Leona Build Guide by

GN Duck's Grandmaster Leona Guide - Everything You Need To Know

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Guide Discussion (12) More Leona Guides

Runes: Aftershock

1 2

Resolve

Aftershock

Font of Life

Bone Plating

Unflinching

Inspiration

Biscuit Delivery

Cosmic Insight

Bonus:

+10% Attack Speed
+6 Armor
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2

Flash Ignite

Flash

Ignite

Items

Starting Support Item

Boots (Detailed Explanation Below)

Against All AD (Detailed Explanation Below)

Against All AP (Detailed Explanation Below)

1 AD or 1 AP (Detailed Explanation Below)

Mix Damage (Detailed Explanation Below)

Situational (Detailed Explanation Below)

Items to Always Have

Ability Order Standard

Leona Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Soraka

Extreme

Varus

Ideal

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

Varus

Ideal

Champion Build Guide

Introduction

Hello My Name Is GN Duck

I am a Grandmaster

support main.

I am an educational high elo support main who can be found live streaming on Twitch . I play every support with a emphasis on engage-style champions. My OPGG of all my accounts is below. I stream educational content - you’ll often see me doing live VOD Reviews, coaching sessions, or playing solo Q while narrating my thought process and answering questions.

I have coached collegiate and amatuer and love the educational side of League of Legends. I want this guide to be constantly growing, so please ask questions or challenge me on some of my points. Everything on this guide is from my own experience and is subject to scrutiny - in fact I encourage it! You learn the most when your ideas are put to the test and you're asked to explain yourself and your thought process.

All Accounts

Apply for 1 on 1 Coaching HERE

If you find this guide at all helpful, please like it using the green thumbs up at the top! If there is anything additionally you'd like to see in the guide, have questions, or disagree with anything here - let me know in the comments! This guide will be updated weekly.

Leona Abilities

Passive

Damaging spells afflict enemies with Sunlight for 1.5 seconds. When allied Champions deal damage to those targets, they consume the Sunlight to deal additional magic damage.
Tip: This even works on minions. If your lane partner wants to push the wave, use your on the minions to help!

Leona uses her shield to perform her next basic attack, dealing bonus magic damage and stunning the target.
Tip: This ability works as an "auto attack cancel," meaning that if you use it immedaitely after you auto attack, it reduces the amount of time before your next auto attack.
Extra Tip: You can use this to clear fresh wards without a sweeper.

Leona raises her shield to gain Damage Reduction, Armor, and Magic Resist. When the duration first ends, if there are nearby enemies, she will deal magic damage to them and prolong the duration of the effect.
Tip: Use this before you engage or before an enemy is going to hit you - it drastically reduces the damage taken.

Leona projects a solar image of her sword, dealing magic damage to all enemies in a line. When the image fades, the last enemy champion struck will be briefly immobilized and Leona will dash to them.
Tip: Though this is the go to tool for 's engage, it's still a skill shot and can miss. Consider waiting for the enemy to be stunned or rooted before using it to secure the hit.

Leona calls down a beam of solar energy, dealing damage to enemies in an area. Enemies in the center of the area are stunned, while enemies on the outside are slowed.
Tip: This is a deceptively hard ability to hit if the target isn't already stunned or stopped in place. Consider holding it until they are stunned by your or .

Leona Combos

There are quite a few fun ways to go about comboing with . Here are the main ones.

Basic Engage

The basic engage starts with a longer range engage using your . Once connected, you will be pulled to the enemy that you hit. Once there, using your to further the stun. Don't forget to use your to mitigate damage!

Basic Engage #2

The second kind of basic engage begins with and ends with . The enemies can't dodge auto attacks, which means that the stun from also can't be dodged. By doing this first, you guarentee that your won't miss.

All in Engage

Your all in engage takes either of the 2 basic engages adds . You typically want to use your first to apply the stun, thus making it impossible to miss your .

The Fade In

Here's a more advanced combo to try. A lot of people don't realize that you can cast while your is going. The brief moment of immobilization from is enough to guarentee a landed . After the crowd control wears off, you are right next to your target ready with a .

The Fade In - But Harder

This is the same concept as the above only you use and instantly to lock in your opponent as the hits.

Twice as Stunning

This is a fun one. When performed well, both targets get stunned at the same time. It's a good way to open up the fight for your team.
First step is to use on your primary target.
Immediately, cast on the secondary target.
From there, you get to choose which target to further crowd control with , either by autoing the primary target or flashing to the second.

If you are learning or simply want to master her mechanics, I HIGHLY recommend getting into the Practice Tool. Put up a bunch of target dummies and get used to the combinations and how her abilities interact, time, and buffer with one another.

Abilities - Standard Level Up

Standard Level Up Order

Ability Sequence
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

First Ability

Q You typically always start on . Level one, it has a massively short cooldown and can do damage. It's scary enough that no ranged champions will come near you, and any melee champion will be out traded by you.

