Buying Defenses on Supports

by Eric “Nuz” DeBord, NA

Buying defenses on supports can be somewhat tricky. But all supports - even the

most offensive ones - have to buy some defenses at some point in the game. It's

incredibly crucial to your team's success that you buy the correct items in the correct

situations.

I am not the greatest League of Legends player, but I have played ~400-500 games as

support, and ~50-100 games in ARAM going strictly full tank (I would run 0/30/0

masteries and only by strictly defensive items, no boots, items with ad/ap/crit/as). So I

believe I do have at least some knowledge on how to correctly evaluate your

opponent's offensive options, and make a decision on how to itemize defensively

against that.

I'm really making this guide because if I see one more Thresh buy Sunfire Cape when

he's losing lane, I'm going to jump off a bridge.

One important thing to note before going into the items is that buying defenses on a

support is fundamentally different than buying defenses on a top laner or jungler.

Top Laners:

Looking to stack health (Grasp of the Undying)

Looking to 1v1

Armor tends to be more valuable than MR

Looking to control team fights

Stands in close proximity to enemy heroes

Ultimately, looking to avoid personal death

Junglers:

Looking to stack health (Grasp/Strength of the Aegis once it is on par with other tank

masteries)

Looking to get bang for their buck (limited income & less item slots)

Armor more valuable than MR, but Locket is pretty sweet on most junglers.

Sometimes looking to 1v1, often looking for items to help in small teamfights

Distance between them & the enemy is varied, depending on the champ.

Ultimately, looking to avoid personal death.

Supports:

Before anything, look at passives & actives.

Looking to stack defenses* (Bond of Stone)

Looking to get bang for their buck (limited income & less item slots)

Never looking to 1v1

By the nature of the items, MR tends to be more valuable than armor.

Tend to have an in-and-out pattern in fights (apply CC and run/kite)

Ultimately, looking to help teammates avoid death.

*Soraka ignores this. I am a extremely bad Soraka player, and all of my tips for her

come from watching other people play the champion. Sorry!

If a support ends up positioning correctly & properly applying their CC to a important

target in a full on 5v5 teamfight, and they die, their team should still be able to win

the teamfight. While playing support, you are always looking to trade for the enemy

mid laner, top laner, jungler or ad, at least in close games. It is also somewhat

important to note that while MR does have a tendency to be more effective than

armor overall for supports, every champion in the game has auto attacks, so buying

armor at some point is pretty much always necessary.

Now there are different levels of tankiness different supports need. I'll split them up

into a few categories.

Kill Supports (Vel'Koz, Brand, AP Shaco, anything goofy you play with in bot lane).

These supports need to buy the least defenses. Oftentimes, they will bundle their

defensive item with an offensive one, with items such as Athene's, Zhonya's, etc.

Calling these guys supports is a little misleading, to be honest. Tend to go Deathfire

Touch or Thunderlords as their mastery.

Shield, Heal & Poke Supports (Janna, Bard, Morgana, Lulu, Nami, the

"standard" supports)

These supports need armor & MR badly, but also are looking to put out damage.

These champions look to disengage or turn fights around for their team. Their looking

for multiple tanky items, but also a little AP on the side. Tend to go Windspeakers as

their mastery.

Tank Supports (Thresh, Leona, Blitz & Naut)

These supports are looking to stack as much armor and mr as possible. They have the

"in-and-out" fight pattern noted above, where they try and apply their CC. They are

not tanky enough to just stand their and auto people for days in close range, but they

are tanky enough to survive the initial burst damage in a team fight. If they get ahead

they can build more offensively, but even then, their mostly buying defensive items.

Tend to go Bond of Stone, but Blitz & Leona can definitely proc Thunderlords enough

to make it useful.

Supertank Supports (Braum, Taric, Alistar & THE KENCH)

These supports straight up never die. Out of all the supports they play the most

similarly to a top laner, as they are looking to stack health as well as armor. They

basically never buy any sort of damage, and look more at pure stats than passives &

actives. After they go in, “Supertanks” will often have the option to just walk away

from the fight, even if their ADC (or entire team) dies. Fun Fact: Without the jungle

item, Rammus basically builds like one of these, as he values similar things to a

“Supertank” support. Will always go Bond of Stone.

