EDH Optimizer
Madame Hydra
Legendary Creature — Human Villain · 2BR
Color identity: Black · Red · Rakdos
Madame Hydra is Rakdos (black and red): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Whenever you cast a Villain spell, create a 2/1 black Villain creature token with menace. (It can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)
Reference price of the card: €0.13
Comes in the precon Doom Prevails
Average lands in decks for Madame Hydra: 36
VillainsTokensLegendsAggroHistoricHumansDiscardReanimator
Build your Madame Hydra deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Madame Hydra 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Madame Hydra deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play per EDHREC (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: C (53/100)
- Consistency46
- Speed65
- Interaction39
- Resilience65
- Closing50
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (19 nonbasic, 14 Swamp, 3 Mountain)
Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord · HYDRA Assault Robot · Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary · The Masters of Evil · Tombstone, Career Criminal · Madame Masque · Sol Ring · Agents of HYDRA · Arcane Signet · Visions of Villainy · Avengers: Under Siege · HYDRA Troopers · Doom Reigns Supreme · Ares, God of War · Arnim Zola, Bio-Fanatic · Yellowjacket, Heartless Marauder · Red Room Recruit · The Ruinous Wrecking Crew · Crimson Cowl, Master of Evil · Construct a Cosmic Cube · Grim Reaper, Lethal Legionnaire · Hire a Crew · Red Hulk · Thunderbolts Conspiracy · Elektra, Daughter of the Hand · Decoy Ploy · Baron Helmut Zemo · M.O.D.O.K. · Roxxon Brutes · Criminal Enterprise · Robot Domination · Doctor Doom · Too Evil to Stay Dead · Citizen V, Helmut Zemo · Endless Ranks of HYDRA · Moonstone, Harsh Mistress · Kingpin's Enforcers · Terminate · Blasphemous Act · Iron Monger, Sadistic Tycoon · Minotaur, Roxxon CEO · Patchwork Banner · Bullseye, Death Dealer · Deadly Dispute · Bob, Reluctant HYDRA Agent · Chaos Warp · Talisman of Indulgence · Bedevil · Carnage, Crimson Chaos · Common Crook · Cruel Alliance · Dark Ritual · Evil's Thrall · Kindred Dominance · Rakdos Signet · A.I.M. Synthoids · Dark Deed · Green Goblin, Revenant · Venom, Eddie Brock · Black Market Connections · Feed the Swarm · Ninja of the Hand · HYDRA Infiltration · Villainous Hideout · Command Tower · Dragonskull Summit · Smoldering Marsh · Hell's Kitchen · Path of Ancestry · Dark Fortress · Foreboding Ruins · Luxury Suite · Blood Crypt · Haunted Ridge · Sulfurous Springs · Tainted Peak · Exotic Orchard · Bloodfell Caves · Blazemire Verge · Bojuka Bog · Temple of Malice · Evolving Wilds
🃏 Recommended cards for Madame Hydra
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Madame Hydra, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord | 93% | +92% |
| HYDRA Assault Robot | 83% | +82% |
| Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary | 81% | +80% |
| The Masters of Evil | 79% | +78% |
| Tombstone, Career Criminal | 78% | +78% |
| Madame Masque | 76% | +75% |
| Agents of HYDRA | 75% | +75% |
| Villainous Hideout | 73% | +72% |
| Visions of Villainy | 72% | +72% |
| Avengers: Under Siege | 71% | +71% |
| HYDRA Troopers | 71% | +70% |
| Doom Reigns Supreme | 66% | +66% |
| Arnim Zola, Bio-Fanatic | 63% | +63% |
| Yellowjacket, Heartless Marauder | 63% | +62% |
| Ares, God of War | 63% | +61% |
| The Ruinous Wrecking Crew | 60% | +59% |
| Red Room Recruit | 60% | +59% |
| Crimson Cowl, Master of Evil | 58% | +58% |
| Grim Reaper, Lethal Legionnaire | 56% | +56% |
| Construct a Cosmic Cube | 56% | +55% |
| Hire a Crew | 55% | +55% |
| Red Hulk | 55% | +55% |
| Thunderbolts Conspiracy | 54% | +54% |
| Elektra, Daughter of the Hand | 53% | +52% |
💰 The best cards for your Madame Hydra deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord
- HYDRA Assault Robot
- Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary
- The Masters of Evil
- Tombstone, Career Criminal
- Madame Masque
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- M.O.D.O.K.
- Doctor Doom
- Minotaur, Roxxon CEO
- Dark Fortress
- Kindred Dominance
- Vanquisher's Banner
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Venom, Eddie Brock
- Roaming Throne
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Madame Hydra
- Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Underworld Breach + Wheel of Fortune + Jeska's Will → Infinite draw triggers for all players, Infinite looting for all players, Near-infinite magecraft triggers, Near-infinite storm count
- Sanguine Bond + Bloodthirsty Conqueror → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame → Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
- Dualcaster Mage + Molten Duplication → Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
- Orcish Bowmasters + Peer into the Abyss → Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Near-infinite card draw for target opponent, Near-infinite damage, Near-infinite draw triggers for target opponent, Target opponent loses the game
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Madame Hydra's color identity?
Madame Hydra is Rakdos (black and red): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Madame Hydra come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Madame Hydra deck (the 99 most-included cards per EDHREC, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 3.9 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 99 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 38 % of the time and floods 15 %. Deck health: C (53/100).
How many lands should a Madame Hydra deck run?
Real Madame Hydra decks run 36 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Madame Hydra?
The three highest-synergy cards are Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord, HYDRA Assault Robot, Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Madame Hydra decks.
What combos does Madame Hydra have?
Madame Hydra has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Madame Hydra deck cost?
You can start cheap: Baron Strucker, HYDRA Overlord, HYDRA Assault Robot, Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.