Click to open network menu
Join or Log In
Mobafire logo

Join the leading League of Legends community. Create and share Champion Guides and Builds.

Create an MFN Account






Or

Not Updated For Current Season

This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page

x
Janna Build Guide by Bear Gummies

Support Bear Gummies's Super In-Depth Season 11 Janna Build Guide

Support Bear Gummies's Super In-Depth Season 11 Janna Build Guide

Updated on May 8, 2021
9.5
98
Votes
2
Vote Vote
League of Legends Build Guide Author Bear Gummies Build Guide By Bear Gummies 98 2 166,083 Views 14 Comments
98 2 166,083 Views 14 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Bear Gummies Janna Build Guide By Bear Gummies Updated on May 8, 2021
x
Did this guide help you? If so please give them a vote or leave a comment. You can even win prizes by doing so!
Vote
Comment

You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.

I liked this Guide
I didn't like this Guide
Commenting is required to vote!
Would you like to add a comment to your vote?

Your votes and comments encourage our guide authors to continue
creating helpful guides for the League of Legends community.

Runes: Confident Poking Comet Runes

1 2 3 4 5 6
Sorcery
Arcane Comet
Nimbus Cloak
Absolute Focus
Scorch

Domination
Zombie Ward
Ultimate Hunter
Bonus:

+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2 3
Ignite + Flash
LoL Summoner Spell: Flash

Flash

LoL Summoner Spell: Ignite

Ignite

Items

Threats & Synergies

Threats Synergies
Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny
Show All
None Low Ok Strong Ideal
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Synergies
Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Champion Build Guide

Bear Gummies's Super In-Depth Season 11 Janna Build Guide

By Bear Gummies
Introduction
Hi everyone! My name is Bear Gummies, and I'm a Janna/Lulu/Morgana player in NA. I've peaked at Platinum 2, and these days I am hovering around Plat in general. I'm just going to introduce my gaming history really quickly so that you know what type of player is writing this guide, and then I'm going to briefly outline the focuses of the guide itself.

I don't consider myself to be a gaming natural, and I've definitely had a really hard time learning league. I literally peaked at Bronze 5 seasons 4-6 when Bronze 5 was the lowest rank possible, and I crawled up to Bronze 2 and 1 in seasons 7 and 8, respectively (you can verify this on op.gg!). However, I shot up from Iron 4 to Platinum in Season 9 once I picked up Janna, and I hit rank 1 Janna in NA (according to Porofessor/LeagueofGraphs) early this year, so I definitely think that I am qualified to talk about this champion in the lens of climbing.

This is my guide to Janna, my favorite champion in League of Legends, and I hope that you can use this guide for your climb! This is going to go super in-depth, so there is going to be information that helps everyone from an iron player (no judgement) to a high diamond/master player (hopefully). This guide is also going to be heavier on customization of Janna, since something I want to do is show that cookie-cutter builds don't exist; there are only builds that are optimal for each situation. I want y'all to be open minded about runes, skill orders, and items, so hopefully this page will be able to help you explore the different facets and functions of Janna!

DISCLAIMER: This guide is going to be really reading-heavy but if you guys are willing to do the reading I promise it will pay off! I'm not the most technologically proficient person so I apologize in advance if the formatting looks wack :(
Why Janna?
There are a lot of supports, and a lot of people might ask why Janna is the champ to play. I'm going to list a few pros and cons of playing Janna below, and essentially sum up what Janna is.

Pros of Playing Janna:
    -Has the best peel in the game (hence her honorary title "peel queen")
    -Early game poke
    -Scales extremely well into the late game
    -Easy to learn, so it doesn't feel bad to pick her up (unlike really hard champs like Azir)
    -Has no bad synergies and doesn't get banned often
    -Has amazing (maybe best?) movement speed in the game, which is amazing for vision control and roaming/counter-roaming

Cons of Playing Janna
    -Squishy (needs to play extremely safe without flash)
    -Need to be good at positioning and map awareness
    -Hard to master
    -Is not the flashiest champion

If y'all like an enchanter support that can zoom around the map and give shields, heals, slows, and knock-ups, Janna is the support for you! She's easy to learn, so lower-elo players can pick her up really comfortably and not worry toooooo much about mechanics while they learn the fundamentals. Her movement speed makes her great for rotations; the movement speed enables her to establish vision comfortably, so she remains a great high-elo pick as well. Janna is dubbed "Queen of Peel" for a reason; her disengaging potential is unparalleled so far. Her outplays are subtle but really effective, and it's a champion that has a tangible impact on the game.

However, she is really squishy, so Janna is definitely a champion whose limits you want to be fully aware of before going into ranked queues. She is also very immobile, meaning that Janna players need to work on optimizing positioning. I would also say that she is difficult to master, since you have to put in the work to maximize the effect of her relatively simple abilities.
Summoner Spells
FLASH
Flash is an absolute must on Janna! For an immobile champion who prioritizes positioning as much as Janna, you can't play her without Flash. Always bring flash!

IGNITE
I bring ignite on Janna about 10% of the time. Ignite is for that extra amount of kill pressure when you feel like you can be on the offensive. I would look at their whole team comp when selecting your non-flash summoner spell. If they have Kayn, Vladimir, and Darius on their team, it might be a good idea to bring ignite, even if the enemy bot lane is not very healing-heavy.

EXHAUST
I bring exhaust about 90% of the time. Exhaust is for when you're a little worried about an enemy champion's damage output. I would look at their whole team when selecting your non-flash summoner spell. For example, if there is a Camille, Fizz, or Master Yi on the enemy team, it might be a good idea to bring exhaust.

HEAL
Janna only goes heal when her ADC chooses to go a summoner spell instead of heal, such as Teleport, Barrier, Ignite, or Exhaust. Otherwise, I would not recommend going heal, since 2 heals is a little repetitive.
Abilities
PASSIVE
ABILITY
TAILWIND (Passive): Tailwind is really good on a a micro level.Since Janna is an enchanter support, there will be a lot of instances where your allies are running to you. This passive help you close that gap that could lead to life and death, which in some situations, can turn the tide of a game! Another situation where it helps is when you're chasing down an enemy champion. As you run them down and slow them with Zephyr and maybe even knock them up with a Howling Gale, your teammate can come and finish the job. It's very subtle, but as a Janna main, I really appreciate it.

Q
HOWLING GALE (Q): This ability is a serious game changer. One of the reasons why Janna is considered a peel queen is because she can use the tornado to interrupt dashes and disrupt chasers. Thus, champs such as Zac, Leona, Pantheon, and Galio can't do anything to a good Janna player (unless Leona uses flash and uses Shield of Daybreak at the same time). In addition to being a core defensive ability, the knock-up from the tornado can lead to some serious kills. For example, if a fully charged tornado hits the enemy Nami, your ally Miss Fortune can literally Bullet Time on the spot and 100-0 her. In team fights, the goal should be to either disrupt dashes that can get your ADC killed/your team aced (such as Elastic Slingshot or Resonating Strike) or to knock up as many people as possible. A 3-5 man knock-up with Howling Gale can literally win you the entire game, and even get you some honors to boot.

W
ZEPHYR (W): Zephyr is your bread and butter skill during the early game. Since you have some extra movement speed and are able to pass through units while Zephyr is on cooldown, you can zoom right in, tap with them a Zephyr + auto attack combo, and leave. Most of the time, your enemy will be trying to avoid your Zephyr but since you are going to be faster than the enemy most of the time, you can usually tag them. In addition, you can also retreat really easily after you send your W flying because while they try to reengage on you, they are heavily slowed. This makes Janna one of the best poking enchantresses in the early game. In the mid-late game, this ability's primary use should be to slow the enemy while they are retreating so that your teammates can RKO them. Otherwise, be slightly wary of overextending to poke, especially since the enemy team is likely to have the damage to kill you by then.

