Which is a better support item? Frost Fang or Ancient Coin? I like what Frost Fang does but poking as a support(with basic attacks atleast) is not always possible. It can be difficult. So what I am wondering is which item would be better through out the span of the game?
-Krytex
I'd say it's champion dependent. Spelltheif's Edge is great for pokers, Ancient Coin is good for sustainers.
I haven't really tried super in-depth each item, but I've found that Ancient Coin (which I still call the Shurelya line...old habits die hard I suppose) is the most reliable, with nice health and mana regen and the active on Talisman(final build) is always useful for the whole team.
Frost fang line is ok on supports that have something attached to their autos (Sona or Lulu come to mind) and once you upgrade it, you get money for spells too. I just don't think it's as much at it seems...the gold you get from harass only goes off every 10 seconds, and in lane phase that can be a very long time. If you kill a minion it shuts off as well. You also don't get a ton of AP from it, you're probably better off buying Coin, then a better AP item later. And while the active on Frost Queen's whatever is ok, it just can't compare to Shurelya's.
TL;DR Frost Fang line is not terrible, but the other gold items are just better, more reliable options with better actives. Since you can only choose one, I tend to favor Ancient Coin on ranged supports that aren't Thresh.
^ I'm with him. Its champion and lane partner dependent. I always use spellthief with Sona, and I use ancient coin on most of the others. Leona and Mao get that other one though for me. I would say look at the play style of the champ you are using and think about what fits easiest.
I like to run 
on 
and other champs that poke often. I really think that the active on 
is amazing for helping peel for your ADC when they have an assassin or multiple which is pretty popular in this Meta.
I use 
on my tanky/initiation sort of supports like 
. As other people said the active on 
is irreplaceable due to the utility your team can use from the 40% more move speed.
I have gone to building the coin almost exclusively. My reasoning is this. The coins passive can be useful through out the game. As a support...whatever lane you end up supporting mid game you are getting gold. Clearing a tower covered with minions... Gold. Pushing mid we with your team...gold. Defending nexus in your base... Gold. The coin provides opportunities for gold at every phase of the game. The spell thief only really provides income during lane. Once the lane phase ends it becomes extremely dangerous to aggressively harass and poke an enemy champion. Even with wards and evasion its high risk low reward compared to the free gold the coin provides.
Second the active has far more utility. And can be used outside of combat range. Need to rush your team to start or stop a dragon attempt... Coin. Need to engage or disengage from a fight that hasn't started yet...coin. Rush your ADC back to lane to defend a tower...coin. The frost fang active requires a target and the mechanical skill to land it while in combat at the proper moment. The coin only requires proximity to your teammates.
Its just a more forgiving and more useful item all around in my opinion. I have yet to be able to poke as much gold as coin can grant me. Especially when you consider that you can still take the mastery poke passive with coin and claim 3 gold per hit anyways.
