For those of us able to watch this year's League of Legends World Championship, we know how effective Morgana can be as a support. Time and time again, good support players saved teammates from imminent destruction by well placed snares and shields. So how do you support Morgana to her fullest?
The key thing to remember when playing Morgana as a support is that she doesn't need a lot of AP to do significant amounts of damage or to disrupt the other team. Instead, focus on getting support items that buff your team or debuff the opponents', such as Eye of the Watchers or Rylai's Crystal Scepter, providing additional survival or harassment mechanics for your team.
There are tons of guides out there on how to build the items for Morgana. The key thing most of them agree on is that Zhonya's Hourglass is core to her build. And as one top-ranked player put it, "A must have item for Morgana. It simply works too well with your ultimate not to get it." Morgana has one of the nastier ults in the game, but similar to Nunu's ult, her Soul Shackles ("R" key) can easily be interrupted. Casting Soul Shackles and then activating Zhonya's means your opponents only have the options to run or get stunned since Zhonya's invulnerability keeps you safe. Most other items are situational, but I strongly recommend Eye of the Watcher's early on. Another Platinum player (highest rank in LoL) put Eye of the Watcher as part of his core build on her as well. The official item stats are below.
"+200 Health
+25 Ability Power
+2 Gold per 10 seconds
+150% Base Mana Regen
UNIQUE Passive - Tribute: Spells and basic attacks against champions or buildings deal 15 additional damage and grant 15 Gold. This can occur up to 3 times every 30 seconds.
UNIQUE Active - Warding: Consumes a charge to place a Stealth Ward that reveals the surrounding area for 150 seconds. Holds up to 4 charges which refill upon visiting the shop."
Coupled with the Stealth Totem trinket, this item should provide you with enough wards to protect your team for several minutes with standard surveillance. Additionally, should you be moving towards an objective (Dragon, Baron) or invading the enemy jungle, even if you've already used some wards, having five or six in your inventory means you won't run out of vision placement at a crucial moment.
Early in the game, focus on zoning out the opposition. Depending on the match-up, any of the three basic abilities can be useful. I usually go with Dark Binding (the snare) right of the bat, as it combines both defensive and offensive magic well. If your opponents decide to push hard and try to steal a buff, the snare can either help your team get away if outnumbered, or make the opponents pay hard for early aggro. The exception I take is when I'm up against a Thresh or Blitzcrank, and then Black Shield can keep my team from getting pulled and killed early game.
My favorite ability, though, is Tormented Soil. It's an AOE with great damage (including % health damage) that has superb range. When coupled with Spellthief's Edge, I'm never at a loss for gold while still constantly damaging the enemy's carry or support. Each tick of damage from Tormented Soil counts as a spell hit for Spellthief, and you can often get two or three ticks per cast. Since the recharge time of Spellthief is 30 seconds, by focusing on using Tormented Soil mainly when there's a charge, I've not had any problems with mana, allowing me to maintain the threat of both Morgana's Dark Binding and Black Shield at all times.
For purposes of vision, focus on the standard three points early game. Grab a vision (pink) ward early on to place in the triple bush right behind your turret. This will prevent the enemies jungler from tower diving as easily. The second spot, and the one you will probably be able to ward first, is the bush in the river right by the lane. It's usually safe to wait until about the three or four minute mark before warding it, as that's usually how long it takes the standard jungler to do a double buff. Be sure to let your lane mate know what you are doing so they don't freak out. At 6 minutes, or just before, put a ward on Dragon. A fourth option that you may need to take is warding the bushes on the bottom of the lane. Lots of supports with stuns or grabs like to hide there.
While I've been criticized occasionally for my choice, I run Teleport and Flash as my Summoner spells. Flash is an obvious choice for closing gaps; critical for a snare support. Teleport allows me to constantly be in lane supporting my ADC (attack damage carry) and covering them when they get items or health. It also sometimes lets me jump across the map for a surprise attack on top or mid lane. Not only that, but because I'm constantly in lane during the laning phase, my gold income is significantly higher than otherwise, something all supports tend to struggle with.
For more information on Morgana, visit the official League of Legends website or Mobafire.
Check out this video (not mine) of another explanation of Morgana's abilities.
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