Source
r/summonerschool•
RuCat

Annie's range is getting buffed in 8.17, what are good Annie support builds?

Annie

Attack range increased. ATTACK RANGE 575 ⇒ 625

This is very interesting because it aligns autoattack range with spellrange and makes combos like auto+Q smoother (Q:600 range). For any of those who remember, the range nerf killed Annie support, which was pretty popular in season 5 and now they reverted it (hype!).

Are there any Annie support players, who know how to build her and which style is best in currently most common matchups?

Spellpen route: Sorc+Oblivion?

Burst: Spellbinder, Protobelt, Luden's?

Engage: Shurelia's, Zhonya's (f in, unload-->stasis)?

Peel: Rylai's, Zeke's?

Also: Comet, Predator or Electrocute?

Rush full CDR after core or go for damage?

I'm open to speculation as well, any suggestions are welcome.

Posted Aug 28, 2018, 11:59 PM UTC

178101
J0rdian•

Honestly I think playing her bot instead of support might be better now. But both might be viable but I still have doubts. Her support winrate before the patch was 46% which is pretty awful.

85
JushtFinisht•

I would definitely second this. Now that the marksman nerf patch has kind of given us a taste of what could be allowed bot, I'm more open to the idea of Annie bot. Her Q reset makes farming a cinch already, and the added auto-attack range makes farming safer. I'm open to support Annies in general, but I just cannot see how she can live up to other supports considering the reduced income in previous patches as well as the -1 potion nerf (making sustain supports like Nami a nightmare if she can't get a good lead).

43
jackle0001•

Noob question but how do you make her q reset?

7
SkiesOfAzure•

When you get a last hit with her Q, you get your mana back and the cooldown is halved.

33
Waffles_IV•

By killing a unit. It also refunds all mana spent on the q. So it usually won’t reset on champions, but it’s good for farming minions.

7
VanRenss•

It will if you’re fed enough.

11
readoclock•

Smashed a xayah playing Annie in the bot lane the other day!

Definitely works!

9
Stryder780•

I wouldn't mind smashing Xayah ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

16
WanderingRekateracUnranked•

Found Rakan

19
kirbyswallowedme•

Grow up, kid.

-26
v1adlyfe•

welcome to reddit ya ape.

8
sbzattoUnranked•

I’ve played a lot of support over the years and unorthodox picks as well. In my mind, if you can achieve a similar damage output from a support economy than that of a mage, and are less of a liability, you should go support - see brand or zyra which need very little to get work done. Annie has the bear stun which makes for a very powerful engage however, and with the aa range she also has powerful poke and therefore lane presence. I would actually run her support because she will get kills in botlane, and she will build similarly to when she’s the carry. So you are better off with another ad or ap carry and Annie as support now that she can have a laning phase due to the range buff.

5
SilverKnightOfMagic•

Just cause her auto atk range? Her auto atk animation sucks even with atk spd lol. Then her spell range is shit. I'd rather keep going ziggs both or Zyra

1
Baallzz3d•

I can't tell if you mean as a mage or a physical damage carry.

Her auto windup is garbage and her attack speed scaling is the same, I love the concept of new ideas and offmeta picks but I have tried this before her range nerf long ago (and even after) and the stat discrepancy versus other ADCs is just way too much. Even AD zyra is better just because your protection/self-peel tools are stronger and your windup is very good on autos.

I can see her working as a mage carry though. She is one of the highest DPS mages in the game. I guess the next question is how can you get her to fit botlane when not even cass is played much botlane as a mage carry, and cass fits the ranged dps carry role way more than annie?

1
Katilac_•

Full crit, take advantage of the fact that you outrange a lot of adcs.

68
Mikael7529Unranked•

I was also thinking about something like that. Nashor Tooth + Rageblade + Berserker Boots Annie with max E can be a thing.

12
mazrim_lolDiamond II•

In case you are being serious, Annie has terrible terrible attacks speed scaling and never works with any kind of build like that

19
Mikael7529Unranked•

I know it probably doesn't work, but as former Annie main I have to try it :) or maybe it's sleeper OP and I will climb with it to Challenjour?

2
DefinitelyNotIndie•

I'm about to play that midlane, maybe hextech gunblade start though. Then nashors, rageblade, into 2 of zhonyas, deathcap, wits end, banshees veil or ruunans. I love high aa ranges :-D

6
kkjdroid•

I'd rush Lichbane. Auto-Q-auto at 600 range could blow squishies up pretty safely.

2
LengarionPlatinum IV•

Nah, that's not how you played ad annie. It's your normal ad build with attackspeed early -> crit and maxing out q->w->e. Q for the burst in lane (because annie has high base dmg on spells).

