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Greetings SplinterLovers 💛
Happy start to the week! I hope everyone in my favorite community is doing well and fighting to reach a higher ranking. Once again, I'm here with my weekly obsession, highlighting and/or detailing cards in the human Bloodline. So, today I'll talk about the card called Archmage Yabanius, a card I've mentioned before, but not in depth, as I only did a very brief analysis.
Although I'm almost out of cards to choose from, so I may continue with another type of card later on. I might lean towards the female trait again or another "Bloodline," but for now, we'll focus on Archmage Yabanius, which is presented as a distinguished "Legendary" rarity promotional unit within the vast Splinterlands universe. Additionally, as part of the card's history, this card was released to commemorate the game's seventh anniversary in 2025.
Its unique dual affiliation, being a unit composed of Water and Dragon Splinters, already indicates that this card has strategic versatility capable of combining with teams aligned with the resistance and magic of the Water Splinter and with the adaptable and powerful list of the Dragon Splinter. The designation of Yabanius as a "promotional card" already tells us how unique and special this card is, but you will soon realize just how much this guy can do.
This card represents this lightning wizard who, let's be honest, could be Elon Musk's distant cousin if he had devoted himself to sorcery instead of rockets. In my opinion, he bears an incredible resemblance to the magnate who created the "Teslas." Furthermore, with a serious face and a super cool beard, his expression tells us how strong and dangerous he can be. This character can dominate the battlefield if we know how to play him correctly.
His attire is a fascinating blend of classic and futuristic styles. He wears a long, flowing coat that appears to be made of the breeze itself, divided into vibrant electric blue and deep purple. However, his power does not stop there. Observe what appear to be a type of lens, which do not seem to be simple glasses; they look more like an augmented reality interface (or so I think), allowing her to see and calculate her opponent's every move as if she were a cosmic hacker.
And speaking of lightning, the action in the image is simply spectacular. From his left hand (or at least what appears to be a magic gauntlet), I know, very much like Marvel's Thanos, he emits a burst of electrical energy, as if he were charging a lightning bolt to throw it with his other hand, which holds a kind of shuriken or floating dagger, which seems to be made of pure energy, ready to be thrown.
In short, we are dealing with a wizard who has modernized sorcery, and that is what immediately comes to mind when I see him. Forget about old books and wooden wands like in other cards; this character uses magical technology to dominate his enemies, combining the force of nature with innovation and pure power. Archmage Yabanius reflects the future of magic, and he's ready to electrocute anyone who gets in his way, haha.
Archmage Yabanius is a legendary dual-element unit, composed of Water and Dragon Splinters. At its base level, it has the following fundamental stats: 6 Health, 5 Speed, and 2 Ranged Attack points. These initial stats already indicate a unit with considerable speed from its lowest level and a good amount of health for a unit that is commonly played at the back of your lineup, as well as a ranged attack that, combined with its abilities, can be very effective. In addition, as with all cards, some of its stats increase as it levels up.
| Attribute | Value (Base Level) | Type of Attack | Element/Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 6 | Distance (2) | Water / Dragon (Legendary) |
| Speed | 5 |
- Camouflage: This is the ability that keeps it safe. Unless it is in the first position, no one can attack it directly. It's like having an invisible sniper on your team, lurking from a distance. That's why it's best to play this card in the last positions, so that it takes much longer to reach the first position.
- Empower: It's incredible because it increases the melee attack strength of all monsters next to it, as long as this card is not revealed, meaning that when it is in the first position, the power buff cannot be gained by adjacent cards. That is why the combination of "Camouflage" with this ability is lethal, as you can build combos around cards with "Melee or Magic" attacks, increase their power, and preferably have some ability to defeat specific cards, such as Opportunity, for example.
- Shatter: With each blow, if the enemy is wearing armor, it is completely destroyed, making it lethal against heavy monsters and armored tanks.
- Stun: With each attack, you have the chance to stun the enemy monster. In short, a stunned monster cannot attack on its next turn, which is perfect for taking out your opponent's strongest attackers. Best of all, there is a 50% chance of this happening, and your speed greatly influences whether this ability can be activated.
- Relentless Strike: This is the ability that makes it so lethal, as it can increase damage by +1 if the attack target has the Void shield and the Forcefield or Shield. Basically, it is the worst nightmare for any defensive card, which commonly has a lot of health points.
The effectiveness of Archmage Yabanius is significantly influenced by the battle rules active in Splinterlands. His skill set makes him an adaptable unit, but certain conditions can amplify or mitigate his impact.
Equalizer (All units have the same health as the unit with the most health): If all monsters have the same health, their Shatter ability shines, as it destroys armor, the damage from other monsters goes directly to the opponent's health, so we know that the opponent will take advantage of this to increase their resistance, and with "Shatter" you can literally smash them to pieces.
Armored Up (All units gain +2 armor): With all monsters gaining armor, Shatter and Relentless Strike become essential. Yabanius can easily deal with enemy armor, allowing your other monsters to directly damage your opponent's units' health points, which is a pretty powerful combo.
Fog of War (Units cannot be targeted by Sneak or Snipe attacks): While Camouflage already protects Yabanius from most direct attacks, this rule removes the specific threats of Sneak and Snipe attacks that often target the rear, making Yabanius even safer in his position.
Explosive Weaponry (All units have Explosion): This rule makes ranged attacks effective, but at the same time, "Archimage Yabanius" can be an easy and quick target, since the rest of our cards can be defeated, which would quickly put "Yabanius" in first position, unable to do much.
Reverse Speed: With a speed of 5, Yabanius would attack last, and his control abilities such as Stun would be less useful, as they would come too late in the round.
Unprotected (Units have no armor): This rule negates the main usefulness of Yabanius' Shatter ability, and it would basically be a waste to use it under these conditions. I'm not saying that playing him with "Unprotected" is lethal, but the idea is to take your opponent by surprise, and if Shatter can't do its job, your chances of winning could be diminished.
Archmage Yabanius It is an incredibly powerful and versatile legendary card. Its main strategy revolves around protecting it so that it can destroy the enemy team from the rear. Ideally, it should be placed in a central position in your back row so that its Empower ability benefits as many monsters as possible to support you in the "Offensive."
Yabanius excels in medium-high mana battles, where his 6 mana is not a problem. This card is the bane of decks with many tanks or armored monsters, and his Stun ability can change the course of a battle by neutralizing the opponent's key attackers.
In short, if you want to have complete control over the battle, this wizard is an almost mandatory addition to any Water/Dragon deck. What do you think? Are you ready to try it out in battle?
With nothing further to add, until next time, "Splinterlords."
¡I invite everyone to join Splinterlands, the best game based on chains of blocks, full of adventures, battles, and strategies where you will have fun and get rewards according to your league!
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