If there’s one role in League of Legends where you can play anything you want, then that role is support. Any champion that can protect the AD carry or CC enemies for his team can also be a good support pick, no matter the meta.
And in this post, I will give you the 15 best exotic or off-meta supports in LoL!
All these picks are fun to play and are generally good at supporting. But keep in mind that you need to be at least familiar with their kits before trying to play them. Otherwise, you risk being flamed and reported for “trolling” even though I personally have climbed to Diamond with Predator Twisted Fate support.
That said, let’s jump into the 15 best exotic and off-meta picks in League of Legends as well as their runes and item builds!
Top 15 Best Off-Meta Supports in League of Legends (Exotic Picks)
15. Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger is a champion of many talents. He can summon turrets, deal burst damage, and stun multiple enemies at once. And all of these qualities make him a great off-meta support pick in LoL!
When you play Heimer as a support, you’re always looking to dominate your lane. You can put your turrets offensively to constantly poke your opponents and get them out of lane. They’re pretty handy for destroying enemy turrets fast too.
Heimerdinger is also a great counter to all junglers in the game. His turrets can really mess up the jungler’s ganks, so you can also protect your ADC this way. Heimer’s E is a reliable stun, especially when it’s empowered with R.
The one thing you need to be careful about here is that your turrets don’t mess up your ADC’s farm. But if you’re with a good player who doesn’t mind a faster playstyle, you’ll be alright!
The best ADCs for Heimerdinger support are aggressive marksmen such as Caitlyn, Draven, and Ezreal.
Runes
- Arcane Comet
- Manaflow Band
- Transcendence
- Scorch
- Perfect Timing
- Future’s Market
Items
- Liandry’s Anguish
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Morellonomicon
- Void Staff
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
Read Also: The 10 Best Champions without Skillshots
14. Sion
As a top laner, Sion mostly focuses on farming and split-pushing. But as a support, Sion can focus on setting up kills for his teammates and one-shotting the enemy turrets.
What makes Sion a great support is the fact that he is a tank that deals tons of damage. No kidding, Sion’s Q, E, and the zombie auto-attacks hurt a lot, especially in the early levels. He can effectively push his opponents out of lane and give advantages to his ADC.
But to make Sion even a bigger carry in the bot lane, you should go for the lethality Sion build. This playstyle also carries the name “Inting Sion”.
The idea here is that when you die, you literally assassinate the enemy ADC with your zombie form. With the Prowler’s Claw mythic item you can get in range for auto-attacks. And thanks to the lethality stat, you’ll delete any target in front of you.
Sion is really an obnoxious enemy in every match, no matter his role. But as support, he can tilt the enemy team so quickly that they’re likely to surrender at 15. And I recommend you give him a try!
Runes
- Dark Harvest
- Sudden Impact
- Zombie Ward
- Ultimate Hunter
- Bone Plating
- Overgrowth
Items
- Prowler’s Claw
- Youmuu’s Ghostblade
- Edge of Night
- Axiom Arc
- Guardian Angel
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: Top 15 Best Off-Meta Junglers
13. Veigar
Veigar is one of my personal favorite off-meta support picks in League of Legends. Great damage, reliable crowd control, and a fun tank build that makes him unkillable – what’s not to like?
Support Veigar is one of the most annoying things to deal with in LoL. This champion can one-shot the enemy ADC even if he’s 0/10 with no AP items. His R does a lot of damage, especially to enemies below 50% HP.
However, the main focus of the Veigar tank support playstyle is setting up good cages with E – Event Horizon. This ability can stop all engage and allow your team to catch any enemy on Summoner’s Rift.
And with tools like Turbo Chemtank, you’ll always be in range for trapping your opponents.
As a support, Veigar can stack his passive by poking the enemy bot lane. But since he only needs to get to level 6 in order to deal damage, this is not a must. Instead, you’re better off ganking the mid lane or helping your jungler when he invades or takes objectives.
All in all, Veigar support is one of the most fun playstyles in League of Legends!
Runes
- Grasp of the Undying
- Demolish
- Conditioning
- Overgrowth
- Manaflow Band
- Cosmic Storm
Items
- Turbo Chemtank
- Dead Man’s Plate
- Thornmail
- Force of Nature
- Void Staff
- Mercury’s Treads
Read Also: Lethality Caitlyn Build Guide
12. Pantheon
We all know Pantheon as a fighter/assassin champion in LoL. Well, that’s what he’s known for in the bot lane too!
