Pros

Tons of CC

Relatively-low Mana Costs

Low Cooldowns

Great for both engaging and disengaging

Good Armor Scaling

Cons

Relatively immobile

Little sustain

Difficult to learn

No scaling MR

Almost entirely skill shot based

or +


Summoner Spell choice generally depends on lane match-up, enemy assassins, and top lane teleports.

Due to the recent return of powerful assassins such as Fizz, Zed, Yasuo, Akali, and Leblanc, Exhaust is being used more and more often to protect carries from these threats.

Ignite is still viable in games without potent assassins, and can be effective in winning fights early on in the game.

9x Greater Seal of Health- Health is great for supports to withstand the mixed damage from the more potent bot lane duos in the current meta.

9x Greater Mark of Attack Damage- Thresh's E passive helps pack a punch when sneaking in auto-attacks onto the enemy carry.

9x Greater Glyph of Magic Resist- Most bot lane duos in the current meta involve high Magic base damages, and these will help sustain through fights and trades.

3x Greater Quintessence of Armor- These, paired with 9x Greater Seals of Health, provide the most optimal combination of Armor and Health in supports.

9x Greater Seal of Health + 3x Greater Quintessence of Armor = 72 Health, 13 Armor
9x Greater Seal of Armor + 3x Greater Quintessence of Health = 78 Health, 9 Armor

4 Armor > 6 Health -> 9x Greater Seal of Health + 3x Greater Quintessence of Armor is best.

0/9/21 Masteries are the best combination of Mana Regen, Gold per 10, CDR, Movement Speed, and Defensive stats for a Thresh to succeed with.

(Passive) Damnation - A great tool to aid Thresh in scaling as a late-game Tank.

(Q Ability) Death Sentence - Scale this ability 2nd or 3rd, max it first most of the time.

(W Ability) Dark Passage - Scale this ability either 2nd or 3rd, and max it 2nd or 3rd.

(E Ability) Flay - Scale this ability either 1st or 2nd, max it 2nd or 3rd.

(R Ability) The Box - Scale this at levels 6, 11, and 16 just like most Ultimate Abilities.

Scaling Death Sentence first is purely situational, and is used to either initiate a level one fight (in a favorable lane most likely), or to punish the enemy carry's positioning and hinder his level 2 push.

Scaling Flay first is optimal for multiple reasons:

Gives your jungler a better, faster leash.

Allows you to shove the wave for level 2 quicker.

More potent auto-attack trading early on.

This start is effective as sustaining in lane during a difficult/poke lane match-up.

The Relic Shield is key in ensuring that you get your core items on time.

The Mana Potion allows you to spam Dark Passage on cooldown to protect you and your carry from poke damage.

This start aims to complete Face of the Mountain Face of the Mountain as a 2nd or 3rd item after Sightstone and/or Tier 2 boots.

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This start is effective when you have a potential advantage over their lane at levels 2-3.

The Stealth Ward obviously stops jungle interference after their 2nd buff camp.

The Ruby Crystal adds vital combat stats to aid in surviving these skirmishes.

This start aims to get a Sightstone at ~4 minutes after an early fight.

Instead of getting Face of the Mountain Face of the Mountain, this start aims to get a Talisman of Ascension Talisman of Ascension.

These items are built on Thresh 99% of the time.

The Sightstone both provides great vision for your lane and your team, but also gives valuable health to withstand teamfights.

Boots of Mobility are Thresh's best option and give him immense roaming pressure and repositioning ability to land his hooks.

Sweeping Lens is the best support trinket and helps Thresh clear vision near vital objectives on the map.

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These three boots options are very rarely seen on Thresh, but are situationally good at times.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity are great at literally chaining hooks together in teamfights.

Mercury's Treads are good against high AOE/CC magic damage comps to aid Thresh in chasing down enemies.

Ninja Tabi are good only against high range-based physical damage comps to sustain Thresh in fights.

