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 15 (yes you are reading a guide made by a 15-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.

And in case some of you guys decided to try this build out and feed, please keep in mind 2 things:
1. This build is item reliant and requires combos to work well. If you skip the Combos and Gameplay part then I can not guarantee that it will work.
2. This build is off-meta, which means it isn't the most effective strategy. Therefore, it is not recommended in ranked games (unless you really love this build and have fully mastered the playstyle).

Let's get to the guide, shall we?

I think it's fine for Pantheon in general, but it is absolutely amazing for this build. The Aegis Assault gets nerfed which is not that big of a deal since this build does not have much to do with it, while Shield Vault damage is buffed by a ton, and the Comet Spear mana cost is reduced. Additionally, he also have an armor penetration passive, helping him shred tanks and squishies. This build would be stronger than ever.

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, 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. Despite being relatively popular recently due to the Season 12 update, there remains a few reasons why Hail of Blades is still considerably better:

- The focus of this build isn't attack speed, but rather critical damage and AD. The hail of blades] attack speed only helps us combo faster and burst more quickly, instead of prolonging the fight/trade and utilizing the attack speed like [[lethal tempo.

- Lethal Tempo takes a few seconds to be (fully) activated, while Hail of Blades immediately procs on auto-attacks. And how does this benefits us? Well, let's just say you won't get the most value when you W and by the time you can actually use the bonus AS from Lethal Tempo, your combo is already halfway over (which is like the last two autos and E). So theoretically, Pantheon can stack Lethal Tempo more quickly than a lot of other champions thanks to his Shield Vault but it is useless after one trade/combo.

Sheeesh, that was tiring. Let's move on to the next part, shall we?

*UPDATE: Recently Hail of Blades got nerfed (Riot increased the cooldown from 8 to 12 seconds). Personally, it's a pretty heavy nerf, but I don't think it will affect too much. Intrinsically, it is still an amazing keystone.

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. Gives you exta AD=> More damage output.

Ravenous Hunter used to give you insane healing and you need it every time you all-in. Now that it's gone, I feel like Treasure Hunter can now be a new staple. With its insane scaling potential, combined with this item-reliant and powerspike-reliant playstyle, this rune should do a great job at helping you snowball. So far, I have achieved decent to good results with this rune (although some experimentation is still needed). Give Treasure Hunter a try, if you are trying to dominate and snowball, you will not regret it.

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.

This question popped up after the mini-rework he got in patch 10.25, and it actually depends on personal preference. But in my viewpoint, maxing Aegis Assault second is a lot more beneficial than Shield Vault.

The reason why this question appeared is because of how the new Shield Vault got 'buffed' and how the Aegis Assault got massacred. New Shield Vault now increases more damage with each level up (60/80/100/120/140 ⇒ 60/100/140/180/220 in particular), while the new Aegis Assault no longer blocks turret shots and the empowered one is now replaced with a slight burst of movement speed ( 60% movement speed for 1.5 seconds).

To be brutally honest, maxing Shield Vault is not a bad option. It gives you quite a bit of damage and a lower cooldown, but since the recent Hail of Blades nerf heavily affected the cooldown issue, it would not be wise of us to max Shield Vault second since this ability already has a decent amount of cooldown and damage.

On the other hand, maxing Aegis Assault second grants multiple benefits:
- Protect you more in fights -> Better trades
- Aegis Assault has a lot more cooldown than Shield Vault -> balances out Pantheon's kit for the combos.
- Empowered Aegis Assault allows you to either extend the trade or quickly back off.

In conclusion: MAXING Aegis Assault SECOND IS MORE ADVANTAGEOUS THAN Shield Vault


Yet, with this logical explanation, some still refuse to max Aegis Assault second. THINK, PLAYERS, THINK! Think of all the benefits you can get by maxing it second!

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 solid. It gives a dash to approach enemies more easily for your combo and a killing blow with the active, but you don't get to utilize the mythic bonus too often, usually only when you have empowered Aegis Assault (which doesn't even last that long lmao). So yeah, get this if you want to, 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 250 damage maximum. If it procs on all of the 3 auto-attacks in your Shield Vault 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 Shield Vault. 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 Shield Vault applies the On-Hit passive, but your goal is to one-shot 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 consider building this item.

This build is mostly around crit items and DPS. Your Shield Vault 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 Comet Spear 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 Shield Vault and you will need the mana sustain because your main tool in this build is Shield Vault.

- 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. Bruiser Pantheon may work with this item, but not this particular build. 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 Comet Spear to finish off a low-health enemy but end up wasting your time because the damage is not enough? Well, **** that, because we have this item now. Definitely worth buying.

- Edge of Night is arguably one of the best defensive options for this build. Not only does it gives you health and a spell shield, it also grants AD and lethality. Very suitable.

- Guinsoo's Rageblade is an alternative for Infinity Edge 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 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.

*UPDATE: I've come to the realization that Ionian Boots of Lucidity is kinda broken lately, and Navori Quickblades is not that good. Therefore, I've decided to replace Berserker's Greaves with Ionian Boots of Lucidity due to the fact that you only need the attack speed from items and Hail of Blades, as well as you can replace the cdr from Navori Quickblades For the last item replacement, I have tried multiple alternatives and I think Lord Dominik's Regards is the best option. It has crit chance, AD, and most importantly, armor penetration. Yeah yeah, I know I said armor pen items are not recommended, but because tanks have been appearing quite often in my games lately, I think this item should do the trick, especially with its passive. However, in case you still need to prioritize for more important things (such as to stay alive during combat), this item is replaceable. Since you already have Shield Vault as a cc, Serylda's Grudge is not chosen.

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 is 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.
This can also be used as a trading pattern in the laning phase as the extra movement speed allows you to either extend the trade with a few auto attacks or back off safely and prevent your laning opponent from retaliating.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

- Flash + prolonged Comet Spear
A pretty basic finishing move. Always hold Q for the extra range.

- Aegis Assault + Galeforce active
You can cast Galeforce during the E animation. E damage is actually quite a lot, so in case the opponent doesn't die with your previous combos, this is the move that will earn you a kill.

- Flash + Shield Vault
If this combo is done outside of the Shield Vault range, it will leap a further distance. If it is done in range, it will cancel the leap animation. Both has its own advantage and usage.


- 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

Thank you so much for 200,000+ views (that is an unimaginable number of views to me). 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 a 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!