[Micah]

No need for evo 8, just try destruction + flaming arrows. Granted this combo works well against damn near anything sacred or not, but the giants don't really cut through chaff very fast since they need time for their auras to kick in, so they're not going to break through to the archers very quickly. Helheim has access to air mages for storm and arrow fend, plus lightning quick killing power to punch through an infantry screen. Plus if they're outmatched they can just stealth away.

Niefelheim also loses its best asset if the opposition can get off a warriors of niefelheim, or a frost ward blanket. Their nifty aura is stopped cold (couldn't resist, sorry). With CR each giant is only able to kill one opponent a round, and they won't have the advantage of being protected from melee damage by a pile of 100 fatigue enemies at their feet.

Nief is a very binary nation as far as sacreds. Either the enemy throws the right combo of troops and magi at you and utterly destroys you, or they don't and get rolled over without getting a single kill. They seem grossly overpowered until they run into the right opposition at which point they just sort of fold up like a card castle, killing a handful of chaff while they're being cut into pieces.

Much like an SC really, they have holes in their defenses somewhere. Astral SC? Well, hit them with magic duels and trade a handful of lizard shaman for a 100-gem investment. Awe-reliant or Soul Vortex SC? Undead spam them and watch them get chipped to death when their vortex doesn't heal them, no gems required. Also works great for any SC without crowd control, you can at least hit the 50 turn limit even if you can't kill them. Cut them off from retreating if you can. If they ARE decked out for crowd control hit them with your own SC with quickness and 2 AP weapons and watch them die. If they're somehow equipped to take on either of those their MR must be low since they've gotta be out of slots, so spam a few mind hunts or Vengeance castings at them...or in combat try some enslave minds, charms or soul slays. And obviously if they're not resistant to an element hit them with that.

If you just throw troops at any decently built SC you're just giving them free xp and maybe an affliction if you're lucky, but if you find the counter to them they're only going to take out some chaff before they end up dead, there's not much middle ground.