We sure have gone through a lot of changes since the first inception of League of Legends. When I first started playing, there weren’t even any roles. You kind of just went wherever you felt like and hoped you had a good matchup. When Riot first started officially introducing the roles and incentivizing champions to follow those roles either by itemization bonuses or just how a specific champion’s overall kiti was designed, it made choosing a lot easier. However, today, the lines are a bit blurry again. Make no mistake, the roles are still very much clear, but it allows you to do some things that your typical role normally wouldn’t be expected to do.
Supports, specifically, excel because they don’t need as much gold or farm to be effective. This is typically because they are more skill and level dependent due to their skillsets, such as bringing some form of CC to the table. Marksman supports, however, are different. Today, we are going to take a look at some of the best marksman supports, but for us to do that, we need to have our own criteria. Not only should they be ranged supports, but they should also be able to be effective without preventing the actual AD carry from being farmed. They should also be able to significantly contribute to either damage output or have some form of utility that works well with them being a marksman. With that out of the way, let’s dive right in.
show
1. Senna
Unsurprisingly, Senna makes it to the top of the list. After all, Senna is basically another carry that has the benefit of not needing CS to scale, so much so that there are actual fasting Senna builds out there that specifically focus on her collecting mist. I’m not sure how many have noticed, but taking the last hit as Senna on minions such as the siege minions actually prevent mist from dropping, so being an actual support Senna can be beneficial to you and your carry. Later on, she transitions into a powerhouse that absolutely wrecks enemy champions – especially melee ones — with her range, critical strikes, and lifesteal. And this is all just with her basic attacks!
Despite all that, Senna has all the ingredients to be helpful as a utility support, too. With the ability to potentially hide your whole team and disorient opponents, a heal and poke in one, a global shield that you can also use to snipe fleeing enemies, and a root that can affect multiple opponents including minions, she truly is one of the best supports who slowly transition into another carry for those times that the game stretches on a bit too long. Her weakest point is during the early game where she doesn’t have much stacks yet and simply attacks too slow and too close, but after collecting a few souls, the game changes drastically in her favor.
2. Ashe
Formerly considered taboo, support Ashe has actually broken out and has been more commonly played since it was popularized in Korea. As an ADC, she heavily leans towards utility and gives up damage, so people thought… isn’t that what a support is in the first place? Her basic attacks slow champions by default, so there’s not much to think about. Her other skills also lean toward the support side. She has a global scouting skill, which allows her to basically check anywhere on the map, this is particularly useful for checking objectives when the map goes dark. In the early game, you can also use it to scout for your jungler so he knows where the enemy jungler is, which in turn, allows him to make informed decisions.
Volley is a spammable slow that is very difficult to avoid when you aren’t behind something, so if you use it often enough, it makes opponents play more conservatively, as that coupled with your passive makes it very annoying. Just make sure you don’t accidentally push out the lane and make it harder for your carry to farm. She doesn’t scale as well into the late game, but you could always build her items for a carry if you foresee it going longer than you’d like. Lastly, while Enchanted Crystal Arrow is a global skill and would technically work with a Hawkshot combo across the map, it’s quite different in practice, since it just moves in a straight line compared to the Wild Rift version. For that reason, it’s a lot more effective in mid range compared to long range, particularly to initiate the fight when a group of enemy champions are bunched up together.
3. Bard
We all choose champions based on what we want. Most times, you’ll have to adjust to your team to figure out a strategy on how to win. Bard is a champion you choose if you’re playing to win and have trust in your teammates. However, in the worst case scenario, Bard and his attacks become very painful in the late game, especially for squishier champions. Yes, Bard leans more heavily toward the utility side of the support champion spectrum, but he still packs a punch.
Like some of the champions here, Bard can infinitely scale by collecting meeps. Meeps basically just empower his attacks and encourage him to roam as much as staying in lane. With the ability to bring allies through potentially long stretches of terrain, leave healing points all across the map (you could also leave it for your jungle on your way back to lane), either set up enemy teams for ganks or save allies and turrets with Tempered Fate, or simply smack and root enemies with Cosmic Binding and basic attacks empowered with meeps, Bard is an excellent addition to this list.
