in lane you should show no mercy. you are the highest damage support in the game. so show it. Fight to the death (literally) for bush control. you should live most lane in the second bush. if your jg starts top rush into the bottom second bush for an easy stun, or double stun. and a free auto. Bard is all about positioning. know that whatever distance you hit a minion at will double your q range when looking for a stun. be mindful of your lane pressure as you will need to be on point with warding as you will likely be owning lane. a general rule of thumb is if your adc gets hit by the support you hit their adc. because you are going to be up by their tower if their adc moves to follow up their support they will be right next to the wall for an easy stun.

unless there is a chime right next to lane dont chase them unless there is a reason. your meeps get stronger every 5 chimes so if you leave lane leave for 5. plan out your path as to maximize your ms. take into account your celerity will give you more damage with ms so max the ms coming back to lane to straight chunk one of your enemies. make sur eyou leave at a propr time. if your oponents are in the middle of bot lane at full health its not a good time. good times are when your adc is back, or at least one is dead. if its just a farmville lane tell your adc to shove in a lane allowing you to run and grab chimes.

this will take a lot of experience to understand situations of when to use it. basically if there is someone fed you ult them. learn the timer on the ult and land the instant stun after ult allowing your team to nuke them. another strategy is if you have a high initiation team ult their TANKS. yes their tanks. with no front line you let your malphite just dive straight onto a squishy and instant kill them before their tanks can ever move. if they have an extremely strong front line with one or two carries stun the carries then chunk down the tanks.

Aery provides the best of both worlds. consistnt damage procs but shields as well. With revatalize in your secondary your heal isnt complete trash anymore. You can still be that bursty support as well as a healer if your behind. Dont be afraid to take an extra point in w if they have an abusive lane.