Pantheon support is a brute force. This is a champion that allows you to always fight, be extremely aggressive, and punish your opponents for every CS.
Pantheon’s power starts on level 2 when he unlocks W and Q. This is a very powerful stun + damage combo. And since Pantheon always engages first, he always has the advantage in fights too.
Support Pantheon goes best with aggressive ADCs, such as Caitlyn, Jinx, and Samira. They can easily follow his engage and grab a lot of kills in the process.
Aside from lane dominance, Pantheon also has his ultimate – Grand Starfall. With this ability, you can gank mid, top, and jungle to help the rest of your teammates.
The best way to build Pantheon support is with lethality and fighter items. They really fit his overall playstyle, so just copy the runes and items you see below.
Runes
- Press the Attack
- Triumph
- Legend: Tenacity
- Coup de Grace
- Cheap Shot
- Relentless Hunter
Items
- Eclipse
- Umbral Glaive
- Youmuu’s Ghostblade
- Edge of Night
- Guardian Angel
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: How to Carry as a Support in LoL
11. Nidalee
Playing Nidalee support is all about having fun. And even when she was a mid laner (season 3), a lot of players enjoyed full AP Nidalee support in the bot lane.
As you can guess, Nidalee support has two major strengths – deadly poke damage and reliable healing for the ADC.
Nidalee’s trademark ability is her Q – Javelin Toss. It has a huge range and it does more damage the longer it travels. And depending on how well you aim, you can really tilt your opponents just by hitting them with spears over and over again.
But Nidalee’s Q isn’t her only source of damage. In cougar form, Nidalee can assassinate a target too, especially if she has Lich Bane. However, be careful when and who you attack in cougar form. Nidalee is very squishy and can easily die in melee range.
What’s great about Nidalee is that all of her abilities scale with ability power, including her heal. So, the more damage you’re building the better support you are. This lets you become a long-range assassin and still be able to heal your teammates back to full HP.
That’s why Nidalee is one of the best off-meta exotic supports in League of Legends and she’ll stay that way!
Runes
- Dark Harvest
- Sudden Impact
- Eyeball Collection
- Ravenous Hunter
- Triumph
- Coup de Grace
Items
- Luden’s Tempest
- Lich Bane
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Void Staff
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: Top 15 Best Off-Meta Mid Laners
10. Karthus
Unlike some of the off-meta support picks on this list, Karthus isn’t known for being a support. And yes, he has nothing that allows him to support his AD carry but there’s an interesting playstyle that could really helps you win games.
Karthus is a one-hit-wonder. He becomes relevant every 2-3 minutes or whenever his ultimate is off cooldown. It is his main source of damage and the only reason he’s still viable as a champion in League.
However, as a support, Karthus can do so much more! During the laning phase, Karthus’ playstyle is similar to that of “Inting Sions”. You can literally run in the enemy ADC at level 1 or 2, Exhaust them, die, and still kill them as a zombie!
The whole point of playing Karthus support is to suicide yourself in order to remove the opponents out of lane. This gives a huge advantage to your ADC because he can farm and scale alone and interrupted.
Karthus’ damage in the early game isn’t bad at all. In fact, his Q does a lot of damage to a single target, which is really why this strategy works. Of course, you’ll be much deadlier after level 6, when you’ll always be able to slay an enemy ADC with R.
If you’ve never seen anyone play Karthus support, I can really recommend you this YouTube video. It’s a great starting point and I bet you’ll love it!
Runes
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Transcendence
- Scorch
Items
- Liandry’s Anguish
- Demonic Embrace
- Shadowflame
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Void Staff
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: Top 5 Best Supports for Veigar
9. Ivern
In the 9th place, we have Ivern. Ivern is a tough champion to define, simply because of how unique he is. Even as a jungler, he’s a roaming support. And as a support in the bot lane, he really fits well!
All of Ivern’s abilities help his AD carry in one way or another.
Ivern’s Q is a long-range snare that allows his ADC to quickly get in range. This can give you a huge advantage in many different situations, especially during a gank where you can essentially teleport your jungler next to the enemy ADC.
