Protean Hydra 
Creature — Hydra0/0
Oracle text (EN)
Creature — Hydra
This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it. If damage would be dealt to this creature, prevent that damage and remove that many +1/+1 counters from it. Whenever a +1/+1 counter is removed from this creature, put two +1/+1 counters on it at the beginning of the next end step.
Printing details
- Set
- M11 · 194
- Rarity
- Rare
- Language
- EN
- Artist
- Jim Murray
- Released
- 2010-07-16
- Prices
- €2.00 · $4.10
Price history
The trend shows with at least 7 days of history.
- Cardmarket, trend
- CardTrader, Near Mint minimum (EN)
The history starts on October 28, 2026 and grows every day.
Show the data
| Date | Cardmarket, trend | CardTrader, Near Mint minimum (EN) |
|---|---|---|
| November 2, 2026 | €2.27 | €4.11 |
| November 1, 2026 | €2.15 | €4.11 |
| October 31, 2026 | €2.00 | €4.11 |
| October 30, 2026 | €1.78 | €4.11 |
| October 29, 2026 | €1.70 | €4.11 |
| October 28, 2026 | €1.75 | €4.11 |
Prices
| Source | Non-foil | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Cardmarket | low – trend €2.27 30-day avg €2.25 | low €1.90 trend €5.00 30-day avg €4.14 |
| CardTrader (EN) | NM from €4.11 with Zero from €4.11 | NM from €17.46 with Zero from €17.46 |
| CardTrader (any language) | NM from €1.08 | NM from €8.14 |
Cardmarket updated Nov 2, 2026 · CardTrader updated Nov 2, 2026
Buy and look up
Legality
- standard Not legal
- pioneer Not legal
- modern Legal
- legacy Legal
- vintage Legal
- commander Legal
- pauper Not legal
- alchemy Not legal
- brawl Not legal
- competitivebrawl Not legal
- duel Legal
- future Not legal
- gladiator Not legal
- historic Not legal
- oathbreaker Legal
- oldschool Not legal
- paupercommander Not legal
- penny Legal
- predh Legal
- premodern Not legal
- standardbrawl Not legal
- timeless Not legal
- tlr Legal
Rulings
-
Protean Hydra’s last ability triggers whenever a +1/+1 counter is removed from it for any reason, not just when a +1/+1 counter is removed by its second ability.
-
All damage that would be dealt to Protean Hydra is prevented, even if it doesn’t have that many +1/+1 counters on it. This is true even if Protean Hydra has no +1/+1 counters on it at all (and is able to remain on the battlefield because some other effect is boosting its toughness). If the amount of damage that would be dealt to Protean Hydra is greater than the number of +1/+1 counters on it, all the +1/+1 counters on Protean Hydra are removed from it.
-
If any +1/+1 counters are removed from Protean Hydra during the end step, its last ability will trigger and set up a delayed triggered ability that will trigger at the beginning of the next end step (which is near the end of the following turn).
-
If multiple +1/+1 counters are removed from Protean Hydra at once, its last ability will trigger that many times.
-
If unpreventable damage is dealt to Protean Hydra, the Hydra’s second ability will try to prevent it and fail (meaning that damage has its normal results), and it will also remove that many +1/+1 counters from Protean Hydra.
-
If a -1/-1 counter is put on Protean Hydra while it has +1/+1 counters on it, that -1/-1 counter and a +1/+1 counter will be removed from it as a state-based action. This will cause Protean Hydra’s last ability to trigger.