And as far as Vx and Vy goes – I had some issues understanding the difference between them.
Vx gets you to your target altitude in as short a horizontal distance as possible – the best way to climb when you’re trying to avoid things like trees, power lines or mountains.
Vy gets you to your target altitude in as short a time as possible, so that is often used when terrain clearance is not an issue.
Since you’re moving faster than at Vx, you’ll cover a longer horizontal distance during the climb, but the added speed means your vertical speed is also higher, so it still takes less time to reach your target altitude.