I say play a mana cube and play this by turn 2. Sure they get ur lands but mana cube deals em dmg and you have an 8/8. Now if you keep it long is a hole new question.
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(9 votes)
In addition to throwing your Bronze Bombshells at a player, you can also use Brand to get everyone back. Brooding Saurian works well with it, too.
I'm sure you could find a way to use Reins of Power with Sky Swallower, but currently, I like Brand better.
shoalsuser2004
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(4 votes)
Has anyone found a way to make this card work or do something other than lose the game?
Well, you could play this and Stifle it's triggered ability when it comes into play. An 8/8 for 6 mana total isn't too bad.
Donovan_Fabian
★★☆☆☆ (2.1/5.0)(4 votes)
It's a 5 cmc creature, not 6, but having said that.. this card is completely not worth it. Even if they only get some of your lands it will set you back all game, and all they have to do is maelstrom pulse/doomblade this thing and its over. It also doesn't say "as long as sky swallower" stays in play, there's no way to get your stuff back without playing the cards listed by other posters here, and having to add extra cards to your deck just for the chance of playing this one seems like a huge draw back. I'd rather play terra stomper, or the better simic skyswallower, and replace those extra cards with great removal spells.
Mana
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Can anyone tell me if I have Phage the untouchable on the field, Will playing this kill my opponent?
Ace8792
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
To play this card proberly you play armagenden right after it so your oppenitent has no lands have 2 lotuc blooms suspened so next turn you will have this and have at least 4 Bronze Bombshells on your side of the field to make this devasting.
kitsunewarlock
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(7 votes)
Use a lot of land that sacrifice themselves (Depletion Land) or give themselves to your opponent (Rainbow Vale) along with 4 Delusions of Mediocrity and 4 Illusions of Grandeur. Bronze Bombshells are pretty good for this too. And since the deck is mono-blue, you can run plenty of counter magic. Force of Will, Shoal, Thwart and Daze are a must since you won't have much land after this guy enters play. He works pretty well with Aether Vial too. Sure your giving your opponent a Vial with 5 counters on it (6 counters if your clever and wait for the VIal's upkeep trigger to hit the stack first so your opponent can't play Siege-Gang Commander). Barely anyone plays 6 drops in Legacy or Vintage...
He's also good with cards like Lich and Immortal Coil.
wolfbear2
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(4 votes)
@leomistico: I'm 99% sure that wont work... See for you to use the Bazzar Trader, it has to already be on the battlefield. Yes you can use the Trader in respawns to the Swallower's triggered ability, but by then the trigger is already on the stack and you control it. So basicly you gave them everything, inclueding the Swallower...
leomistico
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Combo with Bazaar Trader: when Sky Swallower comes into play and his ability triggers, you can respond activating the trader's ability, giving Sky Swallower to the opponent, so you can gain all his/her permanents, exept the swallower. Then you Into the Roil it...
Edit: You're right, wolfbear2, I realize my error some days after my first post...! It's completely useless in this way... My bad!
syrazemyla
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Float 4WWUU, sacrifice your creatures with Nantuko Husk and your lands with Zuran Orb or something, play Sky Swallower, then play Second Sunrise to get your creatures and lands back.
Weretarrasque
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(20 votes)
Re: Flavor Text
No.
UltimaCenturion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You could throw it under a summoner's egg and hand it to your opponents with the Bazaar Trader. Merry Christmas. And no, Phage won't kill your opponent if you hand her to them with this.
Azuredrake89
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great fun with Brooding Saurian. Otherwise quite risky.
Dr.Pingas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
K'mon, no mention of this with Endless Whispers? This, Avatar of Woe, and you get a game of Pass the Permenants. Not a great win-condition, but funny in casual. Even throw in red for Worldgorger and Grip of Chaos.
drp527
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Has no one here seen Brooding Saurian? With all of the multicolored mana generators out lately, being able to play both, one after the other (Saurian turn 4, this turn 5) shouldn't be too tough, and with Saurian out when this guy comes down, all you really lose are tokens.
VoidedNote
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Bottom line, this card is terrible on its own. Easily the worst of all the blue fatties.
If you combo with it though, it can be a decent investment. 5 for an 8/8 flier is a good deal. However, chances are you're going to spend more than 3 mana trying to combo it so at best you're going to get 8 mana and TWO cards for an 8/8 flier.
I'd stick with Goliath Sphinx because at least that isn't a dead card if it gets put back in your hand.
1.5/5. More of a fun card, but really not worth it in any format.
This is not a good card for duels, because you have to devote an entire deck to it, and getting an 8/8 with flying for 5 mana is not good enough of a combo for that. In free for all games, I can see this as being a lot of fun, though. "If someone starts killing me, I'll attack them with a flying 8/8 after I give all my permanents to the best-standing player who's not them. Think twice before attacking."
Kindulas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like the idea, but... i'd pay maybe 3 or 4 mana for a drawback like that
Gabriel422
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Might be fair if this were a 15/15, and no sarcasm - it's true.
