The non manta ray whale stages are very dependant on who gets to slap the crystal, so if you had mostly event golds like I had months before you basically cant make any progress. After getting Rainbow Rose, picking Dogwood and rolling Ardisia fom weekly 480 point gacha I suddenly am able to beat practically every whale stage...assuming Rainbow Rose and Kerria slaps the crystal constantly.

Right now im a little tempted to get Stewartia (Christmas) to go along Oncidium (Valentine), Rainbow Rose and Scotch Broom (Christmas) for a massive dps team