Mister Chow's Blitzcrank Guide

Hi all! My name is Mister Chow and I'm a Diamond ranked North America Player that mains Blitzcrank. He is definitely my favorite champion to play ever since I started this game!!! :D

Lolking: http://www.lolking.net/summoner/na/18991696
OP.GG: http://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=mister+chow

Blitzcrank has great crowd control, excels at zoning, and can change the flow of an entire game single-handedly! (Pun intended) Rocket grab has a high mana cost especially in the early game which is why I actually prefer going flask or grabbing a couple mana pots whenever I go back to base. Blitzcrank can be deceivingly tanky with his passive Static Field so you can pull off those tricky baits. (I'll show myself out)

One thing to keep in mind while playing Blitzcrank is that you aren't going to hit 100% of your grabs. And That's Okay. A lot of times in lane I would fire off my grabs just to learn the enemies tendencies. Just because you missed a few grabs, that doesn't mean you won't hit a crucial one later on. Be confident in your own abilities and don't let the enemy or especially your own teammates get into your head.

This guide is a work in progress as I still have a lot more things I want to add but I think I hit all the major points I wanted to for now. Definitely comment if there are anything specific you want me to add in here.

Blitzcrank Overview

Strengths

Long Range Grab (Potentially making it
a 5 v 4)

Innate Tankiness with Mana Shield Passive

Hard to Tower Dive

AOE Silence Ult with Good Burst

Low Cooldown Knock-up

Very Mobile and Roams Well

Weaknesses

High Mana Cost on Grab

Low Sustain in Lane Without Potions

Grab is Unreliable and When It's Down You Lose Your Zone

Wards Can Counter Blitzcrank

No escape tools other than Overdrive and Flash.

This rune page is my preferred rune page to go to when support in most situations. You have your typical flat armor yellows and magic resist blues, but what really varies on this page is the attack damage reds and the mana Quintessences. I'll start off with the reasoning for my choice in Marks. The reason why I get physical damage reds is the synergy it has with Blitzcrank's Power Fist as it doubles your attack damage on the target. Even with a plus 8.5 dmg buff it actually hits for 17 dmg with power fist and that is a little less than two long swords. Although it isn't essential to have attack damage reds, you start to notice you burst just a little bit harder at early levels which matters the most. Whatever extra burst you can provide in your combo can make that difference in a kill or not. For my quintessence I used to run flat hp but I found that running flat mana was actually more efficient for Blitzcrank. As Blitzcrank's passive scales off of the mana you have at the moment it makes more sense to have more mana to be able to seem less tanky than you actually are. Also the amount of mana you start with only warrants for you to throw a grab or two before you run out of mana pretty quickly in lane without good management. With this start I almost feel like I don't run out of mana when I combine this with my masteries and items. The more grabs you can throw out the better. You also hit the Strength of Spirit utility mastery at level 1 providing you with more health regen. Lastly you essentially have a potential 56 more hp when your mana shield procs so that is a plus too.

The mastery page that I run now a days is a pretty standard 0/9/21 utility focused page. I hit all the basic armor/health in the defensive tree that allows me to take a decent amount of harass in lane especially against ranged champions. In the utility I try to focus my points on skills that allow me to passively regenerate my mana and health. I also opt to put my points into lowering my summoner skills as well as my item's actives. This way it will help me to stay relevant in most team fights by having all available cooldowns up whenever I need them to be. The rest of the tree is pretty standard when it comes to leeching money passively, as well as utilizing my potions more effectively in lane. This mastery tree helps me to stay in lane longer and be more of a threat without having to worry about running out mana after a couple grabs.

There are two sets of summoners that Blitzcrank can run that I think are both equally effective. They both have their advantages and both have their negatives. I'll first start off talking about the importance of flash on Blitzcrank. Flash is probably one of the best tools in Blitzcrank's arsenal especially when combined with your skill set. It helps you instantly reposition yourself to land impossible hooks but at the same time it helps you get out of situations when needed. Learning to combine using flash and your grab is one of the most important aspects of Blitzcrank's gameplay, especially in the higher ranked play. It allows for you to catch your opponents off guard whether you Flash + Power fist them or you Flash Grab them. I will provide ample amounts of examples later to show you exactly what I mean. Okay onto exhaust.
Running exhaust is essentially giving Blitzcrank another CC to combine with his combo Grab + Punch + Ult. It also helps to put down priority targets and also helps to peel off champs from your teammates. Situationally you would want to grab Exhaust if you know there is a priority target that you need to put down (Riven, Tryndamere, Master Yi, LeBlanc, etc.) The tradeoff here is giving up more damage that is provided by ignite. But I think the fact that you can use Exhaust both offensively and defensively makes getting it very good.


