Madcap Skills MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Key Takeaways

  1. Madcap Skills enhances creatures, creating notable battlefield threats and pressuring opponents.
  2. Striking a balance is key as misuse may lead to card disadvantage and inflexible mana costs.
  3. It’s powerful in the right deck, boosting creature-based play with synergy and meta relevance.

Text of card

Enchant creature Enchanted creature gets +3/+0 and can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.

The larger the crowd, the harder it is for them to run away.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Madcap Skills notably boosts your tactical advantage by transforming an ordinary creature into a significant threat. This can pressure your opponent to expend more resources to deal with it, potentially leading to card advantage for you.

Resource Acceleration: By elevating the power and toughness of your creature, Madcap Skills can accelerate the game’s pace in your favor. The quicker clock on enemy life totals forces opponents to act faster, possibly to their detriment.

Instant Speed: While not an instant itself, Madcap Skills benefits from playing alongside instant speed removal or protection spells. Equipping your creature and having instant speed responses ready can create a potent combination that’s hard to deal with during the combat phase.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Madcap Skills does not explicitly require discard as part of its cost, a critical consideration when using auras in MTG is the risk of card disadvantage. Should the enchanted creature be removed, you effectively lose two cards: the creature and the aura itself. This inherent issue can lead to unfavorable card economy if not mitigated by careful play or deck synergies.

Specific Mana Cost: Sporting both red and generic mana in its casting cost, Madcap Skills mandates a commitment to red mana sources in your deck. This could restrict deck-building flexibility, ensuring that its inclusion is a strategic choice primarily for aggressive red or red-inclusive decks that can reliably produce the required mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Costing one red and one generic mana, Madcap Skills may seem affordable, but considering the tempo of MTG, it’s vital to assess whether its effect matches its mana investment. Enchantments tend to be less favored in a meta where instant speed interaction and removal are prevalent, making a two-mana investment potentially less economical compared to other options that might either protect your creatures or have an immediate impact on the game.


Reasons to Include Madcap Skills in Your Collection

Versatility: Madcap Skills is a powerful aura that can turn any creature into a significant threat. Its flexibility makes it a formidable addition to various aggressive and tempo-oriented decks seeking to close out games quickly.

Combo Potential: The enchantment synergizes well with strategies that benefit from creatures connecting with an opponent. It can be paired with cards that provide benefits when dealing combat damage to a player, amplifying its impact on the game.

Meta-Relevance: Considering the pace of the current meta, the additional power and evasion provided by Madcap Skills could give creature-based decks an edge against opponents, making it a timely asset for competitive play.


How to Beat Madcap Skills

Madcap Skills is a unique aura that can turn any creature into a formidable threat in Magic: The Gathering. Embellishing a creature with this enchantment grants it a significant power boost and makes it more difficult for opponents to block. Learning how to counteract this card’s impact can save your game when an opponent uses it.

To dismantle the advantage provided by Madcap Skills, it’s advisable to have removal spells ready. Targeted removal spells that can destroy or exile creatures at instant speed, such as Path to Exile or Doom Blade, can effectively neutralize the threat before the enhanced creature can cause substantial damage. Additionally, employing board wipes like Wrath of God can reset the playing field, removing all creatures and the auras attached to them in one fell swoop. It’s also useful to maintain a lineup of creatures with high toughness that can survive the attack or even block multiple creatures if Madcap Skills is used on a creature with low attacking power.

Ultimately, staying prepared with the right answers in your deck to the threats posed by enchantments like Madcap Skills is key to staying ahead in MTG. Counteracting heightened aggression with smart removal choices allows you to minimize the card’s impact on the game and keep the battlefield under control.


BurnMana Recommendations

Dive deeper into the art of deck creation and strategic play with Madcap Skills. Whether you’re seeking to build an aggressive red deck that dominates the battlefield or fine-tune a tempo-oriented build that catches your opponents off guard, Madcap Skills is a card worth considering. Learn the nuances of when to play it, how to protect your enchanted creature, and effectively integrate it within your strategy. Our insights can sharpen your game and give you the edge needed to emerge victorious. Join the community of passionate MTG players as we explore this card’s potential in competitive play.


Cards like Madcap Skills

Madcap Skills stands out in the world of enchantments within Magic: The Gathering. This card, known for granting a significant power boost and evasion capabilities, can create substantial advantages on the battlefield. In comparison, cards like Rancor also offer a power increase and trample, but Madcap Skills’s addition of making a creature harder to block gives it a strategic edge.

Another comparable card is Goblin War Paint. This aura also gives a creature an extra two attack points, yet it lacks the additional ability to evade multiple blockers. Madcap Skills shines in getting pivotal attacks through opponents’ defenses. Brute Strength is worth mentioning as well, which not only provides a boost to power and toughness but it also has the advantage of being an instant, allowing for surprise factor during combat. However, it doesn’t offer the persistent threat that Madcap Skills does since it doesn’t remain on the battlefield.

Nevertheless, when evaluating overall impact, Madcap Skills holds a unique position by combining power augmentation with enhanced offensive flexibility, making it a formidable tool for aggressive MTG strategies.

Rancor - MTG Card versions
Goblin War Paint - MTG Card versions
Brute Strength - MTG Card versions
Rancor - Urza's Legacy (ULG)
Goblin War Paint - Zendikar (ZEN)
Brute Strength - Oath of the Gatewatch (OGW)

Cards similar to Madcap Skills by color, type and mana cost

Power Surge - MTG Card versions
Raging River - MTG Card versions
Smoke - MTG Card versions
Goblin Kites - MTG Card versions
The Brute - MTG Card versions
Giant Strength - MTG Card versions
Lightning Reflexes - MTG Card versions
Consuming Ferocity - MTG Card versions
Agility - MTG Card versions
Errantry - MTG Card versions
Heat of Battle - MTG Card versions
Goblin Festival - MTG Card versions
Scald - MTG Card versions
Cave Sense - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Surge - MTG Card versions
Maniacal Rage - MTG Card versions
Battle Strain - MTG Card versions
Goblin Bombardment - MTG Card versions
Underworld Breach - MTG Card versions
Lightning Rift - MTG Card versions
Power Surge - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Raging River - Collectors' Edition (CED)
Smoke - Masters Edition IV (ME4)
Goblin Kites - Fallen Empires (FEM)
The Brute - Renaissance (REN)
Giant Strength - Fourth Edition (4ED)
Lightning Reflexes - Mirage (MIR)
Consuming Ferocity - Mirage (MIR)
Agility - Mirage (MIR)
Errantry - Fifth Edition (5ED)
Heat of Battle - Stronghold (STH)
Goblin Festival - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Scald - World Championship Decks 1999 (WC99)
Cave Sense - Mercadian Masques (MMQ)
Flowstone Surge - Nemesis (NEM)
Maniacal Rage - Conflux (CON)
Battle Strain - Odyssey (ODY)
Goblin Bombardment - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Underworld Breach - Theros Beyond Death Promos (PTHB)
Lightning Rift - Onslaught (ONS)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Madcap Skills MTG card by a specific set like Gatecrash and Modern Masters 2017, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Madcap Skills and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Madcap Skills Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2013-02-01 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Anthony Palumbo.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12013-02-01GatecrashGTC 982003normalblackAnthony Palumbo
22017-03-17Modern Masters 2017MM3 992015normalblackAnthony Palumbo
32019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 10052015normalblackAnthony Palumbo
42020-09-26The ListPLST MM3-992015normalblackAnthony Palumbo

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Madcap Skills has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

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