#mtg hydras

[flavoracle]

In the battle for green creature types in Magic, hydras may be more popular, but treefolk are more poplar.

[flavoracle]

Tormanu Growthsinger 

I was inspired by @follower-of-liliana’s earlier post with a custom Faerie commander with the Eminence mechanic for tribal build. Faeries are definitely one of those creature types that I feel are on the cusp of having potential for a strong tribal deck in Commander, but are lacking a legendary creature that really pushes you towards playing a lot of that creature type. 

Another creature type I think falls into that category is Hydras. While there are three legendary Hydra creatures in Magic, none of them push you towards building a Hydra deck. 

To make matters worse, Angels, Sphinxes, Demons, and Dragons all got legendary creatures in the Shards of Alara block that have their respective primary colors and two ally colors in their color identities. Hydra is the only iconic creature type left out of that. (Though to be fair, Hydras weren’t green’s iconic creature type quite yet when the block came out.) 

In any case, the card above is my attempt at building a creature that I think would serve as a worthy commander for a Hydra tribal deck, and also give Hydras a legendary creature in the green-centered shard. 

Flavorfully, I imagine this non-planeswalker Tormanu as still relatively young and wild. They haven’t yet found the harmony between their heads that would cause their planeswalker spark to ignite. But even in their youth, they were a force to be reckoned with. 

Thoughts? Feedback? 

OH!!! And of course I can’t forget to thank @dancing-sword for the awesome art I used for this card! Thanks so much for letting me use it! 

[flavoracle]

Dear Mr. Dave, I hope you are having a good evening! I have been thinking of mtg hydras lately and lamenting that (I don't think anyway) we don't have any sapient hydra characters in canon. I understand the challenge, but every other iconic race/creature has had at least one! On that note, it made me admire your Tormanu more than I already did! Do you have any fun facts about them that you'd be willing to share? If not, that's cool too! Happy holidays to you and your family :D

Thanks so much for the kind words about Tormanu!! I won’t lie, out of anything I’ve contributed to the MTG fan community, Tormanu is probably the one I’m most proud of. (You can read Tormanu’s origin story here.)

As for a fun fact, here you go:

While the effects of Tormanu’s music work fastest with animals, given enough time it will cause domesticated plants to transform into a more wild form as well.

People, pets, cattle, corn, strawberries; doesn't matter. Nothing stays tame for long in Tormanu's presence.

Thanks for asking!!

[tlatotem]

Fabricate X Hydra WHEN?