Hello, Dekopon here! A Citrus-loving support main~ Mhmm~ I've been playing League of Legends for almost 2 years now. Peaked at Platinum 3 during my first year (S7) by playing Sona and Lulu! Currently sitting at Platinum 5 due to a busy schedule. 🍊 Why you should play Lulu 🍊 🍊 Super Adorable and Fun! 🍊 Annoying to deal with, which could tilt the enemy team. 🍊 Although a bit difficult for starters, I find her very useful and easy to climb in lower elo if mastered. (I have played her in both Silver and Gold elo) 🍊 Anti-assassin, also very helpful at shutting down fed-enemies if positioned correctly.

*Update*

New Patch: 8.17 - 8.19 Additional Thoughts

This is the World's patch, it doesn't affect much of the support lane. There are minor buffs to Janna, Pyke, and Thresh. Lulu is not a bad pick but people can agree she's not that good either. I find myself preferring other supports at the moment because her laning phase is weak unless you get her to mid-late game team fights and with an ahead ADC. Her win rate is still 48%. Thresh, Nami and Alistar are the best support champions this patch.


New Patch: 8.16

NERFS:
Summon Aery, Celerity, Scorch, Electrocute have been nerfed.
Aery is still good, its early game is nerfed but still preferred for prolonged team fights. Arcane Comet if you're confident that it's a kill lane, it does more in laning phase.
Celerity is still OK, but I would go for the Transcendence for the CD and just get mobility boots.

This patch, Engage champions are still on top and that leaves lulu on a tough spot.
Burst champs such as Alistar, Leona and Thresh are really good right now because of pick potential and it's easier to follow by the team. The team can also get more objectives and usually end early.

Utility champs like Lulu, Soraka and Nami are good too but only excel in longer fights or late game. The heals and shields are strongest in the late game.


New Patch: 8.15

Currently, Lulu has been struggling to make it to the top tier, she has a less than 50% win rate.
Although lulu's spotlight is stolen by hard-engage champs and Ap supports, she can still shine in team fights and carry potential is unchanged.

ITEM CHANGES:
Ancient Coin, Spellthief's Edge, and Relic Shield is cost increased to 50g.
In my opinion, it's not that bad but those who get's Refillable Potion, Rejuvenation Bead or Faerie Charm, I could see how a lot of support mains can be affected. I think people will just adjust to it.

I think this patch is the comeback for crit-adcs with the adc items getting cheaper and I.E. reverted. Lulu can really be a strong pick. Im expecting ardent censer supports to be able to compete with AP supports, Sona is popular right now and has been on top tier.



Final Thoughts
Playing her in Silver and Gold feels like nothing has changed. She is still a strong counter-pick to assassins and even bruisers in bottom lane, but weaker if you're going against Fiddlesticks, Vel'Koz and Brand, if that's the case I recommend playing Morgana instead. But her utility cannot be compared and will likely be more effective with the unconventional ADC picks-- which became more common in Plat+.

06/12/18
Lulu's Shield Duration decreased from 6 seconds to 2.5 seconds, but pix remains with the ally for 6 seconds.
The shield nerf will make lulu weaker but not as weak as Janna, I still like maxing E, but you could definitely experiment. In some match-ups I max Q.

Forbidden Idol- 10% Cooldown Reduction-> 5%
- 10% Heal and Shield Power-> 8%
-> Affects Ardent Censer, Redemption,and Mikael's Blessing
The only problem with this is the CD if you have both Ardent Censer and Redemption, instead of 20% CD you only have 10% CD. I believe the Heal and Shield Power is still effective.

I would highly suggest you take the Transcendece rune or opt to boots of lucidity to make up for the lost CD. The Cosmic Insight from the Inspiration Tree that gives you 5% CD and Max CD is popular too

Pros
🍊 Versatile Kit
🍊 Great at Teamfights
🍊 Ult is a Life-Saver
🍊 Mobile Champ
🍊 Polymorph is OP

Ignite: against Healing champions such as Soraka, Nami and Sona. Also for early game kill pressure or lane dominance.

Exhaust: against AD heavy enemy team-comps, for example, against Zed, Jax, Draven. Also good for Late-game.

Flash: FLASH. FLASH. FLASH. You always take it ! Unless you are singed.

Sorcery

Self-explanatory, it deals damage and boosts your shield. I also prefer this on healing and shielding supports such as Nami, Sona, and Soraka. Despite the early game nerf, it is still decent.

I would prefer this more to AP supports such as Zyra, Xerath and Lux . You have to proc this with an ability, Lulu relies more on spamming auto-attacks for harassing enemies in laning phase. It's a good rune for kill lanes and pressure, even more after aery got nerfed.

This falls off late-game because you should be positioned in the back lane and you won't be auto-attacking as much.

After the celerity nerf, I find this a better option especially for mid game spike, you would be able to spam more abilities. To make up for not taking celerity, you can take Mobility Boots. It's also useful if you're behind in CD items.

