The ranking of the Hydras..

[JoeyB11223]

So I've ran a Xenagos Hydra Tribal deck for sometime, has a lot of ramp/doublers, makes big hydras, makes them hasty and twice as big, swing, few ways to hopefully grant trample...fun times. But as I'm looking to update my decks inline with the most recent cards, I'm finding it a very painful task to decide who's just not cutting it anymore compared to new competition and always doubt my list. So that's where you good people come in, to share input on whom the weakest of the bunch are...

I run 17 hydras in the deck, a number I want to keep the same, really don't have space for more. Two caveats are that my playgroup allows Hydradoodle if I wish to run it, and as far as I'm concerned Stonecoil Serpent identifies as a mono headed hydra, thus is allowed to represent.

Here's what I currently run right now.

Genesis Hydra
Heroes' Bane
Hooded Hydra
Hydra Broodmaster
Hydra Omnivore
Hydradoodle
Kalonian Hydra
Lifeblood Hydra
Managorger Hydra
Mistcutter Hydra
Primordial Hydra
Protean Hydra
Savageborn hydra
Ulvenwald Hydra
Voracious Hydra
Gargos, Vicious Watcher
Polukranos, World Eater


Here's what has been in the deck but has been cut
Apocalypse Hydra
Feral Hydra
Hungering Hydra
Nessian Wilds Ravager
Vastwood Hydra

The new contenders for a place are...
Steelbane Hydra - repeat removal is tasty
Stonecoil Serpent- nice keyword soup, particularly reach & trample..

[Mookie]

I'll call out that the value of hydras in a vacuum will be slightly different from the value of hydras in a Xenagos, God of Revels deck - for one, you'll value trample significantly higher, so your giant beaters can't be easily chumped. I'll also call out Hydroid Krasis, which you can't run. With that out of the way....

• Genesis Hydra doesn't have any particular synergy with your commander. It may also be a bit weaker if a significant percentage of your spells are X-cost hydras. I do think it's pretty good if you can consistently cast it for X=6 or more though.
• Heroes' Bane gets really big, but no trample, and costs mana to activate.
• Hooded Hydra is fine, but weaker if you don't have sacrifice outlets.
• Hydra Broodmaster is 1-card win condition, if you have enough mana.
• Hydra Omnivore seems excellent with your commander.
• Hydradoodle seems fine. Pretty middle-of-the-pack, although goes up a bit if you value the reach.
• Kalonian Hydra is possibly the best pure beater you have available, since it doubles all your other hydras.
• Lifeblood Hydra really wants sacrifice outlets. Fantastic with your general though.
• Managorger Hydra is an excellent beater for its cost. Also a good early play, unlike most hydras.
• Mistcutter Hydra is fine if you care about the anti-blue stuff, but otherwise redundant with your general.
• Primordial Hydra is a bit slow, but gets scary given enough time. Meta call depending on how long your games last.
• Protean Hydra grows and gets scary, but no evasion.
• Savageborn Hydra is another relatively vanilla beater.
• Ulvenwald Hydra can fetch Kessig Wolf Run or any other utility lands you may have.
• Voracious Hydra is a large beater or a removal spell, providing a bit of flexibility.
• Gargos, Vicious Watcher seems on-theme. Better if you have targeted spells to use.
• Polukranos, World Eater is a good on-curve play, and a bit of incidental removal.
• Stonecoil Serpent is fairly efficient, and has some useful keywords.
• Steelbane Hydra isn't that efficient or fast, but it provides some utility.

If I had to pick the cards to cut, I'd say: Heroes' Bane, Mistcutter Hydra, Protean Hydra, and Savageborn Hydra - they don't provide much utility, and no trample. I'd also consider cutting Hooded Hydra if you lack sacrifice outlets. Lifeblood Hydra probably still makes the cut even if you don't though.

[RxPhantom]

The only remotely obvious cut for me is Heroes' Bane. After that...maybe Kalonian Hydra? I'm having a hard time with this, because I'm having tunnel vision, specifically about Rosheen Meanderer. I would hope you're running it since so many good hydras have X in their cost, which makes me want to cut the ones that don't. But that's just one card, and I'm probably overthinking it.

[JoeyB11223]

Thanks for the in-depth analysis Mookie. I do have around 4 ways to grant trample but yes it is quite important, so I think something needs to be very special if it lacks it.

I was leaning towards Savageborn hydra and Mistcutter hydra and since they're also on your list think I'll trade them for Stonecoil serpent and Steelbane Hydra, the latter isn't incredibly efficient however this deck has very little removal and so something on-theme is nice.

I actually used to have Rosheen Meanderer as the decks commander, however the fact she could only help one hydra a turn and was very vulnerable to removal made me err away, she's not in the list at all now. I have more ramp instead and would rather have something like vernal bloom doubling season or gauntlet of power etc as they can have a greater impact and don't all limit me to the x spells.

[Sinis]

My experience with Steelbane Hydra is that it is terribly, terribly slow, especially if your deck is full of proactive plays (like other tap-out Hydras). The scenario I imagine you having is that that you have a few hydras in your hand including Steelbane, board looks fine, and you're casting the other hydras because they do something other than X/X for XGG. Then, someone drops a must-answer enchantment or artifact. You want to answer it; so you're paying X2GGG for a X-1/X-1 Hydra and popping their enchantment. It feels awful unless you have a lot of mana.

I think Steelbane Hydra is probably better in decks that have fewer proactive plays, but, your mileage may vary.

[toctheyounger]

I've been running Stonecoil Serpent in a Glissa build as a scaling beater (pun fully intended). It's remarkably strong. I was doubtful at first, but it's been a really reliable threat.

That being said I question it's value in a Xenagos, God of Revels deck, purely because you can't target it with your commander (pro-multicolored). It pains me to say it about an otherwise great card, but I would take it off the list personally as a nonbo.