E
EYE OF THE STORM (E): Eye of the Storm is Janna's mid-late game bread and butter. The shield is one of the strongest in the game and also provides a ridiculous amount of AD to the shielded person; it's the primary reason why Janna doesn't have any bad synergies. In the early game, however, this shield is slightly weak since you have no items or skill points, so don't think right away that the shield itself is a flop. Late game comes, and this shield will have already won some major skirmishes and even full-blown team fights.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Eye of the Storm's cooldown decreases by 20% whenever Janna CC's someone with her abilities, so after you use shield, keep trying to land abilities on the enemy team so that you can get as many shields up as possible during the fight. Even your ultimate does this, so just something to keep in mind.

R
MONSOON (R): Janna's Monsoon has to be one of the best abilities in the entire game. This single ability can singlehandedly disrupt all 5 members of the enemy team, bring all 4 of your allies who are on the brink of death back to full health, and bolster ally mental while destroying enemy mental. It's important to note that there are two parts to this ability: enemy knock back and ally heal. Only practice can help you figure out when the right time to let is, so make sure to play a lot of games with Janna. However, I will always say it's always better to be safe than sorry, so make sure to actually use your ultimate. At least then, you won't get pinged for having it up.
Potential Skill Orders (Really In Depth Explanation)
I don't think I can sum up Janna's skill order with a single visual, so I'm just gonna have to explain it. Sorry that you guys have to read so much! I'll try to fix up some spacing and make it easy on the eyes.

There are only two rules when deciding the skill order for Janna: put a point into Monsoon whenever possible, and max Howling Gale last (after putting a single point into it either level 1, 2 or 3).

These are the two rules that I set for myself because my skill order varies so much depending on what my runes are and what matchup I'm up against. Literally every level from 1-13 (with the exceptions of 6 and 11 for Monsoon) can be structured differently, so it's best not to box yourself in with a set skill order. It's totally fine to max your first ability at level 12!

Starting from level 1, I might put a point in Zephyr so that I can start poking as soon as possible, or put a point in Howling Gale super early against a matchup such as Sett or Pantheon so that I can push more easily for level 2 (since I can tornado the whole wave) and simultaneously diminish their chances of majorly damaging/forcing us to flash/ killing us while all of us are level 1.

If I had gone Zephyr level 1, I have the option of either skilling Howling Gale or Eye of the Storm level 2. I would usually go Howling Gale level 2 to increase poke/ prevent enemies from dashing (such as Leona's Zenith Blade). However, if I'm up against a ranged support who I can't make good trades against (such as Nami with her Ebb and Flow), I might take Eye of the Storm level 2 so that I can stack my Spellthief's Edge without taking a bad trade.

The way that I see it is that there are 5 possible ways that I might sequence my abilities. I'll list them below:
NOTE: Just to tell you in advance, if you're looking for a "standard" ability sequence, Options 1 and 3 are definitely the most popular skill sequences to go on Janna.
    1. Put all points into W and max it by Level 9.
    2. Put 4 points into W and then start maxing E. Max E by level 12
    3. Put three points into W and then start maxing E. Max E by Level 10
    4. Put two points into W and then start maxing E. Max E by Level 9
    5. Put all points into E and max it by level 9.
Notice how there's only one option where I max my W over E? It's because these 5 options are essentially the points at which I figure out when to transition from an a poking, lane-oriented support to a shielding enchantress whose goal is to support her teammates.

If I'm going option 1, I really just want to maximize my poking ability. 100% of the time I go option 1, I have Arcane Comet as my keystone. My entire angle is to maximize my presence during the landing phase, so that I can get my ADC some kills. Once my ADC is fed, I don't have to enable the kills for them as much, and can switch to becoming a more defensive shielder whose goal is to keep the ADC alive, instead of dealing the damage myself. Option 1 is definitely a really popular choice.

If I'm going option 2, I usually feel as though I have maximized my abilities as a poker levels 7-8 and start putting points into Eye of the Storm starting from levels 8-9. Similar to Option 1, I am most likely bringing Arcane Comet as my keystone if I am going this skill sequence. Option 2 is definitely a little unusual to see, but in my opinion, there should be no point at which you feel pressured to max an ability by Level 9. If you max E by level 12, you will have a maxed out shield so much faster than if you had put that halfhearted skill point into maxing W at level 9.

If I'm going option 3, I'm maximizing my ability to be a poker pre-level 6, and then getting ready to make the switch to a shielder afterwards. Option 3 is essentially the standard early switch from poker to shielder, so it's also a really popular skill sequence for Janna. If going option 3, I am most likely bringing either Arcane Comet or Summon Aery.

If I'm going option 4, I probably don't have too many hopes for getting a lot of damage in during the laning phase. It's a really safe build that enables me to max shield as quickly as possible. If I am going option 4, I am bringing either Summon Aery or Guardian.

Finally, If I'm going option 5, I've thrown in the towel completely at "winning" the laning phase. I probably have Relic Shield instead of Spellthief's Edge as my starting item, and am looking to just keep the ADC and myself alive until we get to the mid/late game. If I'm running option 5, I will always bring Guardian, and I will most likely know that I will be running this option in champ select (think enemy bot lane is Samira and Pantheon).

Point of this explanation is that Janna really needs a flexible play style! It's probably not the best idea to use the same skill order for both Thresh and Sona.
Runes (Super In-Depth Explanation)
I had no idea how difficult it was to make a Mobafire Build Guide... I'm praying that the design of the rune chapter works out to look nice...

Janna's runes are similar to her ability sequence in that she has a lot of flexibility with her rune page. The main takeaway is that I've tried a lot of runes on her and the ones that I'm listing are all of the ones that are viable. I'll discuss when to use each :). I will say that the main takeaway for runes for every champion is that you should take what you like- don't feel pressured to go a certain rune because everyone else is going it.

SORCERY TREE KEYSTONES (Aery and Comet are viable)

SUMMON AERY ★ Janna is a great person to use Summon Aery because she can proc both parts of this keystone regularly. Every ability in her kit can use this keystone, so it's definitely a really good choice for Janna. This is a good keystone when you aren't really sure if you want to focus your entire efforts on poking or shielding. It's a very middle ground keystone, but never a bad option.

ARCANE COMET ★ Janna should look to take Arcane Comet to make her slightly weak early game stronger. Her comet, in conjunction with Scorch, does a lot of damage in the early game, so this is a keystone that I go very very often. I would go Arcane Comet into a enchanter supports such as Sona and Lux, and supports who you know can't reach you ( Leona, Taric, Zac) because with comet, you can poke them to the point that they don't have enough health to engage and win, even if they wanted to.


SORCERY TREE ROW 1 (all three options are viable)

NULLIFYING ORB ★ I recommend going Nullifying Orb if there are Ability Power threats that you cannot ignore on their team, such as Syndra ADC or Brand support. Otherwise, I really don't prefer going this rune. I'm usually always forced into it, and would consider it my last pick out of the three runes in row 1 of the Sorcery Tree.

MANAFLOW BAND ★ Manaflow Band is definitely a solid and popular choice to run on Janna. It's really good for players who are working on managing their mana properly and need a helping hand, and also good for people whose play style is to throw out a lot of charged Qs early. Out of the three runes in row 1 of the Sorcery Tree, this is my second favorite option.

NIMBUS CLOAK ★ Janna naturally has a high movement speed, so this means that her Nimbus Cloak is a lot more valuable. If I Flash and then enemy Lux uses Flash, I will be able to either catch up to her or run away from her successfully because I have nimbus cloak. Furthermore, even if that enemy Lux had nimbus cloak, I would still be faster because I have a naturally higher movement speed than she does. I can also use my non-summoner spells such as Ignite as a movement speed boost, so nimbus cloak creates a dual function for my summoner spells. Overall, it is by far my favorite of the three runes in row 1 of the Sorcery Tree.


