Guide is not yet updated to preseason. So far I'm still having success as Ivern tank support, and the only thing that really changes is getting Redemption instead of Locket of the Iron Solari as locket has been changed and is no longer a viable core item. Otherwise most of the info is the same.

Hi, I'm Llyuda. I main support and jungle. I currently have Bard, Taric, and Thresh level 7 and Nautilus level 6, however, i can also play Nami, Alistar, Velkoz, and Leona very well. I've played almost exclusively support for just over a year now and have played almost every support champion. This is my first guide, so i do apologize if it's not very fancy or well done, but i hope you enjoy regardless.

Current Stats
Not available currently but the build is still viable.

support can be a little odd, as it's hard to utilize your passive, but that's okay. Ivern still comes with a lot of utility. Now, a lot of people (including the recommended) will say to start ancient coin, but i disagree. Ivern as support doesn't really pull much damage with him, and building him like soraka simply makes him become too squishy for a melee champ even with the use of his bushes.

As Ivern, roaming is recommended, but isn't essential. If you can, roam mid and help the mid laner get a kill, as well as setting up invades with your jungler or adc. He isn't as good at roaming as Bard, but he can definitely set up plays or take objectives around the map.

Now you might also be wondering, why build Ivern tank? Ivern tank is best for many reason. Firstly, your q. If you use your q then click on the champion to auto them, it will make you dash to them. This leaves you vulnerable when you're squishy and can leave you getting poked down very quickly. When you're tank however, you can use your q to engage and take much less damage. This also helps with peeling as you can act like a meat shield for your adc, rather than having to save yourself and your adc at the same time. Also, being tank allows you to utilize your melee auto attacks and not have to rely on bushes to help auto attack. The final reason is that building an Ardent Censer and Mikael's Blessing build with the use of coin isn't exactly the best as his shield isn't the best thing in the world and you then have to always be wary of being caught out.

Smite. Please, I beg of you, as a support main and a former adc main, do not take smite on support Ivern. Yes, this makes his passive pretty useless, but in the end your lane will go much smoother. Taking smite means no exhaust, and in this meta exhaust is almost always a necessity, whether it's for that full tank maokai (don't exhaust a tank unless you have to though), that Katarina in mid lane, that Khazix that's 4/0 only 10 minutes in, or that ap zyra/malz support. Secondly, you aren't the jungler. You are the support. Your gold comes from the bandit mastery, your starting gold item, and assists. Let your jungler do the counter-jungling, the gold will benefit them much more anyway. Besides, this meta heavily favors carry jungles such as Lee Sin and Khazix that will easily melt you if you get caught in their jungler. Finally, going into jungle means your adc is alone. It's the same reason so many people hate Bard players. Don't leave your adc alone in lane for any longer than you have to.

Don't play against:
This Ivern build fits into the role of other tank supports. Your job is to sponge damage while also protecting your carries by peeling and kiting for them. Most all tanks are weak to poke champs. This is true of Ivern. Malzahar and Zyra will easily poke down Ivern and make it hard for him to do much. Try to avoid getting put against these matchups as much as possible. If you're first pick, you probably shouldn't pick Ivern.

Play with:
As for lane parterns, I find that Ivern can support most adc's that can solo win lane without the need of added damage to their autos (in other words, Vayne and Ivern are probably not a very good combo.) Caitlyn, Varus, and Ashe are my 3 favorite lanes to play with. Caitlyn because a hit q is followed by a caitlyn trap, followed by a daisy knockup, followed by another caitlyn trap. Varus because your q and varus ult can work very well together. He also has a slow for easier q's. Then Ashe because her slows and ult can be very useful in hitting a q and making a play.

I won't go too in depth into abilities, as they can usually be figured out by playing the champion.

Passive - His passive, while not the best as support, can be used to invade the enemy jungle and put the jungler behind. Do be wary as they will most likely be on the lookout for you, but it's an easy way to pick up extra gold and experience if done correctly.

Q - Use your q as a poke, an engage, or a peel. Same as you would with , try not too spam it too much and use it to set up trades or peel.

W - Use your w primarily as a poking tool. Put a bush behind your minion wave then use your ranged autos to poke the enemy champions. It can be used as a peel tool, putting it in front of your adc as they run away, but do note that enemies can use them to their advantage once you've gone passed them.

E - Pretty simple, use it to prevent damage on your adc or allies. It can also be used on an ally who is chasing someone, the slow will allow them to catch up to the enemy champ (as long as they are in range of the blast) One thing that people seem to forget is that your shield can be placed on Daisy. You can use this to your advantage in many ways. It allows daisy and your team to catch up to enemies, it can potentially slow and damage their entire team in a teamfight, it can be used as another way to peel, and it can give Daisy even more resistance to damage allowing her to survive longer and do more.

