Palisade Giant MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 6 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Giant Soldier |
| Released | 2012-10-05 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Return to Ravnica |
| Set code | RTR |
| Power | 2 |
| Toughness | 7 |
| Number | 15 |
| Frame | 2003 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Greg Staples |
Key Takeaways
- Effectively protects your creatures and yourself from damage, providing indirect card advantage.
- It can restrict deck construction due to its specific and high mana cost requirements.
- Strategically valuable in MTG metagames focused on damage-based strategies and attacks.
Text of card
All damage that would be dealt to you or another permanent you control is dealt to Palisade Giant instead.
Refusing guild allegiances, she fights for those who can't protect themselves.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: While Palisade Giant itself may not directly cause you to draw cards, its unique ability to redirect damage from other creatures or even yourself to it can maintain your board presence. Keeping your creatures safe from harm effectively preserves the cards in your hand and on the battlefield, thereby providing a form of card advantage.
Resource Acceleration: Palisade Giant doesn’t inherently accelerate your resources in terms of mana. However, by protecting your other valuable creatures that may have mana abilities or other resource-generating effects, it indirectly contributes to sustaining your resource acceleration over the course of the game.
Instant Speed: This card does not operate at instant speed, but its ongoing defensive capability offers a constant safeguard, much like having a permanent instant on the field. This allows a player to develop their strategy without the immediate need to hold mana back for protective instants, thus optimizing turn efficiency and resource allocation.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Evaluating the drawbacks of Palisade Giant often highlights the absence of a discard effect, which could be a balancing feature for its protective ability. Without this, its inclusion in a deck might require you to assess its benefit against the lack of card advantage.
Specific Mana Cost: Palisade Giant comes with a specific mana cost that includes double white mana. This particular requirement may restrict its playability to mainly white or two-color decks, potentially excluding it from more diverse mana base decks that can’t consistently provide the necessary white mana.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: The six total mana needed to cast Palisade Giant, including the specific white mana, is comparatively high. This cost is substantial when considering the pace of many games and the fact that other cards may provide more immediate board impact or versatility for a lower mana investment.
Reasons to Include in Your Collection
Versatility: The unique ability of Palisade Giant to absorb damage that would be dealt to other permanents you control makes it a flexible addition to any deck focused on defense or enduring opponents’ assault.
Combo Potential: In combination with cards that prevent damage to creatures or grant indestructibility, Palisade Giant can become an integral part of a powerful defensive strategy, safeguarding your life points and other valuable creatures.
Meta-Relevance: Palisade Giant shines in a metagame filled with direct damage spells and aggressive strategies. It acts as a formidable deterrent, discouraging opponents from attacking and thereby preserving your board state.
How to beat Palisade Giant
Understanding the mechanics of Palisade Giant is critical for MTG players looking to navigate around this formidable force in a game. This distinctive card has the unique ability to absorb all damage that would be dealt to other permanents you control, acting as a shield for your army and your life total. In matchups where protecting your board state is crucial, the Giant is a linchpin of such strategies.
To effectively counter this card, consider using removal spells that bypass its damage redirection ability. Targeted removal that specifies “destroy” or “exile,” like Path to Exile or Doom Blade, can directly address the Giant without triggering its protective effect. Board wipes, such as Wrath of God or Damnation, can also clear the board, including the Giant, regardless of its damage redirection. Additionally, using bounce spells to return it to the hand, thus temporarily removing the obstacle, can create a window of opportunity to push through damage. Against this card, it’s all about outmaneuvering its defenses—think less about direct damage and more about strategic removal and timing your attacks carefully.
In short, overcoming Palisade Giant requires a tailored approach that focuses on precise removal or bouncing to eliminate its shield-like abilities. It’s a challenge, but a conquerable one with the right tools at your disposal.
Cards like Palisade Giant
Palisade Giant stands as a unique protector in the realm of MTG. Its defining ability to absorb damage that would be dealt to other creatures you control calls to mind cards such as Protector of the Crown. Both have the noble role of acting as a shield for their controller’s other creatures. However, unlike Palisade Giant, Protector of the Crown allows you to become the monarch upon entering the battlefield, offering an additional benefit besides damage redirection.
Guardian of the Gateless also shares features with Palisade Giant. It can block any number of creatures and gains additional toughness for each one blocked, but it doesn’t redirect damage, instead focusing on individual blocking prowess. Spear of Heliod also offers defensive utility by enabling you to destroy any creature dealt damage by a creature you control. It offers a more proactive defense compared to Palisade Giant’s passive damage-absorption strategy.
Ultimately, while other cards offer compelling defensive abilities, Palisade Giant’s blanket damage prevention secures a distinctive place for itself among MTG’s selection of guardian-themed cards, providing a remarkable layer of protection in a game where defense can be as crucial as offense.
Cards similar to Palisade Giant by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Palisade Giant MTG card by a specific set like Return to Ravnica, 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 Palisade Giant and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Palisade Giant has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Palisade Giant card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2012-10-01 | Applying this redirection effect doesn’t change whether the damage is combat damage. |
| 2012-10-01 | If you control more than one Palisade Giant, you choose which redirection effect to apply. You can’t divide damage dealt by one source. For example, if an attacking creature would deal 8 damage to you and you control two Palisade Giants, you may have that damage dealt to either of the Palisade Giants. You can’t have 4 damage dealt to each Giant or choose to have the 8 damage dealt to you. |
