Protean Hydra

The above post is incorrect. Protean Hydra's ruling states that "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." Damage can not kill the hydra if he has no counters unless you make the damage unpreventable. Because you'd prevent the damage and remove that many counters and since there are none, you remove none and no damage has been given to the creature. Also you wouldn't get anymore counters since you didn't lose any at the time.

Here it is. The Creature that with just an equipment/enchantment that raises it's toughness by at least +1, becomes an unstoppable killing machine that your opponent will have to commit him/herself to returning to your hand/removing it from game/pacifying or making you sacrifice it.

But Once you Put a Shielding Plax on this Hydra, (enchanted creature cannot be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control)

It basically becomes completely Untouchable by Pretty much anything your opponent has.

This card has won me countless battles with my Graft Deck, pair it with some cytoplast rootkins and doubling season too

Definitely a Must-Have for any Green Fan!!!

This is THE best of the hydras. If you give it an equip/enchant that raises its defence by even 1, then it can't be destroyed by damage, a neat little effect that'll really annoy anyone you play against.

i really want this card i need it to be back in stock

this card is an amazing combo with lake of the dead and cabel coffer

To add to Matthew's comment; Imagine you have a Protean Hydra with 5 +1/+1 counters on it and have a Gaea's Anthem on the battlefield, making the Hydra a 6/6. Now your opponent proceeds to cast Fireball for 6 damage, targeting your Hydra. What happens is the damage is prevented, and you remove as many +1/+1 counters from the Hydra as the amount of damage prevented. Since it only has 5 +1/+1 counters on it, all of them are removed, and the Hydra is now 1/1. If your opponent then tried to Lightning Bolt the Hydra for 3 damage, the damage is simply prevented. You can't remove counters that aren't there, so you do nothing.
At end of turn, you then put 10 +1/+1 counters on the Hydra because 5 of them were removed as a result of the Fireball.

This is a pretty good card. Good early game card for blocking little creatures and buffing it up.

However, what some people are saying here about it being invincible if it has a +1 toughness counter on it is false. For Protean to prevent damage, you need to be able to remove a +1/+1 counter from him. It's part of the ability. If you gave him +1/+1 from an enchantment he would still take damage after all his +1/+1 counters were taken away. The attacking creature would attack him as a normal 1/1 creature, and he would die.