Soraka (Soraka)

As I mention above, ignore a lot of rules of thumb for buying supportive items. Just

buy Warmogs, you'll be fine. Goes Windspeaker’s obviously.

These categories aren't really perfect categorizations. Annie, for example, must buy

defensive items simply to stay alive, even though her playstyle is essentially like the

"Kill Supports". Alistar acts like a “Tank Support” in lane, but transitions into a

“Supertank” once he gets his ult & more defensive stats. However, these categories

do make deciding what defensive items to buy on each support you play.

Occasionally I make comparisons in the guide, using phrases such as “tankier than

<insert champion name>” and such. Here is an extremely subjective list of the

tankiness of champions, in order. Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion, and

isn’t really based on any accurate, empirical evidence.

Tahm Kench/Rammus Braum/Taric/Alistar/Shen Nautilus Leona Thresh Blitzcrank Morgana/Bard/Janna/Soraka/Lulu Nami/Karma Brand/Vel’Koz/Lux/Zyra/most goofy mage supports Sona/Annie

Rather than going through each support in the game and detailing their individual

itemsets, I will go through each appropriate defensive option for supports. I will start

with health.

Health:

Health items are going to be most beneficial against teams with tons of mixed

damage and true damage. In my experience (not sure about the math on this), health

tends to be more beneficial than pure defenses against “Supertanks” also. So if you

are against a team with Irelia/Rammus/Hybrid Fizz/Vayne, building a health item

may be for you. Buying and getting a Sightstone is a given, all supports should do this

without even thinking. Don’t sleep on the amount of health that item actually gives

you, it’s pretty noticeable right after it’s bought.

Righteous Glory (500 Health, 300 Mana, 100% Base HR, Speed Boost+Slow

Active) 2600 gold

This item is a beautifully designed support item. It gives this fantastic active, giving

your team a huge advantage in a 5v5 teamfight. However, it comes at a big cost, as it

gives piss poor stats. 500 health is actually pretty negligible, especially when it

doesn't come packaged with any defenses. After it was nerfed around the middle of

season 5, it hasn't been the same item as it was on release.

This item is going to be best bought when ahead on the “Tank Supports”. If you have a

lead on these champions, buying this item will just help your team keep the snowball

going. Leona, in particular, loves this item, and I will often buy it on her even if I am

behind when there is better defensive options. One outlier who can benefit from this

item greatly is Annie, as providing her with any sort of speed boost makes Tibbers

much more deadly.

Rylai’s Crystal Scepter (400 Health, 100 AP, Slows on Abilities Passive) 3200

gold

Fun item to buy on the "Kill Supports". Don't underestimate how helpful that slow is

going to be. Even better against a shorter range or mostly melee team, as it will

further help your team kite them. Sadly, it only gives two stats & no MR/Armor, so it

cannot really be extended to tankier champs. Some supports - like Bard - already have

a slow on one of their skills, so they are not interested in this item.

In particular, this item is ridiculous on Brand & Vel'Koz support, as it leads to quick,

won teamfights. I think Soraka might be able to buy this? I really know nothing about

that champ. Anyone who wants health and AP should buy this item.

Warmog’s Armor (850 Health, 250% HR, Tons of Health Regen when Low

Passive) 2850 Gold

Analyzing Warmog's is a little difficult. This item was really made for non-supports

like Garen, Maokai, etc., who are really looking to stack health. It's awkward as a

support to buy this much health without any defenses, as it allows you to be bursted

down quickly by crits & big booms of magic damage. Warmog's Heart (the passive)

only works when you have 3000+ max health, however, this usually isn't really a

problem, as it gives so much health it is difficult to go under 3000 health when buying

this item. Still, avoid buying this item too early.

"Supertanks" can find a lot of use for this item, as their abilities scale with health. As

stated above, they operate more like the top laners this item was made for. However,

this item is not crucial to the "Supertanks". It is mandatory, however, on Soraka, as

she desperately needs health in order to not kill herself. Don't buy this item on the

normal tanks like Thresh & Blitz, and certainly don't buy it on anyone less tanky then

them; this item was only intended for the tankiest of tanky champs.

