One of the five main roles you can play when queuing up for a match of League of Legends is support. One archetype includes the poke supports, usually mages that can also be played mid. Poke supports tend to do well against engage champions as they can keep them at a distance and poke them down so they can’t make a play but may struggle against enchanters since they can shield and heal up the damage they inflict (at least in the early game.)
Let’s see which of these “supports” steals kills does their job best!
10 Fiddlesticks - It’s Hunting Us
Though The Ancient Fear is usually found lurking in the jungle, it can shamble into the support position as well. When it’s passively trying to appear as A Harmless Scarecrow, the next damaging ability it does will fear the target. When it uses Terrify it will slow, damage, and fear the target hit.
Fiddle also siphons life force with its AOE drain, Bountiful Harvest. It also pokes enemies with its Reap ability, slowing the targets struck and silencing the ones hit in the center. Fiddle’s ultimate, Crowstorm, is a great engagement tool, especially if the enemy team has no vision of it.
Although this demon can cause quite some jump scares, there are other champions that poke health bars better.
9 Heimerdinger - Indeed, A Wise Choice
The Revered Inventor, Cecil B. Heimerdinger, can usually be found top or mid but can also be a “support.” He can dish out some serious poke when he lays his H-28G Evolution Turrets and lands a CH-2 Electron Storm Grenade, stunning an enemy as all the turrets target them. His Hextech Micro-Rockets are also great for poking enemies in a wide area or at a concentrated point.
His ultimate, UPGRADE!!!, amplifies the effects of the base spells, making them that much more potent. As much as Heimer pokes a lot, there are champions that can poke back more.
8 Ashe - All The World On One Arrow
Typically played as an ADC, The Frost Archer has seen play as a support at higher levels of play, such as in the LCS. Her auto attacks and spells, aside from her Hawkshot, apply a slow. Her ultimate, Enchanted Crystal Arrow, stuns enemies, the duration longer based upon the distance it traveled.
Her Volley and Ranger’s Focus are also great spells she can poke, slow, and deal damage with. Despite being an off-meta support, the League of Legends client lists her as one under the support role, but there are more supports that poke harder.
7 Orianna - Time Tick-Ticks Away
Speaking of off-meta, The Lady of Clockwork is also listed as a support. It makes sense since her Command: Protect can shield herself or an ally and speed herself and allies while dealing damage to enemies with Command: Dissonance. The latter spell, coupled with Commad: Attack, make for some oppressive poke, especially since the spells have low cooldowns.
Her ultimate, Command: Shockwave, pulls enemies together and stuns them, allowing her to deal a lot of burst damage. Despite her great poke, there are other poke supports who can do a lot more.
6 Neeko - Neeko Is Best Decision!
Riot makes the rules and has The Curious Chameleon listed as a support under the champion tab as well. Her Tangle-Barbs travels through enemies and roots everything in its path, allowing her to follow up with Blooming Burst, dealing a good chunk of damage. Her Shapesplitter ability and Inherent Glamour passive (when she is disguised) hides the spiritual essence of her ultimate, Pop Blossom, making it harder for enemies to dodge the burst and stun of the ability.
The strong, sneaky tomato can certainly burst and poke a lot, but other mages can hurt a lot more.
5 Vel’Koz - Knowledge Through Disintegration
The Eye of the Void collects information by unmaking his subjects of study both in the mid and bot lanes. His Organic Deconstruction passive allows him to deal true damage to fully Researched subjects, so despite your resistance, he’s going to hurt. Although his Plasma Fission ability requires a solid foundation in Geometry to use, his Void Rift and Tectonic Disruption are great for poking as well.
His ultimate, Life Form Disintegration Ray, hurts the most as he channels a concentrated laser beam that slows enemies, deals true damage to enemies that are thoroughly Deconstructed, and applies the passive to those who aren’t. As frightening as this voidborn is, there are more mages who still hurt more.
4 Brand - The Inferno Begins
More than happy to set the world on fire, The Burning Vengeance has some good CC and major damage over time (DOT) as well. His Pillar of Flame has a sizable area of effect, and if you’re not quick enough to react, you will get burned. Brand’s passive, Blaze, does percent-health DOT and enhances the effects of his other spells.
If you’re Ablaze when he tosses his Sear at you, it will stun you, easily allowing him to land a Pillar of Flame and Conflagration. In a hectic team fight or in a group of minions, if Brand unleashes his ultimate, Pyroclasm, you’d best believe you’re going to feel the burn. If you’re quick on your feet, you can avoid a good bit of his damage and CC that isn’t point and click.
For this reason, Brand still doesn’t burn as bright as the other poke supports.
3 Zyra - Feel The Thorns’ Embrace
The Rise of the Thorns has excellent DOT damage and takes the power of nature to a whole new level. Using her Rampant Growth spell and her passive, Garden of Thorns, she spawns Seeds that can be activated in a variety of ways. If she uses her Deadly Spines near her seeds, they sprout into Thorn Spitters that attack enemies from a distance.
If activated with a surge of Grasping Roots that can travel through multiple targets and root all they hit, the seeds turn into Vine Lashers that attack in melee range. Zyra’s ultimate, Stranglethorns, is an AOE knock-up that enrages her activated plants, making them grow in size, attack faster, and deal more damage. If she goes a burning build like Liandry’s Torment and Demonic Embrace, her plants hurt a ton.
Remember to respect nature, but there are still some poke supports that can walk over her.
2 Xerath - He Is Eternal
The Magus Ascendant is an artillery mage with daunting range and painful poke. His Arcanopulse’s range increases the longer he channels it, while his Eye of Destruction is a small, AOE slow. His Shocking Orb stuns longer based on the distance traveled, so he could stun you long enough to hit you with all three non-ultimate spells and some.
His ultimate, Rite of the Arcane, has great range and allows him to catapult a barrage of magic missiles. This mage can even restore his own mana with his passive, Mana Surge, by auto attacking enemy champions and minions so he can continue to pelt you with powerful ranged magic. As devastating as his poke can be, if you can dodge it, you stand a chance against him.
Only one poke support can rival him.
1 Lux - Burn Away The Shadows
A crowd favorite, The Lady of Luminosity, Luxanna Crownguard, stands as the number one poke support. She can poke from a good distance with her Lucent Singularity, which slows enemies and deals damage. Her Light Binding roots enemies and allows her to land her full combo for tons of damage, especially when she has a few items.
Her passive, Illumination, applies a mark she can proc from the former two spells, as well as her ultimate, allowing her to deal a little extra damage by auto attacking after using a spell. Her ultimate, Final Spark, can also proc her passive mark and leave one for that little extra burst of damage after a full combo. Lux is also number one because even when behind, she still deals tons of damage and can be frustrating to deal with.