Hydroblast counters or destroys key red permanents and spells like Galvanic Blast, Clockwork Percussionist, and Goblin Tomb Raider, disrupting their combo pieces. Arms of Hadar is a powerful sweeper here, wiping their token-generating Rally at the Hornburg tokens and small creatures like Voldaren Epicure and Burning-Tree Emissary before they can alpha strike. Extract a Confession is too narrow when they can sacrifice a low-value token. This matchup is about surviving to turn 4-5 where your removal and blockers overpower their go-wide plan.