This build is a standard, well-balanced build for Thresh which allows him to survive teamfights, help defend his team against attackers, and shut down enemy carries.

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Face of the Mountain


This build is a very defensive, 'Protect the Carry' style for Thresh, which effectively utilizes he immense peel-potential to make sure your team stays healthy.

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Talisman of Ascension


This build is very movement-oriented, and can be used as both an engage-style and a disengage-style of Thresh. This also helps him position himself and his carries correctly in Teamfights, and chase down enemies.

Caitlyn is the perfect lane partner for Thresh. Her long range skillshots and auto-attack range are good for zoning opponents out of minions and winning early skirmishes.

Combining Thresh's Death Sentence with Caitlyn's Piltover Peacemaker is a powerful, devastating assault on enemy laners.

Additionally, using Thresh's Flay to reposition enemies onto Caitlyn's Yordle Snap Trap proves effective if practiced enough.

Caitlyn's main downfall as a marksman is her lack of mobility, and Dark Passage is perfect to save her from sticky situations.

In this lane, look to harass the enemy with Piltover Peacemakers and auto-attacks using Flay's Passive, and land hooks when you can to secure kills.

Lane Synergy - (10/10)

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Corki is a good lane partner for Thresh. Both champions boast mixed damage in their kits to make itemization difficult for the enemy, and are extremely effective in lane when they hit their skillshots.

Phosphorus Bomb in combination with Thresh's Flay Passive pack a punch in quick, sudden bursts whenever the opponent makes a mistake.

Using Thresh's Flay to position enemies into Corki's Gatling Gun is a good trick to win trades.

Thresh's Dark Passage is a great tool which allows Corki to Valkyrie aggressively into fights without the fear of getting blown up, by providing both a shield and an escape route.

In this lane, use your poke advantage with Phosphorus Bomb, Missile Barrage, and Flay Passive to assert dominance in your lane.

Lane Synergy - (9/10)

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Jinx is a solid lane partner for Thresh. Their crowd control effects and high burst damage make them a respected lane matchup for anyone to face.

Chaining Death Sentence with Jinx's Zap! punishes enemy positional mistakes harshly.

Thresh's Flay is effective when used to position enemies onto both Zap! and Flame Chompers! to ensure victories in fights.

Jinx's main disadvantage as a marksman is her lack of escape, and Dark Passage is good to save her from trouble.

Dark Passage also allows Jinx to walk deeper into minion waves to poke with her Fishbones without taking too much damage from minion aggro.

In this lane, look to use your CC abilities such as Death Sentence, Flay, Zap!, and Flame Chompers! to win fights early on and snowball into the mid-game, where Jinx begins to ramp up.

Lane Synergy - (8/10)

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Kalista is a good lane partner for Thresh. Her immense mobility and burst potential are well suited to follow up Thresh's engages.

Kalista's Rend in conjunction with Thresh's Flay Passive provides huge burst in just a few auto-attacks.

Using Kalista's Black Spear adds to their burst with her Sentinel Passive.

Fate's Call, followed by both The Box and Flay and even Exhaust shuts down the carry and guarantees a burnt Flash and/or Heal

Although Kalista is an extremely mobile champion, Dark Passage is still effective in shielding her from damage and helping her reposition in fights quickly and safely when necessary.

Lane Synergy - (8/10)

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Draven is a solid lane partner for Thresh. The kill pressure in this lane is one of the highest of all bot duos, and this lane is looking to snowball very hard early on.

Using Draven's Stand Aside after a successful Death Sentence is good harass and also sets up an easy Flay for Thresh.

Draven thrives in short, auto-attack based trades with his Spinning Axe, so use Dark Passage often and allow Draven to keep using his Blood Rush to catch axes without the fear of mis-positioning himself.

Though it may be difficult due to Thresh's high base damages, try to avoid stealing kills from Draven even moreso than other carries due to his passive, League of Draven.

