Vampire Stiletto
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Contents
Overview
As a card that provides a double edge in both healing and damage, Vampire Stiletto is the rare weapon of the Darkness element that steals life with every stab. For 1 (or 2, if upgraded) 
quanta, players may wield the dagger and recover life equal to the amount of damage the dagger deals.
General Use
Quick Facts:
- Vampire Stiletto (Dagger) deals 4 (6) damage, and recovers life equal to the damage it deals.
- Shields can reduce the amount of healing based on the damage reduction; buffs applied to it while flown can increase its healing capability.
True to its name, the Vampire Stiletto is a handy card for swinging both the opponent's and the owner's health bars, providing healing and damage in a single weapon. Its cheap cost of 1 quanta makes it easy to play off a player's mark (the upgraded version however is more expensive due to its increased damage). And although its ability is shared with many other Darkness cards, such as Vampires and Liquid Shadow, a Stiletto can sometimes be the key to swing the battle from inevitable loss to a bare victory.
Like all weapons that have damage-dependent abilities, Stiletto will not recover HP for the user if it fails to deal damage to the enemy. Thus, certain shields that completely block damage (Phase Shield) or effects that redirect the damage (Gravity Pull on an enemy creature) will nullify the ability. In addition, if Stiletto is frozen or delayed as a creature or in its weapon slot, its healing will not occur in contrast to Druidic Staff. Of course, Stiletto can heal for more than the Staff if given proper buffs when animated.
Synergies
While many weapons become twice as effective when flown in multiples, Stiletto is often one of the top choices to combine with Flying Weapon | Animate Weapon due to the impressive HP gain. Despite the weapon being susceptible to CC with its 4 HP, more cards can directly benefit the Stiletto while it's in the air. Buffing cards, such as Chaos Power and Nightfall, can greatly increase the damage-healing ratio of the airborne weapons, while also giving them durability to survive damaging CC effects. However, this strategy can be completely thwarted by Antimatter, as it reverse the damage and healing dealt by vampires.
Conversely, if a player lacks multiple Stilettos, Crusader | Crusader can act as a viable alternative for high damage and healing combinations. The synergy between these Light and Darkness cards often create a powerful deck known typically as 'Vader Sader', where the Crusaders Endow the Stilettos for increased damage and healing potential. If the weapons are flown, they can also be further buffed by Blessing, which in turn further improves the damage gain when Endow is utilized. Thus, whether the player chooses to turn multiple Crusaders into life-stealing assassins or animate the weapons themselves, the combination of having multiple creatures with the Vampire ability can make enemy players feel that their attacks are only prolonging the inevitable.
Finally, because of the Stiletto's inexpensive summoning cost, Nova | Supernova becomes an idea card to pair up with the respective non-upped and upgraded versions. In various Rainbow decks, the Stiletto is the only elemental weapon capable of being brought into play with a single Nova on the first turn, making it an ideal start for fast damage dealers. Nova can likewise fuel the 
quanta necessary for Flying Weapon, and various other cards as well for the Stiletto to take advantage of in such speedbow decks.
Other Cards With Synergy
Given focus on mostly quanta, players can use additional Vampire creatures in conjunction with a Stiletto to provide both creature and permanent based healing, Dusk Mantle in order to help mitigate damage and recovery HP to full, Cloak to protect the weapon, and even Steal to remove pesky shields that may block the dagger completely.
Conclusion
Even with such a simply ability, Vampire Dagger is well known for its ability to chip away at an opponent's help early on in the game, giving the wielder each turn a chance to gain the advantage. And while the health swing may be tremendous or trivial based on how much damage is done, such a weapon (if used properly) can provide the clear cut to victory with each bloodthirsty slice.
Popular Deck
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