Pantheon Build Guide by lilwheezin

Hi guys, my name is The Pallisades, and I'm a Platinum player in the Vietnamese server(Chào các anh em Việt Nam nhé:v)and I make off-meta builds. I managed to abuse this build to Platinum, but unfortunately my promos stopped me from reaching Diamond and now I'm hardstuck (bruh) . I have never been a Pantheon main or a mid laner, but this build is just insane. Btw sorry for the ugly guide cause i'm legit 14 (yes you are reading a guide made by a 14 year old) and idk **** bout coding cause I don't have coding as a subject in my school:P. And while I'm at it, sorry for my English because I'm not native. Lets get to the guide, shall we?

I think it's fine for Pantheon in general, but it is absolutely amazing for this build. The E gets nerfed which is not that big of a deal since this build has nothing to do with E, while the W damage is buffed by a ton, and the Q mana cost is reduced. This build would be stronger than ever.
Also, I will also be adding an On-Hit AAtrox section into this guide (undeveloped), so check that out as well.

Pros:
- Strong throughout all stages of the game
- Mamma mia the damage
- No matter how THICC the opponent's health bar is, you're gonna be a magician that makes it vanish after a second.
- A superior amount of single-targeted damage.
- EXTREME carry potential
Cons:
- You are literally an Assassin with a squishy ADC health bar.
- You can't take on more than 2 members of the opponent's team at the same time.
- Extremely vulnerable to CC
- If you get behind with this build, you're gonna be extremely weak and vulnerable, which technically means that this build requires a certain amount of knowledge about playstyles and Pantheon himself
- Feast/Famine

Why Hail of Blades and not Press the Attack?
People often choose Press the Attack because it has more damaging potential and its huge utility output since it also increases the damage for your teammates. But when it comes to this build, you need more attack speed, which is what Press the Attack lack tremendously, while Hail of Blades can just fit right in. Additionally, Hail of Blades offers faster combos, which helps you get out of the enemy backline more easily after doing a combo (which has been instructed in the Combos and Gameplay section).
But what about Lethal Tempo? Isn't it a better rune for attack speed?
Regarding this question, it is true that Lethal Tempo offers better opportunities to utilize the bonus attack speed granted since it is not limited to 3 attacks, but there are 3 main reasons why Hail of Blades is still considerably better:
- Lethal Tempo can proc with abilities, which is not the best option. For example, you hit a Q on your opponents while farming minions and your enemy starts backing off. Therefore, you can't use your combo and the attack speed is wasted, and you will have to wait approx. 12 seconds for your Lethal Tempo to come back up. Meanwhile, you have nothing to provide you with attack speed even for an all-in or an opportunity for a trade. On the other hand, Hail of Blades only procs with auto attacks and your empowered W, which equals to the fact that you can spam Q to poke and E to back out when your opponent starts trading and not worry about wasting your Hail of Blades. And it has a lower cooldown as well (Kind of).
- Hail of Blades fits just PERFECTLY into your kit. I mean, your empowered W has 3 extra auto attacks and the rune has extra attack speed for the exact 3 autos. Like LMAO why not? If you choose Lethal Tempo, a substantial amount of extra attack speed will be wasted since you only need those 3 autos and 2 consequent autos (which already have sufficient attack speed in the items).
- Hail of Blades has an early advantage in terms of attack speed. Lethal Tempo has scaling attack speed (40% - 110% in particular), while Hail of Blades offers 110% attack speed throughout the game. This combining with Pantheon's insane early game power will grant you an early game advantage when doing combos and trading comparing to Lethal Tempo.
Wooooohooooo, that was tiring. Let's move on to the next part, shall we?

Sudden Impact will help quite a bit when you use your W cause it's a leap. That one bit of lethality later on in the game can do much more than just a bit of damage since it adds up over time.
Eyeball Collection Should be quite obvious why I take this rune.
Ravenous Hunter gives you insane healing and you need it every time you all-in.
Relentless Hunter is an alternative if the enemy doesn't have too much poke and you see roaming potential. Take Mobility Boots when you pick this rune.
Ultimate Hunter is purely a preference kind of rune. If you wanna fall from the sky more often, take this rune.

These are mythic items that you can have a look at to see what to build and what not to.
- Immortal Shieldbow makes you slightly less squishy with the passive while giving you an outplay potential and a set of stats. One of the best mythic items for this build.
- Galeforce is fine. It gives a dash to approach enemies more easily for your combo, but the mythic bonus is kind of bad. So yeah, get this if there is a lot of kiting, but you should always go for Immortal Shieldbow.
- Kraken Slayer is the WORST among all mythic crit items. The passive only procs on your 3rd hit, which deals about 150 damage maximum. If it procs on all of the 3 AA in your W it would be awesome, but unfortunately, it doesn't. You shouldn't even build this in a Pantheon On-Hit build because this item is ******ed. If someone tells you to build this item on Pantheon, it is obvious that they haven't thought clearly about this item. And I'm being neither mean nor exaggerated. Please, if you don't want this build to go to hell, don't build this item.
- Duskblade of Draktharr is rather a high risk - high reward item. It is such a huge power spike for the build and it has amazing stats. But if you build Duskblade of Draktharr you will have to build Infinity Edge fourth item and the remaining items must have crit chance because 60% crit chance is not enough to utilize your W. Basically you get more damage but less utility and you get your first power spike earlier, but your Infinity Edge power spike later. If you can make full use of your first power spike, this will be a solid choice. But if you are only slightly ahead and you are uncertain whether you are gonna get fed or not, it would still be better to stick with Immortal Shieldbow.
- Trinity Force has been bugging me for a while because it is good but not good at the same time. It has an amazing set of stats and Pantheon's empowered W applies the On-Hit passive, but your goal is to oneshot the enemy, while the first passive doesn't really work with that concept since it requires you to stay in combat more to make full use out of it. And it has similar problems with Duskblade of Draktharr because it is not an item that has crit chance. It is your choice whether or not to choose this item, but personally I wouldn't even bother building this item

This build is mostly around crit items and DPS. Your W will be the most important ability in the build. For now, let's analyze the items that I picked.

