Dear summoners,

In this build I will try to explain how I play Pantheon and how he should be played. I made this build because I think there are not many good builds for Pantheon on Mobafire.com. Let me explain. Some builds give a lot of attack damage, that's very good but Pantheon needs survivability! He is a glass cannon but without any defensive options you will be useless. Other builds give not enough attack damage because they focus too much on defensive items. In my build I will try to find a good balance between attack damage and survivability.

Learning the basics of this champion is easy, you just have to learn the combo W-E-Q. You will need more games to raise this champion to his fully potential.

This is the official League of Legens Champion Spotlight for Pantheon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2yjpxzTNvs

Before we start I want to add one more thing. It took me several games to get used to Pantheon so don't be sad if your first games are not that good too. But never give up, if things are going bad leave Pantheon for a day and try it on another day, that's how it worked for me.

PS.: English is not my native language, so if you notice mistakes please report them to me.

Pros:
Nice amount of damage (W-E-Q).
Q-ability: range !
Stun
Ulti = teleport with AoE damage
He is a Spartan and a totally badass
Cons:
Early game: mana issues
Survivability is poor from early game to late game
No escape mechanism

For me that are the most important 'pros and cons'.

Cleanse


Pantheon is very vulnerable to CC. Why ?
Because he has no escaping mechanism a slow or a stun is enough for enemies to kill you when you are on the run. In a teamfight you will probably be dead if you got hit bij a stun or a slow. Remember this, you will be the last man to enter the fight and you will be the last one to leave the fight.

Ghost


I prefer Ghost instead of Flash, in combination with Cleanse Ghost is the most effective way to run. Activate Ghost and if you are slowed or stunned just use Cleanse. So maybe you noticed it, but with these 2 summoner spells we gave Pantheon a very descent escaping mechanism.

Other recommended Spells:

Flash


It's usefull, but I prefer ghost.

Ignite


It can give an extra boost to your damage output but believe me you will be doing enough damage, even without Ignite.

Exhaust


If you really want this spell you should take it, it can be handy. You can make your opponent useless for e few seconds in that time you have to do some major damage and if possible kill him or her.

Clarity


Because Pantheon really drinks mana like grapejuice in early game this Summoner Spell can help you a lot. But don't waste your mana and let the Runes to their job. I wouldn't take Clarity because it's only usefull in early game, when you hit level 10 the mana issues will be completely over and than Clarity is a wasted Summoner Spell.

Revive


Some players like this spell on Pantheon. I haven't tried it so far, I am not able to say if this is a viable way of playing him.


I am not going to discuss every Summoner Spell because the other ones are completely unnecessary for Pantheon. The only thing you can consider is using Heal for your first matches.

Greater Mark of Desolation 9x
Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration 9x
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist 9x
Greater Quintessence of Desolation 3x

Armor penetration: I think that's obvious.
Mana regen: very important early game.
Magic resist: to give Pantheon more survivability.

Why do I not use Dodge runes? Because they are wasted IP points, magic resist is far more important.

11-0-19
It's an unusual Mastery Tree.
Our items and runes give enough survivability so we don't need to put points in Defense. I put more points (19) in Utilty and Offensive (11). Increased mana and health regen, neutral monster buffs last longer (Red buff !!), extra movement speed, cooldown reduction and armor penetration.

What do you want more?

Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Coming soon !

Here I will give more information about his skills.

Start with Doran's Blade (just 1 !), it's the best starting item you can get on Pantheon. With the coins you have left buy a Health Potion.



Pantheon is quite slow so you need Boots Of Speed (!) early on, try to grab the Brutalizer too at your first recall.

or

Upgrade your boots! If the enemies deal magic damage take Mercury's Treads, also take these boots if they have a lot of CC (passive). Ninja Tab is useful when you meet a lot of enemies who deal physical damage (Master Yi, Tryndamere).



Now we can start to gather some attack damage, it's important to rush a B.F. Sword after you finished your boots.



This my favourite item on Pantheon because of it has a great active. I will explain how to use Youmuu's Ghostblade in the next chapter (=Playstyle). Also the base stats of this item are nice: attack damage, armor penetration and cooldown reduction. Because of the cooldown reduction your combo will refresh in no-time. I really think this item is made for Pantheon.



Upgrading your B.F. Sword in a The Bloodthirster is very important. It gives 10 extra attack damage and some lifesteal. Life steal is useful to regen health back after a teamfight so you don't have to recall. I will explain how important the passive is in the next chapter!



This is not a mainstream item on Pantheon but let me explain why I like this. It gives armor AND magic resist, against a mixed enemy team this will be your saver. From the moment you have Guardian Angel you can play more aggressive because of its reviving passive.

Normally games will end here but I can give you 2 other items.



