The beginner's guide to weird-ass supports.

So, you want to play what we politely refer to as an "off-meta" support pick, do you? Seen the pros pulling out Miss Fortune and Malzahar and Camille in the LCS/LCK/wherever and thought "hell, I can do that too!" have you? Well you can! And I can help!

So, to get started straight away, you need to know which champions can and cannot be played as supports. Not EVERY champion can be played as a support- if you lock in support Master Yi or support Tryndamere, you should be all rights be banned for trolling. So the thing to look for in an off-meta support is, what do they bring to the team that justifies picking them? The main things you need are utility, specifically a utility unique to your pick.

There are a number of champions who bring utterly unique functions to the team. Several of them are even supports: Bard has practically cross-map lockdown which can even shut down a turret or put an ally into stasis to save them from even something like Requiem with his ult, and he can grant his entire team the ability to traverse solid walls with Magical Journey; Thresh's Dark Passage can save ANYONE who's out of position from a long way away; Tahm Kench's Devour doesn't have Thresh's range, but can save anyone from almost anything, plus his ult gives both him AND an ally semi-global movement, allowing for devastating cross-map ganks. So what are some other champions that bring unique functionalities to your team, enough that you can answer the question "why would you pick [champion] as support?" with "because it lets us fit a [champion] onto the team"? Well for example, before he was reworked, my favourite support champion was Shen, which I played relentlessly long before the buffs that actually made the pros play him competitively (yes, I literally did play Shen support before it was cool). He brought ranged harass AND manaless sustain with his Q and multi-target CC with his E, which were both brilliant, but the most important thing he had was his ultimate. Shen support would have been a good pick almost SOLELY because it allowed you to get Stand United onto your team. Sadly, the reworked Shen is such a garbage fire as a support that he's simply no longer viable (losing both his harass AND his sustain completely killed him) but pre-rework he was still a good example of what you're looking for in an off-meta support. So what are some others? Note that all of these are tried and tested by me personally (although how much that means may vary):

1. Jarvan IV. J4 brings a lot of damage to a lane, as well as a surprising amount of tank. He's comparable to a Braum or Leona, only with much higher solo damage thanks to Martial Cadence. While his E has been considerably nerfed compared to what it once was, it still gives a considerable AS boost to any nearby teammates and Q gives a useful %-based AR shred, while the multi-man knock-ups you can get from E>Q are as devastating as an Alistar E>Q combo or a good Shen Shadow Dash. What you're REALLY here for, though, is Cataclysm. Terrain creation is a devastatingly powerful ability if you're good with it and in the mid- to late-game a single good Cataclysm can basically win you a teamfight. Of course, a BAD Cataclysm can just as easily LOSE you a teamfight, but that has nothing to do with what position J4 is playing, so just be good. Max E (you want its cooldown to be as close to Q's as possible so you can combo as often as possible, since you don't need to spam Q to farm, plus the mana cost of E doesn't increase with ranks) and use it to poke in lane, then look for the opportunity to go in when you see a kill chance. J4 is actually tanky enough to just E>Q in, whack the opponent with his passive, pop W, then saunter out again after having traded very positively. In a long game after you have a few support/tank items you can even invest in a single good luxury damage item like a Black Cleaver.

2. Anivia. A very high-skill choice but one of my classics, although the recent changes to her ult hurt her a LOT. Anivia loses a lot of her power without the kind of AP she gets in the midlane, but still has the long-ranged potentially AoE stuns and zone controlling area slows from her Q and R. The most powerful advantage she has is, again, Crystallize. I use Anivia as a counterpick against champions who really HATE terrain suddenly appearing in front of or behind them at the worst possible moment- champions like jungle Udyr or Olaf who take Ghost instead of Flash ("Imma gank you bitc-DAMN it!!") or immobile ADCs who can't dash through walls, who get to choose between Flashing and dying. She can be played as either a harass support like the kind who are popular now by maxing her E first, or as a utility support by maxing Q for shorter CDs and longer stun duration. The biggest issue she faces is mana consumption, but selection of the right support items can help negate this. Finally, her passive is MUCH more powerful in a duo lane- getting egged in a solo lane often just means the enemy mid needs to spend a few extra seconds and mana finishing her off, but if the enemy bring her down in the support role, they need to try and finish her while her lane partner is still defending her. If nothing else, she'll buy her ADC a lot more time to retreat- unless the ADC dies first, it's VERY hard to guarantee a double kill on a bottom lane with an Anivia support.

