Hydras don't work the way they should...
Custom Cards forum
Posted on April 19, 2016, 11:51 p.m. by Hobbez9186
I've always thought that Hydras didn't work the way they should.
"Cut off a Hydra's head and two more grow back in it's place."
Everyone knows that, right? So how come there are so many Hydras in Magic but none of them work that way? Probably because that would be ridiculous, right? An un-killable goliath that just keeps getting bigger and bigger the more you kill it; not fair.
(Turns out there are a few more than I thought, and I'm enjoying the comments that are correcting me here, thanks!)
I think the basic idea is that +1/+1 counters are supposed to signify "heads". I never really thought it felt very genuine, and was almost lazy. Maybe if removing a +1/+1 counter from a Hydra caused it to add 2 instead, but that's not the same as trying to kill it. Undying sort of reminds me of this concept, but isn't quite the same either. Several creatures have had similar concepts like back in the Penumbra days when green creatures died and came back as black tokens. Still not quite it, though. I'm sure there is a creature among the thousands that have been printed, but if there is I must have missed it. Wurmcoil Engine does come to mind. That's close.
Moving on.
For some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about how to incorporate the idea of harnessing the essence of Hydra's regenerative quality without just being a big creature with regenerate or +1/+1 counters. We have those.
That's when I came up with the idea of draining a Hydra's blood and using it as a pseudo-elixir of immortality with "side effects".
"Cutting off it's hand only made us stronger..."
Vial of Hydra Blood is my flavorful attempt at solving my own problem (I even took a few minutes to draw up a terrible mock-up). Perhaps I am alone here, but I think this would be cool. Let me explain:
Village A (player 1) is terrorized by a massive Hydra. The villagers figure out that instead of trying to kill the Hydra they can disable it by cutting off it's hands, and drinking it's blood can save warriors from death and the resulting miracle spawns a miniature hydra to aide them in battle against Village B (Player 2). The more Hydra blood in ones system, the more violent the reaction until eventually it becomes a venom in their veins that causes an agonizing death.
Now we're talking. Trying to kill a creature that drinks a Hydra's blood will result in failure and essentially doubles up the challenge by making one creature into two. Too much blood, and you die. A creature that is too large is unaffected by small doses of blood and cannot be saved from death. Checks and balances.
I've had a LOT of other ideas that can go along with this theme, and a few other ways that this particular card could work, such as costing (X) instead of (4) and coming into play with X blood counters on it. Using the regeneration would move a blood counter to the creature and everything else is the same. That way it couldn't be used infinitely, but I'd like to see it shuffled back into the library when it runs out of counters or is put into the graveyard. I thought that perhaps you could sacrifice X Hydras to add X counters back onto the vial (refilling it with blood). These things would be really flavorful and synergistic, but would be a lot of text on one card. I thought perhaps an Instant called "Drop of Hydra Blood" that regenerates a creature and creates a Hydra token, a quick and easy variation. And lastly, an Equipment called "Hydra-Hide Armor" that gives the creature a regeneration ability that creates tokens when used.
Hydra's have been around since the early days and typically at least one makes it into every block. I'm not sure when or if we will see a block that features Hydras as one of the main tribes like Dragons or Eldrazi, but I think if it does happen they need to be a lot more dynamic than just a bunch of counters, trample, reach, affinity, etc...
Well, this was an interesting exercise and I thank you for reading along. Let me know where you stand with Hydras and if you would like to see some changes too. I'm not sure if I'll be getting into card creation, but I'm glad I got this out of my system :)
aeonstoremyliver says... #3
The OG Gangsta Rock Hydra in the house!
Neat idea, though!
April 20, 2016 12:20 a.m.
Hobbez9186 says... #4
See I knew I missed one, Protean Hydra is exactly what I was talking about with removing counters and adding two more :)
But, among the dozens of Hydra out there, it stands alone in true flavor.
Rock Hydra is kind of similar and you've got to love that old-school artwork.
Thanks for the comments guys, I was hoping someone would show me that I was wrong and there was at least one Hydra that worked "right". I still think something like this would be pretty cool and a bit more menacing to deal with in a Standard block someday.
April 20, 2016 12:28 a.m.
Havok.Bane says... #5
Don't forget about my favorite: Sprouting Phytohydra! Now that is pretty much unkillable!
April 20, 2016 12:45 a.m.
Hobbez9186 says... #6
Lol he's kind of cute in "plant thing stole my boots" sort of way :)
What a playful creature.
That one made me smile lol, thanks!
April 20, 2016 12:48 a.m.
Hobbez9186 says... #8
Geez those plants are expensive lol
Another nice little guy that I missed, but still just another +1/+1 counter fiend. That one seems like it would get gross fast though... Exile it or leave it the hell alone :)
April 20, 2016 1:23 a.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #9
lol, Inquisitor's Flail + Blasphemous Act for DAMAGE.
April 20, 2016 1:45 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #10
Honestly, I always thought they could make a hydra with the ability: "When ~ dies, returning to the battlefield at the beginning of the next end step with twice as many +1/+1 counters as it had when it died."
Like a 4 drop that enters with one +1/+1 counter.
Terrvex says... #2
Protean Hydra works like Hydras "should". Kinda like cut off one head and two more grow as long as it doesn't die completely.
April 20, 2016 12:09 a.m.