MTG Salvation

As soon as I seen this spoiler, my mind immediately went to brewing a Modern Format use for it. Without knowing what the rest of Kaladesh is going to look like, in terms of targets for this card, I quickly put this deck together in my head. I know it can be improved upon vastly, but I think this card has good potential in an eternal format somewhere.

Combo Interaction:
Madcap Experiment > Platinum Angel > Death's Shadow > Fling/Messenger's Speed

Spells: 37
1x Platinum Angel
4x Madcap Experiment
4x Death's Shadow
4x Fling
4x Thoughtseize
3x Messenger's Speed
4x Dismember
2x Gitaxian Probe
4x Sleight of Hand
4x Telling Time
3x Anticipate

Lands: 23
4x Blood Crypt
4x Bloodstained Mire
4x Steam Vents
4x Polluted Delta
3x Swamp
2x Mountain
2x Island

That's a lot of pieces. The combo I see is:

Mass Hysteria/Hanweir Battlements > Madcap Experiments + Burrenton Forge-Tender or Pact of Intervention > Swinging with Blightsteel.

With Blightsteel you can cycle away drawn copies with Nahiri or Izzet Charm, and either Pact or Madcap kills with Hive Mind. Plus you can go Through the Breach + 1 copy of Emrakul for more ways to cheat a game-winner into play. Pact of Negation protects the copy (and wins with Hive Mind), and you can also play Soulfire Grand Master + Bolt/Path/Lightning Helix for interaction. With a ritual this wins as early as turn 2 but has a decent long game.

I've seen these decks with 1 Platinum Angel or 1 Platinum Emperion and I just have to wonder.... what happens if you draw your Platinum singleton artifact on one of your first two-three-four draws of the game? I mean, I expect you'll mulligan any hand that has it in opening... but assuming you don't have it in opening hand and you proceed.... to draw it on one of your first unpredictable draws of the game, before you're set up. Now it's in your hand and you'll never be able to Madcap into it. Do you just concede and move on? I don't see anything like Brainstorm that lets you get a card from your hand back into your library. Sleight of Hand and Telling Time let you filter it out if you draw it with them, but if you normally draw it... obviously Amass the Components is unplayable but that seems to be the sort of effect you'd need.

That one is no joke. That one is about on par with Spinter Twin, without any hyperbole. It gets a better shell, all told.

What it does (in the Modern format):

4x Serum Visions
4x Remand
4x Rune Snag
4x Ancestral Vision
4x Story Circle
4x Supreme Verdict
1x Intervention Pact
1x Purity
4x Madcap Experiment
1x Red Sun's Zenith
2x Blightsteel Colossus

Quote from thatmarkguy »

I've seen these decks with 1 Platinum Angel or 1 Platinum Emperion and I just have to wonder.... what happens if you draw your Platinum singleton artifact on one of your first two-three-four draws of the game? I mean, I expect you'll mulligan any hand that has it in opening... but assuming you don't have it in opening hand and you proceed.... to draw it on one of your first unpredictable draws of the game, before you're set up. Now it's in your hand and you'll never be able to Madcap into it. Do you just concede and move on? I don't see anything like Brainstorm that lets you get a card from your hand back into your library. Sleight of Hand and Telling Time let you filter it out if you draw it with them, but if you normally draw it... obviously Amass the Components is unplayable but that seems to be the sort of effect you'd need.

I think Naya is the way to build this. Congregation at Dawn and Nahiri, the Harbinger are nice clean solutions to the consistency issues, as well as potentially Through the Breach.

In this case, Blightsteel Colossus is the only OHKO artifact that auto-shuffles into the library, so it would be the kill condition of choice. I like that putting Platinum Emperion onto the battlefield with the Experiment completely negates the damage drawback...hmm....



This doesn't seem like a terrible place to start.

So I think there's another way to take this deck. My first reaction wasn't to reduce the damage taken by playing more artifacts. Why not only play 1 and use cards like hallow and intervention pact to turn it into life gain. Why? Because they also spoiled a possible target aetherflux reservoir. T4 cast madcap, aetherflux is deep in your library. intervention pact to gain 30 some life. It enters. Use its ability to get the kill. The combo works even if you draw your reservoir because now you're certain that you'll gain 40+ life by revealing the entire deck.

You can also play volcano hellion for consistently having a massive damage source. Note that hellion+pact is infinite life.

So my list is currently



This deck could be made more combo focused by turning the removal into cards like Manamorphose or pyretic ritual. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to play skittle slower and safer for now.

What do you guys think?

Also realized that card linking is different here than I thought. Fixed that

Quote from fullmetal7805 »

You can also play volcano hellion for consistently having a massive damage source. Note that hellion+pact is infinite life.

No, it isn't. Pact prevents damage. Hellion damage can't be prevented. Your combo's a nonbo.

I do like Hallow and Pact on Madcap as the core of the deck, but the Hellion plan doesn't work.

The real combo is Aetherflux Reservoir, Intervention Pact, Madcap experiment. As long as it is far enough down you instant win without combat.

EDIT: Just realized this was already posted. Whats the best way in modern to guarantee the reservoir is on the bottom of the library.

Seriously, just throw 4 Madcap Experiments and 2 Platinum Emperions into any red midrange or control deck in Modern. There, you have a 4-mana 8/8 that wins the game against most aggro and combo decks. No additional combo pieces necessary.

No artifacts in the deck: Boros Reckoner with Pariah. Reveal the whole deck. Damage goes to Reckoner. Shoot them with reckoners ability.

Hello mtgsalvation enthuiasists,

One_Man_Party here chiming in on the craze of kaladesh. With the diacussion of madcap experiment combo I have been,t been thinking with the deck idea by going full red ritual based strategy with the following sequence:

1. Mountain, exile simian spirit guide, pyretic ritual, desperate ritual, madcap experiment in reaponse to it cast intervention pact reveal until reservoir and activate.

COP:Red is always an option, though reckoner piriah is hilarious

You don't need Intervention Pact or Hallow if you're digging for Platinum Emperion, since he prevents the damage himself.

Burrenton Forge-Tender can also remove the damage, and is an early-game card, albeit a one-function card.

Looking over the suggestions, I think it may be too hard to make Madcap Experiment into an instant-kill card. But it is easy to get value out of it by running select artifacts, such as Magister Sphinx.

Does anyone know how Madcap Experiment interacts with effects such as Eternity Vessel, or Lich's Mirror?

How about using penance? I am asking this altough it's not Modern legal, but IMO it could help if I have in hand a Colossus. Any thoughts?