Getting Ignite is also a very standard thing to do on Blitzcrank as it combos very well with the rest of your abilities. The more damage you can put on the enemy champion the better chance that your team will get the kill. Especially when almost all Marksman would get Heal it will reduce the amount of healing by 50%, which is effective during laning phase but also if you are facing against those pesky Bloodthirsters, Spell Vamp, or Healing champions. The tradeoff here is of course there aren't really any defensive use to Ignite. It screams aggression and tells the enemy exactly what you plan to do to them. They can all burn.


With the recent changes to heal it makes it a decent summoner skill that you can pick up for bot lane. Not only does this heals and removes healing reduction effects (ignite, tristana's e, etc.) it also provides a temporary 30% speed boost that could help you get away from the enemy. However this summoner is now typically picked up by the AD carry so I would most likely still get either exhaust or ignite.

So I think a lot of people take Mana Barrier for granted. 90 second cooldown that gives you a free shield based on 50% of the current mana you have. I think I have survived more times relying on this baby and baiting kills just for the very fact that people often times forget how much of a shield I am actually gaining. It lasts a whole 10 seconds so you don't have to worry that it will fizzle away as soon as it pops giving you ample amount of time to hopefully make it out.


The single most terrifying skill in the game. Actually that isn't true, but it definitely demoralizes a lot of people as soon as they get hooked. But the feeling of hooking an enemy champion is glorious (especially a hook in late game on an important target). This single skill is what makes Blitzcrank feared and it used to be a highly banned or sought after champion. You should just rename this skill to be called the Game Changer. This however doesn't always mean its a good thing as you could be pulling their Amumu right into the center of your team. (Yes I have done that before). I will go more indepth about the Art of Grabbing later on in this guide.


Just a great complimentary skill for Blitzcrank's kit to allow for instant burst of movement and a good positioning tool. Being able to get from one place to another quickly is very important in League of Legends as every second could mean gaining the upper hand in control of an area or landing a hook before the enemy escapes. Underrated skill of Blitzcrank's kit but still vitally important.


The combo of the Rocket Grab but also one of the best interrupting skills in the game. The fact that it can be instantly casted after an auto attack just means you can often times punch people even after they flash away or in the middle of jumps stop people in their tracks (Tristana). As long as you let the animation run through typically it will be able to finish casting and still knock up enemy champions despite their actions. I'll show an example of this later on as well.


An AoE silence burst damage nuke. Nuff' said. Well not really, but this skill is often times very situational in use. Especially when you are facing champions that channel their abilities or have skills in a similar fashion (Malzahar, Katarina, Fiddlesticks, etc.) This is a great way to instantly cancel their ability while providing a good chunk of damage.

This is the standard skill priority you should have while playing Blitzcrank. Leveling Q lowers the cooldown as well as increases the damage that you put out. Leveling Overdrive before Power Fist is essential because it provides you with more chasing power and more mobility. Mobility is very important on Blitzcrank to position yourself for hooks. Yes .5 seconds matters when its difference between hooking someone at max range and letting them get away. People ask why not level up Power Fist to lower its cooldown. Well the reality of the situation is even at max rank you still have a 5 second cooldown on your Power Fist. You would at most be able to use it twice rarely three before the fight is already over. In that amount of time you could have had 8 consecutive seconds of 62% attack speed boost and 32% movement speed boost to help maneuver around fights. A slow Blitzcrank is a weak Blitzcrank.

Build 1 is pretty much my default starting build as it goes hand in hand with my primary rune page and primary mastery page. This provides me with ample amounts of health regen and mana regen in the early levels until I upgrade my Ancient Coin into my Nomad's Medallion where it becomes infinitely better and easier to stay in lane. This also ends up building into a Talisman of Ascension which is a very good team oriented item allowing you to disengage or engage as you please. I opt to go this route when I see that the enemy has a large amount of AoE champions or a heavy catch comp. This way you can help your teammates get out of a bad jam when they are about to get caught, or allows you to escape from heavy AoE ults such as Morg/Fiddle/Katarina etc.

