First printed in Time Spiral (2006)
All 2 prints
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-
Time Spiral Remastered (TSR) #62, 2021
-
Time Spiral (TSP) #57, 2006
Draining Whelk 
Creature — Illusion
Flash
Flying
When this creature enters, counter target spell. Put X +1/+1 counters on this creature, where X is that spell's mana value.
1/1
- Illustrated by
- Mark Tedin
Legality
- Legal in
- Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Penny Dreadful, Commander, Duel Commander, PreDH, Oathbreaker
- Not legal in
- Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, Future Standard, Historic, Timeless, Alchemy, Premodern, Old School 93/94, Gladiator, Pauper Commander, Tiny Leaders, Brawl, Standard Brawl, Competitive Brawl
Rulings (3)
- For spells with
in their mana costs, use the value chosen for X to determine the spell's mana value. - Draining Whelk's ability counters the target spell even if you can't put counters on Draining Whelk, most likely because Draining Whelk left the battlefield before the ability resolved.
- If the target spell is an illegal target by the time Draining Whelk's ability tries to resolve, the spell doesn't resolve. You don't put any counters on Draining Whelk. If the target is legal but the spell can't be countered, you do put counters on Draining Whelk.
Prices
MTGO price: 0.006 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 29 Oct 2026).
Combos
2 combos, the most popular first:
- Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB…: Displacer Kitten + Draining Whelk + Guile
- Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB…: Draining Whelk + Flickering Hound + Guile