Hello everybody! I am iSpark, formerly Teh Grazzhopper. After a year of inactivity, I am back! I managed to grind to Platinum 5, and although I don't play this champion much in ranked, Blitzcrank was one of the main reasons I managed to drastically improve my support play, and helped me to climb from silver 4 to Platinum 5 in only 3 months of ranking.




With this guide, I hope I can guide you through how to play this robotic menace to its maximum potential! However, take note that this isn't a general support guide, so I am assuming you, the reader, knows what a support does in general, such as warding. This is a champion guide after all.

Before we get to the nitty gritty, let us examine the pros and cons of Blitzcrank:

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+ Amazing pick potential + Can snowball the ADC hard + Decent burst damage + Can peel effectively + Effective at zoning + Always deadly, even when behind + Low skill floor

- No sustain for carry in lane - Medium skill ceiling (not much flashy plays) - Relatively weak laner unless he lands a pull - Need to be careful with pulls - Everyone thinks he's a one-trick pony - 0 poke in lane, can only be played as a burst lane

As you can see, Blitzcrank is a support that is mainly played for his pick potential. He also has cons that make him not as viable as other supports such as Thresh and Nami. However, there are still distinctive features in his kit that still make him a strong support. In the hands of a good player, a Blitzcrank can be truly terrifying and can singlehandedly carry a team to victory. This guide aims to make you such a player.

Mandatory:

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You need this spell. It only makes your pick potential so much deadlier, as a Flash Rocket Grab combo is extremely lethal, especially if you can pull an important carry. This spell can also be used to secure kills (appropriately), set up your Power Fist, block a spell for your carry such as Ace in the Hole and it also allows you to get out of sticky situations.

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2nd Summoner Spell Choices:

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My preferred summoner spell out of the three. This protects your carry against assassins in teamfights, as you can exhaust the assassin that engages to reduce his burst significantly. In lane, Exhaust can also be used to significantly cut the enemy carries damage during all ins or when you and/or your adc are dangerously low. This spell also reduces the armor and MR of the enemy by 10, so it helps your team deal more damage to the Exhausted target.

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However, if your team doesn't have any Ignites, if the enemy does not have any significant assassin/hypercarry or if their team has a health regen maniac like Dr. Mundo, you should take this spell instead. Ignite is excellent for finishing off enemies, and also reduces Heal by 50%, the spell that most AD carries carry at the moment.The 50% damage reduction in teamfights is extremely useful, and most of the time you will be in range to use this spell. Overall, Ignite is a great spell and only loses out to Exhaust.

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Unless your AD carry does not take Heal, this spell is not recommended over the other 2 choices. Firstly, they nerfed Heal and buffed Exhaust, and your AD carry will usually have this summoner spell anyway. Next, having 2 Heals in lane is not effective as you will lack real combat spells such as Exhaust and Ignite, spells that you use on your enemies. There is also a likelihood that you and your carry will double Heal in a fight, which is bad as heal has a 50% reduced effect if used too recently with another Heal. Overall this spell just loses out to the other two for supports, thus I do not recommend taking this summoner spell unless you strongly insist on taking it.

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Any other summoner spells are not viable on Blitzcrank support, and I'm sure that you know this. However, if you really really want to know why a certain summoner spell is not viable, ask me individually by commenting or sending me a PM.

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This is Blitzcrank's passive, Mana Barrier. When you drop below 20% health, you get a shield based on 50% of his current mana. However it does have a cooldown of 90 seconds Tips: This is a big reason why building mana on Blitzcrank over health is actually justifiable on Blitzcrank. Not only is it important to have a decent mana hooks such that you don't get punished as much for missed hooks, having a lot of mana can create a huge shield that will save your life. Sure, Blitzcrank does need some health in order to last, and Mana Barrier does have a cooldown, but enemies often forget about Blitzcrank's passive and find themselves overextending trying to chase the robot. This is also why I prefer Frozen Heart to Randuin's Omen.

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This is Blitzcrank's Q, Rocket Grab. This is the core skill of Blitzcrank, as most of his kit revolves around landing this spell. Since it has a significant impact on the game, it naturally has a long base cooldown which reduces with level, as well has a huge mana cost of 100. Tips: This is what defines Blitzcrank. When your team is really fed, any hook can become a kill, which essentially means a won teamfight. However, the game will usually be very close, and you have to carefully select the targets you want to hook. You will always want to try and hook the carry, but even then, be extremely careful, as their team could react very quickly to the pull and before you know it, your team will tunnel to kill the carry while forgetting about the other team. This usually happens when the enemy has 2 extremely fed carries. In this case it is better to wait for mistakes, which are inevitable. In lane, landing a hook on a squishy support or a carry can usually allow you to deal heavy damage to them if the lane is even in health and items. Sometimes you can blow a summoner spell or get a kill for your carry with just one hook.