Build 2 is also a very common start for Blitzcrank. This start helps you to start off bulkier with the trade off of mana regen/health regen after you upgrade. Relic shield allows you to execute minions below 200 hp and restoring a bit of health and providing you and your teammate with gold as well. You can use this items passive to push the lane very quickly at level 1 so you can hit level 2 before your opponents. You can then engage on your enemy with a level/ability advantage and possibly pick up an early kill. Relic shield eventually builds into a Face of the Mountain which main purpose is to provide your carries with a protective shield. I typically go this route when I see that the other team have a strong assassins team comp and you need to provide your carries with extra defense.

It is very hard for me to make a final build for Blitzcrank because every game I build something different based upon the team I'm facing. The only item I would for sure obtain would either be Talisman of Ascension or Face of the Mountain depending on the route I decided to take in the beginning of the game. Talisman of Ascension is great for Blitzcrank as it allows for you to not only to disengage but to position yourself to land grabs. Face of the Mountain is a good way to provide your carries with a defensive shield especially when the enemy is try to burst them down. It really helps to mitigate the enemy's burst potential and will have them thinking twice before jumping in on your teammates. Boots of mobility are still very good on Blitzcrank (despite its nerf). They help you get back in lane faster and roam from lane to lane providing the necessary support at a moments notice. Everything else is pretty standard so I won't really get into why you should get a sightstone, pink wards, or oracle lens. I'll simply say vision wins games. Whether you providing vision or denying vision, they are both very important. The reason why I have not included any more items after these is because I don't believe that every game you will be building towards the same final build. It will be completely based upon who you are matching up against and situationally what to build. As a support you used to have a very stale option of what you can build, but that is no longer true. There are plenty of items you can build that will be effective against a varieties of team compositions and you will just have to see for yourself what is good. I have listed most of them in the next chapter.

This is a very rough example of what you should be doing to get your items. All you need to know is always upgrade your Ancient Coin first to a Nomad's Medallion. Then get boots for the mobility. After this you could either go Ruby Crystal for more durability going towards a Sightstone or go straight to a Boots of Mobility to allow for you to roam and move around the map. Sometimes when you are rich enough I would skip straight to Talisman of Ascension before even getting my Sightstone (still buying regular green wards and pink wards). This way it would force the advantage that you have by being able to catch people in team fights they don't want. After you eventually get your base of Talisman Ascension/Sightstone/Boots of Mobility then you can starting building towards your situational items to counter the other teams carries. Sometimes I might even opt to skip out on obtain Talisman of Ascension first because the enemy team got ahead and you need the defensive stats asap. I would then keep my Nomad's Medallion as is and complete other items I see fit. Remember to also replace your Trinket Ward with the Sweeping Lens after you can sufficient supply the wards. (Whether than means you picked up a Sightstone or you are just that far ahead).

Mikael's Crucible is a very good item to go for when the enemy team has a lot of stuns and are aggressively engaging upon your carries. I would get this when I am facing champions such as Leona, Ahri, Annie, Malzahar, etc. Basically it is just another item to keep you carries moving and attacking when they get caught in a team fight and are in a jam. Utilizing your passive effectively could change the tide of a team fight completely. Using it immediately after a stun allows for a better chance that the enemy won't be able to change multiple cc on your teammates and potentially bursting them down without ever using a single ability.


So I know Locket of the Iron Solari used to be a staple in pretty much all support builds, but that's just not the case anymore. The amount of time it takes the get this item just doesn't make it cost effective in game especially when you aren't making that much money already. The defensive stats are still very good in my opinion should only be bought when you are playing against a team that is dropping a lot of AoE damage that you are trying to negate at a moments notice. It is good when you can't protect everyone at once and want to make yourself resistant to multiple sources of damage.


Frozen heart is a pure armor item with the motive of stopping those pesky enemies with lots of attack speed. This would be a good buy against a team with multiple AD carries that auto attacks (Master Yi, Tryndamere, etc.) Not only does this bulk you up against heavy physical damage but it also gives you a cool 20% cooldown and 400 mana. Those two stats are made for Blitzcrank and just allows for more grabs per minute and a bulkier mana shield. But this item is very niche in what it actually affects against the enemy team.