Juggernaut items, like Black Cleaver, Titanic Hydra & Sterak's Gage, aren't covered

here, as I can't think of any situation where a support would really find use for them

(although that would be pretty fun)

Armor:

AD Carries are statistically the most likely champion to carry the game. Itemizing

against them can be tricky, as there are tons of armor options for supports. Recently,

however, Riot has further defined each option by giving them a clearer purpose.

In season 6, armor is going to be more important than ever before. You are going to

run into more and more all AD team comps, more and more teams with multiple AD

carries. And don't forget about those pesky juggernauts that can quickly ruin your

game. There is no situation, no team comp, where going armorless is acceptable, for

all supports (except for the "Kill Supports" if ahead and Soraka if she dominated bot

lane).

Zhonya’s Hourglass (100 AP, 45 Armor, stasis active) 3500 gold

Zhonya's is probably one of the most famous items in the game, due to the fact that it

can cause some crazy interactions in fights. Using your Zhonya's properly is the

easiest way to make your opponent go "Oh Crap" after they initially thought they

were winning a fight. The item is really offensive, though, and gives a small amount of

armor, so it isn't as much of a defensive option as it is an offensive option.

This item is primarily bought by champions who can use the active in conjunction with

their skills. Zyra loves the item and will rush it relatively quickly in most games.

Morgana will buy the item if she is ahead & focused on getting big ults in teamfights.

All the "Kill Supports" have the option to buy the item, as it will give them a bunch of

AP to burst down their enemies. Avoid buying it on Annie, however, as there are

better options for her. I also don't recommend buying the item on the Shielding &

Healing supports, as they seem to have a harder time than most using the active well.

It's a huge investment, and an NLR is an expensive part for a support to buy, so only

buy this item if you really think you can utilize it well.

Iceborn Gauntlet (65 Armor, 20% CDR, 500 Mana, frozen basic attack after

skill passive) 2700 Gold

This item is pretty goofy to buy on most supports, however, it has its situations. It

gives armor, CDR & Mana - all things supports love. The passive was just buffed this

preseason, increasing with total armor, so it can be helpful in order to kite

melees/short ranged champs more effectively. However, they also took off the AP on

the item, making it a little awkward. Buying it on supports is relatively rare; this item is

almost always outclassed by another armor item.

Thunderlords works really well with this item, as it can make that third hit even more

powerful. Bard can buy it, as he autos more than any other support. Blitzcranks buy

this item a lot of times when they get a bunch of early kills in order to further extend

their offensive capabilities. I think this item is a bit of a dark horse on Thresh; it could

be really strong on him if he gets ahead early on. Don't buy on any "Supertanks" as it

isn't defensive enough for them. Don't buy on the "Kill Supports" also, as they don't

really auto all that much. Once again, this item is usually outclassed by either Zeke's or

Frozen Heart/Randuin's.

Ohmwrecker (300 Health, 50 Armor, 150% HR, 10% CDR, block tower shot +

speed passive) 2650 Gold

I believe this item was actually intended for support to buy. At 2650 gold, it’s a pretty

cheap option for a support looking to rack up some early health and armor. A little bit

of an underrated item, a lot of people probably don't even know it’s still in the game.

Buying such a cheap item can be negative however, as supports have limited item

slots. Using the passive effectively will probably only work once against your

opponents, unless they are very dumb. Item becomes less effective as you go up in

MMR.

"Supertanks" will probably be the only ones buying this item. Alistar, in particular,

can use the item pretty effectively, as his ult already gives him incredibly tower diving

potential. It's also fairly useful on Tahm Kench for similar reasons. I don't know if I

would buy this item on anyone other than those two champs. It’s inferior to most

other tanky items in the game, and most other supports have a harder time tower

diving, with exception to Leona, who would benefit just as much with a Glory.

Zz’rot Portal (60 Armor, 60 MR, 125% HR, voidlings spawner active) 2700

Gold

You don't see supports buy this item all too often - it’s geared for split-pushing top

laners. However, it gives both armor and MR, so there has to be some situations

where it can be helpful. Using the active well is quite tricky, as oftentimes your

enemies will kill the damn thing as soon as it spawns. Pushing down towers is

stronger than ever before though, so who knows.

