This is going to be a quick rundown of what each item brings to the table, as well as when you should build them. This'll be much, much more reliable a guide than the item sets I've put in the guide so far, as you often have to change your build in the middle of a game because of circumstances beyond your control, such as the enemies' builds, or even just how much you're winning.
Locket of the Iron Solari is the most viable mythic on Bard. It is also the most boring. It's incredibly powerful, sure, but it also doesn't really do all that much besides help you win. You don't get to have fun just by saving your team. You need to do dumb **** to have fun, you're Bard. Go this 90% of the time in Ranked.
Luden's Tempest is typically what you'll be going if you want to do damage. It's easy to proc with your meeps and your Q, and it'll enhance any burst combo. Bard generally lends himself well to bursty trades due to how his meeps work, and this will help you make them.
Night Harvester is a good item, although in my opinion the 40 second cooldown kind of hampers it. I'd only go this if I was running
Ingenious Hunter, as you'll most likely be wanting the extra poke damage in the neutral game. In teamfights, though, this can prove itself to be even better than
Luden's Tempest. Notably, it gives your ult damage on hit, which can be useful in niche situations and hilarious in all situations.
Do you want to run Bard as an AP Bruiser? Build
Riftmaker - the only AP bruiser mythic in the game! Yeah, Riot's itemization in Season 11 kind of sucks for some champions, but that's fine. I don't find this a very viable mythic, but it's not like it's bad on him. If you want to build tanky but still do a good amount of damage, this is the mythic you want to go. Bard does surprisingly well in sustained trades if he builds into it.
Liandry's Anguish is just ****ing annoying. The AoE from your upgraded Meeps can proc this past wave, so you can just be incredibly annoying and constantly burn your enemies. Poke your enemies out of lane with this, focusing more on small trades than all-ins due to the damage over time. Even with this, though, his all-ins are pretty good due to the inherent base power of his Q and meeps.
Kraken Slayer is a mythic you build solely for the attack speed. The crit and true damage is nice, but 10% attack speed on every legendary item is really good, especially since you get a free legendary with your support item if you're building this as support.
Galeforce is similar - build it if you want a small dash and movespeed scaling on your legendaries. This one's a meme, but it's an incredibly fun one.
Moonstone Renewer is a great item if you want to play an enchanter support without actually playing an enchanter support. This is really good if your team needs heals and you really, really want to play Bard regardless.
Evenshroud is a really good item on Bard if you don't want to run Locket and want to be a more offensive playmaker tank. I think it's weaker in general, since Locket has a super powerful active and Consecration is incredibly powerful, but it's still good if you want to support in kills rather than saving people.
Crown of the Shattered Queen sure is an item. It's incredibly weak against poke supports like Zyra, Xerath, Brand, and Vel'koz, but if you're in a matchup where the enemy team tends to burst you down with frontloaded damage, this is a great mythic to build. It doesn't have the damage of Luden's or the utility of Evenshroud or Locket, but it's a great pick if there's a bit of a mid diff and the enemy team's Zed is 14/0.
Nashor's Tooth is in my opinion the best damage item on Bard, and I build it almost every game. It gives a stupid amount of both AP and attack speed, two things that Bard loves to have. It improves your burst by a good amount, and gives you consistent damage by giving your auto attacks AP scaling through the on-hit effect.
Dead Man's Plate improves your roaming and gives you good ganking with its passive. It's built by almost every Bard for a reason, and I build it whenever I'm not messing around with a full damage build. The stats it gives are great too, since Bard makes a surprisingly good use of AD, and armor and health are always relevant.
Frozen Heart is a busted item against divers, and is an amazing item in general. The flat damage reduction seems pretty weak until you realize it's post-mitigation, meaning it blocks much, much more than you realize. Lowering attack speed is nice too, especially when there's a Pyke or someone similar whittling you down.
Cosmic Drive got reworked for the preseason, and while it's not bad, it's no longer a must-have item on Bard. You want to take this if you're going to go for more extended fights, with any less bursty build. Works well if you're on Riftmaker, Nashor's, or a tankier build.
Horizon Focus got a nice little change in the preseason, making it proc off of slows. This means that you don't even need to Q to proc it, which makes it about 20x more powerful as all of your meeps apply a slow effect.
Demonic Embrace is good for the same reasons
Liandry's Anguish is, but with the added benefit of having some really nice defensive stats on top of it. Go this if you're building
Riftmaker, or slam it on top of your Liandry's to double your burn. The update in Preseason made it a lot worse for Bard in particular, as the defensive stats really helped him, but the item is still good in the same situations.
Rapid Firecannon is an okay item on Bard. I don't think it's great, and I feel like it's very overrated on him. It's only really picked because it's cheap and helps your burst slightly, but in my opinion, there's better options. Good for the extra range if you're going First Strike, though.
Redemption is insane on Bard, as I've mentioned twice before in the guide. It has the same windup as
Tempered Fate's stasis, so if you pop it in the middle of your ult right after it hits, it'll hit every target inside as soon as your ult ends. If you're building the tank/support hybrid, or you're building enchanter, build Redemption every game.
Zhonya's Hourglass is an item that I admittedly don't like building. It's not in any of my recommended builds because I genuinely think it's too boring of an item. It can singlehandedly save your life or turn a losing fight into a winning one, but it doesn't do so in a way that's stupid. If you're trying to win, build this 2nd or 3rd item.
Shadowflame is perhaps one of the most interesting items added in the preseason. It's the only item that gives flat magic penetration outside of Sorcery Shoes or your mythic, which gives it an interesting niche if you're trying to stack magic pen. It's great for cleaning up people who would otherwise escape, since you already have so much chase potential between portal, ult, and chimes you may pick up in the chase.
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