Rock Hydra
Creature — Hydra
This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
For each 1 damage that would be dealt to this creature, if it has a +1/+1 counter on it, remove a +1/+1 counter from it and prevent that 1 damage.
: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to this creature this turn.: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Activate only during your upkeep.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Limited Edition Beta
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #26602
Rock Hydra scales with mana investment and can regenerate each head individually, making it a resilient threat that demands multiple removal spells to answer cleanly. The cost is real though — it's slow, mono-red dependent on R activations, and modern Hydra payoffs have simply outclassed it.
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 |
In Commander, Rock Hydra is a nostalgia pick at best — the format's removal density and the existence of strictly better Hydras like Primordial Hydra and Lifeblood Hydra make it hard to justify a slot. Legacy and Vintage allow it, but neither format has ever given Rock Hydra a meaningful role; the combination of summoning sickness, activation costs, and no immediate board impact disqualifies it from serious consideration. Where Rock Hydra does show up is in mono-red or Gruul Hydra-tribal Commander builds where the tribal count matters more than raw power, and even there it sits near the bottom of the curve.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data isn't available in the current index, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for a live number. Rock Hydra has some collector appeal as an Alpha/Beta-era card, meaning older printings can carry a premium that has nothing to do with its playability.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.