When you ask someone about the main Creature type for most colors, the answer is usually clear. Blue? Merfolk (little) and Sphinx (big). Red? Goblins and Dragons. But Green? I suspect we can all agree: the little one is Elves, but the big one could go either way. Is it Beasts or Hydras?

Both have been common, and both can be strong. Both get support in the Magic community, for sure. Even though that's the case, Hydras bring something special and formidable to the table. Below, I've rounded up the top Hydras you can start using in Commander decks to really give your opponents a run.

There's a caveat. If you're building Hydra Kindred, you don't need me. Throw in some ramp, a bunch of Hydras, and some interaction/support and you'll be good to go. I highly recommend running a lot more ramp than you think you should (and a few ways to grant Haste!). You don't need this list. This is designed to help you find Hydras which might be useful outside Kindred construction. With that out of the way, to the list!

Honorable Mentions

First, we'll go through the honorable mentions. Each of these Hydras has interesting abilities but were ultimately overpowered by those in my actual top ten. With that said, we can't ignore the few monsters who weren't big enough to make the cut, because any of them could be a strong option for your Commander deck.

Polukranos, World Eater

A 5/5 for four mana is already a good deal, but the fact that Polukranos has Monstrosity means that ability scales beautifully during a game. By turn five, you can make him a 7/7 and ping away a couple of little guys, but turn 12? You can wrath the board and have a massive Creature ready to attack!

This guy was huge when he came out but, now he sees a lot less play. However, in the correct shell (and especially as a Commander, where he's easy to recast and re-Monstrify) this can be devastating to a board state. Yeah, yeah, he comes at a high mana cost, but most Hydras do, and if you have it to spend, this is a great way to clear a lot of the board and leave behind a humongous attacker.

Capricopian

Capricopian, aside from being very creepy to look at, is a wonderful opportunity to create political moments because of that activated ability: rather than you paying the , it's the player you're attacking who can. If they do, they get to point it at someone else.

You can use it to force someone to spend their last two mana, clearing the way for you to cast something else. Or to pass blame - "I didn't attack you, I attacked her! She attacked you!" It's a typical Hydra otherwise, it enters with Power and Toughness equal to the amount of mana you put into it, but that funky activated ability can make for some fun, and contentious, table moments.

Progenitus

I think a card with "Protection from everything" on the text is worth considering for a five-color deck. If a thing exists, Progenitus has protection from it. That's cool. Plus, a 10/10 in all colors is nifty.

The fact it's Legendary means it can be a Commander, and if it were going to a Graveyard, it shuffles back into the Library instead, so it's nearly impossible for your opponents to get rid of. It can be hard to cast, but once it's out, it's going to be a pretty serious problem for whoever's across from you.

Hydra Omnivore

This card punches way above its weight in Commander. Hydra Omnivore is better than Myriad, because it doesn't make another Creature that can be blocked. With Hydra Omnivore, you can send attack any opponent where it will definitely get through (someone with no blockers, for example) and every opponent takes the hit; because it's an 8/8, that damage will likely matter. Combine with Rogue's Passage and Fireshrieker for extra fun, but there are a lot of decks which could use this card.

10 Best Hydras for Commander

To use a Hydra as your Commander, it must be a Legendary Creature; if it's not, it can be part of your army but not at the helm. Even though there are just under a dozen options, the Legendary Hydras that you can choose from each have abilities that make them a solid option, whether that's Haste, Trample, or a special activated ability.

You have way more options for inclusion in the 99 of your deck, and below I'll break down my ten picks for your build and explain how they can lead you to a win!

10. Shivan Devastator

Shivan Devastator is a Fireball that sticks around, which can be great. Whatever mana you've got, pour it into his casting cost and it's up to you how big this thing can get. Again, it assumes you have a decent amount of mana, but if you've got it, this is a flying threat that can Attack on the first turn it gets played thanks to Haste. After that, he hangs around - something Fireball doesn't do.

9. Hydra Broodmaster

Hydra Broodmaster comes with an absolutely absurd ability to create an army of tokens. : Monstrosity X, just like with Polukranos, scales beautifully through a game. X = 3 is already amazing - you get 9 power for six mana across three Creatures - but dialing that up makes him absolutely nuts.

The way a Battlefield turns around as soon as this Creature goes Monstrous is astonishing; your friends are going to hope they have a Wrath of God effect ready. Additionally, it's a 7/7 for a cost of just six, which is a fine deal on its own.