SORCERY TREE ROW 2 (all three are viable)

TRANSCENDENCE ★ I think out of all 3, Transcendence is the rune that I use the least on Janna, but after the rework to transcendence, it can honestly be a really good option for mid-game scaling. Before the rework, transcendence used to provide cool down reduction at level 10, which I didn't like. Supports tend to level up the slowest, so I figured that Janna would not be able to use this rune as well as other champions. However, Transcendence provides ability haste in small increments at levels 5 and 8, which I think makes it much more useful on Janna. I think this helps her scale really well because when I go Janna, there are a lot of times when I make a shift to putting points into shield instead of Zephyr after level 6. This rune will now make it more comfortable to make that switch because it will make that awkward stage from levels 7-8 where you don't have at least 4 points in an ability less awkward. Getting 20% cool down on basic abilities on takedown is a nice addition because as Janna, it's really easy to pick up assists.

Celerity ★ Celerity is a great rune on Janna because she has good movement speed, so this is a really safe rune to go that will pay off in any situation if you are running Sorcery on Janna. Nothing much to say about this one, overall a great rune! I definitely alternate between this rune and Absolute Focus.

ABSOLUTE FOCUS ★ Absolute Focus is a good rune for Janna if you are confident in your ability to take good trades with your opponent. I personally run Absolute Focus quite a lot even though it seems as this is definitely the underdog choice. If you are feeling confident and are running Arcane Comet to maximize damage or Summon Aery and want to find some way to give your poking a little boost, this is a good option.


SORCERY TREE ROW THREE (all three are viable)

SCORCH ★ I run this rune on Janna so often. Since she pokes so well with Zephyr, she is capable of doing a lot of damage with scorch. Trust me on this one, the damage makes a difference. I've killed people because of that one tick of damage from scorch, and yes I am 300 gold richer, but I also tilt the enemy player out of their mind. Overall, I go Scorch really often, and there's never a bad time to go this rune.

Water
Walking
★ As a roamer, I really appreciate Waterwalking because I can speed over to mid, help my teammate collect a quick kill, and speed right back. I will also say that a lot of really important fights happen in the river, such as fights for scuttle, dragon, rift, and baron, so having that movement speed is actually really nice when those fights happen. I would say that I use Waterwalking the second most, behind Scorch.

GATHERING STORM ★ Gathering Storm is a good option for late game scaling, and I think it works. However, I don't like to go Gathering Storm on Janna because I feel like it's kind of doing too little too late. Janna scales amazingly into the late game anyways, so I personally prefer the other runes like Scorch, which helps a lot during the early game, and Waterwalking, which is a movement speed boost that is relevant for the duration of the entire game If you really want that huge kick for the late game, I would say go for it, but personally it's not my favorite.



RESOLVE TREE KEYSTONE (Guardian is viable)

GUARDIAN ★ Guardian is my go-to insecurity keystone. If there's an enemy Pyke for example, who really stresses me out, I would most likely run this keystone for comfort. Guardian is a keystone that reacts to damage, so it's really nice that you know you have an automatic backup shield keystone. The shield also gets really massive, so if you put a shield on your carry and build Locket of the Iron Solari, no one's going to get through that. This is without even popping your ultimate.


RESOLVE TREE ROW 1 (Font of Life and Shield Bash are Viable)

FONT OF LIFE ★ I'm gonna be pretty straightforward when I say that this is not my favorite row of the resolve tree. Before the new items came, Font of Life could be used in synergy with Athene's Unholy Grail (rip) but now, that isn't the case so it's just this super-mini heal that has a small probability of coming in clutch. The main reason that I use this rune is because it indicates if I landed an ability on an opponent; thus, this rune gives me the ability to check if there are enemies in brushes without having to get too close. I definitely use this rune the most out of the three in row 1 of the Resolve Tree.

SHIELD BASH ★ I really don't go this rune, but it is viable... if you like to shield yourself and if you like to poke with autos a lot, there is some damage that can come out of shield bash. Definitely not my favorite rune, but I think it can be fun to try. I would not discourage anyone from running this rune, but I wouldn't encourage use of Shield Bash the way that I would encourage the use of Nimbus Cloak on Janna.


RESOLVE TREE Row 2 (Literally just Bone Plating)
BONE PLATING ★ Bone Plating is pretty much the only rune in row 2 of the Resolve Tree that goes well with Janna. I don't like to rule out runes, but logically, it wouldn't make sense to me to go another option. The first rune in this row is Conditioning, and this rune really isn't the best because I don't really think that Janna is the type of champion that needs armor and magic resist. Ideally, Janna shouldn't be getting hit, so I would not really use this rune. Similarly, I think Second Wind is not ideal because Janna shouldn't be getting hit too much in the first place. To add to this, Janna doesn't really have that much health in general so second wind would be much more useful on a champion like Malphite who has a metric ton of health. Bone Plating gives a flat amount of damage reduction for the next three damaging attacks or abilities, which is great for Janna because she can't really scale with health, armor, or magic resist. Another good reason why Bone Plating is good on Janna is because even if she's squishy, one of the only real ways to kill her is to burst her. Otherwise, she can either shield and run, ult and run, or flash and run. Bone Plating can seriously get you out of a pinch, so I put all of my support behind this rune.


RESOLVE TREE Row 3 (Revitalize and Unflinching are viable)

REVITALIZE ★ Revitalize is a good rune on Janna for pretty obvious reasons. She has shields... and heals..., so naturally this is kind of an obvious choice. I sometimes run Revitalize when there is a specific carry on my team such as Jinx or Twitch, but I actually go Unflinching a lot of times over Revitalize. I will say that Revitalize is a really solid and obvious choice for Janna, so if you want the extra shield and heal power, I would support that.

UNFLINCHING ★ I really like Unflinching on Janna because I think it gives her extra survivability during skirmishes and teamfights. Janna is so good mid and late game that I think that the extra heal from Revitalize isn't as worth it, to be completely honest. I think the tenacity that I get from Unflinching can save me in so many different situations, and if Unflinching keeps me alive, I can continue to support my teammates and end up winning the fight. That's pretty much the reason that I go Unflinching 80% of the time, but by no means am I saying that Revitalize is a bad choice (I'm probably like the only person who goes unflinching anyway)



DOMINATION TREE (SECONDARY RUNES ONLY)


DOMINATION TREE ROW 1 (Cheap Shot and Taste of Blood are viable)

CHEAP SHOT ★ I personally don't go Cheap Shot that much, but it's definitely viable. Janna does have a good amount of crowd control, so if you're looking to be really aggressive with your poking damage, Cheap Shot can work. I will say that this is a rune that will decrease in value over time, so it's not the ideal rune for the mid/late game.

TASTE OF BLOOD ★ Taste of Blood is a good rune if you want some extra sustain during the laning phase. This rune is really popular with Janna players who run the domination tree, so I think that this is a solid pick. However, if you don't really feel like you need this sustain/value something else over sustain, I would not pick Taste of Blood.


DOMINATION TREE ROW 2 (all three are viable)

ZOMBIE WARD ★ Zombie Ward is honestly one of my favorite runes on Janna. It's such a tangible advantage that you get from having Zombie Ward that I have a lot of trouble giving it up. Janna is great at anything vision, and part of this is that her movement speed enables her to maximize the use of her Sweeping Lens. Thus, Janna can create a lot of zombie wards. Everything is good about this rune, from the huge amounts of vision it provides to the extra adaptive force that it provides. If running domination, I would really recommend going this rune.

GHOST PORO ★ I personally don't really use Ghost Poro because I think Zombie Ward suits my preferences a little more. However, if this type of vision play suits you better, I would consider it as a solid alternative to Zombie Ward.

EYEBALL COLLECTION ★ I honestly never go Eyeball Collection on Janna. She is so great with vision control that I think it's kind of a waste to not go Zombie Ward or Ghost Poro at the very least. If you are in process of learning how to control vision effectively, I would run this rune, but with more experienced players, I would heavily suggest going one of the other runes in this row.