@Mana: Phage wouldn't make the player lose the game as it would already have to be in the battlefield in order for Sky Swallower to transfer it to your opponent's control. Thus it doesn't re-enter the battlefield and it's ability doesn't trigger and cause your opponent to lose the game.
As for Sky Swallower, I think the card is interesting. If only you got all of your permanents back when it leaves play. Or, instead of giving them away, they're exiled, then come back when he leaves, so it would actually be like he swallowed them. As is the flavor is off and the card sucks, and only super-Johnnies would run this. These aren't the cards we are looking for. Move along, move along.
VoidedNote: Wrong, there are multiple one mana cards that combo with this. You're right about it costing two cards, but it's 6 mana in best case scenario, 8 mana is more like worst case scenario.
N3rf
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Combo with mindslaver and soul foundry. Imprint the sky swallower under the soul foundtry, play the mindslaver. Hand over the turn with atleast 4 mana open and during his turn activate the mindslaver. In your own turn following that, activate soul foundry, handing over every permanent including the soul foundry with the sky swallower imprinted.
Hand over the turn again and laugh maniacally as you activate 'his' soul foundry again to take control over everything, including all the stuff you gave him, leaving behind an 8/8 flyer (that you incidentally ALSO have!).
Add artifact recurrence for the mind slaver (academy ruinsburied ruin are my favorites, but non-land versions also work ofcourse), some tutoring (tinkertreasure mage for example) and any kind of mana accelerate (remember, the entire combo is colorless, you dont actually pay blue to play the sky swallower)!
This would actually make for a decent multiplayer or casual deck. Keep in mind that you are very vulnerable after you hand over your soul foundry. You can also use similiar effects such as mimic vat, but i doubt its possible to get that one working. The mind slaver effect (also provided by sorin markov) is essential.
Tigerguy786
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Scanning the comments I was surprised to see that no one said Torpor Orb. It seems like the simplest way to avoid the drawback here.
(Sorry if someone said that, like I said, I only skimmed/scanned)
Gareth32
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you look at the wording, you'll see that it's a great way to punish people for giving themselves hexproof like leyline of sanctity
shotoku64
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Even in the best case scenario, any plan you have after you cast this guy can easily backfire, then you'll be set 5+ turns back
Ragamander
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ Elleran: Just make sure you don't play Homeward Pathfirst...
Both Bazaar Trader and are required, but each Sapphire Medallion, Sunscape Familiar, or Nightscape Familiar you have reduces this cost by (you won't control them when you try to cast your second spell), and each Helm of Awakening on the board will reduce the cost by , down to a minimum of . High Tide might pull it off. Cast Sky Swallower. In response the the trigger, float and use Bazaar Trader to donate the leviathan to your opponent. The trigger will then resolve, and your board will be empty. Use Reins of Power and beat your opponent down with both your and his armies. If you and your opponent together possess more than enough firepower to get the job done, then perhaps you might want to Sacrifice the Leviathan and/or any unnecessary creatures you might have to something in exchange for the necessary mana.
"All right guys. Screw this. I'm giving the new guy at the table all of my permanents. He's going to win." "I refuse to lose to the new guy!" "THAT'S TOO BAD!"
Totema
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'll SWALLOW your SKY!
Hah... Even a dumb Evil Dead 2 reference can't make me like this.
Have a Confusion in the Ranks in play before you play sky swallower, since both effects are simultaneous you can do confusion first and exchange this guy with a creature your opponent controls, then your opponent has to give you everything except him. If you have some mana left and a spell to return a permanent to owner's hand it's even better!
adrian.malacoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Should at least have islandwalk. That way when you donate your islands to your opponent it won't be a total loss.
dlgn
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Flavor text:
NO.
AvatarofBro
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
Strange to have this and a card called Simic Sky Swallower in the same block.
S-r-ex
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Derp, forget it.
Ender-A
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
An interesting card, usually not worth it, unless you plan around it... but you would need more combos than just this for it to be marginally effective. More of a thought experiment than an actually played card.
Re: AvatarofBro Look at the flavor text for Simic Sky Swallower; it was intentional that they are in the same block. Simic Sky Swallower was bred from the Sky Swallower.
Yes, it is possible to avoid the drawback entirely by not allowing it to trigger (Stifle, Torpor Orb) or by bringing it into play as something else (Illusionary Mask).
That said, for those purposes I would prefer the vastly less expensive yet more face-smashing Phyrexian Dreadnought, or even the less expensive, more powerful, colorless Eater of Days.
Burnwright
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Mixes well with Steel Golem or Rust Elemental.
Caninse
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
At first I was like "Meh, why would I do that?" Then I thought about one card. Phage the Untouchable.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Torpor Orb does the trick, but I think the card is more fun if you find a way to use it legit; consider the old Psychatog tactic of Upheaval and add High Tide.
High tide T6, upheaval, drop the leviathan and give them *nothing*.