3. Urgot. This may sound like the ultimate troll pick, but consider Urgot for a second (ugly bugger, isn't he?). Why have people EVER picked Urgot? Because he's a DEVASTATING lane bully, particularly at low levels with minimal items. But what are Urgot's issues? Well, his kit is badly jumbled (his Hyper-Kinetic Position Reverser is a terrible skill for a carry) and he scales awfully into the late-game (particularly for sieging turrets because of his short AA range), making him a poor choice for the team's primary carry. So... why not put him into the bot lane as a support instead, so he can focus all his attention on killing the hell out of his lane opponents and leave his ADC to worry about the farm? Brilliant! Support Urgot is difficult to play, but makes the most of Urgot's strengths- he's surprisingly tanky for a marksman thanks to his W, he can put out apocalyptic amounts of damage against squishy targets if he hits with his E, he can both shred AR with E and reduce enemy damage with his passive, and his R is a devastating initiation. Again, the issue is mana (since you won't be leading with Muramana), but Eye of the Watchers goes quite some way towards negating this. Frozen Heart has always been considered a good choice on Urgot, and you should probably get a Black Cleaver so one Corrosive Charge can melt almost half an enemy champion's AR- in my last Urgot support game we had a teamfight go really bad after a nasty ult from the fully tank-built Malphite top, who tried to chase me down as I retreated, but I kited him across about 1/3 of the map, wearing him down and almost killing him before he gave up when he realised I was almost under my turret and he was about to die. Between the massive Acid Hunter harass, stat shredding from his passive and E and initiation potential from his ult, Urgot offers a lot to a team who isn't requiring him to carry.

4. Caitlyn. "Oh come on now!" I hear you cry, "Now you MUST be trolling!" Why must I? MF is currently one of the most popular support picks in pro-LoL based entirely on the lane harass from her E and passive and late-game AoE damage of her ult, so clearly there's nothing fundamentally wrong with playing a straight ADC as a support. Cait isn't quite as brutal as Urgot in lane, but her massive AA range means she still brings an EVIL amount of harass once she doesn't have to distract herself by last-hitting (and make it very easy to proc Spellthief's Edge for extra damage and gold). Caitlyn's Yordle Snap Traps are just as effective for sieging and zone control regardless of whether she's stacking full AD or not and throwing 5 of them down in lane can make your opponent's life a living hell, so you obviously max it first. The Net also makes her quite safe by support standards (most of which don't have any kind of dash unless it's a dash in like Leona's Zenith Blade or Alistar's Headbutt). Even without the full AD build an ADC Caitlyn would have, she still brings a considerable amount of extra turret pushing power to a team. Possibly the deadliest lane partner for Caitlyn is Jhin- the double sniper pair can prove a MASSIVE threat at range, especially with 2 sets of traps and Jhin's ability to root anyone who's taken damage from a teammate with Deadly Flourish. Captive Audience into Deadly Flourish into Yordle Snap Trap into Headshot is almost a guaranteed kill, especially once both of them hit 6 and add Curtain Call and Ace in the Hole. Late-game you can afford a couple of damage items (Black Cleaver or Mortal Reminder are good picks) and make Cait into a sort of off-carry (kind of like an off-tank, if anyone still remembers that old term). She won't be getting pentakills, but she will be contributing a LOT of extra damage and zone control.