Second Ability

E After the first level, you go . Once you have these two abilities you now have immense kill pressure in lane. It allows you to engage and disengage with ease, or to run away and keep your distance if needed. If you are level two before the other enemies - it doesn't matter the matchup - you'll win the 2v2.

Third Ability

W Go ahead and level up your here. It's great to keep you healthy in lane, plus the damage isn't too terrible for all in situations. Be aware that it can take all of your mana, so use it sparingly. Save it for times where you are about to take a lot of auto attacks, abiltiies, when you engage, or when someone engages onto you.

Fourth Ability Onward

After you have a point in each skill, you go for a W max - this drastically reduces the cooldown which is very important to Leona's kit. The more time it's off cooldown, the more time she can engage. After that, you make to shorten its cooldown. [/indent]

Note: Leona doesn't max Q first because it doesn't reduce the cooldown of the ability. That is the deciding factor over what to max second - has its cooldown reduced with leveling.

Summoner Spell Selection

Summoner Spell Explanations for Leona

For , the go to is and . is a requirment for (as with most all other supports). Leona is so strong at engaging that a simple flash forward to connect abilties can win you fights instantly. Don't hesitate to use it on her. As far as secondary summoners go, your go to is . Leona is all about securing kills and starting fights, which is why is necessary.

In very few situations should you go . Only consider going if the enemy team has a comp that all want to dive your back line (, jarvenIV]], , etc.) or are full of assasin (, , , etc.). For the most part, it's never worth it.

Runes - Standard

Here are your standard rune choices. In the section below you will have a breakdown analysis of every rune, its function, what it's good/bad for, and when to go it. If you're in a rush, you can't go wrong with any of these premades.

Aftershock

Glacial Augment

Runes - Detailed and Broken Down

Click either of the 2 below runes to jump to their section

Aftershock

VS.

Glacial Augment

Aftershock

Tankier - Lot of Resistences
Early Game Power
Better Front Line Tank
Full Resolve Tree

The Resistences mean less late game
Doesn't help Allies
Doesn't Empower Allies

VS.

Glacial Augment

Prolonged/Additional Crowd Control
Better Team Fight
Better Late Game Tank
Empower/Protects Your Allies

More Quishy - Less Resistences
Rough Early Game Until Level 3
Can't be the Only Front Line

Aftershock - 70% of the Time

Aftershock will never NOT be valuable and applicable in your situation - it will always be the safe rune to go. provides you an immense amount of resistences for 2.5s after immoblizing an enemy. This works with , , and (if they get hit by the middle section). This rune does not provide you with extra crowd control like does. Going this rune allows for you to take over the early game when enemy damage is low - before items have been built. It scales with bonus armor and magic resist, meaning it gains power as the game goes on, though not by a lot.

Second Row Options

- all around best option. Consistently gives small healing to allies when you crowd control them.

- Best when you know you will be pushed up in lane - best against weak laner opponent, or when you have AD carries that will push, such as and .

- This rune does not work with at all. Her gives resistences when used, but not an actualy shield, meaning you gain no value from it.

Third Row Options

- Not worth it. Won't amount to much, and the other two in this row are invaluable.

- Great for double ranged matchups that will be poking you down. Think "Am I fighting, or am I being hit from afar." Good against champions like , , , etc.

- Best for laning against a melee support - , , , etc. Short bursts are preferred vs. long trades when you go , whereas prefers poke.

Fourth Row Options

- Never worth it. As a support, you (out of all laners) are in lane the least. Won't ever amount to much.

-Typically go if against high Crowd Control teams. For , you always go. The other runes don't help much, and the tenacity from helps a lot.

Does not work with at all. She doesn't heal nor shield (before you say it, I know heals - it's not worth it).

Secondary Tree: Inspiration

will be your go to rune. Not only is the healing and mana regeneration good to help you stay substained in lane, but paired with is amazingly strong. The extra 5% movement speed can easily secure you kills in the early game.

will be your other go to rune. If you don't plan on going , then your better off going one of the below runes instead.

is a great rune for , though it's not her go to. It's great if you want the ability to use your on cooldown without worry. Go this rune when you can obtain bush control in lane or when you play on roaming mid a lot.

is also a great go to rune, one of my personal favorites. If you are in a lane against double ranged where you need the mobility to dodge skill shots OR you plan on roaming alot, this rune allows for an early tier 2 boot power spike.

is an average, fine rune to go. It provides nice haste which allows your summoner spells and actives items () to be up quicker. Pairs well with .

Stat Runes

The last 3 runes are up to your discretion. Attack Speed, Armor, and Armor are best. If the enemy is one damage (both AD or both AP), go ahead and go both runes of that resistance. The attack speed rune feels very nice on , specifically in the early game where every auto matters the most.