They now have 1 turn to dig a 1-mana kill spell (far and few between for an 8/8 flyer) before eating 8 to the face.
it's not even unreliable and can be combined with psychatog for alternate win conditions. You can even wait til T7, play an island after dropping the Swallower, and keep a Spell Pierce ready.
Aside from that you can use this guy next to Plague Spitter to make a "Spit or Swallow" deck..
Comments (60)
I'm sure you could find a way to use Reins of Power with Sky Swallower, but currently, I like Brand better.
Well, you could play this and Stifle it's triggered ability when it comes into play. An 8/8 for 6 mana total isn't too bad.
He's also good with cards like Lich and Immortal Coil.
Edit: You're right, wolfbear2, I realize my error some days after my first post...! It's completely useless in this way... My bad!
No.
And no, Phage won't kill your opponent if you hand her to them with this.
Even throw in red for Worldgorger and Grip of Chaos.
If you combo with it though, it can be a decent investment. 5 for an 8/8 flier is a good deal. However, chances are you're going to spend more than 3 mana trying to combo it so at best you're going to get 8 mana and TWO cards for an 8/8 flier.
I'd stick with Goliath Sphinx because at least that isn't a dead card if it gets put back in your hand.
1.5/5. More of a fun card, but really not worth it in any format.
I'll leave it to you guys on how to figure it out. haha, I didn't get it the first time either.
As for Sky Swallower, I think the card is interesting. If only you got all of your permanents back when it leaves play. Or, instead of giving them away, they're exiled, then come back when he leaves, so it would actually be like he swallowed them. As is the flavor is off and the card sucks, and only super-Johnnies would run this. These aren't the cards we are looking for. Move along, move along.
Hand over the turn again and laugh maniacally as you activate 'his' soul foundry again to take control over everything, including all the stuff you gave him, leaving behind an 8/8 flyer (that you incidentally ALSO have!).
Add artifact recurrence for the mind slaver (academy ruins buried ruin are my favorites, but non-land versions also work ofcourse), some tutoring (tinker treasure mage for example) and any kind of mana accelerate (remember, the entire combo is colorless, you dont actually pay blue to play the sky swallower)!
This would actually make for a decent multiplayer or casual deck. Keep in mind that you are very vulnerable after you hand over your soul foundry. You can also use similiar effects such as mimic vat, but i doubt its possible to get that one working. The mind slaver effect (also provided by sorin markov) is essential.
(Sorry if someone said that, like I said, I only skimmed/scanned)
@ Tigerguy786: Also Sundial of the Infinite. Doubles as a way of stopping removal.
@ N3rf: That combo is so incredibly complicated; I like it.
@ Gaffy00: Once Cabal Therapy is in your graveyard and Endless Whispers is on the board, play Sky Swallower and then sack it to flashback Cabal Therapy. Watch out for Disenchant in response to the Sky Swallower or its triggered ability, though.
@ Arachibutyrophobia: Challenge accepted.
Both Bazaar Trader and
Cast Sky Swallower. In response the the trigger, float
Use Reins of Power and beat your opponent down with both your and his armies.
If you and your opponent together possess more than enough firepower to get the job done, then perhaps you might want to Sacrifice the Leviathan and/or any unnecessary creatures you might have to something in exchange for the necessary mana.
"I refuse to lose to the new guy!"
"THAT'S TOO BAD!"
Hah... Even a dumb Evil Dead 2 reference can't make me like this.
since both effects are simultaneous you can do confusion first and exchange this guy with a creature your opponent controls, then your opponent has to give you everything except him.
If you have some mana left and a spell to return a permanent to owner's hand it's even better!
NO.
Re: AvatarofBro
Look at the flavor text for Simic Sky Swallower; it was intentional that they are in the same block. Simic Sky Swallower was bred from the Sky Swallower.
Re: Nashcoil
Confusion in the Ranks doesn't combo with this card. You still control the enters the battlefield trigger. Endless Whispers does, Jhoira of the Ghitu plus board removal or Brand can negate the drawback in different ways.
Wahooo a Goliath Sphinx for about the same price!!
Sick, sick combo with soul foundry + mindslaver, but they should have really given him shroud at least :D
That said, for those purposes I would prefer the vastly less expensive yet more face-smashing Phyrexian Dreadnought, or even the less expensive, more powerful, colorless Eater of Days.
Then I thought about one card. Phage the Untouchable.
High tide T6, upheaval, drop the leviathan and give them *nothing*.
They now have 1 turn to dig a 1-mana kill spell (far and few between for an 8/8 flyer) before eating 8 to the face.
it's not even unreliable and can be combined with psychatog for alternate win conditions. You can even wait til T7, play an island after dropping the Swallower, and keep a Spell Pierce ready.
Aside from that you can use this guy next to Plague Spitter to make a "Spit or Swallow" deck..
He Last Gasps and Zur Weirdings everything to clear the battlefield, and then he plays this turn five and wins.
On the other hand... my opponent would trade a Doom Blade for the world in a heartbeat!