Randuins is built when you just want to get real tanky against Physical damage. Not only does it slow the attack speed of those who attack you but you can also activate the active to provide even more CC stack on enemies you pull. This item makes you a very effective front line for your team and typically if you already have a tank then they would have bought this item. But if not it is a very good last item for Blitzcrank as you will want to be tanky in a team fight running around Power Fisting people and soaking up damage for your team.


This is your standard Magic Resist item as there aren't really much to choose from. You could consider getting an Abyssal Scepter but you would be trading off Health for Magic Damage. The shield and passive regen from Banshee's is far greater than that of other Magic Resist items you could get. It allows you to stay on the front line for longer and the gold cost is relatively cheap compared to other defensive items.


Thornmail is a good item to get if the enemy team has heavy auto attack damage champions such as Master Yi/Tryndamere/Quinn and all other Marksman. However this shouldn't be your first armor based defensive item as Frozen Heart and Randuins would provide a much better team oriented build. Consider getting this only after you or your teammates have gotten the other strong armor items.


What a cool new item for Blitzcrank to play with! Righteous glory is a very interesting item as it is definitely a super aggressive offensive item that allows for your team to chase down and engage on the enemy team. I think this item is an item you would only get if you are ahead and you have already obtained a couple defensive support items. I think the best way to utilize Righteous Glory would be after you had already landed a pick on an enemy or taken down an objective (Baron/Tower/Dragon). This item combined with Talisman of Ascension can be a devastating combo on the enemy as you can steamroll your way into their team and releasing a crippling slow upon those who are near. Definitely an item I would consider getting as my 5th or 6th item.


This item is pure fun for Blitzcrank. 500 mana, 10% cooldown, 60 armor, 30 ability power, a passive that stacks with your Power Fist while creating an AoE slow. What isn't good about this item for Blitzcrank? However this item would be pretty much bought if the game has gone into super late game or if you are just that far ahead. The only thing is how expensive this item is and which is why it provides such good stats for Blitzcrank. However do not try to tunnel on this item as often times you will want to bulk up with more Health and Magic Resist. This item just doesn't provide the defensive stats often times needed in a support like Blitzcrank.


Twin shadows after its recent buff makes it a slightly better buy as its active does try to return to you after it fails to find an enemy champion. This is a good item to help you chase, disengage, as well as figuring out the general vicinity where the enemy is in the fog of war. The ability power, movement speed, and cooldown helps Blitz as well, but it provides no defensive stats at all . Rarely will you want to pick this up before any other defensive items, but I could consider this maybe a 6th item to round out my build at the end game.


Banner of Command is actually a pretty good late game item to have especially when you are trying to push down turrets. Promoting a lane to keep it pushed and going to another lane to push is a very effective strategy to getting an advantage over your opponent. Also now that baron buff provides your minions with extra range and stats you can promote a cannon minion in your lane and watch as he takes down objectives from afar as you protect it. It provides a surprising amount of defensive stats that help you siege towers and stay healthy.


Ohmwrecker is a fun, super aggressive item to get. However it does take a while to get obtain and even when you do you rarely get to use it's active. I would only get this item if you are super far ahead and just trying to have some fun tower diving. I could see it going to use if you had champions like Pantheon or Twisted Fate and you dive directly on top of turrets for kills. Other than that I wouldn't really get this item.


Zeke's Herald is another very situational that you should only get if your team is basically all attack damage based champions. Rarely would you ever rush to get this item but it can be a game changer since a lot of people forget this item even exists. It helps provide your teammates with a bit of extra attack damage but it also provides your teammates with lifesteal which is hard to come by unless they itemize for it specifically. Since your team is full of attack damage the enemy would have itemized all armor based items, so grabbing this item can help against items such as Thornmails.


A lot of people actually like to get either Manamune or Seraph's Embrace and rushing tears in the early game. But I think it just takes way too long for you to fully stack Tears and with these investments you are crippling yourself from getting better team oriented items earlier. Especially with how expensive these support items are getting, you can only really opt to get these damage items if you are really far ahead. Like really far.

These are rapidly becoming my favorite boots upgrade on Blitzcrank for the very fact that it lowers the cooldown of flash. With the combined efforts of the Summoner's Insight utility mastery, you cooldown is lowered to 204 seconds. That is a lot of time saved from the usual 300 seconds. That is about a minute and half earlier than your opponent if they don't have distortion. And having the upperhand with flash means even if they flashed your flash grab the first time, they won't have it up before you do. Knowing how strong exactly flash is (that they nerfed it many times) it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that having flash up for more time is better than not.


