From: maurice delamar [mailto:mxdelamar@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 9:20 AM
Subject: Overlooked S/T Removal: Gigantes - maurice
delamar
Hello again, everyone! Welcome to my second
installment of the overlooked S/T removal cards.
Today, we will take a second look at possibly one of
the most versatile Level 4 monsters to come in a
long while. He's big, he's bad, and even if you take
him down, he sure won't go down without a heck of a
good fight. Let's give a warm welcome to:
Gigantes
Earth/Rock/Level 4/1900 ATK/1300 DEF
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This
card can only be Special Summoned by removing from
play 1 Earth monster in your Graveyard. When this
card is destroyed as a result of battle, destroy all
Spell and Trap Cards on the field.
Before I start, I want to make sure to remind you
all that the errata for Gigantes has changed. As of
Dark Revelation Volume 2, Gigantes is now a
full-fledged nomi, meaning you cannot use Premature
Burial to bring him back.
Now, getting on topic. Just by looking at the card,
it's easy to see that Gigantes is a good one. He's a
Special Summon, has a respectable 1900 ATK, and he
destroys all S/Ts if he's destroyed as a result of
battle. Being a Special Summon means you can still
conduct a Normal Summon, and you can offer him as
Tribute for a high-level monster. Getting an Earth
monster into the Graveyard is also relatively easy.
Earth has more than enough monsters that can get the
job done. You have Nimble Momonga, Giant Rat,
Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, Howling Insect, and
Pyramid Turtle, among others.
Gigantes's effect lets you destroy all S/Ts should
he be destroyed as a result of battle. Unless your
opponent's S/Ts are all chainable, he or she is not
going to attack your Gigantes any time soon.
Instead, you'll have to trigger the effect yourself,
by attacking either a stronger monster, or another
1900 ATK monster, with the card. Of course, your
opponent might just destroy your Gigantes with a
Sakuretsu Armor or Widespread Ruin, but in the end,
you would have him/her lose a valuable Trap, that
he/she would have saved for later. He/she would have
to make a split-second decision: destroy Gigantes
now, or give up all of the S/Ts that are already set
on the field? Let's not count that the S/Ts set are
chainable. Your opponent could blow him up, and be
able to attack you directly next turn, but if you've
only summoned Gigantes during your turn, you can
still Normal Summon a monster, or summon another
Gigantes. But if your opponent can't do anything
about him, he/she loses cards that could have turned
the tide of a duel to his/her favor. So depending on
how you play, you will form some kind of 1:1, or
1:2+ trade.
A nasty card that goes well with Gigantes is Cold
Wave. If you play this and summon Gigantes, there's
no way around it--your opponent will lose S/Ts. You
could also give the new Ancient Gear Cannon a spin.
This makes it so that no Traps can be activated
during the Battle Phase. Both of these cards open a
window to some really nasty damage. There are other
cards that have good synergy with Gigantes,
including all the cards that associate with Aussa
the Earth Charmer. With him on the field, all you
will ever need to do is slap Aussa the Earth Charmer
on the field before sending both of them to the
Graveyard to summon a Familiar Possessed: Aussa from
your Deck. If Gigantes is not needed at the present,
or is the target of cards like Snatch Steal, he can
be Tributed with Spiritual Earth Art: Kurogane, to
bring out an extra monster from your Graveyard. And
since Gigantes is a Rock monster, he powers up
Megarock Dragon.
Concluding, this guy has more versatility that you
could ever imagine. He isn't just a Level 4 1900 ATK
beatstick; he's a reliable Special Summon that can
fish out your opponents Traps, in addition to wiping
them out. He can be Tribute bait for all the popular
Tribute monsters, or turn into an extra Earth
monster with Spiritual Earth Art: Kurogane. Even
after he lives his usefulness on the field, he can
make way for either another Gigantes, or his other
Rock brother, The Rock Spirit. He can even help you
summon a really powerful Megarock Dragon! All this
and more...is coming from a Level 4 Nomi that's only
a common in both Invasion of Chaos, and Dark
Revelation Volume 2.
Well, if you have any comments, e-mail me at
mxdelamar@yahoo.com. Stay tuned for my next CCG Tip!