Top of Chapter

Glacial Augment - 30% of the Time

WHHEEWWW - For once Support has options as to what key stone to go. Instead going you now have the option of going . is invaluable when it comes to furthering Crowd Control and peeling Assasins off of your carries. When considering , you want to look at your laning phase as well as your role on your team. If you have a lane where you have a better 2v2 and have kill pressure, consider going since you don't need the extra resistences. It provides more crowd control and the damage reduction to the enemy carry is invaluable. When looking at the other team, consider assasins and backline divers. is better for peeling or locking down a specific target. Ask yourself what your role is. Are you the only front line, responsible for tanking the enemy team? If so, will be better. But if you have other front liners, say or , you can get away with sacrificing some resistences for crowd control/debuff. You will be squishier and more likely to die, but it doesn't matter since your team can thelp ank the damage. The slow for Glacial is invaluable in the middle of a team fight.

Second Row Options

is a fine rune to take. It offers the option to dive and force early fights around objectives which can catapult your early game.

is the best choice rune. Having Hexflash allows for you to more readily use your in lane to secure kills or pressure. With , you can trade your flash off cooldown to take away the oponent ADC's flash. Addiitonally, the play making potential on is defintely there.

is never worth it. You want your Tier 2 Boots ASAP - this delays it immensely. Tier 2 boots on is a huge power spike.

Third Row Options

is a powerful early game rune, though everything in this row has value. With you get an earlier power spike (rushing Tier 2 Boots) which allows to make an impact on the early game.

(MD) is a swell rune to take, though has different application than the others in the row. MD allows you to maintain prio in lane by securing those pesky canon minions - really good in lane where you don't want to step up and take a lot of poke damage.

is the best rune when paired with . As with all melee support, you are susceptible to poke and damage from ranged matchups. Using can drain your mana. gurantees you will always have the mana for a full combo and the HP to survive.

Fourth Row Options

is a valuable rune, though the other 2 still can be just as valuable. Reducing the cooldown of your and is very nice to stay ahead of the enemies, plus gives Item Haste, meaning if you go that active cooldowns get reduced.

only really has a place if you have an or ADCs or someone who provides Slows and Crowd Controls. The extra moement speed to catchup is very nice.

is FANTASTIC when paired with . Can still be worth going if not. It provides wonderful substain, allowing you to use your without worry of depleting mana and to keep your HP at a reasonable level for engages. Most importantly, the 5% bonus movement speed can really make or break fights and catches.

Secondary Tree: Resolve

- Go if they have a double ranged botlane - heavy poke lanes (,,. Keeps you healthy.

go if they have a melee/hard engage team comp (, , )

if they have crowd control heavy support (, , )
if you do not need - it's a great rune that synergizes well with kit.

Stat Runes

Top of Chapter

Item Selection

Table of Contents

Starting Items

First Back

Boots

All Attack Damage Comps

All Ability Power Comps

1 AD or 1 AP Comp

Mixed Damage Comps

Role Explanation

All Items: Breakdowns

Starting Items

When it comes to starting support item, you only have one option - . This and are your standard items for melee supports. The only difference between the two is gives Attack Damage while gives Ability Damage. In the early game, auto attacks are very important for all champions. Since items haven't been purchased yet, most every champions auto attacks have similar impact. With that in mind, the extra Attack Damage helps with her early damage tremendously. You may be thinking that Ability Power helps all of her abilities, which is does, but it's not enough to be worth it seeing as you will auto attack way more times than you will .

First Back

or : A rather unknown trick that I operate with is on my first base buying one of these items. They provide a mana pool that is invaluable for early game, plus they are decently cheap. It's not required for , but it's a neat trick. builds into which is a common item for . If they have a beefy front line (lot of HP or resistences) and you have an attack speed based carry (, , even ), odds are you will be going this item. If you aren't planning on going , go . This item provides a wonderful mana pool, plus is builds into - another situational item on .

Tip: Buy one of these items even if you aren't going to build them into anything. They have great resell value (meaning you won't lose too much gold for selling), and provide an enormous advantage in the early game.

Top of Chapter

Boot Selection

gets a wide variety of boots to choose from with almost no wrong answer. It is best to rush tier 2 boots, regardless of which ones you pick. Early game stats are unequivocal, and the movement helps tremendously in your laning endeavors. Tier 1 boots are always a first buy must have.

If the majority of the damage on the enemy team is AD, go plated.
Define Majority Take a look at at their team. Count how many of them do damage - ignore the support if they are enchanter. Ignore Jungle and top if they are purely tank. Then count how many do AD, how many do AP. If it's a tie, go if they don't have Crowd Control, and go if they do.

Against champions like Thresh, these boots come in clutch. If there are 3 or more serious CCs on the other team, go . Even if they are heavy AP, but have no crowd control, may still be the move. Don't go for the Magic Resist.

Swifties are a popular go to on . Consider going if you have multiple front liners on your team - meaning you will not be the only one taking damage. are great for gap closer, but don't provide you with any life saving resistences. If you aren't too comfortable on yet, best to hold off on these boots.

These are good boots, though are super important for . These are best if you are running as a rune and to stack summoner spell cooldown. If they don't have a team that is full of 1 damage type, it's not always worth to go or . These are the times where you can choose between swifties or ionian boots. Just keep in mind, these will make you decently squishy.

