Alchemist's GreetingAlchemist's Greeting | Art by Jakub Kasper | Electro's BoltElectro's Bolt | Art by JB Casacop

Released in February of 2002, the second set of Odyssey block, Torment, is one of Magic's strangest expansions. Its unique selling point is that it's deeply asymmetric. Most sets contain, roughly, the same number of cards of each color. Torment, in contrast, is weighted heavily towards black. There are 40 black cards in the set, while the other colors have between 21 and 28 cards.

This was corrected in Judgment, the following set, which dialed the number of black cards down and ramped up the number of cards of other colors.

The lasting legacy of Torment doesn't come from its experiments with the color pie, though. What makes Torment memorable is that it gave us one of the game's most devilish mechanics: madness.

Madness cards that would be discarded can instead be cast for an alternative, often cheaper, madness cost. The mechanic is powerful, especially by the standards of 2002 when it debuted. After Torment, it returned again several times; appearing in Time Spiral in 2006, Shadows Over Innistrad in 2016, and Modern Horizons 2 in 2021. The mechanic was even the central focus of 2019's Merciless Rage precon.

The upcoming Spider-Man set features a new take on madness called mayhem, which aims to "fix" madness. Wizards of the Coast has a mixed record when it comes to "fixing" mechanics. There are success stories: Devotion provides a very evocative means of caring about the pips in the casting cost of your cards, and few remember chroma, the previous pip counting ability word that it supplanted.

Then again, daybound and nightbound add awkward admin to Werewolf transformations, and replace a previous system that was essentially fine.

Will Mayhem be a success story that reigns madness in, or is it doomed to cause as much chaos as its name implies? Let's discuss.

Madness and Mayhem

Before we can explore the differences between madness and mayhem, it's important to first talk through how the mechanics operate. When a card with madness would be discarded, it's instead sent into exile. From exile it can then be cast by paying its madness cost. If the madness is cost is paid then the card resolves. If the cost is not paid then the card is discarded as normal and goes to the graveyard.

A card with mayhem, meanwhile, simply goes to the graveyard when it's discarded. It does not go into exile. Then, during the turn on which it was discarded, it can be played from the graveyard by paying its mayhem cost.

These two abilities may sound remarkably similar, but there are some key differences.

First of all, a card with madness must be cast immediately. Failing to do so means the opportunity to use it is lost, and the card enters the graveyard. In contrast, a card with mayhem can still be cast for the rest of the turn on which it was discarded. It's possible to discard a card with mayhem during your upkeep, and then cast it during your second main phase without incident.

The most significant difference between the two mechanics is that cards with madness may be cast outside of their typical timing restrictions. Alchemist's GreetingAlchemist's Greeting is a sorcery with madness that deals four damage to a creature when it's cast. If Alchemist's Greeting is discarded outside of the main phase, or even during an opponent's turn, then it can still be cast and used to damage a creature.

Similarly, the creature Reckless WurmReckless Wurm has madness. Even though it doesn't have flash, you're still able to cast it for its madness cost whenever it gets discarded.

Unlike madness, mayhem follows timing restrictions. If you discard the card Electro's BoltElectro's Bolt, another spell that deals four damage to a creature, you'll only be able to cast it during either of your main phases on the turn when you threw it away. Similarly, Spider-IslandersSpider-Islanders can only be brought into play during one of your main phases on the turn when it was discarded.

Now that the differences between the two mechanics are clear, lets take a look at the pros and cons of turning madness into mayhem.

The Upsides

Lower Complexity

On the whole, since madness was first printed in 2002, Magic has become a significantly more complex game. Universes Beyond sets like Spider-Man are designed as an exception to this pattern, since they aim to draw in new audiences. Because of this, their mechanics tend to be very streamlined and clear.

All of this means that mayhem is a far simpler mechanic to parse than madness. Mayhem cards never enter exile, and the timing window for casting them is far more forgiving, so there's no risk of missing the trigger to cast them. Mayhem is just a very clean mechanic.

Better Play Patterns

Mayhem's simplicity makes it more difficult to exploit than madness. Many decks that run a large number of instant-speed cards incentivize gameplay where their controller needs to do very little during their own turn. They can pass, and then combo off when another player attempts to attack them. If no attack is forthcoming, then they can slam out their cards during the end step of the player whose turn comes directly before theirs.

