Splinterlands Weekly Battle Challenge!
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Greetings!
Thank-you for your time and attention - I hope you are having an amazing day!
This week SPLINTERLANDS chose the VENARI KNIFER to feature in their Share Your Battle Challenge. This card is great, however it is most effective in certain, niche matches and so it does need to be used wisely.
The Matchup
Death vs. Earth
Rulesets:

Even Stevens : Only monsters with Even mana costs can be used
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Super Sneak : all Melee attack monsters target the rear monster unless they're in the 1st position
1st (Tank) Position : XENITH MONK

Self-Heal : Restores a portion of the monsters health each round
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2nd Position : FUNGUS FIEND
3rd Position : QUEEN MYCELIA

Protect : All friendly monsters gain +2 Armor
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4th (Rear) Position : VENARI KNIFER

Thorns : When hit with a Melee attack, does damage back to the attacker
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After both teams were revealed, I found it difficult to theorize which would end up the victor - although the teams are substantially different in terms of Attack/Defense strategies, I believed it could turn out to be too close to call early.
Pro:
- extra shields given to each friendly monster from QUEEN MYCELIA increases our team's protection because all of the enemy's attackers are physical damage dealers
Con:
- only one enemy monster will be Sneak attacking our back monster and so my effort to make the opponent destroy themselves via "Thorns" damage on the VENARI KNIFER will be minimal
Round 1 Complete
- The 1st Round consisted of a series of blows traded between the teams with two of the enemy's monsters being taken out in the process
- The extra Armor on our friendly monsters proves significant, absorbing all of the damage from the opposing team's first round of attacks
Round 2 Complete
- By the end of round 2 it looks extremely close; the opposing team's Snipe monster was able to take down our supportive QUEEN MYCELIA removing what was remaining of our bonus Armor
Round 3 Complete
The VENARI KNIFER's high speed allows it to attack first, finishing the enemy Sniper before it can attack again, solidifying the edge for our team, and the victory next round
Although I suspected VENARI KNIFER's Thorns to play a bigger role, it still turned out to be a significant factor in winning the match with it's high speed and attack; I will likely use this team sometime in the future
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Thank-you again for your time and attention I hope you enjoyed the Match-Up!
Here's to another glorious week of Splinterlands! Until next time! Cheers!