Hello everyone and welcome to my Blitzcrank guide! I started playing League of Legends in early August 2014 and since then I have climbed to Diamond III. Early on I greatly enjoyed the support role. Initially I played champions like Lux or basically what was in the free rotation at the time. When Blitzcrank was available for me, I instantly loved the champion. He is a champion that is extremely easy to pick up and VERY fun to play. Furthermore, he is one of the strongest supports for Solo Q. Hooks can completely change games. 1 hook onto the enemy team's carries will most likely lead to a won team fight/objectives.



This guide will focus on a tank/roam heavy focused Blitzcrank build. In my opinion, this is the most effective way to build and play Blitzcrank. His ganks are some of the best in the game and being tanky allows him to run at the enemy team for engage.

I hope you learn something from this guide and found it useful!

Pros

+ Has one of the best abilities for invading + Not a difficult champion to learn + One of the best champions for creating "picks" + Punishes enemy mistakes very hard + Silence very powerful in teamfights/skirmishes + Very fun to play + Has decent defensive stats and does high damage in the early game

Cons

- Very high mana costs - Requires good positioning - Bad hooks can lose teamfights - Has to play aggressive in lane - Failure to land hooks in lane can make him useless - No sustain within his kit - Vulnerable to poke

• Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: Move speed is an amazing stat on Blitzcrank. These quints will greatly increase your roaming ability throughout the entire game. These will also help you to close the gap in lane.
• Greater Mark of Armor: In most games you will most likely be the main/off tank on your team. These will provide crucial defensive stats for the early game. They will stop you from easily being poked out of your lane.
• Greater Seal of Health: Similar to the marks of armor, these will provide those defensive stats that will help you have a successful early game. Taking seal of health is much more efficient than taking Greater Seal of Armor
• Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: These runes will help you in lane against ADCs like Corki and Ezreal, also against high damage AP supports such as Zyra and Brand. One of Blitzcrank's biggest weaknesses is his inability to deal with poke. Taking these runes will help to reduce this problem.

This is the rune page which I will almost always take on Blitzcrank. Of course there are definitely changes you can make to suit your play style and your lane opponents. If you're against a lane which has very little AP damage then taking Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist is very effective. These become better than the flat magic resist seals at level 9. Similarly, you can also take Greater Seal of Scaling Health to improve your mid-late game stats. The quints can also be changed. Greater Quintessence of Armor is a popular choice. Taking these will reduce your roaming ability slightly but will make increase your defensive stats by a considerable amount. Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage are also good to take on Blitzcrank. Taking these will increase your early game damage by a noticeable amount. Pro-players such as Aphromoo take these Quints when playing Blitzcrank.

The masteries I use for Blitzcrank are very standard for a support. I would always recommend the following 0/12/18 set up when playing any support unless you really want
Windspeaker's Blessing which is very strong on supports such as Soraka and also effective on Nami and Sona.

Flash is the best summoner spell in the game (for most champions). This should be taken on Blitzcrank every game. Blitzcrank's only gap closer is his speed gained by Overdrive. Taking flash will allow you to make plays such as Flash -> Rocket Grab. This combo is extremely hard to predict/react to. Additionally, it provides you with an effective escaping tool.

In most of my games I will take exhaust. This is for a number for reasons. Firstly, in Solo Q people like to play champions like Riven, Vayne and Irelia. Bringing exhaust will greatly help your ability to peel for your carries as an exhaust on champions such as these will diminish their ability to move and burst people down. Furthermore, exhaust continues to be very useful going into the late game especially in team fights. Exhaust also helps you land hooks and close gaps on people due to its powerful slow.

Ignite is a powerful summoner spell on Blitzcrank due to him having to play aggressive in the lane. I will normally only take this spell if my ADC has high early game burst damage such as Graves or if the enemy team has someone like Swain and my mid/top laners didn't bring ignite. Ignite falls of hard lategame which is 1 of its major cons.

Starting items: Every Blitzcrank game I take Relic Shield. The 70+ HP helps a lot in the early game and its passive effect is great in lane. It is Blitzcrank's main form of sustain other than health potions. I also take 3x Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation. Since 5.22 went live, Mana Potion have been removed from the game. This was a pretty big nerf so Blitzcrank as an out of mana Blitzcrank is a useless Blitzcrank. However they did buff his base mana regen and provide some useful mana regen masteries to make up for this. Ancient Coin can be taken if you're team is heavily lacking engage and if you are likely to start team fighting early, however, I believe the Turbo Chemtank active to be powerful enough to provide an engage. Ancient Coin is also a nice item for beginners as they don't have to worry about using the Relic Shield passive effect.

