Ever since the start of the new League of Legends season, we’ve started seeing more and more ranged supports rising in popularity. Aside from enchanters, we’ve also started seeing ADCs played in the role, including Ashe. The marksman champion is now one of the most popular champions in the role, from Challenger Elo all the way to lower ranks.
Although one of the oldest champions in League, Ashe has withstood constant changes in the meta due to the sheer amount of crowd control she has in her kit. These strengths are exactly what’s making her so oppressive in the support role. With an item like Imperial Mandate and a high amount of ability haste from the rest of the item build, Ashe can spam her slowing abilities, including her ultimate, with near-limitless range, almost without cooldowns, thus enabling her allies to capitalize and catapult her to the top of the current support meta seemingly out of nowhere.
Here’s the best build for Ashe support in League.
Best runes for Ashe support in League
Domination
Hail of Blades: The latest Ashe support keystone rune is no longer Arcane Comet. Hail of Blades allows Ashe to capitalize on early trading power: the additional attack speed boost she gets from the rune makes her short trades more effective. Since she will usually be played with another ADC, the two will have a higher damage output in all the trades during the laning phase.
Cheap Shot: This rune gives extra damage that can be useful at all times in the game. Since Ashe has a slow on her W on a low cooldown, she can proc it consistently from level one. While one cast isn’t that impactful, it can lead to hundreds of bonus damage throughout an entire game.
Zombie ward: Just like other Umbral Glaive users, Ashe also utilizes the item to clear wards quickly. Zombie ward rewards her by granting extra vision and adaptive force, making it the best rune in the third row of the Domination tree.
Ultimate Hunter: Ashe support heavily relies its power on hitting ultimates to initiate fights or look for potential picks or engages. Thus, Ultimate Hunter ensures that she gets the lowest amount of cooldown on her Enchanted Crystal Arrow.
Inspiration
Biscuit Delivery: Considering that Ashe wants to trade aggressively in the early phase of the game, Biscuits Delivery can give her some extra sustain. Not only that but she also gets extra mana, allowing her to spam her spells even more.
Approach Velocity: The rune is quite self-explanatory. Ashe has a lot of ways to slow down enemies with her kit, so Approach Velocity is one of the runes with the highest value on her. The movement speed bonus allows her to chase targets and continue harassing them with her abilities.
Bonuses: +10 percent attack speed, +9 adaptive force, +6 armor (or +8 magic resistance against magic damage champions)
Best starting items for Ashe
Spectral Sickle: Despite the nerfs in Patch 13.4, this is the only viable choice for Ashe support. She needs AD to deal damage so the extra stats can make her stronger in the early game. What’s more important, however, is that she can use the item’s passive to quickly generate gold. Given that she is ranged, she can auto the enemies from distance and safely proc it on the turret as well. Once upgraded, she can place the wards on top of the vision granted by her E.
Health Potions: Ashe has low base HP, even after the recent durability changes. While she may not fall as quickly as before, she has no way to innately heal herself, making health potions crucial to surviving the early game.
Stealth Ward: Unlike her normal role as an ADC, Ashe support wants to place wards. Between Stealth Wards, Control Wards, and her E ability, Ashe must ensure that her allies have an adequate vision for objectives.
Serrated Dirk: The lethality item component is vital to Ashe’s laning phase. It’s one of the most gold-efficient items in the game, granting her a good spike to outtrade the enemies. Since she falls off later on anyway, it’s worth making sure she can fully abuse the enemy bot lane at her strongest stage.
Best core items for Ashe
Umbral Glaive: Though nerfed, Umbral Glaive continues to be Ashe’s core item in her build. While the stats the item grants are not that influential, you want to buy this item to detect and clear wards or traps. Once the support item is fully upgraded, the cleared wards with this item are going to become one of Ashe’s main sources of income. Not only that but it gives favorable vision control to her team.
Imperial Mandate: Nearly all of Ashe’s abilities and attacks slow her foes. Since she won’t be building efficient amounts of damage to take down enemies, Imperial Mandate empowers her allies’ damage with the item’s passive effect. All Ashe has to do is slow them down and ensure they won’t escape.
Black Cleaver: After receiving more buffs in Patch 13.1b, Black Cleaver is now one of the most underrated items in the game. While Ashe doesn’t necessarily do significant damage with this item, she can shred through multiple enemies’ armor with her W, allowing her allies to deal more damage in her stead. Given that it also grants ability haste and health, it’s a great buy to pick up after Imperial Mandate.
Best late-game items for Ashe
Chempunk Chainsword: The anti-heal item was considered one of the most efficient items in the game. It grants great stats at a much lower cost. Now that Grievous Wounds was buffed again to 40 percent flat at all times, Ashe can grab this item and get attack damage, ability haste, and health. In other words, it’s another all-rounded item like Black Cleaver.
Axiom Arc: More ultimates, fewer problems. Once Ashe gets out of the laning phase, most of her value is put on her Enchanted Crystal Arrow. Axiom Arc rewards her with huge ultimate cooldown refunds when scoring takedowns, letting her shoot more arrows for its team. That being said, the item doesn’t really bring much more value than that so it’s best to buy it as a potential last item slot.
Watchful Wardstone: If you don’t want to build Axiom Arc, you can also consider Watchful Wardstone as an alternative. Once upgraded, the item increases all types of ward caps by one, potentially improving Ashe’s team vision. It also has a lower cost compared to other items.
