It’s probably great for modeling, but it seems like most things you’d need, or would be very useful for current top-end effects, you need a multi-hundred dollar plugin for. Even still, sometimes you need a plugin to make better use of that first plugin, or you spend hours setting up a very specific rig for one effect.
Also, unless the info just hides itself from me when I search for it, if there are abstract fx sims you can do with Max right out of the box, there is little-to-no information on how to do them available.