Now we’ve come down to the #1 duo in HeroClix:

Thor and Loki (Hammer of Thor 057)

Despite weighing in at an unmatched 362 points for a single-based figure, they’re clearly the choice.

• They start with Running Shot and 10 range to get the carnage started. They bear Invulnerability through a trait so it can’t get countered and Shape Change to avoid attacks altogether.
• They’re Mystic, so opponents won’t want to target them much, anyway.
• They’re Indomitable, so they can push immediately next turn.
• They’ve got Perplex to make their ensuing Duo Attack deal out a crippling 11 clicks, potentially.
• They’re single-base fliers, so TK can yank ’em back or send ’em forth, depending, and they won’t have much problem maneuvering themselves.
• Their AV never dips below 10. Their DV, 16. Damage is usually 4 or better.

Their only drawback is the DV SP, which saddles them with the range-killing Battle Fury. It also gives Exploit Weakness, so we’re over it.

Being a superb fig and one that certainly makes great use of the Duo symbol makes these oft-feuding half-brothers the single best Duo in HeroClix.

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“That’s all good and well, Heroclixin,'” someone is saying. “YOU can actually GET these Super Rare chase collector Buy-It-By-The-Brick-eight-sets-ago figures. How about the rest of us who want to use just regular duos that didn’t make the list?”

Glad you asked. Here are some tips on how to play all duos to the maximum degree.

Boost their damage. Just as powers like Energy Explosion or Incapacitate grow exponentially better with multiple arrows, so does Duo Attack benefit from higher damage. (You’ll note how many of the  characters on the list had great damage numbers as a plus.) So field some Perplex or Enhancement to easily increase Duo Attack’s output.

Telekinesis. If they can be moved with the mind, then do it. Most duos made prior to Brave & Bold were single-based.

Find ways to push duos safely. Most of the time, they’re going to have to get into position first. Therefore, the sooner the duo can start attacking in earnest, the better. There are some ways to grant Willpower or something like it to duos lacking it: Edward Nigma, Harvey Dent (Dark Knight Rises 017), Warbound or the new Asgardians ATA, to name a few. And, of course, just know the duo’s dial and be willing to push onto a new click.

Probability Control. The strength of Duo Attack is that it means more attack rolls. Might as well make ’em count. Similarly…

Outwit. It’ll take some dial memorization, but try to time your Duo Attack when you can hit a countered target both times with the defense power still countered (at least until WizKids actually fixes Outwit the way I’d like).

Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. The number 8 duo makes other duos better, remember? And as Super Rare figures go, this piece is easy to acquire.

And then there are duo-specific feats to consider:

Sidestep. The first duo feat, this 10-pointer grants 4 squares of movement in between Duo Attacks. The lack of free breakaway keeps it from being a must-use. But it can be really handy.

Show Off. When the first shot KOs a target, you can pass on making the 2nd attack and not give the duo an action token. Obviously, this one is pretty circumstantial, especially for lower-damage duos. Not worthless, but not really worth the 6 points if you have other options.

Power Barrage. Another 6-point feat, this one grants a free (but weaker) attack after one of a number of Attack powers are used. Another one that’s not remotely a slam dunk of a feat.

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That’s all, folks. Heroclixin’s taking a short vacation. On Wednesday, expect a new battle report, probably highlighting some more newly played pieces. We’ll pick up on the look at The Dark Knight Rises set in a week.   Until then, have F.U.N. Heroclixin’!

Man, good duo figures are hard to come by. Numbers 10-8 were either Super Rares or part of a $100 collectors’ set. The next three? All chase figures. And it gets no easier from here:

#4 is actually the Big Three:

Avengers Prime (Chaos War 060)

At a staggering 400 points, this duo trio figure is by far the priciest on the list. That buys you a LOT of damage potential, much of it through Duo Attack. After an opening salvo with Running Shot thanks to the Iron Man-themed Speed SP, one best uses the same power to Perplex the trio’s damage  +1 to then deal out a possible 11 CLICKS in the followup Duo Attack.

Duo Attack is almost always a better play than using any of AVP’s regular powers if targets are available on the opening clicks of the 400-point dial. For the 300-pointer, it’s less of a slam dunk. For example on click 2 (or 5 on the full dial), do you opt for a single shot for 4 penetrating damage, or roll the duo dice to land a possible 7 that might get reduced? Do you Flurry for 8 or Duo for 4, hopefully KOing the target to follow up with a weaker ranged shot?

This dial has a lot of mostly wasted points on myriad abilities that can’t be used in combination, sometimes not even through the “Trio Attack” trait. And with such high cost, they’re gonna get swarmed heavily, especially since they have many of the usual peanut duo mobility issues (at least they fly, though). Nevertheless, their sheer power is enough to make them one of the best duo figs in Heroclixin’s estimation.

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#3 are the stars of New Avengers: The Reunion:

Hawkeye and Mockingbird (Chaos War 054)

Another star-crossed couple — literally, this time, as Mockingbird was once kidnapped for years by Skrulls — ranks high on the list of great duo figures. Why, especially with them having the same no-TK-no-taxi boot speed peanut base issues as so many others?

