Balduvian Hydra
Creature — Hydra
This creature enters with X +1/+0 counters on it.
Remove a +1/+0 counter from this creature: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to it this turn.
: Put a +1/+0 counter on this creature. Activate only during your upkeep.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Ice Age
- Price
- $1.03
- EDHREC rank
- #28402
Balduvian Hydra enters as a massive, scalable threat that absorbs damage in place of you — but every point of prevention costs a red mana at instant speed, and the +1/+0 counters it accumulates are temporary, disappearing at end of turn. It's a niche role-player at best, and most red decks have better things to do with that mana.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Balduvian Hydra is legal in Commander, Legacy, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but sees essentially no competitive play in any of them. In Commander, the damage-prevention ability is situationally interesting in decks that care about +1/+1 counters or controlling combat math, but the end-of-turn clause on the power boost undercuts its staying power as a finisher. Legacy and Vintage have no interest — the efficiency bar is too high and the effect too narrow. Oathbreaker shares Commander's casual context, so the same niche synergy ceiling applies there.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.03 cheap tier
At $1.03, Balduvian Hydra sits in the cheap tier — low enough that it's not a financial commitment, but the price reflects the demand accurately. It's unlikely to move significantly in either direction without a dedicated reprint or a breakout synergy discovery.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.