Ivern’s W allows you to grow brushes and hide your teammates. It’s valuable for a lot of champions, especially Rengar and Twitch. In fact, Ivern and Rengar bot are one of the scariest combos to face.
With his E, Ivern grants a huge shield that scales with AP. And it also bursts after 2 seconds, dealing magic damage all around.
On top of that, Ivern has his pet – Daisy. Daisy is a strong unit that can knock up enemy champions and help him secure objectives in the jungle. You can either use it offensively in 2v2 fights or simply to help your jungler.
All in all, Ivern is one of the best exotic and off-meta supports you can ever play in LoL!
Here’s my complete guide on how to play AP Ivern!
Runes
- Summon Aery
- Manaflow Band
- Transcendence
- Cosmic Storm
- Font of Life
- Revitalize
Items
- Moonstone Renewer
- Chemtech Purifier
- Staff of Flowing Water
- Redemption
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: Top 15 Best Off-Meta Top Laners
8. Sylas
Sylas is among the few melee AP mid laners that work well as a support in bot lane. He’s explosive, powerful on his own, and able to carry games even in a secondary role.
One of the biggest reasons why support Sylas works is that he lifts all the pressure from his ADC. When Sylas charges forward, you have no choice but to fight him. He does so much damage early on that you simply can’t focus on the ADC instead.
On top of that, Sylas support is always a good pick. Aside from his damage and crowd control, he can steal the ultimates from his enemies. In this way, he’s a counter to all good support picks in League. He can match their power and do even more than that!
For example, Sylas can steal Leona’s ultimate and engage even better than her. He can steal Lulu’s ultimate and protect his ADC that way.
But Sylas can also roam the other lanes and steal all kinds of ultimate. Abilities like Camille’s R or Kinderd’s ult are broken in 2v2 bot lane fights. And Sylas can use them all!
Sylas is also great at surviving and doing long, extended fights. His W is a self-heal and he has it 2-3 seconds cooldown. So, Sylas is among the best off-meta supports in LoL too!
Runes
- Conqueror
- Presence of Mind
- Legend: Tenacity
- Last Stand
- Biscuit Delivery
- Cosmic Insight
Items
- Everfrost
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Morellonomicon
- Cosmic Drive
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: 15 Best Mid Laners for Beginners
7. Anivia
Anivia is another AP mage that stomps the bot lane whenever she’s picked by a good player. I’ve seen a number of Anivia supports carrying games even in Master elo, so I can safely recommend her to everybody!
Many different things make Anivia a good support pick, from slows and stuns to burst damage and push power!
Anivia has many tricks and tools for winning in the bot lane. She can stun her opponents from a long distance with her Q. Anivia’s W allows her to push enemies away from their turrets and force them to use Flash.
With her R + E combo, Anivia deals as much damage as Ashe with 10 auto-attacks. She’s an explosive champion that sets up the tempo in the bot lane, even as a support. And combined with marksmen like Miss Fortune, Samira, or Tristana, Anivia can be really deadly!
So, if you enjoy the control mage playstyle, Anivia will be a great fit for you. She’s really one of the best off-meta supports in League and you should definitely try her out!
Runes
- Electrocute
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Relentless Hunter
- Presence of Mind
- Coup de Grace
Items
- Liandry’s Anguish
- Morellonomicon
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Void Staff
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
Read Also: Full AP Ashe Build Guide
6. Elise
If you really want to spice it up and bring an old champion to the bot lane meta, I really recommend Elise. She’s a great support pocket pick with a few specific strengths that allow you to carry games.
Simply put, support Elise is always a threat. Her main ability is E – Cocoon which stuns the first enemy hit. It’s a skill shot spell, but the animation travels fast and it’s not too difficult to hit.
Cocoon is often even more useful than Lux’s Q or Xerath’s E. It’s a 2-seconds cooldown stun on a max level, allowing you constantly pressure your opponents.
But aside from CC, Elise also has tons of damage. Like Nidalee, she has two forms – human and spider. Her W in a human form is a great tool for poking and getting your enemies out of lane. And in a spider form, Elise can quickly one-shot the enemy ADC if she gets near him.
Finally, Elise is a great diver! She can set up very good 2-men dives in the bot lane thanks to her spider form E – Rappel. It allows her to jump up, disappear and stop the turrets from attacking her.
