Thresh General Guide by alektramp

Introduction

Hello Mobafire, and welcome to my second build ever, this time for the awesome Thresh, presented to you by alektramp(akikasaki).I just started with this build, but it will look like my 1st build,Varus-the arrow of retribution.So now it does not have much, but check it soon, it will have.

On the work

-Banners
-Detailed sections
-Hall of fame
-Images
-Gameplay,lane partners etc.

By the end of the day all of these things(maybe not hall of fame) should be finished.
Also a note: you do not have to follow this build as it shows, add your opinions, your prefered ways...spells,masteries, runes...items even.But the tips, tricks, and gameplay, and supporting ward will have to be read.Here we go...

Thresh the twisted reaper(in short-Lore)

Thresh is a twisted reaper whose hungry chains ensnare the souls of the living. A moment's hesitation at the sight of his ghostly visage and there is no escape. He leaves in his wake hollow corpses, their souls ripped loose and trapped in the sickly green light of his lantern. The Chain Warden takes sadistic joy in tormenting his victims, both before and after their deaths. His grim task is never complete, and he stalks the land for ever more resolute spirits to unravel.

Thresh carves careful, deliberate paths through Valoran. He handpicks his targets individually, devoting his full attention to each soul in turn. He isolates and toys with them, gradually eroding their sanity with his twisted, maddening humor. Once Thresh takes an interest in a soul, he does not relent until he possesses it. He then drags those he captures back to the Shadow Isles for an unimaginably dreadful fate. This is his only purpose.

Little is known about the Chain Warden's past, and many of the details live only in nursery rhymes and campfire tales. They tell of a sadistic jailer from centuries past who took great delight in torturing his wards. Patient and brutal, he used a variety of methods to break his victims' minds before their bodies succumbed to his grisly designs. Chains were the jailer's preferred instruments of terror. Their shrill scrape marked his dreadful approach and promised agony to those he visited. His dark reign went unchallenged until his prisoners escaped during a massive riot. They overwhelmed him, and without ceremony or remorse, hanged him from his own chains. Thus began the unlife of the horrible specter known as Thresh, or so the tales go.

Thresh now haunts the land, leaving an aftermath of horror and despair. However, there is a devious purpose behind his dark machinations, and the meager spirits of average men are insufficient. He seeks stronger souls. Only when he has broken the wills of Valoran's most resilient warriors will he finally have what he needs.

"There are few things as invigorating as taking a mind apart, piece by piece."
―Thresh

Pros/Cons

spaace Pros +Has a good range +Pulls 2 ways +Great ultimate +Awesome passive +Good CC spaceeeeeeeeeee spaceeeeeee Cons -Can have mana problems -Hard to play -Squishy at start -Dependent on assists -No armor per LvL

Runes

So, there are various rune choices for Thresh and i think this go nice.

- Greater Mark of Ability Power this goes the best because you do not need magic penetration since you aren't AP, and the other boosts like mana per 5 or flat mana just aren't strong with marks, so this is the best.
- Greater Glyph of Mana Regeneration some boost of mana per 5 to stack with Meditation , you will need it since Thresh uses a lot of mana.
- Greater Seal of Armor since Thresh doesn't get any armor per level this come in handy, and stack with armor from Damnation.
- Greater Quintessence of Mana, well you could get Greater Quintessence of Mana Regeneration, but you will find yourself in a situation you will just beg you had that mana.112 mana is not to be kid with.

Masteries

Utility tree


Tier 1 : Summoner's Insight for Flash cooldown, Meditation for mp/5 and Wanderer for some movement speed bonus.

Tier 2 : Scout because you are a support, Mastermind for more often Exhaust and Flash, and Artificer because you have 3 activation items using this build.

Tier 3 : Greed for more gold to stack with shard of true ice, Biscuiteer for like-a-potion item(and need it for Explorer's Ward.

Tier 4 : Wealth for 50 more gold., Awareness is not much, but is useful, 2 points because you need 5 in offensive.

Tier 5 : Pickpocket well you will be harassing with your attacks because of Death Sentence's passive.

Tier 6 : Nimble , a nice speed that "may" save your life.

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The offensive tree spent 5 points in, 4 in Sorcery for cdr, and 1 in Summoner's Wrath for the exhaust boost.

Summoner spells

So, there are many spells you can use,you do not have to use the one i use, but it is recommended.So take your pick.



