Oran-Rief Hydra - A Battle for Zendikar (MTG) Card Review

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Oran-Rief Hydra is no Managorger Hydra, but at rare, he could be a decent Limited bomb. He’s a 5/5 for 4GG with Trample. Those are already passable stats, but he also has a Landfall ability. Each time you play a land, he gets a +1/+1 counter. If that land happens to be a Forest, you get 2 +1/+1 counters instead. This seems to be part of a rare cycle where land types matter, as we’ve already seen Guardian of Tazeem that cares about Islands.

At 6 mana, he’s probably too high on the mana curve to be relevant in Constructed. I imagine a Commander deck may be able to find room for him, but for the most part he’s just a big dumb beater. Hydras are very popular casual creatures, but there have been so many Hydras printed recently that give you tokens or additional value beyond just +1/+1 counters. Design-wise he’s sound, though, and very pickable if you’re leaning towards Aggro in draft. You just have to be either mono-Green or very heavy in Green to maximize this guy’s value, however, so he’s probably not a  first pick.

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