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Benevolent Hydra

Creature — Hydra

This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on another creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.
{T}, Remove a +1/+1 counter from this creature: Put a +1/+1 counter on another target creature you control.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{X}{G}{G}
Color identity
G
Rarity
rare
Set
Jumpstart 2022
Price
$12.33
EDHREC rank
#3208
Buy on TCGplayer
Benevolent Hydra card art
Benevolent Hydra doubles every +1/+1 counter placed on any creature you control, turning incremental counter payoffs like Vigor into explosive board states almost immediately. The effect is powerful enough that Zimone, Infinite Analyst runs it in over 84% of decks — if your deck puts counters on things, this card belongs in it.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Zimone, Infinite Analyst

Zimone, Infinite Analyst

84.5% of decks · synergy 0.82

Zimone, Infinite Analyst generates infinite counters through her untap loops, and Benevolent Hydra doubles every counter placed in the process, turning each loop iteration into a lethal threat with minimal extra setup.

02
Gargos, Vicious Watcher

Gargos, Vicious Watcher

45.7% of decks · synergy 0.43

Gargos, Vicious Watcher casts Hydra spells cheaply and repeatedly, and Benevolent Hydra ensures every X-spell payoff lands twice as large on every creature it affects.

03

Polukranos Reborn

37.8% of decks · synergy 0.36

Polukranos Reborn enters with counters and fights with them, making Benevolent Hydra a direct multiplier on its main stat line from the moment it flips.

04
Zaxara, the Exemplary

Zaxara, the Exemplary

29.7% of decks · synergy 0.28

Zaxara, the Exemplary generates Hydra tokens from X spells and scales them with counters, and Benevolent Hydra doubles that scaling across the entire board simultaneously.

05
Primo, the Unbounded

Primo, the Unbounded

25.7% of decks · synergy 0.23

Primo, the Unbounded proliferates and spreads counters widely, and Benevolent Hydra ensures each proliferate trigger hits twice as hard on every creature carrying counters.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern not legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Benevolent Hydra does its best work — the 100-card singleton format gives it a wide field of counter synergies to double, and the multiplayer game length means the snowball effect has time to matter. Legacy and Vintage are legal destinations on paper, but neither format runs the kind of persistent counter-stacking strategies that justify a two-mana 1/1 with no immediate impact. Oathbreaker is the one non-Commander format where Benevolent Hydra could realistically slot in, specifically under a counter-heavy Simic planeswalker. Outside those contexts, the card has no competitive home.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

If $12 is too steep, Hardened Scales does a version of the same job for under $2 — it only adds one extra counter per trigger rather than doubling, but it comes down on turn one and affects every counter source the same way. The gap between the two is real in dedicated counter decks where doubling outpaces adding one, but Hardened Scales is the honest budget replacement for players who want the effect without the price of Benevolent Hydra.

Price Context

Current price

$12.33 mid tier

At $12.33, Benevolent Hydra sits in the mid tier — notable enough to feel in a budget, not so expensive it's a barrier for a focused counter deck. The price reflects genuine demand from Zimone and Zaxara builds rather than speculation, so it's unlikely to crater without a reprint.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.