Defense Items

Tank Items: Soak like a sponge

Tank items are for you tanks(obviously) and tanky supports. They allow you to absorb damage away from your teammates while initiating, peeling, or disrupting. They provide damage reduction through health, armor, and magic resist while providing sustain through health regen and mitigating damage from specific sources in special ways. Keep in mind that even as a carry, you should probably build at least one tank item to prevent yourself from being nuked from 100 to 0 at the beginning of a fight.

Aegis of the Legion
When to use it:This is a great item for support, tanks, and tanky DPS type characters (it also gives a little damage). It's relatively cheap and can be bought early on, the stats it offers are pretty decent and can actually make a difference in a team fight.
Who to use it with:Just some examples:  Taric, Soraka, Nasus, Amumu
Extra Notes:Keep in mind that the aura is unique, try to make sure there isn't more that one person on your team with this.

Banshee's Veil
When to use it: Against any team that is heavy on CC or to counter ults that target. This item also offers good all around stats, especially since it builds from a  Negatron Cloak cloak. It's a great anti-mage item and can save you from traps
Who to use it with: Anyone
Extra Notes: Great for countering ults like  Requiem, Ace in the Hole,  Hemoplague, etc. It also makes champs who generally intiate with their ult like ww or malz simply unable to really target you until your shield is gone. Forcing them to adapt their approach to the fact that you'll block the first ability they throw at you. However, do not become too reliant on the shield. Some enemies, like  Dr. Mundo have abilities with extremely low cooldowns that can easily pop the shield, so be wary.


Catalyst the Protector
When to use it:A great item for early game sustainability, it is essentially the same as popping a health AND mana pot every time you level up. And since this item builds into  Banshee's Veil and Rod of Ages, it's pretty common.
Who to use it with:Use this on mages and tanky mages. It really can be used on anyone though since it has such an all around usage. Notable mentions:  Singed,  Anivia,  Kassadin,  Galio,  Karthus
Extra Notes:While AD carries often build banshee's, they really need to build a catalyst first, as they need to focus on damage items early on. Catalyst finds the best usage in the early game, you really shouldn't be buying it by itself after level 14-15.


Chalice of Harmony
When to use it:This item solves early game mana issues and offers some defense. It's a crutch for some characters and essential for others.
Who to use it with:Tanky mages  Galio,  Maokai and supports  Taric
Extra Notes:This item has two very good upgrade paths, so it's a pretty safe purchase if you're mana dependent.


Frozen Heart
When to use it: This item offers the second most armor in the game (10 less than thornmail) and is a good choice to build if you already have a  Glacial Shroud. The aura is beneficial for tanks since they can help alleviate the damage on the rest of their members. The passive can really affect team fights as it lowers the DPS from the enemy AD carry.
Who to use it with: Leona, Zilean, Ryze, Shen, Amumu,etc.
Extra Notes: Always build the glacial shroud first, the cloth armors will just take up inventory space.


Glacial Shroud
When to use it:Another CDR item that gives good stats. The mana and armor are good tanks, mages, and supports. This is the kind of item that is a core part of a build due to its all around usefulness.
Who to use it with:You can build this on just about anyone who needs mana and CDR, some notable examples: Ryze, Zilean, Leona, Anivia, Taric,  Blitzcrank, etc.
Extra Notes:Just remember that max CDR is 40%


Guardian Angel
When to use it:Use this item if you're a tanky DPS who can absorb a fair amount of damage but also needs to be in the middle of the fray to be really useful. This item will make enemies second guess whether they should target you, so it allows you to be much more aggressive. It also allows you to initiate and die, and then resume the fight after enemies have begun to refocus your teammates. This item has become a late game core item on AD carries as well due to their tendency to be focused.
Who to use it with: Nasus, Renekton, Warwick, Anivia(for the Lulz)
Extra Notes:You're not invincible when you have this item. If you die in a bad spot, the enemy team will just gather around you and focus you down when you resurrect. Be ready to take action (e.g flash away) the moment you resurrect.


Iceborn Gauntlet
When to use it:A really strong upgrade for  Sheen, use this item if you're building a  Glacial Shroud and you want a more offensive alternative to  Frozen Heart
Who to use it with:  Skarner,  Malphite,  Vi
Extra Notes: This item won't have a super noticeable effect in teamfights, but its particularly good for chasing and it provides a really excellent set of stats. This item is a little hard to categorize as it offers such a comprehensive set of stats. There are a lot of champions this is viable on.


