There's no bad time to play this, really, but
the more you can pay for X, the faster it'll
grow to ridiculous size. I wouldn't play it for
only X=1, because then next turn I've still only
got a 2/2. For four mana, it'd be a 4/4 by the
time I can swing with it, and that's okay even
if it doesn't really live up to the promise it
seems to make you when it's sitting in your
hand. I'd probably want a minimum of three
counters on it, so that it comes down at a
decent speed but gains trample after only two
doublings. I'd probably also want an Increasing
Savagery to follow it up if possible. ;)
I would really like to see a hydra that made use
of the original hydra's ability to regrow its
heads and spit poison on people. Until then,
Primordial Hydra is going to be a favorite of
fans of that creature type. Its most obvious use
is very unsubtle, and does render it somewhat
vulnerable to bounce spells, but just
like Hercules' old nemesis, the parts you don't
see are just as dangerous as the parts you do.
It may break lore somewhat, but Novijen Sages
and Power Conduit are always looking for new
friends, and this is as good a friend as those
cards will ever get.
Today's card of the day is Primordial Hydra
which is an X and two Green that enters play
with X +1/+1 counters, doubles the number of
counters at the beginning of your upkeep, and
has Trample with ten or more counters.
Even at three mana this is worth playing as it
can build up, but every mana after that makes
this a serious threat for most situations.
It demands some kind of response or it will end
a game if given enough time to build up which
can set up other creatures, though the reduced
options for getting it out of the graveyard by
being a 0/0 keeps it from being a true benefit.
Overall this is an interesting and fun idea for
a mana acceleration build or even just a
surprise to any Green deck that will see
sporadic use across formats.
In Limited this can easily win every game in
which it isn't quickly dealt with. The low
required cost and high potential make it a first
pick in Booster and strong choice in Sealed,
provided a fair to strong Green pool to cover
the double Green in the casting cost.
