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Recommended Items
Spells:
Exhaust
Flash
Items
Ability Order
Damnation (PASSIVE)
Thresh Passive Ability
Introduction
Pros
+ Very hard CC + Great at securing First Bloods on bottom lane + ![]() + Is both a great life saver as he is a great initiator +GUIDE Extremely tanky early game, able to easily take harass and/or focus while your ADC gets many kills. And, most importantly, negates the early handicap that the lack of additive passive armor gives ![]() +GUIDE Your ![]() |
Cons
- ![]() - Extremely mana hungry, as any other tanks - Starts with little to no armor and very squish thanks to ![]() - ![]() -GUIDE You fall flat late game (Even I have to admit that) -GUIDE You won't deal enough damage to get kills / make the difference on teamfights, so your gold will be very slow-coming in case you do reach mid-late game. |
4 points in


3 points in



2 poitns in



2 points in




1 point in Safeguard because, besides being able to tank turrets slightly better earlier on if needed, sometimes you'll have to tank the turrets for your buddies (In case you're at their base) so they can get out from there alive. Add a shield, and you'll see the turret tickling you at best when late game arrives.
3 points in

3 points in


Lastly, 1 point in




Runes




- Using 3
Greater Quintessence of Health will make Thresh excel any usual tanky support that dares try to out-tank you on bot. (What I mean is that you'll be more tanky than even the most tanky supports.) I managed to out-tank an Allistair at level 1 and a Leona with her shield up level 3 and still get first blood on both occassions thanks to these runes and the 0/30/0 masteries.
- 9
Greater Mark of Health are to complement the three quintessences above. Some might say it's redundant, and it even might be, but I still owe these runes as I owe my masteries my life in some teamfights. After those fights, I've never let go of them ever again. So it's your choice wheather to follow these or not, but if you want another viable offensive option, get 9
Greater Mark of Attack Damage to benefit from
Death Sentence's passive much more early game, giving you some harassment power.
- 9
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist generally to tank those ap carries mid-late game. The reason it's scaling is because, usually (I SAID USUALLY,
Kassadin AND
LeBlanc!), ap carries don't deal that much damage early on. Therefore, as they get stronger, so does your MR.
- 9
Greater Seal of Armor to help mitigate
Damnation's "curse", as well as help you overall at the lane. It might just be the secret for how tanky you get when following this build step-by-step.
It'll help you kill many times, and usually it negates (If combining the slow of ![]() |
The reason ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Some AD carries might prefer taking exhaust themselves, and, because two exhausts are often quite disastrous (Usually, they end up both being wasted at the same time and at the same target, specially on laning phase), I'd suggest you pick up ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |

Fun fact: You'd need about 180 souls to reach a no-mastery, no-rune, no-item



Passive - Thresh's auto attacks deal bonus magical damage, and this bonus damage is directly affected by three factors: Souls gathered (Something you should be actively aware of for other reasons, so you naturally get strong in this factor, regardless of how you play), Attack Damage and the time between auto attacks. However, knowing that Thresh has the LOWEST base AD of the entire game (Yes, of all of League of Legends, Thresh has the lowest base AD at level 18 with an outstanding 85 AD, surpassing the former champion, Orianna, who had about 89. Hurray.), and the fact he deals mostly magical damage (And the lack of utility AD items for supports) makes him very sadly weak in this area. This is what makes AD Threshes a possibility, and in some cases even a reality. Lastly, the time between attacks should be considered a faster Ashe passive. After auto attacking, in about 1 second Thresh gains a "buff", which is a blue icon for Death Sentence. It means that the skill is on it's minimum "charge" to deal the added damage. If Thresh refrains from attacking, he'll get a green, yellow, and lastly, 10 seconds after his last autoattack, he gains the red "buff", which means his passive is fully charged.
*Tips and Tricks
- When reaching the "red state" of Death Sentence, you should always try to auto-attack the carry or the support. Your range is good enough for you to do that, and you are tanky enough (If following this guide) to not suffer enough damage. If it's extremely not worth it, however (More than usual harass as you try doing that), you might want to refrain from trying so.
- Although it might seem like this makes Attack Speed a no-no on Thresh, it actually heightens his DPS (As long as it doesn't reach the 2.0 mark, literally 2 attacks per second. Since the first charge takes 1 second, you'd literally be wasting potential damage if it surpasses that ammount.), however, it's unadvisable to do that as a support.
Active - After a 1 second delay, Thresh throws his Kusarigama and drags the first enemy (Minion or champion) it hits. When he hits a target, Thresh stuns it for 1.5 second, and pulls them towards him twice (Once initially and once after 1 second). While he's pulling a target, Thresh cannot auto attack, however, he CAN move, use abilities and even gains a fifth "ability" while he's leashing someone: Pressing Q again will make him dash forward to the person caught in the chain, ending the stun but making Thresh's other skills easier to land, since he'll be right besides the person.
The wind-up comes from the "terror" development kit Thresh comes with. When he winds up the chain, your enemy will start being fearful, and will try to avoid it. Since it doesn't exactly show where Thresh will throw the chain (He simply faces the general position), it's even harder for the ENEMY to predict Thresh's throw. This little fearful mind-game is Riot's primary development idea for Thresh.
Unlike




