Would you guys be so kind as to describe what your off-meta pick best brings to the support role?
I'd like you guys to share what you know for your pick's: 1: body-guarding ability 2: engages/disengages/peels 3: buffs 4: cc 5: procs 6: waveclear 7: adc-synergy 8: champions they counter 9: who they're countered by 10: a favourite strategy
It's easy to find such information for pure supports, but not the odder picks. Thanks a bunch!
Grimspeake3 votesTeemo support. Plus 3% hp damage every few seconds when i auto or q the enemy adc. Plus blind outranges adcs autos and makes them miss cs or lose trades. Strong early game means good poke. Bad if they focus u and blow u up or ur adc is scared. Best played with aggressive adcs against anyone other then hard engage supports. Janna might be bad if they are good too
Edit: also dont play it against draven. Im pretty sure his axes still hit. Just camp bush for passive atk speed bush and to scare the other bot lane. Mushroom river to counter ganks. Who needs sightstone when their jungler will end up gankin and giving free doubles cuz mushrooms put him at half hp. Teemo sucks if u fall behind tho
xxxDogmanxxx2 votes
Support:
EDIT: Bonus --- Why Pick Xin Zhao Support? Xin Zhao brings a higher kill presence to the lane than more traditional supports, and since he is a bruiser, can kill secure without wasting the kill's benefits.
LiveYiOrDieHard2 votesAP 
Good poke Makes your ADCs poke stronger Good all-ins Really good tower pushing
No burst unless really fed No hard CC (for courage of the broken) Screwed over if caught in ranged CC
Risk of Fate2 votes
Support
Hard CC True Damage Passive Healing Works with aggressive ADCs Level 6 Roams
Heavy Mana Usage Short Ability Ranges Extremely Skill-Based Requires some "maintenance" (such as trying to keep passive up, so I'm usually q'ing the wave every so often)
L Psy Kongroo2 votes
Support
15% damage reduction on the enemy ADC, great for in-lane trading Decent poke with Q spam %Armor reduction on E helps ADC shred through tanks Slows with W active, helps ADC kite/chase Ult is great vs. pesky assassins and divers; instant suppression totally nullifies burst, also helps catch enemies that are out of position
Mana hungry in the early game Minimal damage mid-late game unless you forgo "support" items Scales poorly without money Short auto-attack range makes him vulnerable to ADC such as Cait and Jinx No shields or healing for the ADC, utility is purely combat-based
Duke Anax1 votesActually I think Urgot can even kite those two as long as he got mana.
Maximum Morde1 votesMy favorite off meta supports greatest strength is the ability to inspire nuclear levels of rage in my team mates.
Zach Sandwhich1 votes
: everything
: Good poke, engage, disengage.
IA9hRfpP5q1 votes
support + 
Handy Sandy 1 votes
supp
full damage, take cs
win game
Shuyin1781 votesMy Leona's ability to 1v1 Draven.
Duke Anax1 votes is often overlooked because everyone thinks he is weak without stacks. It's true he doesn't do much damage, but his kit is more than just stacks.
His Wither is a stronger Exhaust with a lot less cooldown, so you are free to pick another summoner like 
for 
. May even save you the sightstone. And it's so strong it's alsmot a hard CC.
He can remove a lot of armor, to increase ADC damage.
And his ult meshes well with Tank and Support items.
Stephenizgod1 votes
Support
+
Q + Relic's means you can set up graves with out taking CS.
W locks down the enemy carry and forces them to either take free poke or auto attack the wall instead.
W also allows your ADC a better shot at landing their abilities, such as Cait traps, Ashe arrow, MF ult, Lucian ult, etc.
W can also be used to engage or disengage
He has a 30% 2 second long range slow that can hit multiple people
He has %Hp damage
He has built in sustain with his Q + Relics
His ult allows you to 3v2 fairly easily
Can easily push a wave and take turrets by himself
Can become a legitimate damage threat mid to late game
-
He has no mobility
Delayed skillshot reliant
Fairly weak to ranged poke
Mana can get scarce if you use W and E a lot
If you don't control your Mist Walkers properly you will end up hard pushing
He doesn't offer sustain or tank for the ADC
If you catch him out, he won't be able to escape easily.
Reliant on items.
Ravenhale1 votesMy most played supports in order are Leona, Morgana, Lux, Annie, Soraka and Janna.