Not really sure what champions would really benefit from buying the item. Don't buy

it on anyone less tanky than Blitzcrank, as they want to prioritize some other stats

other than just armor and MR. Buying the item depends more on the game than

anything; if you are on a "Tank Support" or "Supertank" in the bot lane with your ADC

for a really, really long time, this would pad your pushing together. Beneficial near

end of game to knock down inhibs real quick, also. If you aren't alone with your ad in

an outer lane or near an end of the game, however, do not buy this item.

Sunfire Cape (500 Health, 45 Armor, magic damage/second passive) 2700

Gold

This item is the most overbought item in the entire game, for all lanes. It's especially

overbought on supports, however, because they simply don't really have a use for the

item. It's passive is geared towards 1v1'ing the enemy bruiser, not helping your team.

It's an incredibly selfish item, for the least selfish role in the game. It's cheap,

meaning you can afford it, but it gives poor stats.

A Taric, Alistar, or Tahm Kench might be able to find a use for this item, as they do a

lot of hand to hand auto'ing after their skills go on CD. Even for them, however, there

are numerous more beneficial options. Stop buying this item on Thresh; half the time

the spooky guy isn't even in range to use the passive. He also follows that

"in-and-out" pattern, meaning if he stands around and tries to 1v1 other champions he

will most often die. It’s fairly standard on Shen support, however, this champion is not

consistently viable in the bottom lane. Try to avoid buying this item in almost all

situations, even if your friend tells you it’s really good or you see some streamer

buying it. It's just doesn't make any sense to buy it on a support.

Zeke’s Harbinger (250 Mana, 30 Armor, 50 AP, 10% CDR, crit charges bind)

2375 Gold

A truly incredible item on most supports in the game. For an extremely cheap price,

you are given solid stats & a huge increase in consistent damage for your ADC.

Although this item does not increase your AD's damage, per say, it does increase the

consistency of the damage coming out, and makes fighting more reliable. On the

flipside, 30 Armor is not all that much, and you need to babysit whoever you are

binded to in order to make use of the item, which requires you two to get along.

There are probably some situations where you may want to sell the item later in the

game for more pure stats, also.

The go-to item for the "Shield, Heal & Poke Supports". They will almost always buy

this item. The "Tank Supports" will also buy this item most of the time, as it gives

them just barely enough defense to survive the enemy onslaught. A "Kill Support"

most definitely can buy this item if they are feeling generous, but oftentimes they will

skip it for bigger items. "Supertanks" should avoid buying this item, unless they need

their AD to carry the game for them. Avoid buying this item if your ADC is

toxic/feeding, as it won't help a player who is incompetent. Avoid buying if your AD

doesn't utilize crit, however, almost all ADC's use crit after the season 6 item changes

(even Kalista?!?!). Once again, the most consistent armor item option out there for

almost all supports.

Dead Man’s Plate (500 Health, 50 Armor, speed+slow on charges passive)

2800 Gold

Dead Man’s was released towards the end of last season, and as soon as it was

released, it became one of the best ways to stop any physical damage dealing

character. The movement speed boost from the passive can be incredibly helpful on a

support, and it gives a solid amount of health and armor. This item should be the item

to buy if you do not need mana or defense against crit. It is particularly useful against

juggernauts & offensive styled fighters such as Riven as these champs struggle once

slowed & against pure armor.

This item feels as if it was made for Tahm Kench. He definitely needs the movespeed

in order to catch up & eat whoever he is attempting to eat. He also doesn’t have all

that much mana problems. Other “Supertanks” like Taric and Braum also can

appreciate what this item brings to the table. Avoid buying against fed ADCs, as their

armor pen & crit will make this item less useful (Although it can be used in conjunction

with other armor items). Avoid buying on Blitzcrank or other mana hungry supports -

they’ll prefer a frozen heart. Avoid buying on anyone less tanky than Blitzcrank, as

they have higher priorities.

Randuin’s Omen (450 Health, 60 Armor, -10% Damage from Crits, attack

speed reduction passive, AoE slow active) 3000 Gold

An expensive, but worthwhile item, for a lot of supports to invest in. Randuin’s is the

first item you need to get in order to shut down the enemy team’s fed AD carry.