*Tips and Tricks
- Just like the aforementioned skills, throwing
Death Sentence ahead of your target is a more likely way to hit it. It's still a hard skillshot, so don't fret if you can't hit some. Just keep practising!
- If a target is close, you can chain him/her to stun them for those 1.5 seconds, but if you're defending an ally or yourself by doing that, don't forget to
Flay them away right after. Flay should knock them up farther than they have travelled with
Death Sentence, if Flay hits on its tip.
- Always remember to tug the chain (Press Q again) and fly to your target to end the chain quickly if you need to auto attack him.
- A good way to make the best of your skills and help teammates kill would be to wait till Thresh pulls the target twice, then flying towards them and quickly flaying them back, from which you can connect with a quick ult. If the
Flay is hit perfectly, they will land on the walls of
The Box, bursting them and giving them a sweet slow. This is the general
Thresh combo, and is used many times to initiate a teamfight.
- If you pull a target that is on the other side of an in-game terrain, they will not be pulled across it. Instead, they will be pulled twice into the wall, as if strangling them (Sadly, no extra damage is done), then they're free to go from the original position / from their side of the wall. If you believe you can get the kill with or without your friends, it is encouraged you tug the chain and join them on the other side.
Amumu would be proud of you.



*Tips and Tricks
- This is important: DARK PASSAGE CAN BE USED TO GATHER SOULS FROM AFAR.. This CANNOT be stressed enough. You do NOT need to put yourself in harm's way to gather souls, they can be gathered by a simple lantern toss. Always remember that when you know the harass you'd take for getting the far away souls isn't worth it! Also, this proves as a very clever counter-counter to Thresh, even though it uses a bit of his mana.
- The lantern, as described above, can be used when initiating, but most of the times it WILL be used defensively. Throw the lantern to help your teammates out of some sticky jam they got themselves with, or even throw it down at dragon so that the person getting it can quickly come back. (Better yet, throw the lantern on the ground, hook yourself to Baron/Dragon, and do a very stylish Baron/Dragon teamfight initiate!... that is, if your other tanky teammate follows in.)
- After the lantern's been reeled in, the shield can STILL be applied to any teammates Thresh faces in a short radius, as is shown by the light below the lantern in Thresh's... hand.
- And this is also important: DARK PASSAGE GRANTS VISION FROM THE FOG OF WAR. And a big one, too! You can throw
Dark Passage at the river for the lantern to act out as a temporary ward. I mean, jesus, what can this lantern NOT do? It wards, it shields, it gives allies an escape, it makes soul collecting easy, it has a big range... And people still tell me levelling it up for the lesser cooldown is insane!




*Tips and Tricks
- Someone that is flayed to you from the tip (or even before it) can be an easy target for an insta-box, since they will most likely land right where one of the walls would spawn. This is a rather advanced technique, however, since it requires timing and precision on
The Box's range.
- Sometimes, it's easier to just flay someone than it is to grab them or auto attack them. Flay's range is, however, exactly what it is. There is no slightly added range (As it is with Blitz's grab or
Lee Sin's
Sonic Wave), so be careful of that.




