Hydra

Description
The hydra is a Heroic Age Greek myth unit available to worshippers of Dionysus. Hydras attack by biting at close range - their long necks mean that they actually attack at very short range, but it rarely makes a difference. Though hydras possess no special attack per se, they do gradually increase their number of heads (and thus their damage) as they kill other units. A fully grown hydra possesses five heads. Animals killed by the hydra count towards the amount of kills it needs to grow more heads, so one tactic is to set a hydra on a pack of harmless animals in order to gain a full health, five-headed hydra.

The hydra's attack also deals crush damage, making it effective at destroying buildings.

As myth units, hydras gain bonus damage against human units and other myth units but are countered by heroes.

Appearance
Hydras are large, quadrupedal, long-necked, dinosaur-like myth units, grey save for the ridge trailing from their heads to the end of their tails. This ridge is the colour of the player controlling the hydra.

Legend of the Hydra
The Hydra was a serpent-like, many-headed creature, spawn of Echidna and Typhon. The Hydra's breath was said to have been virulently poisonous. Heracles was tasked with killing the Hydra for the second of his twelve labours, but found that upon severing one head, two more would sprout from the stump. In the legend, Heracles enlists the aid of his nephew, Iolaus, who cauterises freshly made stumps as Heracles cuts off heads, preventing regrowth. The Hydra's one immortal head was pinned under a great rock, finally resulting in the creature's defeat.