Every way of playing Magic is legitimate (yes, even running mass land destruction), but instant-speed combo decks can create play patterns that won't be fun for everyone at the table. Going up against this sort of deck may confuse new players, who would mistakenly view their opponent as being an open target, rather than lying in wait to ambush them.

All of the hidden information may even frustrate more experienced players.

New Design Space

Mayhem also cracks open new design space. Oscorp IndustriesOscorp Industries is a land with mayhem, and that's honestly pretty exciting. It would be impossible to print a land with madness, since madness cards are cast from exile, and lands are played rather than cast. While Oscorp IndustriesOscorp Industries is a tap land with a low power level, it opens the door to some interesting new possibilities.

Now that we've talked about the good, let's take a look at the bad...

The Downsides

Lower Power Level

From a pure strength perspective, mayhem is simply weaker than madness. Power level doesn't necessarily equal fun; just look at Nadu, Winged WisdomNadu, Winged Wisdom and how it completely kneecapped the pace of both Modern and Commander while it was legal. All the same, madness cards can simply accomplish more than mayhem cards.

As discussed, the increased strength of madness does come with a commensurate increase in complexity, but it lets you pull things off that just wouldn't be possible using mayhem.

Discarding your Voldaren PariahVoldaren Pariah at instant speed during an opponent's combat step, and then transforming it, completely changes the entire board state and can make an opponent majorly regret an attack they've just launched, forcing them to recalculate their strategy.

Non-Synergies

Because of mayhem's new name, it can't be used alongside prior cards that directly synergize with the madness mechanic. There's currently only one card in the game that directly names madness, but it's a very popular commander: Anje FalkenrathAnje Falkenrath.

Anje won't untap if she discards Sandman's QuicksandSandman's Quicksand, and she doesn't care about CarnageCarnage. Anje may only be one commander, but she is by far the most popular Madness commander of all time. Self-discard decks now have a whole host of new tools that she's unable to experiment with.

Universes Beyond Exclusivity

Finally, mayhem is, currently, only available attached to Spider-Man characters. While there are Universes Within versions of these cards, they are, for the moment, only available digitally. This means that anyone wanting to play around with mayhem will need to fill their deck with Spider-Man characters. For some players, this won't matter at all, but for others this will be a complete deal breaker.

Everyone has a different perspective on Universes Beyond. Unfortunately, there are bound to be some discard lovers out there that just don't want to sleeve Ultimate Green GoblinUltimate Green Goblin up alongside their Shadowgrange ArchfiendShadowgrange Archfiend

Conclusion on Madness and Mayhem

Mayhem is a lot simpler than madness. With the exception of Swarm, Being of BeesSwarm, Being of Bees, every mayhem card can only be played at sorcery speed. This makes the mechanic easier to understand and less unpredictable to play against. Mayhem can also appear on lands, which just isn't possible for madness.

Of the two mechanics, madness is definitely more chaotic. In a way, maybe that's a flavor win. Madness, true to its name, is turbulent and unpredictable. An opponent attacking you has no way of anticipating that you may use the discard effect on your Olivia's DragoonOlivia's Dragoon to rush a Reckless WurmReckless Wurm into play.

Mayhem is also, at least for now, locked into Universes Beyond, rendering it beyond the reach of players looking to remain rooted in the MTG multiverse.

Mayhem may ultimately end up replacing madness, since there's little point in the two mechanics co-existing together. As time goes on, this would resolve some of the issues with mayhem. More creatures with flash and instants with mayhem could be printed, giving it more nuance and tactical depth. Similarly, the Universes Within versions of the Spider-Man cards may receive a physical printing in future, alongside new mayhem cards on familiar magic planes.

In other words, if mayhem replaces madness, it will gradually become a more closely integrated part of the game. This will resolve many of the problems flagged up here, with one lone exception.

Unfortunately, Anje FalkenrathAnje Falkenrath will become a commander dedicated to a mothballed mechanic. The game's most popular madness commander may end up swept into the dustbin of history, alongside the mechanic itself.

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