Spectacular Skywhale SOS 0229 · uncommon
Spectacular Skywhale · {2}{U}{R} · Creature — Elemental Whale · Flying Opus — Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, this creature gets +3/+0 until end of turn. If five or more mana was spent to cast that spell, put three +1/+1 counters on this creature instead. · Power / toughness: 1/4 · Rootha was humbled in the whale's presence. It was glorious and beautiful, all on its own terms.
- Price
- from $0.171 printing
- Win rate
- 52.5% GIH 17,778 instances · Premier Draft
Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026 · 17Lands - Draft
- ◆ Key pickCheap spells boost its power temporarily; spending five mana on a spell gives it lasting counters.
- Job
- Payoffs
Game-in-hand win rate, all deck colors. 9,329 wins in 17,778 card-in-hand instances.
16,465 distinct games · 5,892 distinct drafts · games recorded Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026.
17Lands file dated Jun 5, 2026 · 100-instance minimum · 17Lands public data ↗
Cheap spells boost its power temporarily; spending five mana on a spell gives it lasting counters.
How this changes your picks
Rules-derived- Take it when
- Stabilize with interactive spells, then use mana support to cast expensive instants and sorceries with upgraded opus rewards. Look for support such as Abstract Paintmage and Tome Blast.
- What to take next
- Flashing back Tome Blast spends five mana and gives Skywhale permanent counters rather than a temporary power boost.
- Wrong pick
- Sanar’s Treasure can be made only after you have already cast an instant or sorcery that turn. Plan the first spell’s mana.
- Mana & splash
- Count the colored sources needed to cast this card on time; a synergy payoff is not a reason to weaken an otherwise consistent mana base.
Support cards
3Interactions from the card text, not a ranking.
More
- One-pick Draft
- Cheap spells boost its power temporarily; spending five mana on a spell gives it lasting counters.
Draft data
−2.9 pp vs 55.4% average · 17,778 instances
Premier Draft · Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026 · average from 582,914 games
#254 of 320 nonland cards by win rate · last seen around pick 4.5 on average (60,467 packs).
71 of 83 multicolor cards · 31 of 35 multicolor uncommon cards.
14,041.4 matches
Pick and maindeck observations: Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026. Played/benched cells use matches when available; the drawn cell uses game instances.
○ Opening hand 49.3% · 6,425 instances
● Drawn later 54.2% · 11,353 instances
In hand 52.5% · 17,778 instances
Unseen in deck 50.8% · 19,852 instances
+1.7 percentage points when drawn
Compared with multicolor cards
Ranks require 100 observations for that metric; comparisons are descriptive, not a pick order. Pick ranks put earlier picks first.
Best decks for it
no-splash decks only · card-level in-hand rates · 100 minimum
Prismari Opus Spellcasting UR52.9%8,784 instancesEach tick is this card’s all-decks rate (52.5% · 17,778 instances). A high card rate does not prove that splashing it will improve your deck.
Usually played with
Deck co-occurrence; not evidence of synergy.
Visionary's Dance16,908 games with both in the deckElemental Mascot14,441 games with both in the deckUnsubtle Mockery14,226 games with both in the deckHow to read this
Observational, not a causal bonus. Both cards must be in the deck. Drawn means opening hand or normally drawn; each card counts once per game. Game-level approximate intervals do not account for repeated games by the same drafter.
At least 100 games in each of four drawn/not-drawn groups; adjusted for game length and screened by the lower confidence bound. Do not add these points to a card’s win rate.
Where it sits in the set
Above 21% of 320 nonland cards with 100+ instances, in win-rate order.
17Lands public datasets ↗ · CC BY 4.0 ↗ · Apr 21–Jun 2, 2026
Pick a printing for its prices and pull odds.
| Finish | Found in | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nonfoil | Play Booster · prerelease-prismari | $0.17 |
| Foil | Collector Booster · Play Booster | $0.22 |
Foil in a Collector Booster · Modeled · About 1 in 33 packs (3.00%) · 30.6% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Foil in a Play Booster · Modeled · About 1 in 298 packs (0.34%) · 9.6% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Nonfoil in a Play Booster · Modeled · About 1 in 30 packs (3.38%) · 64.3% per display · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
Nonfoil in a prerelease-prismari · Modeled · About 1 in 9 packs (11.11%) · MTGJSON model Oct 25, 2026 · How it’s modeled →
How to pull it
Official rates for the whole category, not this card.
| Booster | Slot | Per pack | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Play Booster | Uncommons | 100% per position | Uncommons |
| Play Booster | Wildcard of any rarity | 100% | Wildcard of any rarity |
| Play Booster | Traditional foil of any rarity | 100% | Traditional foil of any rarity |
| Collector Booster | Traditional foil uncommons | 100% per position | Traditional foil uncommons |
Wizards · Collecting Secrets of Strixhaven ↗ · Oct 29, 2026
Details & sources
- Legal in
- Standard · Historic · Timeless · Pioneer · Modern · Legacy · Vintage · CommanderLimited eligibility depends on the event and its booster pool.
- Illustration
- Serena Malyon, SOS 229 · Scryfall ↗
- More like this
- Prismari Opus Spellcasting cards → · Regular printing printings →
- Sources
- Wizards · Collecting Secrets of Strixhaven · Oct 29, 2026
Scryfall USD, snapshot Oct 25
Comprehensive Rules ↗