Apprentice

Basic Info

• Type: Action
• Cost: 5
• Effect: +1 Action / Trash a card from your hand. +1 Card per coin it costs. +2 Cards if it has P in its cost.

Rating

Trasher + scalable drawer engine core. Cost-5 cantrip trasher rivaling Chapel. Estate (cost 2) → +2 cards. Silver (cost 3) → +3. Gold (cost 6) → +6. Potion-cost cards add +2.

Biggest strength: scaling draw with trashed card cost. Late-game lets you flip Silvers/Golds into draw bombs.

Tier A. Premier cost-5 cantrip-trash card. Compared to Chapel (trash-only), Apprentice draws every turn. Engine staple.

How to Play

Buy when 5 coin available, turns 3-5.

Mid: Apprentice each turn, trashing Estates/Coppers for +2-3 cards.

Late: Trash targets thin out; flip Silver/Gold for big draw if a Province turn needs the burst.

Trash Targets

Priority:

1. Estates (cost 2): +2 cards + dead VP removed.
2. Curses (cost 0): +0 cards, removes Curse.
3. Coppers (cost 0): +0, thinning.
4. Silvers (cost 3): +3 cards, late-game sliming.
5. Golds (cost 6): +6 cards, ultimate draw at economy cost.
6. Potion-cost cards: +cost +2 bonus = huge draw.

Key Combos

Apprentice + Chapel: Chapel for bulk thinning, Apprentice for draw-while-trashing.

Apprentice + Estate: Estate fuel.

Apprentice + Vineyard: Apprentice itself is Action, Vineyard scales.

Apprentice + Potion-cost cards: Vineyard (0+P) → +2; Scrying Pool (2+P) → +4; Golem (4+P) → +6.

Apprentice + Remodel: Remodel into Gold, Apprentice trashes Gold for +6 cards.

Apprentice + Smithy: Stack draw.

Synergies

• Estate: Dead VP fuel.
• Chapel: Two-stage thinning.
• Remodel: Gold-and-trash combo.
• Vineyard: Action density + score.
• Potion-cost cards: Bonus +2.
• Smithy: Auxiliary draw.

Counters & Bad Matchups

• Trash-poor deck: Draw count crashes.
• Heavy hand-attacks: Militia/Goons wreck the chain.
• Pure BM: +1 Action wasted.
• Heavy attack threats: Apprentice doesn't trash terminals so deck stays vulnerable.

Advanced Tips

Buy 1-2 Apprentices. 3+ runs out of targets.

3 Estates + 7 Coppers at start = 10 trash fuel. Compression engine staple.

Potion-cost cards explode: Pool (2+P) trash = +4 cards. Fast investment recovery.

Apprentice as Stonemason-style: Trash and draw, deck-cleaning while filling hand.

Apprentice vs Chapel: Chapel trashes 4/turn, Apprentice trashes 1 + draws. Pick by board, often buy both.

"Trash Gold for +6 cards": Final-turn power move to enable double-Province purchases.