I Talked a Diamond Player into doing Five Battles with Venari Heatsmith, and He Went 4 Wins out of 5!
It was no easy task to talk the amazing @jolterz into giving the little fire rat a try, but he was desperate to do his Fire daily withouth renting Yodin so he agreeed! I delegated him my Gold Venari Heatsmith, and he went to town with it! I'll link his battles down at the bottom where he won 4 out of 5 battles! I don't think that's nearly to be expected everytime, nor do I think this ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size) is the new meta and about to explode in price. It's one of many new tools to use where we can to gain any advantage over our opponents!
Venari Heatsmith, at level 6, gains the ability Amplify. Amplify does increased damgage to opponents who recieve damage from thorns, reflect, or return fire-- otherwise known as the three abilities Cornealus gains after heal.
On first look, this looks crazy broken, but I don't think it is. Then on second look, it looks worthless attached to an almost useless 3 mana 2 health, 2 armor, and void armor body, but again, I believe that to be innaccurate. Lets look at the best rulesets and situations to use him in.
Lost Magic
Venari Heatsmith is guaranteed to get some value out of Onyx Sentinel in lost magic with Cornealus set in the second position to counter snipe, or in the last position to counter sneak. Onyx Sentinel will do 3 damage to all ranged and melee attackers, which is all monsters in Lost Magic. If you add in a healer such as toritison chief or scale doctor (Venari Heatsmith can certainly be used with Dragons!), then you can keep him around a bit longer. Venari Heatsmith, at level 6, can also run interference for Serpentine Spy against other Serpentine spys as long as you place him at a closer position to the front than spy, which can be fun. Onyx Sentinel already sees a great deal of play among several rulesets, and he is certainly a staple at 5 mana and 8 health for shield, void, thorns, and return fire.
Broken Arrows
Lord Arianthus is identical to Onyx Sentinel except he has more health and replaces return fire with reflect. It's no secret Lord Arianthus is one of the best cards in the game, and Venari Heatsmith makes him even better, but.....
Is he worth the spot?
I believe so despite taking the spot of fire beetle or serpentine spy if you're running both Sentinel or Lord A in these rulesets with a Cornealus placed in the spot you think is most likely to see damage. In no sneak or snipe and close ranged, for instance, all damage is to the face or oppurtunity. Cornealus can sub into the first tank slot in close ranged, and Venari Heatsmith can protect your Serpentine Spy from counter espionage. You could even palce Cornealus in the second spot to make the front line even beefier. If you have enough mana available, Magnor also becomes an option.
AND THEN THERE'S DRAGONS!
Throw in a Bysantine Kitty Summoner and an Almo, and things can get really wacky!!!
Kitty's +2 speed and tank heal combined with Almo Cambio's phasing make Almo quite the annoying opponent while the rest of your team, Dragon Jumper?, get some serious work in. Almo is dodging and weaving all the while punishing every sucessful strike and getting heals from Kitty, and this can be quite the nasty team unless your opponent is also running Kitty for the True Strike which guarantees each hit connects with its target! You may even get a couple rage skip battles from this approach. This feels like a great comp for keep your distance where your opponent is either considering a magic team or a counter magic team, as it can do fairly well agaisnt either option. Although the affliction from mimosa can be a pain if it lands.
And did I mention Dragon Jumper? Easily the best oppurtunity monster in the game!
I'm not going to pretend that Venari Heatsmith is the best card in the game, and that everyone is a fool for sleeping on him. That's just a silly position to hold that simply won't hold up to evidence, but Venari Heatsmith is one of those many cards that make Splinterlands great for being useful under certain circumstances. It's my opinion that Venari Heatsmith excels most in Lost Magic, Broken Arrows, Keep Your Distance, and No Sneak or Snipe. Nor do I think he's the best option in most cases, but he's one of many tools that you don't want to neglect as you look for any advantage over your opponent you can find. What do you all think? Did I miss any rulesets or use cases that I might have missed. Please leave me a comment, and I'll check it out!!!
Here are @jolterz 's battles:
Win 1:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_770c3b7fc7b5d2228624d60821cf876a&ref=jolterz
Loss:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_1271b8a6b6da5089f2cb31c821037fe0&ref=jolterz
Win 2:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_3db377690ac2d2db36c2141645a1d7b6&ref=jolterz
Win 3:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_9cd6acf2a93f13b701e18c740a5585ef&ref=jolterz
Win 4:
https://splinterlands.com?p=battle&id=sl_240012f5278b0f956f0f87c1aa83c670&ref=jolterz
If you have any spicy Venari Heatsmith battles you'd like to share, hit me up on discord at Niro#1171, or make a post and put it in the comments below!
If you are interested in playing splinterlands, please feel free to use my affiliate linik, and message Niro#1171 on discord to get some free delegation goodies.
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STOPman thanks for the opportunity