Hello, Welcome to another Tahm Kench support Build.

If there is one thing we all know, the fat frog loves good food. He has a fine taste and loves to lick everything and eat it afterwards. Sometimes it seems like a wine tasting. Sniff it, lick it, taste it, roll it around in your mouth, and spit it out. Sometimes things just don't taste that good and he has to throw up. Other times he just doesn't want to get even fatter and uses regurgitate like the anorexic he is.

A fine taste requires good stuff though. And good stuff is expensive. That is why Tahm likes to invest during play. He just needs that little extra cash to live his expensive lifestyle. This guide has been made to create a threatening gastronomical broker.

Proficiencies + More gold income + Leads to a good shopping experience + So Tahm becomes stronger earlier in game + which makes him a valuable team member + By licking, spanking + and swallowing + All he can eat.

Tahm Kench

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The Gastronomical Broker

Constraints - Can eat the wrong target (read: minion) - Ganking with ult needs good communication - Needs to stack before stun and devouring - Not a super strong early game. - His fatness makes him slow - a little mana hungry early game - Ult can be a one way ticket to death.

I've been altering between playing Tahm, Shaco and Wukong in various positions. With Tahm I always felt he didn't rise up to his fullest potential with normal support builds. without some extra items early he seems a little squishy and his poke damage is quite insignificant. If he falls behind he is even more useless.

So after testing various builds, runes and masteries I started calculating what gold runes and masteries would do for Tahm. The result is definitely surprising.

With a good 25g (19+6) per 10s you will have 150 gold per minute (not considering Ancient Coin, which provides ~300 extra gold in 10 minutes (source). This means that at the 12 minute mark (~10 minutes worth of gold income) you should have around 1500 gold.

This means on your first back you can buy a giants belt and upgrade Ancient Coin to Medallion (and buy some wards(!)). This means Damage (+15.6 @ lvl 6), Tankiness (380 health) and even more gold income (27g/10s). The gold income helps Tahm be viable throughout the game since without farming he can still spend almost as much gold as the rest of the team. In short, the core of this build lies in creating a Wealthy, Healthy, Tanky Tahm Kench.

GOLD STARTING ITEMS:

I start Ancient Coin because it gives a little bit sustain, some gold income and mana regeneration. Everything a Tahm needs.

Relic Shield is also viable and builds into Face of the mountain. However I like Ancient Coin more because Medallion will give an extra 2g/10s and you do not have to remember to keep killing minions throughout the game. Relic shield gives extra health on the other hand. The choice is yours.

Spellthief's Edge seems like a viable choice, however I tend to go into a risky aggressive playstyle if I start Spellthief's Edge. Also it does not give sustain, builds into a slow you already have on your Q. The most reliable choice probably will be Ancient Coin into Nomad's Medallion.

CORE

Dead Man's Plate.
It is a good idea to rush Dead man's plate. 600 health, 50 armor, accumulating movement speed and nice slow will make you a Tanky Threat early for the ADC. Also you can delay buying boots.

Wit's End.
If you are equal or ahead in the game after dead man's plate, get this item. Even though it does not give you bonus health, the attack speed, magic resist and passive magic damage & magic resit steal will help you acquire a taste for enemy blood. Blade of the Ruined King might be a good replacement if the enemy team is super tanky.

Spirit Visage.
Better than banshee's Veil. Since you will get 10%Cdr, 400 health, 60 MR, and the passive works well with your E Thick Skin. Your third item. After this one you should be able to 1v1 most champions.

Greater Stealth Totem.
Get this item as soon as you can after lvl 9. Most teammates will forgive you for not buying Sightstone early game if you can still ward regularly. Before lvl 9 make sure you always buy sight and vision wards on each back. Your job as a support is to ward. How you manage to ward is up to you!

Personally I think sightstone is not worth it for Tahm if you can also buy a giants belt. A giants belt will give you 380 health and you'll be a 1000 gold minus ~3 stealth wards (225g) closer to your Dead Man's Plate. Whereas Sightstone will give you wards, 150 health and (800-225 =675) further away from your Dead man's plate. A good thing is you can get a sweeping lens and help deny vision on the enemy team. I guess in the end it is up to personal preference. Try both and see what you like.

BOOTS

All Boots are Viable on Tahm. Somewhere between Dead man's plate and Spirit visage it is a good idea to invest in boots. Check the situation and buy what you need.

Mobility Boots if you are always late to fights.
Mercury's Treads if the enemy has a lot of CC
Ninja Tabi if the enemy is AD heavy
Berserker's Greaves if you want to stack even faster
Boots of Swiftness if you want to be faster all the time (also less slow on Devour)
Ionian Boots of Lucidity if you want to be spamming abilities
Sorcerer's Shoes if you like to be penetrating more things with your tongue.
No boots if you want to be slow as a snail.

I usually prefer Mercury's or Tabi's.

POST CORE ITEMS

Just look at the enemy team and see who is and isn't snowballing. You want to counter as much damage as possible.

