Hythonia here is probably my favorite Gorgon
card in the Theros block, though I have to admit
I actually don't own a copy. It's mostly
theoretical - I look at her and see an ability
that in effect reads "Destroy all other
creatures. I will be the biggest creature on the
table for the rest of the game", which I can't
force myself to see as anything but good.
Perhaps you're scared of the high mana costs
involved, or of Mind Control effects. Consider
this, though: if she goes to the command zone
and later comes back into play, the game
"forgets" that she was previously monstrous . .
.
Today's card of the day is Hythonia the Cruel
which is a six mana Black
4/6 Legendary with Deathtouch and Monstrosity 3
for eight mana that also destroys all non-Gorgon
creatures when activated. The initial mana cost
is a bit too high for most Constructed formats
and the eight for Monstrosity goes even further
for an effect that is fairly restrictive in its
benefits. There aren't many gorgons and even
just having this in play is not quite enough to
justify the expense involved. Overall this just
isn't likely to see much play and the few decks
including it will likely be Commander instead of
Standard or other formats.
In Limited a six mana 4/6 with Deathtouch is
difficult for an opponent to deal with and the
mana cost is quite manageable in the format. The
Monstrosity can be a serious threat and if
stalling for one turn with it is possible it is
an excellent two turn topdeck in the later
stages of the game. The potential makes this a
worthwhile first pick in Booster and an easy
choice to include when running Black in Sealed.
I've always found Deathtouch on large creatures
to be a bit silly, but 4 power isn't exactly
huge, so it still might be relevant, and I
suppose you must keep the gorgon flavor. But a
4/6 with deathtouch for 6 mana? I can think of
dozens of better ways to spend the mana.
The monstrous ability is where things get
interesting. Overlooking a moment the fact that
it costs 8 to monstrous, the ability is quite
devastating. Since there are currently 13
gorgons in all of Magic (not counting
Changelings, smarty), it almost always reads,
"destroy all other creatures" while making
Hythonia a 7/10 monster.
Of course, we can't REALLY overlook the 8 cost,
because that's huge. Most constructed
environments aren't going to give you time to
play a 6 CMC creature, wait a turn, then pay 8
mana to destroy everything.
In limited, she's a big creature that's worth
playing, and you might occasionally get the 8 to
make her a blowout. In multiplayer, she could be
a huge political tool that sits there
menacingly, waiting to destroy the board at just
the wrong time.
