1. Support – in Powerpoint FormBy
Spellsy

2. Introduction
Support is a simple role, but it has many nuances and is the foundation for the team.
Since the support does not farm in lane, it gives them more freedom to position in lane to harass, ward, and zone because they are not locked into staying near the creeps.
Supports are somewhat less traditionally impactful on the game. Meaning that support players have to be very disciplined and consistent to not make mistakes, because its hard to “come back” from those mistakes.
Supports are often blamed, but keep your head up, and look at it as constructive! ☺

3. Different Support Play Styles
Direct impact supports – Better for lower level play
Win lanes by making kills and CS gaps
Win team fights with Skills/Items
Indirect impact supports – Better for higher level play
Impact the game more through vision control
Saves teammates rather than makes kills
These play styles are character independent. Some characters suit certain play styles better (ex: Leona – Direct, Soraka – Indirect); however, they are definitely both viable on each support.
How is this relevant and how do I apply this ?
First I would figure out what you enjoy the best, because what you enjoy more you will be more likely to practice and get good at! :D. Then after that, I would tune your playstyle to exemplify this playstyle.
For example, when I first started playing support (after a bit of learning the basics and such), I started leaning more towards this “direct impact support”, especially when I was lower elo. I would take a few cs in lane (ones which the carries would miss, if you take a cs while their bullet is in the air they will get mad and it will be counter-productive), get a quicker gold item / aegis, and instead of standing in the back and protecting carries with monsoon/tornado in fights, I would try to get close in the battle, using my zephyr and tornado on their squishies, and disrupting the entire fight with monsoon, rather than protecting the carry with it!
This contrasts more with my current play which is more leaning at the indirect impact support, where I usually stand back and use vision control to try to determine the pace of the game, and protect carries rather than try to net kills on their carries.
Something to note for the later slides, is the "direct impact support" suits toward the "Aegis rush" build!

4. Warding
When playing purple side, as the lane moves on in time the priority shifts. Earlier the lane ward (2/3) is more important, however, the longer it goes on the dragon area becomes more important (3/2), that’s why it shifts from 2→3 and 3→2 !

5. The "Spellsy" Ward
This ward is kind of a combination of a ward in both of the bushes. A great ward to protect bottom lane after the tower is down.
Good for when you are purple and you pushed the first tower early,and want to maintain control.

6. The Ninja Baron Ward
Nice counterplay vs Oracles, you can see them baron but they will not see the ward

7. Warding: Mid-Late game
Warding Objectives:
Keeping objectives such as dragon/baron and buffs warded is important; however, it is sometimes overhyped. Make sure that you are using your ward meaningfully. Ward baron if they can sneak a baron (ww, mundo, etc.), else ward ~around~ baron.
Adapt your warding to the pacing of the game.
If you are doing well, be aggressive with your wards. Ward their brush, ward past the objectives so you can retain control, ward their jungle and their lanes so you can try to create pick off kills.
Ward while retreating!
When you are chasing after someone or fighting and such, make sure when you are running away (after battle is over, or in the battle) to drop wards as you run away.
The “ward while retreating” is not a short term look at things, but instead it is for the long term. When you are retreating it means you are farther than you would be originally, and since you are babysat by your team, it is some of the safest warding you can do !

8. Oracles When should you get oracles? When should jungles get oracles?
I believe its counter-intuitive, but I think the best time for supports to get oracles is when the team is losing. If your team is losing, it is more risky to get oracles (easier dived/killed), but it brings more reward. Countering opponents’ offensive wards will stifle their aggression, and allow for a comeback (or force them to be aggressive with no vision coverage, thus leaving them susceptible to ganks)
Other than that, it is important to have an oracles when it gets to mid-late, around the time of objective battles (like around baron, or ~2-3 drag)
When should jungles get oracles?
Early when the team is winning (or in very very high level play, all the time). Getting oracles allows them to force objectives/ganks.
Note: while you may have seen at hanover the junglers always got the oracles, this doesn’t mean your solo queue or team queue should do the same. They play at a hyper-competitive level which makes it so play styles are different. Don’t always expect your jungler to get oracles for you! Take responsibility for yourself! :D
Also, often times people will ask you to get oracles incorrectly. For example, if they want to go do baron after getting a pick, or if they see someone drop a ward in front of them, they say in hindsight that you should get oracles – This does not always mean that oracles is a proper decision! Make sure to judge the situation effectively. If you are 550 g away from shurelyas, and a teamfight is going to occur soon, the gold is better spent on that than oracles, versus if there is a standoff or ward war going on, then oracles is the better way to spend the gold.