This really the standard and preferred rune but the nerfs made it less effective. The movement speed is still good for escapes and better roams. AP: 16% MS-> 10% and AD: 9.6% MS-> 6%

Domination Tree

This rune's damage has been nerfed but the CD decreased from 50-25 to 25-20 which is still OK in laning phase.For really aggressive laning phase, you could take this rune. In order to proc this, you have to consecutively hit an enemy champ with AA or Abilities thrice. It has a lot of potential and still viable since people underestimate the damage from this rune. Although like the Phase Rush, it falls off late game, but good at catching people off-guard.

The Second Path is definitely optional depending on playstyle.

Resolve Tree

I find Resolve Tree very safe and effective for supports. Since mage supports are naturally squishy, I prefer to run this for lane survivability and tankiness.

I prefer this to reduce the incoming damage from the enemy ADC or Support. It makes you a little bit tanky.

This is a favorite of many support mains because it allows their ADC to heal from the enemy champions you impair.

This is the best rune for late game as it gives you tankiness. It stacks with your current armor and MR by 5%

This is my all-time favorite in the Resolve Tree, it makes your shields and heals stronger by 5% and increased to 15% when you or your allies are below 40% HP. Sometimes you won't notice it but it is very impactful in team fights and also procs with items such as Redemption, Locket of the Iron Solari, and Athene's Unholy Grail.

I have seen this being preferred over Revitalize for the extra health it gives which I could agree that is good especially for the extra 50 HP at level 1.

Inspiration Tree

Although you have to wait for 10 mins, its cd gets lower for each take down and it gives +10 movement speed compared to the normal boots. It saves you 300 gold !

After the starting item increased to 400g, you would be able to take 2 pots,this rune will provide you 4 biscuits in 12 mins. Each biscuit permanently grants 40 mana too.It can help you stay in lane longer.

Who doesnt like extra 5% CD (45% CD MAX) and also includes Summoner Spells and Items. I really recommend this.

Domination Tree for damage dealing and if you want additional vision.

I don't recommend the Precision Tree, supports won't benefit from this since they won't be taking kills.

• I still like maxing E, but I tend to max W in some circumstances when laning against ADC Master Yi, ADC Yasuo or a roaming assassin like Zed.
• Maxing Q only if you're ahead or you're confident you can outdamage your opponents in laning phase. (Less Likely)
• Always Max E (Help Pix!), your shield is a MUST to protect your carries and also buff their attack damage with pix.
• Max W (polymorph) second, very helpful in most scenarios-- For Chasing, Buff or Silencing an enemy champion.
• Max Q (Glitterlance) last, although good for chasing, it is still a skill shot.

I see some who prefer maxing Glitterlance, the reason I don't max this first is because you don't have to deal damage, just slowing the enemy so your team can follow up is already good enough. Feel free to try Max Q first and see if you like it.
Maxing Q second is really good but for me, polymorph is still the best in lulu's kit.


Basic Combo


For Harassing
Use Help, Pix! + Glitterlance + AA.
At Level 2, this would chunk enemy ADC or Support's HP and force them to use their pots.
You could go ham when you're level 3.

For Chasing
Use your Whimsy on your ally or yourself and Help, Pix! shield + Glitterlance.

For Interruption
You can use your Wild Growth as a knockup to cancel or interrupt champion's ultimates such as Janna's ult or Katarina's ult. You could also use Whimsy to polymorph their engages, for example, Master Yi's alpha strike or Kai'Sa's killer instinct.

Remember, Polymorph is lulu's most powerful and unique ability. It is a game-breaker and can turn fights into your favor. Make sure to use it on team fights!

🍊 Remember you are playing Lulu in the support role! 🍊
Dont be in front-line! Don't tank the damage!

🍊 In mid-late game, try to stick with your AD, as they focus on the carries in teamfights.
🍊In some cases, AD gets autofilled and doesn't know how to position. If he's clueless, try to protect the fed person in your team. For example, a fed yi or a fed jax can be more helpful if you can manage to make them alive than your ADC. Don't hesitate.
🍊 Clear wards, place a pink ward and get Oracle lens whenever you can.
🍊 If you're not able to reach the teamfight, use your redemption. Always ping your item cd before engaging.
🍊 Do not afraid to shot call if your team is vulnerable to be picked, especially if the enemy team is nowhere to be found and might be planning to get objectives, it is better to teamfight. If one person (Usually the top laner, or a fed jg) is split-pushing and your team is behind, NEVER ENGAGE! If you notice that the enemy team is going to force engage on your team or the split-pusher, I recommend you to:
A) ping to back off and group.
B) go to the sieged ally location and aid the fight with your items.
This happens a lot in late game.

🍊 English is not my first language! I'll proofread it again.
Thank you for reading!

Finally, Don't forget to have fun!
Lulu is the most fun and sweetest champion for me and will remain to be my favorite. Even though, Ranked can be nerve-wrecking try to be lively and have fun playing lulu. For normals, there are a lot of builds viable for Lulu, AP, AS and even AD, which i find enjoyable, try them out ! Whether you're a casual player or a competitive one, don't let your team or enemy team's toxicity affect your gameplay. Good Luck and Have fun !