In other words, Elise can always lead a dive by stunning and damaging the enemy champion, then simply leave the turret’s range with E. Most supports usually sacrifice themselves so their AD carry gets a bonus kill, but Elise doesn’t have to do that.
And that’s why she’s one of the best exotic support picks in League of Legends!
Runes
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Relentless Hunter
- Transcendence
- Scorch
Items
- Night Harvester
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Shadowflame
- Morellonomicon
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: Top 10 Most Fun Supports
5. Lee Sin
If you’re looking for quick, fun, and always powerful off-meta support in LoL, look no further! Lee Sin is probably the best exotic pick in the support role for all players.
Lee Sin is an unlimited champion. He can do literally everything given enough practice. But even if you aren’t a Master elo jungler main, you can still have success with Lee Sin support.
When you play Lee Sin support, you have a few different playstyles to choose from – AD fighter/tank, supportive tank, or lethality Lee Sin. The first one is Lee’s regular jungle playstyle. And the second is an interesting spin to the champion where you max out W, shield your ADC, and provide CC.
However, I’d recommend you to go for the lethality Lee Sin build since it’s the most fun of all playstyles!
As lethality Lee Sin support, your priority is to get Prowler’s Claw. The active of this item synergizes well with Lee’s R. Basically, it allows you to quickly dash behind your target so you can kick them back to your team. In other words, you’re doing the “InSec” on an easy mode.
On top of that, lethality Lee Sin has enough damage to assassinate any squishy champion in the game. You can also kill the enemy ADC yourself with just Prowler’s Claw.
All in all, trying out Lee Sin support is 10/10 recommended!
Also, check this guide if you want to learn how to play Lethality Lee Sin the right way!
Runes
- Electrocute
- Sudden Impact
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Triumph
- Coup de Grace
Items
- Prowler’s Claw
- Axiom Arc
- Edge of Night
- The Collector
- Guardian Angel
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: AP Lee Sin Support Build Guide
4. Zoe
Many players see Zoe as a mid-only champion in League of Legends. However, she’s one of the most fun off-meta supports that you can ever play. And here’s why!
Zoe is undoubtedly the best long-range champion in LoL. She’s also the safest pick if you want to CC or assassinate targets from afar. And her kit is all about doing exactly that!
Zoe’s best spell by far is her E – Sleepy Trouble Bubble. You can use this ability in all kinds of different ways, from Flashing into the enemy ADC or casting through terrain to extend its distance. Sleepy Trouble Bubble is one of the most powerful abilities for setting up kills and Zoe can do that for her entire team.
Aside from her massive damage through Q and R, Zoe has another fantastic tool – W. Spell Thief is one of the most fun abilities in LoL, simply because of how versatile it is.
With her W, Zoe can steal her enemies’ Summoner’s Spells and active items and use them repeatedly against them. She can Flash 4 or 5 times in a team fight, as well as Ignite all enemies around her.
For the balloons in the laning phase, I suggest you start the game with Relic Shield. It will allow you to execute minions that carry your balloons, so it’s a useful item. If you need more info about playing Zoe support, check my entire guide here.
And if you want to see how I carry with Zoe support, watch my YouTube video.
Runes
- Dark Harvest
- Cheap Shot
- Eyeball Collection
- Relentless Hunter
- Nimbus Cloak
- Transcendence
Items
- Luden’s Tempest
- Horizon Focus
- Morellonomicon
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Void Staff
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: 7 Reasons Why Zoe Is Such A Good Champion In LoL
3. Ashe
If you’re anything like me and you enjoy torturing people with global ults in LoL, I’m sure you’ll love playing Ashe support. This is one of the most satisfying picks I can recommend, so you should definitely try her out!
There are two parts to playing Ashe support – before and after level 6. And here’s what you need to know about them.
During the laning phase, Ashe support is all about poking with W and Arcane Comet. Depending on how well you aim this ability and how aggressive your ADC is, you can really dominate the enemy duo. Tear of the Goddess should be purchased early because it will give you unlimited mana for poking.
Additionally, you can use your E to scour the map, see the enemy jungler, and stop his ganks.
Once you unlock level 6, playing Ashe support is all about setting up kills with your R – Enchanted Crystal Arrow. This is one of the best crowd control abilities in the entire game and you should take advantage of it.
Don’t hesitate to engage in 2v2 fights in the bot lane or to roam and help your mid laner with it. Simply put, Ashe’s R always has the potential to win you a fight, even if you’re behind.