*Tips and Tricks
- The range around Thresh in which the walls activate are very little. This makes it easy to miss, and it is most likely the hardest of his spells to land. Even when you jump to someone and ult, they can still get away easily with a flash of some sort.
The Box can be used as an effective trolling method: When the other team's bruiser tries to jump on your ADC (Or, in general, a teamfight breaks out), ult right on top of him/her. The bruiser will be slowed too hard to be able to deal significant damage to the carry while you stop him with
Flay and
Death Sentence, and even if he DOES reach the carry,
Dark Passage will make your carry take quite a beating before the bruiser reaches his health bar. By that time, if the carry's any good, he should be moving over to the next target, because the bruiser died some time ago.
As a support tank, you should be doing just that:Supporting and Tanking. Levelling up



Now, inbetween


However, the order of the first spells should always be



As usual, get




Starting Items


The sight ward is an early gank prevention. There's a chance the enemy might attempt an early gank, or a gank as soon as he finishes up with the red buff, and, even though you can deal with him easily withouot ward, it's always best to avoid... pleasant surprises. Put it at around the 3 minute mark on the river bush, and it'll give you two all the comfort you need ward-wise until


First and Second returns
Nothing much to it. I explained the reason for the first one on the above section, and sightstone is for obvious reasons: Warding. If, by your second return, you canNOT afford a sighstone yet, buy a simple sight ward or two. By the next time you return, you will almost guaranteedly have the money. Don't forget to use it once you have it!
Rush the Core Items


This is the most basic, standard item set for a tank support bot.
Not only can you take even more harass with




...moving on.
The








Choose a Fourth item
This one is less situational and MUCH more based on preference. zeke's herald is advisable when there's a lot of ADs, who'll benefit from the life steal and the CD (which some people might think it's worth getting it DESPITE their team's primary damage) as




But in the end, really, you can build any of the four items and it probably will still work properly. They all have a very nice benefit for Thresh and/or his allies, so really, it's a matter of preference just as much, if not more, than a matter of situation. Heck, you might even build a combination of them, or none at all (And build more than two of the items listed below), and it'd still probably work. As I said, it's very dependant on your preference, and how well you use this item / how much you like it / how much your team needs it!
Choose for Tank or Damage
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Again, those are a situational build. If you're the ONLY initiator on the team (Therefore only tank, because, if you notice, ALL tanks are, some way or another, initiators.), you might want to invest into being a completely unkillable machine... This will be achieved with


I believe


If you want a perfect, quick Thresh build... here's my favourite, and most commonly used one:
Item Sequence











.....I don't know why I'm going to say this here and now, but while searching for hexagram colours for this guide, I discovered that #faaaab is actually the hex code for this color.
Seriously. Test it out if you don't believe me.
It's no mystery that a well-placed ward can literally be what stands between life and death. But sometimes it's not clear what's the best place to position a ward. This part of the guide might be able to help you with that.
GENERAL WARDING


- The Red Stars are the crucial ward placement positions: The dragon and baron entrance, along with the tribushes and the little higher grounds between the wraith camps and mid are your most important ward placements.
- If the enemy jungler is very agressive, or if your team/another lane is starting to lose, you might receive more ganks than usual in bot, and, as a matter of fact, everywhere on the team's map. The Orange Stars denote very good ward placement for these kind of sticky situations.
- The Yellow Stars are situational warding spots. It's a "Just in case" per se, or maybe even a "gut feeling" type of ward spot. They're mostly for defensive purposes, but can be also used agressively (Ward the bottom/top bushes, for instance, for an offensive, usually helped by your jungler's gank).
- These Green Stars shouldn't apply normally to you, since they're mostly used to counter-jungle, but you can try to be daring and ward their buffs (Elder Lizard, AKA Red Buff if you're supporting for Purple; Ancient Golem, AKA Blue Buff if you're an agent of the Blue side) if you have an extra ward available. After all, what better kill is there than a kill and a buff for your mid and jungle teammates?
Of COURSE, you won't be able to ward every single star, not even "just" the RED ones if you only count with

Maximizing your Vision

You should be focusing on warding THESE spots once you get your




OBS.: When warding with your initial ward on the purple team, please take in mind the "danger" of putting it on the tip: You will get less visibility for the usual place the blue junglers come from after getting thier red:

This should give you all the visibility you need to counter a jungler's early gank. Hell, you might even turn it around and kill him!
"If the map seems black, do not fear or despair. If you need vision of sorts..."

