Explore the world of support and discover the top picks for Patch 14.8! This guide will help you improve your gameplay by showcasing the most impactful supports in solo queue. You will learn about their essential builds, best runes, and who to ban. So, without further ado, let’s dive in and explore the 3 best supports for Patch 14.8!
3. Blitzcrank
Taking home the third solo carry spot for the Support role this 14.8 patch is going to be Blitzcrank. Blitzcrank is quite strong right now for similar reasons to Pyke, as he loves feasting on the more squishy enchanters that have come back in the meta. Landing a hook on a champ like Janna, Sona, or Nami is almost always going to be more rewarding than hitting a Malphite, as bursting them out is so much easier.
Core Build 1: Solstice Sleigh, Trailblazer, Locket of the Iron Solari
Core Build 2: Celestial Opposition, Trailblazer, Locket of the Iron Solari
Core Build 3: Bloodsong, Trailblazer, Locket of the Iron Solari
You’ve got lots of options for the support item upgrade on Blitz. Solstice Sleigh, Celestial Opposition, and Bloodsong are all viable. Against a bursty comp, Celestial is good value. When you are snowballing early on, Solstice Sleigh is great. And if you end up being the one who picks up all the kills early on, Bloodsong amplifies your damage threat. Trailblazer is always going to be the rush item for Blitz, and Locket of the Iron Solari is generally the best second.
Runes
For the rune page, you should be running Glacial Augment with Hex Flash, Biscuits, and Cosmic Insight. Nimbus Cloak and Celerity are the best secondaries.
Recommended Ban: Ezreal or Braum
Melee supports and ADCs who have gap closers or who can be more difficult for Blitz to succeed against, so you can’t go wrong with using your ban on Braum or Ezreal.
2. Pyke
A great Solo Carry selection for Patch 14.8 is Pyke. With a lot of squishy ranged supports seeing a lot more play right now, it allows for good Pyke players to thrive in this meta. Earlier in the season, it was really hard for Pyke to fit in just because Maokai was such a hard counter, but now that Maokai is pretty absent from meta, it’s been great for Pyke’s viability.
Core Build: Celestial Opposition or Bloodsong, Umbral Glaive, Youmuu’s Ghostblade
The recent Nerfs to Bloodsong didn’t hurt Pyke at all, and he’s got great versatility when it comes down to his support item upgrade. Bloodsong and Celestial Opposition are both very strong on Pyke right now, so you can adapt very well to each game.
Against comps that have a lot of burst damage, the damage reduction from Celestial Opposition works well to nullify their strength when you’re diving into fights. If you are against a comp with more consistent DPS though and you’re not worried about getting one-shot, Bloodsong is the play. Umbral Glaive is always the best first core item for Pyke, while Edge of Night and Ghostblade can be interchanged as the second item.
Runes
The best Rune page for Pyke consists of Hail of Blades with Cheap Shot, Zombie Ward, and Relentless Hunter, followed by Bone Plating and Unflinching for secondaries.
Recommended Ban: Janna
Supports that have reliable disengaged strength are who you can run into some issues with when playing Pyke, so banning out Janna is a good idea.
1. Janna
With the way the ADC meta is aligned right now, it doesn’t take much skill at all to lock in Janna and pile up the wins. Jinx being the most played ADC in meta gives Janna a ton of value right now as you just get Jinx to two items and begin taking over midgame team fights often in Solo queue. Heavy melee dive comps will be drafted, and it gives Janna so much power as she shuts down those kinds of Champs super hard since Janna has such great peel strength.
Core Build: Dream Maker or Zaz’Zak’s Realmspike, Imperial Mandate, Shurelya’s Battlesong
For Janna’s support item upgrade, Realm Spike and Dream Maker are on very equal footing now as a result of the 14.7 Realm Spike Nerfs. If your ADC gets ahead early on and you’re confident in their ability to carry, then going Dream Maker is the play. However, if you are the one who gets all the kills or if you don’t feel your ADC is very competent, just go Realm Spike so you have more damage yourself.
Imperial Mandate should be your rush item in every single game, while Shurelya’s Battlesong slots in second.
Runes
For the Rune page, Aery is outperforming Comet by about 2% in Solo queue right now. However, both Keystone runes are viable options for Janna.
Recommended Ban: Blitzcrank
The way to beat her is by finding catch plays from range, and therefore Blitzcrank is a good ban if you intend on playing Janna.