DOMINATION TREE Row 3 (Ingenious Hunter, Relentless Hunter, and Ultimate Hunter are viable)

INGENIOUS HUNTER ★ Ingenious Hunter is a good rune for a scenario where you predict that you need to use a lot of active items. In season 11, there are a lot of items that Janna can build that has active items, such as Redemption, Shurelya's Battlesong, Locket of the Iron Solari, and Mikael's Blessing. Ingenious Hunter is a pretty solid rune, and I would advise that you take it if you really feel like those item actives are going to change the tide of fights.

RELENTLESS HUNTER ★ Relentless Hunter is a rune that has good synergy with Janna's naturally high movement speed. A lot of people decide to take this rune on Janna, and I agree that it's a good rune. I run it a lot, since I like to roam.

ULTIMATE HUNTER ★ Ultimate Hunter is a rune that I go very often on Janna. Monsoon is such a game changing let that having it early can turn the tides of fights. It's overall a great rune, so I would definitely recommend that you try it a few times and see if it's helpful.



INSPIRATION TREE (SECONDARY RUNES ONLY)

Disclaimer: I don't really like the inspiration tree in general unless I'm forced to go glacial on another champ


INSPIRATION TREE ROW 1 (Perfect Timing Only)

PERFECT TIMING ★ Perfect Timing can work on Janna if you are really experienced with using stasis. However, Janna doesn't really build the stopwatch into anything, so after the stasis, you would have to throw it out (unless you go for Zhonya's Hourglass but I don't see it as a worth item on Janna. Again, I would say that if you really know that a stasis can save you, go for it, but personally I would never go Perfect Timing and the only reason I included this in the list is because it is technically viable.


INSPIRATION TREE Row 2 (Biscuit Delivery Only)

BISCUIT DELIVERY ★ When Janna players run inspiration, they often go Biscuit Delivery, and I would also agree that I would go this rune if forced to take the inspiration tree. However, the reason that I would most likely decide against it is because if I wanted sustain in lane, I would have opted to go domination into Taste of Blood. I just don't really like inspiration because I think there are many better alternatives, but if you really want a tangible consumable from your runes, I would highly recommend going this rune over the others in the inspiration tree.


INSPIRATION TREE Row 3 (Cosmic Insight Only)

COSMIC INSIGHT ★ Out of all of the runes in the Inspiration tree, the one that I actually like the most is Cosmic Insight. Now that ability haste is a thing, I'm actually not mad at the +15 Summoner Spell haste and +10 Item haste. Do I think that Taste of Blood + Ingenious Hunter is better? Absolutely. However, this rune is viable on Janna, so if I were to recommend runes from inspiration, I would most likely recommend Biscuit Delivery and Cosmic Insight.
All Items that Work
This is going to be an overview of all viable items. These explanations will include why these items work and when to consider getting them. The main takeaway from this is that there is no set build on Janna and that the ideal build will differ per game, so I would definitely try to stay as flexible as possible when deciding which item to build on Janna!

STARTING ITEMS (ALL STARTING BUILDS INCLUDE 2 POTIONS AND A WARDING TRINKET)

SPELLTHIEF'S EDGE
This starter item is really good on Janna because she is able to poke a lot during the laning phase, and also because the gold from it got buffed from 15 to 20 gold per hit. Janna players should look to get this item when the enemy bot lane is easy to poke (think Taric/ Leona/ Shen support). I generally think that this is the better support item for Janna, since this item rewards you for successful poking. You have the potential to earn money from Spellthief's Edge faster than Relic Shield, so keep this in mind when selecting your starter item.

RELIC SHIELD
Relic Shield should be taken if you are feeling unconfident in your ability to poke. Scary laners such as Thresh and Nautilus come to mind when considering this item because there are heavy consequences of getting hit by their abilities. Although Spellthief's Edge has the potential to provide a faster income, Relic Shield is more reliable for a Janna player who is not confident in being able to poke without getting caught out.


BOOTS TO CONSIDER (Lot of options)

BOOTS OF SPEED
Boots are so important on Janna, and getting them early is super important as well. The main reason that I didn't include Magical Footwear as a viable rune is because of how quickly Janna needs her boots. If possible, I get this item on my first back. The extra movement speed helps with getting to lane, and it also helps me with poking with Zephyr because I can catch up to the enemy laners, poke them, and disengage while dodging any skillshots they may be throwing at me during the process.

BOOTS OF SWIFTNESS
The boots that I tend to get the most often are Boots. I run this item on Janna extremely often because she really benefits from that extra movement speed that the other boots aren't able to provide. This item is not affected by combat, so I take it so that it stays useful even in the midst of battle. In addition, it provides 20% slow resistance, which makes this item even better.

IONIAN BOOTS OF LUCIDITY
I go Ionian Boots of Lucidity because the extra ability haste allows me to have my abilities off cooldown just that little bit faster. In games where I know that skirmishes and team fights are going to be heated, I run these boots so that I can provide more overall value to the team. I go this item a lot, and I would say that Boots of Swiftness and Ionian Boots of Lucidity are the two boots that I go the most.

MOBILITY BOOTS
Mobility Boots are a good choice because they enable me to move really quickly out of combat. I run Mobility Boots on Janna when I have to roam a lot or seriously need to focus on vision control that game. The downside to these boots is that they lose a huge amount of movement speed when in combat (meaning that you attack something that's alive or you get hit by an ability) so there were a lot of times when I was on the run and I lost my movement speed/got killed because I got clipped by an ability. They also used to be 900g but now they are 1000g so this unfortunately made the boots a lot less worth it than they used to be. All in all, this item is by all means very viable and a great pair of boots, but think before buying them!

MERCURY'S TREADS
Mercury's Treads should be used when the enemy has a lot of AP threats and cc that can seriously ruin a Janna's life. The magic resist is a great addition, and the tenacity is really useful. For example, if you are up against an Ashe, the tenacity shortens the stun length of Enchanted Crystal Arrow, but it also shortens the slow length of Ashe's auto attacks. Overall, I would say that Mercury treads are a good investment! It's definitely a situational item, but there are instances when Mercury's Treads are the best boots to go.

PLATED STEELCAPTS
Plated Steelcaps should be used when the enemy has a lot of AD/auto attack-heavy champions on the enemy team, since the added survivability can help Janna make a difference. I definitely do not really go these boots that often, but they are usable for when there are 4-5 AD threats and they all really hurt. Similar to Mercury's Treads, they are a solid option that can be the ideal boots in the right situations.


POTENTIAL FIRST ITEMS

IMPERIAL MANDATE
Imperial Mandate is an item that I go when I either feel ahead or even with the enemy bot lane. Essentially, I use this item to press my lead or to gain one. The mythic passive gives Janna some extra power when poking, and the health, ability power, mana regeneration, and ability haste are all stats that are good on Janna. Imperial Mandate provides so much damage and synergies so well with Janna's Howling Gale and Zephyr, so there's a lot of damage that you can do with this item. It's a great first choice on Janna!
Edit: Since the cost of all of the support mythic items got reduced by 200 gold, Imperial Mandate becomes an even better choice, since the damage from this item is available so much earlier on in the game. Currently, I think that Imperial Mandate is the best mythic item to go on Janna because it benefits from a cost decrease more than all of the other mythic items.

SHURELYA'S BATTLESONG
I tend to run Shurelya's Battlesongin situations where my team comp has a lot of immobile champions that needs a bit of a boost. If there is a Nasus, Udyr, and Vladimir on your team, this item is a good fit for this situation. It also helps your ADC run away and kite, so this item can't really go wrong. It's good for engage and disengage so I would say it's a solid choice!

