Psychotic Episode MTG Card

Time Spiral (TSP)
2006-10-06 - Number 126

Psychotic Episode - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)

Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
2021-03-19 - Number 132

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Sorcery
Abilities	Madness

Key Takeaways

It provides hand insight and tactical advantage by forcing your opponent to reveal and delay a card’s use.
The card fits well in control strategies but necessitates careful hand management due to its discard condition.
While similar to Duress or Thoughtseize, its unique place-and-delay effect can alter your opponent’s strategy more subtly.

Text of card

Target player reveals his or her hand and the top card of his or her library. You choose a card revealed this way. That player puts the chosen card on the bottom of his or her library. Madness (If you discard this card, you may play it for its madness cost instead of putting it into your graveyard.)

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Psychotic Episode turns the tide in your favor by providing valuable insight into your opponent’s hand. This peek into their concealed resources can be pivotal, offering a tactical edge that may just clinch the game in those later, crucial turns.

Resource Acceleration: Despite not directly ramping your own resources, Psychotic Episode can indirectly influence resource acceleration by disrupting your opponent’s plans. By forcing a discard of a critical spell or land, you slow their progress and maintain the momentum on your side of the field.

Instant Speed: The beauty of instant speed interaction cannot be overstated, and Psychotic Episode is no exception. It fits smoothly into your strategy, allowing for reactive plays that adapt to the ever-changing battlefield. Utilize it when your opponent least expects it to gain maximum advantage and keep them guessing.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Psychotic Episode demands that the player discards a card upon casting. This condition could hinder your game plan, particularly if your hand is already depleted or if the cards you possess are crucial to your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Requiring both black mana and generic mana can restrict this card to decks that are comfortable producing both types of mana consistently, limiting its versatility across various deck types.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that could potentially be used for more impactful spells, Psychotic Episode may not always represent the best use of your mana resources, especially when considering alternative cards that could provide greater advantages for the same or less mana investment.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Psychotic Episode is a card that offers flexibility, capable of finding its place in a range of decks, particularly those that play around with opponents’ hands and strategies. This adaptability makes it a potent addition to your collection.

Combo Potential: For decks focused on disrupting the opponent’s plans, this card is a key piece in combos that target hand control. It synergizes with effects that benefit from knowing or manipulating the opponent’s hand composition.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where knowing your opponent’s next move is crucial, Psychotic Episode shines. Its relevance grows in a meta defined by strategic plays and information warfare, making it a tactical choice for competitive play.

How to beat

Psychotic Episode is an intriguing card in MTG that can temporarily disrupt an opponent’s strategy by forcing them to tuck away a prized card from their hand. This can compare to the effects of discard spells that target the opponent’s hand but with a twist: instead of discarding, the card is hidden at the bottom of the library, poised for a potential later return.

When facing off against Psychotic Episode, it’s key to either minimize the number of crucial cards in your hand through smart play or employ mechanics that benefit from having fewer cards, like Hellbent. Alternatively, use cards that allow you to draw or recover important cards from your library to mitigate the impact of this temporary setback. In essence, adjust your playstyle to reduce the disruption Psychotic Episode can cause.

While it may be tricky to navigate around its effects, remember that Psychotic Episode’s impact is often short-lived. Thus, by playing a lean hand and having a robust deck with redundancy in card functions, you can lessen the severity of losing access to a single card and sustain your game plan unscathed.

Cards like Psychotic Episode

Psychotic Episode stands out in the Magic: The Gathering meta as a unique disruption card. When players look for parallels, they might consider the likes of Duress or Thoughtseize, both of which allow you to look at your opponent’s hand and dispose of noncreature, nonland cards. The key difference lies in Psychotic Episode’s ability to put the card on the top of the player’s library, resulting in a delayed draw effect unlike the immediate discard effect of Duress or Thoughtseize.

Another card that echoes Psychotic Episode’s function is Distress. Distress enables players to choose from any nonland card to discard, providing a slightly wider range of targets than Duress, but without the library manipulation aspect of Psychotic Episode. It is reminiscent of Psychotic Episode in terms of control and disruption, yet each has its strategic advantages in different situations, with Psychotic Episode offering an intriguing twist on delaying an opponent’s plan rather than the outright denial provided by Distress.

In examining the functionality and tactical applications of these cards, Psychotic Episode offers a distinct edge in controlling the tempo of your adversary’s game, making it a noteworthy option for players seeking an alternative form of hand disruption.

Cards similar to Psychotic Episode by color, type and mana cost

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Psychotic Episode MTG card by a specific set like Time Spiral and Time Spiral Remastered, 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 Psychotic Episode and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Psychotic Episode Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2006-10-06 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Drew Tucker.

#	Released	Name	Code	Symbol	Number	Frame	Layout	Border	Artist
1	2006-10-06	Time Spiral	TSP		126	2003	Normal	Black	Drew Tucker
2	2021-03-19	Time Spiral Remastered	TSR		132	2015	Normal	Black	Drew Tucker

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Psychotic Episode has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Predh	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Psychotic Episode card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.