Randuin's Omen is usually a good idea. Especially if the enemy ADC is shredding your team.

Frozen Heart and Thornmail are also viable against AD, only they do not provide extra health.

Against AP consider a Locket of the Iron Solariand/or a Banshee's Veil. Locket is more team orientated and Banshee more self orientated. I usually pick locket, unless I still feel squishy and the rest of the team seems to be doing fine.

Sterak's Gage.
This is usually my go to item against mixed damage dealers, and especially burst champions. The shield and health make you really tanky and not easy to shoot down in Teamfights. It gives extra base damage. Great item.

Warmog's Armor and Turbo Chemtank.
These two bad boys are great for finishing off a build. More health = more tank and more damage. Usually I choose a Locket or Randuin's over these two late game. Definitely viable items though.

I usually start Devour at lvl 1 if I want to give the Jungler a fast leash. Eat and spit the Gromp out immediately. I take Tongue Lash for some good spanking level 2 and Thick Skin for the sustain at level 3. I then max the spanking ability second, the eating ability Devour third and the Sustain Ability fourth. Devour should be taken first and foremost for the health scaling damage output passive and the extra range on the active.

Early game

Early game is similar to any support. Spank the enemy with Tongue Lash as long as you have enough mana. Aim for the ADC above the Support. Always keep ~90 mana ready for a last minute Devour to save your ADC.

Try to find weak spots in the enemy play style and make sure you ward at the right places on the right time. Use Thick Skin when you are almost dying. Try not to die, save your ADC above yourself if possible. Try to set up situation where your team can get kills.

If the enemy is playing really agressive, play passive and try to bait (with the help of the jungler if possible.) If the enemy is playing passive, play agressive, but be Watchfull for ganks and baits. Always keep an eye on the map for enemy and friendly positioning. Try to guess where the enemy jungler is and where he will go next. Play accordingly. Meanwhile take a look at the amount of gold you have from time to time. The enemy support is probably jealous if he only knew what your bank account looks like.

Lvl 6.
Level 6 can be special. Post lvl 6 you want to look for opportunities to either gank mid, do a quick dragon, or teleport yourself and/or your jungler/mid/adc into the bot/midlane behind the enemy. Especially if they overextend. I try to teleport more or less a 4 second walk from the enemy to deny escapes and in the middle of the lane. Sometimes teleporting in a bush can be favorable. Especially look at mid if the enemy midlaner is banging on your mid-tower. You can leave your ADC to farm and quickly go in for a surprise lick in the mid's behind. If your midlaner is there you can have an easy kill or assist.

Midgame.

Midgame you can choose to walk behind the ADC like you are his petfrog. Or you can roam and help out anyone in need of your acquired taste and spanking abilities.
Use your ult to be on the right spot on the right time. You can take objectives really quickly if you use your ult correctly. Just ask yourself where you (or a close teammate) wants to be at that moment. Try not to suicide TP. It takes some practice and reflection to get Tahm's ult right.

Midgame you are also a devastating bruiser/tank. Be at the frontline with your teammates. Damage the enemy and/or protect them if necessary. Devour can be used to take a snowballing enemy temporarily out of a fight, or save an ally. Choose wisely, decide fast.

The extra gold helps you become more valuable earlier than usual for a support in game. You probably are tankier, healthier, and do more damage than the enemy support, unless you got screwed over hard during the laning phase.

Late game.

Actually not to much different from midgame. Focus on objective control, Ally saving and shutting enemies down. End game it can be more favorable to protect allies versus shutting someone down. The time spend dead is no joke. The first team to score an ace with ~2 champions or more alive can easily win the game for their team. Make sure it is your team.

Ward Baron, Dragon if necessary. Make sure your team gets objectives before the enemy team. Late game -full build - Tahm is pretty strong. Just remember you really don't like Vayne and Blade of the Ruined King.

* Once you devour an ally you can still flash. This gives loads of escaping abilities. Think flashing with your ally over walls or you devour an ally and flash away. Your ally will still have flash.

* Devour an ally during a chase, you both go faster towards enemies.

* You can spit an ally out over the dragon pit wall. Maybe it takes some practice, but I know I did once. Maybe this also works for other walls as well.

* When you devour an enemy you can't flash.

* A good moment to ult (alone, or with someone) is when you are walking back from the shop, your adc is defending the turret and there is only one (or two low health) enemy/ies champion(s) pressuring your tower. Ult a bit behind the enemy so if they try to escape you can still lick (slow) them for a good counter attack and possible kill.

* Post 6, and especially during the laning phase (if it is still going) try to see if you can gank mid with use of your ult. If the enemy midlaner is overextended and your mid/jungler is near, it is a really good time to gank. Remember that your slow from tongue lash is massive, and if you can devour the enemy you can walk them back so they are less likely to escape.

* Use your thick skin last moment mostly. Similar to Tryndamere's ult.

This is the End of this build.

If you have any questions, tips and tricks, don't hesitate to give constructive feedback in the comments. I hope you enjoy playing the Gastronomical Tahm Broker.

Cheers!