Support champions in League of Legends are usually never able to deal as much damage as champions from other roles. This led to the creation of Pyke, the first-ever support with the nature of an assassin.
Despite the incredibly risky concept that could’ve broken the game and potentially changed our entire knowledge about the roles, the devs were able to create a relatively balanced champion. It was powerful at first, but it also had distinctive features and weaknesses that Riot was able to tweak over time, like nullifying damage to minions from his E to reduce his wave clearing, or no longer granting himself extra gold if he executes an enemy.
Nonetheless, the Bloodharbor Ripper is still one of the most frightening champions in the right hands. His roaming potential is still there, and enemies must always respect that in the first stages of the game. That said, his power is highly reliant on his build and items, so it’s essential to know what works (and what doesn’t) with him. Here is the best Pyke build in League season 13.
Runes
Domination
Hail of Blades: This is Pyke’s only viable keystone rune for this season. The attack speed boost is not only great for short, early-game trading but also for the mid-game when Pyke can use those attacks to bring squishy targets into the Death from Below threshold.
Cheap Shot: While it may look uninfluential at first, Cheap Shot is a great rune to add some extra damage to Pyke’s combo. It’s also relatively easy to proc the rune since he can do it with both instances of his Bone Skewer (Q), as well as Phantom Undertow (E). Throughout an entire game, this rune can deal hundreds of extra damage.
Zombie Ward: Always go for this rune with Pyke. This is because Zombie Ward synergizes with one of his core items, Umbral Glaive, allowing him to provide some easy wards for his team. On top of that, he is rewarded with extra attack damage the more wards he clears (up to a total of 22 attack damage), which is always nice to have on an assassin champion like Pyke.
Relentless Hunter: While some prefer to go for Ultimate Hunter to reduce Death from Below’s (R) cooldown, most Pyke players opt for Relentless Hunter to increase the roaming power. He can get up to 40 additional movement speed out of combat which, paired with his W and boots, can make him move from one lane to another in a matter of a few seconds
Resolve
Bone Plating: You’ll often find yourself trading aggressively with Pyke. Considering Pyke cannot build health due to his own passive, Bone Plating is a great way to reduce incoming damage and help him soak up some extra damage that would bring him into a dangerous position otherwise.
Unflinching: Just like Bone Plating, Unflinching gains tremendous value for a squishy champion like Pyke. Getting extra Tenacity is always nice, and it helps Pyke break free of lethal crowd controls faster. Having a high movement speed is crucial for a swift champion like Pyke, so getting the slow resistance, on top of that Tenacity (which reduces the slow duration), is the best thing you could ever ask for from the Resolve tree.
Bonuses: +10 attack speed, +9 adaptive force, +6 armor.
Items
The starting items for Pyke are quite standard: grab Steel Shoulderguards, which grants gold to both you and your nearest when last-hitting minions, as well as two health potions. Since Pyke cannot build health, potions are the only way for Pyke to stay above certain health thresholds.
Just like for most supports, the first recall is extremely important because it decides how long you can stay on the map. The best buy possible on the first recall would be Serrated Dirk since it gives the best spike in terms of damage, followed by tier-one boots to get faster roams.
If you’re not able to collect 1400 gold for these two items, prioritize Serrated Dirk. If you have to go back to base before hitting 1100 gold, just buy two Long Swords and Boots of Speed. Regardless of what you do, make sure to rush the components for Umbral Glaive, which is Pyke’s first and most important item to get.
The main reason why Umbral Glaive is so powerful on Pyke is that it gives him good stats for one of the cheapest legendary items in the game (2300 gold), and the ability to empower his roaming ability. He can use the item passive to de-ward the entire map while farming lots of gold and experience to stay on par or even ahead of the enemies. Paired with Oracle Lens, he can essentially make the enemy’s map go entirely dark, forcing them to walk into the fog of war, and potentially getting picked by the enemies.
When it comes to the boots choices, Mobility Boots are usually the best option for Pyke. They are cheaper than most in the game and give him 100 movement speed out of combat, which, paired with Relentless Hunter and his W can increase up to more than 200 extra movement speed.
Later in the game, however, it might be wise to swap them out for Plated Steelcaps or Mercury’s Treads to take advantage of some extra resistances.
Pyke’s Mythic item is none other than Duskblade of Draktharr, a typical item choice for assassins like him. It gives him all the stats he needs and the possibility to go invisible after killing an enemy, allowing him to reposition and strike once again from the correct position. It works fantastically with his ultimate when he’s able to get the reset.
After this trio of core items, you’re looking to boost Pyke’s resistances, or else he’ll get instantly taken down before you can deal any damage.
You’re going to build both Maw of Malmortius and Guardian Angel as the fourth and fifth item choices: just choose the purchase order based on whether you need more armor or magic resistance first. In most scenarios, Guardian Angel is stronger due to the revive passive.
To round off the build, you can decide between Vigilant Wardstone or Edge of Night. The latter gives you an extra protective spell shield while increasing your offensive stats. Wardstone, on the other hand, serves a more supportive purpose, allowing you to store more wards and put more vision on the map. It’s also more cost-efficient since it only costs 1100 gold compared to Edge of Night’s 2900, and it still counts as a legendary item to get the extra ability haste coming from Duskblade’s passive.
