Madness

Madness

Effect

When Small Blind or Big Blind is selected, gain X0.5 Mult and destroy a random Joker
(Currently X1 Mult)

Rarity

Uncommon

Unlock Requirement

Available from start.

Stats

Buy Price

7

Sell Price

3

Type

Multiplicative Mult

Activation

Independent

Compatibility

Copyable

✓ Yes

Perishable

✗ No

Eternal

✓ Yes

Madness is an Uncommon scaling Multiplicative Mult Joker. It starts at X1 Mult, and when a Small Blind ( Standard Small Blind.png) or Big Blind ( Standard Big Blind.png) is selected, it gains X0.5 Mult and destroys another Joker at random.

The gain of X0.5 Mult is not dependent on the destruction of another Joker, meaning that if no Joker is destroyed (whether because there are no other Jokers or because they are all Eternal ()), it will still gain X0.5 Mult. Madness cannot destroy itself, but can destroy other copies of Madness. If there are both Eternal and non-Eternal Jokers present, Madness will always destroy a non-Eternal Joker. Madness will not destroy any Joker upon selecting a Boss Blind, allowing players to buy a spare Joker to temporarily buff their scoring during said Boss Blind, then sell it right afterward.

Madness adds multiplicative Mult at a prodigious rate, but the player will need more than multiplicative Mult to win a run. For that reason, it's best to choose decks that can feasibly feed into Madness from an early point.

• Yellow Deck ( Start with extra {{Money|10}} Discover at least {{hl|orange|50}} items from your [[Collection|collection]] Yellow Deck.png) starts with an extra $10, making it easier to manipulate the deck for Madness as needed.
• Magic Deck ( Start run with the {{V|Crystal Ball|class=hl-purple}} voucher and {{hl|orange|2}} copies of {{tarot|The Fool}} Win a run with the {{D|Red}} on [[Stakes|any difficulty]] Magic Deck.png) is similarly useful for the same reason, starting with two copies of The Fool (Creates the last [[Tarot Cards|{{hl|purple|Tarot}}]] or [[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]] card used during this run<br><small>{{hl|purple|The Fool}} excluded</small> Available from start. Tarot The Fool.png) and the Crystal Ball ({{hl|orange|+1}} consumable slot Base Crystal Ball.png).
• Ghost Deck ( [[Spectral Cards|{{hl|sblue|Spectral}}]] cards may appear in the shop, start with a {{spectral|Hex}} card Win a run with the {{D|Yellow}} on [[Stakes|any difficulty]] Ghost Deck.png) on some occasions, can be potent with Madness. If the player is playing on Black Stake or above and Madness is Eternal (), the player can safely use the given Hex (Add [[Card Modifiers#Editions|{{hl|edition|Polychrome}}]] to a random [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], destroy all other Jokers Available from start. Spectral Hex.png) to give it Polychrome ({{xmult|1.5}} Joker (Polychrome).png) or even Ankh (Create a copy of a random [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], destroy all other Jokers <br> {{hl|gray|(Removes {{hl|edition|Negative}} from copy)}} Available from start. Spectral Ankh.png) it to create multiple copies of Madness that cannot destroy each other, scaling the player's scoring power at an astounding rate.
• On occasions where the player opts for a Madness-only Joker run, Painted Deck ( {{hl|orange|+2}} hand size, <br> {{hl|red|-1}} Joker slot Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Green}} difficulty or harder Painted Deck.png) and Cruelty ( ) may feasibly work well, as their reduced Joker slots are rendered moot in most cases.
• Non-Perishable ( ) works well with Madness, as all Jokers are Eternal (), and Madness cannot destroy them but is still able to scale.
• Typecast ( ) might work well with Madness, as after defeating Ante 4's boss, all Jokers will become Eternal (), allowing Madness to scale freely without destroying other Jokers.
• Some Challenge Decks that start with Eternal () Jokers, such as 15 Minute City ( ), Bram Poker ( ), Blast Off ( ), etc., may work well with Madness.

Madness synergizes poorly with hands that have low native Mult and rely on Jokers for bonuses, but quite well with hands that have high native Mult:

• Flush
• Straight
• Full House
• Four of a Kind
• Straight Flush

Most Jokers that encourage a specific strategy have poor synergy with Madness, since there is always the risk of them being destroyed by Madness.

• Any Joker that gives additive Mult benefits Madness, such as Fibonacci (Each played {{hl|orange|Ace}}, {{hl|orange|2}}, {{hl|orange|3}}, {{hl|orange|5}}, or {{hl|orange|8}} gives {{Mult|+8}} when scored Uncommon Additive Mult On Scored Fibonacci.png) or Red Card (This Joker gains {{Mult|+3}} when any [[Booster Packs|{{hl|orange|Booster Pack}}]] is skipped <br> {{Currently|{{mult|+0}}}} Common Additive Mult Independent Red_Card.png), as it feeds into its multiplicative Mult.
• Riff-Raff (When [[Blind|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] is selected, create {{hl|orange|2}} [[Common Jokers|{{hl|blue|Common}} {{hl|orange|Jokers}}]] <br> {{room}} Common Effect On Blind Select Riff-Raff.png) can reduce the likelihood that Madness will destroy an important Joker by providing a steady supply of weak Jokers, although it is possible for Madness to destroy Riff-Raff. Ensure Riff-Raff is placed to the left of Madness so it activates before Madness does.

