NEW GUIDE UPDATED FOR 9.11

Why do I prefer Pyke over all other support champions in League? I started out favoring champions that used skill shots, it became a game to me to see if i could outthink the enemy and their dodge patterns. Knowing where they are going to go before they do feels great when you land those predicted hooks. So the ability to do this plus have great mobility with stealth and a true damage execute that is resettable? Yes please.

Pros: Pyke is extremely mobile with his kit, you can ward all kinds of places without being seen compared to other supports while using your W ability.
If you are being ganked as Pyke you can easily get away using your W and E abilities.
Pyke roams and ganks all lanes including his own lane very well using the same abilities his W and E + Q, running in from the side with your jungler you have a lot of mobility to catch people out of position with how far you can move.
Grey health regeneration is another huge plus for playing Pyke, a large portion of the damage you receive can be regenerated by going out of enemy vision or using your W ability.
Pykes passive is also a great way to tell if a bush is warded or if you are standing in some sort of enemy vision, as you will not regenerate grey health if the enemy can see you.
Pyke is the only physical damage scaling support in the game.
Has a resetable execute ultimate for making amazing/flashy plays.
Ultimate can execute players thru shields and Fioras W ability.

Cons: Pyke cannot get tanky by stacking health, all health is converted to attack damage instead 1 AD per 14 HP built. It is not an efficient way to get strong either stacking tank items.
His entire kit scales off lethality W, E and R all require lethality to scale higher.
Pyke is not very useful to his ADC in lane if he is not landing his abilities on the enemy.
Pykes ultimate will not reset on targets with GA/Tryndamere ultimate/Zilean ultimate.

This should be a standard final build for Pyke support. In matchups that im comfortable snowballing in and want to be able to duel someone, I will rush Duskblade(it is also great for clearing vision). In matchups that are less likely for me to kill I will rush Ghostblade for the mobility to get around the map and make more plays. Always adapt your items to the game at hand and never get complacent with your build.

Other things to consider with your itemization between Duskblade or Ghostblade first will be if you are going to be the primary person on your team that will be looking for engages on the enemy team. In my opinion Ghostblade is better for the +40 out of combat movement speed to look for picks quickly from stealth by landing a quick Q and pulling someone into your team. If you are not the primary initiator for your team Duskblade can be a better choice for +3 extra lethality which converts to bonus movement speed on your W, stun duration on your E and execute damage on your ultimate.

Coin will be your go to support item with Pyke, yes I know relic shield has HP that is converted to AD however recent nerfs have made the sustain provided from relic to not be very useful. Coin will generate a lot more gold for you and you will get 10% cdr and 10 flat movement speed without being forced to upgrade to tier 3 like the relic line. Always upgrade this to tier 2 ASAP for big gold generation.

Mobility Boots will be your first buy after upgrading coin, these will grant you a large amount of movement speed to rotate and make plays for your team. These can be substituted, if you are against a high amount of CC on the enemy team you can go Merc Treads instead, but if you are forced to buy Merc Treads due to the amount of enemy CC always go for Ghostblade first as Pykes base movement speed is pretty low for setting up plays and Ghostblade will give you a lot of bonus speed ot try to set things up.

Maw of Malmortius - if the enemy team has strong magic damage dealers this is my pretty standard 3rd item in my build. Maw provides a great amount of magic resist and AD combined with a 350 HP magic damage shield upon reaching 30% life which can be huge for saving your life considering Pyke cannot stack HP.

Mortal Reminder is a great item to build around 4th item if the enemy team has champions that have strong amounts of healing abilities i.e.(Janna, Soraka, Nami, Vladimir, Akali, Rengar, any ADC that rushes lifesteal etc) getting the armor penetration combined with healing reduction will help your damage stick on the enemy a lot better meaning they will not regain that health as quickly. If they do not have much in the way of healing champions or items consider buying Lord Dominiks instead for the higher armor penetration value.

Mercurial Scimitar is a more situational item, this item is necessary in situations where you are against champions with strong CC abilities or Suppression abilities like Malzahar, Skarner and Warwick ultimates. it is also good agains champions with longer duration roots or stuns such as Morgana, Thresh, Veigar, Lux, Neeko etc. so definitely consider this item in situations against these champions to remove CC so you do not die.