LOCKET OF THE IRON SOLARI
Locket of the Iron Solari is an amazing pick for when there is a lot of AOE damage or single-target bursters on their team. For example, if a Fizz tried to one shot me, I can Exhaust them, activate Locket of the Iron Solari, shield myself, and hopefully Guardian turns on. There's no way anyone is getting through that. Overall, it's a situational pick that I would definitely run if there is burster that I feel like my team can't handle.

MOONSTONE RENEWER
Quick PSA that in a previous version of my guide I totally dumpstered Moonstone Renewer on Janna, and I just want to quickly retract that statement. This item is best in scenarios where out-sustaining the enemy team is the key to winning the game. For example, if your win conditions are to keep Draven and Kayle alive, this item is superior to the other mythic items given the situation. Shurelya's Battlesong would not make too much sense, and Imperial Mandate would actually reduce the overall damage output of your team, since the survivability of the carries takes priority over your own damage. Locket of the Iron Solari would work if their team was heavily assassins, but for enemy teams that are putting out sustained damage, Moonstone Renewer is the best mythic item to run. This item also transfers shield/heal buffs such as Staff of Flowing Water, Ardent Censer, and Chemtech Putrifier, so keep these in mind when building this item.
IMPORTANT: When running this item, IT IS CRUCIAL TO AUTO-ATTACK. Every time Janna autos, moonstone sends healing over so if you're too focused on simply shielding, won't be providing the value it is meant to. But yeah this item is so good when used properly! It's basically free healing for no mana.

MIKAEL'S BLESSING
Usually, I don't rush Mikael's Blessing on Janna, but if there is an enemy Ashe or a cc heavy support like Thresh or Pantheon, it's never a question this will be my first full item. In addition to the shield power, ability haste, magic resistance, and mana regeneration, this item is really gold efficient. This isn't even mentioning the cleanse active, which is seriously so amazing. You can cleanse anyone of any cc in the game, and you can even cleanse yourself if you time it right (just try to press right before the cc hits you) so this can easily turn into a huge game changing item. If the enemy bot lane is not so reliant on CC like an Ashe/ Thresh duo, then you can build this later depending on whether the enemy top, jungle, or mid have detrimental cc. I will also say it's sometimes a really good idea to go Mikael's Blessing if there is very little enemy cc because it completely shuts down the one or two ways they have to get a pick. For example, if the only cc on the enemy team is an Elise and she's becoming threatening, Mikael's Blessing should definitely be taken into consideration, since, the team will probably have difficulty functioning without her stun.


POTENTIAL LEGENDARY ITEMS

STAFF OF FLOWING WATER
Staff of Flowing Water has natural good synergy on Janna. I consider it to be the AP equivalent of Ardent Censer. It provides the same stats as Ardent Censer, and the difference is the passive. I think the movement speed and bonus ability Janna's shields/heals are able to provide are a big plus to any of her AP teammates, and it also allows Janna to be a better support to AP supports such as Syndra and Cassiopeia. If paired with an AP champ, maybeeeee even consider rushing it as the first item.

ARDENT CENSER
I think Ardent Censer has attained a sort of legend status among support items, and I understand why. In addition to the great stats it provides, it also adds attack speed and magic damage to the auto attacks of your shielded/healed target, so a good Monsoon can provide this buff to all of your teammates. I would go Ardent Censer in situations where there is at least one auto-attack-heavy champion on our team who is doing relatively well. However, I would caution against blindly building this item (I see some people rush it for no reason) because AP-heavy teams are not going to be able to use it that well. Ardent Censer's damage also scales by level, so this item increases in value the later you choose to build it. (Since Staff of Flowing Water came out, it might actually be a good alternative to Ardent Censer depending on the situation.)

REDEMPTION
Redemption is a good item on Janna in two scenarios: the first is if you are really prone to dying and the second is if your team is staying alive. Redemption is mainly relevant because of the active that it has, which is a delayed heal in a large circle. Scenario 1 is a good situation to build Redemption because it can be cast even after you die; this means that you can be an asset to your team from the grave. Scenario 2 is a good situation to build Redemption because since the heal is delayed, your teammates need to survive long enough to reap the benefits of the heal. If either of these two things are happening, there is enough reasoning to purchase Redemption.

ZEKE'S CONVERGENCE
Zeke's Convergence is a good item to build on Janna if an auto-attack based champion seriously pops off on your team. Champions like Master Yi, Twitch, and Ashe are great users of the conduit active, so if champs like these get big, I would consider buying this item. However, since you can only bind to one conduit at the same time, it isn't as flexible of an item as Ardent Censer.

MIKAEL'S BLESSING
I mentioned Mikael's Blessing in the "potential first item" section, but I'll just use this space to restate that this item should be taken when there is a champion with detrimental CC on the enemy team. If you want practice with this item, something I would recommend is going blind pick and rushing this item every game. Once you get Mikael's Blessing, use this active the moment it comes off cooldown, so that you can get into the habit of using it. Afterwards, I would begin learning to identify what champ's ccs merit the cleanse while you are in loading screen, and cleanse those in situations where you think it's necessary.

CHEMTECH PUTRIFIER
I'm really glad an item like this came out because with the old items, only mage supports could have access to grievous wounds. This item should be taken when there is a healer or drain tank on their team, such as Soraka, Yuumi, Kayn, Fiddlesticks or Dr. Mundo. I would rush the Oblivion Orb ingredient if the enemy bot lane has a healing support, and complete the item later into the game. However, if the scary healing person is in a different lane, you can keep Chemtech Putrifier on the back burner until mid-late game when you begin to interact with this champion more.

MEJAI'S SOULSTEALER
Janna can use Mejai's Soulstealer's pretty well because if played right, she shouldn't be dying too much. She can also pick up assists really quickly, since all she has to do is shield someone who was involved in the fight. In short, Mejai's Soulstealer can be a pretty good investment. However, I personally don't really like going this item. Although the AP is really nice to have, I don't think just having raw AP is worth the extra item slot, when there are other items with effects and actives that can empower your teammates.

VIGILANT WARDSTONER
Vigilant Wardstone works with Janna because in addition to providing extra ability haste, it provides some movement speed, which Janna players love. However, I don't think it's worth the extra item slot, and would probably want to spend the money and item slots for a different item. Since Janna is already two item slots down with her warding item and boots, it is better in my opinion to go a different item, unless you really like having control wards in the late game.

DEMONIC EMBRACE
Demonic Embrace should really only be taken when going Moonstone Renewer. The reason that I find this item useful if paired with renewer is because the burn damage would proc moonstone's heal. The burn damage and extra ability power and health are nice additions, and you even get bonus armor and magic resist while you are dealing damage, which increases your own survivability in fights. All in all, amazing choice when paired with moonstone, but I would not get this item if you choose to go any other mythic item. I will also say that if you are super comfortable with lacing auto attacks in the middle of a fight, it is not necessary to go this item, since you know how to keep yourself in combat/ how to optimize the usage of moonstone.


CONSUMABLES TO TAKE ON JANNA

CONTROL WARDS
Control Wards are a must on every support player, and Janna is no exception. There isn't too much to say on why these are so important (I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory) I'll just say that it's a good habit to buy a Control Ward on every back.

REFILLABLE POTION
Refillable Potions seem to be pretty broken these days. I think it's a worthwhile investment if you are having trouble avoiding damage during the laning phase. If you are forced to buy a lot of potions, this item could save you so much money, so I would keep this item in the back of my head when playing out the early game.

ELIXIR OF IRON
This is probably an unpopular build, but I ALWAYS go Elixir of Iron if I have the opportunity to purchase an expensive consumable. Janna provides enough healing; the issue is that she might die too quickly to be of use. Thus, Elixir of Iron is a really good fix to that situation, and even gives you some tenacity to boot. Consider going this consumable if you are either full build or need to win a game-changing fight.

ELIXIR OF SORCERY
Elixir of Sorcery is a very obvious choice for Janna. If you want your shields and heals to have a little more impact, this a great option for a hot fix. Consider going this consumable if you are either full build or need to win a game-changing fight.
Pre-Game Lobby (Champ Select and Loading Screen)
I place a lot of importance on customizing Janna for every situation, so bear with me while I say boring stuff about champ select.