Homeguards. They are exactly as they state they are in the name. They are there to provide you with the necessary ability to play defensively. To get you from point A to point B as fast as you need to. You obviously will want to pick these up when you are playing from behind and you need rush to defend your turrets and lanes. You could also run these if you just want to spend less time waiting at base and speed off to fulfill objectives. There aren't really bad times to get Homeguards because even when you are ahead at that moment, you will already have these boots in the off chance you lose your lead and need to defend quickly.

This will be the most important chapter of this whole guide. Understanding exactly how your grab works and being able to effectively use it will make you into a great Blitzcrank player. I will separate this section into a few parts so you can fully understand this ability that makes Blitzcrank so good.

How Your Grab Works

So one of the best way to understanding this is a basic overview of how this ability actually functions:

1) Blitzcrank fires his right hand in a line to a target location. (I know many people already know this but for those who don't it is very important to note how Blitzcrank doesn't fire directly from the center of his model. He actually fires from the right side of his body which allows for you to grab around minions and land impossible looking grabs as long as you understand where your grabs hitbox and your enemies hitbox will collide) The hitbox also starts from the edge of your body rather than the center of your model so that is something to take note of.

Grabbing around Right side of minions.

Blitzcrank was made to grab around the right side of minions and although not as impressive it is very effective at times to catch people off guard thinking they are safe behind their minion line.
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Grabbing around Left side of minions.

Grabbing around the opposite of my hand is a bit trickier as you have to take into account the hitbox of your hand as well as the hitbox of the target you are trying to grab around. You have to be pretty precise as to where you hook as you would be aiming for the edge of the enemies hitbox to actually land the hook. However it is a very effective grab that often times will have the enemy shouting hacks or that League is broken or something.
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2) Blitzcrank's grab range is 925 and it's projectile speed is 1800 with a .25 second casting time. (So taking all these into account Blitzcrank's grab is actually pretty fast and the range isn't that short. It actually outranges all the Ad carries auto attack range so it does allow for counterplay even against long range champions.)
The grab range can also be deceiving as the perspective of the game makes it seem that a certain direction your grab will travel further than another direction. Here is a picture showing that.
However as long as you are playing Blitzcrank more and more you will get used to this and it won't really bother you that much.

3) How the grab is coded is wherever Blitzcrank is located the moment his hand latches onto an enemy that is where they will be teleported to. (Which is why Thresh-Crank worked and why is some cases Grab-Flash still works)
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4) Grab does stun the target for 1 second so a good example of this is even when Ezreal Arcane Shifts out of your grab he will still be stunned after his shift for a second before being able to move again. So don't be afraid to chain your grab with your teammates' skills to chain stun the enemy. Even pointblank grabs are very important. Play Video Play Video

Analyzing Minion Behaviors And Using Them Your Advantage

So there are a couple things about minions that you will have to learn and not all of them are necessarily going to be in your favor. Minions are going to be in the way the better part of your laning phase and often times you will have to weave your grabs through these suckers just to get to your enemies. But isn't to say that you can't use this false sense of security to get the jump on the enemy. Especially when playing against a champion like Ezreal or Sivir you have to use sneakier tactics to land your hooks and catch them off guard. Here are a few examples of ways you can use minions to your advantage.

1) Grabbing As Soon As Enemy Minion Dies.

This is pretty self explanatory in the way that you see an enemy hiding behind their minion line and watch the HP bar of the minion in front of them. As they are about to die you time your grab at that very moment to land a hook on them.
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2) Using Your Own Creep Wave To Your Advantage.

This is more so of knowing when to engage on the enemy even if you are fighting by yourself against the enemy's AD carry. Don't underestimate Blitzcranks early game damage especially when combined with the help of your minions.
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Being Patient With You Grabs

So one of the biggest problems with playing Blitzcrank is how you can never account for all the factors that will affect your grab success. However by being patient and studying the enemies pathing you can minimize these factors and having a greater chance of landing your hooks. This means you either force your opponents into a position that they cannot help but to be grabbed. Whether this means they preemptively try to dodge your hook and allow for you to close the distance between you and them and allowing for a higher grab chance or them putting themselves in an unfavorable position because of the terrain. Whatever the reasons may be, you have to incorporate these things into your play style to outplay the opponents and get into their mind. Play Video

The first clip seems seems pretty simple enough, but the slight things you should notice is how I shot my grab while still in the bush so Lulu couldn't time when the grab was coming. This way she had less of a chance of predicting the grab and flashing or sidestepping it.