No.

I recommend against going these, though they do have their place. These boots allow you to dominate the map, especially in the early game. Consider going if you have a Jungler on your team who is dominant and wants to invade (, , etc.). Also consider if you have a mid laner who can get kills off of your roams. If you think you are going to lose lane, these aren't the worst pair of boots to go. .

HAHAHA

No.

Top of Chapter

Into an All Attack Damage Comp

Leona is great as a support because she can fill so many different roles depending on the game. Tank, Peel, Engage, CC, buffing, and debuffing As support, she synergizes amazingly with many defensive items.

When you are against an all AD team comp, itemization gets very straight forward - ARMOR ARMOR ARMOR.
will be your first, most efficient purchase. Regardless if the other team has insane healing or not, getting this piece first is powerful. The stats are great for a 800g piece, for starters. Not only that, but scales off of bonus Armor, meaning every purchase going forward is multiplied.

After buying this (and plated ) ask yourself - is my ADC (or APC) in danger of getting one shot? Are there assasins'? If so, start building your (start with , HP is better at the start of game, plus CDR is nice). If the answer is no, there's no burst damage or assasins' to worry about, go .

After your mythic, finishing is not a priority UNLESS they have big healing (, , , etc.).

For your last items, ask yourself what your job is

Am I the only front line?
Am I the one who starts the fight, or has to stand in front of my whole team in a team fight? (i.e. there are no other tanks or front liners on your team, or just 1?
If Yes, build Zeke's Convergence or Randuin's Omen or Anathema's Chains.

Am I on peel duty?
Are there multiple assassins' or divers that will be fixated on focusing my carry?
If yes, build Anathema's Chains or Zeke's Convergence.

Am I looking to make picks?
If yes, Dead Man's Plate or Anathema's Chains.

- This is great when there is an assasin on the enemy team OR if there is one dedicated carry (such as a or ) on the enemy team. Attach it to the biggest threat.
- This item is great when pair with an ally who is attack speed based or spams abilities (such as , , , etc. there alot). It's great for burning through tanking front liners or helping to burst down an assasin in the back line.
/ - Is invaluable against all AD comps. Can't go wrong with going it first.
- Always a great call when into full AD. The pick potential is great!
- When level 13 hits, get the . It's unmatched in utility, and the stats aren't half bad. Don't get it before, though. Not worth the money. Only get if you have no high priority items to purchase.
- This is great against champions that build Critical Chance (, , , etc.). If they are all AD but don't have crit (lethality or bruisers), consider going .
- This is great against attack speed based champions. If they have multiple marksmen (, , , , etc.) definitely go this item. The dubffs on the enemies will be wonderful.

Top of Chapter

Into an All Ability Power Damage Comp

First Buy: . Follow this up with a . Stacking early MR will make you an unkillable.

Your inventory should look like this - , , Pot/Refillable, and optional: .

Finish your here for your first tiem, even before your mythic - it's that powerful. Once stacked, you get 20% reduced Magic Damage plus movement speed that in VITAL in kiting and keeping up with the enemies.

Once you have this down, it's time to look at the game as a whole. Similar to the ALL AD team comp, ask yourself, is your carry dying fast? Multiple assassins' or divers or a who wants to outplay your carry? If so, go . Keeping them alive is ideal. AP dealers typically rely on burst ( , etc.). Building a will help a lot.

Is your carry fine? If they aren't in danger of being one shot, go .
- Go if they have a beefy front line, such as , , or .

Third or Fourth Item Options

- If they have healing on their team, this is a must. Since they are all AP, get's little to no value, so your best going . Don't finish the full item, though.
- Odds are with my guide you started with a for early mana. At this stage in the game, you get to choose to keep the Tear and make it into a or to sell it for inventory space. is great if you are the only front line or the only one engaging. The health pool and shield passive it applies feels very nice. If you have other people soaking up damage, though, it may be best to sell the and move to a different item.
- Consider this if you have 1 or more high AP damage dealers on your team. It's a WONDERFUL item that not only makes you more tanky (steals MR from enemies), but increases magic damage dealt against them.
- This is a great item as it gives magic resist, amplifies healing/shielding, and gives the cleasning effect. Go this if they have crowd control on their team - it's a must.

Top of Chapter

Into 1 AD or 1 AP - Rest of Team is the Opposite

Say you are against a team that is all AP... and then they have a . Now what? Do you build an armor item? OF COURSE YOU DON'T!

- This lovely item will solve all your worries. Simply go this item after your mythic (stacking early game HP is very nice), attach it to the 1 AD or 1 AP damage dealer, then itemize according to the above ALL AP or ALL AD comp.

Top of Chapter

Against Mixed Damage Dealers

Unfortunately, not every game can be against all of 1 type of damage. When this is the case, and ] each become viable.

