User blog:Asperon Thorn/From the Crown of Thorn: Why yes, That is Heal in my Pocket

"What? A n00b with heal!!" - Que dodge

"O gawd, some n00b with heal. Great. Just great. GG right now." - anonymous teamate in champion select.

Why yes, I do roll with Heal. It is one of the other 10 summoner spells that are not flash, ignite, or exhaust which I find just as useful in a lot of situations. I use it offensively, defensively, and simply to bait opponents. It saves my life and nets me kills. Specifically I use it a lot on Poppy. Poppy already had a passive that reduces the damage she receives, the lower her current HP means the more damage that is effectively negated. By bringing Heal I can ride that passive pretty far as I roam around with a quarter of my max health and an effective reserve tank of another 25% of her max health (at all levels) available at the click of the button. And there is where the bait comes in. . .Nothing like a good tower dive to stomp on little ol' Poppy running at a quarter health, only to have her pop heal after the first hit, and then wall slam you into that same tower.

Situational? Yes.

Likely occurance? Surprisingly frequent.

However that is not the only application of heal. It is also useful for keeping people in the fight. . . .no not MY people, hopefully my teammates have enough hit points that Heal from me is useless to them. . I mean opponents. Whether I am near a turret or not, a lot of experienced players will understand the fiercesome sight of a Healthy Poppy barrelling at them and will turn to flee, or at least run to their teammates at the mere sight of it. That Poppy can probably burst 2/3rds to 90% of their health in the opening salvo. Although a wounded Poppy. .a little girl. . .missing half her health. . . with little pigtails. . .that's nothing to fear. "I could take her down solo if I get the jump on her first" they will say as they charge back. Heal. Slam. Big Hammer. "F#$king n00b Poppy with Heal!" Correction: F#$king n00b Poppy with heal that just kicked your arrogant arse.

Situational? Yes.

Likely occurance? I'll let you answer that with this question. . .How greedy are the people that you play with?

I would like to conclude by mentioning other spells like flash or exhaust, for example. Both of these are popular with Poppy players, as they help get that wall slam. Part of the reason that people start off by saying "n00b Poppy with heal" (insert groan) Summoner spells are there to help you fit your play style. Flash and exhaust offer nothing to mine, for that character. So reserve your judgement on summoner spell picks. Most characters do not have 1 style of play that is correct, otherwise this game would be boring. And it is the alternative styles that often get the win. A Ryze that plays like every other Ryze is probably not going to beat me. A Ryze that surprises the hell out of me by doing something I hadn't seen before most likely will.

Asperon Thorn 19:26, April 8, 2011 (UTC)