I think Annie is the only one that is an obvious off-meta support. Some might say Lux is, but I play Lux as a mix of Morgana/Janna. Since both of those are easily recognized as viable supports, I don't think I require explaining the strengths and weaknesses of a Lux Support.
Annie is a very pocket pick. Situation has to be right for me to go with her.
Body guard Ability - Depends on the intelligence of your opponent. She can stun one opponent at early levels, but won't prevent a Pre 6 All in. It's actually quite garbage. Synergy best with an ADC that can farm safely or has decent escapes.
Engages/Disengage/Peel - Devastating Level 6 Engage against other AP and/or Utility Mage Supports. Good Level 6 Disengage against Tank Engage Supports. Honestly, after level 6, this is what you brought Annie for. I regard her as a pocket pick to negate Divers and Assassins. I want the enemy Diver to have to prioritize me for any glimmer of hope of being useful that game. Think of it in terms of how the Soraka pick changes priorities.
Buffs - None. I've been hoping forever that Riot would allow Annie to place her Sunfire Cape spell on an ally. It's good defensive stats and has amusing synergy with Rylai (which is pretty core on Annie Support).
CC - You have to buy it. Your Stun will not be enough for the game. I always pick up Rylai and sometimes pick up IBG if I feel like subjecting the enemy team to a tank version of Annie.
Procs - Depends on your laning opponent. Annie can technically zone a skittish ADC from getting their CS, but that should not be happening pre 6. I've ran Thief on her if up against a Tank Support, since that's free gold. A lot of Utility supports are weak at harass, so Thief is good there. Almost all AP mages will bully you hard pre 6, so Coin is smarter.
Waveclear - Depends on how much damage you are building. But don't. Seriously don't. That should not be why you picked Annie. If the enemy teams sees you clearing a wave, they know they can go ham on your team without fear of your disengage. Tank versions of Annie can pick up ZRot Portal if the team desperately needs wave management.
ADC Synergy - Since Annie should be useless pre 6, it will be mostly long range ADC like Caitlyn/Ashe or others that have peel and escapes like Ezreal/Lucian/Graves/Tristana/Jinx/Quinn/Vayne. The thing is, you can't really bully your lane since Annie has nothing pre 6. That one stun will not stop a Yi running at you from river if you have overextended. It really won't stop anything. So when I say long range, I'm meaning an ADC that can farm safely instead of their usual bully tactics.
Champions they counter - Annie tends to be my answer for Janna/Soraka lanes. I also purposely pocket pick her when I see something like Yi, Katarina, Xin Zhao or Wukong. Basically divers that have the habit of charging into a team with a legitimate chance of pulling off a 1v5. I pick Annie with the explicit purpose of stopping that.
Countered By - Pretty much every AP Support Mage Pre 6. While Annie is lethal at level 6, it's a grueling struggle to get to that point when facing off against a Sona, Karma, Brand, [insert entire AP Support Mage roster here].
Favorite Strategy - I like to have Annie with a sweeper hiding in an unwarded bush near her team. It seems like every game I pocket pick her, the Diver in question thinks it safe to jump on my team. I've actually landed a 4 man Tibbers stun against a team lead by an Ekko that thought they could win a 4v3 mid lane but failed to remember the Annie. They will remember the Annie. Also, being in charge of the vision game puts Annie in a lot of Over the Wall Tibber Stun opportunities. Protobelt Tibbers a three man waiting in a warded bush. Oh the joys of being Low ELO where half the players think vision is unimportant.
Tuplamela1 votes
1: body-guarding ability
Not the best, but arguably better than say, Brand.
2: engages/disengages/peels
See above, stun is pretty easy to proc to disengage or to engage. E+R is the ultimate engage tool.
3: buffs
None.
4: cc
Stuns... with ult, stuns for days.
5: procs
Stuns. :P
6: waveclear
Pretty decent with E+W
7: adc-synergy
Anyone who benefits from stuns. 
comes to mind. Honorable mention to 
8: champions they counter
Suprisingly good into Leona. You can stun their adc when Leona goes ham on yours. Decent into Morg due to long CD on her E. Then again, most AP supports have decent lane into Morg.
9: who they're countered by
Thresh can E your E, feelsbadman. Good Janna will blow you away. Nami can heal and poke back.
10: a favourite strategy
+
into full initiate tool
