Hello my name is Erryggo and this is my first attempt at creating a guide. I have been playing league for some time now and found Taric to be my champion of choice. I decided I would like to take my own spin on how to play him (there are many) and have been experimenting since. As I am still new to the game I'm sure there is plenty of room for improvement. I made this guide out of an intention too improve my own skill and understanding of the game, if it helps you too then all the better. so regardless of up or down votes, any criticism on what works, or could work better, is welcomed.

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Meet Taric the Gem knight.
Taric is first and foremost a support champion. All of his moves greatly affect your teams survival and efficiency in combat. However he also has the qualities of a tank or damage dealer using either AD, or AP.


-His passive restores a small percentage of his auto attack damage as mana, which he desperately needs to keep his burst combo available for drawn out encounters. Generally I see this being utilized fighting minions after pushing back or slaying your opponents. The mana restored is only substantial early on unless you choose to build attack damage, or attack speed. (though if I were to choose one I would take damage due too his low base attack speed stat and comparatively high base attack damage) All in all nothing too fancy but well suited to his other abilites.


-A paired heal which is stronger when used on himself. While it can work as a sustain for keeping the lane going for a long time, it is not very efficient with your mana. so it is better to reserve this for when it is needed to save a retreating ally or give you the extra health you need to scare off the opposing carry (or even get the kill). Your auto attacks decrease the cool down on this ability making it easy to keep at the ready for team fights, but I wouldn't rely on it for multiple uses per combat in the early game, unless you build the mana regeneration you will need for it. Very good overall and has good synergy with Gemcraft.


-This is truly Taric's bread and butter. Providing armor to you and your allies, and a potent armor nuke for your opponents when activated. This ability will bring many kills onto your carry's plate. The key for this ability is timing. Activate it ideally when both you and your carry are in range to take advantage of it, although with it's comparatively short cool down and slightly greater range than your auto attacks it can even finish off a low fleeing target (if no one else can). Though do beware of using it when enemy champs are missing as you are very vulnerable to a gank due to loss of personal armor while it's on cool down, sufficient warding can help remedy this but still be careful.


-This is a stun that becomes stronger the closer you are to your target. Ideally you're right on top of your target hitting them already, but don't be above using it to get in close to a ranged champ once you have your ultimate ready as you can usually take them down quickly anyway. Against melee champions however you want to wait until they start too retreat, you need to hit them the moment they turn there backs on you, or even just before if you can predict it. The stun doesn't scale so it isn't usually a high priority after the start of the game, but it can pay to get it to level 2 once you're past 6 if you find your heal isn't needed. You want to always take dazzle for starting the game so you can give your carry a kill or get away if you're ambushed. The one exception to this is if you are solo in a lane, in which case Shatter will serve you better for the armor it grants making you very hard too be dealt any substantial damage while you munch on creeps.


-As far as an ultimate ability Radiance isn't anything super spectacular. You aren't likely to pop a penta with it or even really much of any kills with it's burst damage, but the set up it provides both you and your entire team is more than sufficient to turn the tides of a team fight and set up a very easy win in a 5v5 encounter. While all of it's buffs sound great and you might want to use it for, or with initiation in order to take the most advantage of it. However Taric becomes very vulnerable to stuns and knock ups when you use it. The enemy team will see it and either disengage or focus you right away in a team fight so you're better off waiting. Once your team has forced them too use one or two of their CC's then you can ultimate and use your own stun on whoever might have one left (sona is a prime offender and easy target) follow with a shatter and your team will do the rest. As far as one on one or even two on one Taric can use his ultimate to scare off and often even slay his opponents with relative ease. This gives him a very strong early and mid game play which if used properly will give you a lead your opponents won't be able to recover from. Overall a strong ultimate ,though it's activation in late game team fights require some thought and experience to use correctly.

Pros and Cons.

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+strong engage and burst combo
+hard to deal with early game
+Tough against AD
+Flexible (can always change build if needed without too much difficulty)
+Often underestimated

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-Slow
-Weak against AP heavy teams
-vulnerable to pokes/harassment
-Mana hungry
-vulnerable too CC's

As I'm sure everyone one has heard numerous times Taric is an incredibly versatile champion. For my purposes I am running him as a tanky bruiser who just happens to have some strong support aspects. The idea was to make him able to stick in combat well, taking advantage of his Gemcraft while also making it that much easier to set up for my carry, and that much harder for my opponents to focus our teams support. (ME ;x'P)

Lets start with summoner spells

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I choose to run Exhaust because it can be used offensively to pin a tough target after Dazzle runs it's course. It can also be used defensively to stop my opponents carry from landing an otherwise easy kill on any of my team mates, or to help me outlast them if they choose to focus me.


