Yodin Zaku
This is a detailed look at the Splinterlands summoner Yodin Zaku as a part of my Spellbook Notes series. We'll dive into the card's stats, abilities, lore, and strategic and tactical uses. To find information on other Splinterlands assets, take a look at the additional entries in the Spellbook Notes curated collection.
Card Details
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Yodin Zaku |
| Type | Summoner |
| Edition | Untamed |
| Rarity | Legendary |
| Mana Cost | 7 |
Abilities
| Icon | Ability | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | +1 Ranged Attack | All friendly Ranged Attack Monsters have +1 Ranged Attack |
 | +1 Health | All friendly Monsters have +1 Health |
 | Blast | All friendly Monsters receive the Blast ability at the start of the battle. |
General Notes
With the added ranged damage, additional health, and the blast ability to each monster, this summoner is one of the more powerful summoners in the game. This ability can be leveraged in each league and see success. Each level of this card maintains usefulness within its own scope of battles and it can out perform many of the other legendary summoners in its class.
This summoner pairs well with high speed, ranged/magic attacks. One or more snipe monsters can give an additional lethality to the team. Adding blast to the attack of all monsters will supercharge even the lesser monsters you cast. The added ranged attack can help to strengthen weaker monsters to higher levels of usefulness while also adding blast. The additional health can also add a round or two to monsters that may have been taken down in other circumstances and can be enhanced with various healing methods.
High mana cost makes it hard to use this summoner in some conditions. If you do not have a good mix of monsters to fit the remaining mana for the match, you may find the summoner difficult to use.
Tank heal and repair are good to help hold the line and keep your tanks alive, but are not required in all situations. It is important to keep your tank alive. Keep in mind that there are a few healers in the fire and neutral splinters. Make sure that the monsters that are played are viable to the game mechanics and that there are good tanks to hold the line for ranged attacks to remain actively attacking.
| Strengths |
|---|
| Adds Blast ability to all monsters |
| Adds one health to all monsters |
| Increases the attack of ranged monsters by 1 |
| Weaknesses |
|---|
| High mana cost. |
League Cap Based Notes
| League | Level Cap | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Novice/Bronze | 1 | With a cap of one on legendary summoners, any level of this card is viable in this league |
| Silver | 2 | All allowed levels of the card are viable in this league, but the higher level unlocks better monsters |
| Gold | 3 | Level 2-3 suggested, but can be used under this level with some success. Typically, match rules are the determining factor of if I will use a lower level in this league |
| Diamond | 4 | Level 3+ is suggested, but some match conditions, such as back to basics, can allow for success with lower levels |
| Champion | 4 | Level 3+ is recommended |
Tactics & Strategies
The following are pulled from my Summoner's Playbook series where I dive into clear tactics and strategies that many players miss and thus lose out on key opportunities to secure unique advantages.
| Summoner's Playbook Page | |
|---|---|
 | Try Yodin Zaku with a magic team from time to time |
| Yodin Makes a Sniper 3x As Powerful |
Purchase
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Lore
Yodin Zaku was a War Demon of the times before the Splintering so long ago. He was a hybrid child born of two warring races, the Efreet and the Bulludae, the Demons of War. But he never perished. His being was imprisoned in an ancient artifact that preserved his life, and now, nearly a thousand years after the Splintering, Yodin has opened his eyes and risen from his bondage.
His parents married in secret, since their bondage was strictly forbidden by the Great Orderlies. The Efreet and the Bulludae had been at war for thousands of years, but the two noble families of both parents had themselves been locked into an especially bitter feud for centuries. When the relationship was finally discovered by the Estath authorities, the result was quite unexpected.
Their union of the unlikely couple compelled the leaders of the two warring factions into diplomacy. After wildly successful peace talks, many generations of peace and plenty followed. There was a great mingling of the two races; together, they accomplished great things, and had their growth not been suddenly halted by the catastrophic Splintering, the Estath would have driven the world forward in prosperity.
Yodin’s mother’s name was Eha Balan. She was an expert in the most ancient arts of fire, some of which are unknown to even the high priestess Mitreyya. Eha was considered throughout the Estath lands to be the best sorceress in her class. His father was an old and endlessly wise Demon known as Zer’geroth Mozran; with his mighty wings, Zer’geroth could summon powers greater than those of any Splintral Wizard.
In the era of peace, Yodin was born. As he grew his mother and father infused their ancient arts of magic and strength into what became a vast arsenal of knowledge. His mother taught him how to wield fire to an unmatched degree, and his father taught him to strike with unparalleled vengeance. Through this extensive training and deep counsel, he came to be one of the most famous Belludae Demons to ever walk the Splinterlands. He quickly rose to the rank of Great Orderly.
The Great Orderlies were the overseers of defense, offense, war, peace and prosperity in the Estath-lands. They were the silent but deadly, ever-present over-watchers. Their punishments were swift, and they brought havoc upon all who challenged them. In spite of all their toughness and the fear they evoked, the Great Orderlies also held a boundless love for growth and a deep compassion for all the living.
As with all times of peace, it came to a sudden end at the whims of a single jealous shaman. The histories do not remember his name, but the war, once rekindled, threatened the existence of both races, Efreet and Belludae. The jealous shaman captured the consciousnesses of several powerful Demons, taking over the Estath state and plunging order into turmoil and violence. The Great Orderlies were hunted down one by one and slaughtered. Those Orderlies who could not be killed were imprisoned by unbreakable enchantments in boxes, chains and cages. In a battle against a vile Efreet sorcerer, Yodin’s parents were vaporized before his eyes by the most powerful spell of lightning he had ever seen. From then, Yodin was on his own. His life became war, and he never stopped fighting until he was finally imprisoned in an enchanted chest by another Efreet sorcerer (Yodin could not be vaporized). The war, which lasted all the way until the great Splintering, became known as the Thousand Year War.
As the years passed after the Splintering, the stories of the Thousand Year War and the (presumed extinct) Belludae Demons faded from memory in the Burning Lands. The new order was the Ferexia and the Torch; they cared little for history while there were enough problems in the present. The sealed souls of the Belludae Demons have sat quietly in a region of the Burning Lands that is utterly deserted, a land which is now called The Unknown, simply waiting to be awakened.
Yodin, being trapped while fully aware, knew of his predicament. In the last few centuries of his soul bondage, he could feel the enchantments that held him growing weaker. Finally, when he could take no more captivity, Yodin Zaku used all his magical energy to summon the most powerful forces within his reach. His unlikely call was answered by a Giant Roc gliding high through the Burning Lands’ skies, who swooped down and picked up the enchanted chest in its great talons. The massive bird then flew to the precipice of Glover’s Steep, from whence it dropped the chest. When finally it struck the rocks below, the chest was broken into many pieces and the binding enchantments were shattered. Yodin Zaku’s soul began to rise, and he morphed into his favorite physical form, which he still remembered well.
Standing alone in the Unknown, Yodin looked out over the deserted lands that were once thriving with his ancestors. A tear fell from his feline eye as he thought about his long-gone mother and father, sizzling into steam as it landed on his whiskered cheekbone. Thousands of years had passed since the world Yodin knew. With raging fire in his heart and the taste of Efreet blood’s memory in his teeth, Yodin Zaku began to make his way west, toward the Molten Mountains and the cities of the Burning Lands. He walked faster and faster, eventually breaking into a full and wild run of freedom. As the air whipped by his face, Yodin hoped that there were still people left to conquer.
Source: Splinterlands.com
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**Note: *As a failed summoner, I am far from an expert player, but I have some tricks up my sleeve that I will