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And now, number 1:

DonBlake

Donald Blake (Chaos War 010)

The Modern Age king of modern medicine, the mortal form of Thor is Heroclixin’s top medic. With his 11 AV, he’s not likely to miss many Support rolls, and a full dial of the power makes him pretty pushable.

He’s not very long-lived at four clicks and a max 16 DV, but he’s got his Alter Egos to lengthen his contribution to the fight. As needed, he can swap into one of the followingToughness-armored Thors:

  • a Running Shooter with the power to cut off long ranges via his Blizzard SP;
  • a Charging Weakness Exploiter with Willpower, or
  • a Flurrying, Close Combating Expert

Only 33 points, Blake truly affects each and every game he sees. He’s the #1 medic of Heroclixin’.

But he’s only the Modern Age medic of choice. He’s tied with the Golden Age queen:

ghostwidow

Ghost Widow (City of Villains 002)

With Flight, Poison, 18DV, Phasing, 6 range and Mystics TA-by-another-name, the Widow is a highly versatile medic that’s hard to KO with later Super Senses and Regen. At 54 points, she’s a LOT more expensive than Don Blake and her single-digit AV makes her less efficient as a medic. But with so many other things going for her, she manages to claw out a tie with Blake as the top medic in Heroclixin’!

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Number 4

Gow-3-armoured-kantus

Kantus (Gears of War 008)

Comics aren’t the only inspiration for healers. This video game character shows that. But why’s he make the list?

  • A dial-ful of Support.
  • Leap/Climb to get in position…or the Locust Horde TA to do the same and get a foe OUT of position, potentially.
  • Starting Perplex to aid the team before medicine is required.
  • A bit of top-dial Toughness and late-dial Super Senses to weather attacks.
  • And a Grenade (or two) to toss.

At 70 points, he’s too expensive to consider for a higher spot. But that’s a lot of advantages to ignore. A medic of unparalleled versatility, this screaming priest ranks as the fourth best medic in Heroclixin.’

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Number 3

Elixir

Elixir (Giant-Size X-Men 025)

The golden boy has the ability to auto-heal other adjacent pals when he succeeds on a Support roll. Good thing he has a great double-digit AV for his early Support rolls (and never lower than 9).

A solid run of early Toughness makes him a tougher KO than some. He also can help himself with both X-Men TA and Regeneration. He’s Stealthy on the Regen clicks, too, so most foes will have to come to him. That’s a potential problem because he’s got Poison then as well — he can’t be based lightly!

Elixir, at 51 points, is somewhat heftily priced to be such a pure medic. But there’s almost no character in the game better at being pure medic. Definitely got the golden touch!

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Number 2

leonard-bones-mccoy

Dr. Leonard McCoy (Star Trek Away Team 002a)

With Stealth, 11AV, a full dial of Support and nearly as much Willpower, “Bones” is, quite simply, one of the best medics in HeroClix. If he’d only started with Willpower on click 1 instead of two, or dropped that needless Incapacitate to lower his cost from 50 to something under 40, he’d have taken the top spot. But that, and his narrow-focused Federation Support Team TA, will be deadweight in too many games, as will his 0 damage.

But as he’d likely say, “Dammit, I’m a doctor, not a tentpole!”

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Who’ll be number one? Check it out next time!

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Number 6

Alfred01

(tie) Alfred Pennyworth (Batman 031)
Alfred Pennyworth (Batman Fast Forces 005)

Yep, the Wayne family’s faithful butler claims a spot twice. The main set’s Alfred brings Perplex and solid 9 AV to the table with perma-Willpower through Indomitable. Better still is the fact that it works from 4 range AND heals extra clicks on tokened patients! The downside is that you have to push to get to the Support clicks and that’s a perilous thing for a 4-click dial costing more than 40 points. Batman Ally helps him hide, at least.

Conversely, the other Alfred is just 25 points for those 4 clicks and gets the Support (and Stealth) to start off, boosting his patients’ DV like the first #9 on the Top Ten. But he only ties with the above Alfred because he doesn’t start with Willpower and he loses Stealth when he DOES get it.

Despite their drawbacks, both versions of the old Bat-butler are great medics that richly deserve this #6 slot on the best-medic list.

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And we’re not done with doctors associated with the Waynes yet…

Number 5

hushwayne

Bruce Wayne (Batman 037b)

The first Prime figure to appear on the Top Tens, this Bruce Wayne imposter is the real deal when it comes to combat medicine for one big reason: old-school Support. When he hits a heal roll, he heals up to 6.

That alone would get him on the list despite his highest-of-list 95 cost. His ability to use Bat-stealth (so long as he’s not teamed with any Bat Allies), use Outwit, Shape Change, ignore Stealth and copy team abilities gives him a ton of utility apart from Support.

The fact that he is so much of a team and a solid fighter is a drawback for the purposes of this list, and so he can’t really be rated any higher on a Top medics list. But Hush-in-disguise is good enough to crack the top 5 with ease.

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Number 8

pippin

Guard of the Citadel (Lord of the Rings 20 )

Peregrin Took here climbs to #8 with Leap/Climb for that mobility that a good combat medic could use — and at a far better speed value than the #10 member of the list at less than half the cost at 29 points.

For the actual healing, his 8AV would seem to be too low, though. But he’s got a Special Power that first gives him Defend, enabling him to share his 16 DV with his potentially higher-defensed patient for an easier heal, AND it boosts his own AV +1 when healing, something that’s normally not allowed by Support.