-What i prefer to use, as do many supports-

Flash should be used in any game at any time by any hero.It will save you many times, help you get a kill, escape from a turret kill/dive, allow you to steal baron, and lots of other stuff(like trolling...jokes aside...). You may use Ghost here, but i do not recommend it.



Exhaust Is the classic supporting item.Exhaust the melee/ranged carry, and win the fight.Or escape, or chase off an enemy.Other option is Clairvoyance.






Ghost will allow you to escape using Flay or The Box(in most cases this won't be necessary), but you can't skip walls with it. Ghost or Flash depends on what you prefer.



Clairvoyance is a useful spell, at start mostly, because it reveals if they will invade, or take their own, but since later it looses its use because you got a lot of wards,it is better to get Exhaust.Again, like Flash or Ghost its up to you to pick it.



Teleport can be quite useful, but i find Flash more useful.You can leave lane and get back without loosing much xp, get in a teamfight on time, use it for unexpected ganks, and more(like trolling...again i joke...).Take it if you prefer it.



Heal can be taken, if you agree with the adc to switch spells,or in some case, if the top needs heal, or double heal...etc.I do not recommend it,but if you prefer.

Abilities-Leveling order and explanations

So Thresh has a complex of spells that are complicating, ill clear that complexity in this section.

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Level order



Damnation is quite a unique ability.You harvest souls(cool) to get armor and ap.Yes you all know that, and also every soul colected after the last gives less ap and armor.But This will allow you to build tanky without getting too tanky items.
-If a soul is near an enemy, don't be afraid to use Dark Passage and collect it.You also may get a chance to attack or kill.





Death sentence(oh indeed) defines Thresh the champion he is.Usually you do not pull yourself to the enemy,unless you got a Dark Passage on your location.Ill explain this in a section bellow.Good crowd control(cc), a chance to make the enemy cry.Last upgrade because it scales with dmg, but Flay is far more usefull.
-You can't pull them over walls, but you can pull yourself to them!





Dark passage, a shield, and the op pull to yourself ticket to glory.Since you are a support, upgrade it 1st for the shield and less cooldown reduction per rank.
-What i noticed is that when you leave the pull range of the lantern, you get the shield, if you haven't in the 1st time.




Flay is a tricky ability.You can push, or pull the enemy to/from you.I will explain that bellow.Has a good slow and damage, so you upgrade it 2nd.



The box(more like the Death box) slows the enemy for 99%(well can't be 100 or he can't move) and damages big. You can use it in many ways in many conditions.Explained below.Level it whenever you can.




Ability explanation


Thresh abilities are very complicating, but after a few games i got the hang of it.Now i will tell you the tricks and things you can do with his abilities.


1.Lantern+Pull+Box combo-The quite destructive combo, but requires great teamwork.You throw Dark Passage at yourself, hit Death Sentence on an enemy, pull yourself, use The Box and your team pulls to you.Then they own them.
NOTE:Attack damage carry should not pull, neither should the AP carry.

2.Using Flay-It is not easy to explain, but there are 2 ways of using this spell, pulling an enemy to you, or away from you.How? Easy actually.If you click on it you will see some arrows(as shown on the image below).If the arrows are pointing to you, then it pulls, if the arrows show against you, then they will knock back.It takes exercise to pull or push as wanted.

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3.Using Dark Passage-This can be a life saver, or a fight winner, it depends on the way you use it(or for the players to know they can pull themself).Here is a list of the ways you can use it.

• You do not need to use it right away, you can rush on the enemy, then suddenly throw it to your ally in the bush(or out of it), he pulls, and you win.
• Throw it at yourself, go to enemy who thinks you are attacking him(or knows you will be with an ally but thinks he can win you) and your ally comes to the lantern(your enemy may not or may see the ally) and you kill him.
• Baron steal, throw lantern, the ally flashes, steals baron and click back!
• Warding-The lantern reveals an area, so it is good to always throw it in a bush before entering it.
• Saving an ally
• Giving the shield...

If there are more i will add.

Core items

So, how can we play Thresh? In many ways,for now i play him support, but i will try tank and ap when i finish support.There are many items you can pick for him as a support. Unlike Leona or Nautilus or Shen, Thresh can get a lot of support items,and still act as a tank, without the need of getting items that scale with armor so you can be tanky.

Rejuvenation Bead Is needed because you will probably dive in with Death Sentence, witch means you will lose hp.Also upgrades in philosopher's stone.