This lane looks to snowball hard off of victories in level 3-6, where this lane shines the most.

Lane Synergy - (7/10)

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Tristana is a decent lane partner for Thresh. Her high burst damage, good trading ability, and good mobility make her and Thresh a powerful lane when played both offensively and defensively.

Tristana's Explosive Shot is great at trading at levels 1-2 especially. Level Dark Passage at level 2 to protect her in trades and win the race to level 3.

Similar to Corki, Tristana's Rocket Jump can be used aggressively when playing with Thresh, as he provides a proper escape in Dark Passage

Though this lane seems to work very well, it is better to play passively and farm up until Tristana scales and her passive, Draw a Bead takes effect.

Lane Synergy - (7/10)

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Graves is a good lane partner for Thresh. Both of these champions thrive in extended, ability-based trades at early levels.

At level 1, walk up to both enemy champions and look to use Flay on both of them to set up an effective Buckshot for Graves , and provide some early poke and to assert dominance in lane.

A similar combination could be used at level 6 with Graves' Collateral Damage.

Graves' passive, True Grit, in conjunction with Dark Passage is great at protecting Graves in extended trades.

In this lane, look to use your early game advantage to reach Graves' core items and reach his mid-game power spike as early as possible.

Lane Synergy - (7/10)

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Lucian is a solid lane partner for Thresh. Thresh's kit doesn't quite mesh all that well with Lucian's, but at the moment Lucian as a champion is simply strong enough to make up that difference.

Thresh's strength in this lane is setting up targets for Lucian to safely attack. Use Death Sentence and Flay to expose enemies to Lucian's burst with Lightslinger.

Lucian likes to trade early on, so starting either Relic Shield or Ruby Crystal are both strong, depending on your opponents.

Lane Synergy - (7/10)

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Vayne is a good lane partner for Thresh. Thresh does a good job of 'Protecting the Doublelfit', and ensuring her safety in teamfights.

One powerful combo with this lane is the Death Sentence -> Condemn combination. This is a strong move that can be made as soon as level 2, and provides great damage and harass to the enemy.

When trading with Vayne, throw your Dark Passage ahead of her, in a good position for her to Tumble to, auto-attack, and take the Dark Passage back to safety.

In mid-late game teamfights, use your Flay and Box to keep threats away from Vayne and to chase others down.

Lane Synergy - (6/10)

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Kog'Maw is a good lane partner for Thresh. Thresh is effective at protecting the vulnerable Kog'Maw until late-game, where he becomes the late-game force he's known for.

Kog'Maw's Void Ooze is effective at making Death Sentences easier to hit and Flays more effective as well.

When fighting, stand in front of Kog'Maw as he uses his Bio-Arcane Barrage to block abilites and provide peel and protection with Box, Flay, and Dark Passage.

As with most other carries, Dark Passage is great for shielding and rescuing Kog'Maw from trouble.

Lane Synergy - (6/10)

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Sivir is a good lane partner for Thresh. Her high mobility is great to both catch up to opponents and reposition in fights.

Level Flay first to shove the wave, and hit level 2 extremely quickly in conjunction with either Sivir's Boomerang Blade or Ricochet, whichever she decides to level up first.

Dark Passage is very useful when used with Sivir's Spell Shield as well.

In this lane, look to poke enemies down with Boomerang Blade and follow up successful Death Sentences with Sivir's On the Hunt to chase down enemies.

Lane Synergy - (6/10)

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Ezreal is a decent lane partner for Thresh. His mobility and trading power compliment Thresh's kit nicely.

In trades, walk forward and place your Dark Passage at Ezreal's feet. Flay the target, and Ezreal will be free to poke with Mystic Shot and use Arcane Shift to escape danger.

The true power of this lane is in poking and burst trading. Start Relic Shield to heal up after these trades, and max Flay to pack a little more punch.