Slowing their attack speed & lessening their crits is more beneficial than ever, since in

season 6 these stats were emphasized more than any others for ADCs. This item is

extremely expensive for a support to buy on a tight budget & doesn’t give any CDR,

Mana or AP.

“Supertanks” have to make a choice between this and Dead Man’s, but more often

than not, they will choose this item. Avoid buying on Tahm Kench, as to him, Dead

Man’s is always a better option. This item is one of the best options for “Tank

Supports” going down a more defensive route or playing from behind. Leona and

Thresh synergize well with the active once they engage. Janna and other “Shield,

Heal & Poke Supports” can buy the item if they feel it’s necessary, or if they are

against a dominant crit ADC like Draven or Miss Fortune. Avoid buying on anyone

less tanky than Sona, as at that point, there really isn’t any point in buying a Randuin’s.

Avoid buying against a team with minimal amounts of crit damage, like a team with

Kindred ADC or something of that nature. Always remember that it gives less health

than Dead Man’s, but slightly more armor - so it could be argued that health stacking

chaps should buy Dead Man’s over this.

Frozen Heart (90 Armor, 20% CDR, 400 Mana, AS slow aura passive) 2800

Gold

Frozen Heart has been a solid item to buy on numerous different types of supports

for a long time. It has been known as one of the most gold efficient items in the

game, and although they nerfed its efficiency slightly last season, it is still a killer item

to buy if you need armor, CDR, and mana. Frozen Heart is, however, the most general

armor item that’s viable for supports to buy; it is less focused than the crit stopping

Randuin’s or the crit enhancing Zeke’s. The item also does not give any health, so

health stacking champions will noticeably miss the health that a Dead Man’s or

Randuin’s gives.

Frozen Heart tends to be the go-to tank item if you would like to buy some armor on a

support that is typically not all that tanky. This is because Frozen Heart is a fairly

unselfish item, as the mana and CDR will help you keep you ADC in tip-top shape

throughout the battle. Janna is just one example of a “Shield, Heal & Poke Support”

that can use Frozen Heart to it’s highest potential. She appreciates the mana & CDR

just as much as the armor. It’s Blitzcrank’s preferred armor item, as the extra mana

will increase his shield and help mitigate his obnoxious mana issues. Randuin’s and

Dead Man’s often seem like stronger options for the “Supertanks”, with exception to

Braum, who synergizes fairly well with this item. Try to avoid buying this item if you

are in danger of going over the CDR cap, as you will be essentially buying a stat you

cannot use then. Buy only in situations where you need general armor to stop low to

moderate damage dealers, not in situations where you need to stop the fed Tristana

(of which Randuin’s would do a better job) or Darius (of which Dead Man’s would do a

better job).

Thornmail (100 Armor, damage reflection on autos passive) 2350 Gold

Optimal opportunities to buy Thornmail on a support are few and far between.

Thornmail used to be the best option to stop ADCs in previous seasons before it was

nerfed to the ground in mid season five. The introduction of crit reduction on

Randuin’s also makes the item just seem a little useless. Still, Thornmail has its

situations, particularly in times where you need to stop auto attackers who are not

building crit. There are not as many of these champions in the game anymore, but

occasionally, it can happen.

There are two oddball “Supertanks” who really enjoy buying Thornmail in the rare

moments where they are in the bot lane: Rammus and Shen support. Rammus gains

extra damage from building armor, so as long you combo Thornmail with a health

item, he can benefit greatly from buying this. On the other hand, Shen is a manaless

support, so items like Zeke’s and Frozen Heart are useless to him. Thus, against an all

ad team, he may find it necessary to buy this item simply to throw on as much armor

as he can get to protect his allies. Avoid buying on anyone who does not fit the

“Supertank” category, as they will have too little health to use the item properly.

Guardian Angel (60 Armor, 60 MR, revive passive) 2900 Gold

Supports should absolutely never buy this item, unless they are carrying the game on

a “Kill Support” like Annie and the game is past 40 minutes, and even then, it’s a little

sketchy. This item was made for damage dealers who just get killed before the fight

even begins, but are able to do damage once they are alive again. The item simply

doesn’t benefit supports; they are not able to put out enough damage to make the

item worth it. It’s far too expensive, it doesn’t give any health & it gives less armor and

MR then other items. Probably the worst armor item to buy on a support.

