Riding the LP Wave with Nami

I picked up Nami in season 3 and immediately saw her worth, despite the fact that she saw little playtime in the LCS until season 4. Even now, although Nami has risen in popularity after being played by pros like Lustboy, she still is overshadowed by Braum, Thresh, and Morgana. With nearly 500 ranked Nami games played between season 3 and 4, I am going to tell you why Nami is one of the best supports in the game.

First, a basic overview of her abilities:

Her passive: Celerity- Any and all of Nami’s abilities, when cast on yourself or an allied champion, give a quick burst of movement speed.

Admittedly, the buff only provides 30 movement speed for 1.5 seconds, so it’s not very noticeable. However, spamming abilities on allied champs late game can mean the difference between getting away from a chase or being caught.

Q: Aqua Prism- Nami tosses a bubble onto a targeted area that deals magic damage upon landing and stuns enemy champions for up to 1.25 seconds. (COOLDOWN: 16/14.5/13/11.5/10)

In my experience, this ability is what makes Nami so valuable. During the lane phase, when coupled with an ADC like Jinx or Caitlyn’s traps, this bubble can ensure seemingly endless CC for your ADC to deal some serious damage. This bubble is excellent for zoning the enemy around dragon or Baron, or for keeping the enemy at bay when being chased.

A well-timed bubble on an incoming teleport can stop the enemy in their tracks and give your team extra time to respond accordingly. Finally, in team fights, prioritizing your bubble on a fed assassin can keep your ADC from being melted and give your team an opportunity to deal damage to whomever is the biggest threat.

W: Ebb and Flow- Nami casts a stream of water that bounces between enemy and allied champions. It can only bounce to each target once, hitting a maximum of 3 targets. Damage dealt/healing value is reduced 15% per bounce. When cast on an ally, Ebb and Flow heals and then bounces to nearby enemy champions, dealing magic damage. When cast on an enemy, magic damage is dealt and the ability bounces to an allied champion, healing them. (COOLDOWN: 9)

This ability, because it bounces so much, has a lot of potential. During the lane phase, this allows Nami to be very aggressive. Standing in the lane bushes and poking at the enemy with Ebb and Flow can deal significant damage while bouncing to heal Nami and keeping her at a safe level of HP.

If you encounter a close 1v1, healing your allied champion and dealing deflected magic damage to the enemy can easily win the fight. The range on this ability is quite significant, and bounce damage that is deflected off of an ally can finish off an enemy champ who is trying to escape with low HP.

E: Aqueous Empowerment- Allied champions deal bonus magic damage from autos and slow targets for 1 second. This buff on allies lasts for 5 seconds or until they have attacked 3 times. (COOLDOWN: 11)

Casting this ability on your ADC during lane phase can help them finish off the enemy, slowing their retreat and dealing extra magic damage on autos. This is especially effective on lane opponents who do not have an escape, like Sona. Don’t be afraid to cast this ability on yourself either, as long as you use all three procs. This slow is extremely valuable during any chase, and is a great way to assist a teammate in a 1v1. It is also an easy way to pick up an assist, since it is a targeted ability and cannot be missed.

R: Tidal Wave- Summons a tidal wave outward from Nami’s position. Provides a brief knock-up, slows, and deals magic damage. The slow duration increases based on how far the wave has traveled and can last for up to 4 seconds. (COOLDOWN: 140/120/100)

This wave travels very slowly and is easy to dodge, so it is best to use in a teamfight when the enemy team is clustered into a small area and cannot move out of range so easily. It is also very effective in cutting players off from escaping or disengaging from an unwanted teamfight. This ability makes Nami very strong when combined with champions like Yasuo who depend on knock-ups, or other champions with AoE damage.

How to build Nami:

Although it does not fit into item builder, I keep the Sweeper throughout mid and late game. It is crucial to rush Mikael’s Crucible because Nami’s abilities have high mana cost. I also prefer to take a strong AP item like Morellonomicon that provides mana regen and CDR while making Nami’s heals very strong late game.

Skill Prioritization

Nami’s heal is important for sustain during the lane phase, and it isn’t too important to max her E or Q early game. Therefore, I prioritize her W:

W-Q-E-W-W-R-W-E-W-E-R-E-Q-E-Q-R-Q-Q

 

Finally, runes and masteries:

For my runes, I run:

+ 7.83Magic Pen.
+ 8.53Armor
+ 72.00Health
+ 8.04Magic Resist
+ 2.24Mana Regen / 5

Masteries:

I run 0/9/21 masteries on Nami:

Closing thoughts:
Nami is vastly underrated and has the ability to turn teamfights around with her bubble, disengage with her wave, and provide great sustain in lane. Thank you for taking the time to read this guide, and I hope that you decide to give her a shot!