To the people looking for a pocket pick botlane, to the aggressive support players that want a pick to climb to gold plat or diamond, to people that want to learn Poppy, and to Poppy players looking to perfect their knowledge of her capacities.

This guide's objective is to make a full inventory of everything a Poppy Support can do in your game, so the main focus isn't learning the Items or the Runes (those will keep changing every season), but instead to understand the gameplay since this pick strenghts are extremely unique and independant of the meta.


The guide will be filled with clickable spoilers like this one, gorged with more detailed infos. Don't miss those :

RESOLVE

Aftershock and Demolish

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Poppy Support, Keeper of the ADC ★ DEMACIAAA: Tanky hard-engage and Dive-machine. ★ You.Sit.: Lot of CCs. ★ Bonk: Very good Early Game with insane base damages on MaxHP. ★ Up you go: Great teamfight and game changing R. ★ Nope: Anti-dash peeling ability. ★ Fool me once: Snowballs really well. ★ Mine: Very good roam potential and drake control. ★ Pocket Poppy: Exotic pick that people are still not used to play against. ★ Early hammer: Struggles late game. ★ Melee champ: Need to kill fast or she'll get poked by ranged match-ups. ★ All in champ: You're permanently one bad E away from losing the game. ★ Game-changing: Has to choose every fight between locking a target or peeling allies, which often ends up deciding the outcome of the battle.

As said above, items are not the main focus of the guide, so although this section is very detailed, I put it entirely inside spoilers so you know it's for people rhat are really willing to look into it.

The thing is, Poppy Support is about your playstyle and your elo, and those two parameters will heavily influence how you build her stuff.
Those are the items you might want to choose from.

Mythics:



Boots:


Everything else:

BASIC - COMBOS

On the spoiler below is a list of all the most common combos you want to use while playing Poppy. Remember that fighting as Poppy Supp is often either about bursting all your damages and run away, or counter-engaging everything that approach your ADC, so be sure to use those combos accordingly.

Happy learning !

BASIC - Directing abilities on secondary targets Poppy's main damages are all coming from Area Of Effect abilities, which are good to target multiple people, especially in a 2v2 lane. Due to the hitboxes of Hammer Shock and Keeper's Verdict, you always want to aim for the people you didnt stun with Heroic Charge when you engaged, because the stunned ennemy will be hit no matter what due to the large hitboxes. Here's the difference of impact it can make: Bad AOE use Good AOE use As you can see, the damages on your main target (the stunned one) are the absolute same. Only collateral damages and CC's make a difference, which is huge in teamfights situation.

The E-Flash Combo

The most important and fight-changing mechanic to learn first while playing our dear Demacian Hero is the E-Flash.
If you Flash then use Heroic Charge it will allow you to change your mind, but it will be significantly slower than pressing E on a target and wait until Poppy run towards it close enough to Flash in range of launching her E which will then be done automatically and way faster than manual execution, often surprising even the quickest and safest ADC's around (Looking at you Ezreal).
Learn in which case use each one of those.

Be sure to practice first, as this mechanic is trickier than it looks, flash on a slightly wrong timing or distance and Poppy will stop moving after her flash.

Flash then E :

E then Flash :

The W-AA animation cancel


As you can see here, Poppy's W doesnt cancel a autoattact if you press it during the animation, it will even looks like your Steadfast Presence did damages, which can sometimes confuse the ennemy into thinking the dash-cancel is already used on them. Not a thing to bet your game on, but a nice trick to be aware of.



Passive AA-E Burst

As seen here, timing your E right after the ranged attack of Iron Ambassador will cause the two damages to stack up at the same timing for a decent burst.
On top of it, since the passive AA animation is a little longer than your normal AA's, getting it to play before your E-stun saves a little more time to stack regular autos during the CC duration.



Flash Q


Without surprise, Hammer Shock can also be used with Flash to extend its range. Q-Flash is faster than Flash-Q. Very usefull to finish off targets than dashed or are escaping. You can easily follow it up with a Knock-Up R on the slowed ennemy.




E-W Dash Absolute Cancel

If you manage to both land Heroic Charge and cancel a dash on the same target at the same time, even if the dash was already pretty advanced, Poppy will actually bring the target back at the place it was before dashing.
It's probably a bug or spagetthi code, but it's consistant and easily doable in game, so feel free to use it as you may, since it's often a very important part of your kit. It would be way harder to play if a dash countered by Steadfast Presence would still escape Heroic Charge anyway, so fair enough.