The only downside of this lane duo is their lack of damage. Although Thresh's base damages are quite good for a tank, Ezreal isn't a damage-based carry. He is more of a utility, range-based mage.

In this lane, look to farm up until Ezreal buys his Trinity Force or Blade of the Ruined King before skirmishing.

Lane Synergy - (6/10)

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Ashe is a fairly good lane partner for Thresh. Thresh does a good job of protecting Ashe's glass-cannon-like style with him peel and defenses.

Ashe's strong point is her burst. Max Flay and use its passive to punish enemies, and chain Ashe's Volley with your it to harass the enemy.

Your biggest powers pike in this lane is level 6. Ashe's ultimate, Enchanted Crystal Arrow, has huge base damage and CC. Chain this with your Death Sentence, Flay, and Box, and the enemies are stuck in place.

Lane Synergy - (6/10)

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Twitch is an okay lane partner for Thresh. Although Thresh does a good job of protecting most carries in fights, Twitch must be able to get behind the enemy to be effective.

When fighting, place yourself between the enemies and Twitch and place your Dark Passage at your feet so it protects both of you.

Twitch's Ambush is a great repositioning tool for him to get in safe yet effective positions in fights. Use your Box and Flay to keep enemies where you want them.

The lane phase is the hardest part about this pair. Twitch is relatively weak, especially pre-6, and is extremely item-dependant. Start Relic Shield to keep him healthy and max Dark Passage to withstand rough trades.

Lane Synergy - (5/10)

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Miss Fortune is a mediocre lane partner for Thresh. Their level 6 spike is powerful, but the early laning phase for both of them is rough, and both get outscaled by most counterparts.

As with all lanes, use your Dark Passage to protect Miss Fortune in short trades, which she thrives in.

The problem with this lane isn't necessarily their synergy, it's just that Miss Fortune, in the current meta, isn't as strong as others and gets outscaled by nearly everyone.

However, Miss Fortune's Bullet Time is extremely effective when CC'ed by Thresh's Death Sentence, Flay, and Box.

In this lane, look to poke well with Miss Fortune's Double Up and Thresh's Flay Passive, as well as chain slows with Make it Rain and Flay.

Lane Synergy - (5/10)

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Varus is an okay lane partner for Thresh. The strength of this lane is in poke and kiting, so play passively and dwindle the enemies' health down before engaging.

Like I said, essentially the only strength of this lane is in poking and kiting, so build Talisman of Ascension Talisman of Ascension to get gold while staying passive early, and to control the tempo of the matchup.

The Box is a great tool to stop attackers from reaching Varus. Chain the slows from Thresh's Flay and Varus' Hail of Arrows to fend off enemies as well.

Similar to Miss Fortune, the weakness of this lane is in Varus' reliative strength in comparison to nearly every other carry, and it outclassed at all parts of the game by numerous counterparts.

In this lane, simply play passive until your team groups for objectives, and use both talisman of ascension Talisman of Ascension and Varus' Chain of Corruption to control the fight.

Lane Synergy - (5/10)

These 3 ward spots are the most important spots for your team to have vision on Blue Side.

These wards both serve as security for your carry and you, but also track the jungler as they walk near their Blue Buff/Gromp.

Almost always place Vision Wards in your own Tri-Brush on blue side to deter any deep invades/ganks and help control river vision.

On Red Side, simply replace the ward at your own blue-side jungle with a lane ward in the second brush to stop any cheesy lane ganks.

Thresh is the most versatile support in the game, and will always be relevant in the meta as long as his kit remains as effective, fun, and difficult to play.

Thank you all for reading this guide, and I urge you to submit any criticisms, tips, or suggestions in order to make Thresh a fun champion for everyone.



I am just a lowly silver support main :( but I had fun making a guide for my favorite champion. I don't play ranked too often, but I have played ~500 normal games with Thresh and consider myself knowledgeable in playing Thresh. See you all on the rift next season :)