Desolation Giant MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Giant
Abilities Kicker
Power 3
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Desolation Giant provides card advantage by decimating opponents’ creatures, solidifying your board position.
  2. Its ability to clear the board can dramatically shift game tempo and overwhelm unguarded opponents.
  3. Although potent, its specific mana requirements and high cost can pose deck-building challenges.

Text of card

Kicker o Wo W (You may pay an additional o Wo W as you play this spell.) When Desolation Giant comes into play, destroy all other creatures you control. If you paid the kicker cost, destroy all other creatures instead.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: The kaboom of Desolation Giant’s ability can obliterate multiple creatures on the battlefield, potentially leaving you with the biggest threat in play. This effectively provides card advantage as it diminishes your opponent’s assets while maintaining your own, setting you up for a stronger position.

Resource Acceleration: While Desolation Giant itself doesn’t directly provide resource acceleration, its impact can accelerate your game plan. By clearing the board, it paves the way for your attacks, potentially shifting the game’s pace in your favor as you capitalize on a now defenseless opponent.

Instant Speed: Although Desolation Giant is a creature that operates at sorcery speed, the strategy around it involves playing it at just the right moment. This can be during your main phase right before an attack or after your opponent has overextended, allowing you to use your mana effectively and maintain the tempo of the match.


Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Desolation Giant requires a strict mana combination to cast, needing both red and white. This can be a limitation for decks that don’t run these colors or those that have a less stable mana base, making it harder to play on curve.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of two generic, two red, and two white mana for its kicker ability, Desolation Giant is a sizable investment. This high cost means it can’t always be played when needed, and may not always provide the board wipe effect at the most opportune time.

Discard Requirement: While Desolation Giant does not have a discard requirement itself, the resources invested in playing it could lead to a smaller hand size. This is due to the need to potentially use additional cards, like mana acceleration or protection, to ensure its successful casting and effectiveness.


Reasons to Include Desolation Giant in Your Collection

Versatility: Desolation Giant offers a flexible role in your arsenal, serving as a large creature for aggressive strategies or a board wipe in more controlling decks. Its ability to clear the battlefield while giving you a sizable creature makes it a unique choice for various deck architectures.

Combo Potential: This giant shines brighter when combined with ways to protect your own board or recur it from the graveyard, turning its board-clearing effect into a repeatable advantage. Its kick ability, when used with care, can be a game-changer in the right build.

Meta-Relevance: As meta shifts towards creature-heavy strategies, Desolation Giant can be an efficient response, deterring opponents from overcommitting to the board. Additionally, it serves as a deterrent, influencing opponents’ play patterns to work to your advantage.


How to Beat Desolation Giant

Desolation Giant presents a unique challenge in the world of Magic: The Gathering, emerging as a formidable creature card with a kicker ability that can reset the battlefield. When facing this giant, successful strategies often revolve around countering its devastating entrance ability or mitigating its impact.

One effective tactic is to prioritize instant-speed removal or counterspells. Cards such as Negate or Disallow can directly target the giant’s kicker ability, neutralizing the threat before it clears the board. Alternatively, spells that grant your creatures indestructible for a turn, like Heroic Intervention, can be invaluable in preserving your battlefield against the giant’s wrath.

Baiting your opponent to play Desolation Giant when you have minimal presence on the board is another strategy, allowing you to leverage the situation by casting your more valuable creatures post-wipe. Additionally, cards that can quickly rebuild your board state, like Raise the Alarm or Spectral Procession, can restore your defenses promptly, minimizing the tempo loss from Desolation Giant’s kicker effect.

In essence, when countering Desolation Giant, consider these key approaches: counterplay through spells, board state manipulation, and rapid recovery. Each strategy can enhance your resilience against this massive threat, ensuring you maintain control of the game.


Cards like Desolation Giant

Desolation Giant is a distinctive card in MTG, known for its colossal impact on the battlefield. It bears a kinship with cards like Wrath of God, a classic staple for its comprehensive creature removal effect. Both share the ability to clear the board, but Desolation Giant offers a twist: it can spare your own creatures if kicked. This provides a selective advantage in comparison to the indiscriminate sweep of Wrath of God.

Conversely, Desolation Giant also finds likeness in Phyrexian Rebirth. The Rebirth wipes the board of creatures and rewards you with a token whose power and toughness equal the number of creatures destroyed. While not offering the tactical choice of leaving your own creatures untouched, it compensates by giving you a potentially massive token.

In evaluating their capabilities, Desolation Giant emerges as a strong choice for players who seek control with precision and the potential fortification against a counter sweep. Its combination of massive board impact and the strategic option granted by its kicker cost crafts a niche that sustains its relevance in MTG gameplay.

Wrath of God - MTG Card versions
Phyrexian Rebirth - MTG Card versions
Wrath of God - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Phyrexian Rebirth - Mirrodin Besieged (MBS)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Desolation Giant MTG card by a specific set like Apocalypse and Time Spiral Timeshifted, 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 Desolation Giant and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Desolation Giant Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2001-06-04 and 2018-06-08. Illustrated by Alan Pollack.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12001-06-04ApocalypseAPC 591997normalblackAlan Pollack
22006-10-06Time Spiral TimeshiftedTSB 571997normalblackAlan Pollack
32015-11-13Commander 2015C15 1482015normalblackAlan Pollack
42018-06-08Commander Anthology Volume IICM2 912015normalblackAlan Pollack

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Desolation Giant has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

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