- This is a great item if you need to amplify your teams damage. If they have a tanky team with a lot of health and resistences, this mythic comes in clutch. Additionally, if your team has primarily one type of damage (all AD or AP), this item helps tremendously as the other team has an easier time negating damage.
- think about your carry(s). If they are in danger of dying to assasin or a one shot, go Locket. If you deem that your mission is to solely keep your carry alive, this is the item to go.

Remember - Buying an early or is still very helpful to in the early game, even if you don't plan on building or .

Think through the next 10 minutes of the game - will you be stuck in lane the whole time, or do you see yourself running cross map or fighting in the jungle? What will your role be? Building Leona is very dependent on what role you are assuming. Deciding on your role will help you itemize from here. Use the below outline to decide what role you are filling and how to itemize accordingly.

Top of Chapter

Role Explanations

Front Line Tank

If you are the only tank or front line on the team, you must build a or first item. If your carry is safe without you, go . If you need to help keep them alive, go . Now ask yourself, do you need MR or Armor, who is/are their damage dealer(s)? Once you decide that, reference the above Item sets to determine what item to build. If you are the only front line, it's best to itemize tanky items with a rush.

Peel

They have Assasin or a run-you-down comp or you have a hyper carry (, , , ). Your job is to keep them alive. Go .
Next, look into building an to prolong the CC you put onto those killing your carry.
is a great item if they have healing. Since you aren't the primary focus of the enemy, you may not be able to proc the healing debuff from . Going guarentees Grevious Wounds onto the enemies trying to take out your carry.
is good if your carry is AP based, or if you have multiple AP damage dealers on your team.
is an amazing item here. It helps protect your carry from burst, which is super important against assasins.

Pick/Play Maker

Here you go . This item is core to and empowers him in the best way -extra damage for her allies.

Top of Chapter

Item Breakdowns - When to Use and When Not

-
First build if you have an all AP team - the stats are great and the passive is unmatched. It empowers your whole team while giving you AMAZING stats and damage reduction.
Build it 2nd or 3rd if you have a 2 or 3 AP team members.
Not Worth if your team has 1 or less AP.

- Extends CC duration and reduces up to 30% damage from a designated target.
Never go wrong building this item.
Best into comps that have (1) damage dealer of AP or AD, while the rest of the team is the other.
Best into comps with 1 designated carry.
Best into (1) assassin comp - allows you to lockdown the assassin so that your carry can live and make distant.
Best when you assume the role of "Pick/Play Maker."

-
Never go - makes you very squishy and the only way you can proc the extra attack speed is with .

-
Only good into all AP comp - even then it's not great. Takes away a lot of power from your team and doesn't do anything special with the extra damage.
Can be good if they have someone who can stop your engage with one ability (, , ).

-
RUSH into all AD
RUSH into , , , , things of their nature IF you are taking on the front line/tank role. If you are peeling or are going in and out of fights, gets more value only if the enemy isn't going to be auto attacking you.

- Never Build
In most games, you will go into for healing reduction.
is built is special situations where you don't need armor OR the enemies won't be auto attacking you. is great to apply the debuff through crowd control, but it's costly. This means if you sit on you may not be able to apply the debuff to the enemies (because they aren't autoing you) until you finish the full . works here because it's an early and secure way of getting healing cut. It unfortunately doesn't scale, though, as you don't build it into its full items.
Think of as "early power spike that doesn't scale" while is 'weak early but scales really well" when deciding which to purchase.

-
Not worth going. You are better off going tanky items - plus the CDR isn't too impactful on . If you want the movement speed, just go or .

- My personal favorite.
Don't build into AD light comps.
BEST into multiple AD comps.
BEST if you DONT have to peel carry
BEST if you are roaming/moving around the map a lot
BEST if you are looking to make picks
Don't build if you are on peel duty, meaning there are plenty of assasins or backline divers.

-
No

-
First build if their team is all AP or all but 1 AP
Go 2nd or 3rd if they only have 2 or less AP
BEST when you are primary engage/frontline.
Don't build if 1 or less AP threat.

-
BEST into all AD comp, or 3+ AD
BEST if they have multiple AD carries (ADC, , , , etc.) Attack speed based champ will suffer.
Don't build if on peel duty.
Don't build if they have 1 or less AD threats.
You are choosing between this or .

-
Great if you bout an early , which I highly recommend (that or ).
Great if you are on engage/tank duty.
Not ideal if you are peeling - when you are peeling and empowering your allies, they are typically the target of the damage. You're better off going items that help them. such as or .
Tear start is still goodt on even if you aren't planning on building this item. It has good resell value later into the game. Hold on to it until you need the inventory space.

-
Don't build. The shield given does not last long enough to make it worth while - though the stats are GREAT, the passives from other items and effects make it pale in comparison. You never get to stack enough bonus HP to make it worth.

-
For fun only - don't bring this out in ranked unless you're looking to be flamed.

