Pantheon Guide – The Artisan of War

Introduction

Pantheon is one of the most versatile and aggressive champions in League of Legends, specializing in early game dominance and snowballing leads into mid and late-game. His kit offers a unique blend of burst damage, crowd control, and survivability that allows him to pressure lanes, roam effectively, and execute game-changing plays.

In this guide, you will learn how to master Pantheon’s abilities, optimal itemization, rune choices, laning tactics, mid-game rotations, and late-game teamfight positioning. Whether you are a newcomer or an experienced player, this guide will help you unlock the full potential of the Artisan of War.

Abilities Overview

Q – Spear Shot
Pantheon hurls his spear in a straight line, dealing physical damage to the first enemy hit. This ability is excellent for poke, last-hitting minions, and setting up combos. Mastering the timing and positioning of your Q is crucial for effective trades and harass.

W – Shield Vault
Pantheon leaps to a target enemy, dealing damage and stunning them briefly. W is your primary initiation and burst tool. Use it wisely to lock down priority targets, especially squishy carries or key threats.

E – Aegis Assault
Pantheon raises his shield, becoming invulnerable to damage from the front and striking enemies multiple times in a cone. This ability grants you survivability in trades and teamfights, as well as sustained damage output. Knowing when to engage and block incoming damage with E can turn the tide of fights.

R – Grand Starfall
Pantheon leaps into the air and crashes down at a target location, dealing damage and slowing enemies. His ultimate enables global plays, surprise ganks, and decisive teamfight engagements. It requires good map awareness and timing to maximize its impact.

Runes

Primary Path – Precision

• Conqueror: The perfect keystone for Pantheon, granting stacking adaptive damage and healing in prolonged fights. Helps you outlast opponents in trades and skirmishes.
• Presence of Mind: Restores mana on takedown, essential for maintaining aggression and frequent spell usage.
• Legend: Alacrity: Boosts attack speed, enhancing your W resets and basic attack synergy.
• Coup de Grace: Increases damage to low-health enemies, helping secure kills efficiently.

Secondary Path – Domination

• Cheap Shot: Deals bonus true damage to impaired enemies, synergizing perfectly with your W stun.
• Ultimate Hunter: Reduces your ultimate cooldown, allowing more frequent impactful plays around the map.

Stat Shards

• Attack Speed
• Adaptive Force
• Base Health

Item Build

Sundered Sky – Your core Mythic item. Provides lethality, attack damage, and armor penetration, perfectly complementing Pantheon’s burst and all-in damage.
Black Cleaver – Grants armor shredding and additional health, boosting your survivability and damage in extended fights.
Mercury’s Threads – Essential against crowd control heavy teams. Tenacity allows you to maintain mobility and impact.
Eclipse – Offers lethality, a shield, and movement speed, ideal for dueling and surviving in close engagements.
Muramana – Increases mana pool and damage via passive, excellent for sustained poke and ability spam.
Death’s Dance – Provides sustain through healing and damage mitigation, helping you survive burst damage and fight longer.

Tips & Tricks

• Use your W Shield Vault smartly to stun priority targets and follow up with your Q for maximum damage.
• Time your passive shield to absorb damage after successful W stuns.
• Use E Aegis Assault to block critical incoming damage in fights and maximize your survivability.
• Your ultimate R Grand Starfall is both an engage and map pressure tool – look for split-push or assist opportunities.
• Adjust your build situationally based on enemy composition; prioritize Mercury’s Threads against heavy CC teams.
• Stack Black Cleaver armor shred effectively in prolonged fights to maximize damage output.

Pantheon Guide – The Artisan of War

Laning Phase

Pantheon’s laning phase is his strongest and most defining stage. His early game burst damage, combined with his crowd control, makes him a dominant force in 1v1 and small skirmishes. To maximize his potential:

• Early Aggression: Use your W Shield Vault proactively to initiate trades. Look for opportunities when enemy cooldowns are down to engage and trade heavily. The stun allows you to lock down targets and follow up with your Q and autos.
• Passive Shield Management: Pantheon’s passive shield resets after each successful W hit. Time your trades to maximize passive uptime, absorbing incoming damage and out-trading your opponent.
• Last Hitting: Use Q Spear Shot smartly to secure minion kills when safe and poke enemies simultaneously. Managing your mana is important; don’t waste Q unnecessarily.
• Wave Control: Freeze or slow push waves near your turret to deny enemy farm and open roam opportunities. Pantheon excels at roaming, so once you have priority, look for chances to impact other lanes.
• Roaming: Your ultimate, R Grand Starfall, is a powerful global tool. Use it to gank sidelanes early and mid game, snowballing your team’s advantage. Communicate with your team and use vision control to set up successful roams.