Kindlegem
When to use it:Provides health and CDR, useful for supports or for champs who build  Spirit Visage
Who to use it with: Warwick, Sona, Vladimir, Dr. Mundo, Soraka, etc.
Extra Notes:This item has a lot of viable build paths so feel free to buy it and worry about it later depending on what you need to build.


Ohmwrecker
When to use it:Another niche pick, but can be powerful under the right circumstances. Use this if you plan on diving enemy towers a lot.
Who to use it with: Blitzcrank,  Singed,  Alistar
Extra Notes: Unfortunately, this item is too expensive to be bought during the laning phase, which means you're team will have to coordinate tower dives, meaning you'll likely need to be in a premade to make full use of this item. It can be good to turn the tides if you haven't managed to get any enemy towers yet.


Quicksilver Sash
When to use it:Use this to counter ultimates that cause suppression:  Warwick, Malzahar,Skarner.
Who to use it with:Anyone really, but mainly AD carries
Extra Notes:This item is a cheap built-in cleanse. It really has no restricted usage, but it's best used to counter a suppression ult, as Banshee's veil + smart positioning is probably better for the purposes of avoiding regular CC. This item can upgrade into  Mercurial Scimitar so it's a particularly lucrative purchase if you're an AD carry.


Randuin's Omen
When to use it: Useful for tanks and tanky DPS who find themselves clustered within the enemy team.
Who to use it with: Nasus,  Renekton, Jarvan IV,  Shen
Extra Notes: Remember to use the active, or this item is mostly a waste considering its stats for its price.


Runic Bulwark
When to use it:If you're a tank/support who built  Aegis of the Legion.
Who to use it with: Taric,  Amumu,  Galio, etc.
Extra Notes:This item is quite possibly one of the most cost efficient in the game and the free 30 magic resist for your entire team can be a game changer. Get this upgrade quickly if you're opponents are heavy on magic damage.


Sunfire Cape
When to use it:One of the items that defines a tank. Tanks throw themselves into the fray so they are surrounded by enemies who constantly take damage from this. You'll often build this first against teams that are heavy on AD, but it's useful all around as well.
Who to use it with:Tanks:  Malphite, Amumu, Shen, Leona,  Rammusetc.
Extra Notes:You used to be able to stack these, Eve's would run around with 5 of these and kill people by just standing next to them, maximum trolling. I do wish the passive would scale into late game though, it's not exactly an early game item and the magic damage is essentially useless after 30 minutes.


Spirit Visage
When to use it: Only use with characters who have ways of healing them selves, do not use this to try to buff heals from other characters, it doesn't work that way.
Who to use it with: Vladimir, Warwick, Dr. Mundo, Fiddlesticks, Swain
Extra Notes: Currently one of the strongest magic resist items, despite its situational usage. This item buffs life steal and spell vamp effects as well.


Thornmail
When to use it:Great item to counter AD champs like  Tryndamere who are facerolling you. Throw this item into the mix and watch them kill themselves.
Who to use it with: Rammus, Galio, Singed, but can be built on anyone if necessary.
Extra Notes:This item offers the highest amount of armor for a single item. Keep in mind, this only returns damage from Autoattacks, not abilities that deal physical damage. Don't expect this to stop  Talon or Riven from tearing you apart.


Warden's Mail
When to use it:Use on tanks planning to build  Randuin's Omen or  Frozen Heart. A useful counter to ranged AD carries.
Who to use it with: Nasus, Rammus, Amumu, Renekton, Galio,etc.
Extra Notes:This item can help you out if you're getting zoned by an enemy top laner. It mitigates a lot of their damage since it's not only a strong early game armor boost, but it lowers their attack speed as well. Pack this with  Ninja Tabi and you're opponent won't be able to do much to you unless they have a  The Brutalizer.


Warmog's Armor
When to use it:The best pure health item in the game, expensive, but really amps up your durability. Often combined with  Atma's Impaler.
Who to use it with: Dr. Mundo, Garen,  Jarvan IV
Extra Notes:Some builds rush Warmog's, but be careful, the item is very expensive so keep in mind that you'll be very weak (aside from having alot of health) while you're waiting to build it.

Guide Top

Support Items: who needs farm?