If I'm locked in as Janna, the four things that I keep in mind are: summoner spells, runes, potential items, and my role in the fight. I will be creating an example team comp and narrate what I focus on in champ select/loading screen.


DISCLAIMER: THIS IS GOING ON IN MY HEAD, SO BELIEVE ME EVERYTHING WILL GO WAY FASTER THAN MY WRITING. I WROTE THIS OUT FOR YOU GUYS SO THAT IT WOULD BE COHERENT, AND NOT JUST ME SAYING "REDEMPTION" IN MY HEAD.


My team:
Jax, Kayn, Xerath, Ashe, Janna

Enemy team:
Camille, Xin Zhao, Fizz, Kai'Sa, Bard


Summoner Spells:
Looking at the enemy comp, I definitely want to run exhaust. The only arguably decent heal is Bard's W, so grievous wounds won't win us the game. on the other hand, mitigating Camille and Fizz's burst is critical to our chances at winning, so I'm going to lock in Exhaust.


Runes:
In terms of keystones, Arcane Comet, Summon Aery, and Guardian are all viable. Arcane Comet is good for the early game poke, Guardian is really good for the late game when Xerath or Ashe might need to survive an engage from Camille or Fizz, and Summon Aery lets me do both but slightly less of each. I've decided on Summon Aery because I really want to try to get that edge, but at the same time, I want at least a little bit of extra shield power, since they have super high amounts of damage on their team. For the rest of the sorcery tree, I'm going to go Nimbus Cloak since it's a comfort pick, Absolute Focus because I want a poking edge in laning phase, and Scorch for pretty much the same reason. Since vision control seems to be critical in this game, I'm thinking of running the domination tree and taking Zombie Ward. Based on our team composition, I am going to assume that our team wants a front to back style of fight, while they will probably want the jump on us. Thus, my peeling is really important, which leads me to choosing Ultimate Hunter. Those seconds shaved off of the Monsoon cool down could win us the game.


Potential Items:
I'm thinking of going Spellthief's Edge over Relic Shield because I have some confidence that I can stay safe while poking. I'm also thinking of going either Boots of Swiftness or Mobility Boots this game because I want to roam and prioritize vision this game so that we don't get caught out by ambushes by either Camille, Xin Zhao, or Fizz. I definitely don't want to go Moonstone Renewer because the damage is probably going to come in too quickly for it to be effective, and I don't think that their cc warrants my rushing Mikael's Blessing. This leaves Shurelya's Battlesong, Locket of the Iron Solari, and Imperial Mandate as potential first/mythic items. Based on our comp and their comp, the item that I'm least excited about is Imperial Mandate, since I prioritize Ashe and Xerath's safety and damage over poke damage that I enable. Thus, this is going to go two ways: if Jax and Kayn do well, I'm going to opt for Shurelya's Battlesong, or if Ashe and Xerath do really well, I will go Locket of the Iron Solari. Similarly, if our entire team is crushing their team, I will consider going Shurelya's Battlesong to strengthen our engage, or maybe even go Imperial Mandate. However, if our team is losing like crazy, I'll take the safer option and go Locket of the Iron Solari, since everyone can benefit from the shield. I'm definitely going to run Redemption this game, since we want to extend the fight, and also because keeping our Jax and Kayn healthy are pivotal to winning fights. I'll be thinking of it as a first or second legendary item. I'm most likely going to be running Ardent Censer, since Jax Kayn and Ashe will benefit a lot from it, but if our Xerath is doing really well, I will get Staff of Flowing Water. I'll most likely think of Ardent Censer and Staff of Flowing Water as a first legendary item, but if our team starts getting into a lot of skirmishes, I will go Redemption first. If I go boots, warding item, mythic item, Redemption, and either Ardent Censer or Staff of Flowing Water, this leaves me with one last item slot. Given these teams, there are three options that I'm considering: I can go the second item in the Ardent Censer/ Staff of Flowing Water pairing depending on what item I had initially opted to take, Zeke's Convergence in a situation where Ashe or Jax are really popping off, or go Vigilant Wardstone if I really want those control wards in the late game. Lastly, I would go Elixir of Iron so that I have extra survivability during important fights.


Figuring out my role in the fight:
I can either go two ways here: moving with my frontline, potentially with Shurelya's Battlesong, and bringing my shields and heals for them, or focusing on protecting my backline with my Monsoon and peeling off any people who are trying to kill them. In scenario frontline, I would be thinking of using my Zephyr to slow the enemy's retreat, Eye of the Storm to protect them against any damage while increasing the frontline's AD, and Howling Gale offensively. Monsoon would be more for the heal, not the peel. In scenario backline, I would use my Zephyr to slow the enemy engage and Howling Gale and Monsoon to disrupt any engage attempts like Camille's Hookshot or Fizz's Urchin Strike. Monsoon will be especially useful for peeling, and also function as a way to keep my backline alive.


Skip this part if you're sick of reading, but I'm going to go into a quick scan of all champs on the enemy team and what I can do to thwart their attempts at killing me/my team.


Camille: Her Hookshot can be interrupted by Howling Gale. She doesn't have too much mobility besides her Hookshot, so using Zephyr would cause her a lot of problems and probably prevent her damage. If she uses her Hextech Ultimatum, I can counter with my own Monsoon, and try to blow her our of her ring. If I make a mistake with any of these steps, consider using Exhaust on her for damage control.

Xin Zhao: use Howling Gale to interrupt his dash. If he does manage to get close, use Monsoon to peel him off.

Fizz: use Howling Gale to interrupt his Urchin Strike. If he clips me with his Chum the Waters, Flash out and pray that my Nimbus Cloak movement speed will get me out so that I can use Howling Gale or Monsoon to interrupt his engage. If he lands Chum the Waters on Jax or Kayn, just use Eye of the Storm to soak up the damage. If he hits Ashe or Xerath, walk up and Exhaust, use Eye of the Storm to shield and Monsoon if they are low. If he wastes his engage trying to finish the assassination, just try to kill him as he tries to escape.

Kai'Sa: poke her with Zephyr early game and maybe stand with minions because her Icathian Rain really hurts when I am the only person in range. If I feel godly, try to interrupt her ultimate with Howling Gale, but if that fails, Monsoon her away.

Bard: poke with Zephyr after (he?) blows Cosmic Binding so that there's no chance of getting stunned. If Bard tries to engage on me with Magical Journey, set up a Howling Gale pointed at the end of the journey so that enemy champions get knocked up as soon as they reach me. If I get caught by Tempered Fate, prepare to Monsoon enemies away or cop out with Flash.


This should show you that there is a lot to think about before the game even starts, so make sure to be mentally active at all stages of the game! Sorry that you had to read so much, but on the bright side, this should all be running through your head really quickly during champ select and loading screen. If it's a lot to process, I would advise focusing on figuring out runes and summoner spells during the champ select period and focus on what your role is in your team during the loading screen, since you have all game to figure out what items to build.
Early Game
STARTING ITEM & FIRST ABILITY
Early game, the first decision that I have is item and level 1 ability. Spellthief's Edge and Relic Shield should be your two main picks, Spellthief's Edge if you're confident in poking, and Relic Shield if you are looking to play safer. Level 1 ability should be between Howling Gale and Zephyr. Zephyr is the ability I go more often level 1, but I would go Howling Gale first when you want to push wave or be really sure that you have some form of peel as soon as possible.

LEVEL 2 POWER SPIKE
Janna is not an engage support, so her level 2 power spike is weaker in the sense that she is unable to fully enable an all in at level 2. However, this doesn't mean that an all in is impossible; it just depends on your ADC. If your carry is Lucian or Tristana, someone who can deal a lot of damage at their level 2 power spike, Janna can totally go in with her Zephyr and Howling Gale. Ideally, this would lead to a burned summoner spell, first blood, and even a double kill if things really work out. However, if the enemy laners reach level 2 before your duo, I would highly recommend that you and your laner pull back.