Duskblade - This item is a great rush for the +21 Lethality on the item + bonus damage passive combined with its ability to clear wards very quickly. Refer above for which situation you are in if you should get this item before Ghostblade

Pykes passive(Gift of the Drowned Ones) This ability has 2 essential functions, primarily it is used to regenerate a percent of lost health from enemy champions by leaving their vision. If you are not able to regenerate your grey health that means you are still in enemy vision(or are standing in a bush the enemy has warded) this is a great indicator if the enemy has vision in a bush and you will know if you need to clear it or warn allies of it.
Pykes Q(Bone Skewer) is a dual ability, this means that the ability has 2 functions.
A quick tip of Q will stab the enemy dealing damage and slowing them by 90% for 1 second.
Charging Pykes Q will allow you to throw out a hook and pull an enemy towards you from great distance and apply the 90% slow for 1 second.
Pykes W(Ghostwater Dive) gives 40% bonus movement and stealth which decays over the next 5 seconds. This ability can also trigger your passive as long as you are out of range of enemies to start regenerating your health quicker i.e.(you are ignited by the enemy and you believe it will kill you without regenerating health, you can flash out of their range press your W and you will regenerate health typically faster than the ignite will kill you.) This ability gains 1.5% bonus movement speed per 1 point of Lethality.
Pykes E(Phantom Undertow) This ability is a directional dash that is used to stun the enemy this ability is typically used to follow up after landing your Q for a nice pull/stun combo on the enemy. This ability can also be used in different ways whether comboing it into your ultimate to execute a target while stunning others or it can be used as a simple escape over a wall away from an enemy. This ability also scales .1 second increased stun duration per 10 points of Lethality.
Pykes Ultimate(Death from Below) This is Pykes execute ability. It can be quite tricky to land Pykes ultimate as it is an X pattern that you need to land on the enemy you can land any part of this ability on the enemy in order to execute them if they are within the red healthbar area(their healthbar will turn red if they are low enough to execute. This ability if landed on an enemy champion regardless if they are executable or not will teleport you to the center of the X symbol. This can be used for several things whether executing them enemy(pretty basic) or using it to dodge abilities the enemy is casting, a potential escape over a wall if you can lead an enemy near a wall you can set the center of the X over the wall just landing 1 point on the enemy will get you over. Also, following up in a teamfight if people are trying to escape sometimes I will use this ability simply to catch an enemy. I will R to them and then channel a quick Q to throw them behind me for the wolves to devour.

These are optimal runes for Pyke in 2v2 matchups for botlane. It is necessary to have aftershock for survivability setting up plays in bot(make sure you are playing around your aftershock CD when looking for engages). Demolish is fairly strong right now with turret plating for season 9. It is a decent amount of extra gold popping plates. Second wind is my favored ability combined with Pykes grey health sustain its hard to push Pyke out of lane with second wind as well. Lastly, unflinching tenacity and slow resistance are a great way to avoid CC duration from the enemy, having a low HP pool getting out of sticky situations a little bit sooner saves your butt a lot. Secondary runes Presence of mind - with this rune Pykes mana issues in extended fighting situations is removed as soon as he gets a takedown. Added bonus of ulti cd reduction upon getting kills or assists as well. Once again with Legend: Tenacity, we are taking this for even more reduced CC duration. You can never have enough tenacity.

I have shown Pykes Combos below and listed difficulties for each ranging from easiest to most difficult 1-5 5 being the hardest. Good luck summoners and enjoy! Feel free to stop by and show me your fancy clips if you get any or mention any combos i've left out. I'm always at twitch.tv/hanjarolol.

Difficulty Level 1 Q + E Combo --Basic Pyke combo is using your Q into E. A fast follow using E after hook is typically a guaranteed summoner burn because the 90% for 1 second after landing a hook makes it almost impossible to dodge the stun.

Difficulty Level 2 R + E using this combo isn't necessarily meant to be an execute, if it is great if not your utility from your stun alone can be enough fory our team to clean a fight. The objective with this combo is to catch the enemy if they are running but aren't executable you can R to the closest target and then E through the enemy team.

Difficulty Level 2 Q + Flash this combo consists of channeling your Q and then flashing to hook a target, can be difficult to do because you must hold the channel while doing other things.

Difficulty Level 2-3 E + Flash Combo -- I will usually reserve using this combo for a guaranteed kill when my jungler shows up to my lane. Using your E and flashing behind a target is really difficult for them to dodge or know if you are flashing until its too late. Options after this are either stabbing the target for dmg + slow, or if you're good enough like I am(obviously) you can E + flash close enough to the enemy that you have enough time to walk back to the front of them and channel a pull towards your own tower.

Difficulty Level 4 E + R with the closest point of your ult on the opposite side of the enemy. Pyke will teleport to the center of the X past the enemy pulling his stun through the target while also dealing damage from the ultimate. This combo is great for catching someone out of position.

Difficulty Level 5 E + Flash + R similar to last combo but adding a flash into the middle of this combo for extended range on the catch/stun. Very difficult mouse movements for proper landing at all phases of this combo. Practice, practice, practice.(I've only done this a handful of times.)

Difficulty Level 5 E + R + Flash this combo is intended to stun a target beyond the target you are using your R to travel to. You will E + R to the first target and then flash behind a 2nd target to drag the stun to them, if this is timed perfectly you can change the angle of the stun midway through its closing to stun both targets.(Also only done this a handful of times.)

