Johann, Apprentice Sorcerer
Legendary Creature — Human Wizard Sorcerer
You may look at the top card of your library any time.
Once each turn, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from the top of your library. (You still pay its costs. Timing rules still apply.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- RU
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Wilds of Eldraine
- Price
- $0.26
- EDHREC rank
- #11837
Johann, Apprentice Sorcerer lands and immediately flips the top card of each player's library face-up, then lets you cast any of them — that's a free spell off someone else's deck the turn he enters. River Song decks run him because that trigger stacks cleanly with her own cast-from-top payoffs, but even outside that shell he's a three-mana value piece that scales with the table size.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
River Song
River Song's ability rewards casting spells from unusual zones, and Johann, Apprentice Sorcerer's enter-the-battlefield trigger hands you exactly that — a free cast off any player's topdeck the moment he resolves, with up to three other players' cards to choose from.
Neera, Wild Mage
Neera, Wild Mage already runs her deck as a chaos-spells engine that wants to fling cards into play from outside the hand, and Johann, Apprentice Sorcerer slots in as a reliable, low-cost trigger that reveals fresh targets and lets Neera's pilot pick the most explosive option at the table.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Johann, Apprentice Sorcerer is legal across every major constructed format but hasn't cracked competitive lists in Legacy, Modern, or Pioneer — three mana for a one-time topdeck peek doesn't hit the efficiency bar those formats demand. In Standard he's a fringe role-player at best, outclassed by more targeted card selection. Commander is where he actually earns his slot: the effect scales with each opponent at the table, so a four-player pod turns his trigger into a three-card menu, and in spellslinger or chaos-cast builds that advantage compounds fast.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.26 bulk tier
At $0.26, Johann, Apprentice Sorcerer sits firmly in bulk territory — pick him up without thinking twice. Bulk rares with niche Commander demand tend to stay right around this floor, so don't expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- River Song
- Neera, Wild Mage
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.