DO NOT start with a Vision Ward. I see people doing this quite often and it is just terrible to start with. You need the extra potions on Blitzcrank to survive the lane. ONLY start with a ward if you are completely terrified of the enemy jungler early in the game and they are playing a champion such as Lee Sin or Shaco.



1st back: There are a lot of different variables to consider when determining what items to buy on your 1st back:

• Are you wanting to roam as soon as possible?
• Are you getting ganked frequently?
• Do you need sustain to help you survive through the lane?
• Do I need a pink ward?

Keep these in mind before you back and think what you are going to buy whilst/before recalling to prevent you spending a lot of time on the fountain.

If you are wanting to room as soon as possible then rush Mobility Boots, although you will still to help your team set up vision so buy Vision Ward if you have the gold. It is important to note that Mobility Boots provide next to no stats in lane.

If you are getting ganked repeatedly then definitely rush a Sightstone. This will diminish the jungler's and mid laner's ability to gank your lane. 150HP is also a considerable amount early on in the game. Also, be sure to trade your Stealth Ward in for a Sweeping Lens.

If you are against a poke heavy lane such as Vel'Koz or a sustain heavy lane such as Nami and are having difficulties in the lane then buy a large amount of potions. This will help you to survive the poke and match the sustain of your opponent.

If you aren't getting ganked often and you do not plan on roaming early then you can upgrade to a targon's brace. This will give you more sustain and gold income than the base Relic Shield as it reduces the CD of the passive effect and causes it to heal for a greater amount.



Core items: Once you have got your Sightstone and Mobility Boots you have to start thinking about what items you want/your team needs next. Most games I will fully upgrade my Relic Shield to face of the mountain after getting Sightstone and Mobility Boots. The shield can save your and your allies lives, it also provides some much needed CDR, health and gold income. Some people prefer not upgrading to face of the mountain but I'd highly recommend upgrading the Relic Shield to at least targon's brace. Almost always aim to build Aegis of the Legion before the Kindlegem component unless your income is REALLY low and you need stats as soon as possible.

Once you have purchased targon's brace/ face of the mountain press tab and see what members of the enemy team and what their main source of damage is (physical/magical). If the enemy team has a lot of magic damage or something like a very fed Vladimir then getting a Locket of the Iron Solari is the item you want. This item is very strong. It will reduce the magic damage that your allies who are near you by a substantial amount. It's active can also be game changing.

If none of the enemy team is providing a large magic damage threat or someone on your team is already building a Locket of the Iron Solari then you want to get a different item. Frozen Heart is one of the best items you can get on Blitzcrank in my opinion. All of the stats it gives are incredible for Blitzcrank; Mana,CDR, Armor and a strong aura. Rush this item if the team has a large amount of physical damage. It will also reduce the damage by quite a bit of champions such as Vayne and Jax who rely mostly on auto-attacks. Frozen Heart is also great against Azir. Both components of the item are good items on Blitzcrank so it doesn't matter much which you chose. I personally prefer Glacial Shroud.

The other item I would recommend rushing on Blitzcrank is Turbo Chemtank. This is a still fantastic item, even after its nerfs in 5.13. I would recommend building this item early if your team is far ahead to give you an easy method of engaging and to increase your ability to make picks. The catalyst the protector will also help you with health/mana problems.



Other items to consider: Mikael's Blessing is a great item for supports in general. It can get you and your team out of some sticky situations and it helps a lot with Blitzcrank's mana problems and provides 10% CDR. I usually avoid buying this item though unless the team has champions with a lot of CC such as Morgana or Leona. Mikael's provides little defensive stats and it's build path is not the best. Randuin's Omen provides better defensive stats than Frozen Heart. If you feel like you don't need the extra mana and you built items that already give you enough CDR then this item is a good choice. The active will also help you peel for your carries. Banshee's Veil is a good item to build if the enemy team has a lot of AP damage and your Locket of the Iron Solari isn't providing you with enough MR. It's also a good pickup if the enemy team has poke champions such as Nidalee and Xerath. Zeke's harbringer is a fantastic item under the right circumstances. It is important to to think about the champions are your team before buying this item amongst other variables.