-4
Baallzz3d•

You'd max E because you never bought mana sustain with old AD annie unless you were memeing with a muramana build. Base damage is too low and mana cost is too high on q, and it turns out that annie's E is extremely strong in trades botlane.

1
LengarionPlatinum IV•

Do you know that you use your abilities for an all-in and not to poke? Cause you don't get oom if u use it for occasional stuns+aa (it costs 70 mana). Your lv6 full combo is: 150+70+150+30~tibbers = 400 base dmg without runes or ignite or continued tibbers dmg. It can easily kill a lightly poked adc with the help of your support through heal.

If you max e in lane, you will just get poked out because you have 0 all-in threat. I don't think you have played ad annie before lol.

1
kitchenmaniac111•

Shurelyas sounds great, almost like old righteous glory which was common on annie support

24
DreamingOfNeverland•

Predator annie was a thing a short while ago. Add Shurelyas to that just sounds like so much fun

21
Dioxid3•

Oh man that sounds hilarious. Mobis' with predaotr and Shurelyas.

​

Now you have a Racecar-Annie stunning your face in.

11
DreamingOfNeverland•

Tibbers delivery service

13
lonewolfandpubUnranked•

NIGHT OF FIRE

6
StubbornAssassin•

Scrap mobis, get some of them lucidity boots for even more flashes

1
osgili4thDiamond V•

Predator for mid or top annie is good, but I think you want aery or comet to abuse more the range she gets and the early dmg to win bot as support.

5
Lord_emotabb•

im just going to drop this:
Annie can counter jhin, her Q stun is the same range as his AA range. if you engage with the 4 stacks ready to stun, you can unload, proc electrocute and leave his stunned ass while he sees you leaving. I'm just gold4 thou...

14
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
lonewolfandpubUnranked•

Predator is definitely the best pick for her.

Electrocute's up more quickly with the changes, probably a better bet than Comet with the attack range since it can be proc'd more often. If you've got a squishy enemy lane and you go for more of a burst stomp-those-noobs style, I'd go with that. But I think at the core a good Support Annie build needs to empower her to make picks, give her cheap CDR, and get her access to the backline. Pen helps, but really, what you're doing is creating a giant flaming bear-sized go button for your team.

To that end, i'd go either Predator with Ionian/Shurelya's or Glacial Augment with Ionian/Twin Shadows as your core and build out from there. The latter sounds goofy but I think it's got some sticking potential with the range increase.

Far as GA with Ionian / Twin Shadows, when you get those, you're sitting on 30-35% CDR, depending on your runes, and your Flash will be up quicker. Then grab Shurelya's -> Righteous Glory. She's got an auto range second only to Caitlyn now as far as bot lane goes, and TS is a cheap item with good AP, 10% CDR, extra move speed, and an item active that procs Glacial Augment. Then you just need items to give you sticking power and get your team into position.

12
gdubrocks•

I would highly recommend people try out predator.

Almost all annies kill potential is centered around her ult, and it is up at nearly the same times as the ult and means you don't have to flash in to get it off.

14
Foodhi_LoL•

Since you won’t have as much damage on a support income, I figure most of your value throughout the mid and late game will come from your Flash/Tibbers engages.

In order to maximize your flash uptime, I imagine Ionian boots are a must in same way they were a must on Skarner before the Rune system was introduced.

10
TortsInJorts•

At least back when Annie Support was a mainstay in the meta, that was the reason she was good: most of her damage comes from base damages and not, as much, from scaling/ratios. This means that a Magic Pen item or two goes much further on her in terms of pressure capable of being brought to bear than stacking damage items.

So on Annie Support these days, I might buy Sorc Shoes or Oblivion Orb to start, and if the game goes longer, I'd swap to CDR boots for the engage uptime once lane is over.

1
Baallzz3d•

riot realized her being played support was because of her base damages so they actually nerfed them and amped up the AP ratios. The same principle of rushing magic pen is still usable but not nearly as good as before.

1
Foodhi_LoL•

They nerfed her base damage in patch 4.4, but she continued to be a meta support until they nerfed her auto attack range in patch 5.9.

1
Adam-K•

Aery fucking ludens bruh

5
jadelink88•

I suspect blue sup line, into sheen, then proto, then lichbane.

Being able to get sheen AA's off on an enemy without their ability to retaliate trade is valuable. Being able to proc it with shield if they have the range to retaliate may still be worth it.

Bot lane has changed so much since she was good I'm really not sure of this though.

3
UristMcStephenfire•

I can't see lichbane being good. By the time you've got it you'll be out of lane and you don't really care about the small amount of damage it brings. Could definitely see proto being decent though. Proto, Shurelyas, lucidity/mobis, blue sup item, maybe a ludens or liandries since tibbers should proc the damage increase.