The second clip shows how Leona knows there is a grab coming but she hugs herself against the wall giving her little to no space to sidestep the grab. You can see she tries to at the last moment but there is no where to go.

The last clip is similar to the second clip where Jinx tries to hug the wall far away from Blitzcrank, but by doing so she put herself in between the tower and the wall. There is no place for her to go and it just increases the chance that I would grab her.

You Don't Always Have to Grab First (Other Combinations Blitzcrank Has)

So I know the Rocket Grab > Power Fist > Static Field combination is very good on Blitzcrank, but often times you don't want to lead with your Rocket Grab. There are very many situations that it is smarter to lead with your Overdrive > Power Fist instead and save your Grab until after the enemy tries to run. It is actually my preferred way to try to get the enemy to use their escape ability early so that I can potentially catch them with a Grab afterwards. Also closing the gap between you and the enemy makes it infinitely easier to grab afterwards. Play Video

From the clips shown you can see how it can be equally if not more effective depending on the situation you are in. Especially when playing against a champion such as Sivir, you can bait out his shield and negate it with your Static Field which then opens them up to a free grab.

Outplaying In an Unfavorable Matchup

So there are plenty of not so great matchups for Blitzcrank such as Morgana, Sivir, Ezreal, Leona, Alistar, etc. However that does not mean you should have to be afraid to play against these champions. There will definitely be times that you will get matched up against these champions so you should learn how to effectively deal with them. Everything that has been said above this section applies as well but here are a some other tips and tricks for certain champions.

Spellshields (Morgana & Sivir)

The spell shield skill can be an annoying thing to deal with, but by no means you are useless against it. You already saw above in a video how you can change up your combination to deal with it, but rather than changing up your combination you can also play mind games on them. Play Video

As you can see in this video you can trick the enemy into thinking you will Grab them or their carry and then as soon as you see the Spell Shield you switch you target.

Counter Engaging Enemy Supports

So I'm not going to name specifics as pretty much most supports can effectively go aggressive in lane, typically on your Ad Carry. How you can play that situation is to counter engage on their Ad Carry and stop their engage from happening. Often times you will either end up in an even trade or actually come out ahead as Blitzcrank can apply a lot of damage in the early game. Here are a few examples of this: Play Video Play Video Play Video
In all these videos my Ad Carry gets engaged on by the enemy support and with quick thinking we are either able to effectively win the trade or mitigate any harass.

Proper Use of the Flash with Blitzcrank

So remember when I said Flash is very important for Blitzcrank? It can be thought of as an extension of your champion as it is one of the best ways to catch you enemies off guard. Simply put you can use Flash in very many ways such as baiting yourself at low health, catch someone retreating, catch someone by surprise so they can't dodge the hook, and some other very interesting usages. Play Video
This is just a basic Flash Grab seeing after Gragas had already used his escape ability it was only a matter of Flashing along the same line as he is on and grabbing him to secure a kill.
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Here we have a Flash Grab that catches Talon off guard because he thinks he is safe inside his own base, but by utilizing speed of which you can use Flash it makes it almost impossible for him to react.
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Here is another prime example of using your Flash to catch someone off guard. You turn around walking away as though you are going to retreat but instead you flash that distance you retreated to land your hook catching them before they can react.
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This video shows how you don't necessarily have to only use Flash combined with Grab, but also use your Flash to close the gap for a Power Fist. This keeps them in place for an easy hook and chains your crowd control for about 2 seconds.
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Sometimes you can use Flash to land hooks you wouldn't have been able to perform without it. It allows for catches on even the most evasive targets like Ezreal in this case.
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Flash can also be used as a great way to readjust your position to better able to protect your carry. As a support one of your main goal is to protect your carry from the enemy and sometimes Flashing to be there a few seconds earlier can mean the difference of saving them or not.
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Here you can see I use my turret to my advantage and turn an unfavorable situation into an even trade by flashing backwards to my turret and hooking at the same time securing the kill.
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You can also use Flash to secure kills with your ult.

There are still a plenty of ways to incorporate flash into your game but as you can see there are very many ways you can effectively use flash.