Early Game
*Most Common Definition: The time period in which laning phase is still the priority. It's generally over when two or more of the same team's first towers is gone.
*General time stamp: 0 - 15/20 minutes
*Thresh's Usual Minimum Build philosopher's stone;


The game just started, and it's a bright new day! You walk with your carry to lane, gathering your starting items, and ready to have fun! ...And spoil theirs, of course.
When in lane, don't ward right away, wait for the 3-minute mark and wait until your team is pushed. Having said that, remember what this guide was built for: Tankiness. Being unkillable. And most importantly... ensuring First Blood. The next part of the guide will be several strategies I've employed to get first blood, most of them working. I advise you to skip it if you're interested in what happens if you FAIL to get first blood (As in, something unexpected happens and makes you/your ally BE the first blood) OR you don't want to risk it.
Tell your ally you're going to facecheck, and dive right in. If there IS someone there, surprise them with a quick

MINIONS HAVE SPAWNED!
They will probably be getting into lane by now. All matters considered, you CAN try the above by getting them from the bush, but they'll probably wait till the minions are here and stay behind them. So... when's your window of opportunity?
The moment the support wards.
Eventually, the support will go out of the lane to ward the river bush of their respective lane. They're subjecting themselves to a grab, and you should take advantage of it. Get out of the side bush and try walking right into the bush he did / he got near. Three things might happen. A) He'll





At the 3 minute mark, be watchful of when your team is advanced (past/besides the river, which should happen because of Thresh's zoning capacity), and ward bot's river bush. What you'll do as a Agressive Tank Support Thresh is very simple:
Support. Tank. And be agressive.
What I mean by being agressive is try your ******* best to hook people. Make your home in the side bushes, and KEEP TRYING to hook people. Doesn't matter if you fail, doesn't matter if it doesn't kill them. Any harasss is good, and you're also stopping them from farming and often you end up stopping them from getting XP.
If you manage to hit someone with the hook, perform the








Don't waste your

Unless your opponent is a

1) Winning the Lane: This is the best result, of course. You fed your ADC: You hit quite a few

To ensure and maintain this situation, you might need to know when to take dragon.
The dragon is usually gotten by the team with the most map domination: Read, the one most pushed on bot/mid. Whenever mid/thier jungler/bot is out of the game, be it low-health, on top or dead, the jungler might request to do dragon. Refer to the ward section to prepare for dragon, since the enemy team might still attempt to steal it. Your team and you will get a very significant gold and XP boost, so it's always nice to get dragon!
2) Absolutely Nothing Happens: You get a kill, they get a kill. You get a double kill, they get a double kill. Or... no one kills anyone. This is a lane that is literally TIED. The only way to avoid that is by external help: Your jungler's help. Request it once they're pushed, and make sure to tell them if it's warded or not. When initating, try to get a clear shot with Q (No matter who it is), and the jungler will come in and do the rest. Just follow the jungler's cue and throw the ADC behind with


3) Losing the Lane: Everything went wrong. Their jungler ganked earlier, your ADC doesn't know what your





Mid Game
*Most Common Definition: The time period in which the teams are now much more united and ready to defend each other at any point. Teamfights are a frequency and primary indicator the mid game has come. Mid Game is deemed "over" when teamfights become scarce and one or two inhibitors are taken down, regardless of team.
*General time stamp: 15/20 - 35/40 minutes
*Thresh's Usual Minimum Build philosopher's stone;




