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Thresh players, which item?

The Chain Warder·8/17/2017, 3:08:46 AM·2 votes·490 views

Hi folks, I wanted to ask for people's opinions on which starting item to take as support Thresh. Obviously, Spellthief's Edge is probably out of the question (though I threw it in the poll just for the fun of it, and maybe you see something in it that I didn't consider).

Which do you think is better, Relic Shield or Ancient Coin start, and why? I have some thoughts on it, but I'm still torn.

Relic Shield

Pros:

  • It makes you fairly tanky, especially with the upgraded Targon's Brace.
  • It provides health sustain to both you and your ally.
  • Assuming you know how to manage your stacks and E passive, it provides a decent gold income.

Cons:

  • Aggressive laning opponents may zone you from the wave, making it difficult to last hit.
  • If a lane is rather action-packed, you may find yourself out of mana.
  • You miss out on opportunities to poke enemy champions with your auto attacks because you are holding on to the E passive to get that precious siege minion.
  • Some ADCs may not let you last hit, either because they don't trust you, or because they're playing Draven, who has really strong auto attacks and whose passive demands that he constantly auto attack.

Ancient Coin

Pros:

  • This item yields, as I've been told, the highest gold income.
  • It provides mana sustain
  • The upgraded Nomad's Medallion gives your allies a movement speed bonus.

Cons:

  • As with Relic Shield, aggressive laning opponents may zone you from your coins.
  • Falling below half health means you and your ally will probably have to recall or wait at turret because your health sustain is minimal.

So, after careful consideration, I've noted more cons with the Relic Shield, but I still prefer it overall. Maybe that's just because I've gotten really used to it, and I feel like I don't get poked out of lane as much when I take it. However, I do find myself running out of mana quite often. I think the starting item is probably situational, but I still haven't figured out which situations merit which starting item.

Your thoughts?

2 Comments

FantasySniper8/17/2017, 5:03:11 AM2 votes

Besides for what you've stated, Ancient Coin also has the early CDR. It's also considerably more synergistic considering you want to be able to focus on hook/harass opportunities. However, getting zoned from the wave is also a problem because that's where the coins come from, and while the mana sustain is a nice bonus, Thresh of all picks isn't that reliant on it and you'll probably pick up Redemption or something with a Frozen Shroud later on anyways.

I would pick up Shield whenever you need that sustain in lane, and Coin for when you plan on snowballing. Which is to say that you'll pick up Shield as a default, but Coin when you feel more confident in the matchup or your lane partner.