Thresh is arguably the most fun support champion in League of Legends. And ever since he was added to the game, thousands of players have enjoyed playing Thresh daily. Also, if you’re a fan of thresh and a collector. Then you should check out this link.
But did you know that Thresh has a very strong off-meta mid lane build too?
Playing AP Thresh is immeasurably fun. This build allows you to do insane amounts of damage with all of Thresh’s ability, especially his ultimate – The Box.
With ability power items, Thresh’s E – Flay and auto-attacks get enhanced too, so he can torment his enemies with chains left and right.
I’m a huge fan of AP Thresh and I love how the build transforms the power of this champion. But if you don’t know how to play AP Thresh yourself, this post will help you out.
Here I’ll talk about how Thresh’s damage works in LoL as well as which runes and items you need for playing AP Thresh successfully this season.
That said, let’s jump into the guide!
Is Thresh AP or AD in League of Legends?
Thresh is an AP champion in League of Legends. All of his damaging abilities are categorized as magic damage and have AP ratios. On top of that, Thresh’s passive – Damnation grants him 1 ability power per soul collected.
And so, Thresh can either build as a support tank or go for a full AP build.
Even though Thresh is an AP champion in LoL, most players don’t actually build AP items on him. That’s because Thresh is a support and he’s expected to buy items that protect his ADC.
However, ability power items allow you to take full advantage of the magic damage in Thresh’s kit. This champion has an amazing set of abilities with lots of crowd control and damage potential.
So, AP Thresh is a great way to unleash this champ’s full potential.
But, there’s one more thing you need to know.
Despite being an AP/support champion, some players also play Thresh as an ADC and build him full AD. This is because Thresh’s E – Flay has a very high AD ratio (200% if you have enough souls) and that makes his auto-attacks deadly.
This off-meta ADC build for Thresh is also very fun. And if you like the playstyle, you can totally go for it!
However, I personally love AP Thresh more and I’d recommend sticking to it if you’re a mid laner. AP Thresh works well in all roles, especially mid. And AD Thresh often performs better in the top lane.
But you can try both builds in your primary roles and see how they work for you!
Read Also: ADC Soraka Build Guide
Does AP Thresh Mid Work?
AP Thresh mid can be a great playstyle if you want to have fun. It’s not the most powerful pick nor build you can go for, but landing chains that take almost 50% of your target’s health definitely beat the risk.
And if you enjoy playing the champ, you can definitely make AP Thresh mid lane work.
Thresh can help you counter a couple of difficult champions in the mid lane.
For example, AP Thresh can work great against Talon, Galio, and Akali. All of these champions are melee and need to jump on Thresh in order to do damage.
But Thresh can use this to pull them towards his turret or Flay them in that direction. He can also put them in The Box for more damage.
But if you’re aware of Thresh’s strengths and weaknesses, you’ll be able to play him against nearly anyone. Yasuo’s Wind Wall might give you trouble, but you can play around that.
And lastly, building Thresh AP doesn’t really isn’t really OP. Yes, you’ll do lots of damage and everything, but you can’t carry as well as Ahri or Viktor. However, you’ll definitely have more fun than with them!
Read Also: AP Gragas Build Guide
AP Thresh Build – Runes
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Transcendence
- Scorch
Dark Harvest
Dark Harvest is one of the best keystones in League of Legends overall. It allows for insane late game scaling, especially if you’ve been pretty aggressive during the early and mid game.
With Dark Harvest, you can collect your opponents’ souls when they’re on low health. Each soul increases your damage the next time they’re on low HP and this effect has no cap.
The great thing about Dark Harvest is that the damage is adaptive. And in this case, the Dark Harvest hit will do bonus magic damage because you have AP items.
So, it’s a great keystone to have on Thresh
Cheap Shot
Cheap Shot is another rune you’ll definitely need on AP Thresh. As I already mentioned above, Thresh has an abundance of CC in his kit. And Cheap Shot allows him to deal bonus true damage to enemies that are crowd controlled.
This rune has only 4 seconds cooldown and it’s a great way to increase your overall damage throughout the game.
Read Also: Full AP Alistar Build Guide
Eyeball Collection
Eyeball Collection is here to increase your ability power in the early and mid game. It does so by giving you 2 AP per eyeball stack and an eyeball stack per champion takedown.
In other words, the better KDA you have early the faster you’ll get the ability power. And when it’s fully stacked, Eyeball Collection amounts to 30 bonus AP.
Ultimate Hunter
Ultimate Hunter is a great way to take advantage of Thresh’s ultimate ability. I mentioned above that this is his hardest-hitting spell and has a 100% AP ratio. And because of this, you want it available as often as possible.
