Best PYKE Support Runes
Hail of Blades: Hail of Blades is the essential rune for Pyke, providing significant benefits that align with his unique hit-and-run playstyle. When paired with Bone Skewer (Q), this rune allows Pyke to quickly engage and disengage in fights. After landing a hook, Pyke can unleash all three Hail of Blades-enhanced auto-attacks in rapid succession, substantially increasing his burst damage and catch potential. This burst is particularly effective in the early game, making Hail of Blades the preferred choice for Pyke players looking to dominate the laning phase.
Cheap Shot: Cheap Shot is an excellent choice for Pyke, especially with Phantom Undertow (E) at his disposal. The stun effect of Phantom Undertow activates Cheap Shot, dealing bonus true damage to the target. This additional damage can be crucial in securing kills or poking down opponents, enhancing Pyke's overall threat as an assassin support.
Ghost Poro: Ghost Poro is invaluable for Pyke as a vision-centric support, enhancing map awareness and control. This rune leaves a Ghost Poro where each ward expires, providing additional vision points on the map for an extended duration. It helps Pyke track enemy movements, particularly the jungler, by controlling the river and jungle entrances. This allows Pyke's team to predict enemy moves, set up counterganks, and secure objectives like Dragon and Baron. The extended vision duration aids Pyke in planning safer roams and making impactful plays.
With Ghost Poro, Pyke can dominate key areas by placing strategic wards in high-traffic zones, river crossings, and deep vision in enemy territory. This limits the enemy's options and makes them vulnerable to Pyke's presence. The rune complements Pyke's hit-and-run style, allowing him to set up vision in enemy territory and then disappear, leaving the enemy guessing his whereabouts. Overall, Ghost Poro enhances Pyke's strengths as an assassin support, giving him an edge in tracking enemies, controlling vision, and setting up game-winning plays.
Treasure Hunter: As an assassin support, Pyke relies heavily on snowballing and obtaining gold advantages. Treasure Hunter plays a crucial role in this, providing extra gold for each unique takedown or assist on different enemy champions. The incentive to roam and secure kills aligns perfectly with Pyke's playstyle, making this rune a top choice for him. This additional gold allows Pyke to reach his item power spikes faster, increasing his effectiveness in the game. Compared to Ultimate Hunter, which reduces the cooldown of his ultimate, the potential for increased gold income is more beneficial for Pyke's overall performance and impact in matches.
Cash Back: The new Cash Back rune in the Inspiration tree, replacing Magical Footwear, offers significant advantages for Pyke. This rune provides a 6% gold return on the purchase of legendary items, giving you 180 gold back on a 3000 gold item. This immediate gold return can be reinvested into other items or wards, providing a continuous economic advantage throughout the game. Unlike Magical Footwear, which locks you into a specific purchase and provides free boots after a certain time, Cash Back offers flexibility by allowing you to benefit from any legendary item purchase, enabling you to adapt your build according to the game's needs without waiting for boots.
Early in the game, Pyke benefits from the gold boost provided by Cash Back, helping him complete his core items faster and enhancing his effectiveness in roaming and skirmishes. As the game progresses and you purchase more legendary items, the gold advantage provided by this rune exceeds that of Magical Footwear. This replaces the old Future's Market, which involved managing debt and interest, with a simpler and more straightforward economic benefit.
Additionally, the extra gold from Cash Back synergizes well with Pyke's playstyle, which relies on mobility, assassinations, and quick item spikes. The economic boost helps Pyke reach his power spikes faster, enhancing his ability to secure kills and assist his team. The additional gold can also contribute to building situational items that can turn the tide in fights. Overall, Cash Back provides Pyke with a consistent and flexible economic advantage, allowing him to adapt dynamically and maintain his role as an effective assassin support.
Pyke Support Best Build 🔪
Pyke thrives on an aggressive playstyle to secure kills and create game-changing opportunities. Bloodsong provides essential support and offensive tools that allow him to excel in his role. The gold generation speeds up his item acquisition, helping him reach power spikes more quickly. Health and mana regeneration ensure he can sustain himself during skirmishes and engage with confidence. The vision control from the active stealth ward lets him make informed decisions, track enemy movements, and set up ambushes. Enhanced next attack and Expose Weakness further boost his burst damage, allowing him to swiftly execute enemies and secure important kills. Bloodsong empowers Pyke's aggressive playstyle, equipping him to dominate the early game, become a formidable threat in the mid-game, and remain a decisive force in the late game. Opportunity enables Pyke to quickly amass a significant lethality advantage before engaging in combat. The Out of Combat Lethality passive greatly enhances Pyke's abilities and auto-attacks. Additionally, the Champion Kill Movement Speed passive grants Pyke a crucial burst of movement speed when he eliminates a champion within 3 seconds of dealing damage. This speed boost is vital for Pyke, allowing him to swiftly escape after securing a kill or to chase down low-health enemies. The Voltaic Cyclosword is an impressive weapon that greatly enhances your champion's damage output while offering unique passives tailored for an energetic and aggressive playstyle. The first unique passive, "Energized Strikes," transforms each movement and attack into a potential power boost. As you move across the battlefield and confront enemies, the sword generates Energized Attacks. Utilizing dashes and stealth maneuvers speeds up the accumulation of these strikes, allowing for quick and lethal combos.