-
GREAT when you have a hyper carry (, , )
GREAT When you are on peel duty.
Bad when you are the only frontline - you will die so fast and it will not be worth it.
This item gets value when your carry is being targeted, not when YOU are being targeted.

-
Great Item.
Best in peel situations.
Not as good as evenshround when you are the only front line.

-
Great into crowd control champions (, , , etc.]].
Great into AP heavy comps - it gives a decent amount of magic resist.
Bad if they have no crowd control.
Bad if they are all AD dealers.
Bad if you are the only front liner - you need items with bonus health.

-
Only build if into an all AD team. Build this instead of frozen heart for the extra HP
Best against Crit based champs - , ,
You are choosing between this or .

-
Only can go if you aren't the front line - meaning you have 2 other tanks on the team.
Fine when on peeling duty.
Fine when the enemy has a team comp that wants to run at you (, , ).
Horrible when you are the only front line. If you are taking all the damage, it would be better to go tank items.

-
Never go. It's not worth it. LEona doesn't synergize with healing, making this item obtainable only for it's stats, which can be gain with abyssal mask and then some.

-
Nah - Never go - makes you very squishy and the only way you can proc the extra AP/Haste is with .

- Healing Reduction is required if they have healing. As a support, it's your job to get this item or .
Always go if they have 3+ AD damage dealers.
Always go if they have healers (soraka, yuumi, etc.)
Always go going if you are the front line - the stats or wonderful and stack well with bonus AD.
Consider if they are all or mostly an AP comp.
In most games, you will go this or . Ask yourself - Am I taking damage, or am I trying to stop damage from being done? If you are the tank, go , if you are empowering and protecting your carry, go .

-
Great in every game and every situation.
Do not buy before level 13 - not worth. It doesn't give you the full stats and effects until you are level 13.
Great into stealth champions such as and (for the extra pink wards).

-
Best paired with attack speed based allies like and .
Best against tankier enemies with big health pools.
Poor against assasins and other squishy carries.
Poor into majority AP dealing enemies as it doesn't give you magic resist, just armor and health.

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Matchups Breakdowns

Engage Support

Enchanter Supports

Special Matchups

Mage Supports

Engage Support Enemies

Typically with engage supports, the first person to make the move (without adequate backup, like a jungler) will lose the trade. get's to circumvent this rule a bit because of the amount of damage reduction she gets from her and (if you go that route). That being said, it is still smart to wait for the enemy to engage, whether it's or , you should wait for their engage before you use your abiltiies. In general melee range engage matchups, the first one to pull the trigger typically loses the trade - just thankfully doesn't get punished as hard for it. When looking for engages, it's very important to know where your lane mate (or jungler) are - if they can't follow up or are going to be away, thus unable to provide backup, you will lose the trade. If the enemy ever goes in on your lane partner, you MUST look at their carry, not their support. Don't ever use that on , but look to use it on their or to outtrade and apply more kill pressure, while taking pressure off of your lane mate.
Below are specifics on all matchups.

Lane: Main thing is to make sure you are not standing on or next to your carry - if enagages on both of you, you aren't able to provide your crowd control.. If only you or your lane partner get targeted, you are able to turn onto the enemy carry with your full combo. Your cooldowns are much shorter than , and your crowd control effectively lasts longer. If engages first, you should win the trade.

Team Fights: If is looking for an engage, your goal is to ignore him. Your eyes need to be on their backline, carries, or assasins. In a team fight, your should only ever be used on if it's to prevent his stun from being in auto attack range. Main thing is to ignore him and focus on those who will kill your carry, or the enemy carries.

Lane: is great in this matchup. Simply stand in front of your ally at all times. If hooks, you take it and can simply turn onto the enemy carry. Be sure to pop your before the hook hits you for maximum damage mitigation. Once has full comboed you, he has nothing left to provide. or the enemy carry and win the fight.

Teamfight: Similar as laning. If you can take the hooks for your team, becomes useless. is used as a free dash for - hijack the hook to be closer to their backline.

Tip: If he hooks, press W immediately. It will mitigate most of his damage, leaving him useless.

Lane: Rather difficult lane in the sense that it's hard to do anything. Anytime you engage he will be able to block your carries attacks, thus leaving you alone. If his is every on cooldown, GOGOGOGOGOGO. Also - Always take the for your ally. Pop right before the last hits you to mitigate much of the damage.

Team fight: When it comes to team fights, is only relevant in the since that he can stall your team. If you dive into the backline, his abilities allow for him to slow down or even halt your allies from backing you up. Make sure they are close enough to follow you or that your confidenet enough that you can survive against the backline onslaught.

Laning: This is an easy lane if played right. has insanely high cooldowns early game - if he ever uses his or , look for the engage. Focus on the enemy carry - if the enemy carry is far away it is perfectly fine to go for .
Note: , like , does really well at zoning off your ally from joing you in the fight Make sure your ally is close enough to join when a fight starts or you may find yourself alone with no .