5. Teemo. I promise, I'm STILL not trolling. The question with off-meta supports is always "what do they bring to a team that another champion wouldn't simply do better?" and in Teemo's case the answer is "SHROOMS!" Support Teemo is ALL about getting max CDR and shrooming up as much of the map as possible. NOTHING is more maddening to a player than stepping on a Teemo shroom, except stepping on multiple Teemo shrooms. Admittedly this makes Teemo support kind of a late-game pick, which runs contrary to the whole idea of a support, but he can still do solid work in the early game too. With the two long, unbroken brushes in the bottom lane (unlike the top lane brush, which was divided into three several years ago) and the buffs which allow him to move while stealthed as long as he stays in brush, his passive can actually get a bit of use in bot. Blinding Dart has quite long range and is a targeted damage skill which can really mess up the enemy ADC's last hitting. Unfortunately, Toxic Shot does not apply spell effects so one AA isn't enough to discharge all uses of Spellthief's Edge the way support Brand's passive is, but he should still be able to harass very effectively. As soon as Teemo hits 6, you should be able to gank-proof bottom lane with judicious usage of Shrooms, as well as put one in the mouth of dragon pit. Once the laning phase is over, it's your job as support to provide vision on the map, so why not leave exploding toxic vision everywhere while you're doing it? Just run around shrooming everything and soon the Global Taunt will kick in, and the entire enemy team will bend all their efforts to not only killing a mere Teemo, but a mere support Teemo. Of course, it's worth remembering that Teemo radically loses effectiveness the higher you go in rank, as players become better equipped to deal with the shrooms, and picking him into something like a Leona lane is a mug's game (although Move Quick gives him pretty good odds of evading Zenith Blade and Solar Flare), but can be a lot of fun against weaker opponents and the strategic edge you rack up over time as the enemy step on more and more shrooms at inopportune moments can contribute a LOT towards victory.

Other unexpected champions I've had success supporting with include Kayle (heal, invulnerability and moderately good damage), Vi (some of the best engage in the game), Pantheon (Spear Shot harass and mandrop stuns), Orianna (shields, AA harass from passive, AoE speed boosts/slows and that massive disrupting ult) and Kennen (big AoE stuns and Q harass). Some others I still haven't gotten around to trying yet include Twisted Fate (stuns and dat map control ult) and Lissandra (so much CC) although not all my ideas have turned out great (Heim support was a bit of a bust).

However there's more to playing a support that just picking a champ, buying a support starter item and not taking CS. There are a number of things you must keep in mind when playing an off-meta support:

1. DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU'RE STILL THE SUPPORT! No matter how much damage your champ does with a few items, no matter how well you're doing in lane, you are still the team's support. You MUST get Sightstone and Sweeping Lens into Oracle Alteration because SOMEONE has to. This is not a matter of opinion; if you don't buy Sightstone and Sweeper you're a shit support player. Yes, even in bronze. If you pick a Lux and just go straight AP then you're not a support at all, you're just a really shit solo lane Lux. On a support budget, even with the gold from Spellthief's Edge or Relic Shield, a support mage or bruiser is only as effective as a solo lane mage or bruiser who's been getting the everloving shit kicked out of them for 10+ minutes- you're several levels behind the actual solo laners because you're not getting solo lane experience and you're several thousand gold behind them because you're not getting farm (at least you shouldn't be). So stop pretending you're an actual mage or bruiser and remember that you're a SUPPORT. Vision matters- both placing it and denying it. I don't care if you're only playing in bronze, vision STILL matters. What, does the enemy team suddenly stop moving around the map except straight up and down the lanes just because you're in bronze? Does it somehow cease to matter where the enemy players are, just because this is bronze? Buy a fucking Sightstone, it only costs 800g for fuck's sake. And get a Sweeper and USE it! And get Control Wards while you're at it (though admittedly you should buy Control Wards in EVERY role)!