The true strength of the Voltaic Cyclosword is revealed in its second unique passive, "Electrifying Impact." When you perform an Energized Attack, it inflicts an additional 100 bonus physical damage and applies a significant 99% slow on enemies for 0.75 seconds. This combination not only boosts your burst damage but also adds crucial crowd control, hindering enemy movement and creating opportunities for your team.
Youmuu's Ghostblade is an essential item for Pyke, offering significant damage boosts to his ultimate, Death from Below, even in the early game. As Pyke levels up, the item’s scaling effect increases, making it easier to execute enemies. The active ability’s movement speed boost enhances Pyke's mobility, allowing for quick engagements and retreats. However, it’s important to be cautious of your vulnerability after using Death from Below. Youmuu's Ghostblade is particularly effective in 2v1 scenarios, providing Pyke with the tools needed to handle multiple opponents more effectively.
🌟 PROS & CONS 🌟
PROS:
➕ Excellent Roaming: Pyke excels at roaming, allowing him to exert pressure on other lanes and set up successful ganks.
➕ Ultimate Provides More Gold: Pyke's ultimate not only secures kills but also grants extra gold to his teammate who assisted in the takedown or to himself if he assisted with his ultimate.
➕ Easy Lane Ganks After Roaming: Following a successful roam, Pyke can easily gank his own lane, catching opponents off guard.
➕ Execute Potential with Ultimate: Pyke's ultimate ability allows him to execute low-health enemies, providing a reliable finisher in team fights.
➕ Wall Passage with Phantom Undertow: Pyke's Phantom Undertow enables him to pass through walls, granting him additional mobility and escape options.
➕ High Mobility: Compared to most champions in League of Legends, Pyke has high mobility, second only to Talon.
➕ Snowballing as an Assassin: If Pyke manages to snowball in the early game, he becomes a formidable assassin, significantly increasing the chances of winning the game.
➕ Utility of Phantom Undertow for ADC and Early Game Kills: Pyke's Phantom Undertow not only provides utility for his ADC but also aids in securing early game kills.
➕ Pyke is a Playmaker: Pyke's playmaking prowess shines through his exceptional roaming, setting up successful ganks, and catching opponents off guard. If you prefer a cunning and aggressive playstyle, Pyke is the perfect champion for you. His kit allows him to outplay specific opponents and catch late-game enemies off-guard with his powerful roaming ability, sometimes resembling a second jungler. Pyke's roaming is not only highly effective but also helps him multiply the gold earned every time he secures a kill or assist with his ultimate. This advantage allows him to build items for his ADC much faster than the enemy, giving your team a significant edge in the game.
CONS:
❌ Fragile Champion: Pyke is squishy due to his passive, Gift of the Drowned Ones, which converts any bonus health from items into attack damage, making him vulnerable to burst damage from mages and other assassins.
❌ Challenging Botlane Matchups: Pyke struggles against tanky, sustain-heavy, or high DPS enemies in the botlane, making these matchups challenging for him.
❌ Roaming Setbacks: A failed roaming attempt can halt Pyke's snowballing potential, as successful roams are essential for him to gain an advantage.
❌ Susceptible to Ranged Poke: Pyke is susceptible to poke from ranged enemies, making it difficult for him to sustain in lane.
❌ Late Game Reliance on Ultimate: In the late game, Pyke heavily relies on his ultimate, and without it, his impact on team fights diminishes.
❌ Snowballing and Team Coordination: Pyke's effectiveness is heavily dependent on snowballing or having a cohesive team. If he falls behind or lacks team coordination, his impact can be significantly reduced.
❌ Vulnerability to Hard Crowd Control (CC): Pyke's lack of crowd control immunity makes him susceptible to hard CC, such as stuns, roots, and suppressions. Like any champion, Pyke has weaknesses. Apart from being an assassin and thus susceptible to being one-shot by mages and other assassins, his passive also prevents him from benefiting from bonus health items, converting them into attack damage instead. It's crucial to have a team that understands how to play around Pyke effectively. If he fails to snowball early due to enemy sustain or high DPS, it can be frustrating to continue the game, and surrendering might seem like the only option. Additionally, like any other champion, Pyke is vulnerable to hard crowd control, which can disrupt his plans and make it difficult for him to execute his plays.