- Infinity Edge gives AD, crit chance and it increases the damage when you crit. It also helps with your Q when the enemy is low. Remember that this should be your 3rd item because it only gives the passive when you have at least 60% crit chance.
- Essence Reaver gives ability haste, AD, mana restoration, and crit chance. The passive also works with your W and you will need the mana sustain because your main tool in this build is W. However, this item has the least benefits among other items, so if you need other items for other purposes (for example surviving burst), this item is always the best replacement.
- Black Cleaver is the way to go if the enemy starts stacking up armor to make crit damage irrelevant. It also gives health to make you a bit more tanky as well as Ability haste.
- I don't know about you, but Death's Dance in s11 is absolute trash on Pantheon. The omnivamp is taken away, and the passive is only suitable for extreme healing champions like Aatrox or Illaoi. Don't build this.
- Sterak's Gage offers health, AD, and the GIGANTIC shield from the passive. Take this if you think you are likely to be burst down.
- The Collector gives lethality and the ability to finish off low health enemies. Despite the fact that it got gutted a few patches ago, it is still a solid item. Remember when you use your long-range Q to finish off a low-health enemy but end up wasting your time because the Q damage is not enough? Well, **** that, because we have this item now. Definitely worth buying.
- Navori Quickblades grants a ton of ability haste and the passive is kinda busted because it reduces your cooldown every time you crit, making your W have no cooldown.
- Guinsoo's Rageblade is an alternative for Navori Quickblades when enemies start building Randuin's Omen. DO NOT build Navori Quickblades and Guinsoo's Rageblade with each other, because one wishes you to crit more to utilize the passive, while the other makes you stop striking critically. This is a cursed item combination. Do not build these 2 items with each other.
- Armor Penetration Items such as Serylda's Grudge and Youmuu's Ghostblade are not recommended. With the bit of lethality in The Collector and the armor pen passive from Grand Starfall, Pantheon already have sufficient penetration to burst ADCs and mages. In case they have tanks or front-liners like Renekton or Cho'Gath, Blade of the Ruined King is the best choice. If they build armor to counter your damage, Black Cleaver is the way to go.
- If you like to spam abilities and do non-stop combos to apply pressure on your opponents, Manamune is the most suitable item for you. The On-Hit passive also works with your Shield Vault so this item is definitely recommended. However, you shouldn't start with Tear of the Goddess because it gives no early combat stats and you will waste your early game power. Buy it on the first back and start working towards your Mythic Item, and then build Manamune.

The whole build will be around your Shield Vault and Comet Spear, so these combos must be learned before playing. Always remember to level up your Shield Vault first. It's really important.
1. Empowered Shield Vault - AA - AA
This combo is for level 1 trades. After hitting W, give them two extra auto attacks to stack up Pantheon's passive, preparing for the next trade. If you are afraid of being traded back, hit the empowered W then back immediately. You can always stack the passive on the minions later.
2. Empowered Shield Vault - AA - AA - Empowered Comet Spear
Similar to the level 1 trade combo, this is for the level 2 trades when you have your Comet Spear. The W already hurts, but your Q is gonna hit like a truck. After the combo, back off and start stacking the passive and repeat.
3. Empowered Shield Vault - AA - AA - Empowered Comet Spear - Aegis Assault
This is exactly the same with the level 2 combo, but when you have your Aegis Assault (should be obvious bruh). Use E to block the incoming damage after you did a trade. It doesn't have to be empowered tho.
4. Empowered Shield Vault - AA - Aegis Assault + early cancel - Empowered Comet Spear
This combo is for a fast in-and-out all-in (diving under turret for example). Remember to use this combo only when you are certain there are no outplay potential from your opponent.
5. Empowered Shield Vault - AA - Comet Spear - Empowered Aegis Assault
In 'Escape' - a song by Rupert Holmes, there's this one lyric which I particularly like: 'If you like piña coladas'. I tend to assume that all ADC players like pina Coladas, so I send em off to paradise and enjoy their pina Coladas called 'Grey Screen', while I 'escape' from the enemy team with the movement speed from my Aegis Assault. In a nutshell, if you are fed enough, you can finish off a squishy ADC with half a combo and quickly retreat with your E. You can also cancel the ability early to receive the movement speed immediately and prevent being CC chained.
- The gameplay is simple. Use the combos above, look for trading opportunities during the laning phase and roam. Late game you should concentrate on the enemy's backline. Pantheon is relatively weak late game, so this build should fix that right up. Whenever I am fed, I usually kill mages and ADCs with just the W. Just the W ONLY. If they build resistant items, the two consecutive auto attacks and the empowered Q will make them vanish. You targeted a tank and couldn't kill him? No worries, use your E then back off.
Enemy: Nooooooo you can't just burst me to death and block all my damage!!!!! Riot this is not balanced!!!
Pantheon: haha ADCs go boom boom
IMPORTANT NOTE: Your empowered W makes your next three auto attacks have more attack speed, which means it does not make your W strike three times (kinda explain why it can apply on-hit effects). If you W and you see their jungler, you can right-click immediately to cancel the combo. This saved me multiple times.

Thank you so much for 30,000+ views. It took a while but I got the job done. I hope that you will be able to climb to higher ranks(If a 1st challenger somehow sees this build then I hope you stay right where you are). If you have time, PLEASE give me feedback or response so that I can improve my guide and add more information. I appreciate your support a lot. Goodbye and see you later on other guides!