1. Ok, that was a brilliant move for Malack. Durkon loses a minimum of 1d4 Con, Malack gains some temporary hp, and if something doesn't happen in the next few rounds, Durkon is defeated. Of course, this is only the 5th comic of 9, so something will happen next round to tip the balance of power back towards the Order. Of course, the Giant knows that we know this, and wil probably have Durkon be defeated just to break expectation. On the other hand, the Giant knows that we know that he knows what to expect, so he may have made plans based on what we know he knows that we know he will do, and so on and so forth.

2. I knew from the general structure of this sequence that Malack would take back the advantage dramatically this comic, but I hadn't guessed that he'd be able to dispel the Ward. Seems obvious in retrospect, though.

3. If there really are nine strips in this sequence, then the pattern we have seen so far will end on a "Malack winning" strip, though it could also be that the 9th strip will do something else to herald the end of the battle, such as Xykon warping in or simply cutting away to Haley, Elan, and Roy having finally disarmed all the traps and seeing what's beyond.