So supports in this game...

There are two types of things I don't think Riot has a good handle on balancing in this game: low counter-play kits and ap supports. However, this thread's on the latter, not the former. If the post seems long, which they usually will be, just skip down to the last paragraph.

Basically, when I think of ap supports, they're either really weak in that role, mid laners taken there until the gimmick runs its course, or absolutely (used to be) frustrating beyond belief to deal with. The only ap supports that are pretty well designed and balanced that I can name are Morgana and Bard, and Bard's an extremely difficult champ to master due to how easy it is to be non-influential in a fight (or even self-destructing).

Now let's look at tank support options to contrast. Their roles in the game are easier to balance. They pack play-making potential without running people over with huge damage (unless you built Lich Blitz). They take a good bit of damage, but can't afford to be as tanky as your standard front-liner. Each one's niche, from Braum's shield to Alistar's combos, is separated decently well, so you can differentiate when you'd want one or the other (save maybe Leona, who's having a hard time justifying the utilization of her hook over anyone else's since it throws her into the brunt of a fight face-first). Some champs (like Leona and Blitz) could be reworked to be more polished for the role (neither were initially designed for it iirc), but if I were to imagine a LoL with nothing but tanky support options, I think we'd have content in the role as a whole, given what I know now.

Then we look at ap mages. Those guys where if you hover someone that isn't Janna in champ select, your team bans it. Meanwhile, Janna's the highest win rate champ in the WHOLE GAME, on a TWENTY PERCENT PLAY RATE. Quite literally the only thing more blatantly ridiculous than Ezreal and Lucian eating up almost all of bot lane by themselves. Put simply, the give and take between picking a squishier, more vulnerable ap support and a bulkier tank support isn't clear. Honestly, I'd say there isn't one as far as "what a support should do" goes. Break down what supports want to do:

• Peel
• Engage/Follow-up engage
• Roam lanes
• Save
• Ward
• Remove wards
• Not die
• Only kill confirm if they have to

I'm not saying ap supports can't do these things to some degree of success. I'm saying that tanks do very well at crucial ones for advanced play (like roaming, not dying, and engaging/follow-up engage) while doing "well enough" at other ones to generally be better, healthier picks over ap supports without having crazy balancing issues like Janna (for being stupidly strong in general) and Lulu (cause she's just straight up solo-laning now), save, once again, Morgana and Bard.

So the main point of this thread is to ask: What exactly ARE ap support options supposed to do better than tank support options? If it's peel, then why are champs like Nami/Bard gated by comparatively difficult skill shots? Why do champs like Karma and Sona have lousy peeling options (extremely delayed snare and a long cd ult)? If it's engage, why do most ap support options lack strong engage tools like tank supports? If it's not dying, why are they squishy? If it's warding and removing wards...why are they squishy and why do some lack decent peeling options? You could say "they have sustained harass", but sustained harass doesn't have similar potency or threat in comparison to a nasty all-in or two. Poking someone down steadily with Karma doesn't compare to landing a solid pull or stun and wailing on a helpless character, who now has to worry about escaping after being freed from immobility. Outside of that, what else is there? Tank supports have a clear set of things they can be expected to do well, but ap support options don't exactly have something that adds up to that where it counts as supports on average. If they do, they tend to be really fucking broken .