Struggling to climb as a support player? Picking the right champion can make all the difference. Focusing on the current top supports drastically improves your chances of winning lane and impacting the entire game.
At a glance:
- Discover the most effective support champions dominating the current meta.
- Learn why these champions excel and how to play to their strengths.
- Understand which matchups favor these top supports and when to pick them.
- Get actionable tips to improve your gameplay with the top-tier supports.
Why Focusing on Top Supports Matters
The League of Legends meta is constantly shifting, and what worked last patch might not be optimal now. Top supports are those that consistently perform well, offering a blend of utility, damage, and survivability that allows them to thrive in the current environment. Playing these champions significantly increases your agency in the game, letting you carry your team even from the support role.
Don't just pick what's comfortable; pick what's effective.
Current Top-Tier Supports: An In-Depth Look
According to recent data, Lulu, Pyke, and Thresh sit at the top of the support mountain. Let's break down why they're so strong, and how to play them effectively.
Lulu: The Hypercarry Enabler
Lulu's strength lies in her ability to enhance hypercarries like Jinx, Zeri, and Twitch. Her kit provides everything a scaling ADC needs:
- Massive Attack Speed Buffs (W - Whimsy): Allows your ADC to shred through enemies in teamfights.
- Shielding and Crowd Control (E - Help, Pix!/Q - Glitterlance): Keeps your carry alive and disrupts enemy engages.
- Game-Changing Ultimate (R - Wild Growth): Grants a burst of health, knocks up nearby enemies, and slows those around the target after the knock up letting your carry survive dives and turn fights.
How to play Lulu:
- Prioritize your ADC: Stick with them in lane and focus on keeping them safe and strong.
- Use Whimsy proactively: Don't wait until your ADC is low health to use it. Use it to give them an edge in trades.
- Master Glitterlance positioning: Angle your Q to hit both the enemy laners and any minions blocking the path.
- Time your ultimate perfectly: Use Wild Growth to save your ADC from burst damage or to disrupt key enemy abilities.
Lulu Snapshot:
| Ability | Purpose | Usage Tip |
|---------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Q - Glitterlance | Damage, Slow | Angle for maximum coverage, prioritize slowing key threats. |
| W - Whimsy | Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Polymorph | Use offensively to boost carry damage or defensively to disable threats.|
| E - Help, Pix!| Shield, Damage | Shield ADC or use on enemy to enable poke. |
| R - Wild Growth| HP, Knockup, Slow | Save allies from burst, peel for carry, interrupt crucial abilities. |
Pyke: The Aggressive Playmaker
Pyke is a unique support assassin with unparalleled roaming potential. He excels at creating picks and snowballing leads for his team.
- Stealth and Mobility (W - Ghostwater Dive): Allows him to flank enemies and set up surprise engages.
- Reliable Crowd Control (E - Tidecaller's Haunt): Stuns enemies, making them vulnerable to follow-up damage.
- Execute Ultimate (R - Death From Below): Resets on kill and provides gold to both Pyke and a teammate, accelerating your team's snowball.
How to play Pyke:
- Roam early and often: Look for opportunities to gank mid lane or invade the enemy jungle.
- Capitalize on vision: Use your stealth to scout ahead and find isolated enemies.
- Master the E-Flash combo: Use Flash during your E animation to extend the range of your stun.
- Prioritize targets for your ultimate: Focus on executing squishy carries to maximize gold generation.
Example: You see the enemy mid laner pushed up with low health. Using Ghostwater Dive to move quickly out of vision, you flank and stun them with Tidecaller's Haunt, securing the kill with Death From Below and giving both you and your mid laner a gold boost.
Thresh: The Versatile Utility Tank
Thresh remains a consistently strong pick due to his unparalleled utility and playmaking potential.
- Long-Range Engage (Q - Death Sentence): Hooks enemies, pulling them towards your team for a guaranteed engage.
- Protective Lantern (W - Dark Passage): Shields allies and provides a safe escape route, allowing for aggressive plays and clutch saves.
- Disruption and Peel (E - Flay): Knocks enemies back or pulls them closer, disrupting their positioning and protecting your carries.
- Zoning Ultimate (R - The Box): Creates a prison of walls that slows and damages enemies, effectively locking down areas.
How to play Thresh:
- Practice your hook accuracy: Landing Death Sentences is crucial for initiating fights.
- Use Dark Passage creatively: Place it in bushes for allies to quickly reposition or use it to save teammates from danger.
- Master Flay's versatility: Use it to interrupt enemy dashes, peel for your carries, or set up hooks.
- Control vision effectively: Deny enemy vision and provide your team with crucial information.
Thresh Tips:
- Practice Flay direction to maximize peel potential. A well-placed flay can stop assassins in their tracks.
- Use Dark Passage to grant vision over walls, especially when invading or defending objectives.
- Don't be afraid to go for risky hooks. A successful hook can win a fight.
