra land drops. What really solidifies this as head hydra is the natural trample that this ranking is so hungry for.

Best Hydra Payoffs

Hydras in MTG come with a variety of effects, mainly +1/+1 counters and ramp/mana sinks. Load up on those counters and increase base stats to reward yourself for playing hydras.

During Theros’ Standard some green devotion decks could produce a lot of mana thanks to Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Another thing to note is that cards that usually work well in hydra decks are green based, so there aren’t a lot of incentives to run other colors except to splash a Simic, Gruul, or Golgari hydra.

As far as hydra lords go reducing the cost of your important spells by 4 mana is a big incentive. Gargos, Vicious Watcher’s triggered ability extends to all creatures, including hydras.

Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager incentivizes you to have a lot of creatures with +1/+1 counters, which hydras usually have. It even creates token hydras when it dies.

Zaxara, the Exemplary generates mana, which is awesome to cast big creatures, and it also creates hydras whenever you play a spell with X in its mana cost, which a lot of hydras have. Rosheen Meanderer is another incentive to cast hydras with X in their mana cost. Magus Lucea Kane is a Temur commander that cares about +1/+1 counters and allows you to copy a spell with X in its mana cost. That's a perfect fit for a deck filled with hydras, or a hydra commander.

Hydra decks usually produce a lot of +1/+1 counters and creature tokens so Doubling Season is perfect. Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider and Hardened Scales also increase your counter production.

It’s not like almost all your hydra creatures will be a modified creature at some point, right? Give your big creatures trample and ramp when you hit the enemy with Kodama of the West Tree. Reyhan, Last of the Abzan is a legendary Golgari warrior that cares about counters, which are on-theme with hydras.

Garruk's Uprising lets you draw lots of cards and gives your big creatures trample.

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx can generate absurd amounts of mana, especially if your deck is base green which most hydras are. Generic typal incentives are always good, and Vanquisher's Banner can be put to good use in any typal deck.

Polukranos Reborn, once transformed into Polukranos, Engine of Ruin, will make all your hydra non-token creatures die into two Hydra tokens. That helps a lot with the “Dies to Doom Blade” syndrome lots of hydras have.

Are Hydras Good in MTG?

There are a lot of good and playable hydras in Magic. Hydras usually appear at rare and are at least Limited bomb tier with a lot of them seeing Constructed play. A lot of hydras are very efficient at their mana value and a lot of them have X in their cost which scales with the game or allows you to spend more mana on their activated abilities.

Are There Legendary Hydra Commanders?

Yes, there is a whole list of legendary hydras fit to be commanders. Read our full listing, because Gargos, Vicious Watcher, The Goose Mother, and Zaxara, the Exemplary are just a few prime examples.

Is a Hydra a Dragon in Magic?

Hydras and dragons are two different creature types in Magic. Dragons aren’t hydras, and hydras aren’t dragons.

Wrap Up

Polukranos, Unchained | Illustration by Chris Rahn

Hydras are definitely playable in MTG. It’s very important to get card advantage from other sources though since they’ll usually trade 1-for-1 with opposing removal. The play pattern of playing a huge monster in a turn is also complicated, making it easier for an opponent to get a tempo advantage. That being said, deckbuilders have a blast playing with hydras and +1/+1 counters.

What’s your favorite hydra? Did I miss any that you think should be here? Let me know in the comments down below or over in Draftsim’s Discord.

That’s all from me for now. Best of wishes to all of you and I’ll see you in the next one!