R - Primarily for all ins, but can be used for peel or siege. I typically save it until i land a q on someone at low health, then I use r and auto. You and daisy will then "dash" to the rooted champion. In a teamfight, always try to get daisy to target the backline. This will cause the enemy adc to become pressured out of the fight, or will cause the enemy team to use abilities on daisy or focus her instead of your team. It can be used as a disengage as well and can possibly turn a fight around. Daisy will often make people flee and if they don't, they get knocked up. A simple q and the help of your team and a losing fight could turn into a winning one.

Q > E > W > R
I start q on Ivern for the same reason I start e on Taric. It helps with early trades and can prevent potential all-ins or early enemy ganks. It can even potentially get your adc a level 1 kill depending on the situation.

Start e next for the shield. Occasionally I will start w if the enemy laners are not trading and are coming close enough for me to poke, but generally I get e next to prevent poke on my adc.

W then R. You don't get a lot from your w poke, but any damage is still damage which will help in the end. Against a healer support, you won't be doing any damage, but it still allows you to bait out their heal. Against a tank, you can slowly trickle their health down.

I won't go in depth into runes either because personally, I feel as though they're more personal preference, but i do recommend having at least 6 Scaling CDR runes as CDR is very effective on ivern and having the scaling CDR will help him throughout the game. They also help you reach your 45% CDR.

You can either go Thunderlords or Windspeakers, but i prefer windspeakers for the extra shield and armor. For Ivern, the situation is similar to Alistar, you take thunderlords but still build tank. As for the rest, basic support masteries are recommended.

Courage of the Colossus. I would highly recommend avoiding this mastery. Not only does is mean you wont be getting 45% cdr and an early 5% cdr, but the mastery only procs on a daisy knockup. This means it won't be at all useful until 6 and even then it's not the best mastery for early game, especially since daisy knockup actually has to hit for the shield to trigger.

Now, the reason i take Relic Shield instead of Ancient Coin is because Ivern becomes squishy with coin and the mana regen from ancient coin isn't necessary unless you're spamming abilities. You can make a thresh build where you start Ancient Coin then build tanky, and that works well too, but i personally find that starting Relic Shield is better, especially since face of the mountain will give you the 10% CDR and much more health. However, it comes down to preference.

After starting with coin or relic, build Sightstone as soon as you can, just as you would on any other support. Next is boots. It comes down to Mobility Boots or Ionian Boots of Lucidity. If you plan on invading the enemy jungle or roaming a lot, get mobility boots. If you're stuck in lane or aren't roaming often, get lucidity boots to help you win lane. Another way to look at it is if you're ahead, Mobility Boots and if you're behind, Ionian Boots of Lucidity

After that i usually go straight into Ruby Sightstone and Locket of the Iron Solari then upgrade my relic (or coin) into face of the mountain. ( or talisman of ascension )

From there it's really situational. You can build Mikael's Blessing, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, or any other support items.

As for Eye of the Watchers, I would recommend against going the Spellthief's Edge route due to Ivern's lack of damage when building support. Unlike Brand, Zyra or Velkoz, Ivern lacks damage without straight ap items such as runic echos and rod of ages. You can build Hextech Rocketbelt as it gives you health and ap, but building him to do damage while also building him as support leaves him at an awkward position between damage and utility (he ends up not doing enough damage while then lacking utility he gains from being a tank with locket or a shield-spammer with mikael's)

As support, your job is to protect your carry, and thus you should still be in the backline with your adc unless you are engaging or you are the only tank on your team. In a teamfight, just as you would with or , go to the front to use your cc then fall back to your adc and kite/peel for them. It's your job to ensure that your adc is alive, so once you use your cc on the enemy team do whatever you can to ensure that your adc stays alive

For teamfights as Ivern, I recommend placing bushes in your backline and poking with your autos, using your q and shield whenever you can. Try to avoid fighting without daisy, as she greatly helps with her knockup and target aquisition. When Daisy is active use your q + AA as a way for her to quickly catch up to people to get the knockup. Then return to your bushes and protect your adc.

In laning phase you should be using q to poke and set up trades (as stated before) and your r for an all in. But the biggest difference between a good support and a bad support is whether or not they auto attack the enemy adc in an all-in. You should almost always help your adc by auto attacking the enemy adc. Though it's not much damage, it is still damage, and will help your adc get the kill. It can also turn a losing fight into a winning fight if the enemy support is not auto attacking. As Ivern this is even easier because you now have ranged attacks if you need them. You will still have to protect your adc from the enemy support, but generally you should be at least trying to auto the enemy adc or supp.

I do apologize for my lack of information in this guide, but if you have any question, do ask and I will be more than happy to answer them.

Ivern can be a very good support when played correctly. He has great utility and can make plays or peel for the team. You also get blue buff and red buff, which can help your adc win fights as well as help your team because you'll be able to spam spells even more.

I hope this guide helps despite the lack of design, any comments or concerns are appreciated.

I went on a 5 win streak as Ivern supp. (middle game was a custom so I blacked it out)