Pykes laning phase is relatively useless to his carry unless he is landing abilities. You can provide presence in lane by NOT using your hook. But any time your hook is on cooldown the enemy knows they can punish your carry. Understanding the matchup you're in to begin with is one of the most important things. Evaluate level 1 enemy lane strength. Did the enemy team bring 2 ranged champions and we 1 ranged and 1 melee? If so, your carry or yourself are going to get harassed off the wave. I would recommend not pushing here getting CS from range and allowing them to push in early. HOWEVER, if they are not punishing you level 1 for being a melee champ push the wave and try to get the level 2 advantage(this does not mean push the wave into tower as it will just reset the lead you had and they can still match you getting level 2.) The first wave + 3 melee creeps or 2 melees + 2 ranged creeps in the second wave in a shared xp lane will give you level 2. When I see I will have the level 2 advantage I start walking forward as my carry is last hitting the last minion to level. This way I have a position advantage on the enemy while they are still level 1. If you can land your abilities here this will almost always secure a kill or summoners burned on their side(be mindful of enemy jungle position it may have all been a bait *gasp*). During laning phase monitor enemy jungle rotations and look for your engages on the enemy when you know their jungler is not near your lane. As a support a lot of what you should be doing is tracking enemy players on the minimap. Everyone else is focusing on CS(except your jungler of course hes full clearing and then recalling while the enemy jungle ganks every lane, PVE is hard.)If you have the ability to push your lane into tower look for roams at this time. See if your jungler is on your side of the map and looking to invade a camp or if the enemy mid laner is overextended. Staying at enemy tower is typically a red flag for junglers to come gank you(unless its your jungler they'd rather watch the tower burn than come to your lane HOW DARE YOU NOT BE WINNING THE PUSH.) I go coin every game for the following reasons. 1. 5% Cdr at rank 1 and 10% cdr at rank 2(this saves you 950g from upgrading to tier 3 relic shield that you can put towards lethality items or mobi boots.) 2. 10 flat movement speed. Pyke is a relatively slow champion for being melee possibly because of the mobility in his kit? IDK but hes slow. 10 flat movespeed is really nice to have from tier 2 coin. Coin generates the fastest sightstone I have ever achieved in the game. Vision is key in a lot of situations to prevent people from dieing. If you know where the enemy is you're less likely to facecheck a bush with 3 people in it amirite? Ward early get ahead of the vision game.

This is where we start looking for major objectives after laning phase has ended(this means our tower is down or dragon has been taken while top tower and rift herald are alive.) Keeping your duo lane near as many objective as possible is usually the key to making fast objective calls. If you take an early dragon and heralds up you can swap lanes with your top laner to look for plays towards it. Rotating control of vision as you transition across the map is your main goal here. So if you leave the bot side of the map you need to transfer your wards up near and between the objectives you are looking to take next. Not only to watch the objective but make sure theyre placed in a manner that will protect you from ganks/rotations. Once major objectives have been captured such as baron for example you will enter the end game phase of trying to find an advantage for a final push.

After mindless stomping your enemy across the map you are now seeking a way to break into their base. You've captured baron and have really big minions but 5 people standing at a tower can be hard to break. Bring control wards with you at all times and make sure you have a control ward outside of their base. If i'm pushing midlane from redside of the map I will control the small bush leading towards their red side jungle. If were blue side pushing mid I will put my control ward outside their wall between their mid and bot towers. This gives me fog of war to shoot hooks from. Your team can easily get kills over the wall if you have warded over. If they have pinks inside the base look for hooks as minions go up to the tower, they should grant you enough vision to make a play. Landing hooks here and getting a kill should be enough to deter the enemy from the tower because not only do you have really big minions but now you have a numbers advantage. I'm kind of crazy here sometimes but im fairly confident in my ability to use E into R for a extended range gap close into stun behind the enemy. If you used your R for the first execute you have 20 seconds to make that next play. DONT NECESSARILY DO ANYTHING TOO STUPID cuz u might just make it a 4v4 again. But if you think you can make the game winning play and survive I normally give it a go. Otherwise play safe use your w to look for that close range hook and pull someone else into your team. You don't always have to go for the big fancy plays, but it sure as hell looks nice when you do something that other people are like "HOW THE HELL IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE THIS GUYS A GOD".

Remember at this point your enemy is very frustrated and upset that you demolished their base and their spirit. Offer up a GG and compliment them on their play. Remember they can't all be amazing Pyke players. Collect your 4 honors and repeat this again next game. Good Luck Summoners and I hope this guide helped you along your path to amazing Pyke plays. And guys if you found this guide helpful be sure to check out my stream at twitch.tv/hanjarolol this is where i'll be between the hours of 7:30 am CST to 6 PM every day maintaining the title of Rank 1 Pyke NA.