Skill Order

Maximizing Pantheon’s damage and utility requires prioritizing skills correctly. The optimal order is:

• Level 1: Q Spear Shot
• Level 2: W Shield Vault
• Level 3: E Aegis Assault
• Max Q first (levels 1, 4, 5, 7, 9) for increased poke and burst.
• Max W second (levels 2, 8, 10, 12, 13) to reduce cooldown and increase stun duration.
• Max E last (levels 3, 14, 15, 17, 18), as it provides utility and damage but less scaling than Q/W early on.
• Put points into R at levels 6, 11, and 16.

Combos

Pantheon’s combos revolve around maximizing burst damage with proper use of his stun and shield.

• Basic Trade Combo: W (jump + stun) → Q (immediate spear) → auto attack(s) → E (block incoming damage and burst)
  Use this combo to win short trades and secure kills during laning phase.
• Poke and Engage Combo: Q poke → wait for enemy to engage or walk forward → W gap closer → auto attacks
  This is ideal for poking from range and then committing to a fight when the enemy is vulnerable.
• All-In Burst Combo: W → Q → auto → E → follow up with additional autos or another Q if available
  Use this combo for all-in kills during lane or team fights. Timing the E to block the opponent's counterattack is crucial.
• Ultimate Gank Combo: R (Grand Starfall) → W → Q → auto attacks
  Use your ultimate to surprise enemies from the fog of war, instantly follow up with W stun and Q burst for maximum damage.

Trading Patterns

Pantheon’s trading success depends on understanding when to engage and disengage.

• Short Trades: Use W to stun, quickly follow with Q and auto attacks, then back off using your passive shield. Avoid prolonged fights without shield uptime.
• Extended Trades: When you have Conqueror stacks and sustain from your passive, you can afford to fight longer, weaving autos and abilities. Use E to block enemy damage when you predict big hits.
• Disengage: If the enemy retaliates hard or jungler arrives, use your E to absorb damage and disengage safely. Use your W as a gap closer to secure kills or as an escape tool if necessary.

Early Vision and Map Awareness

Control of vision is essential for Pantheon’s success in laning and roaming.

• Place wards in river bushes and enemy jungle entrances to spot ganks early.
• Use your ultimate only when you have good information about enemy positions to maximize its impact.
• Communicate with your jungler and mid-laner to coordinate roams and pressure.
• Use your lane priority to push and roam, forcing the enemy to react and opening map pressure elsewhere.

Summary

Pantheon’s laning phase is all about calculated aggression, smart use of passive shield, and mastering combos to out-trade opponents. Use your global ultimate wisely to snowball leads, and coordinate with your team for maximum map impact.

Pantheon Guide – The Artisan of War

Advanced Gameplay: Teamfighting

Pantheon’s role in teamfights revolves around quick burst damage, disrupting enemy carries, and protecting your own backline through smart positioning and well-timed abilities.

• Positioning: As a melee bruiser, positioning is key. Use flanks or fog of war to approach fights and catch priority targets off guard with your W stun. Avoid frontline tanking unless necessary.
• Initiation: You can initiate fights with your ultimate R Grand Starfall by jumping onto isolated enemies or disrupting enemy backlines. Follow up immediately with W and Q combos for maximum burst.
• Damage Mitigation: Use E Aegis Assault strategically to block heavy incoming damage, especially from key enemy abilities or ultimates. Timing is crucial—block at the moment damage lands to absorb maximum impact.
• Target Priority: Focus on eliminating high-value squishy targets first such as ADCs or mages. Your W stun locks them down for easy burst. After that, peel for your own carries or assist in cleaning up remaining enemies.
• Cooldown Management: Keep track of your abilities’ cooldowns. Your burst combo is most effective when all skills are available. Avoid committing if your W or R are on cooldown.

Map Awareness and Objective Control

Pantheon’s kit excels at map pressure and objective control. Use this to your advantage.

• Vision Control: Work with your team to secure wards around Dragons, Rift Herald, and Baron Nashor. Use your ultimate’s global range to assist teammates contesting these objectives.
• Objective Timing: Time your ultimate to assist in early Dragon or Rift Herald fights. Your burst damage and crowd control can quickly turn the tide of these crucial skirmishes.
• Split Pushing: Pantheon’s strong early game allows effective split pushing. Apply pressure in a side lane to force enemies to respond, opening opportunities for your team elsewhere. Use your ultimate to join teamfights instantly if needed.
• Roaming and Picks: Use your mobility and stun to pick off isolated enemies. Roaming mid or into the enemy jungle to create numerical advantages can snowball your lead and secure objectives safely.