4. Thresh
Being one of the premier champion picks for support by default, Thresh definitely earns a spot on this list. By collecting souls, he actually gains armor and AP, which makes him excellent at even dueling enemy AD carries later on in the game. While your ADC tends to build for physical damage, you will be scaling toward magic damage, which means your opponents won’t always be prepared for it. Unlike Senna, however, Thresh isn’t bound by avoiding minion kills. What this means is that he can actually kill minions without worrying about if souls will drop or not, as they definitely will.
With a load of CC under his belt as well, he is excellent at initiating fights with Death Sentence, pulling allies towards him when they need a quick escape, pushing or pulling enemies toward key positions, or simply protecting allies and discouraging enemies from entering or escaping with The Box, he can do a lot with minimal items. While he does start with below average armor, he can become a force to be reckoned with in the later stages of the game, all without hindering your carry from farming. On top of being strong himself, he actually does a great job of keeping the carries safe from champions with ridiculous gap closers like Lee Sin, Master Yi, and Jarvan with his Flay. If you’ve got your timing down and activate it just right, you can even cancel dashes towards you.
5. Azir
Seeing Azir might be surprising to some people, but let me tell you, he can be a very effective support who can dish out damage too. He is packed with CC and is relatively mobile. He is excellent at defending towers and protecting his allies. For pushing, his passive Shurima’s Legacy allows him and his allies to siege tier 3 turrets effectively, as the enemy minion waves will have a tough time pushing it down. In lane, Arise! acts as a great poking skill, and can be used simply to zone out opponents.
Conquering Sands and Emperors Divide can each provide CC, with the latter being particularly useful for peeling or protecting allies. Shifting Sands allows him to reposition or make a quick escape. While Azir isn’t as item independent as the other, more traditional supports, all he really needs is attack speed and some AP, as his utility and passive alone make him a solid pick. When you add how fast he can jab at opponents with his sand soldiers, he can be an excellent marksman support.
6. Kayle
While she does start off with range that is akin to a melee champion, Kayle has more than enough spammable pokes to tide her over until Divine Ascent fully blossoms and grants her all the goodies she needs to scale into the late game. Leveling up causes her to gain movement and attack speed, range, and a fire effect from her attacks. While Starfire Spellblade and Radiant Blast will primarily be her tools for poking in the early game, Celestial Blessing and Divine Judgment provide much needed utility for her ADC.
This also allows Kayle to be useful while her passive is still building up. All she really needs is some mana and attack speed. Once the late game comes, she can transition to be a powerhouse herself, again, mostly due to her passive skill. Divine Judgment in particular can be amazing on key allies. You can either use it on a squishy glass cannon carry who is in the thick of things, your kamikaze tank who prefers to be a meat shield for your team, or simply someone who got caught off-position who needs to be saved.
7. Renata Glasc
Okay okay, before anyone bursts a vein, there are a couple of reasons why she makes it on this list. While she doesn’t focus primarily on her basic attacks like a typical marksman, she does in fact have a gun… so she definitely counts. Jokes aside, the sheer amount of utility she has under her belt with the hands of a skilled player can wreck teams. Her passive skill Leverage also encourages you to actually go in and attack opponents once in a while instead of just hanging back behind minions passively. Her skills are all very useful in a way, and she gets a small power spike every time she unlocks a new one, the most notable of which comes at level 6 when she gains access to Hostile Takeover.
Most champions on this list allow them to scale into the late game and essentially be a consistent damage dealer when you pass the 30-40 minute mark, and while Renata Glasc doesn’t scale as well, her utility throughout the game that displaces opponents, shields allies while poking enemies, the ability to resurrect allies, and basically wreck whole teams with her ultimate makes her worthy of being on this list. In fact, Hostile Takeover is particularly painful for enemies who depend on a carry primarily focused on auto attacks. I’d like to see the enemy Vayne and Tryndamere smack each other while we’re defending our last turret. What a site to behold.
Have a look at our list of the best mid lane bullies in LoL.
(5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
Loading…