Reverse-W

Most of the time, when you cast Steadfast Presence, you're reacting to cancel a dash. But know that if you're feeling fancy and the ennemy is in range without dashing, you can also use it very offensively paired with a Flash E R to force a chain-CC.


This move is a massive punition. As soon as LeBlanc entered the W range to poke, her only option was to Flash out. The main difference is in the execution: playing around the W fear rather than an actual dash cancel.




E-AA combo

Not that it's that spectacular, but remember this is a thing. After Heroic Charge, Poppy will usually launch her next attack automatically on the target you just rushed. But if you are fast enough to right-click your actual target, it will cancel the AA and throw the shield on the intended ennemy after a weird animation.
It's very situationnal sure, but hey, it can happen :





R Tricks

This section will be dedicated to either special strategies linked to emplacements on the map, or general tips to play around bushes or walls.


Heroic Charge on Jungle Camps






Heroic Charge can allow you to escape foes by using it on jungle camps. You'll need vision on the monsters, so it often requires a ward. Here's all the camps you can use (applies to their other side of the map counterparts, of course).
As you can see, it doesnt work on the big wall near red buff.



Cheese lvl 1

You can of course trap your foes when they helped their jungler while yours started topside or didnt need a pull.
As with every other supports, you have two options to cheese lvl 1: using either Lane Bushes or Outside Bushes.


Your goal is to enter the third lane bush (farthest from your own tower) before the ennemy minions reach lanes, so they dont give you away. Once you're in, wait until the ennemy laners are coming and E their ADC (never against Alistar, Thresh or other supports that can cancel your E or grab you under tower. If you land E successfully, the ADC will have to back away, losing his EXP, and will then be late for lvl 2.


Wait until the last moment when they enter the bush to use your E, for maximum surprise, guaranteed stun and better damages since they'll be closer.

The main objective while doing those cheesy traps is not necessarily to kill if it requires too much ressources (unless you're facing an enchanter. If you do, hard commit on one target and kill either him or his ADC).
In any other scenario, you mainly want two thingd: burn the ADC's Flash while chunking a good portion of his health, and denying the EXP/color] from the first three melee minions.[

Once it's done, you'll still have your own Flash, and most likely will reach lvl 2 first aswell. Killing with that advantages shouldn't be hard.

This is what a successfull cheese looks like in an ideal situation:


Alcove and Plants

The Alcove Botlane is a weird zone where you can stun no matter where they stand, so even if you're at an obvious disadvantage don't panic and apply your stun. You can also be ewtremely aggressive if you see the ennemy ADC steps into this place. It's your territory.




Pretty sure you already know that, but Steadfast Presence can block dashes from Jungle Plants, so be sure to use it if you see it can lock a target with the grounded effect on top of it.

Perfect Spots for Heroic Charge



As you can see, there are some tiny secret spots on the maps you can use to stun a target into a surprising turret range. If you use this correctly, it's a guaranteed kill, as it surprises most of players.

I will enlist those secret spots passed on by generations of Poppy players here:

The huge aspect of Poppy Support is that she can do so much that it's sometimes hard to know what's best at a given moment. Those calls are up to you. What i can do for you though, is showing you all the possibilities.


Laning Phase

Despite the different playstyles, one thing is certain regarding Poppy Support laning phase : It's about snowballing. Late game wont go your way.
Botlane is a wild place, but we can roughly sum up your possible supports matchups in four categories (even if most champions are a mix between at least two of those):

Engagers (That will try to kill you or your ADC before you kill them or their ADC),
Ex: Pantheon, Sett, Pyke
Skill matchups most of the time, but also where you shine the most.
You'll need to disengage before doing anything, as most of them can kill you if you try to kill their ADC before they react. Once they lost their CC, they're way less scary. If it's a Leona or a Rakan it's different : Go in, they wont be able to counter you since you'll have Steadfast Presence

Grabbers (That.. well.. have a grabbing ability),
Ex: Thresh, Blitzcrank, Nautilus.
Truly not a big deal.
The only thing to do is bait their grab. Trust in your dodges, and if you can flash to both escape the grab and stun their ADC, it's even better.