The forbidden items: Every time I see someone build one of these items a part of me dies inside. The only one that is acceptable is Ancient Coin and it should only be built in the circumstances I described above. Sunfire Aegis is a very inefficient item in general. It should only ever be purchased on champions such as Shen who want to split push but have poor wave clear. Dr. Mundo and Malphite are other exceptions. Therefore, this item is just bad on Blitzcrank. You aren't going to be split pushing and your role in your team is to not do damage. Your purpose is to provide utility, CC and peel. Iceborn Gauntlet, similar reason as Sunfire Aegis. You do not need to worry about dealing damage. Even if your team is laughable far ahead building pure defensive items is better. Tear of the Goddess just NEVER buy this on Blitzcrank. Under any circumstance. The stats on both its upgrades are nearly useless. Your mana problems aren't bad enough to justify this item. If you are going out of mana constantly then you are casting abilities far too often. It also takes over 20 minutes to stack this on a champion like Blitzcrank and so it is just incredibly inefficient.

I would recommend picking Blitzcrank if the enemy team has picked champions such as or similar to:


Blitzcrank is a very good pick into champions that have channels or suppressions. He can easily cancel ultimates such as Warwick Infinite Duress. Rocket Grab Power Fist and Static Field can also be used top cancel these abilities. Mikael's Blessing also works to give you 4 possible ways of stopping suppressions. Static Field also prevents LeBlanc from activating/reactivating her Distortion which eliminates the possibility for her juking/escaping her way out of your team.

If the enemy team picks an ADC with low mobility such as Jinx then Blitzcrank is a suitable pick. This means the ADC will have to rely on their juking ability or for their allies to block the hooks. Apply the same idea to the enemies mid/top lane and jungle champions.

Blitzcrank is also an effective champion against champions such as Corki and Tristana. Their escapes can easily be canceled by Blitzcrank's Power Fist. If you successfully cancel their escapes in lane it will most likely lead to a kill or summoners being used by them or their support.


Synergies:
For your lane partner, you want an ADC with high early damage such as Graves, Corki, Caitlyn, Lucian, Sivir or Ashe. Having 1 of these ADCs gives you a high amount of kill pressure which you want as Blitzcrank. As I've stated many times throughout this guide, you NEED to play aggressive in order for him to work. Having an ADC that just wants to farm is not a good choice to partner with Blitzcrank. ADCs such as Vayne, Twitch, Kog'Maw and Ezreal do not synergise well with Blitzcrank.
ADCs with their own CC are OK with Blitzcrank as they can easily chain their CC with yours. For example, once you land a Rocket Grab, Jinx can then immediately use her Flame Chompers! I really like having Sivir as my ADC as Blitzcrank because On The Hunt used with Turbo Chemtank provides an engage that the opposing team will struggle to handle. Similarly Kalista can also help Blitzcrank engage.

Outside of ADCs, champions with a lot of lock-down and pick potential go well with Blitzcrank. These are champions suck as Ahri, Maokai or Elise. Once a Blitzcrank hooks a target into a team with a large amount of CC there is little chance they will escape.



I would not recommend picking Blitzcrank if the enemy team has picked champions such as or similar to:


Champions with AoE CC abilities make it really tough for Blitzcrank to land a hook on the carries in the late game. They want to block the hooks and use them for a method of engage. Zac makes this particularly difficult due to his huge hitbox. Once you grab on of these champions into your team they will simply use their CC abilities and throw the fight into their favor. For example, Amumu will be able to immediately use his ultimate Curse of the Sad Mummy. Not only can this lose you a fight/the game you will also most likely receive some flame from your teammates which will decrease moral in your team.

Blitzcrank is also a poor choice into teams with a lot of champions who have high mobility. It is very difficult to land a hook on a good Kalista in lane unless she is completely out of position. Other champions such as Riven are also difficult to lock down.

