Hey all, I'm Yoshiking123 former Diamond 3 Support Main (currently in promos back to D5). Here's my op.gg

Pros of Shen Support

- Taunt/Flash Taunt/Taunt Flash is pretty scary. Most people don't expect it and you can hit a lot of people with it.

- AoE Blind. This is HUGE. And one of the few reasons why he's viable.

- Global Sheild. He's basically Life Alert. You can support your entire team while staying Bot (assuming you hit at Lvl 6 of course). This is really good in Solo Que since now you can make sure none of your lanes lose.

- Tanky. You don't need to worry about being bursted down like a Nami or Janna support.

- He uses Energy, so in lane phase you are never "oom".

- He's very good at skirmishes and 2 v 2's/3 v 3's.

Cons of Shen Support

- If you miss Taunt, you have no CC to stop stuff like Katarina's Ult. Not only that: if you miss Taunt in lane you're guaranteed to get screwed over. Basically you can't afford to make any mistakes or you get punished super hard.

- Falls off late game. Not by much, but he definitely falls off. At least with my build he does. He's not as Tanky as like a Malphite Top and doesn't have as much CC as something like Braum.

- Requires you to have a LOT of Map Awareness. Like a lot more than other supports.

- Requires you to have a strong understanding of Macro play and which ADC's can hold their own 1 v 2 in lane (which some players may struggle with or simply don't have a lot of knowledge on).

Important Note: I would highly recommend checking out Riot's Shen Champion Spotlight. There are some things they explain about Shen that most players wouldn't know. For example: you can use Shen's Q to slow down people (I maybe do that once or twice a game).

Flash
This is pretty self-explanatory (we all know it's the best Summoner Spell in the game). You can also use Flash with your Taunt to get unsuspecting victims >:)

Ignite
Ignite got buffed and is pretty strong right now. I run this on most supports because the kill potential with it is too good.

Exhaust
This is a pretty safe Summoner Spell for Shen support. But right now it's not that good. The utility it brings isn't enough to warrant using it over Ignite.

Aftershock
This is probably the safest rune to take on Support Shen. It makes you slightly tankier while giving you a bit of damage. Because Bot Lane got nerfed: it's usually not worth the risk to run Grasp of the Undying (which forces you to trade), Unsealed Spellbook (only really good if you get ahead), and Guardian (good for trading but doesn't make you tankier when you need it).

Bone Plating
It's basically free stats. Stacks with Aftershock to make you SUPER tanky when trading or initiating a fight. Super good and probably should be nerfed.

Second Wind
Because I tend to play very aggressively and trade often: it's nice to be able to recover a little bit of health each time. If don't plan on fighting often Bot Lane then you should take Conditioning instead.

Magical Footwear
Free gold.

Minion Dematerializer
It's better than most people think. It's super good for controlling the Lane and ensuring you can keep the lane pushed up or prevent your minions from being pushed back into turret. Also allows you to avoid trades you may not want to take over the Cannon Minion.

As fun as Unsealed Spellbook is: I don't think it's worth the risk in Solo Que to go for it. Back when you could play like a monkey, get ahead, and kill everyone Bot Lane: it was super strong. But now since Bot's not nearly as storng: the risk is not worth the reward. Still super fun though.

Guardian is a weird rune because it helps against poke but if you're trading constantly like me: you might as well use Aftershock since they'll both mitigate the same amount of damage but Aftershock makes you tankier and you don't need to be next to your ADC to trigger it. Basically: Aftershock > Guardian in like 90% of cases.

Level 1: Invade and get a kill and/or ward their Jungle. It's important to understand the basic paths of Junglers and know which buff they start. In lane, just stay safe and farm until Lvl 2 at least.

Level 2: This is usually where I do my first trade to see if we can out-damage the enemy Bot Lane in a fight. If you can hit Lvl 2 first and force a Flash from the enemy ADC or Support too that's superb.