Pokers (That can poke you and slowly eat away your chance of surviving an engage),
Ex: Brand, Xerath, Zyra
Either extremely violent lanes or very slow chess games, depending on your ability to dodge spells.
Those matchups are all about dodging their CC and hard-bursting them before they can poke you. First blood should happen before lvl 3. They're squishy as hell. If they run Barrier, just go on their ADC instead. Easy to maintain pressure once you get control of the lane bushes.

Enchanters (That can heal and sustain with low kill pressure)
Ex: Soraka, Lulu, Nami
Hardest lanes.
Go in before lvl 2-3, and all in either the ADC or the Enchanter. If your lane bursts correctly, you should kill easily. Care their CC if they have something to counter or cancel your E ( Janna, Lulu, Soraka, most of them do etc..)
They outscale you but they cant roam as well, if you win lane, take over mid and drake.










Roaming and playing for Objectives

When to roam?

Usually after a kill you'll still have a decent amount of Health.
Help your ADC to clear the wave -or push it alone-, then use demolish if it's available. Once it's done, head to the river, while clearing wards if you see some.


Always keep an eye on your lane if you're not that ahead, cause their lane will freeze and deny creeps to your ADC if you roam for too long, or dive him if they have enough CC.



Your aim while ganking Mid is either to burn the opponent Flash when he sees you arrive with a stun angle, or to be a diving-HP bar for your ally. It needs to be brutal and fast cause react to a move mid is always easy for anyone on the map.
It also means you'll probably need to back or head bot right after.
Saving the Midlaner from a gank with your kit or simply pressing R while you were passing by is also extremely tilting for them and satisfying for you.



As with any Support, when you return from base, always check if Mid or Jungle needs help.
There's no magical formula to determine when it's worth, but if your ADC is safe, is backing or with your jungler and if you have enough time, a gank Top or Mid can help regaining control of the game when the ennemy started snowballing.
Or it can bury them deeper if your mate is already winning.








Late-Game Teamfight

Peeling style

Poppy Support has two jobs :
-keeping her team (and particulary her ADC) safe from hard engages or assassins
-lock down an ennemy with chain CC until he's dust

When your ADC is reliable, and your team doesnt really have another tank but have pleanty of damages or pressuring tools, Poppy will mainly have to cancel as many engages as they try on your team. Remember that your R can mess up their timing and back-up or focusing potential, and that your W is perfect to delete their gap-closing abilities.
Then you can start looking for a stun or to lock their damages dealers.


Some exemples of what you can acheive, pay attention to the uses of W that are the core of your plays in lategame:





Sometimes being a Support Tank just means being an mobile HP bar for your team. Once again, after your allies are saved from the initial threat, go in and lock the main target.






When they have fed Assassins or Hypercarries


Peeling is all fun and games until they have a 17 / 0 / 153 assassin like Talon, Kayn, Master Yi etc. Luckily, assassinating assassin is Poppy's bread and butter in early, and perma-blocking them is her mission in lategame.

The first thing you need to learn as a Support in general is to think like them. Stay around your carry when he goes for buffs, and bring the fight to them before they try to jump him.

CC is the Key, always.



You're a good peeler, but you don't have Kayle's ultimate. Recognize when your ADC is dead after an engage and switch to a different ally to protect, or more importantly watch a window to lock down their carry.






Engaging style

If your team has no one else to do it, or if their team has no way to access your backline, it often falls off to you to engage the decisive fight.

The main key for a good engage as Poppy is patience. Unfortunately, you're not able to go in all the time: you need a wall, or a good flank.
Indeed, your champion is made to punish positionning mistakes, which often means waiting the ennemy does one. If the long version of Keeper's Verdict doesnt create an advantage by itself, you'll have to play slow until you see the window.
Once you stunned your target, aim a short version of Keeper's Verdict onto the most ennemies you can hit, and tank/add damages where is needed.



Counter-Engage

In a general fashion, keep in mind where the damages are. For exemple, as you can see below, it's not a big deal to have two tanks threatening one of your carry if the only source of ennemy damage around is being bursted and locked by your combo.



Solo-mission/The diversion strategy

When the game is very hard and their teamfight seems to be way better than yours, you can try to split the attention by full engaging a carry 1v1. You will almost never kill (unless you got Thornmail, it's an ADC, and he actually try to kill you), but the mayhem you cause can actually turns the fight around.
It's truly when you have absolutely no options left.




Pizza Delivery Poppy by Te4moon (@lVleduza on Twitter)