Hello and welcome to my Thresh guide! My name is FreXooH and now I'm going give you a few tips and tricks on how to play Thresh! I've been playing Thresh since Season 4, and mained him since Season 5. He is a support with alot of potential and there is always something new to learn, unless you are a Thresh god... #Madlife :) I think that Thresh always has and always will be a good soloQ pick. But remember that in the wrong hands he can be one of the worst supports, but put in some hours of practice and he will become one of the stronges instead. With that out of the way, let's get started!

+ Huge playmaker
+ Good CC
+ Strong throughout the whole game
+ Big pick potential
+ Good at starting fights/ good engage
+ Good at peeling
+ Good disengage

- Big learning curve
- His Q, Death Sentence, can be akward at first beacuse of the 0.5 sec windup
- No sustain
- Using Relic Shield can be hard because he doesn't get extra damage to the minion when it is below 200 hp
- Low mobility (for himself)
- Skill-shot reliant

Keystone:

Aftershock: Thresh has a very easy time immobilizing enemies and can proc Aftershock with his Q, E and R. The extra resistances is good for engages and the damage is a nice extra bonus.

Runes:

Font of life: Thresh has 2 slows, his E and his R. These can both proc Font of Life and is in my opinion, way more useful than the other two options.

Conditioning: Conditioning is the only one that makes sense. You may lose out on armor/mr for the first ten minutes of the game. But at ten minutes you get both. Even if you're up against a full AD team you should still take Conditioning since it gives you more armor than Iron Skin.

Second wind: The regen on this is very strong. In lane and in mid game this will counter poke and keep you at high health. Always take Second Wind.

Secondary runes:

Zombie Ward: Zombie Ward gives you insane vision. Just drop a ward behind the enemy redbuff of in some other place where enemies dont walk so often and your vision of the map will be incredible. I think its one of the best lesser runes in the game.

Ingenious hunter: Since you went in to the Domination tree to get Zombie Ward you have to finnish the tree off. I recommend Ingenious Hunter because it gives you up to 40% extra intem CDR. The Bounty Hunter stacks can be earned from assists as well as kills.

Goals with your build: Get 40% CDR. Not more, not less. Get a good mix of utility and tankiness

IMPORTANT Notes: - Always get Sightstone first item. - If you are forced to recall before you can afford Sightstone, you should get a Ruby Crystal and a couple of Control Ward's. - Always get Sweeping Lens once you buy your Sightstone. - Make sure to upgrade your Sweeping Lens to a Oracle Lens as soon as you can.

- To get 40% CDR as fast as possible, buy: Kindlegem, Forbidden Idol, Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Eye of the Equinox/ Nomad's Medallion (After Sightstone). - If you are forced to change a item that doesn't give CDR for a item that does you should swap out your boots as well, so you don't overcap on CDR.

Relic Shield: The standard starting item for Thresh. It is very strong in lane since you can lasthit the cannon minions and therefore get the gold while your adc gets it aswell. However, this can be hard at times and you might fail the lasthit, losing the gold for you and your adc.

Ancient Coin: From patch 7.13 when they changed the quest reward of this item it has become a more viable option on Thresh. It's easier to get gold from it and you won't get flamed by your adc when you miss a last hit. However the quest reward from Ancient Coin isn't as strong as the one from Relic Shield

Refillable Potion: I usually only pick this up when I'm playing against a poking enemy and my lane is winning. But even then I very rarely buy this item.

Ruby Crystal: Buy this if you cant afford Sightstone on your first back!

Sightstone: Very core on all supports. Warding well can win you games, so having 3 new wards everytime you go to base is very nice. Get this item first.

Targon's Brace

Targon's Brace: This is the higher tier of the starting item. I almost never upgrade to this item unless I'm building towards Eye of the Equinox.

Nomad's Medallion: If you started with Ancient Coin you should get this item after Kindlegem, Forbidden Idol and Ionian Boots of Lucidity for 40% CDR.