9
jadelink88•

Agreed that RUSHING lichbane is pure garbage. In lane, sheen will do most of what you want, and the extra damage from lichbane isn't much without another AP item.

Frostfang line, Sheen, boots, protobelt. Then go to lichbane (people forget it gives move speed) or Shurelias. Personally, I'd shurelias first, then lichbane.

I'd only do sheen in lane if i can easily poke, which is about 80-90% of them though, with the new attack range.

2
TheNakriin•

I still ran some Annie support when she was nerfed (ya know, the range nerf from 625 to 575) and well, going for a full on engage build was definitly entertaining and still string enough to solo kill 2 ppl.

I built coin -> shurelyias -> ghosties (dunno the name of the item) -> righteous glory. Took mobis somewhen and last item was almost always ludens back when it gave ms, maybe protobelt rn?
Also, i went for eletrocute, sudden impact, zombie ward, ms hunter; manaband and celerity

2
osgili4thDiamond V•

I think comet or aery with scorch is better for trade in line with your autoatacks, I think a engage/cdr with a little AP is the best way to build her as support since you want the utility of her AOE stuns, so be able to survive in teamfights and find picks is really good. Full AP is a totally viable option but I think is Similar to Morgana in that sense that you can build dmg if you smash in line but if you don't get a enough lead ot lose the line be able to provide the utility and cc is the best way to play her.

2
nondirtysocks•

I don't know how good it will be, but klepto Annie is going to warrant a try since it will be much easier to proc it now. I played Annie back before her range nerf.

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
IanBowie•

Mmmm maybe with the auto range buff + Q scorch and aery you can do some harass on the lane. Seems good to keep those agro Lucians with a bit of pressure with dmg and stun danger

1
jadelink88•

We know that in the pre nerf days she was good with protobelt. The question is, will she be better with that, or Shurelias?

I would definitely lean towards predator for runes, above silver, squishy things just don't walk into Annies range, and every means she has of getting closer helps. (It also gives her burst a boost, which is valuable).

1
Wayvern12•

protobelt

1
Eruptflail•

Over everything, this buffed her midlane. She's still a very powerful mid champ with huge playmaking potential.

But Annie benefits a lot from Shurelia's. She struggles to get in range with her abilities, so I would rush Shurelia's and then go for Rylai's for the stickiness if you want to play support.

1
psykrebeam•

Now that she's back on the menu:

  • since the AA range buff is the whole reason why we're reconsidering her again, Aery merits consideration as the primary rune for lane pressure. I wouldn't do Comet because it relies on spell poke, which isn't her core strength relative to the usual mage supports (she's still outranged). Electrocute and Predator are certainly viable IMO, especially if you're laning with range advantage (against melee support)

  • Yes I think SorcB + OO/Morello won't go wrong with mage supports in general because best damage on budget. Just had a look at her base damages, and it's really good in general. Predator+Shurelya (+Proto if you're really rich) would be a more utility based mage build. IMO I don't think she gets much value from Rylai. That's because 1. Her issue is more of reaching the target in the first place (so MS and mobility is more important) 2. She's more bursty than dotty, so she doesn't make much use of the Rylai slow.

1
ragmondead•

The thing that made annie support so strong was how low you could get her flash timer.

Annie is a flash ult bot, and until distortion boots are returned, I doubt shell return to prominence.

1
wharblgarble•

Except she has predator to pair with flash as well, effectively giving her two engage summoners.

1
heleghir•

i see sorce boots + t2 spellthief into oblivion orb, then finishing full t3 spellthief as the most common earlygame pathing for support. Your ability to completely blow up the enemy adc who will not have more than maybe a null magic mantle for mr is going to be higher on this than anything else at that stage, and for the gold income on support. However, ionian boots are going to scale better into the game with more flash uptime.

After that, I see it as situational if you need rylais or shureylias or finished nomicon depending on comps and how the game is going. If your team wants to engage and fight the 5v5 and are even/ahead get the shurys and wreck someone, if you are kiting back and wanting to split more, rylais slows are probably the better option.

as for keystone, either Aery for more harass in lane, or pred for better engages in mid-late. Personally I like the lane dominance from aery + scorch myself but both are very viable options.

1
Carrionnoirrac•

Predictor to roam and have sick engages early. Mobi sounds really good on her but spell pen is a very good Annie stat, could go sorcs into oblivion orb and shurelias for stupid good engages.

Electrocute sounds good for all inning especially squishy lanes or for killing a soraka quick. Potentially snowball onto a heavier ap build.

Aery isn't being mentioned much but I think could have potential to poke down short engage range lanes with auto attacks. Maybe not worth giving up preditor roams though.

1