2. Don't pick off-meta supports that don't bring anything unique to a team. You know what my most-hated "off-meta support" is? Nidalee. Especially since the rework that made her more solo-oriented (removing the AR/MR shred from her traps in favour of adding the Hunted mechanics) Nidalee is simply a terrible support. What does she bring to a lane that makes her a useful support? Ranged poke, some vision control from the Bushwhacks, a heal with an AS boost, some all-in potentially. What is she LACKING? Any kind of CC at all, for either lockdown OR peel. If all you want is ranged harass and healing, you're better off with Sona- as well as having those, Sona also bring teamwide MS boosts and a massive AoE stun (and Sona really isn't even very good at the moment). Unlike, say, Anivia, Teemo or Urgot, a support Nidalee brings nothing to a team that other champions don't do better- she needs the capability to roam and control the jungle that makes her an effective jungler, plus the extra gold she needs to become a late-game poke/all-in threat. Lux is another mediocre pick- she has a long-ranged root, some harass, and a shield, but nothing truly unique that makes her better than the likes of Morgana and is really only picked by would-be "supports" who want to just go straight AP and pretend they're a midlaner by "securing" all the kills. One of the worst "supports" I EVER saw was a Sejuani support- idea is sound in theory with the Q knockup and AoE R stun, but in practice that's no different from, say, a Leona or Alistar (or Amumu!) support and anyway, he was a feeding moron who "rushed" a 25-minute Rod of Ages and provided less vision than Blind Pew.

3. ** Do NOT pick champions who require huge amounts of gold to do their thing, even if their thing is unique, or champions that mess up the lane.** AoE skills that hit the minions while you're trying to harass with them are, in general, a bad idea. Karthus support may sound like a fun idea, but then you realise that his raw damage without items is piss-poor. While Requiem is a devastating and unique ult ("Hit EVERYONE! EVERYWHERE!") without midlane levels of AP you won't do shit, his Q harass is more likely to mess the lane up for your ADC by hitting enemy minions, Defile is utterly USELESS for a support, and Wall of Pain isn't nearly worth it on its own. Bad idea. Renekton may seem like an interesting idea for his devastating bully potential, but Renekton relies on constantly hitting minions to build up Fury for aggressive trades, and he really can't survive constant combat in the bottom lane, particularly against a ranged opponent like a marksman, so all you're going to do is screw up the lane for your ADC.

4. Remember to play to the strengths of your pick. If you pick Teemo support, you're not going to be going for the on-hit build to pump people full of poison darts while using shrooms to wave clear and secure your split push, you're a trapmaster and you're here for map control- if you're NOT shrooming up the entire map until the enemy is tearing their hair out and thirsting for your delicious furry flesh, you're not doing your job right and might as well have picked... well, any other damaging lane support (like Malzahar or Zyra). If you pick J4 or Vi support then you're here for initiation, not DPS. Pantheon should be looking for mandrops at any opportunity. Caitlyn and Urgot should harass harass harass until their lane partner, the actual marksman, has a MASSIVE lead over their counterpart.

5. ** Even if these picks are legit and not trolling, remember this gets less effective the higher you go.** These picks are off-meta for a reason. Remember than anything that can be proven truly effective WILL be played in LoL (Trundle support?), so if something isn't being played, it's probably not really that effective. It's extremely rare that you'll be the first person ever to have an idea, so somebody higher-ranked than you will have already considered your idea and discarded it in favour of Zyra or Thresh or Braum again (or in the current meta, Malzahar or Miss Fortune). Surprise will often be your biggest advantage (people just don't respect the amount of damage my J4 support puts out in lane, which is why I'm still undefeated on him) but the higher tier you play in, the better people will be able to adapt. And if something just plain isn't working, don't persevere. Try something else before you end up embarrassing yourself.

OK, that should be enough to get you started! Support may be the most thankless role in all of LoL, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun in it. With a little thought, a little creativity and a little practice, you may wind up playing the next OP LCS pick even before the pros do (although to be honest that'll probably only happen when Riot buff a champion you were playing support, making it a competitively viable pick after, like what happened with my Shen support in 2015). Good luck and have fun!