Face of the mountain

Face of the Mountain: I rarely get this unless I need the shield to peel for my team. Usually it's a better idea to get a "Eye" item instead. ( Eye of the Oasis, Eye of the Equinox)

Eye of the Equinox

Eye of the Equinox: Get this if you don't need the shield from Face of the Mountain. I usually go for it because it allows you to get a extra inventory spot instead of your Sightstone taking one and your Face of the Mountain taking one. This lets you get an extra item.

Talisman of Ascension

Talisman of Ascension: Don't even think about buying this item. It's just useless and if you for some reason would want movement speed you can just get Turbo Chemtank instead...

Eye of the Oasis

Eye of the Oasis: Get this after your first major item, if you started with Ancient Coin. Same reasoning as Eye of the Equinox, you get a free inventory slot and can buy an extra item.

Knight's Vow: A very core item that I buy every game on Thresh. It will keep your adc alive for a bit longer and it will heal you when they deal damage. It also gives you alot of health which synergizes well with Locket of the Iron Solari.

Locket of the Iron Solari: Good for giving you entire team durability in a fight. And when you build tanky items the shield from it will be even bigger. Almost always a core item unless I want to get Zeke's Convergence from the Aegis of the Legion instead.

Gargoyle Stoneplate: A good item that synergizes well with Locket of the Iron Solari because when you activate it in a fight your HP will be doubled and therefore your shield from Locket of the Iron Solari will be bigger.

Mikael's Crucible: If the enemy team has alot of CC like a Lissandra, Amumu or a Ashe, Mikael's is very effective, and usually the enemy team as some kind of CC. However, if your adc says they don't need a Mikael's Blessing or they buy a Quicksilver Sash, I normally buy a Redemption instead because it builds from Forbidden Idol which is one of the starting items you buy to get 40% CDR.

Zeke's Convergence: A good item for peeling. Just stand close to your adc and drop your ult. That means the enemy will get slowed by your ult and bu the frostcloud that forms from the item. Also your adc will deal more damage with auto attacks. When I buy this item I usually swap it out for Locket of the Iron Solari or Gargoyle Stoneplate. However, doing that will make you overcap on CDR so I also swap out my boots from Ionian Boots of Lucidity to Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads.

Redemption: If it's not required of you to buy Mikael's Blessing you can buy Redemption instead to heal your team in big fights.

Frozen Heart: This item gives alot of CDR. So try not to overcap on it. I only buy this item if I'm playing against a double of tripple adc comp. For examlpe Corki mid and Quinn top. Or if im playing against a Yasuo + an adc.

Sunfire Cape: I only get this when my team is really ahead and I want to do some extra damage. But it's almost never a good idea...

Banner of Command: This item is extremly situational and I almost never get it. But if the game requires you to buy it for split pushing of creating pressure it can be good...

Zz'Rot Portal: Same reasoning here as on Banner of Command. Extremly situational.

Randuin's Omen: Does the same as a Frozen Heart exept worse. However it reduces damage from crits but I rarely buy this over Frozen Heart...

Warding Totem (Trinket): Swap this out as fast as you buy your Sightstone.

Sweeping Lens (Trinket): Buy this if you are under lvl 9 and have a sightstone. It will help your jungler set up ganks and give you more vision advantage.

Oracle Alteration (Trinket): Get this at lvl 9 to clear wards and gain map control.

Boots:

Ionian Boots of Lucidity: Buy these to get to 40% CDR if you need to.

Boots of Mobility: Most guides tell you to get Mobility Boots on almost all supports... Their reasoning behind it is that it's for roaming. But honestly... How often do you roam to make them worth it? And you wouldn't get 40% CDR as fast unless you buy some stupid **** instead... Spamming your spells and hooking people is alot easier than doing succesful roams. Especially in lower ELO's because if you leave your lane your ADC will die and start flaming you...

Ninja Tabi: Buy this against a heavy AD team when you overcap on CDR

Mercury's Treads Buy this aginst a heavy Ap and CC team when you overcap on CDR.

