Giant Killer // Chop Down MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityRare
TypeInstant — Adventure

Key Takeaways

  1. Giant Killer offers card advantage by serving dual purposes as a creature and removal.
  2. Instant speed removal via Chop Down disrupts opponents’ strategies effectively.
  3. Detailed resource management required to maximize Giant Killer’s potential.

Text of card

Destroy target creature with power 4 or greater. (Then exile this card. You may cast the creature later from exile.)

"What size advantage? They never even see me coming."


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Giant Killer provides a dual utility, functioning as both removal and a creature, contributing to card advantage by potentially removing an opponent’s threat while adding to your board presence.

Resource Acceleration: While Giant Killer itself does not directly accelerate resources, its ability to keep larger threats at bay can effectively preserve your resources, leading to a more favorable board state for subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The Chop Down ability of Giant Killer can be activated at instant speed, allowing players to respond swiftly to incoming threats by removing larger creatures at a moment’s notice, without needing to wait for their own turn.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Utilizing Giant Killer’s “Chop Down” ability requires you to discard another card, meaning you need to weigh the benefit of removing a creature against the cost of depleting your hand further.

Specific Mana Cost: Giant Killer demands a precise white mana cost for both casting the creature and activating the “Chop Down” removal ability. This specificity can sometimes hamper the fluidity of mana usage in multicolored decks or those with a tight mana curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The activated ability’s cost, coupled with the tapping of Giant Killer itself, can be quite mana-intensive. In situations where you could need immediate responses or have multiple threats to deal with, the cost may prove a significant hurdle.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Giant Killer offers dual utility as both an efficient creature removal and a low-cost creature itself, making it a valuable addition to any deck that aims to control the board.

Combo Potential: Its ‘Chop Down’ adventure can be paired with flicker effects to repeatedly remove large threats, while the ‘Tapping’ ability can seamlessly integrate with tap/untap strategies to gain control of the game pace.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta populated with decks capitalizing on big creatures, Giant Killer stands out as an effective tool to dismantle formidable boards, ensuring it holds its position as a strategic staple in current deck constructions.


How to beat

Giant Killer, a versatile card in the vast universe of Magic the Gathering, offers dual functionality as both a creature and a removal spell. Facing off against Giant Killer, it’s crucial to navigate around its ‘Chop Down’ ability that can topple large creatures. One effective strategy is employing creatures with power 3 or less, as they slip under Giant Killer’s radar, ensuring your board presence remains unaffected by its removal capabilities.

Similarly pivotal is the timing of deploying your hefty creatures. With Giant Killer’s ‘Tap’ ability on the table, consider advancing your game with instant-speed spells or abilities that can act in response, negating the tempo advantage Giant Killer provides to your opponent. Furthermore, protection spells or hexproof can shield your key creatures from the Giant Killer’s grasp, leaving your adversary with an underutilized card.

Ultimately, countering Giant Killer hinges on strategic plays and keeping its abilities in check. This ensures your most formidable creatures continue to press the advantage, reducing the impact of this utility card on your strategy.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering MTG is like a strategic dance, and Giant Killer plays its part beautifully with its twofold role. Whether you’re tiptoeing around your opponent’s big moves with ‘Chop Down’ or establishing a rhythm with its tapping ability, it’s a card that subtly orchestrates the pace of the game. To sharpen your edge further, consider how it could harmonize with your existing deck strategies, or explore additional synergies within your white-centric builds. For insights into weaving Giant Killer into your gameplay, deepening your deck tactics, and outmaneuvering diverse metagames, we’ll guide you through. Lean into your MTG journey, refine your resonance with Giant Killer, and join BurnMana to discover the full potential of your deck.


Cards like Giant Killer // Chop Down

Giant Killer is a versatile card that players of Magic: The Gathering appreciate for both its creature removal and its capability as a creature itself. When comparing Giant Killer to other cards, Banisher Priest comes to mind, offering another creature-based removal option. Banisher Priest allows you to exile an opponent’s creature until Banisher Priest leaves the battlefield, but unlike Giant Killer, it doesn’t provide a tap-down utility.