As Madness' destructive nature inhibits the player's ability to take other Jokers reliably, card Modifiers are vital to maximizing the scoring power of Madness.

• Mult Cards ({{mult|+4}} Mult Card.png), Lucky Cards ({{hl|green|1 in 5}} chance for {{mult|+20}}<br>{{hl|green|1 in 15}} chance to win {{money|20}} Lucky Card.png), and Holographic ({{mult|+10}} Joker (Holographic).png) Cards work reasonably well, as they can provide additive Mult to feed into Madness.
• Steel Cards ({{xmult|1.5}} while this card stays in hand Steel Card.png), Glass Cards ({{xmult|2}}<br>{{hl|green|1 in 4}} chance to destroy card Glass Card.png), and Polychrome ({{xmult|1.5}} Joker (Polychrome).png) Cards are stronger options, provided the player already has enough base Mult.
• Blue Seals (Creates the {{Planet|}} card for final played [[Poker Hands|{{hl|orange|poker hand}}]] of round if {{hl|orange|held}} in hand<br>{{room}} Blue Seal.png) provide the most consistent source of planet scaling.
• Gold Cards ({{money|3}} if this card is held in hand at end of round Gold Card.png) and Gold Seals (Earn {{money|3}} when this card is played and scores Gold Seal.png) provide one of the only ways to gain more money without economy Jokers.
• Purple Seals (Creates a {{Tarot|}} card when {{hl|orange|discarded}}<br>{{room}} Purple Seal.png) provides a source of Tarot Cards without Jokers.

• Hieroglyph ({{hl|orange|-1}} Ante, <br> {{hl|blue|-1}} hand each round Base Hieroglyph.png) and Petroglyph ({{hl|orange|-1}} Ante, <br> {{hl|red|-1}} discard each round Reach Ante 12 Upgraded Petroglyph.png) lower the Ante by 1, giving another Small Blind and Big Blind each to beat, and thus, two more opportunities to increase Madness' multiplier.
• Telescope ([[Booster Packs|{{hl|orange|Celestial Packs}}]] always contain the [[Planet Cards|{{hl|cyan|Planet}}]] card for your most played [[Poker Hands|{{hl|orange|poker hand}}]] Base Telescope.png) can provide consistent planet scaling.

• On Black Stake difficulty and higher (and in some Challenges), Eternal () Jokers synergize greatly with Madness, as Madness cannot destroy them. This means that any strategy that would normally have bad synergy with Madness can have its anti-synergy be completely avoided if the requisite Jokers are Eternal. Not only that, if Madness is Eternal (), the player can safely duplicate it by using either Ankh (Create a copy of a random [[Jokers|{{hl|orange|Joker}}]], destroy all other Jokers <br> {{hl|gray|(Removes {{hl|edition|Negative}} from copy)}} Available from start. Spectral Ankh.png) to create multiple copies of Madness that cannot destroy each other, scaling the player's scoring power at an astounding rate.

• Anaglyph Deck ( After defeating each [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Boss Blind}}]], gain a [[File:Double tag.png|24px]] [[Tags|{{hl|orange|Double Tag}}]] Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Black}} difficulty or harder Anaglyph Deck.png) has slight anti-synergy with this Joker, as it encourages the player to skip blinds, which remove an opportunity to scale Madness.
• Plasma Deck ( Balance [[Chips|{{hl|blue|Chips}}]] and [[Mult|{{hl|red|Mult}}]] when calculating score for played hand <br> {{hl|red|X2}} base Blind size Win a run with any [[Decks|deck]] on the {{Stake|Blue}} difficulty or harder Plasma Deck.png) is generally not good for this Joker, as the 'balancing' feature of this deck favors sources of Chips over Mult within the non-Endless Antes, since it is generally easier to gain large amounts of Chips instead of large amounts of Mult. Not only that, Madness' destructive nature also inhibits the player from taking the Jokers reliably, which means a lot more runs will be lost to the doubled Blind score requirement.

• Throwback ({{xmult|0.25}} for each [[Blinds|{{hl|orange|Blind}}]] skipped this run <br> {{currently|{{xmult|1}}}} Continue a saved run from the main menu Uncommon Multiplicative Mult Independent Throwback.png) and Diet Cola (Sell this card to create a free [[Tags|{{hl|orange|Double Tag}}]] Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Diet Cola.png) require the usage of blind skips, which remove an opportunity to scale Madness.
• Any Joker that cannot receive the Eternal () sticker is inherently anti-synergistic with Madness, such as Gros Michel ({{mult|+15}}<br>{{hl|green|1 in 6}} chance this is destroyed at the end of round. Common Additive Mult Independent Gros Michel.png), as it has the potential to be destroyed before the player can get full value from the Joker.

• Madness is one of three "spooky" Jokers that came as a part of a pin set alongside Mr. Bones (Prevents Death if chips scored are at least {{hl|orange|25%}} of required chips <br> {{hl|red|self destructs}} Lose {{hl|orange|5}} runs Uncommon Effect N/A (Passive) Mr. Bones.png) and Scary Face (Played {{hl|orange|face}} cards give {{Chips|+30}} when scored Common Chips On Scored Scary Face.png) as a merch collab between LocalThunk and Makeship.^[1]

This information has been manually compiled. Some updates may not be included yet.