Levels 3-5: From here on out: most trades will be in your favor because you can just go in with Taunt and your AoE Blind. In most cases, you and your ADC will come out with more HP because an AoE Blind is pretty good for preventing damage. So: trade often and burn through your opponent's Health/Mana.

Important Note: At 6 minutes: you'll get your first Summoner Spell Swap if you're running Unsealed Spellbook. Usually at this point in time I get Exhaust so that I can engage/fight even more. Your next Summoner Spell usually is Teleport (which will come in around 9 minutes in) so that you can Ult to another lane and then back and/or Teleport quickly back to Bot Lane.

What you can do also is stack Exhaust with Ignite. You won't be able to use Ignite immediately after Exhaust as there's a delay but it's pretty short and you can bait the enemy's summoner spells first and then go in with Ignite. It's pretty darn good for extended fights.

Once you get Q, you can also set it up after going in/engaging so that your Sword will be behind the enemy: so if they come up to Last-Hit Minions you can slow them with Q making it easier to land your Taunt.

Level 6 & Beyond: This is where you need to start paying attention around the map (if you haven't already started). Make sure that when you use your Ultimate on another Ally (not your ADC): your ADC won't die. Sometimes it's not possible and in that case it becomes a "Who's more important/will carry me harder?" question. You want to avoid these situations as much as possible because you want to come out on top instead of trading kills usually. I tend to avoid using it aggressively (like to support a tower dive) because it's usually not guaranteed a kill. I use it defensively when an ally is gonna die or a trade looks bad. Make sure you keep track of who's able to trade efficiently while your Ultimate is being channeled. If you Ult in and they die regardless of your shield: it's basically a waste of an Ult that could've saved a future ally or turned a lane around. TLDR: make wise decisions or you will be punished.

Important Note: Whenever you can: always try to get a deep ward placed in the enemy Jungle (ideally a ward that covers 2 camps). This is very important so that you are ready for a counter-gank Mid/Top, know when you can afford to Ult to another Lane, and know when to push for objectives like Turret or Dragon.

A lot of this game-play is also dependent on your team composition. Sometimes your team may be better suited for 5 v 5 team fights. In that case, you can absolutely go for team fights. The following is said while understanding Shen's weaknesses.

Important Note: Make sure you cycle through Summoner Spells enough (if you're running Unsealed Spellbook) so that you can re-use old ones that you picked up. Usually my pattern goes something like: Exhaust, Teleport, Heal, Ghost, Barrier, and repeat.

Mid Game
Focus on getting picks and securing objectives. Team fighting isn't one of Shen's strongest points but he can do it if necessary. Make sure to ward the enemy Jungle constantly in order to keep track of where the enemy team is. You want to pressure the ENTIRE map.

- If you have an ally who's good/can split push (consider running a 1-3-1)

- If you are pretty far ahead: consider purchasing an early Banner of Command.

Late Game
Generally you'll want to make picks and focus on peeling your ADC. Remember to keep warding and focus on avoiding 5 v 5 team fights. Keep the focus on Inhibitors, Baron, Elder Dragon, and taking out the enemy ADC.

- If you have an ally who's good/can split push (consider backdoors)

- This guide was written to assume you'll come out on top in laning phase. If you ever fall behind: the playstyle becomes very different as you can no longer engage with Taunt if your ADC is at risk of being blown up. In this case, using your Ult to ensure at least 1 other lane wins will be key to victory (but you still need to stick Bot to avoid having your ADC dying a lot). With Shen support: you should always have 1 lane winning (because of your Ult) no matter what.

- I highly suggest practicing how to Taunt Flash in practice mode or in Normals. It's a somewhat difficult skill to land (I still miss quite a few hehe...). Flash Taunt is a bit easier but less surprising. But the fluid motion of a Taunt Flash is definitely necessary.

- Having an ADC who also has some form of Lock-down/CC is also pretty nice as you can stack that with your Taunt. Otherwise, ADC's that need to stack an Ability/Passive (like Kalista or Tristana) also work really well because your Taunt lasts quite a while letting them get more stacks on the enemies.