Team fight: Very straight forward - if you are engaging (starting the fight), make sure your team is somewhere near you to back you up. If they aren't, you will receive all of the backline damage solo. If is starting the fight, simply ignore him and look at their carries/assasins and focus your crowd control onto them.
Tip: If begins to channel his , use your on him. It will cancel his taunt immediately.

Lane: Same as , just not as scary. You should whin this lane easy. Go in whenever, especially if his is on cooldown. This is a lane where it is ok to focus the support, as he is very squishy early game.

Team fight: For the most part, just ignore him. He doesn't provide much to team fights.

Lane: is a very squishy champion early game. As long as you aren't fighting in the middle of the minion wave, it's perfectly fine to engage on him. Make sure to take to keep eyes on him in bushes, as you do not want to be in bushes in this lane. His can chunk in the early game. If he ever goes onto your carry, make sure to impose yourself between him and the enemy carry. Pop so mitigate the carries damage, and easily turn onto once his dissipates.

Team fight: After his is done, you are free to do whatever. He does not provide much after that, it's kind of just a wating game. If you can bait him into using his cooldowns (like ) onto you, he becomes useless and your team can win the fight. Keep him off your carries.

Lane: This is a nice lane for you, very similar to . Make sure you always take the hook with active for your carry, and turn the fight from there. If you want to start the first, make sure you start it on the enemy carry. Should be an easy breasy lane as long as you are using your .

Teamfight: You get the choice of stopping his engage or engaging yourself when it comes to team fights. If he ever uses on you, look to his back line, or use that moment to to the nearest carry. Your job, often times, will be to slow down 's team while he uses his cooldowns - very similar to 's role sometimes.

Tip: Don't bring his into your team.

Lane: Play reactive for the most part. Her blocks your which can scuff your engage. If it's not on cooldown, don't use E. Play away from your carry - meaning if engages on your ADC, you'll have plenty of distance to onto the enemy ADC to mitigate damage. Biggest thing here - don't use your to engage, use your . Simply walk at the enemy carry and auto attack - may prematurely use or even use on you. If she does this, your carry is empowered and unimpeded to walk up to dish out the DPS.

Team Fight: Start with if you are trying to get past her.. Run to her and auto her. If she hasn't used , this gives you a second to while she is stunned. If she did use it, it gives you a second to get our of her range before dashing across the fight.

Tip: If your team has dashes such as , , and , go ahead and start a fight with your to bait out that . Getting that out of the way leaves a lot of options for your allies.

Decently easy matchup. Wait for his engage, then turn. He's a sitting Duck and can't provide anything past his intial burst. If you engage first, he can simply pull you off the enemy carry, which allows for them to kite you. Let him make the first move. Don't him if he engages - it won't stop him and it's a waste of a cooldown.

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Enchanter Enemies

has distinct advantages and disadvantages when it comes to enchanter supports. Enchanters lack when it comes to all ins or hard engages, which is master of. Additionally, has decent damage mitigation against enchanters that like to poke. will be your go to rune with . If you got (which you can) be sure to go to get those early tier 2 boots. This allows you to have more map agency than an enchanter out of lane, and helps with dodging skill shots/trading with enchanters in lane. Go to start and take control of the bushes in lane. By sweeping their wards, you are able to stay as close to them as possible without takes any poke or harrass from them. Additionally, your team fighting early is stronger, meaning you should be calling for ganks, fights in river, fights around objectives, and roams where you can. Anytime you can engage on them or the carry, go for it.
Laning: Typically you want to focus the carries in 2v2 lanes, but if the enemy steps up too far in lane, she is an easy burst.
Team fights: You offer more in terms of crowd control and team fight capabilities. Don't be shy to start fights.
Specific mathup details below.

Lane: This is a great game to roam. She provides little kill potential onto your ADC, but unfortunately her can block most of your engages, meaning theres not much to do in lane. Take this matchup to practice roaming and playing with your jungler. That being said if you can ever manage to crowd control her with her on cooldown, you can burst her into oblivion.
Team Fight: Just keep an eye on her and know where she is. Typically you can play around her knockups. You don't need to be too patient - her disengages are good, but their cooldowns are much longer than yours. If you fail once, keep running at her and try again. It's ok to focus her in team fights as she will die quickly.

One of the more brutal matchups. Her mobility keeps her ahead of your engages, while her short cooldowns and decent range keeps you off the wave and poked down. Play around her cooldowns - if she just used her , look to engage. You ideally want to engage onto the enemy carry, but using on [[karma] isn't terrible. Just make sure your carry is there to back you up, otherwise you will get walked out as they put immense damage into your back.
It's a rought lane to roam in unless you ADC has good wave clear or mobility. Karma loves to push in the wave and if you aren't there when the minions crash, your ADC will suffer.

- A very nice matchup. She has longer range than you which is annoying, but makes he vulnerable to an engage. If you ever miss an engage, you may regret it, as she has decent damage and slows that will walk you out of lane.. That being said, if you land any stuns or roots onto her or the enemy carry, you win the fight for the most part. Be aware as to where the wave is - fighting in the wave can be rough. If the enemy carry has cleanse, you should always focsu the support (unless it's on cooldown). is only good for the person who has it, meaning there is not a to help out the support.

