Ironscale Hydra
Creature — Hydra
If a creature would deal combat damage to this creature, prevent that damage and put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
- CMC
- 5
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The List
- Price
- $0.72
- EDHREC rank
- #8567
Ironscale Hydra enters as a 5/5 for five mana and distributes a +1/+1 counter to every creature you control whenever one of your creatures is targeted — a punishing tax on your opponents' spot removal. Gargos, Vicious Watcher already punishes targeting with free fights; Ironscale Hydra stacks a second layer of profit onto the same trigger, making targeted removal actively dangerous to cast.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gargos, Vicious Watcher
Gargos, Vicious Watcher already rewards your opponents for targeting your Hydras with free fight triggers, and Ironscale Hydra turns every one of those same targeting events into a board-wide +1/+1 counter distribution — the two stack into a removal-punishment engine that makes interaction nearly cost-prohibitive.
Polukranos Reborn
Polukranos Reborn leads a Hydra-tribal shell where the board is routinely full of large creatures, and Ironscale Hydra's counter-distribution scales directly with that density — the more Hydras in play, the more explosive each targeting event becomes.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Ironscale Hydra is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but its competitive window is narrow outside of Commander. In Modern and Pioneer the five-mana slot is brutally contested and a 5/5 with a defensive triggered ability doesn't threaten to close games quickly enough to earn a slot. Commander is where Ironscale Hydra actually functions as designed — multiplayer tables generate far more targeting events, the counter distribution scales with wider boards, and Hydra-tribal commanders like Gargos, Vicious Watcher give it a built-in home.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.72 bulk tier
At $0.72, Ironscale Hydra is firmly bulk, which is appropriate for a card with a narrow tribal home and no competitive demand outside Commander. It's a stable pickup for the price — there's no meaningful upside pressure, but you're not paying a premium for a card that belongs in exactly one kind of deck.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Gargos, Vicious Watcher
- Polukranos Reborn
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.