Apprentice Necromancer MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeCreature — Zombie Wizard
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Resurrect creatures at instant speed, offering surprise plays and valuable card advantage.
  2. Resource acceleration by bypassing high creature costs enhances your board presence significantly.
  3. Graveyard-based strategies find a strong ally in the Apprentice Necromancer’s versatile reanimation.

Text of card

o B, oc T, Sacrifice Apprentice Necromancer: Return target creature card from your graveyard to play. That creature gains haste. At end of turn, sacrifice it. (The creature may attack and oc T the turn it comes under your control.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Apprentice Necromancer’s ability to reanimate a creature from your graveyard directly to the battlefield can equate to substantial card advantage. This resurrects key creatures for pivotal plays without using additional cards from your hand.

Resource Acceleration: While Apprentice Necromancer does not directly add mana, it accelerates your resource development by bypassing mana costs of high-value creatures. This reanimation shortcut effectively reduces the expense of casting large creatures, thus ramping up your board presence unexpectedly.

Instant Speed: The Necromancer’s activation can be used at instant speed, enabling surprise blockers or end-of-turn plays. This versatility is crucial in complex board states where timing can be as impactful as the spells you cast. The ability to disrupt the opponent’s strategy or create an instant threat can shift the game in your favor.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Apprentice Necromancer can bring creatures back from the graveyard, players must first face the hurdle of discarding another card. This can deplete your hand and reduce your options, potentially leaving you vulnerable if you don’t have a strategic plan for your graveyard and hand.

Specific Mana Cost: The reanimation ability of Apprentice Necromancer demands both black and one generic mana, which could pose a constraint in multicolored decks that may not always have the required mana types available, especially in the early game when mana resources are limited.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Though reanimating a creature can be a game-changing move, the combined cost of playing and activating the Necromancer’s ability requires a total investment of three mana, making it a less favorable option when compared with other more mana-efficient reanimation spells in the game that might offer immediate and potentially more impactful results.


Reasons to Include Apprentice Necromancer in Your Collection

Versatility: Apprentice Necromancer offers flexibility by allowing players to reanimate a creature from the graveyard for a turn. This makes it useful in a variety of deck archetypes, particularly those centered around graveyard strategies or sacrificing creatures for value.

Combo Potential: With the ability to resurrect any creature card in the graveyard, Apprentice Necromancer can be an integral part of combo decks. It can create unexpected synergies and game-winning interactions, particularly with creatures that have powerful enters-the-battlefield or leaves-the-battlefield effects.

Meta-Relevance: In formats where reanimation strategies are effective, Apprentice Necromancer can be a key card. Due to its low casting cost and immediate impact, it can keep pace with rapid tempo of many competitive environments, making it a timely addition to your arsenal.


How to Beat Apprentice Necromancer

Apprentice Necromancer is a utility creature that excels in graveyard-based decks, allowing players to briefly reanimate a creature from their graveyard at only one black mana and the Necromancer’s tap ability. This can turn the tide of a game by reintroducing potent creatures for a critical turn. To counter this card effectively, grave disruption comes to mind as one of the most efficient strategies.

Utilizing cards that exile creatures from graveyards can neutralize the Necromancer’s power. Tormod’s Crypt for example, can be used without cost and wipes a graveyard clean, halting the Necromancer’s ability to interact with it. Additionally, Scavenging Ooze not only disrupts graveyard strategies but allows you to gain life and grow a creature simultaneously, delivering a two-pronged tactic against graveyard shenanigans.

In essence, maintaining board control and preparing for an opportunist graveyard exile can alleviate the pressures brought on by Apprentice Necromancer. Cards like Rest in Peace also offer a more permanent solution to graveyard strategies, ensuring the Necromancer and similar threats are kept in check throughout the entirety of your match.


BurnMana Recommendations

Appreciating the nuances of cards like Apprentice Necromancer can be the difference between a good MTG player and a great one. Its ability to resurrect creatures at crucial moments creates game-changing dynamics, but employing it effectively requires finesse and understanding. Whether you’re crafting a deck that capitalizes on graveyard synergies or simply seeking to expand your collection with versatile cards, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons and compare with similar options. To harness the full potential of such strategies or find alternatives that suit your playstyle better, delve deeper with us. Enhance your MTG knowledge and outmaneuver your opponents. Learn more with BurnMana.


Cards like Apprentice Necromancer

Apprentice Necromancer serves as a fascinating reanimation option within the realm of Magic: The Gathering. It stands shoulder to shoulder with other notable reanimation spells like Animate Dead, which allows for a creature to be brought back directly from the graveyard. Unlike Apprentice Necromancer, Animate Dead doesn’t require tapping and sacrificing, but it does keep the creature it reanimates tied to the enchantment, presenting a different set of risks and rewards.

Comparatively, we see Doomed Necromancer offering a very similar mechanic, able to tap and sacrifice itself to return a creature card from the graveyard to the battlefield. Both cards share a one-time use reanimation effect, but Doomed Necromancer doesn’t necessitate haste to utilize immediately. Then there’s Victimize, another reanimation option that requires you to sacrifice a creature but allows the return of two creatures from the graveyard to the battlefield instead. This sorcery is cost-effective but lacks the immediacy of the Apprentice Necromancer’s ability.

In summing up, each reanimation card in Magic: The Gathering presents unique benefits and trade-offs. The Apprentice Necromancer may offer less permanence in comparison but makes up for it with the immediate impact it can have on the battlefield.

Animate Dead - MTG Card versions
Doomed Necromancer - MTG Card versions
Victimize - MTG Card versions
Animate Dead - Limited Edition Alpha (LEA)
Doomed Necromancer - Onslaught (ONS)
Victimize - Urza's Saga (USG)

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Apprentice Necromancer MTG card by a specific set like Urza's Destiny and Commander 2017, 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 Apprentice Necromancer and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Apprentice Necromancer Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 1999-06-07 and 2018-12-07. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-06-07Urza's DestinyUDS 511997normalblackPete Venters
22017-08-25Commander 2017C17 972015normalblackRandy Vargas
32018-12-07Ultimate MastersUMA 842015normalblackRandy Vargas

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Apprentice Necromancer has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderRestricted
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal

Rules and information

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

DateText
2018-12-07 Apprentice Necromancer can’t be the target of its own ability. This is because targets are chosen for activated abilities before costs (such as “Sacrifice Apprentice Necromancer”) are paid.

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