Oran-Rief Hydra MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 6 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost6
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Hydra
Abilities Landfall,Trample
Power 5
Toughness 5

Key Takeaways

  1. Oran-Rief Hydra thrives in land-focused decks, magnifying power with each land you play.
  2. Multipurpose in green decks, it can be a key component in aggressive or control strategies.
  3. Formidable within the current meta, it stands tall against creature-based decks.

Text of card

Trample Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Oran-Rief Hydra. If that land is a Forest, put two +1/+1 counters on Oran-Rief Hydra instead.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Oran-Rief Hydra’s ability to grow with each land that enters the battlefield under your control can overwhelm opponents, effectively turning your land plays into a source of increasing power and board presence without expending additional cards.

Resource Acceleration: While it doesn’t directly accelerate resources, the trample ability often means this creature can make better use of any land-based ramp, like extra land drops or land fetching spells, thus converting ramp effects into offensive potential.

Instant Speed: Though Oran-Rief Hydra itself is not an instant, its synergy with instant-speed land tutoring effects allows for surprise growth, making it an unexpected threat during the late game where open mana can signify instant-speed tricks, benefiting strategic end-of-turn plays.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Cards like Oran-Rief Hydra do not typically demand a discard, but incorporating them into strategy may necessitate discarding other potential plays due to hand size limits.

Specific Mana Cost: Oran-Rief Hydra’s heavy green mana prerequisites can make it a challenging fit in multicolored decks, potentially constraining its playability to mono-green or green-centric strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of six mana, Oran-Rief Hydra is a significant investment. In fast-paced games, players may find it sitting in hand while more agile threats and responses take the stage.


Reasons to Include Oran-Rief Hydra in Your Collection

Versatility: Oran-Rief Hydra excels in a variety of green-based decks, thriving in those that ramp or manipulate land. Its ability to grow with every land drop makes it adaptable in both aggressive and control strategies.

Combo Potential: This Hydra partners well with cards that allow multiple land drops per turn or landfall mechanisms, exponentially increasing its power and turning it into a formidable threat on the battlefield.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta with a strong presence of creature-based strategies, Oran-Rief Hydra can act as a powerful over-the-top option. It can easily become a dominant force, out-sizing other creatures and pressuring opponents with its ever-growing presence.


How to beat Oran-Rief Hydra

Oran-Rief Hydra is a formidable creature card that can dominate the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. This green powerhouse has the potential to grow significantly with its landfall ability, which adds a +1/+1 counter each time a land enters the battlefield under your control. But how can you tackle this behemoth once it’s in play? To counteract Oran-Rief Hydra’s growth, efficient removal spells are essential. Destroying it outright with spells like Doom Blade or Path to Exile can effectively eliminate the threat before it becomes unmanageable.

Another strategy is to utilize counterspells when your opponent attempts to cast Oran-Rief Hydra, such as Counterspell or Essence Scatter, which can prevent the hydra from hitting the board in the first place. Alternatively, cards that limit the number of lands a player can play, like Rishadan Port or Ghost Quarter, can stymie the Hydra’s ability to scale. In essence, staying ahead of the curve and keeping direct removal at the ready are key factors in besting Oran-Rief Hydra. Manage these elements well, and the monstrous Hydra will be less of a threat to your strategy.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of MTG involves more than knowing your cards; it requires understanding how to optimize their strengths and mitigate their weaknesses. With Oran-Rief Hydra, you unlock potential for exponential growth on the battlefield, courtesy of its landfall ability. This makes it a formidable addition to decks that harness the power of lands. However, counteracting its vulnerabilities is crucial. Including efficient removals or counterspells can prevent it from offering your opponents an advantage. Take your gameplay to new heights and incorporate Oran-Rief Hydra into your collection, refining strategies that celebrate both innovation and utility in every match.


Cards like Oran-Rief Hydra

Oran-Rief Hydra is a powerhouse in green creature decks, sharing similarities with other formidable creatures in MTG such as Primordial Hydra and Managorger Hydra. Among these, Primordial Hydra stands out for its potential to grow exponentially, doubling its +1/+1 counters each turn. Where Oran-Rief Hydra gains a +1/+1 counter whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, it competes with this self-multiplying behemoth.

Managorger Hydra also throws its hat in the ring with a capability that triggers not just on your actions but your opponent’s as well, growing every time a spell is cast. While Oran-Rief Hydra harnesses the power of landfall, making it a strong presence in decks heavy with land ramp, Managorger Hydra can potentially outpace it in more spell-slinging setups.

Tallying their capabilities, Oran-Rief Hydra is an excellent choice in green ramp decks looking to capitalize on land synergy, neatly slotting into the MTG ecosystem alongside its relatives. Its ability to become an unstoppable force with the right land sequencing makes it a valuable asset, especially considering its synergy with other green land-centric strategies.

Primordial Hydra - MTG Card versions
Managorger Hydra - MTG Card versions
Primordial Hydra - Magic 2012 (M12)
Managorger Hydra - Magic Origins (ORI)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Oran-Rief Hydra MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Battle for Zendikar, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Oran-Rief Hydra and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Oran-Rief Hydra Magic the Gathering card was released in 5 different sets between 2015-10-02 and 2017-06-16. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 582512015normalblackZack Stella
22015-10-02Battle for ZendikarBFZ 1812015normalblackChris Rahn
32015-10-02Battle for Zendikar PromosPBFZ 181s2015normalblackChris Rahn
42015-10-02Battle for Zendikar PromosPBFZ 1812015normalblackZack Stella
52016-09-02Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob NixilisDDR 162015normalblackChris Rahn
62017-06-16Archenemy: Nicol BolasE01 692015normalblackChris Rahn

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Oran-Rief Hydra has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Oran-Rief Hydra card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2015-08-25 A landfall ability triggers whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control for any reason. It triggers whenever you play a land, as well as whenever a spell or ability puts a land onto the battlefield under your control.
2015-08-25 If the ability has an additional or replacement effect that depends on the land having a certain basic land type, the ability will check that land’s type as the ability resolves. If, at that time, the land that entered the battlefield is no longer on the battlefield, use its types when it left the battlefield to determine what happens.
2015-08-25 When a land enters the battlefield under your control, each landfall ability of the permanents you control will trigger. You can put them on the stack in any order. The last ability you put on the stack will be the first one to resolve.

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