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This is Blitzcrank's W, Overdrive. This skill gives you bonus attack speed and movement speed, though you will usually want it for the latter. Tips: I mainly use this skill to catch up to enemies to use Power Fist. I usually use this engage when my jungler is coming to gank and I am at decent health as it is a more reliable form of crowd control than the hook. Other than an engage tool, this spell can help you take down towers (a bit) faster and also helps you escape from sticky situations with the movement speed boost.

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This is Blitzcrank's E, Power Fist. This skill knocks up the enemy for 1 second with your next autoattack, dealing twice your AD in damage. Cooldown is reduced per level of this skill. Tips: This skill is an autoattack reset, which means that you usually can deal an extra auto in damage before you knock the enemy up. However, there are times where you cannot reset your auto as the enemy could react fast enough to Flash away before you can knock him up, costing you the kill. This is your most reliable engage tool when combined with Overdrive. This skill should also be used when you Rocket Grab an enemy immediately, in order to ensure that the enemy is disabled for the longest time.

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This is Blitzcrank's R, Static Field. This skill has a passive that does magic damage to a nearby unit every 2.5 seconds, and has an ult that disables the passive but does AOE magic damage and silences enemy units for 0.5 seconds. Tips: The passive is somewhat annoying as you may involuntarily steal CS with it. To prevent this, you can try to isolate yourselves from enemy minions, though sometimes you just don't have the option. This spell is best used if you want to burst an enemy with your allies quickly or if you want to deny the enemy an escape at low health. Also, if you want to ward inside of baron or dragon, make sure to use your ultimate so the passive does not aggravate the monsters. This may cause you to take unnecessary damage, and your ultimate cooldown is short anyway.

You only have the option of choosing selfcast or smartcast on your Rocket Grab. I personally use smartcast as I am familiar with the range of this ability, but if you are new to Blitzcrank or prefer selfcast in general I would recommend you to put it on selfcast.

I take Q at level 1 in case my team wants to invade and also because if I land a hook at lvl 1, the enemy getting grabbed will take heavy damage.
I then take E at level 2 to make my CC more potent when I land a Rocket Grab. It also allows me to engage with an ability other than Rocket Grab
I take W at level 3 in case I need the mobility.

I max Q first as it is the bread and butter skill of Blitzcrank. As the cooldown of Rocket Grab decreases with level, I will max it first.
E will then be maxed as the cooldown of Overdrive does not decrease with level, and maxing E 2nd allows me to get off more Power Fists in teamfights.
W will of course have to be maxed last.
And take R at levels 6, 11 and 16 since the burst damage increases quite a bit per rank.

Marks:

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I pick Greater Mark of Armor as it helps Blitzcrank to take less damage from the AD carry during early levels. Early resistances are always good and since you are going support you do not need damage.

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Alternatives:

Greater Mark of Attack Damage or Greater Mark of Magic Penetration are also decent if you are too poor to afford Armor marks.

Seals:

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With the slight nerf to armor seals, I like combining 5 armor seals with 4 health seals. Along with Quintessences and Masteries, you will have 142 extra health at level 1, which is almost equivalent to a Ruby Crystal. Now you may ask, why not 9 health seals? Well, it is my preference to include 5 armor seals as the more resistances you have, the less effective health you will lose and the more effective health you will actually have.

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Alternatives:

9x Greater Seal of Armor or 9x Greater Seal of Health works fine too. Greater Seal of Gold is not considered as it is ineffective. With Greater Seal of Gold you earn 13.5 gold in a minute, which is terrible considering how much gold you already earn per 10 seconds.

Glyphs:

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I take flat Magic Resist glyphs to withstand the harass from the enemy support and midlaner. Most supports deal noticeable magic damage in the earlygame, which you have to handle. Magic Resist glyphs help you to survive the laning phase, Blitzcrank's weakest phase. This is also because there is only one realistic alternative to this Glyph.

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Alternatives:

A mix of Greater Glyph of Magic Resist and Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist is also okay, as well as 9x Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist.

Quintessences:

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I take health quints and most of the explanation has been covered when I explained why I took health seals. It's actually a toss up between Movement Speed and Armor Quints, but I like effective health better cause more health=more hits needed to die.

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Alternatives:

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed works decently too, especially if you want the movement speed to roam around the map and set up picks.
Greater Quintessence of Armor can also beef up your survivability in lane.
DO NOT GET Greater Quintessence of Gold cause you only earn 18 gold per minute, it is not worth it.

I opt for 0-16-14, as these masteries allow Blitzcrank to be tanky and gain important benefits from the utility tree. Although I will only going through 0-16-14, 0-21-9, 4-5-21 as well as 0-9-21 works well on Blitzcrank too. If you want to know more about the other mastery choices for Blitzcrank, feel free to comment or send me a PM.

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Tier 1: Block helps to negate some of the enemy harass. Recovery and Enchanted Armor both suck, so you can choose to put 2 points in either one. I choose Enchanted Armor since imo, its slightly more useful. Tier 2: Unyielding and Veteran's Scars make you tankier. Both are mandatory. Tier 3: Juggernaut gives you 3% more health and Blitzcrank has to be tanky. Hardiness and Resistance are really good. I don't take Oppression as you won't take damage from enemies affected by the two abilities that this mastery affects, so it's wasted. Tier 4: Put a point in Reinforced Armor against AD's which can crit, which is what 95% of all ADs will itemize. If not just take a point in Evasive .