Magic Resist (MR):

Magic Resist is the supports forte. Some of the biggest game changing items exist

here for supports to buy, such as Banner of Command, Locket of the Iron Solari &

Mikael's Crucible. Magic Resist is intrinsically important for supports, as most supports

have fantastic health regen to mend superficial wounds, but cannot recover if they

take half their health from a Lux ult. A lot of these items bundle other things supports

like, such as mana regen and CDR, in order to make them even more appealing to

those looking to aid their teammates.

Athene’s Holy Grail (60 AP, 25 MR, 20% CDR, 100% MR, mana restoration

passives) 2800 Gold

Athene’s is a fairly odd item to buy on a support. I would categorize it as “Situation, at

best” on any support. It guarantees you to not run out of mana (which is stronger in a

game without mana potions), however, and also grants you a whopping 60 AP and

20% CDR. Still the item gives a measly 25 MR, as it was simply designed as an item for

mages struggling in a 1v1 against another mage in the midlane.

Sona can buy this item fairly consistently if she wants to play in a risky, offensive

manner. The CDR isn’t all that relevant on her, but she needs the mana regen and

loves the AP to help continue to bully through the midgame. I think Soraka can also

buy this item if she is getting hurt a little bit too much by enemy APs, as all the stats

here can be applied to everything she does. Any of the “Kill Supports” can buy this

item if they feel up to it, but oftentimes they will prefer Morellonomicon to this item.

Buying this item on anyone with any semblance of tankiness, even in the “Shield, Heal,

and Poke” category, is a huge waste of money and resources, as their is definitively a

better MR item for them.

Abyssal Scepter (70 AP, 50 MR, MR reduction aura passive) 2350 Gold

This item is actually slightly underrated on supports. The MR reduction aura is fairly

strong, especially against a team stacking MR. 70 AP and 50 MR are solid amounts of

each stat, and the item is pretty cheap at only 2350 gold, making it perfect for a

support on a budget. The only problem is that the item isn’t really all that supportive

in nature, as it doesn’t help your ADC at all. It also doesn’t give any CDR or mana

regen, which are two of the most important stats on supports.

Most “Kill Supports” will buy this item. A Vel’Koz or Lux who buys this item when

supporting can put out massive amounts of somewhat unexpected damage. Morgana

can really only buy this item if she is incredibly fed of stealing kills in the bottom lane,

but in that situation, the item is glorious on her. It makes her bindings a death

sentence. Nobody tankier than her should buy this album however, as it will only

inhibit their tank build. Keep in mind that this item is more useful when the enemies

have tons of MR; otherwise it may be more helpful to simply build AP so that you can

grab some regen with it.

Banner of Command (200 Health, 100% HR, 60 AP, 20 MR, 10% CDR, MR aura

passive+minion upgrade active) 2900 Gold

This item is a mouthful. It is one of the few items (if not the only item) that gives five

different stats. It also is one of the two items in the game that build from Aegis of the

Legion, and as such, it has the Aegis passive that is so crucial to keeping members safe

from magic damage. The minion upgrade is not as useful as in competitive play,

where it can literally win games for pro teams, but in solo queue, it can help push out

waves to help gain side lane control from the support position, which is unique.

Oftentimes, I find that in lower mmr divisions, solo laners are not all that great at

keeping their lanes pushed prior to grouping, so this item helps mend. The item does

have a few downsides, as it only gives 200 health and 20 MR. It gives a bulk of stats,

rather than focusing on just a few. Simply put, this item will not help you stop the

godlike enemy Katarina who is rampaging through your team. Using the minion

upgrade active also takes a little strategy and getting used to. A lot of people still

have the stubborn belief that this item is still terrible, but towers have actually

become easier to push down since last seen in pro play, so it is entirely possible that

this item is straight up broken on the champs that can utilize its strengths the most.

