Price$0.54 – $16.25
Buy on TCGplayerRapid Hybridization
Instant
LegalRemovalRank #211
Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated. That creature's controller creates a 3/3 green Frog Lizard creature token.
Why is this card good?
One mana, instant-speed, hard removal that hits any creature is exactly what blue wants, since blue's biggest weakness is dealing with resolved threats. Rapid Hybridization (and its twin Pongify) let you answer a commander, a combo piece, or a problematic body for a single pip — which is fantastic tempo when you're trying to protect your own gameplan or stop a kill.
The downside — handing the opponent a vanilla 3/3 Frog Lizard — is almost always irrelevant. You're trading their carefully built threat for a do-nothing token, and you can usually kill or outpace the 3/3 later.
Best in: any blue deck, especially tempo, spellslinger, control, and combo lists that need cheap interaction. It also shines when you target your own creature with a death trigger (aristocrats, sacrifice payoffs) or to dodge exile/bounce.
Skip it only if the 3/3 actually matters — slow, grindy pillowfort or stax decks where opponents can profitably use the body, or if you prefer exile-based removal against recursion.
Related cards
Pongify
Nearly identical: 1-mana blue instant destroy giving a 3/3 token.
Reality Shift
Cheap blue removal exiling a creature, replaced by manifest.
Beast Within
Universal removal giving opponent a 3/3 token, same effect template.
Generous Gift
White version destroying any permanent for a 3/3 Elephant.
Curse of the Swine
Blue exile removal replacing creatures with 2/2 Boars.
Resculpt
Two-mana blue version making a 4/4 token, artifact/creature targeting.
Snakeskin Veil
No—instead, Ravenform exiles target as cheap blue removal with a bird token.
Printings (11)
Played by these commanders
Zinnia, Valley's Voice100% of 1
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters100% of 1
Eshki, Temur's Roar100% of 1
Zimone, Infinite Analyst100% of 1
Ezuri, Claw of Progress100% of 1
Hakbal of the Surging Soul100% of 1
Tokens & Emblemsthis card creates
Rulings (2)
- 2013-07-01
If Rapid Hybridization resolves and the creature isn't destroyed (perhaps because it has indestructible), its controller will still get the Frog Lizard token.
- 2013-01-24
If the creature is an illegal target when Rapid Hybridization tries to resolve, it won't resolve and none of its effects will happen. No Frog Lizard token will be created.