Shaco Support Part 2 - The Build

Greetings Summoners,

Yesterday, I began a post on the reasons why I believe that Shaco is a legitimate support champion. I described his ability kit, and how it can be utilized as a support, but I ran out of time (read: got distracted by game invites, hahaha) before I could touch on how to build Shaco as a support.

In retrospect, making a second post makes sense since the first got a little long in length, and was more objective, where the build is more context-sensitive, and more about personal preference.

So, without further hesitation, here is Part 2 of the Shaco support post!

Runes

I have to admit: I don't give a terrible amount of thought to my runes and masteries. Most of my pages were setup years ago, following exactly the advice of a particular champion spotlight. Most have never been updated, and get stretched a little (or, a lot!) to cover new champions and roles.

That said, here is what I run for runes on my support Shaco:

Pretty usual support runes. A good support should be mildly gold-starved, giving everything possible to the ADC, and hence the Gold-per-10 Quintessences are necessary. They just make it easier to keep pace in the Gold and XP race. (Hey, I rhymed!)

Apart from that, some flat Attack Damage marks, Armor seals, and Magic Resist marks makes a support a little more capable, and a little more durable, in a general sense.

(To drive home the fact that I don't think about runes often, I'll point out that I have this rune page named, 'Nami' - WTF?!?)

Masteries

My masteries for support Shaco are a little more appropriate. Have a look:

0/8/22 Masteries. I build support Shaco with 3 priorities in mind:

1. Mobility
2. Durability
3. Utility

With any luck, my masteries should reflect these priorities. I have movement speed, defensive stat boosts, gold, mana regeneration, and cooldown reduction masteries. 

Remembering these priorities, let's move on to:

The Item Build

To start, I will typically purchase (using the Wealth mastery to afford it all)

• Relic Shield
• Stealth Ward (x2)
• Sweeping Lens

The only situation that I can imagine that I would want to deviate from this is if I knew that I would be facing stealthed opponents. In that case, I may want to consider a Vision Ward in place of the Stealth Wards. However, I have not run into this situation yet. I prefer Relic Shield to either a Spellthief's Edge or Ancient Coin for the added durability that comes with the HP boost, and utility (and gold!) that comes with the heal on using a Spoils Of War stack.

My early-to-mid game priorities are:

• Targon's Brace
• Boots Of Speed -> Boots Of Mobility + Furor Enchantment
• Sightstone -> Ruby Sightstone
• Oracle's Lens

These items are what I would identify as my "core" support item set. Targon's Embrace extends and enhances the durability of the Relic Shield with more HP, and its utility (and gold!) with 1 more Spoils Of War stack at max, and a halved charge time. The boots are essential for Shaco's mobility. There may be some arguments to be made for and/or against Boots Of Mobility (for example, the flat movement speed boost from Boots Of Swiftness may be preferable, and I may experiment with that), but I am certain that I want the Furor Enchantment on my boots. With this, once Shaco gets in close, he STAYS in close. The Sightstone should be obvious, as the bulk of warding still falls to the support, and not to mention the HP boosts. Oracle's Lens can sometimes be postphoned, but for ambitiously ward-warring summoners like myself, or when facing stealthed or trap-setting opponents, it can become a must. 

Mid-to-late game items are situation-specific, but I'll list some favourites here:

• Zeke's Herald
• Frozen Heart
• Spirit Visage
• Frozen Mallet
• Randuin's Omen
• Locket Of The Iron Solari

Did you notice a theme to the items? HP and Cooldown Reduction! Cooldown reduction is the key to optimizing a champion's utility. Maxed out CDR lets you place more Jack-In-The-Boxes, lets you Deceive and Hallucinate more often, and returns your passive slow to Two-Shiv Poison faster after using its active. Apart from that, the items and order in which you buy them are game-specific. If I'm winning, I will lean towards the (mildly) offensive stats of Zeke's Herald, or Frozen Mallet, or while losing, towards defensive stats, prioritizing armor or magic resist based on the composition of the enemy team.

One last thing I'll mention is that I will rarely keep my gold-item (in Shaco's case, the Relic Shield, or Targon's Brace) in my completed build, opting instead for purchasing another top-tier item once I have accumulated the gold. The only exception is Talisman Of Ascension on supports and teams that need a speed boost. However, I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Please leave a comment. Thanks for following.