Transporter Move and Attack. This ability gives them a bit more flexibility than most for moving past enemies on the way to their real destination. The sky-high 12 AV also helps their cause in attacking.

Sharpshooter. Similarly, this gives them cleaner lines of fire for potential Duo Attacks.

Most of all, though, they’ve got a Duo-ready SP that allows ’em to replace ranged Duo Attacks with Smoke Cloud, Incapacitate or Energy Explosion. So Hawkeye can take a leading shot with Mockingbird following with Smoke Cloud to hide them from counterfire. Or they can opt to Incap a Mystic target and then Energy Explode a cluster elsewhere for much more cumulative damage than the usual -1 damage 2nd duo attack would net.

These birds’ weakness is that they have zero armor, so they will take any and all damage that gets past Super Senses. And although they start with Stealth, the peanut base prevents them from ever getting fully hidden into hindering terrain with a single move (since the “back” end of said figures must travel through the square the front end moved through — and hitting hindering terrain immediately stops movement). But with their offensive prowess and excellent Duo ability, they take the #3 spot among the top Duos of Heroclixin’.

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#2 are the stars of The Dark Knight Rises:

Batman and Catwoman (The Brave and the Bold 100)

Their AV is weaker than most others’ on the list. They’re peanut based and thus impossible to taxi or TK. They’ve got no armor, little range and a fairly hefty price point for all that weakness. Why are they the #2 Duo of Heroclixin’?

It’s all about the SP “Double Pounce.”

1. It’s Leap/Climb. That circumvents any problems getting the big peanut base fully hidden to use their Batman Ally TA.
2. It’s a free Duo Attack after using Leap/Climb. It’s better than Charge or Running Shot.

With Outwit to soften the target up and Willpower + Combat Reflexes to help press the attack or survive counterattacks, BatCat makes up for its weaknesses in a big way. And this is without even mentioning the ability at the start of the game to steal one of the enemy’s special objects. Batman and Catwoman earn this near-top spot of the list handily.

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Tomorrow: The number one duo figure in Heroclixin’s Top Ten and a bonus duo-related list.

Man, good duo figures are hard to come by. Numbers 10-8 were either Super Rares or part of a $100 collectors’ set. The next three? All chase figures.

#7 is this emo couple:

Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man (Chaos War 059)

Weighing in at a hefty 225 points, this star-crossed pair makes the list almost purely because of Wanda’s contribution: her Chaos Magic SP:

With it, they can render even normally uncounterable opponents powerless in any given area. Sure, it’s a little too random to depend entirely upon it, but it’s a free action.

After they get into position with Running Shot, Scarlet Wonder will rely on Duo Attack to deal most of their damage. With Probability Control to better ensure either shot lands, and a hefty 4 damage to lead to potential 7 clicks, there’s ample reason to do so on the opening four clicks of life.

Late in their dial, they get a SP that causes them to deal penetrating damage to high-cost figures. Combined with Duo Attack, they can utterly decimate tentpoles.

They’ve got all the drawbacks of double-based duos: unCarryable, unTKable and, with only a modest 8 starting boot speed, they may find it tough to move around. They also don’t push well — it’s tough to leave that first Chaos War click in favor of Super Strength, even if they upgrade to 11AV and Impervious (and you’d rather force opponents to take Mystics damage digging through all that armor anyway).

Nevertheless, Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man are a solid enough figure on their own that’s only made better by having Duo Attack at their disposal. They rate #7.

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#6 is the smallest duo:

Ant-Man and Wasp (Chaos War 053)

These wee folk have a few tricks up their pint-sized sleeves. Most notable is their trait which, like a mirror version of the Mystics TA, deals unavoidable damage against adjacent foes for misses against them (either by those adjacent enemies or others shooting at the insect-size couple). This probably accounts for the bulk of their weighty 168-point cost.

They also have Poison and Exploit Weakness to further trouble folks in melee.

With that latter power, twinned with first Charge to get in close and then Plasticity to stay nearby, there doesn’t seem to be much call to use the Duo Attack ability.

But there is, because Ant-Man and Wasp can be TKed or effortlessly carried by almost ANY ally, thanks to their single base and Tiny Size ability. When a duo doesn’t have to burn actions getting into position to use the Duo Attack, the ability gets that much better. Against soft targets, it’s the preferred move.

With this better mobility than nearly any duo in the game along with their ability to deal lots of free and/or penetrating damage, Ant-Man and Wasp are the #6 duo in Heroclix.

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#5 :

Thor and Hercules (Chaos War 059)

This demigodly duo is all about massive damage, period. Once they complete their opening Charge + Exploit Weakness, this Indomitable, Impervious fig can deal out 7-8 clicks via Duo Attack.

And you’ll want to use the ability as often as possible, since missing the first attack means +1 to all their stats for the 2nd shot.

Once Impervious is lost, they get Invulnerability that can’t be countered and boosts DV each time they’re targeted in a turn. Decent defense against Outwitters and swarm attacks.

Boot speed and a big peanut base are the usual liabilities, and with only average 6 range and a sky-high 300-point price, Thorcules can still be overwhelmed and thus “only” rates #5 on the top duos list.

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Tomorrow, it’s 4, 3 and 2.