Let's say you've got yourself a creature. It's decent to say the least. A solid contributor to your ever-growing board state. Maybe it's a Hydra. Maybe it's a Gorgon. Heck, it may even be a Lizard Mutant. But what if that creature could shrug off its humble origins on a whim and become...Monstrous?

In today's Mechanics Overview Segment, we're going on an epic quest to learn more about the Monstrosity mechanic: what it is, how it works, where it's shown up, and whether or not it has any business rising from the grave like a mythological revenant to stomp through any future MTG sets.

What Is Monstrosity?

[cost]: Monstrosity N (If this permanent isn't Monstrous, put N +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes Monstrous.)

Monstrosity is an activated ability where you simply pay some mana and your creature gets a set number of +1/+1 counters along with its Monstrous status. It's important to note that this is an activated ability that you can use only once, and only if the creature isn't already Monstrous. But hey, at least we can activate Monstrosity at instant speed!

And in the case of more Monstrous creatures, such as Polukranos, World Eater, activating Monstrosity may also trigger some kind of "when this becomes Monstrous" ability, or grant new keywords like Flying or Deathtouch for as long as it's Monstrous.

Oh, and before I forget, for those of you wondering what the difference between "Monstrous" and "Monstrosity" is, here's an easy way to think about it:

• Monstrosity is the activated ability.
• Monstrous is the state a creature enters once Monstrosity resolves.

Just think of Monstrosity as pushing the big red (or Green?) "Hulk Smash" button. Once you've pressed it, the creature is now Monstrous forever (well, at least until it gets removed by a Fabled Hero in combat or gets transformed by a Curse of the Swine).

The History of Monstrosity

Let's take a step back to a time when Theros (2013) first dropped and Magic players collectively said, "Wait, are we heading to the world of the Disney classic, Hercules?" Yes. Yes, we were. And it was glorious.

In a set filled with gods, heroes, and mythic beasts, Monstrosity was Wizards of the Coast's way of channeling that epic boss fight energy of ancient legends. Remember how Hercules fought the Hydra? Or how Medusa has always been mythologized to be able to turn people to stone just by showing up to the party? That's the kind of flavor Monstrosity was meant to evoke: creatures that start strong and grow even more terrifying given time.

It goes without saying that Monstrosity was everywhere in both Theros Limited and Constructed formats. It quickly became synonymous with the set's monster-heavy identity and gave players a flavorful, satisfying way to dump mana into late-game threats.

But then, not too long after, Monstrosity was nowhere to be seen in the second set of the Theros block, Born of the Gods (2014). Not a single card with the keyword.

What happened? Well, isn't this the million-dollar question? It's really hard to say. Maybe WotC wanted to highlight other mechanics like Inspired or Tribute. Maybe they didn't want Monstrosity to overshadow newer ideas. Or maybe they just thought, "Hey, let's give the monsters a breather."

Whatever the reason, luckily for us, Monstrosity wasn't gone for good.

In the final set of the block, Journey into Nyx (2014), Monstrosity made a small but triumphant return, this time with just six Monstrosity cards (which all noticeably paled in terms of playability when compared to their first showing in Theros).

7 mana to get one +1/+1 counter and deal 2 damage to each opponent and each creature they control? Give me back my Stormbreath Dragons.

The Legacy of Monstrosity

Monstrosity is definitely one of those mechanics that did exactly what it set out to do: it turned creatures into absolute monsters and brought a flavorful, thematic punch to a mythology-inspired world. It was clean, scalable, and passed the vibe check every time it resolved.

Mechanically? Solid. Flavorfully? Chef's kiss. But in today's cleaner, more streamlined Magic world, Monstrosity undoubtedly feels like a mechanic from another era. Not ancient history, mind you, but more like a classic fantasy novel sitting next to a shelf full of Marvel movies.

With newer abilities like Adapt, Mutate, and the much more templating-friendly "activate only once" clause, Monstrosity now has a lot more competition in the "one-time creature upgrade" space. After all, why bother to track an invisible Monstrous status when you can just clearly define, "Can't do this again"?

Still, Monstrosity has one thing going for it that most mechanics don't: pure, uncut flavor.

There's just something inherently fun about going Monstrous. Waiting for the perfect moment, mana up, opponent tapping out and passing the turn, and then BAM, slapping down a pile of +1/+1 counters and announcing, "My Polukranos is going to wrath your board."

You can't really say all that when activating Craft or triggering Venture Into The Dungeon, now, can you?

But I digress. For the time being, I've just about unleashed every last bit of Herculean enthusiasm I have about Monstrosity. As always, happy brewing, and may your Monstrosity creatures grow big and your opponents always forget that Monstrosity can be activated at instant speed. Until next time!