Early game: In my opinion, Blitzcrank is the best champion to invade with in the game. For this reason it is worth invading every game you play. If you have a few teammates with you when you land a Rocket Grab it will almost guarantee a kill or in the enemy using summoners to escape. It is worth mentioning to your team in the pre-game lobby that you are going to invade so none of them are AFK at the start of the game. I would recommend the following paths for invading:

Even if you do not find any enemies to hook or you are spotted it is still worth to continue the invade to ward. This will allow you to see which side the enemy jungler started and the path he is taking. Blitzcrank is also a good support for doing Gromp or Krug with if your jungler is not starting them.




Laning: As soon as you get into lane, you and your ADC want to start rushing for level 2. This is key for Blitzcrank as his level 2 is very strong. Usually it is not worth going for a Rocket Grab level 1 as you want to have it up for level 2. Only do it if you are able to hook the enemy into your minions for an easily winnable trade. Using your Relic Shield stacks if necessary to help you level up 1st. Upon reaching level 2, put a point into your Power Fist then look for a hook. Ideally the enemy ADC but if they are still level 1 it is OK to hook the support as you will still win the trade. Throughout the entire laning phase you want to apply pressure to the enemy bot lane. Keep re positioning yourself so that the enemy ADC will have to keep moving in order to dodge your hooks. This may cause them to lose CS. If you go for a Rocket Grab and miss you want to back off a bit as if the enemy is smart they will instantly look to play aggressive. It is also important on Blitzcrank to not get too much into the enemies face as if they have poke they can easily force you out of lane. One of the best features of Blitzcrank that most melee supports do not have is that they provide a lot of threat even if the wave is pushed into the enemies tower. Use this to your advantage. Similarly, if you hook somebody under your tower they are most likely going to die or be forced to use summoners.



1st back/early mid game If you went for the Sightstone 1st back then you want to start working on controlling vision around the dragon pit. This will allow you to spot the enemy jungler going mid/bot, provide dragon control and allow you to see where the enemy has warded so your team can clear it out. You can still look for ganks mid but with the Sightstone start I would focus on helping your ADC in the bot lane.

If you went for the Mobility Boots start then you want to start looking for plays across the map immediately for else its not an efficient buy. Make sure you bought wards too so that you can enter the enemy jungle, ward it and then leave quickly. Doing this will allow you and your jungler to counter-gank the enemy jungler. Be sure to tell your ADC that you are roaming a lot so they know to play passively. Do not roam a lot if your ADC is weak early game and is against an aggressive lane as your ADC will most likely die if left unprotected. If your lane is losing horribly, for example your Vayne is 0/2 against a 3/0 Corki then it is best to focus on roaming. The lane is already lost and out of your control. Your ADC might rage at you a bit for leaving them but doing this is whats best for your team.



Mid game: The mid game is vision focused. All supports want to maintain vision but this is especially important on Blitzcrank due to his ability to make picks. If your jungler is clever then he will know to help ward the enemy jungle, most likely in the bottom side. Creating even 1 pick can get you dragon. Be sure not to over commit, however, as you will be in their side of the map so they can easily collapse on you if you're not careful. It is important at this stage of the game to keep a Vision Ward on the map at all times. I would also recommend upgrading to an Oracle's Lens as soon as you can to help you control the vision.



Late game/teamfighting: There are several things you want to think about when late game comes. Is your ADC fed? Are there very high damage threats on the enemy team? Does the enemy team have AoE CC? Does your team have engage other than you? If your ADC is fed and your team has engage other than you then it is best to focus on peeling for him/her throughout the teamfights. Keep Exhaust for anyone diving on your ADC and remember to Rocket Grab the biggest threat away. If the enemy team's, for example, Katarina is very fed then focus on interrupting her once she dives in. You want to immediately cancel her Death Lotus and prevent her from crushing your team. If the enemy team has multiple damage threats then I would recommend looking for hooks on them unless their team is protecting them well with champions such as Alistar or Zac. If you do manage to hook the enemy team's carries then the situation gets heavily skewed to your favor. Also don't be afraid to look for the Flash -> Rocket Grab combo as it is very difficult for anyone to react to his. Flash -> Power Fist in some situations is even more effective. Your main concern at this point in the game is not to hook the enemy tanks with high AoE CC into your team.

Thanks for reading my Blitzcrank guide! I hope you learnt something from reading it. If you have any questions or any suggestions on how I can improve this guide please leave them in the "Content discussion" below.

Good luck with your games!