There is a huge range of champions in the support role who can consistently buy this

item. “Kill Supports”, such as Annie and Zyra, buy the item for the AP and CDR, and

helps them stay at least a little supportive, even as they transition into more of a

damage dealer later in the game. This is the preferred MR item for all of the “Shield,

Heal & Poke” guys; Bard feels like a god once he has this item. Soraka can buy the

item in a similar instance to when she buys Athene’s, and even the “Tank Supports”

like Leona and Thresh can buy the item if they are not at risk of taking too much

magic damage later in the game. “Supertanks” shouldn’t buy this item; they should

just opt to go all-in with the Locket. You may want to avoid buying in a game with

constant teamfighting (even though the item could be utilized well here), as you will

find you are forgetting to use the active often. This is one of the best support items in

the game, do not sleep on it.

Locket of the Iron Solari (400 Health, 100 HR, 20 MR, 10% CDR, MR aura

passive+short & strong shield active) 2500 Gold

This item is a tankier, cheaper version of Banner of Command. It gives double the

amount of health and a shield active for 400 less gold, so naturally, supports love the

item. It also gives the Aegis passive. It should be noted here that every team should

have an Aegis passive of some sort. If you are playing support, and your jungler does

not buy Locket, that means YOU basically have to buy Locket or Banner. This may not

be that important in lower MMR ranks, but is very important as you climb the latter. It

doesn’t give the AP that Banner of Command gives, which makes it a less appealing

option in some cases. It also doesn’t give the incredibly strong minion promote active

the Banner gives.

“Supertanks” buy this item 85% or more of the time. Alistar or Taric with a Locket

become crazy tanky. Buying this item on someone like Nautilus basically turns them

into a “Supertank”, and Nautilus should buy this item over Banner every time. The

“Tank Supports” and even the “Shield, Heal & Poke Supports” have to make a choice if

they want Banner or Locket. Here is a little chart with some recommendations when

deciding which item to buy:

Buy Banner of Command if… ...you are taking minimal to moderate, but some, magic damage. ...if your team is fighting often, but every second, and needs help pushing out side waves. ...if you are behind in towers, but still have chance in the game. ...if you benefit from having more AP on a champion. ...if you are not a health dependent champion. ...if no one else has an Aegis item on your team. Buy Locket of the Iron Solari if… ...you are taking moderate amounts, but not tons, of magic damage. ...if you lack a shield to put on your ADC in teamfights. ...if the enemy team is walking away from fights with extremely low health. ...if you do not really benefit from having more AP. ...if you have skills that scale with health, or otherwise benefit from having tons of health. ...if no one else has an Aegis on your team (although some “Supertanks” can still opt to take this item, even if someone else has an Aegis item on your team, as they benefit SO much from having this in their own inventory, by having personal control of the active and so on and so forth).

I would not buy the item on anyone less tanky than a Bard or Annie, as they simply

cannot utilize the health. Overall, another fantastic support item.

Mikael’s Crucible (35 MR, 10% CDR, 100% MR, mana restoration passive +

“cleanse” active) 2300 Gold

This item is, and has been, the single best item for a support to buy since last season’s

preseason. Riot has been releasing more and more champions with CC that can be

removed via Mikael’s, and thus, its power has increased. This item actually gives more

MR than Banner and Locket, so if magic damage dealers are the ones giving you a hard

time, this item proves to be somewhat effective in stopping them. It doesn’t give any

more health, however, so, similar to Banner, it won’t stop a fed midlaner from killing

you. Crucible’s cleanse active is one of the three strongest actives in the game; do not

forget to use it. It does not have the exact same properties as cleanse, however, as

some things like Warwick and Malzahar ults cannot be Crucible’d. As with cleanse,

the active does not work on knock ups (although there is a common misconception

that knock ups and suspensions are the exact same thing. They are actually different.

Suspensions can be cleansed, and are visually more ranged attacks, while knock ups

cannot not be cleansed, and tend to be visually more physical, hand to hand attacks.

IE. Nami’s Q is a suspension, while Alistar’s Q is a knock up. This takes a little learning,

and it is sort of annoying that there are so many slightly different kinds of CC in the

game, but it helps to differentiate between the two in a game where you buy

Mikael’s.).

The “Shield, Heal & Poke” supports, such as Janna, will buy the item fairly early in the

game, right after their support item. Deciding to buy this item is a difficult choice, as

it takes some game knowledge of your opponents CC. Do not buy this item against

knock up Yasuo comps, as there will most likely be very few stuns to cleanse against.

