This is a guide on how to play Taric as a tanky support. Before i begin with any game-related stuff I must clarify that the Runes, Masteries and Items are not definitive.With this i mean that there's many viable ways you can play a support, this is just how i like to play him, and how it works best for me, but you have to keep always present that success or failure at a game wont come from Masteries, Runes and Items, it will come from skill and intuition. If you are reckless, you overextend, you dont understand the importance of cv, focus on buying AP items first, KS your carry, don't ward OR ward too much, you'll most likely fail at supporting well on a game. IMO the secret for supporting well is 70/30. 70% listening and being aware of your team's needs in any given moment, for example, a well timed stun at the right target could win a team fight leading to a win, or a well placed ward or cv can disrupt a gank or give the advantage to both laners and junglers. The other 30% comes from your own intuition, how to command attacks, when to push, when to fall back, when to get out of your lane to support other lines, when to CV, when to buy certain items, etc. And those are some things you necessarily have to have in order to become a good player. Carrys win fights, tanks and supports win championships.

Here I will explain why i chose the items i chose, and what other items would go just as well, remember, you have to be aware of your team's needs and always have present that the items and build you choose is very situational, since every game's different. Good players use standard builds, Wolrd-Class players know how to read games, and build from there. Certainly there are items that are must-have's for any given champ or role, but these are mainly early-game's items; the items that define games are those chosen on Mid, or Late game generally, and for this reason these items become very situational since every game starts the same, but it's how it ends that's always different.

Now, onto business.

I start always with Faerie Charm, red and blue potions and wards, but i see people who start with 2 Faerie Charms, and that's viable since one becomes Shurelya and the other keeps being Philo's so they'd still have that gold income. I've tried that and it works, but it's your own taste, i don't see myself doing that on a ranked game, though.

It's imperative to keep the river, dragon and the bushes behind your turret warded at all times, and keep your cv available for your jungler and your solo topper.

But here's a little thing about wards...

The whole team benefits from wards, so keeping the map vision available at all times should be a shared responsibility, if you're a bottom laner, you cant go around the map every 5 minutes by yourself warding the whole thing, plus, having the economical burden of buying wards can and WILL mess up your build, even more considering you're not supposed to farm. In bottom lane, you should keep your ward currency in 10 for each phase of the game, as should all of your teammates. IMOO contrarily to what most people think, wards shouldn't be your responsibility, since you are providing CV constantly and you are the toon with the less gold income in the team. This is a precept that people have, and it is WRONG AS HELL. Remember: WARDS ARE A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.

Now, leaving that to your own thinking and reflection, onto business once more.

GOLD INCOME ITEMS: THESE ARE A MUST HAVE! The philo's always has to be there, and accompany it with either Kage's if you're into the early AP, or the Heart of Gold if you're a more deffensive player or if that's what the game needs at the moment. I know people are always going to choose Kage because it is cheaper and gives AP, and that's why i put it there, and that's fine, but it isn't always that the game, lane and partner needs you to have. Supports have to be generous with their builds UNTIL SOME POINT.

About boots: i go with Merc's, since you want that sexy tenacity and MR, but CD Reduct. boots go just as well, it's all in the taste an situation, for your team it will be more attractive that you get the most CDR possible, allowing you to spam your abilities.

About Shurelya's: GET IT. it's one of those must-have's I mentioned earlier, it haves everything you need. period. GET IT.

Frozen Heart: CDR is always appreciated, and the Mana will give you a pretty good sustainability in fights, combined with your runes and Shurelyas, sounds like you don't have to worry about mana for the rest of the game.

Zhonya's: This is a pretty underrated item, It's and anti doofus-let's-focus-on-the-support teams. If you see you're getting focused, then do the active, allowing you to survive, and giving your team a window of time to throw the CC and wipe out the DPS's and bruisers. After going out of stasis, stun, imbue and ulti. You've just won a team fight for your team right there.

Aegis is a Must-Have. IMO the best aura in the game, and it gives you both ARMR and MR. Excellent item.


Now... Onto the Final Item. I put in Abys Scepter mostly because it is a versatile item. It's an integral item that helps both your offense allowing you to hit harder with your E; but it helps with the defense giving you MR which is always welcome and allowing you to heal for a better amount. But the 7th Item is always optional and situational. Other perfectly viable Items could be the following.

Deathfire Grasp: ACTIVE ACTIVE ACTIVE. A well-thrown active on a Tank could give you the perfect edge on a team fight. It takes a huge chunk of HP, and that combined with your stun and ult makes you decisive at late game team fights, plus the AP and CDREDUCT's is always sexy. Remember to always use the active on the tanks, never the squishies.

Morello's Evil Tome: Great item, AP and CDR is very welcome at a very reasonable price. I find it a great item to get in mid-game and helps a lot to unclog stuck games with very low numbers and start getting assists for your teammates.

Banshee's: Again, a great item, but i find it more useful for squishier champs. The passive is really great, but since you have pretty decent defense and can always use the Zhonyas and your stun to escape or gain extra seconds in team fights, i don't use it that much, but it's all taste.

Guardian Angel: I'm going to use my swear card here just to say GREAT ****ING ITEM. In games in which you are meant to die, reviving will give your team an edge somewhat similar to the Zhonya's active. While the enemy team idiotly waits for your revival, your team could throw a second round of CC to kill some of them. Funny thing is, this is bound to happen everytime since they can't leave you there to revive, cause if they let you, you could throw CC and ulti to help win a team fight, and they certainly don't want that. Get it late game.

This was my first guide, so go easy on me.

In case you are just starting on LOL, I seriously recommend you to play defensive characters BEFORE playng carrys or bruisers. It WILL make you understand the game better, and therefore becoming a more complete, prudent, and eficient player.

These Items and Runes are just to give you some ideas on how to build Taric, or any support for that matter, since all characters from different classes are all built in a similar way, with a few exeptions. But builds don't win games, effective, eficient and prudent gameplay will, and that is something i can't teach you, but i hope this guide will point you in the right direction.

Remember, Carrys win fights, Tanks and Supports win Championships.