CALCULATED AGGRESSION
In this stage of the game, I am going to emphasize the importance of calculated aggression. Calculated aggression drives all of Janna's early game because Janna's survivability is very low pre-6; a good all in can easily spell her death. When poking, you should mainly be focused on doing some damage with Zephyr and auto attacks. The reason why Janna has to be really careful about using Howling Gale is because without it, there is a very low chance that your bot lane will be able to disengage a fight. For example, if the enemy support is Leona and you burn your Howling Gale, there is nothing left that stops Leona from hitting you with her Zenith Blade and Shield of Daybreak. Calculated aggression also underscores the importance of map awareness/vision. Even if the enemy support is not an engager like Nami, the reason that good Janna players sometimes hold onto their Howling Gale is because the enemy jungler may be nearby. If you know that the enemy jungler is on your side of the map, be super careful about using your tornado. However, if you are sure that it is a 2 v 2 where you are safe to use your Howling Gale, it should be totally fine to do so.

WAYS TO WIN LANE AS JANNA
As a Janna player, the way to win is to poke the enemy laners down, gain a health lead, and gain priority. While the misconception is that Janna is a super passive champion, she actually does a lot of damage in the early game. I would segment Janna's opponents into three groups, which are engage/all in laners, enchanter/shield laners, and mage/damage laners.
For engage/all in laners, the goal should be either to take weak, low/no cost trades and poke with Zephyr and auto attacks, or disengage their engage and then reengage. I will apply this scenario with an enemy Blitzcrank support. Since this champion does not have ranged abilities, it's easy to poke early game with Zephyr and auto attacks. However, Blitzcrank is scary because of his notorious Rocket Grab, which is a lower elo player's bane of existence. Thus, the goal should be to create a scenario where Blitzcrank overextends in order to land his Rocket Grab, and once he misses, punish his mistake with your ADC.
For enchanter/shield laners, the goal should be to outpoke them with shrewd use of Eye of the Storm and Howling Gale. In this scenario, peeling is no longer a major concern, at least in the early game, so Howling Gale can be used more liberally to harass the enemy laners, given that the enemy jungler is not nearby. Howling Gale deals a far amount of damage and knocks up enemies for a decent amount of time, so if a tornado is landed, the objective should be to do as much damage as possible in the time that one of the laners is knocked up. If the laner is close, the ADC can engage with you and perhaps go for an all in. If the laner is far from you, you get a free trade. In most enchanter/shielder matchups, I would say that Janna can win if the player is decent. This is because Janna has solid damage, but also good range. Thus, even if Janna is against a Lulu who has more damage than Janna, Janna can go for long range poke and thus, safer trades. If Janna is against a laner that outranges her, such as Sona, Janna can shield herself with Eye of the Storm and win the trade by dealing more damage.
For mage/damage laners, Janna is at a disadvantage in the laning phase. In all ins, Janna would lose because she is unable to provide the damage to kill them, but also not enough shielding or healing to out sustain the fight. In this scenario, the general way to win is to rely on a jungle gank, while poking with Howling Gale. Since mage/damage laners do more damage, it is likely that they will be shoving up lane. As a result, it becomes a good target for junglers, who target laners that overextend. In this situation, Janna can engage and create better conditions for a 3v2 win. The other way that Janna wins this matchup is through scaling. Mage supports need money for their expensive items, so unless they have a gold lead gained from killing you, they tend to fall off later in the game. On the other hand, enchanter/shield laners scale very well into the game because the ability power ratios on their shields and heals tend to be excellent. Thus, staying alive and playing safe are natural counters to mage/damage laners.

For more information on how to get through the laning phase, you can check out the threats and synergies section of my guide, which is towards the top!
Mid Game
Disclaimer that these are general guidelines! Games move in every direction, so these are words of wisdom I feel the most confident about imparting :)

Emphasis on Vision Control
Mid game, Janna's primary focus should be on vision control, and enabling her team to gather information/ make good decisions. This means that you should be recalling at least 40-60 seconds before the next dragon spawn to recharge wards, buy control wards, and set up vision, as well as try to help the jungler contest the bot side scuttle crab. Speaking of control wards, always try to have at least one in your inventory, and maybe lean towards getting two as you make the transition into late game.
Generally, the vision you place should be dependent on the primary objective at the moment. For example, if dragon is spawning soon, you should be warding the entrances to the dragon pit, and maybe even a little deeper if you're looking for a pick (you're always looking for a pick). If dragon is dead, rift herald is the another objective you should be warding.

Support Your Team, Not Just Your ADC
This game is a 5 player game, meaning that all 5 players are crucial to winning. Although your ADC is your laning partner, you should be looking at the map 24/7 so that you can identify threats on the map and rotate. This means that you should position yourself so that you can dash over to your most extended/split pushing top laner, or give a hand to your jungler as they're trying to invade the enemy jungle. Just make sure to stay flexible! Your abilities change the outcome of skirmishes.
Late Game
Again these are very general guidelines!

I consider elder dragon to be the most impactful objective in the game, since it's unfairly broken. If the game gets to a point where elders are spawning, that takes priority. Afterwards, the next priority should be inhibitors. Once you get an inhibitor, the chances of winning the game skyrocket since the enemy team has to be consistent about guarding their base, and it gives you more opportunities to get objectives like baron and turrets. Speaking of baron, that should be the third big objective, rounding out the big three. It's a buff that enables great pushing; the only reason that I value it less than inhibitors is because inhibitors guarantee super minions, while baron buff does not. Furthermore, I value elder more than baron because while elder gives you a combat boost, near-guaranteed pushing power, and better chances of snagging inhibitors and barons, baron only provides the latter two options.

I would be careful about overextending without vision, but I would also not go to ward by myself as Janna. Since control wards usually run dry towards the end of the game, the map is most likely going to be a lot darker, so I would make sure that there are people right next to me when I go ward.

In terms of gameplay, I would identify the carry on the team and make sure that they don't die. Although it's principle to support the ADC, if your ADC sucks, I wouldn't waste your time trying to keep them alive if it means that you can't impart value to your real carry.

Lastly, I would recommend standing slightly behind everyone else on your team if playing this champion. The reason I say this is because if you are in the middle of your team and you get engaged on, there is usually nothing your team can do for you, but if the enemy team engages on your team and you are not hit by the initial engage, you can peel them back and do your magic. You just can't get caught out as Janna; in my opinion, it's worse for you to get caught out than your carry to get caught out because if you get caught out, all of that team healing and shielding goes straight into the trash.
Quick Tips In and Out of Gameplay
I'm just going to bullet these! These are just some super easy things to think about when playing that might help you.

- I've been laughed at so many times for suggesting this, but listening to the mii channel song while playing league has to be one of the biggest anti-tilters. There's a ten-hour loop on Youtube just play while listening to it and I promise things will work out.
- When aiming Howling Gale, the key to landing them is to assume that 90% of the time, the enemy will move to dodge it (unless you're point blank or in a team fight). Thus, at least during the laning phase, you almost never want to fire a tornado directly- you want to aim slightly left or right of them, and then release it when you know they will get hit.
- The standard combo for the laning phase against engage supports should be Zephyr into an auto-attack (40 gold). If the enemy support is a mage or enchanter, the standard combo is Howling Gale into Zephyr into an auto-attack (60 gold).
- Against engage supports like Leona or Pantheon whose cc is not guaranteed when engaging, I would use Howling Gale to interrupt their dash. However, against engage supports like Blitzcrank, I would use Howling Gale on the enemy ADC in order to decrease the window of time in which the enemy ADC can do damage to your ADC.

