Lair of the Hydra
Land
If you control two or more other lands, this land enters tapped.
: Add 
.
: Until end of turn, this land becomes an X/X green Hydra creature. It's still a land. X can't be 0.
- CMC
- 0
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- G
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #2332
Lair of the Hydra pulls double duty as a land that becomes a sizeable attacker whenever you have mana to spare — no setup required, just X green mana and it's swinging. The cost is real: it enters tapped, which rules it out in faster formats, but in Commander that's a footnote compared to the threat it represents, especially in landfall and land-matters builds where Jyoti, Moag Ancient and effects like Exchange of Words can squeeze extra value from it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Jyoti, Moag Ancient
Jyoti, Moag Ancient triggers off lands entering the battlefield, and Lair of the Hydra gives that engine a late-game payoff — you're not just making a land drop, you're making a land drop that can turn into a massive attacker the turn you need to close out.
Omo, Queen of Vesuva
Omo, Queen of Vesuva cares deeply about land types and putting counters on permanents, and Lair of the Hydra fits neatly as a utility land that can also threaten combat — its creature mode scales with the wide mana pools Omo decks tend to accumulate.
Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir
Jolrael, Voice of Zhalfir rewards land-heavy draws and wants lands that can become threats, making Lair of the Hydra an obvious include — it counts toward your land drops early and becomes a combat-relevant body once Jolrael's triggered ability has handed you extra cards.
Rosheen, Roaring Prophet
Rosheen, Roaring Prophet generates mana specifically for X spells and activated abilities, and Lair of the Hydra's activation is exactly the kind of sink that makes Rosheen's extra mana meaningful — pump all of it into the land and send a massive Hydra into the red zone.
Polukranos Reborn
Polukranos Reborn is a Hydra commander that wants green mana sinks and threats that scale, and Lair of the Hydra fits the tribal flavor while providing a redundant finisher that can't be countered the way a creature spell can.
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 |
In Commander, Lair of the Hydra is a quietly reliable include in any green deck that expects games to go long — the enters-tapped penalty is nearly irrelevant when you're planning to use it as a finisher on turn 8 or later. Modern and Pioneer are where the enters-tapped clause actually stings: aggressive green shells can't afford the tempo loss, and midrange decks that might want a land-based threat usually have stronger options in their color. Legacy and Vintage are theoretically legal, but Lair of the Hydra has no meaningful home there — those formats move too fast for a tapped land to contribute. Commander remains the clear sweet spot, particularly in landfall, Hydra tribal, or X-spell decks that can funnel surplus mana into the activation without skipping a beat.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Exchange of WordsDevoted DruidLair of the Hydra
Infinite green mana; Infinitely large creature
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Lair of the Hydra isn't available in this snapshot, so check current listings on Scryfall or TCGPlayer before buying. As a modal land from a widely opened set, it has historically sat in an accessible range for most Commander players, but supply and demand can shift — verify before you trade for it.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.