Teamfight Role Summary

Pantheon is a versatile assassin-bruiser who can dive enemy backlines, peel for carries, and absorb key damage with his shield. Adapt your role depending on your team composition and game state.

• If your team lacks initiation, use R to start fights.
• If your team has strong frontline, look to flank and pick priority targets.
• Use E to mitigate burst damage aimed at you or your teammates.
• Communicate constantly with your team to maximize impact of your global ultimate and roams.

Summoner Spells

Choosing the right summoner spells can greatly enhance Pantheon’s effectiveness.

• Flash: Almost mandatory for positioning, engaging, or escaping.
• Ignite: Great for securing kills in lane and early skirmishes.
• Teleport: Can be situationally useful for split-pushing or map pressure, but less common.
• Ghost or Exhaust: Sometimes used for survivability or chase potential, but Flash + Ignite is usually optimal.

Advanced Itemization Tips

Adjust your build depending on the enemy team and game flow.

• Against heavy AD teams, consider Death’s Dance earlier for sustain and damage mitigation.
• If facing AP burst or CC-heavy compositions, prioritize Mercury’s Threads sooner.
• Situational items like Edge of Night or Guardian Angel can help survive focused bursts.
• Use Muramana effectively by weaving abilities and autos to maximize damage output.
• Don’t forget to upgrade your Trinket and maintain vision control throughout the game.

Conclusion of Advanced Gameplay

Mastering Pantheon’s teamfight and map presence separates good players from great ones. Use his global ultimate wisely, coordinate with your team, and balance aggression with smart positioning to control the flow of the game and secure victories.

Pantheon Guide – The Artisan of War

Matchups

Strong Against:
Pantheon excels against champions who have weak early games or lack reliable gap closers. These matchups allow you to pressure heavily and snowball your lead. Examples include:

• Nasus: You can bully him early and prevent him from stacking effectively.
• Teemo: His squishiness and weak early damage make him vulnerable to Pantheon’s aggression.
• Yasuo: Pantheon’s stun and burst can outtrade Yasuo before he scales.

Weak Against:
Champions with strong sustain, mobility, or crowd control can be difficult for Pantheon to handle in lane and team fights. Examples include:

• Fiora: Her Riposte negates your stun and punishes aggressive trades.
• Irelia: High sustain and mobility make her a tough opponent for Pantheon’s burst style.
• Vayne: She can kite Pantheon and deal true damage over time, making fights drawn out and unfavorable.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Over-aggression without vision: Pantheon’s early aggression is strong but can backfire if you’re caught out by enemy junglers. Always ward and track the enemy jungler.
• Misusing your ultimate (R - Grand Starfall): Your ultimate is a powerful map presence tool. Don’t waste it just to escape—use it to secure kills, assist teammates, or split push effectively.
• Poor cooldown management: Avoid engaging when your key abilities, especially W (Shield Vault) or R (Grand Starfall), are on cooldown. Your damage and utility drop significantly without them.
• Rigid item builds: Adapt your build to the enemy team. Don’t blindly follow a set path—choose items like Mercury’s Threads against heavy CC or Death’s Dance for survivability as needed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can Pantheon jungle effectively?
A: Yes, Pantheon jungle works well due to his strong early ganks and burst damage. Map awareness and smart pathing are key to success.

Q: When should I build Eclipse over Black Cleaver?
A: Build Eclipse when you want burst damage and survivability. Black Cleaver is preferred for longer fights and armor shredding.

Q: How do I maximize the impact of Pantheon’s ultimate?
A: Coordinate with your team and use Grand Starfall to join fights, secure kills, or apply map pressure. Surprise and timing are crucial.

Q: What are Pantheon’s power spikes?
A: The biggest spike is at level 6 with your ultimate. Early levels 1-3 are also strong due to your burst and stun combo.

Closing Thoughts

Pantheon is a high-skill, high-reward champion who demands good mechanical execution and game knowledge. Mastering his combos, cooldown management, and map pressure will help you dominate your lane and influence the entire game. Stay flexible with your itemization and always look for opportunities to impact the map with your ultimate.

Good luck on the Rift, Summoner!

Hello MOBAFIRE! Patch [25.11]
My name is Palestinian Luck, and I am a Pyke OTP with over 5 million mastery points, having reached a peak of 530 LP in Master tier on the EUW server. I started playing League of Legends at the end of Season 4, and I have been dedicated to Pyke ever since his release. Currently, I am in Master tier.

In this guide, I will dive deep into Pantheon’s abilities, optimal item builds, and strategies for the laning phase, mid game, and late game.

If you have any questions that aren’t covered here, feel free to join my Twitch or Discord and ask me directly!