Venari Heatsmith

Today, we're talking about Venari Heatsmith, a card from the Splinterlands Crypto Game meant for bulding a team centered around it. The key part of a combo. That's because of its lack of damage combined with defensive abilities void armor and thorns, but most importantly because of its Amplify skill, which brings up damaged dealt by Magic Reflect, Return Fire and Thorns by 1.

Increasing damage dealt by Thorns by a mere 1 is kind of mediocre if you think about it. Unless you're playing little league, going from 2 to 3 isn't going to win the match for you. Or change the result at all. It's not terrible, but it's not good enough, since high level teams seldom rely solely on physical attacks as their means of victory. But doing the same for Magic reflect and Return Fire? That's a different story.

Adding damage to Magic Reflect makes sure your defenses are also a form of aggression. No longer will the fragile Fallen Specter, Theorosa Nightshade or even Ancient Lich be able to defend against Magic Reflect because of their Void ability.

Djinn Biljka and Magi of the Forest are low enough HP to easily kill themselves. Even Khmer Princess will have to waste their Triage on themselves every time. Wait, come again? "Khmer Princess will have to waste their Triage on themselves every time." If the enemy team has Triage, it's going to waste perpetually. It's high time for your sneak attackers!

Last, but not least, ranged monsters aren't beefy. Return Fire kills most ranged attackers in three shots - but it only takes two of those now that you're using Venari Heatsmith.

That said, you still need units that can actually work with Venari. What are those? Cornealus, Onyx Sentinel, Prismatic Energy, Lord Arianthus and, above all, Almo Cambio! These are my top recommendations when you want to take advantage of Venari Heatsmith's maximum potential.

Finally, you might wonder why the heck does Heatsmith has the Thorn skill. It's so it can last through opportunity monsters! Imagine those pesky Serpentine Spy, Screeching Vulture and other cards that can attack your key card directly, dropping like flies for even trying. Yep, your team composition shall not be countered.