A couple of clicks of Support and this SP make him pushable, and the latter half of his dial stays useful with Enhancement. Don’t let the small size fool ya; this hobbit stands tall.

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Number 7

AtomBN

The Atom (Blackest Night 005)

At 65 points, Professor Palmer seems too expensive to be a medic specialist — especially since you have to push off his best AV, damage and DV (at range, anyhow) to get Support via SP.

But it’s that SP that makes it all worth the push:

“INDIGO COMPASSION : The Atom can use Support. When he does, his attack value becomes 12.”
Coupled with 19 DV Willpower, it makes this Indigo Tribe member one of the game’s premier healers, easily. Shape Change helps him survive some attacks, and later he gets Outwit. So despite a bunch of near-dealbreakers, The Atom packs a nuclear punch in the Support stakes.

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Next will be another tie featuring a fella who often wears ties.

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Ugh. I had the update just about finished and then WordPress ate it. So no update today. I may call this week a wash and pick up on Monday with numbers eight and seven. The good news is that I’d written up to half of number six, so I should be able to get ahead a little.

Good thing, too. The holidays are coming and it’ll be time for Heroclixin’s Top Ten lists for 2012! I better get started now!

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Number 10

APP

Accomplished Perfect Physician (Crisis 044)

This member of China’s team of superheroes super functionaries is one of the better healers in the game with his starting 10 Attack Value and 17 Defense backed by Super Senses. A full dial of Leap/Climb enables him to easily get out of adjacency if based, and a mid-dial pair of Outwit clicks in between the Support ones make hitting him off Support a problem for foes.

He’s at the bottom of the list, though, because at 61 points, he’s really pricey for a medic to have only a  full dial of 1 damage despite his attack powers of Incap, Quake or Psychic Blast. Worse yet, his speed value is pretty poor; he might not be able to get where he needs to go!

Still, with a power on every slot, it’s not hard to be down with A.P.P. for a medic that can contribute a little bit more than just healing. He’s the #10 best medic in Heroclixin’.

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Number 9

night nurse

Night Nurse (Web of Spider-Man 102)

She’s the first on our list to sport the Willpower + Support combo which, in a less crowded field, would rate a figure a spot automatically. A solid 9 AV — about the minimum you want for a top-flight medic — and a low 27-point price help her as well. What gets her on the list for sure is her ability to temporarily boost patients’ DV after a heal attempt.

Very much a Support specialist, she doesn’t contribute anything else and is a fairly easy KO with low DV and no real defensive abilities. But she’s one of the best at nursing wounded allies — #9 in Heroclixin’s estimation.

She ties with another lady:

JaneFoster

Jane Foster (X-Plosion 206)

Thor’s mortal gal pal was the first in HeroClix to  sport the Willpower + Support combo, making her one of the best of the old set. She rates low on the list for dirt-poor starting 8 AV and 13 DV. But at 16 points, the LE version of the Paramedic is one of the absolute cheapest medics in the game and has an outsized effect on matches as a result.

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Sorry for the long absence. Went out of town for a mere weekend and got all out of my groove. Let’s get things back on track with a seasonal focus. This being the time of good cheer and good works, December’s top ten will put the spotlight on the salvation of your army: Medics!

red_cross

Back in the early days of HeroClix, one of the most effective powers was Support. Here’s a common scenario of the time: Vet Black Adam gets hit for 4 clicks, taking two after a failed Impervious roll. A second attacker shoots with Ranged Combat Expert for 2 more clicks. Finally, a third shooter pings him for 1 after Invulnerability.

Three successful attack rolls. TWO failed Impervious rolls. But one mistake is made by the aggressor: they’re all ranged attacks, leaving Black Adam free next turn to push and run to the medic still in the starting area 8 squares away. He does, and the 10-point Paramedic easily rolls the 7 needed to succeed in the Support roll. Then she rolls a 6 for the final result, healing all five damaged clicks and putting Adam back at full strength with just TWO good rolls in his favor to the attacker’s FIVE against.

Support needed a change, and it got one in 2006  in the “minus 2, minimum 1” language. Now, in the above scenario Black Adam has a  50% chance of healing just 1 click instead of only a 15% chance of same. There’s also zero chance of erasing more than half of a full-length 11-click dial with two rolls. Finally, it’s just more realistic (well, as realistic as a game starring little plastic superpeople could be) — it’s much easier to wreck than to build, not the other way around.

What makes a great medic?

  • Ability to HIT. Simply put, the medic needs to be able to land the Support roll.
  • Ability to HEAL…now! The medic must be ready to work in the early rounds of combat. Mid- to late-dial Support simply can’t be counted upon. Support needs to be on click 1 or 2.
  • Ability to HELP and HARMONIZE with your build total. Because Support is easily thwarted by adjacent foes, the healer can’t be the front-line fighter, so it doesn’t  make sense to spend major points on a dedicated medic. No, the best healer is one who’s never needed and thus won’t suck up a lot of your build total. Low cost, or some other supporting power that won’t use up actions, is ideal.
  • Ability to HIDE or HINDER attacks. Back in the early days of Support, a standing adage was “Kill the medic.” Therefore, survivability is key, be it through high defense, mobility, team abilities or powers.
  • Ability to HEAL…again! Pushability is key. Thanks to the random nature of die rolls, you will certainly need to try Support rolls more than once, eventually. Whether it’s through Willpower or multiple clicks of Support, the best medics should be able to heal in consecutive turns if need be.

So there’s the setup. Be here tomorrow for numbers 10 and 9 of the game’s best healers!