With Ultimate Hunter, Thresh’s R will have a pretty short cooldown. But it all depends on bounty stacks which you collect through champions takedowns. So, don’t hesitate to get aggressive and start scaling!
Read Also: AD Leona Bruiser Build Guide
Transcendence
Transcendence is one of the best secondary runes you can pick for AP Thresh. Besides the 10 bonus ability power it gives you by level 8, the rune also helps reset your basic abilities (Q, W, E).
When you score a champion takedown, Transcendence resets 20% of the remaining cooldown of your basic abilities. And in team fights, you can use your chains and flays much more often due to this mechanic.
So, you definitely need Transcendence!
Scorch
Scorch is the final rune you need to take for AP Thresh. You mostly pick it for the early game and the synergy it has with your core items – Liandry’s Anguish and Demonic Embrace.
Like these items, Scorch also applies a DoT that burns enemies when you damage them. It can help you do more damage early on and secure more champion takedowns.
Read Also: Full AP Sona Build Guide
AP Thresh Build – Items
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
- Liandry’s Anguish
- Demonic Embrace
- Lich Bane
- Shadowflame
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
Sorcerer’s Shoes
The boots choice for AP Thresh in the mid lane will always be Sorcerer’s Shoes. These ones give you the necessary movement speed for the rest of the game as well as bonus magic penetration.
Because of the mythic item choice, magic penetration is an important stat for Thresh. You need as much of it as you can get, especially if the enemy team is pretty tanky.
So, Sorcerer’s Shoes are a natural choice here.
Read Also: Full AP Nautilus Build Guide
Liandry’s Anguish
Liandry’s Anguish is the best mythic item you can get on Thresh damage-wise. Besides the obvious benefits of ability power, ability haste, and mana, Liandry’s Anguish also lets you burn your enemies through your abilities.
The additional burn damage from Liandry’s scales with your ability power and your target’s bonus Health. And because of that, it stays a powerful purchase throughout the game.
Demonic Embrace
Demonic Embrace is a similar item to Liandry’s Anguish in the sense that it is another burn item in League of Legends. And instead of mana, it grants bonus health.
Just like the mythic item above, Demonic Embrace does more damage to tankier enemy champions. And because of that, it’s one of the best items to counter tanks in League.
Read Also: AP Senna Build Guide
Lich Bane
Lich Bane is one of the most fitting items for AP Thresh but you don’t always need to purchase it. Because this build focuses on draining the enemy and not one-shotting them, Lich Bane isn’t really a must-have item.
However, Lich Bane can allow you to deal so much more damage with Thresh’s auto-attacks. It empowers them after you use an ability, so you should totally try it out for yourself.
Shadowflame
On the other hand, Shadowflame, is a must-have item on Thresh, especially if you’re going for the double burn setup of Liandry’s Anguish and Demonic Embrace.
What Shadowflame does is that it increases your magic penetration against enemies with lots of health and shields which makes your burns do more damage overall.
Because of this, Shaodwflame is a great item for countering shields and tanks in LoL.
Read Also: AP Lee Sin Support Build Guide
Rabadon’s Deathcap
Rabadon’s Deathcap is the most powerful ability power item in the game. It grants the highest amount of bonus AP (120) and it even increases all of your AP by 35%.
Rabadon’s Deathcap is an investment in the late game but it totally worth it because of how much bonus damage it gives you.
Situational and Optional Items for AP Thresh
AP Thresh can be played with many different items.
For example, if you don’t like the general idea of burn items, you can always switch to Hextech Rocketbelt. It will give you a dash so you land your Qs and Es easier and also bigger burst.
Similarly, Everfrost can help you CC your targets for longer.
Items like Banshee’s Veil and Zhonya’s Hourglass are great defensive options, so build them accordingly.
Read Also: How Does Thresh’s Lantern (W) Work in LoL?
Skill Order and Summoner’s Spells for AP Thresh
When it comes to skill order, AP Thresh is really simple. You first want to max out your Q and your E second. Thresh’s Death Sentence can actually do lots of damage, especially if you hit it consistently.
Here’s the complete skill order for AP Thresh, level by level:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | |||||||||||||
| W | W | W | W | W | |||||||||||||
| E | E | E | E | E | |||||||||||||
| R | R | R |
For Summoner’s Spells, you also got a couple of options.
- Flash + Ignite – the strongest combo for 1v1 in lane.
- Flash + Exhaust – works very well against assassins.
- Flash + Teleport – allows you to help out your team and is generally a safe option.
Read Also: AP Braum Build Guide
Conclusion
Players often fall in love with AP Thresh the first time they try this build. It’s such a fun way to play the game and torment your opponents that I recommend everyone to give it a shot.
Just copy my runes and items you see above and you’re good to go!
That said, I hope my guide helped you in your quest to learn AP Thresh. Good luck and have fun, my friend!