8. Ulvenwald Hydra Tied with Rampant Rejuvenator

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I love to ramp, and I particularly like ramp spells that let me fetch Lands out of the Library. Ulvenwald Hydra and Rampant Rejuvenator can both do that, albeit in different ways. However, either option is solid in any deck that wants to ramp (and can reliably get to four or six mana).

Ulvenwald Hydra is great in any deck relying on Land totals and searching for any land, because its Power and Toughness are tied to how many Lands you control and it Rampant Growths when it enters.

Rampant Rejuvenator should probably just be thought of as a Burnished Hart with a different cost set; it'll be a great blocker that gets you two Lands as a 2/2 for four mana and lets you bring out Lands from your Library equal to its Power. Buff it to pull even more!

7. Primordial Hydra

Primordial Hydra is a finisher for many decks, even if it's slightly more costly than others at . That Extra Green comes with quite a boost, though. Cast it for X = 5 and, because it doubles all the +1/+1 counters on it every Upkeep, the next turn you have a Trampling 10/10 to send at someone.

Even on turn three (X = 1) you have a Creature that can scale with the game as you go without any extra effort; two turns from now you'll have a 4/4. Then, an 8/8. Then, a 16/16. All for casting it on turn three. Any Creature that manages itself like that and scales so well is worth peeking at for a Commander build.

6. Genesis Hydra

Genesis Hydra is the (not-as-strong) Creature version of Genesis Wave! It comes with the same casting cost as Primordial Hydra, but in this case, we also get to reveal cards equal to X and put a Permanent card equal to or less than X on to the Battlefield for free. This will almost always be strong, but especially in decks that - you guessed it - make a lot of mana. Two permanents for the price of one is a great deal, and leaving behind a big ol' body doesn't hurt one little bit.

5. Goldvein Hydra

On the face of it, Goldvein Hydra seems fine. Good, even. You get a standard Hydra (, enters with X counters) with three keywords which matter a great deal - protection in the form of Vigilance, evasion in the form of Trample, and surprise from Haste. But don't sleep on that Treasure ability - when Goldvein Hydra dies, you get a number of Treasure tokens equal to its Power that can be used in so many ways.

This can be a basic ramp spell early. Cast it for X = 1 and throw it at someone with a bigger blocker to make sure you have that extra mana for next turn. Or make it very costly for someone to kill it, either in combat or with a kill spell. Heck, even if it coaxes out that Swords to Plowshares (and you don't get the Treasures because the Hydra is Exiled), now you can cast something else and know that stupid Swords is used up!

4. Apex Devastator

The sheer cost of this Apex Devastator is a problem for many decks. I love to ramp and plenty of my decks can't reliably get to 10 mana, but if you can, boy howdy, will this make an impact!

You spend 10 mana, get a 10/10, and four instances of Cascade. Five spells for a cost of ten should have a pretty massive impact on the board, and the reality of a 10/10 at the end of it all is just a bonus. If your deck can consistently generate this much mana, it will probably be worth running this card.

3. Kalonian Hydra

Truthfully, Kalonian Hydra doesn't work with everything. It's a 4/4 Creature at a cost of five mana, which may seem weak compared to the rest of our roundup. That's a little true, but if +1/+1 counters are part of your strategy, this card will take your team from "I think we should be watching that" to "well, who wants to play another one?" really fast.

Every time it Attacks, you'll double the +1/+1 counters on every Creature you have with them. If you have a deck that runs Overwhelming Stampede or Overrun, consider this instead.

2. Hydroid Krasis

A Flying, Trampling Creature which draws cards and gains life when it enters? Hydroid Krasis seems pretty strong. We pay , and we draw half X cards and gain half X life. For four mana you get a card, a life, and a 3/3 evasive threat. For eight mana you get three cards, three life points, and a 6/6 evasive threat. It scales with you and is always relevant. Only limitation is the colors, but it will function well for you if you can cast it.

1. Managorger Hydra Tied with Mossborn Hydra

The number one slot had to be shared with the two Hydras with excellent abilities and super low casting costs. Each one carries a cost of just three mana and you get a 1/1 with Trample. That seems bad until you read the cards.

Mossborn Hydra starts with a single +1/+1 counter but doubles its counters every time you have a Land Enter. Chances are, if you're in Green you're going to do that a fair amount, so this is the kind of card that can come out of nowhere to win the game.

Managorger Hydra is just watching for every time any player (not just you, not just your opponents) plays a spell. When that happens, you get to put a +1/+1 counter on it. That will also get out of hand very quickly!

Both of these Hydras require a response from the table or your opponents will be in some serious trouble!

I hope this has given you a few ideas for your next brew.

Thanks for reading.