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Tier 1: Scout is useful, whether you are using yellow or red trinket. It's your choice between Fleet of Foot and Meditation , but I opt for the former since I like movement speed on Blitzcrank over mana regen. Tier 2: Summoner's Insight is great for you to have your summoner spells up more frequently. Alchemist is also a good way to increase your sustain in lane. Tier 3: Greed is helpful for you to earn just a bit more gold per 10 seconds, and Culinary Master gives you a small amount of instant health and mana, which could be crucial when you are low on health. The other masteries in this tier is not suitable for support Blitzcrank. Tier 4: Scavenger helps you get a bit more gold, while Wealth allows you to start with slightly more gold which can be used to buy 1 more Health Potion.

Now that you know how to set up Blitzcrank for a game on Summoner's Rift, let us examine the optimal items for Blitzcrank.

Core

Talisman of Ascension

Armor

Magic Resist

Situational

Starting #1-Beginner/Very Safe Blitzcrank:

This start is a relatively safe start, which is perfect for the new Blitzcrank player. 3 Total Biscuit of Rejuvenations ensures that you can withstand a fair amount of harass from the enemy support, and the Mana Potion allows you to land one more Rocket Grab. You also don't have to run the risk of getting harassed when trying to proc Relic Shield. However this is at the expense of health regeneration from Relic Shield active, and due to your lack of sustain you cannot afford to get an additional Stealth Ward. This makes you more vulnerable to ganks but as long as you play really safely you should not have much problems.

Starting #2-More Experienced Blitzcrank:

I personally like this start in normal lanes, though sometimes I default to start #1 if I am facing an extremely difficult lane such as Morgana Caitlyn. The reason why I like this start is that Relic Shield is a form of health regeneration, which really helps to make up for Blitzcrank's lack of sustain and health regen in lane (about the same reason why you should always get Relic Shield on Thresh). You can also afford to take a Stealth Ward when you start Relic Shield as you will have enough regen and more leeway to take harass. The downside of this start is that you risk getting punished when you try and proc your charges, but then again unless you are facing a poke-heavy lane you won't take significant damage and they would be nuts to engage on you unless you are really low.

Core Items:

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Sightstone is MANDATORY. This gives you decent health, and the active allows you to ward up the map without the need to actually buy Stealth Wards. You just need to plant 11 wards with this item and you have basically made this item free! I cannot stress enough how important sight is to your team, and as a support it is mainly your role to secure vision for your team. You will usually be able to instantly buy Sightstone at your first back, which will roughly be level 6 in an even lane (0 kills and even CS). You may be able to afford a Vision Ward too and I will cover warding spots later in this guide. However if you are unable to afford Sightstone at your first back, just buy some wards and a Ruby Crystal if you can afford it, and sell off your yellow trinket for your red one.

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Your next target is to get Mobility Boots. Yes, even before Nomad's Medallion. When you get Mobility Boots, you instantly become extremely mobile and one of the fastest champions on the map. This allows you to quickly chase an enemy to land your CC, Power Fist, Static Field and Rocket Grab. This also makes you roam very well across the map and makes it easier to set up ganks for other lanes (90% of the time midlane). This choice of boots is preferred to other options as it ensures that you can outrun most champions on the map to set up a pick or an engage.

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talisman of ascension

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After this, if you did not go for starting #2, aim for Talisman of Ascension. If you used starting #2 get Targon's Brace and your first armor/MR item, either Frozen Heart or Locket of the Iron Solari before you sell Targon's Brace. For Starting #1, I prefer to rush Talisman of Ascension before armor/MR items as not only does it give you good stats such as 10% CDR, health and mana regen and 20 movement speed, it has one of the best actives in the game, allowing you to engage and disengage at will. With this spell, no one can outrun you and if you have a lead and you are grouping for a teamfight, this literally ensures that you can get an engage (usually good as the movement speed allows you to reach their carries really quickly, and with a lead your team can easily jump on them). If the enemy wants to engage in a favourable situation, you can use it's active and BAM! you bought time for your team to regroup and maybe get a fight in your favour. However, for start #2, rushing the armor/MR item is better simply because of gold efficiency. If you were to do the same as starting #1, you would waste gold just buying Relic Shield/ Targon's Brace and you will get your Talisman of Ascension later, which is only to your disadvantage. I would rather get the armor/MR item before selling Relic Shield/ Targon's Brace, so that I can at least be tankier and more useful to the team during the period which I sold Relic Shield/ Targon's Brace. You may be wondering why I don't simply upgrade Relic Shield into Face of the Mountain and save gold, since I talk so much about gold efficiency. The reason is simple- Face of the Mountain is just worse than Talisman of Ascension in terms of what Blitzcrank actually wants to bring to the team. Face of the Mountain is effectively only useful as a shield and gives you HP. However, Blitzcrank will always want to engage in order to force the fight in his favour. A more team-oriented utility item such as Talisman of Ascension is much better than Face of the Mountain in terms of trying to engage on favourable terms.

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talisman of ascension

Armor Choices:

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It's a close fight between Frozen Heart and Randuin's Omen, but in the end Frozen Heart is my personal preference. Frozen Heart has an attack speed slow, and unlike Randuin's Omen it has 1000 range (which is actually quite relevant as teamfights are usually champions grouped up with each other) and actually slows attack speed for slightly more. Frozen Heart also grants 20% CDR, 30 more armor, 400 more mana and costs 400 less gold than Randuin's Omen. On the flipside, Randuin's Omen gives 500 health, something Frozen Heart does not offer. It also does not have the Active slow that could be really useful in teamfights. To judge which item Blitzcrank should build, we should understand what items are suited for Blitzcrank the most. Unlike other supports, mana is very important for Blitzcrank due to the high cost of his Rocket Grab, his main spell, as well as his passive. Cooldown reduction is also favoured as one gets more opportunities to use Rocket Grab, and since this spell is not easy to land, the more chances you have=the more likely you make a grab onto the right person=higher chance of winning teamfights. Health is also good on Blitzcrank, however none of his abilities really synergizes with health. Blitzcrank will also not be in a position to activate Randuin's Omen on a lot of people as he should be peeling for his carries instead of disrupting the enemies in teamfights. Randuin's Omen also has a smaller influence range that Frozen Heart, and the passive is not very useful since not many people will focus Blitzcrank in fights anyway. Therefore it is clear that Frozen Heart is the preferred choice, though it is also a good option to go for Randuin's Omen.

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This item should only be taken if you need a 2nd armor item, aka against a full AD team or an AD team with a lot of fed autoattackers. It grants the same amount of armor as Frozen Heart while granting no other stats. The only useful aspect of this item is its passive, which basically punishes any autoattackers who aim Blitzcrank. If you find yourself constantly in risk of getting three-shotted by that Tryndamere and Master Yi, go for this item. It helps a lot.

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Magic Resist Choices:

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This is the best magic resist item for Blitzcrank, as it really benefits your team. In most cases where you build this item, you should make it clear to your team that you will be the one getting locket, as the passive of locket/aegis DOES NOT STACK. This item not only grants you decent health, health regen and magic resist, it grants your team passive +20 MR and +10 HP5, which is really neat. Furthermore, the active may not seem much, but the active can help to shield damage for every single member of your team. In fights, where every number counts, this shield could make or break teamfights for your team!

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AKA the "save your carries'" item. It grants good magic resistance to yourself, 10% CDR and a lot of mana regeneration. However I find the mana regeneration wasted as Talisman of Ascension and Frozen Heart should be enough to prevent Blitzcrank from really running out of mana. I would only get this item if one of my carries are extremely important to the team and if the enemy is targetting them with hard CC and they dont have a QSS. The heal is nice to save teammates who are about to die, as well as teammates who get caught by deadly CC, but otherwise I feel Locket is a superior item.

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You should only get this item if you really need to survive to be relevant in fights since it has no use for your teammates. The other 2 magic resistance items are just better in general, and unless the enemies want to catch you and make you explode with hard CC, you should not consider getting this item.

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Situational Items:

In the armor and magic resistance section, you may notice that I prefer certain items over others. Now you may wonder why I do not put them in situational. The reason is because the items below should really not be built 99% of the time unless you face a certain specific scenario.

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SPOOKY GHOSTS is outclassed by Locket of the Iron Solari and Mikael's Blessing, no questions asked. 80AP is useless since you are going support anyway. The only edge it has is the 6 movement speed multiplier and the active, but then again with Talisman of Ascension you should already have enough pick potential. Furthermore since you will probably have enough wards to cover key spots of the map the active is not very necessary. I would only consider this item in place of my Vision Ward when the game hits 50-60+ minutes, where basically you (and maybe the jungler) are the only ones who ward and there are blind spots of the map where you want to catch an enemy out of determine the enemy's location.

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For support Blitzcrank, Frozen Heart outclasses Iceborn Gauntlet in every aspect. The extra 30AP as well as the passive from this item is wasted, since you aren't going full damage and Blitzcrank already has enough CC and the slow really doesn't matter when you Power Fist someone anyway. The only time you should get this item is if you are really fed as a support, which is very rare and you just want more damage to get more kills for yourself, which is also not what a support wants.

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This item has no use for your team, and since you are going support, your life isn't so important that it warrants a Guardian Angel. Furthermore, during the statis time, you are doing absolutely NOTHING, and when you revive you will likely get bursted down anyway. ONLY get this item in a 50-60+ minute game (again, yes I know), so that if you get caught, at least you have a 2nd chance to do something and your team will likely be able to help you out.

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With that, we have completed the BUILD SECTION of Blitzcrank! Now to the GAMEPLAY aspect of Blitzcrank.

This chapter will be a bit long-winded, so bear with me! It is important to know when is the right time to pick Blitzcrank during ranked gameplay. You do not want to pick him aimlessly since he is a relatively situational pick!(Though in blind pick or if you just want to screw around in draft pick you can just pick Blitzcrank and hope that my tips will help you win the lane.

AD Carries:

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Playing With: Ashe generally does not do well with Blitzcrank. Even though she has some burst in her passive, she has 0 escapes and excels at poking while staying safe from a distance. The problem is that as Blitzcrank, you would want to hook the enemy towards your team, which already brings the enemy closer to Ashe. If you hook the wrong guy, this could turn really bad for Ashe. She does not have sufficient burst to ensure that you can 100-0 anyone you pull and it is so easy for the enemy to turn on Ashe when Blitzcrank Rocket Grabs. LOW SYNERGY Playing Against: Ashe is relatively immobile, so it is easier to pull Ashe. I would not recommend trying to go in with W-E, as if you are unable to reach Ashe, she will punish you heavily with her permaslow. Her ult will also prevent you from doing such initiations, and you will most likely die. Due to Ashe's immobility as well as personal experience, she is MODERATELY EASY to handle.

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Playing With: Very similar to Ashe. She doesn't have a combo that can oneshot when you grab, and like Ashe, she values safety a lot and aims to poke down the enemy with her superior range. However if you choose to play this lane take note that you can pull champions straight into Caitlyn's traps, disabling them for longer periods of time. I would say that this lane is slightly better than Ashe, but it's still not the optimal lane for Blitzcrank. LOW-MEDIUM SYNERGY Playing Against: Caitlyn has more annoying poke that Ashe, and due to her traps and net, you could die even before you can reach her. She is also relatively immobile as she only has net to dodge pull. Net has a cast time so it shouldn't be too hard to land a pull or even blow her Flash. MODERATE to handle.

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Playing With: Corki does have decent poke, and he hits a big powerspike when he hits level 6. He is an easier lane partner for Blitzcrank as if you Rocket Grab, Corki can easily follow up with his spells, which can deal a lot of burst damage to the enemy. However attempt pulls only when he hits level 4 and above or if the jungler ganks, as he doesn't deal that much damage lvl 1-3. MODERATE SYNERGY Playing Against: Watch out for his poke post-6. It hurts a ton if you allow him to unleash Phosphorus Bomb and his Rockets and you will slowly be forced out of lane due to your lack of sustain. You have to try and dodge his spells (which honestly isn't that hard) and try and engage on him. Try to go in with Overdrive Power Fist on him so that you can blow his escape and pull him back, or if you can land a Rocket Grab, save your Power Fist when he tries to Valkyrie out of there. MODERATE to handle.

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Playing With: This lane is excellent for Blitzcrank. Not only does Draven deal amazing damage with his Spinning Axe, he has Stand Aside to follow up with your CC and Whirling Death to follow up with your pull. The problem that Draven faces is against higher range, however you make his life a lot easier if you can pull the target to him. One of my favourite lane partners, just tell your Draven to save his Stand Aside till your grab finishes so that you don't get cut-off midair. HIGH SYNERGY Playing Against: Draven needs to be closer than other AD carries to deal his phenomenal damage, which makes him easier to engage on as Blitzcrank. So as long as you can engage on him before he deals his damage, or just stand from range and force him to go closer to you, this lane is relatively easy to manage as Draven has 0 escapes. EASY to handle.

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Playing With: My favourite support paired with my favourite carry. Ironically enough Ezreal isn't the best partner for Blitzcrank, though he is still a pretty good partner. Ezreal is mainly poke oriented who has immense safety in his Arcane Shift. On one hand, a pull can allow Ezreal to unleash a few Mystic Shots when the enemy starts to run away and if Ezreal is fed enough (or if the enemy is low enough), Ezreal can kill with Trueshot Barrage, Mystic Shot and an autoattack or two. On the other hand, grabbing the wrong target could cause Ezreal to blow his Arcane Shift, and during this time BOTH of you are extremely vulnerable. ABOVE AVERAGE synergy. Playing Against: Good luck to you. If you see Ezreal being locked in for the enemy before your pick, DO NOT PICK Blitzcrank! Why? If you meet a good Ezreal, it is ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to engage on him! You mostly rely on your Rocket Grab for engages, but then he can Arcane Shift when you Rocket Grab to make it useless, sinc you don't pull Ezreal to you anyway. Furthermore due to his item build he is extremely mobile and after his Trinity Force/ Iceborn Gauntlet you really have no way to engage on him, even with Overdrive Power Fist. Try and pull Ezreal if his Arcane Shift is wasted and your pull is off cooldown, which is extremely unlikely. EXTREMELY HARD to handle.

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Playing With: Similar to Draven, Graves needs to be in close range to deal his insane burst. Blitzcrank makes the job much easier for him, and basically like the Draven lane, you two are meant for each other. HIGH SYNERGY Playing Against: Think twice before pulling Graves. You need to be sure that you can burst him down and your AD carry is at decent health. He may be squishy, but his passive and his base stats makes him more durable than other AD carries. Furthermore he is likely to be paired with an aggressive support such as Leona so that if you pull him, you and your AD carry may be dead because you simply cannot handle his burst. He may have 0 escapes, but that doesn't mean he is an easy lane opponent. MODERATELY HARD to handle.

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Playing With: Oh wow, the third consecutive AD carry who actually can burst in a short period of time. Zap! and Super Mega Death Rocket! are both extremely potent abilities, and her Flame Chompers! and ensure that the enemy will not be able to move while you and Jinx burst the enemy down. You can literally win the game for your team if you win this lane hard, as unlike the other 2 AD carries, Jinx can actually stay safer and still deal tons of damage. Playing Against: Jinx has no escapes, and does not have CC other than Flame Chompers!, which has an activation time. It is slightly harder to land a hook on her than Draven, but if you can land a hook, Jinx has nowhere to run. Just try and work around her burst and punish her, especially if she wastes Flame Chompers!.

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Playing With: Kog'Maw and Blitzcrank in the laning phase just do not gel with each other. Kog'Maw is extremely vulnerable and needs to make use of his range in W and R in order to dish out tons of damage. You literally have no room for error (i.e. you can only grab squishies). If you grab an initiator, you can say byebye to your little Kog'Maw. There are better peelers in the game for Kog'Maw, and honestly if the enemy jumps on him there is nothing much you can do. LOW SYNERGY Playing Against: Abuse his immobility, just make sure you don't get kited by Void Ooze. Landing a pull on Kog'Maw is amazing for your team if you can follow up, which isn't too hard due to his immobility. It is important to abuse the cooldown of his Bio-Arcane Barrage. If you see that he has just finished using it, ABUSE IT, he only has 500 base AA range! It is really easy to engage on him if that is down, as he can only really harm you by the time you pull him or you Power Fist him. EASY to handle.

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Playing With: Lucian is a great AD carry to lane with. He does great burst damage to enemy carries, while being mobile enough to ensure that bad hooks will not be as greatly punished. His weakness is range, and Blitzcrank makes his job much easier if he can land a hook. HIGH SYNERGY Playing Against: Due to his mobility, Lucian is pretty hard to handle, like Ezreal. However, if you see Lucian waste his Relentless Pursuit, you can abuse it by trying to pull him or engage him with Overdrive Power Fist. Like Ezreal, Lucian can kite you to death if you do not respect his cooldowns. HARD to handle.

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Playing With: Miss Fortune does have poke with her Double Up, however she does have decent burst too with Impure Shots and Double Up combined. Hooking the enemy AD carry can allow her to deal great burst damage to the enemy carry, especially since most players do not respect Miss Fortune's damage nowadays. However you have to take note that she is relatively immobile other than her Strut, so unlike other high synergy lanes mentioned above, you do have to be more careful with your pulls. ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY Playing Against: You should probably only try to hook Miss Fortune. If you attempt to Overdrive Power Fist, you will just get kited extremely hard. Hooking Miss Fortune is relatively easier due to her lack of escapes, and once you hook her she is extremely vulnerable. The only time you should be running up to her is to try and cancel her Bullet Time, but other than that do not try and do that. Just don't get kited to death and you should be fine. MODERATELY EASY to handle.

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Playing With: Sivir actually complements Blitzcrank in teamfights really well, as she can force engages and disengages really quickly. In the laning phase, Sivir has decent burst, and if you hook the wrong guy, a good Sivir will probably be able to Spell Shield the dangerous ability. Not a particularly snowbally lane, but can scale really well into teamfights if you have a small lead. HIGH SYNERGY Playing Against: Another hard lane, as Sivir can Spell Shield your hook. Both have around the same cooldown so it's really hard to engage on her. Coupled with her ultimate, she is one of the most annoying AD carries that you will have to lane against. You have to punish Sivir if she wastes her Spell Shield, or if she Spell Shields a short cooldown spell from your AD carry. HARD to handle.

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Playing With: Tristana does have decent burst and although she needs to take advantage of her range lategame, her abundance of escapes and burst in Rocket Jump and Buster Shot makes her synergize well with Blitzcrank. It is relatively easy to secure a kill in lane with Tristana if you hook the AD carry, and if you can get Tristana to snowball considerably, you can entirely bypass her weak midgame and make her a potent force. HIGH SYNERGY Playing Against: Tristana has 2 escape tools as mentioned above. However, you can Rocket Grab/ Power Fist Tristana when she does Rocket Jump, so you need to try and shut her down early or else she will be unstoppable lategame. Again, abuse her cooldowns on Rocket Jump and Buster Shot, and if you land a hook on Tristana, she will either disengage with her ult or you can deal massive damage to her. MODERATE to handle.

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Playing With: You both have relatively weak laning phases, but in the mid-lategame, a Rocket Grab on the right target allows you two to assassinate that target extremely quickly. In lane, Twitch has to have slightly extended trades in order to deal maximum damage with Expunge, which makes your pull slightly less effective. Like Sivir, this partnership will shine in the mid-lategame, so do not turn away from this lane! ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY Playing Against: Twitch can only stealth to engage, and if he blows that he is relatively easy to engage on. In fights it will be harder to reach him due to his ult, but a pull on Twitch will be extremely beneficial to your team at all stages of the game. If you land a pull on him and he starts to stealth, delay his stealth for as long as possible by using all of his abilities. Remember that you have 6 seconds to kill him before he hits stealth, and even if he does, an Oracle's Lens or a Vision Ward can shut him down. EASY to handle.

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Playing With: Similar to Miss Fortune, while he pokes extremely well, his burst damage is also decent. His ultimate can also combine with your engage in order to disable the enemy for a longer period of time. However do take note that he lacks escape so just like Miss Fortune, you need to be careful with your hooks. Going in with Overdrive Power Fist is also a good idea since Varus can ult and deal damage from quite a far range. ABOVE AVERAGE SYNERGY Playing Against: He does a lot of poke damage, so you really have to try and dodge his damage, or you will get chunked down and bursted with his ultimate before you can do anything. Take note that he is immobile, so you have to work around his cooldowns and try and engage in the right circumstances. If you pull him, it is really good for you and your AD carry as Varus does not do well in close range. MODERATE to handle.

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Playing With: This lane can really help to snowball Vayne. If you manage to land hooks earlygame, Vayne will be able to deal decent damage to the enemy carry and even get a kill or two. You can combine your CC with her Condemn, which if she lands will make it ridiculously easy to get a kill. Vayne is excellent at duels, which you are great at forcing. HIGH SYNERGY Playing Against: Vayne is relatively mobile due to her passive and Tumble. Furthermore, she can abuse the cooldown of your hook post-6 and kill you before you get in range to Power Fist her. In fact, if you miss your hook, you have to play really carefully as her stealth makes it hard to land any CC or damage on her. You have to stamp authority in this lane earlygame to shut Vayne down. While Rocket Grab can be avoided with Tumble, it is not easy to do so, and landing a hook on Vayne earlygame allows you to chunk her down, forcing her to go back or get killed. This builds up an advantage for your AD carry which you can abuse. MODERATE to handle.

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With this detailed guide to laning with and against AD carries, I hope that you will know when to pick Blitzcrank, and how to play Blitzcrank when you meet certain AD carries.

Of course, next to the enemy AD carry will be his trusty support. We will examine each of the viable supports in detail. Note that I did not include Soraka in as I do not have much games laning against her, though I would probably put her at MODERATELY EASY at the moment. I also did not include Taric as I haven't really played against one (partly because Taric is pretty bad at the moment).

Supports:

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He is your HARDEST COUNTER. If you pull him, it only makes it extremely easy for him to engage on your AD carry. Don't even bother pulling him when he hits 6 as he will use Unbreakable Will and screw over your AD carry. Not to mention he can engage on your own AD carry if you pull his. Your only hope is to try and get an early kill on either him and your AD carry, and hope to snowball that advantage until he hits level 6. Sometimes it will be enough to duel 2v2 post level 6, but usually you will get owned in this lane, do not be surprised. HARD to handle.

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Another hard lane for Blitzcrank, though not as hard as Alistar. His passive makes a counter engage extremely likely if you pull him, which is extremely dangerous especially post-6. He can also deflect most of your AD carry's damage output with his stupid wall if his AD carry gets pulled, and when he hits level 6 he can simply choose to engage with his ult, which will probably screw over your AD carry. Like Alistar, you have to try and punish him early and abuse your earlygame power, but unlike Alistar it is actually possible to kill him and his AD carry. However, it requires extremely smart play. MODERATELY HARD to handle

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Literally impossible to engage on her using Overdrive Power Fist due to her insane disengage. You have to go for a Rocket Grab on either her or her AD carry. Stay away from her carry when she uses her shield on them. If she wastes it, punish her by positioning more aggressively for a Rocket Grab. If you actually manage to pull her, she is relatively squishy, and you should unless your CC in order to disable her for the longest time. With a bursty AD carry, it will not be difficult to burst her down. MODERATE to handle.

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Similar to Janna, you have no way to engage her with Overdrive Power Fist due to her insane disengage. However, what makes her more annoying than Janna is her poke from her Q. To play this lane, you should anticipate when she throws her Q and back away when she throws it. When she activates mantra, play safe for 8 seconds. When she wastes her Q, you can position more aggressively and look for a hook. If you see an opportunity, you can also try to hook her. Like Janna, she is relatively squishy, however if you are unable to deal significant damage to her, disengage immediately. She could W you or your carry, and if she snares you get ready for a world of hurt. MODERATELY HARD to handle.

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She is naturally tanky, so pulling her is usually a bad idea. It also makes it easier for her to engage on your AD carry, and if she does so she can combine with her AD carry to deal tons of damage. Post 6 she will probably be actively looking for engages so you will have to play pretty passive unless you have a lead. The only realistic times you can engage her is at lvl 1, lvl 2 and when she has no mana/is less than half health. HARD to handle.

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Lulu is an annoying lane since she has so much utility for her AD carry. Glitterlance and Whimsy makes it hard to go up to her, and she can poke you from range. If you pull her carry, it is easy for her to disengage by using her spells on him. Both of you will likely be unable to kill each other, though it is likely that Lulu can force you out of lane early. You should try and establish and advantage at levels 1 and 2, where Lulu does not have her full spell rotation. You can also abuse her cooldowns, and if you can hook her or her AD carry if her spells are on cooldown, they will be pretty helpless. MODERATE to handle.

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She can Black Shield whatever engage you try on her, and her Dark Binding is lethal. Furthermore if you pull her, she can also engage with her ultimate. The only way to engage on her is to blow her spell shield on abilities other than your Rocket Grab and then go aggressive, or try and Overdrive towards Morgana to pop her Black Shield, before turning to her AD carry and engaging on him. However, this usually doesn't work, and you will likely lose this lane. HARD to handle.

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She has substantial poke with her W, and if you can't burst her or her AD carry down when you hook, she may be able to heal her carry to full health while putting poke on you, making the lane hard. Furthermore she can engage with her ranged Aqua Prison and if you get hit by it, you will take a lot of poke without any retaliation. Post 6, her ultimate is extremely strong disengage or chase and will probably prevent you from engaging further on her. However, Nami is relatively squishy and immobile, so if you can Rocket Grab her, she will be fish food with a decent AD carry. MODERATELY HARD to handle.

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She has really good poke, however unlike other supports her poke is relatively close-ranged. She is also really squishy compared to other supports, so landing a Rocket Grab on her will usually result in hefty damage dealt to her. In this lane, just do not get poked too heavily, and do not underestimate her slow from her powerchord E. Also do not pull post-6 if she has ultimate and your AD carry/team is relatively low, she can turn on him with Crescendo and it will probably screw your AD carry/whole team and cause you to lose the fight. Other than that she is probably the easiest support to handle. MODERATELY EASY to handle.

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This guy is basically an improved version of you, sad to say. He has both poke and burst, both of which have less pick but are more reliable. Hooking him earlygame is actually not a bad idea, as he will be relatively squishy (remember that his base armor and health is lower than average supports earlygame). However, he poses a big danger with the fact that he will also be looking to engage on you, and if he can land his Death Sentence and goes in on your AD carry, there is nothing much you can do. His lantern and ultimate are also great engage and disengage tools, which can potentially cripple both you and your AD carry. MODERATELY HARD to handle.

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He has a lot of poke damage due to the high base damage of Time Bomb. His Time Warp also makes it extremely difficult for you to engage with Overdrive Power Fist, and his ultimate will make it extremely hard to burst the enemy AD carry down, as when he revives you will still have to deal a whole lot of damage to him before you can actually kill him. In this lane, Zilean takes a bit of time to start dealing a lot of damage, so from levels 1-3, you HAVE to abuse your superior earlygame. You should also look to hook Zilean and disable him such that he does not have time to use his ultimate before he dies. If not, he will just bomb you out of lane and make it impossible for you to burst anyone down. MODERATELY HARD lane.

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Zyra is an extremely annoying lane. She does ridiculous amounts of magic damage with her spells and her plants, and she has the best disengage in the game with her ultimate, Stranglethorns (she can also use it to engage). Her snare is relatively easy to land on either you or your AD carry, and if she lands it you will take a lot of damage and will probably be forced out of lane or even die. However, Zyra is EXTREMELY SQUISHY so if you land any form of engage on her she is probably screwed. She also will not have the reaction time to deflect your hook with her plant unless you make it VERY OBVIOUS. Overall you have to try your best to dodge her poke and look to hook her in. MODERATELY HARD to handle.

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As you can see from the support matchups, Blitzcrank is a relatively weaker support in lane as compared to others, which makes him less favourable than other supports. He is also relatively one-dimensional, which makes it hard to play him as well as other supports. However, a good Blitzcrank player has the chance to win lane against every support and AD carry, and I can safely say that I have won my lane and I can continue to win my lane against every single support in this list, because I have had a lot of practice on Blitzcrank and I know my limits.

Before I end this guide, I would like to thank:

Jhoijhoi for her making a guide guide as well as her banners.
LeBraum, my best friend irl and in game, for helping me to test out this guide and feedback on it.
And lastly, you, the reader, for looking through my guide.

This concludes my guide, but I will constantly be updating it! Look out for sections of videos/screenshots of my own gameplay, as well as tips on how to play every stage of the game as Blitzcrank! Feel free to offer any constructive comments and have a discussion with me if you have any view on Blitzcrank, in terms of his viability, his item build, matchups, as well as his gameplay!

30/9/14-Published Guide!