No one smart is ever alone anymore. There's always one or two buddies near someone who is seemingly alone. Everyone, ally and enemy, are converging into one lane to try and force a turret down, or defend one from being so. The tension is high, and teamfights are the most common thing. Welcome to Mid Game.
This is what generally will be a mid-game: Every player will gather themselves on the same lane, pushing and/or defending it. Some players will try to backdoor (Try pushing other lanes as you defend another), but most of the times the action will be in the mid lane.
Carries will be farming like hell, and they will be the MOST important asset of your team (Given the ideal team, of course). Your objectives in mid game are very, very simple...
Do not let go of that AD carry; Maintain two wards in Baron and Dragon at all times; and, if you're the only tank on your team, initiate teamfights.
He goes into jungle, you go AHEAD of him. He goes to do dragon, you protect his *** from all corners. He goes to farm, you stay right besides him. And you stop any and every single attempt against his life. You're his bodyguard for this moment of the game, and this holds true for teamfights. Now I will describe to you how teamfights will happen, how to initate one if you have to and what will be your role in it. If you wish to skip it for any reason, go to Late Game.
There's a reason why I divided the item section into the situation where you're the only tank and the situation where you're not. Thresh, as said in the "Pros and Cons" section of this guide, loses a lot of damage potential as time goes by. Unless you actually BUILD him some damage, he'll be nothing but utility. However, there WILL be some cases where there will be no initiator in your team.
An example:





As the initiator, you should focus on one thing and one thing only: Grab the ADC. Either him or any other squishy target, such as a squishy jungler, squishy top or squishy mid. Anyone is suitable. Just, for the love of god, DO NOT GRAB THEIR INITIATOR. (




Bruisers like





There are very simple outcomes to the wins and losses of teamfights: Win teamfights, and you get to push more, get more fed and get more dominance over the map. Lose teamfights, and the enemy team pushes you to your base, gets more fed and dominates the map more than you. The problem is: The losing team, to win teamfights, will need either a miracle or a baron. And the winning team will have control over it. The losing team will start avoiding teamfights as the respawn timers will be higher and higher, and all the tension will boil down to one small dot on the map. All of this marks the beggining of the...
Late Game
*Most Common Definition: It is the part of the game where both teams start avoiding conflcits as much as they can, for one loss might spell defeat. It usually begins when one or more inhibitors go down on any of the teams, and when teamfights start being scarce. Of course, it ends when the game ends.
*General time stamp: 35/40 minutes - Victory! / Defeat.
*Thresh's Usual Minimum Build philosopher's stone;





So. This is it. The End-Game. The game is almost over, everyone is avoiding each other like the rabies, and they're fully aware that there's a lot at stake: One loss, one mistake, and GG.
The reason why is because, if it has reached this time stamp, it means most, and in some cases ALL, respawn timers will be above 40 seconds. In 40 seconds, with a stupidly strong team, you can do A LOT. Such as destroy the enemy team's structures, their inhibitors (Providing that lane with a sort of "auto push system"), the enemy's buff team, and, most importantly... Baron Nashor.
Imagine this situation. One team is clearly winning, with their ADC fed, while the other team is clearly losing. The winning ADC has 200 AD and the losing one has 150, both are level 18.
Let's say the losing ADC gets

As you can see, Baron Nashor is a game changer: A losing team's hope, a winning team's affirmation to victory. Either way, it's a very important objective of both mid AND late game, and it usually is how , and sometimes even WHERE, the game ends.
One loss of teamfight, means the winning (of the teamfight) team MIGHT have time to take baron nashor, and that might just change the tides of the game.
As Thresh, your objective remains mostly the same as Mid Game, but there is a new primary one: DEFEND BARON NASHOR AND/OR TAKE IT WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF.