- (PERSONAL CARRYING TIP): Something that I've been trying/ finding success with in solo queue is going a roam Janna build and customizing her so that she provides instant value when she rotates. With this in mind, the runes that I have been going are either:
(SET ONE: Arcane Comet Nimbus Cloak Celerity Waterwalking Zombie Ward Relentless Hunter)
(SET TWO: Guardian Font of Life Bone Plating Revitalize (CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING THREE) Nimbus Cloak Celerity Waterwalking)
I recommend these runes because it allows Janna's rotation speed to be nearly unparalleled. Basically, if you have the macro play of an elo higher than the one you are currently in, you will be able to make tangible differences in the outcomes of your games through smart rotations.
Set 1 is for situations where you want to gain an edge in the laning phase, but still want to have a presence on the entire map. I'm pretty sure this path is the highest-movement speed rune customization not just for Janna, but in general.
Set 2 is for situations where there are enemy bursters that can instantly fold your allies. While you sacrifice some movement speed, the Guardian + Eye of the Storm shield is going to be massive, which might make up for the extra seconds it takes to get to the enemy. While Set 1 is more about giving your team a gold lead, Set 2 is focused on a complete enemy shut out (denying all possible kills.)
Note: For both sets, Mobility Boots are a must!

- (PERSONAL CARRYING TIP): It's strange to see this from a support, but I heavily favor Exhaust to the point where it makes me uncomfortable if I don't run it in solo queue. The reason I run this spell so much is because in my experience, it's best to be pessimistic in solo queue. You should assume that besides bottom lane, the rest of the lanes have a good chance of spiraling out of control. Based on this assumption, it makes so much sense to go Exhaust. While Ignite is so good in the early game, Exhaust is literally the ONLY ability in the game capable of lowering enemy damage output (that I know of). Thus, you can use this summoner spell to make up for the mistakes of your idiot top laner. In solo queue, you have to enter thinking that YOU are going to carry. While blaming teammates is easy, I know that if I lose a game, there was something I could have done to prevent it (except maybe if there was a leaver). Taking Exhaust is one of the ways that I personally try to embrace that mindset.
Updates and Notes
Hi guys, this is just a section where I'm testing some new stuff with Janna! If you have a cool build idea you want me to try out, let me know in the comments section and I'll give it a few spins :)

(1/4/2021): Seeing if rushing Zeke's Convergence as a first item is a good idea, since the accomplice active has been extended from 4 to 8 seconds in the new patch and the damage has been increased.
-I've been checking the damage charts in the replays, and unfortunately, zeke's convergence hasn't been doing that much... I think it is not the best idea to rush this item, especially since mandate does several times the damage when both were built.

(1/7/21): (Just to keep in mind) I've been trying to use Shurelya's Battlesong when built for pushing power. Since the movement speed boost got buffed this patch and the boost also already affects the speed of minions, I think it could be a good idea to intentionally shove the wave forward using this active, instead of saving this active for combat only.

(1/10/21): RANKED UPDATE: I flopped my placements and ended up Gold 2 with 32 LP, but had good progress and got to ranked 1 with 44 LP today. With luck, I can climb back to plat by the end of the week, but I'm crossing my fingers that I can either do it tomorrow or on Monday.
I've also found that I am having better success rushing Mobility Boots as my first item as it simultaneously improves my roaming and survivability, and I also find myself running Summon Aery and Guardian a lot more while going Arcane Comet less. While this may just be my insecurity, I would also add that in this insane damage meta, it seems to me that there is a lot of integrity in buffing Janna's shield in any way possible.
Finally, I realized that over my 7 game winning streak (I went 5 games Janna), I haven't gone Imperial Mandate once. This is probably due to two reasons: the burst-damage trends and the nerfs given to mandate in recent patches. I haven't gone Shurelya's Battlesong either; I went Locket of the Iron Solari three times and Moonstone Renewer twice. While the value of all four mythic remain the same, it speaks to the popularity of high damage threats in the beginning of season 11.

(1/10/21): RANKED UPDATE: By God's grace I have somehow climbed from Gold 3 back to Plat 4 in 3 days... it was making me so uncomfortable that this guide said gold so I was really going ham this weekend... hopefully by tomorrow mobafire will have registered the change in tier...

(1/21/21): It seems to me that running Guardian runes seems to be my best bet these days, since survivability is the main priority for Janna. I think in a damage meta a reaction-shield is really helpful, so I would keep an eye out for situations where this rune is viable. I'm also going to add that it really sucks going into guardian against poke laners such as Miss Fortune and Ashe (I had the displeasure of laning against support ashe twice in a row) because the guardian is less effective when against champs who don't rely on an all in. That was literally the worst laning phase I've ever had :( I would suggest going Arcane Comet or Summon Aery to try to make life less miserable during the laning phase against heavy poke!

(1/31/2021): THOUGHTS ON MOONSTAFF JANNA
Just wanted to break down my thoughts on the notorious Moonstone Renewer + Staff of Flowing Water that has been seeing a lot of play recently! I'll explain the logic briefly. Staff of Flowing Water is an item that, in addition to providing solid stats, provides extra movement speed and ability power to BOTH you and an ally should you shield/heal them. The reason Moonstone Renewer has such great synergy is that moonstone provides constant healing to the ally with the most missing health, which means the target would change consistently as battles progress. In addition, Moonstone Renewer empowers each legendary item you buy with 5 ability haste. This is big because the cooldown for moonstone procs work with cool down, meaning that every full item purchased results in moonstone healing in faster bursts. As a result, you get this crazy synergy where Staff of Flowing Water increases the value of Moonstone Renewer's heal, and the cooldown reduction provided by Staff of Flowing Water and the Moonstone Renewer mythic bonus increases the frequency of moonstone's procs. To be completely honest, I don't know what makes Staff of Flowing Water so much better than Ardent Censer, so I would honestly just build whatever makes more sense in the situation. If you have an auto-heavy team, it might be better for it to be Moonstone Renewer + Ardent Censer, at least in my opinion.
The reason that people are running this on champions that aren't common healers or shielders is because Moonstone Renewer procs with damaging abilities and autos; what matters is staying in combat. Staff of Flowing Water provides all of these cool buffs only if you are able to heal/shield, so Moonstone Renewer kind of opens up the floor so that everyone in the game is able to heal. Thus, I can see how champions such as Lillia, Brand, Malzahar, Morgana, or Teemo can use this item combination extremely well, since their burn damage allows them to stay in combat for extremely long periods of time.
So the question becomes: does this work on Janna? Of course! Janna can safely shield those who are in combat to provide these heals, and all parts of her kit are able to proc Moonstone Renewer. I will say that this build takes out a lot of other mythic items out of the equation (at least at the moment) EXCEPT for Locket of the Iron Solari. While the movement speed and ability power from Staff of Flowing Water may replace the movement speed active from Shurelya's Battlesong and the damage from Imperial Mandate, it's probably a better idea to build Locket of the Iron Solari instead of moonstaff.
Lastly, I'm going to provide some ways you can optimize the use of moonstaff. For regular runes, the two absolute MUST-HAVE runes are Transcendence and Ingenious Hunter. Both of these runes will reduce the cooldown of Moonstone Renewer significantly, and the amount of extra value it will give your build is something you shouldn't be missing out on. I would also suggest going the cooldown reduction rune, instead of the one that provides extra adaptive force. For the keystone, I would suggest Summon Aery. It scales well into the mid-late game which aligns well with the moonstaff build, and it also allows you to go sorcery-domination (so you can take the two aforementioned runes.)
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading my guide on Janna! She's my favorite champion, and I really hope that this guide did something to better your understanding of how to customize her when playing! If this guide helped you, make sure to leave an upvote for me. If you have a question or complaint concerning the guide, I would be happy to respond in the discussion section of this guide. Good luck on climbing and make sure not to stress urselves out too much <3
Download the Porofessor App for Windows

League of Legends Champions:

Teamfight Tactics Guide