Hooded Hydra

Creature — Snake Hydra

This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
When this creature dies, create a 1/1 green Snake creature token for each +1/+1 counter on it.
Morph 3 generic Green Green
As this creature is turned face up, put five +1/+1 counters on it.

0/0

Illustrated by: Chase Stone
Watermark: Sultai

Legality

Legal in: Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Historic, Timeless, Penny Dreadful, Gladiator, Commander, Duel Commander, Tiny Leaders, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Competitive Brawl
Not legal in: Standard, Pauper, Future Standard, Alchemy, Premodern, Old School 93/94, Pauper Commander, PreDH, Standard Brawl

Rulings (12)

2014-09-20 Any time you have priority, you may turn the face-down creature face up by revealing what its morph cost is and paying that cost. This is a special action. It doesn't use the stack and can't be responded to. Only a face-down permanent can be turned face up this way; a face-down spell cannot.
2014-09-20 You must ensure that your face-down spells and permanents can easily be differentiated from each other. You're not allowed to mix up the cards that represent them on the battlefield in order to confuse other players. The order they entered the battlefield should remain clear. Common methods for doing this include using markers or dice, or simply placing them in order on the battlefield.
2014-09-20 When the spell resolves, it enters the battlefield as a 2/2 creature with no name, mana cost, creature types, or abilities. It's colorless and has a mana value of 0. Other effects that apply to the creature can still grant it any of these characteristics.
2014-09-20 If a face-down permanent leaves the battlefield, you must reveal it. You must also reveal all face-down spells and permanents you control if you leave the game or if the game ends.
2014-09-20 The face-down spell has no mana cost and has a mana value of 0. When you cast a face-down spell, put it on the stack face down so no other player knows what it is, and pay . This is an alternative cost.
2014-09-20 Hooded Hydra's last ability isn't a triggered ability. It's a replacement ability that modifies how Hooded Hydra is turned face up. Players can't respond to Hooded Hydra being turned face up and having five +1/+1 counters put on it.
2014-09-20 Morph lets you cast a card face down by paying , and lets you turn the face-down permanent face up any time you have priority by paying its morph cost.
2014-09-20 If Hooded Hydra is face down and it's turned face up some other way than by having its morph cost paid, the last ability will still apply.
2014-09-20 A permanent that turns face up or face down changes characteristics but is otherwise the same permanent. Spells and abilities that were targeting that permanent, as well as Auras and Equipment that were attached to the permanent, aren't affected.
2014-09-20 At any time, you can look at a face-down spell or permanent you control. You can't look at face-down spells or permanents you don't control unless an effect instructs you to do so.
2014-09-20 Use the number of +1/+1 counters that were on Hooded Hydra the last time it was on the battlefield to determine how many Snake tokens to create.
2014-09-20 Because the permanent is on the battlefield both before and after it's turned face up, turning a permanent face up doesn't cause any enters-the-battlefield abilities to trigger.

Prices

MTGO price: 0.006 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 29 Oct 2026).

In Limited on MTG Arena

Win rates in Arena drafts and sealed, retrieved from 17Lands (CC BY 4.0).

Win rates of Hooded Hydra in Limited
Set	GIH WR	vs set	IWD	Games
Khans of Tarkir (KTK), Premier Draft	59.1%	+4.9	+6.5	2357

GIH WR: win rate of the games in which the card was in the opening hand or drawn
vs set: points above or below the average win rate of all decks in the set
IWD: improvement when drawn: GIH WR minus the win rate when the card stayed in the library
Games: games in which the card was seen

Combos

5 combos, the most popular first: