My name is Barraza, I wanted to help some people understand the mind and actions of a Gold Level Support and how to get there playing the role.
First of all if you're Plat+ and disagree with some of the things in the guide feel free to express that, however I have grinded many accounts Bronze - Gold playing supports like Zyra, Teemo, Brand, TF, Ashe, and Morgana with usually a 75% WR. AP supports have a high potential to carry games below platinum(and above) and This isn't about a prefect(Master/Challenger) understanding of the game, but winning and earning season rewards(GOLD 5).

As of Patch 7.1 - 80.25% of Players are below G5 toward end of season the number it still around 70% lets make that number for Zyra Mains much lower.
I would suggest queuing Support/Jungle or Support/Mid. For Jungle can be very similar to support not needing to last hit, you can focus on the minimap more, you get to roam and gank, and warding around the map understanding where the other jungler should be.

This guide is fairly basic, and may need more attention if popularity of it grows, but for now I don't plan on doing match ups or anything much more until I can make it to Diamond which could be this season or next, possibly never. XD

You're looking to run Magic Pen. +19.5 Armor +9 vs a non mage lane (Thresh/Braum) or non aggro ap lane(Janna). Being able to punish every moment with 23 magic penetration lv one, you're doing near 100 damage to greedy ADs and support many having just a base MR of 30.

Why? At about 3100 gold in you'll have your Sorc Boots and Hunting guise, = 53+ Flat Magic Pen Dealing increased magic damage to anyone Ranged and not building MR and @lv 18 you'll have 58 Magic Pen dealing increased Magic Dmg to anyone Ranged Champion even with MR/LV runes that hasn't built MR, and any Champion that doesn't have MR in their Runes/built (AKA Katarina (55.4 Highest Base Lv 18 MR).

However, if you're vs a heavy harass AP threat(Brand, Lulu) use your best judgement upon your own abilities, run Magic Pen. +13.9 Armor +9 Magic Resist +12.1 if you think you will be hit by their spells huge AOEs like Brands W and Zilean Qs are a bit harder to dodge before you have boots and you risk being burst heavily lv 2. If you believe in yourself run standard page vs match ups that can be aggro aps, but with slower spells (Soraka, Karma, Morgana)

No matter the case as of 7.1 and no Thunderlord Changes I feel this isn't a time in (noncompetitive/non 5s team play) you should run anything but 12/18/0.

The options that I would consider are worth changing are Fresh Blood for exposed weakness in lanes you not dear think about trading autos early in the game (Draven, Janna, Thresh, Nami, Bard, Lulu) and Bandit for GreenFathers Gift tank lanes, or lanes you wont's be trading many autos with.

Flash... if you're going to debate this spell leave. Not joking, go.

Exhaust is so strong, it is hard to pass on. It scales great in to the late game, and can be what you need to to turn a 2 v 3 from dying to a triple kill for you/AD.

Ignite is fun for lane pressure and showing you're prepared to kill them upon entering the lane. However, ignite falls off a bit in late game for you it provides no utility and vs an assassin it can help you trade 1 for 1, but in team fights you should not be getting close enough for you to ignite and anyone that is that close (A Tank or Assassin) you're not going to kill fast or they're damage is the problem. In the case you have rank this it's because they have a Raka/Sona/Nami and ignite to prevent healing late game rather than to finish off the kill (Mundo as he ults, or the AD with a lot of life steal)

Your Skill order can be all on Preference I Prefer RQEW even in some lanes I need to all in.

You're going to want to Max Q(RQEW) First in Poke Lanes vs All in lanes, just for the plant damage to force them out of lane or make them too low to attempt all in.

Maxing E is a wonderful option for All in Lane vs Sustain Lane, also for heavy gank jungler with gap closer without a hard engage. (Rek'Sai, Wukong,Sejuani, Gragas)

Advice, Blitz is also unique situation though you want to Max Q and poke him down. You may need to max E to prevent him from running to you/AD for a jungle gank when slightly pushed up.

In the average game there are 140-160 Wards Placed for both teams, vision is a major aspect of the game and all 5 roles should be contributing to vision control. Of the average 75 placed on your team the support(You) will place a third. These stats can change depending on your jungler and mid most heavy. Support Junglers and Lee Sin tend to get Trackers Knite and ward more while assassin mid/jgs tend to go to sweeper early and but control wards lowering wards placed but denying vision. If you keep vision it will win you games, it can increase your chances to win as much as 20% vs those that don't ward.

You need to be placing 25 Ward per game at a minimum even in Bronze this is not including 3+ control wards throughout the game (1+lane,1+Baron, 1+ Aggro/Defensive), Though your team may not understand to back off when they see the opposing team that isn't your fault.

I can go further in detail on when and where warding if needed/wanted.

Early Game: You go in with the knowledge of what you want to do in lane and how you're going to treat the match up, if you want to play with more knowledge, look up your enemies op.gg and figure out if they can play their champ well or not. Another thing to consider if your AD can play their champ well. You can have a wombo, but if your AD or you don't understand it, you're wasting an opportunity. Your item Path should be standard start. You'looking to rush Frostfang for income and Sorc Boots and Hunting Guise for damage.

Why? At about 3100 gold in you'll have your Sorc Boots and Hunting guise, = 53+ Flat Magic Pen Dealing increased magic damage to anyone Ranged and not building MR and @lv 18 you'll have 58 Magic Pen dealing increased Magic Dmg to anyone Ranged Champion even with MR/LV runes that hasn't built MR, and any Champion that doesn't have MR in their Runes/built (AKA Katarina (55.4 Highest Base Lv 18 MR).

Mid Game 15ish*: By this point you should be able to assess how well your lane went and game is going around 20 minutes in a game has a clear path to winning many game and recently either finished your sightstone or getting it soon. In terms of power you should be able to one shot a squishy if you're ahead if you're not feed your damage will be fine still. The only rough part are you have 3 pieces of items and tier 2 boots(something that shouldn't be done in higer elos, but we're not so F it). Complete your liandrys and determine if you're going for pure burst(Build 1) or sustain damage(Build 2).

Late Game 25ish*: Unfortunately, you are the support and Probably be around 9K gold at this point enough for
Frost Fang - 850
3 Vision Wards - 225
Sorc Boots - 1100
Sight Stone - 800
Liandrys - 3100 and either
Rylais - 2600 or Ludens - 3200


A good way to think of when of when mid game and late game, are when the Solo lanes are lv 11 (Wave 25 ~ 14 minutes)and 16 (Wave 50 ~ 26 minutes) their lv 2 and 3 of ultimate.

* - In Bronze/Silver Laning phase can stretch all the way to 20 minutes which make mid game small and people not understanding how to end(Same in Gold) Making late Game huge (this is the reason heavy farm junglers and are "OP" in bronze and "Not Meta" in Masters/Challenger/LCS)

As Zyra, you should focus on being with your team. You're an excellent teamfighter, picker, and kiter. You're all a carry could ever want next to them, while also being a carry yourself.

After laning phase you should be with your team, your ad or your carry. The only exceptions are that you need to clear a wave or respawning. When warding you have to understand the trade off of getting caught out vs getting the ward down. If you can see 3/4 members of the enemy team and the 5th has no potential to catch you/kill you go ward solo, however, if you do not have vision on anything ping you need assistance while attempting to ward use your sweeper as a bit of a guide if needed.

Unfortunately it is possible you're playing bad and getting completely **** on. You're seemingly useless for the team. You're no alive long enough to peel and you do no damage. Welp Look at build 3 and look at this section.

This is for when you've realized you're not carrying anything and you need to be a support and you need to become very light to get carried. Perhaps you're 0/3/0 before you're able to even buy tier 2 boots. Play very conservative and back, you have to minimize and further feeding, change your focus from damage carry to vision and peeling (full support).

Get your
Frostfang - 850
Ionian Boots of Lucidity - 900
Sightstone - 800
Finish Frost Queen's Claim -1350
Rylais - 2600
Only Needing 6500 to get to this point is nice.
You're 3 Items in have a lot of peel and kite. If you're making a come back, look back in to damage and use your best judgement. If all you've become is a liability look back in to damage, however if nothing is improving look a way to be tankier.

Zzrot is only 2700, Provides some pressure even if you're dead, resistances, gold income, and some escape at times.
Banner oC is also a cheap item only 2200 Provides some pressure even if you're dead, resistances, gold income, and CDR.
At 5 Items (3 having actives) up grade your sightstone to a RSS and be cable to spam the actives more. Your 6th item can be something to get your CDR, Dmg, more utility for your team, or Tankier. This build may seem dumb, but after using it many times in bad situations it can have a major impact upon games your tilted beyond your ability to play.