9. Laning! General Laning: How do I choose to be assertive?
Since you are not farming, make sure your positioning is meaningful – don’t just stand back lazily, always have purpose.
When you go warding make sure that not only you’re safe, but your carry is too! Also, try to leave when its least impactful.
How do I choose to be assertive?
Time your harass with creeps dying, forcing their AD to choose from retaliating your harass and missing a creep or getting the creep and giving you free harass.
When do I kill towers in lane?
Pushing the tower in a winning lane can be bad, because it gives them the chance to recover. So, if you can, kill the tower when you are either neutral (even) or losing!

10. Builds The one Core build: From there it branches:
Aegis of the Legion “Rush”
Core → Aegis → Shurelya's Reverie → Iron Solari
When to get?:
Doing ok, can get aegis before 22 min. (Normal lane duration)
Shurelya's Reverie “Rush”
Core → Kage’s Lucky Pick → Shurelya's Reverie → Locket of the Iron Solari
Doing poorly (just getting your HoG at 15 min), doing really good (3 gold per 10 in 12 min), or if the lane phase is going to be long.
Other:
Zekes – Good for late game support; Soul Shroud – Iffy.
Why are these two builds so polarized? Why cant I get shurelya’s then aegis?
Its because Aegis is a very time sensitive item – 8 dmg aura is great early, but not great late, so the only time to get aegis is as early as possible.
This separates it into two builds, one with 2 gold items and then aegis rush (because the 3rd gold item would just delay the aegis more), versus 3 gold items and then shurelyas (because you keep 2 gold items after philo gets turned into shurelyas)

11. Opening builds Starting Builds: VS 4 green wards opening:
I get this in most games these days, because it allows you to not only ward more early game, but when you go back for Philo stone you don’t have to buy wards and will still have 1- 2 left from start of game.
2 green 1 pink opening:
I get this if I’m going more aggressive early. This is more of a “direct impact support” opening. Allows for good bush control and possible gank openings.
Also good if the opponent is starting with a 1 ward build (ex: Alistar starting boots + 1 ward + 1 pot or something)
While there are other builds that CAN be optimal in certain situations, I have kind have left them out because they are too situational. Things like regrowth pendant + ward, boots ward 2 pots (or boots 2 wards), all ward opening, and other functions of the faerie charm start (like 1 mana pot, or faerie + 3 green + 2 hp pots + 1 mana pot) – I think this last one can be good if you are beginning or learning support, and getting down the positioning, but you should strive for a 1 hp pot opening instead after you get better at positioning.
ALSO – What about when you don’t get the gold mastery ?
I think this is kinda a solidified opening, which is faerie + 3 wards + 2 hp pots.

12. Support: When to pick?
Versatile laner, good if lacking CC and tankyness
Can work bot with kills, reliant on hooks + AD
Aggressive and Defensive, good kite and best protect
Highest dmg support, High kill potential at 6
Fun burst support, can win lanes then game!
Great early with anti- AS, great late with BB
Good poke, but more so ran with W max and ult focus
Great sustain, punishes low dmg comps
Reliable stun, burst, and survivability. All around laner
This kind of shows why to pick which support in which situation, in a general sense. Its meant to explain the uniqueness aspect or benefit of each individual support – for example, pick Janna in a comp which needs a lot of protection or kiting!