Boots of Swiftness: Meh...

I try to start with E Flay because the passive is very strong early game. Poking the ememy with empowered basic attacks deals alot of damage. But I never unlock a spell until I need it or get to lane. Because you never know if the enemy tries to cheese you or invades your jungle. That may force you to start Q [Death Sentence]] or W Dark Passage.

- After E Flay I take Q Death Sentence to be able to catch out apponents and zone enemies. If you run up behind the enemies minions they will most likley dont wanna get hooked so they'll back off. Only do this if you got to level 2 before them and they still are lvl 1 or have a huge advantage in lane.

- Get Dark Passage at level 3.

- At level 6, 11, and 16 take points in you ultimate The Box.

- Max Q Death Sentence first, then W Dark Passage and E Flay last.

Flash: Always take flash. It is your only escape in lane and can be very useful to suprice and reach your enemies with a Flash ==> Death Sentence / Flay

Exhaust: Exhaust is the standart support spell. Most people think of exhaust only as a slow, also reduces the targets damage which of course is good against ADC's.

Ignite: Ignite is a viable support spell if you want to play aggressive in lane and kill your opponents. Remember that Ignite falls off late game alot compared to Exhaust. I'd take ignite against for examlpe a Soraka, to make her heals heal less when you try to kill them.

Farming with your Relic Shield can be hard with Thresh since he is ranged and does not get the execute part of it. Therefore its good to have your E's passive fully charged when trying to lasthit since it gives your basic attacks extra damage.

Teamfighting with Thresh is very different from fight to fight. Your role in a fight depends on what team comp you have. If you already have a good engage on your team,
like a Ashe, Malphite or Annie, you can focus on protecting your backline.
That means hooking, slowing, and flaying enemy tanks and bruisers that want to kill your backline.
If your team lacks engage however, your first job is to start a fight with a good hook.
Try to hook a adc or a mid laner over a wall, or hook a tank and fly in and put down The Box. Once the fight has started you must make a decision. Do you stay close to the enemy backline and try to hook them, letting your bruisers or assasins kill them. Or do you fall back to protect your own backline. Make the decision based on who on the enemy team will rush towards your backline, and if your team will be able to finnish the enemy backline off.

- When Thresh uses his Q Death Sentence he will face in the direction he stood in when the skillshot was casted, not where its aimed. Use this to your advantage by facing towards another enemy and casting the hook on an unsuspecting target.

- Using E Flay just before Q Death Sentence can cancel a little bit if the animation and it will be harder to see coming. However your E might compleatly miss...

- Flaying an enemy will slow them, making easier to hit your Q Death Sentence.

- When you hit your Q Death Sentence, use your R The Box to drag them through one of the walls and then use E Flay to push them in to another. This will ensure they don't Flash out of your ult and avoid getting slowed at all.

- When you are alone in lane and the ememy are hitting your tower, you can throw your W Dark Passage towards the jungle. This will make your enemies think they're getting ganked and therefore backs off. When in fact you're still alone.

- Remember that you don't always have to use the second part of your Q as it might put you in a bad possition.

- Q Death Sentence can pull targets over thin walls, like the ones between raptors and river.

- You can cancel jump and dash abilities such as Tristana's Rocket Jump and Vi's Vault Breaker with both your E Flay and Q Death Sentence.

- You can collect Damnation souls using your W Dark Passage. Remember that Dark Passage has a long cooldown, make sure you have it when your ally needs it.

- You can use your E Flay mid-flight with your Q Death Sentence.

- If you are faster or just ahead of your ADC on your way to lane, use your W Dark Passage behind you to help them get to lane faster.

- When an ally takes your lantern Dark Passage you can Flash over walls and take your ally with you if you time it correctly. Or hit a Blast Cone.

- Don't always use your E Flay directly after Q Death Sentence
since you might need it to stop the enemy from using a dash or jump.

Thanks for reading my guide to the "God of Supports", Thresh. I hope you learned something!
If you want you can follow me on Youtube and Twitter!
Good luck!