MagicTheGathering.fyi

Hungering Hydra

Creature — Hydra

This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
This creature can't be blocked by more than one creature.
Whenever this creature is dealt damage, put that many +1/+1 counters on it. (It must survive the damage to get the counters.)

CMC
1
Mana cost
{X}{G}
Color identity
G
Rarity
rare
Set
Commander 2020
Price
$3.72
EDHREC rank
#3414
Buy on TCGplayer
Hungering Hydra card art
Hungering Hydra hits the table as an immediate threat — block it and it grows, ignore it and it kills you. The cost is real: it can't be targeted by your own spells, which rules out the usual pump and protection tricks, and Polukranos Reborn and Yedora, Grave Gardener both exploit X-cost Hydras in ways that make this restriction sting less.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01

Polukranos Reborn

87.0% of decks · synergy 0.86

Polukranos Reborn tutors up other Hydras at the beginning of combat, and Hungering Hydra sits near the top of that hit list — drop it in after blockers are declared and the combat math becomes immediately lethal. The synergy rate of 87% reflects that this is one of the first cards Polukranos players reach for.

02
Gargos, Vicious Watcher

Gargos, Vicious Watcher

78.9% of decks · synergy 0.75

Gargos, Vicious Watcher reduces the cost of Hydra spells and fights on their behalf, and Hungering Hydra turns every fight trigger into a counter accumulation event. The growth-on-damage clause stacks perfectly with the free fight Gargos provides, often leaving the Hydra several counters larger after each combat.

03
Zaxara, the Exemplary

Zaxara, the Exemplary

68.6% of decks · synergy 0.64

Zaxara, the Exemplary generates mana and creates tokens whenever you cast an X spell, and Hungering Hydra is exactly the kind of scalable threat that doubles the value of that engine. Cast it for a large X and you get a growing attacker plus a free Hydra token from Zaxara in the same motion.

04
Rosheen, Roaring Prophet

Rosheen, Roaring Prophet

46.5% of decks · synergy 0.46

Rosheen, Roaring Prophet produces four mana restricted to X costs, which turns Hungering Hydra into a legitimate early-game threat without sinking your entire mana base. The ramp upside makes Hungering Hydra hit significantly harder than its slot in the curve would suggest.

05
Wayta, Trainer Prodigy

Wayta, Trainer Prodigy

25.6% of decks · synergy 0.25

Wayta, Trainer Prodigy triggers off creatures with power four or greater fighting, and a reasonably-sized Hungering Hydra enters that bracket quickly. The fight-on-damage feedback loop between the two means the Hydra compounds counters across multiple combat steps.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Hungering Hydra is a Commander card through and through — the X cost, the snowball growth, and the combat-math pressure all play best in a 40-life multiplayer game where it has time to accumulate counters. In Modern and Pioneer it's technically legal but rarely competitive; the can't-be-targeted clause removes it from the protection and pump shells that make other Hydras viable in those formats, and faster threats exist at every point on the curve. Legacy and Vintage are non-starters. Commander is the correct home: build around X-cost synergies or Hydra tribal and Hungering Hydra pays off.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$3.72 cheap tier

At $3.72, Hungering Hydra sits in cheap territory for a card that shows up in nearly every serious Hydra or X-spell Commander build. It doesn't have the reprint pressure to drive it lower, and demand from Polukranos Reborn, Gargos, Vicious Watcher, and Zaxara, the Exemplary decks keeps a floor under it.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

← All cards

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