13. Lane Combinations : Has weak dmg in lane, but great range and kite.
– The kiting duo makes for a counter-aggressive lane
Counter: Vanye Soraka – Hard to punish farm lanes with Ashe.
: Has strong lane, with high range and sustained poke
– Super harass lane with Cait pressure and Sona Q
– Push/Pressure lane with Cait Q spam and safeness
Counter: Taric - High armor makes Cait’s low dmg irrelevant
: Has a bit of everything, poke, escape, trade.
– With her burst and his burst/poke, strong kill lane
– Strong harass, and kill potential at 6
Counter: MF lanes – Can force trades and abuse Corki’s range
The next few slides are kind of ment to go through as if it is a solo queue game. You can kind of be like “ok, our AD is corki, what goes well with that?” or “Ok, they have Caitlynn, what should I go?!”

14. Lane Combos - Continued
: Is similar to corki, with more burst and less sustained
– The shield with aggressiveness of Ez owns.
– Range on Ez’s Q synergizes with lux Q range! (and burst)
Counter: Taric or Alistar, high CC beats his slipperiness/poke
: Has high armor, high burst, low range
– The level 6 combo is scary, and high burst 1-3
– Armor on Armor makes high pressure unkillable lane
Counter: Janna or Soraka, Graves punishes aggressive supports
: Has great late game, and safe early game
– Kog can abuse BB not only late, but also early
– Can protect Kog’s range gap late game with ult
Counter: Cait can punish his short natural range

15. Lane Combos – Continued
: Does a TON of dmg in lane, master of “trading”
– best trading support, MF best trading AD, simple.
– High damage AD + High CC lane = KILLS
Counters: People who can disrupt trades, Janna/Nunu/Taric
: Has a great aura ult, nice in AoE focused teams
– Stun + boomerang really strong harass, and double ult
– Tailwind + Ult = SPEED, good lane with shield + rang
Counters: Dueling carries/supports – Sivir excels in teamfights, so 1v1/2v2 focused carries beat her.
: High burst early, great late, SHIT mid
– Play up her biggest advantage, early burst
Counters: Anti-Kill lanes, Cait soraka, Janna Ashe

16. Lane Combos - Continued
: Great laning, serious poke, and great trading. Low dmg late
– Shielding with E-Q too good to pass up
– Can finish low opponents from poke
Counters: Farm, but not too weak, lanes such as Kog Nunu/Soraka
: Weak laning, great mid-late, lots of early dmg in ganks
– Needs that babysit early game. Even CS = win for you!
– Can babysit with e and w/q if frisky, or can be kill lane
Counters: Offensive lanes: MF, Cait + Aggressive supports.

17. Masteries There are 3-4 generalized sets of masteries I run:
Heavy Utility (21 or more in utility)
I use on passive ranged supports: Janna, Soraka, Sona W max
Medium Utility Medium Defense (14 in utility, most rest in def.)
I use on passive melee supports: Nunu, Taric (sometimes), Ali E max
Heavy Defense (21 or more in defense)
I use on aggressive melee supports: Leona, Taric, Ali
9/7/14
I use this if I want to run bursty support: Sona Q max, Lux
Make sure to adapt the masteries to YOUR play style. For example, if you like being aggressive with autos, get speed mastery instead of mana regen mastery – etc.
Most important thing is to think on your own, don’t get put into solid “xpecial does this so I should do this” mentality. Use guidelines and your noodle.

18. Runes
When Runing for support there’s 1 main thing you MUST have: ARMOR, whether it be in marks or seals - you need it!
Two Standard pages I would prepare would be:
Armor Marks; Gold Seals; Mana Reg/Level Glyphs; Gold Quints
MR Marks; Armor Seals; Mana Reg/Level Glyphs; Gold Quints
The first page is a more greedy page, you should run this if you can get away with it (ex: Farm lane bottom).
The second page is a more defensive heavy page, you should run this if you are going to be really aggressive in lane, or if they have a significantly scary team (Lee jungle, Cass mid, Leona MF bot – you know)