League of Legends: The Most-Played Supports in Ranked in 2016

In League of Legends, support is the most underrated role on a team. Without a good, team-oriented support, it’s difficult to make plays and keep your damage dealers alive long enough to make an impact. Each season and patch changes what supports are best (and most likely to be played). In Season 6, the supports that are most likely to be played are game-changers — champions that easily impact their lane and the game when their kit is played well.

These are the top 5 played supports in platinum and higher ranked play:

1. Thresh

It’s not surprising that Thresh is the most-played support in ranked. Thresh’s kit brings a ton of utility to the table: peel, CC, control, escapes, and major setup for his teammates. He can also be built as an off-tank if the team needs it or as a squishier damage contributor. A well-thrown hook into flay can control and lock down the enemy team long enough to let his team control and win a teamfight or escape unscathed. 

2. Blitzcrank

 Blitzcrank inspires fear in the hearts of any marksman in bottom lane — the threat of a player who really knows how to land the hook that will bring you hurtling into the enemy turret and deleted before you can do anything to escape is part of the reason why he’s banned constantly in lower elos. Although Blitzcrank’s greatest strength is his hook engage (when consistently landed), he also brings the potential to be an off-tank and damage soaker, and can do decent enough damage to supplement his team in teamfights with his ult and knockup. 

3. Braum

Braum is one of the best supports to use when you need to provide good peel for your carries in a game. He has a ton of utility — a slow on melee hit that turns into a stun with help from teammates, a projectile-blocking shield, knockup ult that can set up kills or zone the enemy team from a portion of the battlefield, and a leap that can help save low-health teammates while escaping. Braum is the epitome of defense and also builds extremely tanky, soaking damage for enough time to let you destroy their entire team before he even worries about dying. 

4. Alistar

Alistar makes an oppressive laning support and super-tank late game that is made even tankier with his ult. A good surprise dash-knockup in early game can be enough to scare an enemy marksman into farming safely or lead to an early kill. A good Alistar can turn the tide of a fight by forcibly repositioning your enemy — whether that’s removing them from the fight entirely or sending them crashing into your team with no escape in sight. Alistar’s minor heal helps sustain while taking objectives and can be the deciding factor in whether a tower goes down by tanking the tower with his ult up. 

5. Janna

Janna is the antagonist to every engage-heavy team composition. She will use her tornadoes, ult, and shield to stop an all-in every time — and leave her, her ADC, and her entire team unscathed and possibly healed to full. Her shield brings a modicum of protection for her team and a buff to their attack damage, which can be the deciding factor whether you win a trade in lane. Her kit is intended to stop engages and make your enemies waste their cooldowns so your team can turn it around on them and win the fights that will snowball the game. 

Who are your favorite supports to play, or to play alongside? Why do you think these supports are played most? Let me know in the comments!