Master Apothecary
Creature — Human Cleric
Tap an untapped Cleric you control: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to any target this turn.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- W
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Odyssey
- Price
- $0.81
- EDHREC rank
- #24426
Master Apothecary turns any Cleric-heavy board into a life-gain engine, tapping your creatures to prevent damage equal to the number of Clerics you control. The cost is real — you're paying three mana for a 1/1 that does nothing without a critical mass of Clerics already in play.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is the only competitive home for Master Apothecary — the card requires a dedicated Cleric tribal shell to function, and 100-card singleton formats are where that tribal density is easiest to build. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but has never seen play; the tempo cost of a 1/1 that needs setup is disqualifying in formats where games end on turn one or two. Commander is where the damage-prevention effect scales best, since multiplayer boards mean you're blocking multiple attackers across multiple opponents and the Cleric count can realistically hit six or more by the mid-game.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.81 bulk tier
At $0.81, Master Apothecary sits in bulk territory and is unlikely to climb unless a pushed Cleric commander drives tribal demand. It's a safe pickup for Cleric builds at this price — you're not overpaying, and the ceiling is low enough that you shouldn't speculate.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.