Last Whisper gives armor penetration (40 % !) and a bit of attack damage. It's obvious why this item shines on Pantheon. You can build Last Whisper before the Youmuu's Ghostblade but Youmuu's Ghostblade gives more for your money on my opinion, but the active becomes less viable in late game. Feel free to choose



You can take this potion from time to time but you realy should take this when the game is running to its end. Buy it in late game or when buying items is not going as expected, sometimes I take Elixir of Fortitude when I am rushing to my B.F. Sword or when I have a weak feeling.

So this was my main build. First take attack damage, later on you can focus on survivability.

Situational items:



When you get some kills in the beginning of the game (the first 5-15 minutes) you should try Sword of the Occult. Remember! This item becomes less via viable in higher elo games.



When you are suffering serious mana issues you can think of buying Manamune.



Take this when you meet a lot of casters. It gives magic resist and offers a nice passive, a shield that lasts 4 seconds and can protect you from 300 magic damage. This will be your item if you meet Karthus, Malzahar, Veigar, Swain, LeBlanc,... Remember this item is most viable in early and mid game so don't wait too long to get Hexdrinker.



Grab Randuin's Omen if you suffer too much damage from melee champions. It gives armor, health regen, health and a active you really should use!



Another item to protect yourself from casters and CC. Banshee's Veil.



Frozen Mallet can increase your survivability. It's an expensive item and personally I never take this on Pantheon. But if you feel good with it feel free to choose it.

Now I can hear some people thinking: 'Why isn't he buying boots and for the rest B.F. Swords?'
Let me explain. Pantheon will be very strong if you use 3 or more B.F. Swords, but I want to see such a Pantheon in a teamfight or a gank. In a teamfight (with descent enemies) you will be able to kill 1 or 2 champions and than you will be dead or already running away with low health. In a gank you will have to run and attack damage doens't improve movement speed. So you really need some defensive items and Summoner Spells. Remember from all the melee champions Pantheon has one of the lowest base stats in magic resist, health and armor. I tried a build with 3 B.F. Swords and upgrading them to The Bloodthirster and believe me, you will already have lost 1/2 of your health before a teamfight starts (if you are not using your ulti).

Lvl 1-3: The only ability you should use in this stage is Spear Shot. Use it to harras your enemies. The most important thing is getting minion kills. Focus on last hitting, that means you shouldn't be auto-attacking. Don't forget to help your laning partner if he is in trouble, sometimes you will meet very aggressive players who will try to get first blood as soon as possible.

Try to fall back under your tower, it's safer there. Don't push at all when the ennemies have a jungler.

Lvl 3-6: Now you should be under your tower and the enemies in front of it. Ask someone on your team to gank or just fight with your lanepartner. You should have unlocked your combo so you can easily do damage to enemies who are coming too close. I like it to play very calm in the beginning (before Lvl 3) and than suddenly attacking an enemy while he or she doesn't expect it.

Lvl 6: Recall, try to grab Boots and Longsword.

Lvl 6-10: You can go back to your lane or try a gank with your ulti. If you are going back to your lane you should try to make a kill, together with your laning partner. Always be aware of the map, your ulti can change a fight. For example you are in bot lane and in top lane your allies were ganked, jump as soon as possible to help, if you placed your ulti wel you or your teammates should definitely make a kill.

Lvl 10: Recall, take The Brutalizer and finish your boots. Normally you have 500-1000 coins left, keep them to get your B.F. Sword.

From now on it's always the same. You can go back to a lane and push (watch out for ganks !) or you gank with your ulti. Always ping on the map to show your allies where you are going to jump.

Combo: Spear Shot -> Aegis of Zeonia -> Heartseeker Strike -> Spear Shot

Playstyle with Youmuu's Ghostblade:
Use your active! For 4 seconds you will be running and hitting like a maniac. Use it when you are: ganking, hunting someone down, destroying a tower or inhibitor, running away. In a teamfight you will be able to auto-attack while you are waiting for your cooldowns.

Playstyle with Bloodthirster:
Use its passive! After you got The Bloodthirster you should farm for a few minutes. You can easily give yourself an extra 20-30 attack damage.

How to use Grand Skyfall:
Always try to predict the path of your ennemies it's all I can say. Remember at lvl 3 your ulti deals 1000 magic damage if an enemy is standing in the middle. Jumping out of your spawns has a great advantage, when Pantheon is gathering energy to jump he starts already to regen the mana that was lost, that means you can land with all your mana.

- Use wards! Not anly when playing Pantheon, you should use them in every game.
- Take the Red Buff as much as possible. Blue Buff is nice too but give them to your casters.
- Use your stun to interrupt Death Lotus, Absolute Zero,...
- If someone is pushing do your ulti behind him, so he isn't able to escape.

This was my first build here on mobafire. I hope you give it a chance. Please vote and leave a comment so I can improve this build because this build is for from excellent.

Maybe we will see each other in the Fields of Justice!

PS. Jazzy is not the nickname of my LoL-account, I am still considering giving the name of my LoL-account.