Wizard Monkey

"Trained in the ancient arts of monkey wizardry. Learns new magic spells with every upgrade. This unit is flexible and will continue randomly using his old spells with his new ones."

- Bloons TD 4 Description

"Trained in the arts of monkey magic, the Monkey Apprentice weaves magical bolts that pop bloons. Each shot can pop 2 bloons. Can upgrade to cast additional spells."

- Bloons TD 5 Description

 is a tower in the BTD series, debuting in Bloons Tower Defense 4, and continuing into Bloons TD 5. It launches a blue ball that can pop 2 bloons; it can be upgraded to add many other attacks. After its final upgrade has been purchased, it is known as a Monkey Wizard (BTD4) or a Master of Air/Master of Fire (BTD5).



Bloons Tower Defense 4
Monkey Apprentice made its debut in Bloons TD 4, offering four powerful upgrades, with its final 2 upgrades gaining the ability to blow back bloons while popping them with lightning-interlaced whirlwinds and tornadoes. 

Path 1 Upgrades


Path 2 Upgrades



 * Note: The Fireball attack is also explosive but can still pop Black and Zebra Bloons.

Strategies

 * Since they can push back bloons, it is a good idea to place the tower near loops or near the end of the track.
 * Several of them bunched together can sometimes work very well on strong bloons.
 * Apprentices with Dragon's Breath are best at the start of the track, because they can pop any incoming leads and weaker bloons with ease, especially if Lightning Bolt is purchased.
 * Summon Whirlwind and Tempest Tornado are useful in Regen Farming.
 * Monkey Apprentices with at least Lightning Bolt can be used in groups to quickly dispose of clustered bloons.
 * They should not be used against Ceramics or MOAB-Class bloons without Dragon's Breath, as they do little damage to them.

Trivia

 * A 4/4 version of the Monkey Apprentice is available in the mission Wizard Lord, but it sacrifices towers every two rounds.
 * In BTD4, the first upgrade to the Monkey Apprentice changes its name to Monkey Sorceror. The second upgrade changes it to Monkey Mage. The third changes it to Monkey Archmage. The fourth and final upgrade changes its name to Monkey Wizard.
 * In BTD4, the Monkey Apprentice is one of the towers that changes form upon each upgrade. The others are the Monkey Buccaneer, the Monkey Ace, the Monkey Beacon and the Banana Farm.
 * All of the upgrades for the Monkey Apprentice in Bloons TD 5 allow it to pop any type of non-Camo bloon.
 * In BTD5, the Monkey Apprentice is the only tower that can pop a Lead Bloon with no upgrades and without using explosives.
 * In BTD5, with upgrades, a Monkey Apprentice uses multiple spells at once; however, it could only shoot one at a time in BTD4.
 * This is not advised to be the main defense against many regens, because it usually fails. It's better against bloons than MOABs.
 * In BTD5, the Tier 1 upgrades give the Apprentice glasses. The Tier 2 upgrades give it a bigger hat.
 * In BTD5, the Path 1 specialises in air while Path 2 specialises in fire.
 * The Wizard Lord is a 4/4 Monkey Apprentice that appears only in the Wizard Lord Special Mission. It can use all attacks of the Monkey Apprentice and the Summon Super Phoenix ability, a more powerful version of Summon Phoenix ability.
 * In BTD5 the old artwork of the Monkey Apprentice is now the artwork of Monkey Sense upgrade.
 * In BTD5, a Summon Whirlwind will have a description written "Disciple of Air". Dragon's Breath is called Disciple of Fire, Tempest Tornado is Master of Air, and Summon Phoenix is called Master of Fire.
 * In BTD4 the first attack of the Monkey Apprentice (magic ball) can't pop lead, while in BTD5 it can.
 * The Monkey Apprentice uses the elements of the world such as wind, fire, lightning, and storms. It lacks the forces of earth and water however. Though in Bloons Super Monkey 2, the Monkey Research for the Magic abilities is labeled "Earth Magic," proving that the monkeys have a form of magic related to the element of earth, but still no references to the element of water. Also, in Chinese tradition, air isn't an element, but metal and wood are.
 * The Fireball upgrade shoots the same fireballs as the Dreadnought Premium Upgrade for the Monkey Buccaneer.
 * The Monkey Apprentice is a popular tower due to its low initial production cost, and its upgrades allowing it to hit every type of bloon without the assistance of other towers.
 * In BTD5 and Bloons Monkey City, the Monkey Apprentice is able to pop Lead Bloons, even if unupgraded; BTD4's Monkey Apprentice does not if Fireball is not bought.