Suggestion: A Zeke's Harbinger for non-casters.

So, last year (or 2 years ago?), I wrote this post about support itemization and how it could be made more effective. Now, I understand that Riots still want to make Sightstone lackluster and strictly vision related because supports shouldn't have fun it's more healthy balance-wise. And honestly, I have pretty much accepted that. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of this last season could be used to ponder upon the experience of least favorite role of the game (as confirmed by the fact the matchmaking rewards you for playing support by granting you one of your favored role the next game), and perhaps, maybe, in the spirit of corroborating the bloody struggle we each face, propose to further broaden the options of the role, lending much needed succor. Bear in mind, this post will be quite long, since I'll try to explain why I think this item is needed, how it should be balanced, and possibly answer question on why it should be this way that should arise.

Riot is already testing an item that is supposed to let marksmen heal their support, or whover buys the Knight's Vow (90% tank supports, 10% tank junglers...if they feel generous). However, there is still one aspect under tanks are seriously lacking, and that's doubling down on an advantage.

With AP Supports you can build AP, and increase the damage dealt as well as healing and shielding. With tanks, you are bound to Locket+FoTM. Each game. Every game.

It's not even that those items are so good, it's just that, with the limited gold you have, and the horrible scalings that are inherent to Tank Supports (Meet Braum, the Mustache of the Frejlord with a whooping 2.5% max health ratio on Q and 0.4 Ap ratio on the ultimate), you can't do anything else that building health and hoping to last longer. But I ask you: Is a support not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man playing Ashe says, 'It belongs to the Locket.' 'No!' says the man in the AP Role says, 'It belongs to the Abyssal Scepter.' 'No!' says the man in the jungle, 'It belongs to vision wards.' I... rejected those answers, instead, I chose something different. I chose, the imposible... I chose... ... ...
Now, this would be the part where I choose something different than what they are suggesting, but, unfortunately, the only available options are picking Zeke's Harbinger, which on most tanks is a terrible choice due to the fact you have nothing to gain from critical strikes and AP, or go for bruiser items like Titanic Hydra, or Deadman Plate, that cost a lost since they are meant for bruisers. Now, I'm not saying that the Zeke's Harbinger is a bad item. It's used quite often by supports who can benefit from the extra 20% AP such as Bard, or Nami, Janna, even Thresh (AP from his passive), since it helps their shields and spells, while also greatly increasing the linked champion damage.
However, on champions such Leona, or Braum, or Tahm Kench, you don't really want neither critical or AP.

What you actually want when you are winning lane and have a gold lead, is a way to drive those LP home taking advantage of your presence, and innate durability.
Of course, there is the option to just build health, armor and mr and rely on the marksman you fed to do your job, but it always leave that tinge of disappointment when you have a massive lead over your enemy laners and nothing to show for it.

Now, with Knight's Vow it seems that developers are trying to push synergies, but it's still a defensive option: melee tanks sorely lack a way to meaningful translate their solid performance through items. And with the removal of health and cdr from many items in the preseason, this will become worse. So, let's finally give this item a placeholder name and a placehorder form. Since we have a Knight's Vow, let's call this item, focused on establishing a stronger synergized presence of both Marksman and Tank a name. Let's call it Oath of the Rakkors. For now, let's give it some form.

---

             **Oath of the Rakkor**   

Recipe: Glacial Shroud+Dagger+Longsword+450 gold Total cost:2100 gold Stats: 25 armor
250 mana 15 Attack Damage 15% Attack Speed
UNIQUE Active: Oath: Swear allegiance to a champion, granting 5+1xLevel% of your attack damage, and gaining the Rakkor's Assault effect while you within 1000 units range of each other. Only one istance of this item can be active at any time. (120 seconds cooldown, the effect only starts 15 seconds after the allegiance is sworn). UNIQUE Passive: Rakkor's Assault: Attacking an enemy champion will mark him with one stack of Focused Assault. Further attacks from you or the linked ally will add a stack of Focused Assault. At 5 stacks, the mark triggers, granting you 30% movement speed that decays over 2 seconds and 35+2xLevel% attack Speed and 35+2xlevel Attack Damage for 8 seconds. 30 seconds internal cooldown, reduced by 1 second for each stack of Rakkor's Assault placed while the item is on cooldown.

Of course, name, stats, and details are all pawns in the domain of the placeholder gods. What matters now is the purpose, the direction. Look at the target, not the arrow, to see what I'm aiming at.
Now, this item only doesn't do much to increase your survivability, but it shouldn't do, since it's an item meant for offense, just like Zeke's Harbinger. However, unlike Zeke's Harbing, it trades the relative safety of being able to stack the item from minions and the huge lategame 50% Critical strike chance spike for a more daring, more focused assault on enemy champions. It would be really dangerous to rush this as a first item as even durable champions like Leona or Braum will have trouble without bonus health, and 5 stacks are hard to get in early trades due to low attack speed, both on the tank and the lane marksman. On top of that, the build path is not that accomodating for supports, requiring 2 offensive items.
But that's also part of how the item is supposed to play: when a marksman, or bruisers, decides to buy a Mercurial Scimitar, they are trading their offense for defence, and purchasing a Null Magic Mantle that doesn't really help them waiting to complete the item, or at least the Quicksilver Sash. Conversely, as a tank you'll have to stray from the beaten path to purchase offense, offense that will have no immediate payoff, but that will greatly reward you once the item is complete. With this item, the message you are giving to your enemies is clear: don't step on me. Your main purpose is still the same: you disable enemies, keep them away from your allies, and act badass while doing it, but on top of that now enemies will be punished for staying too close to you for too long. If an assassins is spending too much time near you because your cc is already on cooldown, and your mark is procced in the meantime, you'll be able to actually autoattack him, instead of flipping wet noodles at him even when Braum has a biceps thicker than Jhin whole's Torso.
Another advantage of the fact that stacks need to reach 5 on the same target is that is clear when you are going to proc the Assault, letting enemy play around it, knowing when to opt out of the fight. Much like, for example, what happens when an enemy with Zhonya attempts a risky dive: you know he's going to go in stasis, so you move accordingly, knowing that the enemy team might also be waiting for you to position around the golden statue to attack.
Unlike Sunfire Cape and Thornmail, this item could be balanced around the reliance on teammates, and not being always in effect. You can have a powerful active because the stats aren't that useful. On top of that, Junglers would have a hard time trying to exploit it as there is a 15 second windows between the activation of the passive and when it starts to have effect.

As a support, one of my favorite is Tahm kench, along with Thresh and Braum, simply because their passive on-hit damage at least allow me to not wander around like an headless chicken when my spells are on cooldown, as basic attacks are also effective in doing at least something (Passive stacks for Braum and Tahm, Thresh has bonus damage from souls). Being able to capitalize on the presence of these champions when ahead is something that would greatly boost the role popularity. Because, let's be honest here, most champions, once fed, can circumvent their natural gameplay and brute force their way through the enemy tactics. Not being able to do that as a support and rely more on your team is what it's keeping these role backs.
Even with items like these, a final build with Locket, Boots, Rakkor, Knight's Vow and Face of the Mountain (First item sightstone ofc) wouldn't be as effective as a dedicated solo laner, BUT it would still make their presence more felt, even outside of their trademark ability such as Unbreakable and Solar Eclipse.