But against a team with Leona and Evelynn, this item will pay for itself ten times

over. It can really be bought on any of the supports, from the less greedy “Kill

Supports” like Annie, to the tankiest of tankiest guys like Tahm Kench. Don’t buy the

item if CC is not a problem, and straight up burst or consecutive damage is a larger

problem. Use the item when you buy it; it has a relatively long CD, so I find support

players will often forget to use it.

Banshee’s Veil (500 Health, 70 MR, 100 HR, spell shield passive) 2900 Gold

Here’s where we start going into the real tanky magic resist items. Banshee’s Veil is

another great option at blocking CC, but it also can be used to block large amounts of

burst damage, too. The most interesting thing about Banshee’s Veil is its sheer

diversity, as it has been bought occasionally in pretty much every role except for

midlane since its release (ADCs occasionally built it as a last item against fed mages)

because most roles find use for that great blocking passive.

This is not a priority item, however, for supports, as it will keep them alive, but not

help them keep their team alive. The stats here are great, but the passive doesn’t

benefit anyone but the user. In some situations, however, it can be a great item on

anyone as tanky or more tanky as Thresh. It gives double the amount of MR that

Mikael’s gives, so surely there are times when Banshee’s is a viable option. Do not buy

if you are a healer, as Spirit Visage will be a better option due to its passive. In fact,

most times Spirit Visage is probably a better option.

Spirit Visage (500 Health, 70 MR, 150% HR, 10% CDR, healing increase

passive) 2900 Gold

Typically used by health-mongering top laners, this item can be a godsend for some

supports in some situations. It gives a ton of health and a ton of magic resist, and even

gives some CDR (which Banshee’s doesn’t). For a while last season, this item was flat

out bad on supports, until they changed the passive to include healing to allies and

not just self-healing, which made the item far less of a selfish buy.

Spirit Visage seems like it’d be a great buy on Soraka, as it gives her both the health

and magic resist she needs to survive the enemy’s attacks. She also gains a nice boost

to her healing, which is already boosted by Windspeaker’s. “Supertanks” will buy this

item if their jungler is picking up a Aegis item (most likely Locket), as champs like

Braum and Taric get a ton out of the item. Taric especially, since it gives him a boost

to his heal through health and the passive. In fact, I might buy this item fairly often on

him. Janna and Nami could experiment with this item to see if it suits their needs,

and in particular situations, this item is probably just dandy on them, but overall, they

prefer one of the Aegis items. Anyone other than these champions should stay away

from this item, as they don’t need that much health and MR or they have better

options.

There are three other MR items in the game: Mercurial Scimitar, Maw of Malmortius &

Wit’s End. The only possible situation I could see anyone ever buying any of these

items on a support is if Kayle support wanted to buy the Wit’s End in an odd attack

speed oriented support build. Otherwise, these items are made for quick attackers

and AD champions, two things supports are not. Don’t ever buy these (not that you

were going to buy them previously to reading this guide).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing Thoughts

I had a blast writing this little informative diddy on buying defensive items on

supports. At some point, I may expand this guide to include all items that supports can

buy, although, to be honest, there are only a few left (Support active items, deathcap,

ardent censor, guinsoo’s on Bard <lol>, and the ap items on the “kill supports”). I also

may fix errors & formatting problems with the guide in a later date. I must also update

the guide as the meta changes, in order to maintain accuracy. Some empirical data and

statistics may eventually be added, as I believe that would strengthen some of the

more subjective statements I make throughout the guide. I pretty much left out when

to buy the items in the game except for in a few situations, and I may clarify this in

some fixes later on. As previously stated, I am not a pro player; I just felt like I have a

good grasp on tank items. If you would like to share you thoughts, feel free to e-mail

me at themasterofnuzlocke@gmail.com or tweet me at @MoNEricDeBord. I hope

you find this guide a little helpful for trying to decide what to buy, in what situations.

Thanks for taking the time to read it!

Updates: 12/17/15 v1.00 ~ released guide publically, made minor formatting changes post-release. 12/18/15 v1.01 ~ added “Updates” section, added info to “Closing Thoughts” section, fixed grammatical & formatting errors.