Ahoy folks, this here's a quick guide to the basics of Pyke. He's an assassin support (yes that exists now) with a very opportunist playstyle, but can snowball lanes without taking resources from his laners.

While there are some suggested builds in this guide, I must stress this isn't a guide on how to play him the most optimally, but more about theorycrafting with a bit of testing + a few basic combos you should learn before playing him proper. I'm going to be discussing Pyke in the context of being a support since a) it's the role he was designed for, b) it's the role I'm most familiar with, and c) I don't think he actually has a good enough solo lane early to make it justifiable on account of having a 16 second CD level 1 ability, and can be pushed in very easily. With that out of the way, I'm first going to explain why building items with HP may be effective even if he can't gain bonus HP.

So, the short of this is that build HP is still mostly gold efficient. For every 14 hp Pyke builds, he gains 1 AD. This means 140 hp = 140 AD, and since every point of HP is worth 2.6 gold, which is around 360 gold. Compared to a 350 g Long Sword, this tax isn't too significant unless you start stacking HP. However, it's important to remember that Pyke has some fantastic defensive base stats. He has the highest hp and in the top 5 for armour at level 18 with great stat growth. This means that building one or two resistance items isn't too outlandish providing your team has damage to back it up, and that the effects gained are worth it.


ThiFor this to work though, you have to approach some items a little differently. For example, Dead Man's plate isn't a bruiser item with a compensatory damage passive, but a flanking tool that sacrifices some AD you could've got from Youmuus for a constant speed boost and some selective durability, plus some mixed damage for all ins.

Black cleaver is no longer about slowly whittling people down as you sit there being whapped right back, but a game of whether you can apply enough procs safely against the big daddy Maokai who's going to shove his oodles of base damage up your spooky arse if your ADC can't capitalize on it.

tl;dr, you can build items that offer hp, but you have to treat them like a very awkward utility item for assassins. Now we have the boring number rant out of the way, lets talk abilities!

Ok, I tell a lie. Pyke's passive is very number orientated. First, we have the aforementioned 14 hp = 1 AD, but you can only gain hp through leveling. Again though, high base hp pool makes this not too awful, though gaining levels on a support can be a bit sluggish in games when you're behind.

The second component is a passive very similar to Evelynn's, mixed with a little Tahm Kench. If he gets hurt, if he can hide out of the enemy's vision for a moment he'll heal for a portion of the damage received from champion's. The main idea of this is that if Pyke can maintain bush control, he can shrug off enough damage to stay sustained by relic procs. If he can't though, he'll have to back off and potentially put his ADC at risk of being damaged or losing farm.

So Pyke's Q has two forms. The first is the quick release Q. It's a short range skill shot which will damage and slow all enemies hit by the skill shot significantly for one second. A simple ability, but can help push a wave or get a quick hit in for an electrocute proc if the enemy walks into it.

The juicy bit of his Q though is when it's held down. When held down, the range will increase significantly, but will only hit the first target it comes into contact with, plus you'll be slowed as it charges. They'll receive more damage than the non-press Q, be pulled 550 units towards Pyke, and be slowed for 1 second. Note, this means if you case it point blank, your enemy will actually fly behind you. Even if you don't want to all in, it can be good non-commital poke if you reckon the other bot lane won't capitalize on the cooldown.

Surprisingly simple. Pyke camouflages for 5 seconds so that only enemies within 600 units can see him, though enemies nearby will have a warning indicator. He also gains a decent speed boost, and the ability is cancelled if he casts an ability or attacks.

This **** here is the bread and butter for Pyke to make plays with his jungler in lane or in mid lane. While his long-range displacement is powerful, this can let him get close enough to get a guaranteed slow and stun from his Q and E respectively. If he knows where any control wards are and has a red trinket, Pyke can make some very surprising movements across the map.

This ability is arguably the most important in Pyke's kit and separates him from the other AD assassins. He dashes in a straight line, then after a second, his spoopy shadow follows him stunning all champions that the shadow hits as well as inflicting a bit of damage to boot.

I believe this is the best and most interesting ability of Pyke's kit. It's aggressive, requires planning, and has a lot of playmaking potential. As I'll discuss in his combos section, this ability is a linchpin and gives him something other assassins rarely have: Hard CC which gives him a bit more team fight presence than others in his class.

Ok, this might not be the best ability for a support, but it could be the most fun. First, he fires a skill shot that immediately inflicts damage in an X shape. If an enemy champion gets hit, he pops up in the middle like a really edgy prairie dog. If anyone is below a certain hp threshold, they're executed and an ally is given full gold credit as well as Pyke.

Then, if an enemy was executed, he can cast it again for no cost within 20 seconds, meaning you can potentially steal a pentakill with this ability, but no one will be able to complain because they still got gold from it. This ability is the reason why Zed mains are going to go bot lane a few days.

It's silly, it's fun, and I swear to God if Riot doesn't change this to 'X marks the spot' I will personally fly 3000 miles to slap the champion designer in his joyless prick face.

In all seriousness though, while the execute is nice, the blink is very important for setting up further plays with your E for your team to follow up on.

Righty, let's start with the simplest combo which offers the best chance of catching someone out while in lane.

Charge Q, flash, release Q, E: You can cast flash while charging Your Q, extending your plays. Then, ff you cast E as your Harpoon hits, the CC will be unavoidable, thus displacing and stunning the opponent simultaneously. Satisfying as ****, but careful not to put yourself between a rock and a hard place. And the rock is a level 6 support Malphite, and the hard place is the crotch of the Lucian who knows your summoner spells are down.

Note, you CAN'T flash as your harpoon is in the air.

Flanking E into charged Q: If you can get behind a fleeing enemy, E through them then charged Q them. This turns your Q into a Singed flip and is a right hoot.

E flash: This is a bit like a more aggressive Taric E flash. You E in, then play a game of chicken with your opponent on who flashes first. If you start close enough and your reactions are quick enough, you can even follow a flash with your own to still stun them.

E Ult blink: So if you E forward then ult an enemy in the back row, your E will follow you to where you're blinking, extend the range further. You can also put flashes into the mix, before or after the ult to extend it even further.

Hopefully, this guide has helped you grasp the basics of Pyke. Hopefully, I can flesh this guide out as we see how he performs and whether he truly succeeds in the role he was designed for. Thank you very much for reading this guide, and I hope you've found that a pirate's life, is indeed for you.