Picking to Help Your AD

Picking a champion in League of Legends can be much more daunting than you first think. While many of us have comfort picks or know our matchups, picking for support can be more difficult then picking for other roles. Playing for a lane means that you pick for your team and to counter your lane opponent. However, when picking for a Support, you have to take into consideration what works for your team, what works for your AD in lane and, to top it off, what counters the enemy lane and the enemy team. The decision is made more difficult due to the fact that there are four champs to manage in lane, and if you put yourself in a bad spot from Champion Select, not only do you risk putting yourself behind, but also putting behind your AD as well. Hopefully this guide will give a few insights, hints and tips into picking supports that can benefit ADs in ways that some people may not have considered. 

To make this guide more accessible it will only cover a few ADCs and look at them in terms of two groups, high mobility and low mobility. While all ADs play different and each player will perform in a number of different ways, there are some similar rules that are useful to follow. To keep this guide condensed I will not go over every single ADC and support pick, this guide is meant to give a general overview of why certain picks would work, it's then up to you as a player to decide what works for you!

Picking for High Mobility

The ADCs in this group are focused on heavy snowballing and late game potential. In general, this consists of Vayne, Tristana, Lucian and Draven, or any AD that snowballs out of control if they get ahead. When picking for these ADs, the best advice to give is to take something that will keep them alive. Any champ that helps them stay alive and keep up with CS in the laning phase linked with the ability to peel and keep them alive in the late game and mid game teamfights are perfect for these champs. As such, Janna, Soraka, Lulu, Sona and Nami are generally the best. Shields, heals and disengage potential leads to keeping these hypercarries alive, and when those fifty minute, late game teamfights break out, your AD will thank their lucky stars that you picked a champ that saves them all from all their troubles. 

Janna is a good pick for any team. Being around for a long time has made her a staple of the bot lane and she will most likely never be unpopular. Her kit is useful for all ADs, but more so for these hypercarries. Janna is one of the best champions for keeping people alive and, as such, keeping a high damage dealing AD alive in teamfights is fantastic. Soraka is in a similar vein as Janna. Her heals are beyond amazing and they pretty much give your team a second life if used right in teamfights. Likewise, they work well keeping your ADs alive in the laning phase and the teamfight stage. With her surprisingly strong utility. Soraka makes for a fantastic pick for those who prefer to keep your team fighting then keeping the enemy at a distance.

Lulu, Sona and Nami all fill a similar roll of being poke and sustain oriented. Lulu offers more utility to keep you ADs alive, which generally is better if you have a late game team. Her ult combined with the utility offered from her W and E can ensure that your hypercarries stay alive for longer. As such, I generally prefer Lulu over the other two options, as she offers a brilliant blend of both utility, damage and peel potential. Sona and Nami offer a similar role, however, these two tend to trade late game peel for early game advantages. Having a late game oriented ADC can lead to a somewhat boring or difficult early game. Sona and Nami are the answer to this, and I would recommend these options if you prefer a more aggressive, control-centric playstyle when you lane. Personally, however, these two picks can be fickle, and playing them from behind can be more difficult than their counterparts. Even from behind, Soraka will heal well and Janna will be great at disengage, but Sona and Nami are difficult to come back from, which not only harms you, but harms your AD as well. 

Picking for Low Mobility

Some of the safest ADs are good at dealing damage, and often are granted the gift of a large Auto Attack (AA) range. However, they often lack in Mobility, so picking a Support that can keep these AD's safe is important to ensure victory. These ADs consist of champions such as Jinx, Caitlyn, Sivir, Jhin and Varus. While these ADs are capable of doing a lot of damage and carrying games, if you are unable to keep them safe, no lead you can attain matters, as their lack of mobility will allow them to be caught out in the teamfight stage. Fighter ADs like Lucian can manage to keep themselves alive, but the lack of mobility from these champs means that peel potential is more important than ever. The main go-to supports here would be Braum, Alistar, Janna, Tahm Kench or even Thresh. 

While the caster supports that were previously mentioned are capable of being good picks here, it's best to take this time to talk about other supports, namely the tanks. While casters can do the job for these ADCs, picking tanks will help not only keep your ADCs alive, but they will soak up the damage and enable you to give your ADs the lead they need to carry the game. Firstly, Braum and Alistar are the top picks for that defensive tank that is needed, but they also offer a lot in terms of offensive play. Alistar's knock-up and Braum's knock-up are some of the most powerful CCs in the game. Mixed with their natural tankiness, granted by Alistar's Unbreakable Will (R), and Braum's stats from his W, this allows these champs to make the most of defensive and offensive play. Tahm Kench also fills this role, while having the superb ability to remove CC from these immobile ADs. However, he is not the strongest pick right now for good reason, so it's best to play something more like Thresh. Thresh is able to fulfill that offensive/defensive roll that Braum and Alistar have, while still being capable of peeling effectively. It is easy to argue that Thresh has some of the best peel potential in the game, but this is only capable of being performed to its greatest potential by someone who is skilled at this type of play. 

Overall, peel potential is the most important in this type of pick. Getting your AD ahead is important, but even a 10/0 Cait can get picked off, leading to lost teamfights. While peeling is often important, it is the utmost importance when dealing with these picks. There are two final notes to take away from this as well. The first is that there is a large amount of overlapping in these sections. Sometimes your team is in need of a tank and despite your desire to play Janna, sometimes you have to buckle up and pick that Alistar that they want. Picking for your AD is important, but picking for the team is always just as important. The second tip is that you should always, one hundred percent of the time, pick what you are comfortable on. It's always better to play what you feel comfortable on as playing ranked and attempting to climb requires a good mental attitude, which is more important than mechanics. Playing a comfort pick is always the number one priority. 

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