Moving on to Skyclave Apparition, it presents an interesting contrast. It exiles any nonland permanent without mana cost limitation and leaves behind an Illusion token that could be less threatening than the original threat. Meanwhile, Giant Killer’s “Chop Down” provides targeted removal for bigger threats but doesn’t cover nonland permanents. Additionally, there’s Charming Prince, who offers flexibility with his scry, life gain, and exile-reentry abilities, but he doesn’t match Giant Killer’s direct interaction capabilities with opponent’s creatures.

All things considered, within the realm of white creature-based control spells, Giant Killer holds a strong position due to its dual functionality, providing players with a powerful tool for managing opponents’ creatures and influencing the pace of the game.

Banisher Priest - MTG Card versions
Skyclave Apparition - MTG Card versions
Charming Prince - MTG Card versions
Banisher Priest - MTG Card versions
Skyclave Apparition - MTG Card versions
Charming Prince - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Giant Killer // Chop Down MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Throne of Eldraine, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Giant Killer // Chop Down and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Giant Killer // Chop Down Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2019-10-04 and 2019-10-04. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 787942015AdventureBlackShawn Wood
22019-10-04Throne of EldraineELD 2752015AdventureBlackShawn Wood
32019-10-04Throne of EldraineELD 142015AdventureBlackJesper Ejsing
42020-09-26The ListPLST ELD-142015AdventureBlackJesper Ejsing

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Giant Killer // Chop Down has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Giant Killer // Chop Down card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2019-10-04 An adventurer card is a creature card in every zone except the stack, as well as while on the stack if not cast as an Adventure. Ignore its alternative characteristics in those cases. For example, while it's in your graveyard, Giant Killer is a white creature card whose mana value is 1. It can't be the target of the triggered ability of Mystic Sanctuary.
2019-10-04 Casting a card as an Adventure isn't casting it for an alternative cost. Effects that allow you to cast a spell for an alternative cost or without paying its mana cost may allow you to apply those to the Adventure.
2019-10-04 If a spell is cast as an Adventure, its controller exiles it instead of putting it into its owner's graveyard as it resolves. For as long as it remains exiled, that player may cast it as a creature spell. If an Adventure spell leaves the stack in any way other than resolving (most likely by being countered or by failing to resolve because its targets have all become illegal), that card won't be exiled and the spell's controller won't be able to cast it as a creature later.
2019-10-04 If an adventurer card ends up in exile for any other reason than by exiling itself while resolving, it won't give you permission to cast it as a creature spell.
2019-10-04 If an effect copies an Adventure spell, that copy is exiled as it resolves. It ceases to exist as a state-based action; it's not possible to cast the copy as a creature.
2019-10-04 If an effect instructs you to choose a card name, you may choose the alternative Adventure name. Consider only the alternative characteristics to determine whether that is an appropriate name to choose.
2019-10-04 If an object becomes a copy of an object that has an Adventure, the copy also has an Adventure. If it changes zones, it will either cease to exist (if it's a token) or cease to be a copy (if it's a nontoken permanent), and so you won't be able to cast it as an Adventure.
2019-10-04 If you cast an adventurer card as an Adventure, use only its alternative characteristics to determine whether it's legal to cast that spell. For example, if Giant Killer is exiled with the last ability of Vivien, Champion of the Wilds, you can't cast it as Chop Down.
2019-10-04 When casting a spell as an Adventure, use the alternative characteristics and ignore all of the card's normal characteristics. The spell's color, mana cost, mana value, and so on are determined by only those alternative characteristics. If the spell leaves the stack, it immediately resumes using its normal characteristics.
2019-10-04 You must still follow any timing restrictions and permissions for the creature spell you cast from exile. Normally, you'll be able to cast it only during your main phase while the stack is empty.