Hey gang. This article was originally supposed to run during Lorwyn Week, hence the Lorwyn theme to it. It kinda slipped under, though. Sorry about that.

We’ve already gotten the formalities out of the way in last week’s other article, so I’ll spare you the copy-paste introduction and get right into the content. Creature Feature- Giants, here we go.

Giants have been a part of folklore for a long time. A really long time. Giants appear in several various faiths including but not limited to Greek, Abrahamic, Norse, and Hindu doctrines, each with their own origins.

• The Greek Gigantes were children of the Titans who attempted to usurp the Gods from Olympus. Heracles beat them up and their corpses were buried spread out over the Earth. The bodies still occasionally twitch, which causes volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Also, the Greek Hero Ajax was rumoured to be fourteen feet tall.
• Norse Giants, the Jotun, are also ancient enemies of the Gods, and the parents of many of the world’s monsters. Loki is a particularly famous one. Maybe you’ve heard of him?
• The Abrahamic Trio (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) tells of the Anakite, sons of the Nephilim (no, not them) who roamed Israel. Wikipedia doesn’t really have much more information on them. Goliath of rock-to-face fame was theorized to be roughly nine and a half feet tall, as well.
• The Hindu Daitya were the demonic counterparts to their half-brothers, the Devas.

Between each of these faiths are certain underlying similarities. The ancient Giants were all the unwanted children of the Gods, who were characterized by being long-lived, immensely big, strong, and bitter as all you-know-what. They’re enemies of God, maybe even the nemeses of God in some versions. In the Norse model they’re specifically representative of everything concerning chaos and disorder.

So, Giants are rage-fuelled avatars of chaos. Sounds Red enough, right? So where does the White part featured in Lorwyn come in?

To figure that out, first we need to understand whom the giants of Lorwyn actually are. Lorwyn’s Giants are an aloof species that don’t really grasp how to interact with the other seven(ish) races of creatures around them. They tend to become introverts and peacemakers in conflict due to this divide; the Giants are constantly delegated to “middle party” in battles. The unifying philosophy between the Giants is to never take something only halfway. If a Giant has an impulse, he will follow it through to the end no matter the consequence. Lorwyn’s Giants are also characterized by their long hibernation periods.

This… doesn’t really clear up much. Other than their affinity to diplomacy, not much makes Giants seem all that White to me. Can you figure it out?

Mechanically, Giants support the loner identity that the flavor department gave them. That is to say, they’re a bad choice for Tribal. The least expensive non-changeling Giant in Lorwyn is Blind-Spot Giant, and even he usually needs more than three turns to get active. For the most part Giants need the support of another tribe to really be viable, such as Stinkdrinker Daredevil for a boggart strategy or Kithkin Greatheart to pair them with those. If you really want to try something interesting, you could try a deck like this…

This is my attempt at “Fast Giants”. While it’s still not an efficient Aggro deck in the least, adding Green to the mix certainly speeds it up a bit. Elvish Handservant and the cheap burn help to give you something to do while you wait for the power to hit. Aim for the head; Durkwood Tracker and Thundercloud Shaman are some great creature removal.

Giants are probably one of the most obvious Timmy-geared tribes in the block, with their big, flashy, impractical effects. Hamletback Goliath can get huge very quickly, but in the same respect he can be chump blocked all day. Sunrise Sovereign has a powerful effect, but rarely will you have a lot of Giants on the table at once to make full use of his ability. Favor of the Mighty tempts you with the always-useful “Protection from everything”, but it can easily swing in your opponents’ favor if you’re not careful.

As a final verdict, I’d have to say that for Casual, Giants look a fun and unsuspected option, but I don’t see any of them seeing a large amount of play in any given format. Brion Stoutarm, the race’s Legend, is the only one in particular I can see being included in the competitive environment at all, and even he is easily outclassed by the other creatures of his colors in the Standard format.

That just about wraps up Lorwyn Week's Creature Features, albeit after Lorwyn Week itself. I hope you enjoyed all the stuff we put out for you. The guys here at MDV really put a lot of effort into making these theme weeks something special, and this one is no exception.

~Tekkactus~

Tekkactus is an enigma of an author on Magic Deck Vortex. He rarely ever appears anymore, due to his being very busy working his fingers to the bone on his comic Sandgate. He hates everything and everyone, and that includes you.

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Articles Spotlights from 2007:
Lorwyn Theme Week Intro & Schedule of Events
Blink And Bounce: Timing is Key
Going Blind: XCB Metagaming - A Prolonged Conclusion.
The Science of Magic: Genetic Engineering, Part Two.
Shifting Lineaments: Casual Metagaming (Pt. 2).
The Dungeon Of Malefict: Pure Evil!
Land Week Introduction & Schedule.
Combofusion: Legends Timeshifted.
One Card to Rule Them All: Coastal Piracy
Irrational Love: Chimeras. The Lego's of Magic.