Sky Swallower is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
Flying When this creature enters, target opponent gains control of all other permanents you control.
Complete guide
Sky Swallower is a massive 8/8 flyer for only five mana, offering a terrifying presence in the air for a low cost. However, this power comes with a monumental drawback that will force you to give up everything else you own. Navigating its entry into the battlefield requires careful planning or a very specific strategy to avoid total defeat.
A Drastic Exchange
When Sky Swallower enters the battlefield, its triggered ability targets a single opponent. That opponent immediately gains control of all other permanents you currently control, including lands, creatures, artifacts, and enchantments. Sky Swallower remains under your control, standing alone against the very board state you once built. It is important to note that this effect is permanent; if Sky Swallower leaves the battlefield later, your permanents do not return to you.
Resolution Step-by-Step
First, you cast Sky Swallower and it resolves, entering the battlefield. Second, its 'enters' ability triggers and you must choose an opponent as the target. Third, as the ability resolves, control of every other permanent you control shifts to that player. If you control Auras, they remain attached to whatever they were already enchanting, but your opponent now controls the Auras themselves.
Common Mistakes
Players often assume that 'flickering' or bouncing Sky Swallower will fix the situation. In reality, if it enters again, the ability triggers again, giving away anything new you might have played. Additionally, remember that control effects like this do not grant 'haste' to the creatures your opponent receives; they will likely be unable to attack you with your own creatures until their next turn unless those creatures already had haste.
When to Play It
Sky Swallower is best utilized in decks that can mitigate its downside, such as those that use 'Torpor Orb' effects to prevent the ability from triggering, or in games where you have no other permanents to lose. It can also be a chaotic political tool in multiplayer formats to empower one opponent against another, though usually at your own extreme expense.
Interaction examples
Solemn SimulacrumIf you control Solemn Simulacrum when Sky Swallower enters, your opponent gains control of the Simulacrum. Later, when the Simulacrum dies, your opponent (the current controller) will be the one who gets to draw a card, not you.
Roaming ThroneIf you have Roaming Throne on the battlefield with 'Leviathan' chosen as the creature type, Sky Swallower's ability will trigger twice. While the first resolution gives away all your permanents (including the Throne), the second trigger still resolves, though it will likely have no other permanents left to transfer to the opponent.
If you cast Sky Swallower while you control only lands and no other creatures, your opponent gains control of all your lands. You are left with an 8/8 flying creature but no way to produce mana for future spells unless you play new lands from your hand.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Sky Swallower
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Auras your opponent gains control of won't move from where they are.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
The permanents don't return to your control when Sky Swallower leaves the battlefield.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Leyline of Sanctity + Sky Swallower + Fractured Identity + Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
- 1Cast Fractured Identity by paying
, exiling Leyline of Sanctity and causing each opponent to create a token copy of it. - 2Cast Sky Swallower by paying .
- 3When Sky Swallower enters, it triggers, but you cannot target an opponent as they all have hexproof.
- 4Cast Fractured Identity from your graveyard for its flashback cost by paying , exiling Sky Swallower and causing each opponent to create a token copy of it.
- 5When each opponent's Sky Swallower enters, they each trigger. Each opponent is forced to target you, as all other players have hexproof, giving you control of all their other permanents.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Sky Swallower
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.