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Marionette Apprentice

Creature — Human Artificer

Fabricate 1 (When this creature enters, put a +1/+1 counter on it or create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token.)
Whenever another creature or artifact you control is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, each opponent loses 1 life.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{1}{B}
Color identity
B
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Modern Horizons 3
Price
$0.88
EDHREC rank
#562
Buy on TCGplayer
Marionette Apprentice card art
Marionette Apprentice drains each opponent for every artifact that hits your graveyard — staple that to a sacrifice loop and the game ends on the spot. The cost is a 1/3 body for three mana that does nothing without artifacts dying, so it earns its slot in dedicated artifact-sacrifice shells and nowhere else. Nim Deathmantle plus a free sacrifice outlet is the clearest kill condition, and Teysa, Opulent Oligarch builds have made it a staple for exactly that reason.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Teysa, Opulent Oligarch

Teysa, Opulent Oligarch

66.7% of decks · synergy 0.57

Teysa, Opulent Oligarch generates a steady stream of token artifacts that beg to be sacrificed, and Marionette Apprentice converts every one of those deaths into direct life loss — the two cards form the core drain loop the deck is built around.

02
Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder

Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder

60.8% of decks · synergy 0.52

Evereth, Viceroy of Plunder produces Treasure tokens as a core mechanic, and Marionette Apprentice turns each Treasure sacrifice from a mana source into a damage source, giving the deck a kill condition that doesn't require combat.

03
Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter

Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter

55.9% of decks · synergy 0.50

Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter is wired to sacrifice Treasure tokens for value, and Marionette Apprentice makes each of those sacrifices a life-total threat — together they close games that the opponent thought were under control.

04
Ashnod the Uncaring

Ashnod the Uncaring

48.7% of decks · synergy 0.47

Ashnod the Uncaring doubles the effect of sacrifice triggers, which means Marionette Apprentice's drain ability fires twice per artifact death and compresses the number of pieces needed to lethal.

05
Ygra, Eater of All

Ygra, Eater of All

46.7% of decks · synergy 0.39

Ygra, Eater of All turns every creature into a Food token on death, and Marionette Apprentice treats those Food tokens as damage vectors — the pairing creates a drain engine out of what is otherwise a board-clear effect.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is the right home for Marionette Apprentice — the format's artifact-sacrifice archetypes have the token generation and loop pieces to make the drain trigger lethal, and three opponents means each trigger hits three life totals simultaneously. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but never played; those formats move too fast for a three-mana 1/3 with a conditional trigger to matter. Oathbreaker is a functional middle ground where the density of artifact synergies can mirror Commander, but the smaller life totals mean fewer triggers are needed to close the game. Outside of dedicated artifact-sacrifice decks, Marionette Apprentice is a spectator in every format it's legal in.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

1,812 decks
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightViscera SeerMarionette Apprentice

Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightViscera SeerMarionette Apprentice

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite death triggers; Infinite scry 1; Infinite lifeloss

View on Commander Spellbook ↗
1,596 decks
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightAshnod's AltarMarionette Apprentice

Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightAshnod's AltarMarionette Apprentice

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite death triggers; Infinite colorless mana; Infinite lifeloss

View on Commander Spellbook ↗
1,464 decks
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightUmbral Collar ZealotMarionette Apprentice

Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightUmbral Collar ZealotMarionette Apprentice

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite death triggers; Infinite surveil; Infinite lifeloss

View on Commander Spellbook ↗
1,336 decks
Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightCarrion FeederMarionette Apprentice

Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn // Isilu, Carrier of TwilightCarrion FeederMarionette Apprentice

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite sacrifice triggers; Infinite death triggers; Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature; Infinite lifeloss

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

$0.88 bulk tier

At $0.88, Marionette Apprentice sits squarely in bulk rare territory — affordable enough to slot into any artifact-sacrifice deck without a second thought. The price reflects its narrow role; it's powerful in the right shell but has no demand outside it, so don't expect movement in either direction.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.