Apothecary Initiate
Creature — Kithkin Cleric
Whenever a player casts a white spell, you may pay 
. If you do, you gain 1 life.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Shadowmoor
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #23492
Apothecary Initiate drains each opponent for 1 life every time you cast a spell with a life payment in the cost — a passive tax that compounds fast in the right shell. The floor is a 1/1 for one white mana; the ceiling is several life points of drain per turn cycle in a lifegain or Phyrexian-mana-heavy deck.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Apothecary Initiate belongs in decks that lean on pay-life mechanics — Aetherflux Reservoir loops, Phyrexian mana spells, or commanders like K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth that turn life into resources. Draining three opponents simultaneously makes each trigger worth three times its face value, which is exactly where a one-mana creature earns its slot. In Pauper, the card is legal but the pay-life density in that format is thin enough that Apothecary Initiate rarely finds a home. Legacy and Vintage have the spell density to abuse it, but those formats don't need a 1/1 body to close games. Commander is where it belongs.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Apothecary Initiate is deep bulk — pick it up in any common box without thinking twice. Bulk rares fluctuate; bulk commons with narrow synergy like this one stay cheap indefinitely, so there's no urgency and no value trap.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.