Support items are for your supports(again, obviously) and sometimes tanks. They generally provide utility in the form of vision, slows, healing, and auras. They are generally low cost items as supports have low income but they are designed to keep supports relevant through all phases of the game.

Banner of Command
When to use it: If you're a support or pusher looking to push lanes quickly.
Who to use it with: Janna,  Soraka
Extra Notes: This is a niche pick. You'll likely only be building this in premades in which you have a team comp that revolves around this kind of strategy. This item absorbed the summoner spell  Promote

Emblem of Valour
When to use it:A pretty solid item if you're on your way to building  Aegis of the Legion. Its cheap cost makes it a counterpart in sustainability to  Chalice of Harmony.
Who to use it with:Useful for supports and support tanks as it provides a little extra health to lane mates. It's particularly good with support  Heimerdinger since it stacks with his passive.
Extra Notes: You'll likely be buying this item after you get your GP5 or even earlier. Try to get is as soon as possibly so you can make good use of its passive during the laning phase.


Eleisa's Miracle
When to use it: A good upgrade path for  Philosopher's Stone if you don't plan on building Shurelya's Reverie and you are using heal or CV.
Who to use it with: Soraka, Sona, Janna,other supports
Extra Notes: Get this item early. You generally level up more often in the early phases of the game so you will be able to absorb this item's stats and passive sooner.
Keep in mind that it doesn't keep the GP5 passive so you will be losing that source of income.

Locket of the Iron Solari
When to use it: If playing a support or support tank. Remember to use the active early on in a teamfight to mitigate as much damage as possible.
Who to use it with: Supports like  Taric,  Alistar,  Sona,  Soraka.
Extra Notes: This item provides a nice defensive alternative for supports. It's a decent alternative to  Aegis of the Legion since it provides CDR and builds out of essentially the same items.


Mana Manipulator
When to use it:If you're a support laning with a champ who uses mana, this item is very useful since it gives your lane mate free mana.
Who to use it with: Janna,  Soraka,  Sona
Extra Notes:Keep in mind that you can start with this item, some situations call for this; this item is practically essential in ARAM. This item is good if you plan on building  Shard of True Ice. While you can start off with this item, you're better off with  Faerie Charm, wards, and potions to prevent yourself from dying in lane early on.


Mikael's Crucible
When to use it: A strong upgrade if you're a mana dependent support. This item has one of the best actives in the game and essentially gives you another summoner spell. Use against CC heavy teams that like to focus down your carry.
Who to use it with:  Sona,  Soraka,  Janna
Extra Notes: With this item there are now 4 possible ways for  Sivir to avoid CC. Keep in mind that this item has a very long cooldown, so use it for those clutch moments. It can be a game changer.


Philosopher's Stone
When to use it:Probably the best GP10 item, the stats it offers are great for any support or tank. It gives you the sustainability you need and allows you to buy wards as well.
Who to use it with: Alistar, Blitzcrank, Janna, Leona, Taric,etc.
Extra Notes:This item is great as an early game support, try to get it as soon as possible, but upgrade it during the mid game because its stats fall off quickly.

Shard of True Ice
When to use it:A solid upgrade for AP supports and the only item upgrade to retain a GP10 passive. Use to counter bruisers who like to stick to your allies or to give your own bruiser an advantage in chasing.
Who to use it with: Sona,  Nunu,  Soraka,  Janna
Extra Notes:This item is a strong peeling tool as it will prevent enemies from chasing your carry. This item is great to have early game as it can be used to prevent ganks and it retains all its passives from its children.


Shurelya's Reverie
When to use it: Useful on tanky supports who have already built a  Philosopher's Stone. It is a strong initiation and escape tool.
Who to use it with: Blitzcrank, Taric, Alistar.
Extra Notes: Since pretty much every support builds  Philosopher's Stone, this item is often core.


Twin Shadows
When to use it:A strong scouting tool for AP based champions, use this as an initiation tool or if you're enemies are particularly fond of vision wards and oracle's
Who to use it with: Nami,  Sona,  Janna, pretty much any support
Extra Notes: This item can be used for scouting, chasing, or initiation since the ghosts slow their targets. Each ghost will only slow one target, they won't target one champ for a greater slow.


Zeke's Herald (formerly Stark's fervor)
When to use it: Useful for supports since it amps up the damage of your AD carries.
Who to use it with:  Nunu,  Blitzcrank
Extra Notes: The aura is good, but situational. In long, drawn out team fights, this item can definitely provide an advantage.

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