I also choose to run Flash because it grants me an escape mechanic from ganks which taric sorely needs, or I can even us it aggressively to catch my opponents off guard for a quick and easy gank from my teammates.

Alternatives

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- Ignite is a valid option because of the AD and AP it grants, both of which are useful for Taric and the ability too bring down a fleeing enemy is always good, not to mention the healing reduction.

- Heal is another good option as it can save you and/or your whole team from death, plus the passive health it grants is great for stacking health as long as masteries are adapted for Summoner's Resolve making this a cohesive option with this build.

- Ghost I personally wouldn't use this but many people have issues with flash and this is a good alternative considering Taric needs an escape and this build has Summoner's Wrath already.

Possibilities

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- Barrier Barrier could be okay if you want the extra safety net but generally can be done by your items and Imbue more effectively anyway.

- Clairvoyance Can take some pressure off your warding but you'll probably have a sight stone soon enough anyway so really not the best option unless your team wants total lock down of the jungle.

- Teleport Really not the best option as you won't have to go back all that often if you are playing your role properly, however this will give you a very strong lane presence and further strengthen your early lead. Plus your team will really appreciate the sudden help when they are about to be ganked. On the negative side you either sacrifice your combat utility or lack an escape mechanic making this a very risky choice.

Poor choices

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- Clarity very tempting because of how mana hungry Taric can be but honestly you can build mana regen quite easily as there are lot of support options for it. plus it becomes a wasted slot later when you need your summoner spells the most. (aside from some allies who might enjoy it)

- Revive You shouldn't die, at least not often enough to take this, if your doing well you will die maybe once or twice in a game.

- Cleanse this won't help you, if your going to die this wont stop it, and if your opponents focus you in teams then all the better.


Rune

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Glyphs: I'm runnning flat magic resistance for my glyphs to further help my tank qualities especially early.

Seals: Similarly too glyphs I am running flat Armor Seals for the healthy defense it gives me.

Marks: currently I am running Marks of armor penetration to help get damage through to support Taric's Gemcraft this is especially good early in the game giving him a somewhat formidable auto attack. I intend to replace these with hybrid penetration in the future as I haven't yet had the chance too try them because they are a little expensive. magic penetration could also be run just as easily but a slight respec of my offensive masteries would be in order to compliment this.

Quints: Currently i am running attack speed Quints to once again take advantage of Gemcraft but I feel hybrid penetration would better suit this slot, or even scaling AP or AD. I will update when I have come to a better understanding.


Materies

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9/21/0
I think the masteries are pretty self explanatory. The health buffs work cohesively with much of the items I will be building and the other defensive buffs make the health that much more efficient. Specifically Legendary Armor is great because I believe it applies to my Shatter bonus as well(can anyone confirm this for me?). For the offensive talents I barely prioritized Fury over Sorcery but that would change should I wish to focus AP on the side instead. Summoner's Wrath is for exhaust and the rest of the offense masteries are to feed my Gemcraft.

The item set I've included I think is pretty self explanatory.

The idea is to build so you take the most advantage of drawing out combat while doing what you need to in order to get your targets stuck in there with you. Boots of lucidity are my preference but can easily be replaced with either Ninja Tabi or Mercury Treads as needed. As for enchants I go with distortion for my flash or captain to help others engage but sometimes alacrity is nice too have too, or even Home guard if your being pushed really hard.

Being able too read the situation of the game is important for the build as it's kinda expensive. It's important too check what your opponents are building too, as if you pick an offensive item when your opponents happen too grab or finish a strong offensive item you might find yourself outgunned and die. The main idea is too take it slow and steady and remember that you aren't their for the kill your only in the front lines to make it as hard as possible for your opponents to grab anyone, and punish them for trying.

I will be adding a chapter on warding and strategy as I have the time but I'm not setting any dates. Anyway let me know what you think everyone and happy summoning.