Madcap Experiment MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost4
RarityRare
TypeSorcery

Key Takeaways

  1. Madcap Experiment can drastically shift game dynamics by deploying powerful artifacts early.
  2. Executing the spell involves strategic deck construction focusing on artifact density.
  3. Counterplay strategies include instant-speed disruption and graveyard manipulation.

Text of card

Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal an artifact card. Put that card onto the battlefield and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Madcap Experiment deals damage to you equal to the number of cards revealed this way.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Madcap Experiment has the potential to pull a high-cost artifact from the deck directly onto the battlefield. This can be a massive gain in card advantage if the artifact in question has a significant impact on the game.

Resource Acceleration: By potentially cheating out expensive artifacts without paying their mana cost, Madcap Experiment can dramatically accelerate the user’s resource availability, bypassing traditional mana costs associated with powerful artifacts.

Instant Speed: While Madcap Experiment is a sorcery, the immediate effect of putting an artifact onto the battlefield can be compared to the tempo of instant speed actions. By facilitating a potentially game-changing artifact drop early in the game, it can disrupt the opponent’s pace and strategy.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Madcap Experiment presents a unique discard requirement, necessitating a certain setup in your deck. To ensure the spell yields maximum value, a player typically needs to trim down on other artifacts in their library, which can lead to a scarcity of options if the experiment doesn’t pan out as planned.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a specific investment of four mana, including one red. This can restrict its inclusion to decks that are tuned for a heavy red mana base, potentially excluding it from more varied or multi-colored strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Allocating four mana to cast Madcap Experiment might be a high price, especially considering alternative options in the same mana range. These alternatives could potentially provide immediate board presence or impact without the inherent risk that comes with Madcap Experiment’s outcome.


Reasons to Include Madcap Experiment in Your Collection

Versatility: Madcap Experiment can fit seamlessly into any deck that aims to cast large artifacts at a potentially low cost. This especially includes strategies wishing to cheat out game-ending artifacts that can be difficult to cast with traditional mana sources.

Combo Potential: As a powerful enabler, Madcap Experiment works wonders in combination with Platinum Emperion, ensuring you don’t lose life while bringing a heavy-hitter onto the battlefield. It slots into artifact-based synergy decks where the outcome can be a game-shifting play.

Meta-Relevance: Within the current landscape of the game where unexpected plays can outpace opponents, Madcap Experiment holds relevance. It permits players to defy traditional mana curves and potentially drop high-impact artifacts into play way ahead of schedule, disrupting the flow of the match to their advantage.


How to beat

Madcap Experiment stands out in MTG as a potent spell capable of putting high-cost artifacts into play at an unexpectedly low cost, revolutionizing the battlefield in a blink. But this power comes with a risky downside, as it can also inflict serious damage to its caster corresponding to the number of cards revealed before hitting an artifact. Taking on a strategy to counter Madcap Experiment starts with understanding card interaction and disruption. To thwart this spell, consider incorporating instant-speed removal or counterspells, so that you have an answer ready when the opponent casts it.

Alternatively, graveyard manipulation is another method to destabilize a Madcap Experiment’s game plan. By strategically extracting key artifacts from the opponent’s library or graveyard, you reduce the likelihood of a successful hit. Hand disruption plays a pivotal role as well; cards that force opponents to discard can remove Madcap Experiment before it ever has the chance to resolve. Finally, effects that limit the number of spells each player can cast per turn prevent the Madcap Experiment from being played in the first place. Employing these tactics will enhance your gameplay and suppress the explosive potential of Madcap Experiment.


Cards like Madcap Experiment

Madcap Experiment is an intriguing card in the world of Magic: The Gathering that offers a high-risk, high-reward strategy. Its closest counterpart is probably Indomitable Creativity, which similarly destroys artifacts or creatures to reveal cards from the top of the library until you exile an artifact or creature card, then puts it onto the battlefield. However, unlike Madcap Experiment, Indomitable Creativity provides the flexibility to target multiple permanents and does not deal damage to the player.

Another card worth noting is Tinker, from the older sets, permitting players to sacrifice an artifact to search their library for another artifact card and put it directly onto the battlefield at the mere cost of three mana. While Tinker is banned in most competitive formats due to its power level, it echoes Madcap Experiment’s theme of trading in artifacts for potentially greater power without the risk of self-inflicted damage.

Comparing these, it’s clear that Madcap Experiment carves a unique niche in Magic: The Gathering. The element of chance and potential for a massive payoff make it particularly thrilling, albeit with the possibility of a destructive backlash if not carefully orchestrated within a deck’s strategy.

Indomitable Creativity - MTG Card versions
Tinker - MTG Card versions
Indomitable Creativity - Aether Revolt (AER)
Tinker - Urza's Legacy (ULG)

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

Shatterstorm - MTG Card versions
Flashfires - MTG Card versions
Anarchy - MTG Card versions
Phoenix Heart - MTG Card versions
Reign of Chaos - MTG Card versions
Deadshot - MTG Card versions
Aftershock - MTG Card versions
Flowstone Flood - MTG Card versions
Relentless Assault - MTG Card versions
Flameshot - MTG Card versions
Bend or Break - MTG Card versions
Scorching Missile - MTG Card versions
Reckless Crew - MTG Card versions
Draconic Intervention - MTG Card versions
Demolish - MTG Card versions
Granulate - MTG Card versions
Touch and Go - MTG Card versions
Sunder from Within - MTG Card versions
Thoughts of Ruin - MTG Card versions
Inner Fire - MTG Card versions
Shatterstorm - Antiquities (ATQ)
Flashfires - 30th Anniversary Edition (30A)
Anarchy - Masters Edition II (ME2)
Phoenix Heart - Celebration Cards (PCEL)
Reign of Chaos - Mirage (MIR)
Deadshot - Tempest (TMP)
Aftershock - Jumpstart 2022 (J22)
Flowstone Flood - Exodus (EXO)
Relentless Assault - Commander Legends (CMR)
Flameshot - Mystery Booster (MB1)
Bend or Break - Invasion (INV)
Scorching Missile - Odyssey (ODY)
Reckless Crew - Kaldheim Promos (PKHM)
Draconic Intervention - Strixhaven: School of Mages Promos (PSTX)
Demolish - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Granulate - Fifth Dawn (5DN)
Touch and Go - Unhinged (UNH)
Sunder from Within - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Thoughts of Ruin - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Inner Fire - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Madcap Experiment MTG card by a specific set like Kaladesh Promos and Kaladesh, 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 Experiment and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Madcap Experiment Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2016-09-30 and 2016-09-30. Illustrated by Joseph Meehan.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12016-09-30Kaladesh PromosPKLD 122s2015normalblackJoseph Meehan
22016-09-30KaladeshKLD 1222015normalblackJoseph Meehan

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Madcap Experiment has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PioneerLegal
PennyLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2016-09-20 Any abilities that trigger as the artifact enters the battlefield aren't put onto the stack until Madcap Experiment is done resolving.
2016-09-20 If you don't reveal an artifact card, you'll randomize your library and be dealt damage equal to the number of cards in your library.
2016-09-20 Once Madcap Experiment begins resolving, no player may take any actions other than those specified by Madcap Experiment until it's done resolving.
2016-09-20 The number of cards revealed this way includes the artifact card you put onto the battlefield.

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