- Nightmare lane - her nullifies your engage, and her binding roots you for atleast 2 seconds.. Play the map by roaming and following the jungler. Highly recommend going . If her is on cooldown, look for that engage. Her shield has a 20 second+ cooldown in the early game, meaning you have a big window to engage if it's down.

- If she E's her ally, back off. If her ally is attacking your carry with buffed auto attacks, consider towards the enemy to alleviate some of the damage going onto them. If any of her cooldowns are down, looks for a fights. She's very squishy. It's ok to focus her over the ADC because of how quickly she dies.

- You win lane hard. Be agressive - if you stun her, she dies. She scales and becomes very powerful late - if you ever see a chance to crowd control her, go for it. Killing her will win you the fight. Focus her in lane as well as team fights. Early is great.

- Boring lane - she out pokes you and out heals any trade you do if you don't kill. Go an early and look for engages on her. In this lane, it's more important to focus teh as opposed to the enemy carry. Maintain bush control.

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Special Matchups

is an annoying matchup to . He out roams, out ranges, and has decent mobilty. Best thing to do here is to keep your waves pushing in as much as possible to keep bard in lane. If he ever gets in range, go for the engage. If he roams, push your lane and dive their ADC. does great at diving, which will punish 's roams. You can't match his roams as well, so don't try. Win botlane.

- He is not a great support, but he can snowball a game if you aren't careful. He will either look to roam all game or fight non stop. If he roams you HAVE to call out each roam for your team. You do not need to follow - simply kill the ADC left behind. If he stays and fights, you HAVE to save your cooldowns until AFTER he jumps on you or your AD. You outscale and he falls off if he can't get kills early.

- This is a fun matchup because can counter hard. Take every for your carry, then turn onto the enemy carry. If the enemy carry isn't in range, simply stun the and watch his HP disappear. Go double armor runes in this matchup.

- one of the most annoying matchups. Don't trade or walk up - letting her farm souls off you will cost you the game. If you miss your , she gets to walk you out of lane with auto attacks that deal a lot of damage and gather her souls. Be confident with your engages, or chill in a bush. Get level 6 as quickly as you can and try not to let her farm souls off of you. That being said, if you do manage to land a , you typically will win the fight. It's just a matter of getting to her.

- Start and you win. Shaco supports don't typically go , so it's alright to focus him in fights.

- At the moment, the champ is awful. Just ignore him and focus the enemy carry and you'll when every fight.

- Never engage first on . His makes that impossible. It's very important that you focus the enemy carry whenever uses his . If hooks your ally, you need to make sure you are using your abilities on the enemy carry, or atleast zoning them away from your ally.

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Mage Enemies

, , , , , ,

If any of the above champions ever uses part of his combo and misses, look for the engage. It's the best way to counter mage supports. Make sure you are playing on a paralell line or in triangle with your ADC so they aren't stuck taking all of the skill shots (explanation on what this means below). Mage support are very easy to deal with if you capitalize on their cooldowns. If they miss a skill shot, you pressure and play up and look for a engage. If you are able to land a stun on them, they will typically melt.

Laning: take bush control. Looking for opening when they miss their abiltiies. Past that, go if you went , or if you went (for the early tier 2 boots) and chill. In these lanes, you typically get poked down and can't do much unless the enemy miss plays. Counter this by playing the map, roaming, following your jungler around, securing objectives, and ganking mid.

Tips on specific Champs:

- If he misses any part of his combo, go in.

- If her is down, go in. Honestly, just go in on her whenever she steps up. Don't force it or she can kite you back and chunk you with her abilities.

- if his is down, go in. Honestly, even if it's up, go in anyways. He's very weak in lane.

- Rough lane. If he misses his abilties, go in. With their short cooldown, it may be best to roam and play for the jungle.

- If he ever gets close enough to engage on, go. He melts. Otherwise look to roam and make plays on the map with the jungler. Ganking mid is fun.

- His is an annoying counter to you. Past that, getting on him will secure a kill, or atleast cooldowns.

- If her are ever off cooldown, GOGOGOGOGOGO. Free kill. Otherwise just chill and scale. Her will root you, causing you to get chunked for a decent amount of damage. Be sure to pop your if one of those plants are going to hit you.

Playing in parallel and triangle formation: These refer to playing on the same the same line of scrimmage as your ally. If they are pushing further than you, then they have to take poke and skill shots from both support and ADC. If you are pushed further than they are, then YOU are the one who takes both. Playing on the same parallel line as ADC means you split the damage, and if one of you trys to trade, then both of you can easily. This is the best way to counter Mage support.

A friend of mine "twitch.tv/iskyi" made a wonderful and short video explaining this whole concept, linked below. If you found the content helpful, consider dropping him a Subscription and like the video.

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Questions and Answers

Q & As