For a broader perspective, you might also find helpful insights on Climb with these Support Picks.
Countering Popular Picks and Exploiting Weaknesses
Knowing which champions to pick is only half the battle. You also need to understand which matchups favor these top supports and how to play against their counters.
Countering Lulu
While Lulu is a powerful enchanter, she's vulnerable to aggressive engage supports like Pyke, who can bypass her shielding and kill her or her ADC quickly. Other strong counters include champions with long-range poke that can whittle her down before fights.
Tips for playing against Lulu:
- Focus her in teamfights: Lulu is squishy and easily killed if caught out of position.
- Bait out her ultimate: Once her ultimate is on cooldown, she's much less effective at protecting her carries.
- Pressure her early: Deny her vision and prevent her from roaming.
Countering Pyke
Pyke struggles against tanky supports who can absorb his burst damage and lock him down with crowd control. Champions like Alistar and Leona can easily shut down Pyke's engages and turn the fight around.
Tips for playing against Pyke:
- Ward aggressively: Deny him vision and track his roams.
- Stay grouped: Prevent him from picking off isolated targets.
- Build armor: Reduce his damage output and make him less threatening.
Countering Thresh
Thresh's weaknesses lie in his vulnerability to poke and his reliance on landing skillshots. Supports who can consistently harass him from range, such as Xerath or Zyra, can make laning phase difficult.
Tips for playing against Thresh:
- Dodge his hooks: This is the most important aspect of playing against Thresh.
- Punish his aggressive positioning: If he steps too far forward to hook, punish him with poke.
- Control vision around objectives: Prevent him from setting up surprise hooks.
Building and Itemization for Top Supports
Itemization plays a crucial role in maximizing the effectiveness of top supports.
Lulu Build
- Starting Items: Spellthief's Edge + Health Potion x2
- Core Items: Shurelya's Battlesong, Ardent Censer, Staff of Flowing Water
- Situational Items: Mikael's Blessing, Redemption, Zhonya's Hourglass
- Boots: Ionian Boots of Lucidity (for CDR) or Boots of Swiftness (for roaming)
Pyke Build
- Starting Items: Spectral Sickle + Health Potion x2
- Core Items: Youmuu's Ghostblade, Umbral Glaive, Duskblade of Draktharr
- Situational Items: Edge of Night, Guardian Angel, Serpent's Fang
- Boots: Mobility Boots (for roaming) or Ionian Boots of Lucidity (for CDR)
Thresh Build
- Starting Items: Steel Shoulderguards + Health Potion x2
- Core Items: Locket of the Iron Solari, Zeke's Convergence, Knight's Vow
- Situational Items: Redemption, Thornmail, Gargoyle Stoneplate
- Boots: Mercury's Treads (for tenacity) or Plated Steelcaps (for armor)
Itemization Notes: - Adapt your build based on the game state and enemy team composition. There is no one-size-fits-all build.
- Consider purchasing control wards frequently to maintain vision control. Control wards are your best friend.
- Don't be afraid to deviate from standard builds if necessary. Sometimes, a situational item can be the key to victory.
Quick Answers to Common Questions
Q: Which support should I pick if I'm new to the role?
A: Lulu is a great choice for beginners. She's relatively easy to learn and provides a lot of value to her team.
Q: How do I deal with aggressive ADCs as Lulu?
A: Focus on shielding them and using Glitterlance to slow down the enemy. Don't be afraid to use Whimsy to polymorph aggressive enemies.
Q: When should I pick Pyke?
A: Pick Pyke when your team needs an aggressive playmaker and you're confident in your ability to snowball leads. Avoid picking Pyke into tanky compositions.
Q: What runes should I take on Thresh?
A: Aftershock is the most common keystone on Thresh, providing extra tankiness and damage after engaging. Guardian is also a viable option for a more supportive playstyle.
Q: What are some common mistakes to avoid as a support?
A: Common mistakes include not warding enough, not roaming effectively, and tunnel-visioning on your ADC. Always be aware of the minimap and look for opportunities to impact the game.
Actionable Takeaways
Here's a quick guide to help you select the right support based on your playstyle and team composition:
- Do you prefer enabling your carries and scaling into the late game? Pick Lulu.
- Ideal for: Hypercarry ADCs (Jinx, Zeri, Twitch).
- Avoid when: Facing heavy engage compositions.
- Do you enjoy roaming, making picks, and snowballing leads? Pick Pyke.
- Ideal for: Teams that need an aggressive playmaker.
- Avoid when: Facing tanky compositions or heavy crowd control.
- Do you want a versatile support with strong engage, peel, and utility? Pick Thresh.
- Ideal for: Compositions that need a reliable front line and playmaker.
- Avoid when: Facing heavy poke compositions.
By mastering these top supports and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, you'll be well on your way to climbing the ranks and dominating the Rift.