Because of that, all the items that you need to buy are ability haste items. You’re really looking to make Ashe’s ult a 20-30 seconds ability so you can constantly fire it up. And it’s tons of fun!
So, that’s why Ashe is one of the best exotic off-meta supports in League of Legends!
Runes
- Arcane Comet
- Manaflow Band
- Transcendence
- Scorch
- Cheap Shot
- Ultimate Hunter
Items
- Imperial Mandate
- Manamune
- Axiom Arc
- Umbral Glaive
- Chemtank Chainsword
- Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Read Also: Top Reasons Why is Ashe Such a Good Pick
2. Ahri
Ahri is one of the best mid lane champions in League of Legends. However, her versatile kit allows her to fit in multiple roles, including support.
As a support, Ahri is as much deadly as she is in the mid lane. This is because she has the same abilities and nearly the same damage too. And her typical playstyle in the support role looks something like this.
Once you get to level 2 with Ahri, it’s go time! You can Flash + Charm the enemy ADC and almost guarantee a kill for your ADC. This is true for almost any level afterward, simply because of how deadly Ahri’s combo is.
After you unlock Ahri’s ultimate, she becomes one of the most forgiving champions to play. She can always escape a difficult situation or a gank because she has at least 3 dashes. Most AP support mages can’t do that, so Ahri is a much safer option if you don’t want to feed.
However, Ahri can also use her R to engage late game team fights and Charm one enemy. She can usually eliminate one player alone and tip the scales in favor of her team. She supports by an aggressive AP assassin, opening the door for allies to play more freely.
All in all, I love playing Ahri support I’ll always praise her playstyle!
Runes
- Electrocute
- Sudden Impact
- Eyeball Collection
- Ultimate Hunter
- Transcendence
- Scorch
Items
- Everfrost
- Shadowflame
- Morellonomicon
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Rabadon’s Deathcap
- Sorcerer’s Shoes
Read Also: 5 Reasons Why Ahri is so Good
1. Twisted Fate
And finally, we have Twisted Fate support. This is undoubtedly the most exciting playstyle that I’ve tried in years. And if you enjoy unconventional and exotic picks in the bot lane, you’re going to love TF as a support!
However, playing Twisted Fate support isn’t about dealing damage. In fact, you don’t take damage-related runes and items. Instead, you’re looking to increase your range, mobility, and always be ready to stun enemies with gold cards.
Here’s how you do that.
With tools like Predator and Shurelya’s Battlesong, Twisted Fate can gain bursts of movement speed to quickly enter the range of auto-attacks and throw a gold card.
Additionally, your first item should always be Rapidfire Cannon, which will allow you to throw gold cards from a greater distance. And the rest of the items are tank or speed-related items.
Your job as Twisted Fate support is to run around the map with Predator and stun enemies with gold cards and Rapidfire Cannon. You also have your ultimate for this, you should constantly look to gank other lanes.
Hitting an enemy champion with a stun for 2 seconds that you can’t miss is such a powerful tool that often goes underused. But if you try, you’ll definitely tilt your enemies and grab that sweet LP!
And if you are new to Twisted Fate and you aren’t sure how to play him, here are my top tips for playing Twisted Fate on a Master level.
Runes
- Predator
- Cheap Shot
- Zombie Ward
- Relentless Hunter
- Celerity
- Waterwalking
Items
- Rapidfire Cannon
- Shurelya’s Battlesong
- Zhonya’s Hourglass
- Dead Man’s Plate
- Morellonomicon
- Mobility Boots
Read Also: Top 15 Best Off-Meta ADCs
Conclusion
Those were the 15 best off-meta supports in League of Legends!
I hope you liked this compilation of exotic support picks that are really new, interesting, and enjoyable. I’ve tried every single build on this list and I can confirm that it works very well in-game. And that’s why I recommend you try them all out!
However, keep in mind that there are many more off-meta playstyles in the support role. I really believe that you can play any champion as a support and make it work. But it often takes a bit of creativity to start things off.
If you’re interested in more similar playstyles, I can honestly recommend this YouTube channel. It has some fantastic videos with lots of insights. And you can learn a lot from them!
That said, good luck and have fun! And if you need more off-meta inspiration, here’s my list of all off-meta posts!