THIS is the reason you always keep it warded. You HAVE to have vision of Baron on late and mid game at ALL times to stop the other team from attempting it. If they do, your job is simple: Get there as fast as you can and DISTRACT THEM. Your team will follow, and if you distract them from finishing Baron, they will take too much damage from both your team and him, and will most likely end up GIVING UP. When they do, notice the Baron already lost a significant part of his health. That's when you START BARON NASHOR, with a nice handicap to the monster himself.
If your team is winning, however, you CAN start a premature Baron Nashor: Push all three lanes, take at least one inhibitor. The enemy team might even see you attempting Baron Nashor, but they'll be slowed by your minion's invasion on their base. Either way, the following will explain the safest way for your team to capture and aquire Baron Nashor's buff. Again, you can skip it if you want to.
This map will be perfect for explaining what you should do and where you should be.

- You are Blue: If you're going to take baron from the blue side, you'll have to protect any attempts of steal coming from ABOVE Baron Nashor. For that, you'll do two things: One, ward the spot between 3 and 6, the tribush located there. Two, you will ward literally on TOP of baron nashor, a bit above 7. And lastly... you'll put yourself in point 7. Yes, you will act as ward, and better yet, act as a DISTRACTION.
When the enemy team comes to check / steal baron, they will be faced with you. The support, all alone, in the middle of their jungle. While your four teammates will be wailing at baron, YOU will CC them and stop them from even getting CLOSE to 2 or anywhere above 7. If they ignore you, you pull them back and keep auto attacking them, even usingThe Box if you have to. If they focus you, GOOD. They will forget about the baron slipping right under their noses and try to take you out. If they manage to resist your charms, however, a teamfight WILL occur at Baron, and YOU will have the VIP seats... right besides their ADC, since they all ignored you to get to Baron. You know what to do. God bless you.
- You are Purple: If you're on the purple team, you will do something similar. However, you will ward once at 5 and once at 4. Then, you'll stand at 2. Not attacking the baron, but getting ready to FACE THEM if they get near. If they pass by any of those points, go towards it and stand your ground. They'll either be too scared, face you or ignore you. Read above and you'll understand all three would be actually BENEFICIAL.
Always remember you can hook yourself to Baron from the purple side for a quick invasion, leaving behindDark Passage for a rather styllish baron entrance, and, hopefully, steal!
If your team managed to get baron, that's great! But you HAVE to force a teamfight now. Otherwise, they'll turtle below their towers and wait until the buff - your advantage! - is gone. Thankfully, you, Mr.Thresh, is the perfect agent for the job. I shouldn't even say how to do it. You should know by now.
If the OTHER team gets baron, however, do the exact opposite: Defend. Turtle behind your tower, and yes, I know I just told you how to avoid that, but come on, you'reThresh, you can take anyone with that stupid buff and survive to tell the story! Just do it under the turret. Or it's a world of pain to your team.
Thresh is a very polarized champion: He either excels at something, or falls completely flat at another, and this is even more heightened by what mastery, rune and item build they are sporting. However, there is something every

Counter ganks.
His CC arsenal, his disruption of position of both allies and enemies, nevermind the fact he has a ****ing 99% slow. Thresh can counter almost every SINGLE jungler gank and even probably make his AD carry survive from it.
But before I can get specific on each jungler, let me get some conditions on the table:
1) Your carry will be an





2) Your enemies will be tower hugging, and they will be composed by a




3) You'll be level 6, following the guide's levelling order, and you two will be pushed far into bottom lane. You have warded, and you know who is coming to gank you from miles away, also knowing they are level 6, but your enemies are too busy protecting their tower from your minions to initiate the gank. They WILL follow when the jungler appears on their lane, but, otherwise, they will stay right where they are.
4) Lastly, we assume the jungler will go STRAIGHT for your carry, because, in the eventuality he comes for you, you can simply




Right. With all things set, let's get to counterin'! It's in alphabetic order, for those who wonder.









Pre-6, all













Since he is very, very reliable on Rupture hitting, you can be a complete troll and














But since we're trying to make a very slow carry survive, assumingly without flash and gap-closers, what you'll do when she appears in lane is






Oh, and tip if you don't know what to do against a Diana. That





Then, how do you stop Dr. Mundo? Well, you don't. Mundo goes where he pleases. What he DOESN'T do is go where he pleases at the VELOCITY he desires.




Elise's ganks can start off two ways: Human form, or spider form. If she's on human form, she'll throw a












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