Predicting Movement (Madlife Grabs)

One of the best feelings when playing Blitzcrank is correctly predicting the what the enemy will do and grabbing them back after they flash over a wall or use their escape ability. There is no easy way of doing this and honestly it really depends on how good of a read you have on the enemy by that time. You have to pay attention to each person's tendencies and that means watching how they dodge skillshots, what you think they will do in certain situations and often times a bit of luck to go along with it. You will miss a lot of grabs trying to do this and sometimes it wouldn't be worth over thinking how they will dodge and just go off of instincts. But there are still some ways you can help to increase the success rate of these grabs. For example you would want to know about how fast they are capable of going, meaning if you were matched up against a Miss Fortune versus an Ashe you would throw your hooks a little bit differently. You also want to know the distance a champion can travel with their escape ability. (Ezreal, Leblanc, Lucian, Etc.) This just means that you will potentially covering an option they have to escape and force them to do something else. If you were to attempt to predict where they go but throw your hook not at the distance they can escape to, you would be covering no options at all. You can not only predict their movements, but also the timing of when their ability ends and punish them immediately afterwards. (Zhonyas, Pantheon Ult, Aatrox Passive, etc) So here are some examples of all these things. Play Video Play Video Play Video

Don't Forget About Your Passive!

Blitzcrank's passive sometimes is overlooked by the enemy champions and they forget just how much extra shield it gives to you. They see you lingering around with close to low health and think that your passive has already been activated before. You can use your shield to bait out an over aggressive enemy or even tower dive with it to tank that extra tower shot.
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Your Power Fist is a Great Tool

Power Fist is simple enough. A knockup that comes out of your next auto attack. Everyone knows that you can pretty much apply two hits one right after the other by auto attacking and instantly activating Power Fist for a second attack. They also know that Power Fist pretty much can cancel enemy abilities such as Fiddlesticks Ultimate or Malzahar's Ultimate. But you can also use it to interrupt such abilities like Tristana's Jump, Corki's Valkyrie, Leona's Zenith Blade, and other such things. As long as your animation is casted the knock up will apply still even if you flash. In these clips you will see how you can cancel even Alistar's headbutt with your Power Fist. It is a very powerful tool!
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Invading with Blitzcrank already puts you at a huge advantage. Make sure your teammates know exactly what you are doing and do not just rush into the enemy jungler by yourself. Buy quickly and move as soon as you can. Always move as a group so you can burst down whoever you catch. I provided a view of some invade paths you could take. (I only did Purple side, since it applies to Blue side too)

Tri-Brush Red Invade

This is an invade on red going through tri-bush. You can either take the long way around and going past golems or go directly to red from here.

Wraith Side Red Invade

This path takes you directly to the bush behind Red, but the key to this invade is speed. If your whole team isn't with you, it is smart to stop at the small patch of grass in front of Dragon/Baron and waiting for your team before continuing.

Mid-Lane Blue Invade

This is a direct path to go towards Blue going through mid-lane side bush. It is better to rush down mid into the side bush rather than from the jungle since they could spot you from the bush next to it.

Long Way Round Blue Invade

This is typically a path for a delayed invade onto Blue. You try to get to that side brush as fast as you can and wait until around 1:45 to head out towards Blue.

Special Purple Side Dragon Invade

This is a special invade I often use only as Blitzcrank on the purple side. I would rush to Dragon pit and I would blind grab into the bush that is directly behind Red because a lot of people like to protect that river entrance from that bush. Even if I don't end up grabbing anyone it only takes a few seconds to do this and doesn't put you at risk of any danger. You can still invade after this even if it doesn't work out. Play Video

Goals in Lane

Blitzcrank can be very devastating at the early levels especially if you can hit level 2 before your match ups do. This way you can apply that early pressure can potentially even get a kill. Play Video
Your #1 goal in lane isn't to all in and fight all the time. It is to take calculated risks to provide your AD carry/Marksmen an advantage into mid-game. That doesn't mean you can't be aggressive in lane, but it also doesn't mean you should grab every single opportunity you get.

Situation #1

There are countless times I've seen Blitzcrank players rush at the enemy to go for a grab while a huge wave of creeps pound away at their turret. Doing this means a couple things.

Your AD carry may not be able to follow up as they are trying to farm under the turret.

Your AD carry does follow up but gives up a lot of creeps/gold.

You grab the enemy and the creeps turn on you and you take unnecessary damage.