Health Potion and Mana Potion replenishes you after the dive with Death Sentence. Rejuvenation Bead is good, but this will speed up the time between the dive's.

sight ward sight ward is a classic starter for supports.With Wealth you can get 3 of these and 3 potions.I would put that ward on 2:30 or somwere around that because the jungler may gank at level 2.You do not have to, but you are warned.

Ruby Sightstone is necessary if you want to support good.3 free wards(ok they did cost 1300 gold) and hp.Recall 3 times, and it counts like 9 wards.Will save you money.

Eleisa's Miracle will disappear after 3 levels, so it is a free hp/mana regen buff.A must, for all actually(adc,apc,support,assasins etc.)

Runic Bulwark is a must if you are going in the direction of a semi-tank support.Plus you give an aura for the team, a great advantage.

Iceborn Gauntlet makes you support your team even more, a useful slow, more armor, and cooldown reduction.I prefer this, but you do not have to get it.

shard of true ice shard of true ice is yet another slow, also useful.Gives you additional gold and ap.Good combination with Iceborn Gauntlet.

shurelya's reverie shurelya's reverie is a great combo with Iceborn Gauntlet and shard of true ice.More cooldown reduction and hp/mana regeneration.

The enchantment is pretty obvious, a classic support enchantment.An speed aura that gives 8% movement to champions, and speeds minions up(they seem to be sleeping on their way to the fight)

Explorer's Ward should not be used as a classic ward.Use it to ward you buffs from invade, or stealing on start, or for checking baron or dragon.

A starters item you get from your masteries.Also helpful for a good start.Used to work together with Health Potion, now it can't stack.

Boots

Mercury's Treads will give you 35% tenacity which is very good vs high cc(crowd control) teams.Use them if the team has some cc and some mages.



Ionian Boots of Lucidity are my prefered boots.Because i get a good CDR(cooldown reduction) boost, whitch gives me more often use of Death Sentence and The Box(the other two are a bit less important).I usually take this.


Boots of Swiftness are useful, but i do not preffer them.Will allow you to catch them with Death Sentence, escape them using Flay, go even closer to them before an ally uses Dark Passage.Has many uses, but i find cdr more useful.Take these if you prefer them.

Optional items

This section will be constructed in 5-6 hours since i have school now and can't do it.
NOTE:this items are not necessary to be taken, it is nearly an situation item,or i would prefer this item.This shows witch items "may" benefit you.

Well you could switch this for shurelya's reverie if their team has good aoe damage.Its up to you but shurelya's reverie is in a bigger need in this build. slow+speed=domination


Serves well, a good heal mana and ap.But you really benefit from other items more.Switch it for any item(just not boots...).Use it if the enemy lacks Ignite or if they have good damage.


A handy item really, if they destroy your ward using Oracle's Elixir, you could use this and reveal them killing baron for instance.Can be switched with Ruby Sightstone if you prefer this.


3 enemy's under the turret and you are 4, but you are afraid to dive in, no problem, a 2 seconds disable on the way.Useful for diving, but since dives do not come more than 2-3 times per game average, it is more useful to take other items.


zeke's heraldGood life steal aura(adc do 500 dmg for instance, they get 50 hp back+their own life steal is 100 hp or more)And an attack damage aura, useful if you have a few ad based characters in your team.


Almost nobody uses this, but it has a good use.An nice aura, and an super minion to carry a lane a bit, not to be underrated.Use it if you are doing quite well and have gold to spare.




I am not sure of other items, but this are the ones you could use as a support.Or you could go a bit ap/support, lose tanky, and get Rod of Ages Rylai's Crystal Scepter for instance.

Gameplay

On the work.

Hall of fame

So the images of good score using this build.

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Notice that i do not use the same build every time.This will be listed in the optional section, witch i often use.

Your job as a support

Im still working on this but here is a link on how to ward : Cool ward guide here!
Also a lot of images will be added any time soon.Just have to work them in photoshop.

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Safe/careful/danger zones.Image from my varus build guide Varus-the arrow of retribution


- green . Shows the safe zone, it is safe to be here until your turret is down, it is best to be at this zone even if the minions are pushing(yours).
-Yellow. You can be in this zone, it is counted as safe as long as you have a ward placed in the river.But of not, it is a bit risky to be here, you have a chance to escape, but it depends on who is attacking you, or with who you are laning with.
- red. The danger zone, stay in it only if the jungler is dead, or you are dominating.Even with a ward there is a chance you will not escape, for instance late notice.

Summary

Thank you for reading my Thresh build. It may not be complete yet, but you can bet it will be.