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Voracious Hydra

Creature — Hydra

Trample
This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
When this creature enters, choose one —
• Double the number of +1/+1 counters on this creature.
• This creature fights target creature you don't control.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{X}{G}{G}
Color identity
G
Rarity
rare
Set
Secret Lair Drop
Price
$18.77
EDHREC rank
#2730
Buy on TCGplayer
Voracious Hydra card art
Voracious Hydra enters as either a massive trample threat or an instant-speed removal spell stapled to a body — that flexibility at two mana plus X is the entire pitch. In hydra-tribal shells like Gargos, Vicious Watcher, where the fight trigger costs nothing, and in reanimator shells like Yedora, Grave Gardener, where dying to a fight doesn't sting, it pulls double duty no comparable card matches.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Gargos, Vicious Watcher

Gargos, Vicious Watcher

81.3% of decks · synergy 0.77

Gargos, Vicious Watcher reduces every hydra's casting cost by four, which means Voracious Hydra often enters for free and immediately triggers a fight — wiping a blocker while dropping a sizable threat for zero effective mana.

02
Zaxara, the Exemplary

Zaxara, the Exemplary

66.1% of decks · synergy 0.62

Zaxara, the Exemplary creates a token equal in size to X whenever you cast an X spell, so Voracious Hydra pulls double duty: kill a creature with the fight mode and bank a free token at the same time.

03

Polukranos Reborn

59.9% of decks · synergy 0.59

Polukranos Reborn is itself a hydra, so Voracious Hydra slots into the same tribal package and adds a redundant removal-on-a-stick that scales with however much mana the deck can produce.

04
Rosheen, Roaring Prophet

Rosheen, Roaring Prophet

58.9% of decks · synergy 0.58

Rosheen, Roaring Prophet's activated ability generates four mana spendable only on X costs, which translates directly into a much larger Voracious Hydra entering with real stats rather than a token threat.

05
Magus Lucea Kane

Magus Lucea Kane

41.3% of decks · synergy 0.39

Magus Lucea Kane copies spells with X in their cost, meaning Voracious Hydra can resolve twice off one cast — one copy fights a creature, the other enters as a second threat with the same counters.

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

Commander is where Voracious Hydra earns its slot most consistently — X spells scale into the late game, the fight mode answers problem creatures at instant speed, and hydra tribal has enough critical mass to make it a tribal staple rather than a filler pick. In Modern and Pioneer it sees fringe play as a flexible threat in green midrange, but sorcery-speed removal that requires keeping the Hydra alive long enough to fight rarely survives the format's pace. Legacy and Vintage are too hostile for a creature that dies to the same removal as anything else and doesn't impact the board on the turn it's cast in fast mana environments. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander experience closely enough that the same shells want it for the same reasons.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Budget Alternatives

Cheaper options that do most of the same work

Managorger Hydra and Hungering Hydra both come in under $1 and grow large, but neither offers the removal mode that makes Voracious Hydra worth the price — you're trading interaction for a bigger beater. If the removal half is what you're after, Prey Upon and its variants fill that role for pennies, though stapling a fight effect directly to a sizeable body is the whole reason Voracious Hydra commands a premium.

Price Context

Current price

$18.77 mid tier

At $18.77, Voracious Hydra sits in the mid tier — expensive enough to notice in a budget build, justifiable in any deck that actively wants both halves of the card. It's a casual staple with broad demand across hydra tribal, X-spell, and green goodstuff shells, so the price reflects consistent play rather than scarcity.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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