Situation #2

There are times you just don't know where the enemy lanes or jungler is. You have to be aware of all these things as a support and decide whether you should stop being aggressive and play passively. You should be studying the tendencies of the opponents and see when they are trying to bait you or suddenly become aggressive. Your goal should be to protect your AD Carry and provide them with the safest way to get money.

There are a lot of situations that you will have to decide for yourself whether it is the best course of action or not. Those decisions could be the difference between winning a lane or losing a lane.

Blitzcrank is also very adept at zoning out the opponent and not allowing for them to farm. You should utilize the brush to your advantage and the threat of them potentially getting grabbed is enough to have to think twice about stepping too far forward in the lane. Sometimes the best course of action is actually to hold on to your grab for as long as you can because once you throw it out you lose that extra zoning range threat.

A trick you can do during the laning phase, not limited to Blitzcrank is actually ganking your own lane when after you base. It sometimes catches the enemy off guard as they expect to see you come in from the tower side of the lane and not from the river. As a support your job is also to account for the enemy wards as well so if your jungler wanted to gank they could, but you can also take advantage of knowing when the enemy has not warded as well. Play Video

Here is where Blitzcrank shines the brightest. Equipped with your Boots of Mobility you can fly across the map helping to support your other lanes as well. Make sure you provide ample ward coverage for your lanes while trying to make plays whenever you see the opportunity to do so. Don't roam so much that you leave your bot lane alone too long. Make sure the lane is already pushed and there is no threat that your AD will die the instant you leave.
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This does not mean you should be roaming every single game.

This all goes back to being aware of what to do in certain situations. If you already won the lane and pushed the turret down, then sure go ahead and roam to your hearts content. If you are struggling in lane and is forced to stay underneath your turret, don't just leave your carry alone just because you want to roam. It all depends on how the game is going and what the circumstances are at that moment. You should also be focused on controlling important objectives such as Dragon and Blue/Red Buffs, clearing out any wards you may find. You can actually pull Blue/Red from behind the walls and provide a safe way to steal the buff for your teammates.

Late game is where Blitzcrank is even more dangerous. Not because he will kill you straight up, but because his teammates all should have enough items to burst whoever he grabs from 100 to 0.

Things you should be focusing on:

Warding Warding Warding

Getting Pinks and an Oracles Lens & clearing wards from important objectives

Stay hidden in the jungle to catch someone with your grab.

Throw down wards in obvious places to bait grabs

Here are some places you should focus on warding:

There really aren't that many terrible places you can ward, especially when you have a Ruby Sightstone you can pretty much ward anywhere you want to for free.

Here are some good places you can grab from:

Other than the straight on grabs, you want to provide a threat from the Fog of War. This makes the enemy team have to stay far away from one side of the jungle, which is why pinks and Oracle's Lens are so important.
Here are some fog of war grabs to show how you can use vision effectively in your favor. Despite them being easy grabs, to the enemy it looks like you came out of no where.
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I know the map seems a bit excessive but do you see the point I'm trying to make? This means there is no way the enemy team can cover the whole map with wards and you can't find a place to hide. Utilize the fog and hide behind walls, ledges, brushes, etc. Carry around some pink wards so you can clear wards from an area so you can set up.

Sometimes you just have to fight a 5v5 full on fight, but that doesn't mean you are worthless. What Blitzcrank brings to the table is good CC and the ability to peel for your carries. Focus on Power Fisting anyone that gets close to your AD Carry and Rocket Grabbing enemies that dive past you to get your AD Carry. Make sure you exhaust the main damage dealers on the enemy team, prioritizing assassins and the enemy AD carry. Also save your Static Field for any channeling champions that are on the other team as well. If there aren't any, just try to tag as many of them as you can with it. Do not forget about your active items (Talisman of Ascension/Mikael's Crucible) and use them accordingly.

Here are some clips of some skirmishes and team fights: Play Video Play Video

Whether this is your first time playing Blitzcrank or 1000th time playing Blitzcrank there is always something you can do better than you are currently doing. I am definitely not the best Blitzcrank player out there, and I am still learning how to play this champion more effectively. I'm sure there are a lot of people that disagree with things I've said in the guide so take what you can from everything I wrote. Just reading this guide won't make you an crazy good Blitzcrank player. You need experience and plenty of practice! So go out there and play some Blitzcrank, and grab some fools!!

February 16, 2015 - Created Guide!