Poppy Support Build Guides, Runes, Items, and Abilities - Patch 14.21

Poppy, the Keeper of the Hammer, is a yordle champion in League of Legends known for her tanky, bruiser playstyle and unmatched resilience. Armed with a massive hammer, Poppy excels at disrupting enemy formations and protecting her allies. She is often played in the top lane or jungle, where her durable kit and strong crowd control shine. Poppy's passive, Iron Ambassador, allows her to throw her shield for a ranged attack, while her Steadfast Presence blocks enemy dashes. With her ultimate, Keeper's Verdict, she can send enemies flying, creating powerful disengage opportunities for her team.

Poppy support is rapidly gaining popularity, and for good reason. She has very strong engage potential, but even better, she can easily make sure no one engages on her or her team. Her W is the one reason all dash champions hate her. Kha'Zix coming to your lane to gank? W. You stun Tristana into a wall and she tries to jump away? W.

She also has very high base damage, and her tankiness scales extremely well into mid-late game. The W passive which gives her 11% more resistances, and her passive which gives her a shield makes her very strong.

I will say that in order to play Poppy as support, you'll need to have more than a basic understanding of how Poppy works AND how playing support works. You're going to be way less tanky than when you'd play her in top or jungle. Your damage will not decrease though, depending on which build you go.

You can easily get top damage in game if you dominate early, but you can easily fall behind HARD if you missplay. Make sure to know what Poppy's strengths are, which I will explain further in this guide.

Poppy is a durable tank and bruiser champion in League of Legends, known for her strong crowd control, durability, and ability to protect her team. Here's a quick overview of her abilities and playstyle:

1. Role:

Poppy is primarily played in the Top lane, Support or as a Jungler, excelling in both tanky and bruiser roles.

2. Strengths:

• High Durability: Poppy can absorb a lot of damage, making her an effective frontliner in teamfights.
• Crowd Control (CC): She has multiple CC abilities, including stuns and knockbacks, which make her great at disrupting enemy teams.
• Anti-Dash Mechanic: Her Steadfast Presence ability can block enemy dashes, making her effective against mobile champions. Strong Disengage: Her ultimate, Keeper's Verdict, can knock away key threats, giving her team control over the battlefield.

3. Weaknesses:

• Low Mobility: Despite her strong defense, Poppy relies on careful positioning since she lacks consistent mobility.
• Skill Reliance: Properly using her Heroic Charge and Keeper’s Verdict is crucial, as misusing them can hinder her impact in fights.

4. Abilities: Passive – Iron Ambassador: Poppy throws her shield for a ranged attack, which grants her bonus armor if she picks it up.

Q – Hammer Shock: Poppy smashes the ground, dealing damage and slowing enemies in the area.

W – Steadfast Presence: Poppy gains bonus resistances and can block enemy dashes with a barrier around her.

E – Heroic Charge: Poppy dashes to an enemy, smashing them into a wall to deal bonus damage and stun them.

R – Keeper's Verdict: Poppy channels her ultimate to send an enemy champion flying, allowing her to knock them away from a fight.

5. Playstyle: Poppy is ideal for players who enjoy controlling the battlefield and disrupting opponents. She shines in teamfights, where she can use her crowd control to peel for allies, initiate fights, or disengage. She’s also a strong duelist in the laning phase, able to take down squishy champions and trade favorably with her durability.

• Pick up your Passive shield whenever it lands nearby. Then look to engage on to the enemy while you have it to increase your chances of coming out ahead.
• Use your Ultimate Keeper's Verdict (R) to knock away key targets in a team fight and then collapse on the enemies who are left behind. Sometimes, you may need to knock away the frontline and in others, you’ll need to knock away the backline.
• Keep a constant eye on the enemy laners positioning. If they’re close to a wall, you could look to play aggressive and go for a trade.

• Basic: AA + E + AA + Q + AA
• Basic: W + E + Q + R + AA
• Basic: R + W + E + AA + Q + AA
• Medium: Flash + E + Q + AA + R + AA
• Medium: W + Flash + R + AA + E + AA + Q + AA
• Medium: Q + Flash + AA + E + AA + R + AA
• Hard: R + Flash + E + AA + W + Q + AA

1. Early game Here are some common wallstuns that you will often use. Depending on what side of the map you are playing on (Top/Bottom), these change. Most stuns will be more effective with the use of flash/hexflash.

These will always result in a good chunk of damage or a kill. From topside you can walk through river because you are guarunteed to win most level 1 fights. If the other laners try to follow you to lane through river you can wallstun and maybe even kill.

The most active part of you laning phase will be the first few levels. You won't be camping in brushes and instead need to focus on the race for level 2. You and your ADC get level 2 after the first wave and 3 melee minions. As such, save support item stacks for 2 of them and the 3rd for canon in the wave after. After level 2 is secure you can zone the othe laners and gain control of the brushes. There you will sit and be a threat, wallstunning anyone who dares to disrespect your damage.

2. Mid game

• Poppy's mid game consists of looking for wallstuns. If your team didn't secure a great enough lead the chances are you're gonna be stuck waiting around for late game. Trading your life for a kill and objectives is usually the best option if this is the case. Just make sure you don't have a bounty from laning phase. The mid game begins to bring out her team reliance and how badly she needs a team to follow up on her cc and upfront damage. If you can't end here you will be at the mercy of your team to deal damage unless you plan on selling support item(don't).

3. Late game

• Late game you should focus on not getting caught, you are impossibly hard to engage on and should lock down anyone who tries to engage. Buy your elixir of Iron, stick to your team, and play frontline.

4. Losing Lane

• In some games, you may lose lane. This can happen if you die early against a poke mage, Morgana, Blitzcrank, or Pyke. Depending on how far behind you fall you likely will have a chance to get back into the game. Playing passively in lane you should be ducking in and out of brushes to bait abilities and make space for your ADC to farm. Your goal should be to get tanky so you can frontline for your team in the mid and late game.

5. Unplayable Lane

• Any lane where you can be dove without trading a kill. There are few matchups that you will be unplayable from the start. Doesn't matter how you got behind, you just need to stop giving up gold. Roam with your jungler until your tower falls.

In conclusion, Poppy stands as one of League of Legends' premier tanky champions, offering exceptional crowd control, durability, and utility in both solo lanes and the jungle. Her ability to block dashes and knock enemies away makes her a unique disruptor on the battlefield, ideal for players who like to control fights and protect their team. Whether you're engaging, peeling, or disengaging, Poppy's versatile kit ensures she can make a significant impact in any game. Mastering her timing and positioning will reward you with a resilient and reliable champion who excels at turning the tide of battle.