Hail Hydra by Larbear9

Format: Commander

Commander: Zaxara, the Exemplary

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 32

Deck overview

This deck is a Sultai big-mana and X-spell powerhouse commanded by Zaxara, the Exemplary. The core game plan focuses on rapid early-turn acceleration through a dense suite of 1-mana dorks and 2-mana rocks to deploy Zaxara on Turn 3. Once established, Zaxara functions as both a double-mana producer and a token generator, converting every subsequent X-spell into massive Hydra threats. The deck leverages powerful value engines such as Unbound Flourishing, Garruk's Uprising, and Hydroid Krasis to draw cards and expand its mana pool. It transitions into the mid-to-late game by casting overwhelming game-ending sorceries like Torment of Hailfire, Exsanguinate, or a fully kicked Finale of Devastation. While the deck possesses explosive mana scaling and solid stack-based countermagic, its reliance on tapping out for large sorcery-speed spells and creature-based board states leaves it vulnerable to mass creature wipe effects.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Biorhythm
  • 1 Birds of Paradise
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Branching Evolution
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Choked Estuary
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Condescend
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Culling the Weak
  • 1 Cultivate
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Delighted Halfling
  • 1 Devoted Druid
  • 1 Doubling Season
  • 1 Drowned Catacomb
  • 1 Elvish Mystic
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Exsanguinate
  • 1 Fanatic of Rhonas
  • 1 Farseek
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Finale of Devastation
  • 1 Finale of Revelation
  • 1 Force of Negation
  • 6 Forest
  • 1 Fyndhorn Elves
  • 1 Gardenize
  • 1 Gargos, Vicious Watcher
  • 1 Garruk's Uprising
  • 1 Genesis Hydra
  • 1 Hardened Scales
  • 1 Herald of Secret Streams
  • 1 Hexhaven Invigorator
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Hydroid Krasis
  • 1 Icy Blast
  • 1 Incubation Druid
  • 1 Insatiable Avarice
  • 3 Island
  • 1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
  • 1 Lair of the Hydra
  • 1 Llanowar Elves
  • 1 Llanowar Tribe
  • 1 Llanowar Wastes
  • 1 Loot, the Nexus
  • 1 Mana Drain
  • 1 Managorger Hydra
  • 1 Mathemagics
  • 1 Morphic Pool
  • 1 Mosswort Bridge
  • 1 Necroblossom Snarl
  • 1 Neverwinter Hydra
  • 1 Nexos
  • 1 Opulent Palace
  • 1 Overgrown Tomb
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Pest Infestation
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 1 Polukranos, World Eater
  • 1 Primordial Hydra
  • 1 Pull from Tomorrow
  • 1 Rampant Growth
  • 1 Rejuvenating Springs
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Scavenger Grounds
  • 1 Sign in Blood
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Steelbane Hydra
  • 3 Swamp
  • 1 Swan Song
  • 1 Talisman of Curiosity
  • 1 Talisman of Dominance
  • 1 Talisman of Resilience
  • 1 Terrasymbiosis
  • 1 Torment of Hailfire
  • 1 Unbound Flourishing
  • 1 Underground River
  • 1 Undergrowth Stadium
  • 1 Verdant Kraken
  • 1 Vineglimmer Snarl
  • 1 Voracious Hydra
  • 1 Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
  • 1 War Room
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Woodland Cemetery
  • 1 Yavimaya Coast
  • 1 Zagoth Triome
  • 1 Zaxara, the Exemplary
  • 1 Zimone, Infinite Analyst