[Vynd]

I can't say that I've noticed that Jotunheim is so special. Sure, giants are big and tough. But they're also pretty expensive. And there are plenty of ways to kill them, ranging from magic to just swaming them with cheap infantry.

As for winning without a SC, Teraswaerto covered the basics. But I would add that I don't see why anyone would have to win without a SC, since every magic path has at least 1 or 2 summonable units that can make a plausible SC. So even if you don't start with a SC in the form of youir Pretender, there's no reason you can't get one later.