Karplusan Giant MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost7
RarityUncommon
TypeCreature — Giant
Power 3
Toughness 3

Key Takeaways

  1. Combines creature casting with power boosting for a recurrent value and strategic advantage on the battlefield.
  2. Facilitates resource acceleration with untap and proliferation interactions to apply pressure on opponents.
  3. High mana cost and specific color requirements may limit versatility within diverse MTG decks.

Text of card

: Tap target snow-covered land you control to give Karplusan Giant +1/+1 until end of turn.

"They aren't the brightest or the quickest of Giants. For that matter, the same holds true if you compare them to rocks." —Disa the Restless, journal entry


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Karplusan Giant offers a unique tactical edge by allowing players to strategically leverage their creature spells to boost its power. This capacity converts each creature cast thereafter into potential extra damage, turning your creature-based strategies into a source of recurring value.

Resource Acceleration: As a formidable presence on the battlefield, the Karplusan Giant can be more than just a creature; its inherent synergy with cards that untap creatures or proliferate +1/+1 counters can accelerate your resources and apply substantial pressure on your opponent.

Instant Speed: While the Karplusan Giant itself does not operate at instant speed, it pairs well with spells and abilities that do. Casting creatures on your turn and holding instant-speed interaction or protection makes the Giant a pivot around which your battle strategy can flexibly revolve, ensuring you have adequate responses at critical moments.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Engaging with Karplusan Giant’s abilities often comes with the steep price of discarding a card. For players maneuvering the game’s strategy, this can be a significant setback, especially when hand size is crucial to sustain momentum.

Specific Mana Cost: Delving deep into Magic’s strategic play, Karplusan Giant demands a special blend of mana—specifically red and green. This peculiar requirement confines the giant to decks that can consistently produce both types of mana, thus potentially restricting its versatility across the diverse planes of the game.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The costs attached to unleashing the full potential of Karplusan Giant are not trivial. With a casting cost that stands on the higher rungs of the mana ladder, players might ponder its effectiveness when there are alternatives that could offer more impact for less investment, a consideration not to be taken lightly in the heat of battle.


Reasons to Include Karplusan Giant in Your Collection

Versatility: The Karplusan Giant offers adaptability across numerous deck styles, with its ability to serve as a reliable blocker and its synergy with damage-based strategies.

Combo Potential: This card shines when paired with effects that mitigate or utilize damage. Its unique interaction with cards like “Furnace of Rath” can turn each point of damage into a significant advantage.

Meta-Relevance: In metagames where board presence and life totals are critical, the Karplusan Giant can play a pivotal role, especially in formats where its 3/3 body combined with relevant abilities makes it a solid choice for red or red-green decks.


How to beat Karplusan Giant

Karplusan Giant may seem like a challenging foe in the MTG arena with its ability to redirect damage to a creature of your choice. To effectively combat this behemoth, understanding its mechanics is key. Karplusan Giant’s power lies in its potential to turn the tables during combat, directing the damage it would take to another creature on the battlefield. This necessitates a strategy that either avoids triggering its ability or removes the Giant before it can become a threat.

One approach is using exile effects or spells that don’t deal damage but rather neutralize threats through other means. Consider spells like Path to Exile or Oblivion Ring to handle the Giant without triggering its damage redirection. Alternatively, spells that force a sacrifice like Diabolic Edict can be equally effective as they circumvent the Giant’s ability by not targeting it directly. In games that extend beyond one-on-one, effects that give you control of the Giant temporarily, like Act of Treason, can also be used to your advantage by steering the damage to benefit your game plan.

In essence, the key to defeating Karplusan Giant lies in strategic spell choice and timing, disrupting the Giant’s presence on the board without allowing its ability to shift the momentum in your opponent’s favor.


Cards like Karplusan Giant

The Karplusan Giant is an intriguing creature card in MTG, with a unique interaction in the game’s strata of behemoths. Comparable creatures like the Flameblast Dragon share the capacity to unleash damage, but the Giant’s tie to the land it represents, specifically snow-covered lands, adds a layer of deck-building considerations. Unlike Flameblast Dragon, which requires mana investment per shot, the Karplusan Giant can potentially deliver multiple blasts if enough snow lands are in play, without additional mana costs.

Another peer in this comparison is the Inferno Titan, which also brings a damaging entrance to the battlefield. However, Inferno Titan is prized for its ability to deal damage upon entering as well as every time it attacks, plus the scaling power with red mana. Meanwhile, the Karplusan Giant’s ability remains static but requires no extra mana to exercise its power, presenting a more passive strategy.

Assessing the usefulness of the Karplusan Giant among these similar cards, it holds a distinct position for those who can wield its unique snow land synergy effectively, creating opportunities for significant board impact within MTG’s diverse creature abilities.

Flameblast Dragon - MTG Card versions
Inferno Titan - MTG Card versions
Flameblast Dragon - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Inferno Titan - Magic 2011 (M11)

Cards similar to Karplusan Giant by color, type and mana cost

Magma Giant - MTG Card versions
Trained Orgg - MTG Card versions
Thunder Dragon - MTG Card versions
Velican Dragon - MTG Card versions
Crazed Firecat - MTG Card versions
Yidaro, Wandering Monster - MTG Card versions
Butcher Orgg - MTG Card versions
Goblin Dynamo - MTG Card versions
Ashen Monstrosity - MTG Card versions
Rimescale Dragon - MTG Card versions
Hamletback Goliath - MTG Card versions
Boldwyr Intimidator - MTG Card versions
Shivan Hellkite - MTG Card versions
Knollspine Dragon - MTG Card versions
Ridge Rannet - MTG Card versions
Ancient Hellkite - MTG Card versions
Hellkite Igniter - MTG Card versions
Tyrant of Discord - MTG Card versions
Minotaur Aggressor - MTG Card versions
Molten Primordial - MTG Card versions
Magma Giant - Commander Anthology Volume II (CM2)
Trained Orgg - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Thunder Dragon - From the Vault: Dragons (DRB)
Velican Dragon - Sega Dreamcast Cards (PSDG)
Crazed Firecat - Torment (TOR)
Yidaro, Wandering Monster - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Butcher Orgg - Onslaught (ONS)
Goblin Dynamo - Legions (LGN)
Ashen Monstrosity - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Rimescale Dragon - Coldsnap (CSP)
Hamletback Goliath - Commander Anthology Volume II (CM2)
Boldwyr Intimidator - Morningtide (MOR)
Shivan Hellkite - Forgotten Realms Commander (AFC)
Knollspine Dragon - Game Night: Free-for-All (GN3)
Ridge Rannet - Shards of Alara (ALA)
Ancient Hellkite - Magic 2011 Promos (PM11)
Hellkite Igniter - March of the Machine Commander (MOC)
Tyrant of Discord - Avacyn Restored (AVR)
Minotaur Aggressor - Return to Ravnica (RTR)
Molten Primordial - Gatecrash (GTC)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Karplusan Giant MTG card by a specific set like Ice Age and Masters Edition II, 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 Karplusan Giant and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Karplusan Giant Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 1995-06-03 and 2008-09-22. Illustrated by Daniel Gelon.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11995-06-03Ice AgeICE 1961993normalblackDaniel Gelon
22008-09-22Masters Edition IIME2 1331997normalblackDaniel Gelon

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Karplusan Giant has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks