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Card Highlights #54: Venka the Vile

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Power is best wielded when your enemy has none.
by Kain, Legacy of Kain: Defiance
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Venka the Vile is one of the strongest Legendary melee attackers in Splinterlands. With an impressive 7 melee damage and powerful abilities like Trample, Piercing, Charge and Oppress, it dominates in the battle in the right setups. Venka the Vile thrives in melee-only battles and has become a favorite for players who enjoys raw damage and highly aggressive strategies.

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Lore

Port Pristine was part of the Kingdom of Khymia before it bowed to the overwhelming might of the Chaos Empire. Now, Commander Venka the Vile rules the city with brutal efficiency. Her battalion of legionnaires enforces compliance with the laws of the Empire and ensures no one gets any stupid ideas about inalienable rights like life, liberty, and other such nonsense.
Lately, however, Venka’s legionnaires have been turning up dead: slit throats in some shadowy alley, felled in the street with an arrow to the eye by a rooftop sniper, or blown to bits by explosives both incendiary and magical. Her requests for replacements are drawing questions from her superiors, and Venka knows she’ll have to squash this little resistance before it becomes something more.

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^{For full lore of this card, visit this website:
https://splinterlands.com/card-detail/650/regular/12/?tab=lore}

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Buy and Rental Costs

At $230 for a max-level card, Venka the Vile is an expensive option for all players. Legendary cards often has a high price tag and Venka the Vile is no exception. Its cost reflects its strength in battles but makes it less available to those with smaller budgets. The price is also that high because it's a limited edition promo card that you cannot get in any packs.

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The rent price of 201.46 DEC per day is also expensive for a Legendary card. This high cost makes it a better choice for specific strategies or from time to time if you need that boost in rating. I was lucky to rent him for 172 DEC per day during the time I played him but even that discounted price is still high for a regular rental. Good thing is that you can rent a level 1 for around 20 dec which is still strong enough if you don't mind some loss in power and abilities.

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Card Stats

Venka the Vile is a strong card due to its high melee attack and synergistic abilities. Its lack of armor makes it vulnerable which can be solved easily by placing him in the middle of your lineup. Its damage potential can turn the tide of battles when used well.

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Card Effects

Charge

Can use melee attacks from any position.

Charge is like Reach ability but not limited to one position. With this ability, you can place Venka the Vile on a safer position to protect him from attacks. Unlike Snipe, Opportunity or Sneak, this ability also works in Fog of War making it more reliable than the three.

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Piercing

If Melee or Ranged attack damage is in excess of the target's Armor, the remainder will damage the target's Health

This is a great ability as it allows excess attack to damage the enemy's health, making it effective against high armored Units. This also makes use of Venka the Vile's high damage.

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Oppress

Does double damage when attacking an enemy that has no attacks

Very strong against Units with no attacks since it doubles Venka's attack letting it eliminate weaker enemies easily. Piercing also stacks with this so you can get double the damage while the excess attack hitting the health.

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Trample

When a Unit with Trample hits and kills its target, it will perform another attack on the next Unit on the enemy Team

This ability is excellent for chaining attacks after eliminating an enemy maximizing Venka the Vile's high damage in one round.

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Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths
Venka the Vile’s high melee attack and speed make it a solid choice for melee focused rule sets. Its abilities, like Piercing and Oppress, provide added utility and help it handle various opponents. When used in the right rule sets, Venka the Vile can become a one unit carry for that game.

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Weaknesses
Venka the Vile’s main weakness is its lack of armor, which leaves it open to taking heavy damage. It also struggles in rule sets like Reverse Speed where its high speed becomes a disadvantage. Lastly, I Venka the Vile's low health is also a problem when your enemies focused on Opportunity abilities. This makes him a good target for those units at the start of the round.

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When To Use

Up Close & Personal

Only Units with Melee attack may be used in battles.

Venka the Vile excels here since all Units must use melee attacks and it can attack with high damage even if he's not from the front due to Charge.

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Stampede

The Trample ability can trigger multiple times per attack if the trampled Units is killed.

Trample works perfectly with this rule set allowing Venka to trigger multiple attacks and sweep enemy lines. If given the chance, him alone can eliminate the entire enemy team through continuous Trample.

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Armored Up

All Units have 2 Armor in addition to their normal Armor stat.

Piercing becomes very useful in this rule set as most Units will have armor making Venka a strong counter.

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When Not To Use

Unprotected

Units do not have any armor and do not get armor from Abilities or Summoner Buffs.

Venka the Vile's Piercing loses its effect since no Units have armor reducing one of its key abilities that make him good. It doesn't make him useless but just less powerful.

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Briar Patch

All units receive the Thorns ability at the start of the battle. Enemy units that use melee attacks receive damage back.

Thorns punishes Venka the Vile's melee attacks making it take damage with every hit. Due to his low health and armor, it would be a problem if your team cannot take out the enemy's team quickly.

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Reverse Speed

Units with the lowest Speed attack first and have the highest chance of evading attacks.

Venka's high speed makes it miss more often which reduces its damage and utility in this rule set.

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Battle Sample

^{https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_69c116ca6ec4b8b2eb18118452d5ecae}

This was an easy battle due to my team's high damage. None of my units fall below 3 damage and even if they have a Tank Heal and I don't, my damage is so high that their Tank Heal cannot follow through.

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Final Thoughts

Venka the Vile is a powerful Legendary card with high melee attack, fast speed and useful abilities like Piercing, Oppress, Charge and Trample. It shines in melee focused rule sets like Up Close & Personal and Stampede where its damage potential can carry battles. Given its strengths, its lack of armor and challenges in certain rule sets like Briar Patch and Reverse Speed must be considered when using it.

Overall, I like how Venka the Vile is a strong option for players looking to enhance their team's damage. It being a Neutral unit also gives access to a lot of combos other than just with Possibilus the Wise. Players who can afford Venka will find it a valuable addition to their decks.

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If you have suggested combos or questions, feel free to comment it down below.

If you are planning to play and is inspired by my post, please consider using my referral link: https://splinterlands.com?ref=kpgamingch

I do not own any of the photos in this post. All credits goes to:

• Splinterlands
• Peakmonsters
• Canva
• Giphy