Awww Shiet. Here it comes.

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I'm still pretty new to this whole thing, so it won't be pretty but it'll still give you the information you need.

Welcome to Pantheon. The fun ends here.

Pantheon is a strong early-game assassin. At least, that's what Riot names him.
In reality, Pantheon is.. whatever he wants to be, really. While primarily an assassin/bruiser, he's capable of a lot more.
Other guides will build standard tanky DPS and triforce on him. This is viable and pretty good, but Pantheon's real power is in his damage. He doesn't have a 100 attack rating for nothing, you know.
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This guide will be quick and to the point. You can probably read through all of it before your game starts. However, I do advise you read up on this well beforehand.

Pros

Strongest early game within LoL
Durable and versatile
Can take any lane

Cons

Squishier than most bruisers
Difficult to master
Ruined if poor early game

Pantheon's rune structure is very simple.
Armor pen and resistances.

This is where I will have zero leniency. The armor pen is far too important. Do not, and I repeat:
DO NOT use AD runes on Pantheon.

If you feel you take too much damage but still deal plenty, drop the Arpen quints for resistance quints. While this is not recommended, it is allowable.

PASSIVE: Aegis Protection

This is your beloved passive, Aegis Protection. Simply put, every time you attack or cast a spell, you get a counter. 4 counters, and Aegis Protection activates, blocking the next attack to deal 40 or more damage. It will block auto-attacks, abilities that proc on hit effects ( For example, Ezreal's Mystic Shot and Gangplank's Parrrley)

Q: Spear Shot

This is Pantheon's number one ability. It deals loads of damage for very little mana and on a short cooldown. Some people suggest using this to farm. I highly reccomend against it. While it costs very little mana, it's not low enough to farm with. It's primarily used for harass. I would advise waiting until you've regenerated at least 30 mana before using it again, this way you won't be bleeding mana.

W: Aegis of Zeonia

Aegis of Zeonia is your stun. Lemme tell you 'bout this here stun. While primarily used as an initiation tool, it can actually be used to escape ganks. In solotop, as the enemy ganker is coming up the river, they'll beeline for you. Just before they can get to you, stun them. If your enemy laner is about to put a hurtin' on you, this is when you Flash, or Ghost. Congrats, you just foiled a gank. But it won't always work, as they might be expecting you to do this. Be sure to buy wards or maybe even a Sightstone so you can get the jump on them first.

E: Heartseeker Strike

Heartseeker Strike is your bread and butter damage ability. It does damage 3 times in a cone. It deals double damage to champions. Getting up close with this will deal tons of damage and apply 3 Black Cleaver stacks. Be sure to use this every time you land your Aegis of Zeonia.

ULTIMATE: Grand Skyfall

Grand Skyfall is Pantheon's ult. It's a long range teleport ability with a 1.5 second channel. You launch yourself into the air, landing at your target dealing up to 1000 damage. Fun Fact: You can land Aegis of Zeonia as you are coming down on your target area. Hold space down while using your ult. When you see your green ring appear, target an enemy with W. You will deal your ult damage and stun a target all in one fluid motion. This is a very effective method of initiation and is great for taking out the enemy carry.

The big thing here is maxing out Spear Shot. It's mana cost never changes, making it extremely
effective harass. This is what you need to focus on.

I usually go Q>W>Q>E when leveling, but you can take Heartseeker Strike at level 3 if you prefer.

Pantheon's best as a Solo Top, but can take mid, bot, or even jungle in a pinch. The majority of this guide will focus on solo top, but it can apply to all lanes with the proper modifications.

Solo Top

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When Pantheon is Solo Top, it's best to take an aggressive stance. Your strength in this lane will rely on how much you control the lane. It's best to zone your lane opponent as much as possible. It is advisable to purchase some wards or even a Sightstone. When you do not have a ward, hang back at bit. Let your opponent push. Fight them no farther than the river bush. If the enemy team has no jungler and are going Duo Top, choose the one who deals the least damage early game. Now, ignore them and focus on the other enemy. Zone the unchosen enemy the most, and leave most of your harass for them. Once you find an opening, exploit it and kill them as early and as much as possible. Now, have your way with the other enemy unless your health is too low.

Solo Mid

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Solo Mid isn't exactly Pantheon's niche, he can still do very well in this lane. However, I advise going mid only to counter certain champions such as:

• Katarina
• Brand
• Akali
• Diana
  and
• Fizz

In mid it's important to recognize how vulnerable you are. Once you figure out safe laning patterns, you can step up your aggression. That's also important in this lane. You have to zone your enemy hard and fast and give them no room to step in on you. Pantheon works best against skillshot mages and melee mages. Other mages like Ryze and Mordekaiser are too strong for Pantheon to fight in lane.

Duo Bot

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It is not advised to take this lane unless necessary. If you do go bot, I would only recommend going with the following lane partners(In order of importance):

• Blitzcrank
• Alistar
• Nami
• Nunu & Willump
• Jarvan IV

When duo bot, you need to rely on your lane partner to zone and CC the enemy while you farm. In the case with Blitzcrank, the best thing to do is have him knock them up followed by your stun then his silence. If they get away he can pull them back in and do it all over again.
Same thing (sort of) with Alistar.

Do not ever, ever share a lane with an AD Carry. You will only hurt each other and throw the game.

Here's where I get strict.

I'll break up this unit into segments based on time of game.

Starting out (0:00-5:00)

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Most people start with Boots and Health Potionx3 first.

Don't.

"But why, senpai?" you might ask. Again, this is where we focus on Spear Shot. Read it carefully. "(1.4 AD per bonus attack damage)" There's that important statement.

This is why we start with Doran's Blade. Because of the +10 AD it adds, it slaps 14 bonus damage on Spear Shot at level 1.

"Hey, this sounds good for AD runes! Why can't I take them?"
True. AD runes adds quite a bit of damage to Spear Shot. However, the effectiveness of this wears off by mid game. The Armor Penetration will not slump off like that. It'll stay rather consistent throughout the game. Trust me, when you've got 24 armor pen from runes and masteries with a Black Cleaver and a Last Whisper, things add up quick.

Early Game (5:00-15:00)

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By now, you should have gotten at least 1 kill (or even first blood, if you can manage it). Assuming you've been farming consistently, you should have around 700-1000 gold. If you haven't gotten a kill by 5:00, you need to step up your game, and quickly, because after this point, less than excellent performance will reduce your effectiveness every 60 seconds. Build into a The Brutalizer. Grab some Long Swords and some pots. Once you have it, get a Ruby Crystal and finish off into a Black Cleaver. If you can finish BC before 15:00, you've just secured your mid game. If you feel you're taking too much damage, grab a Phage instead. Your mid game will be a bit weaker but you should not be too much worse for wear.

Mid Game (15:00-25:00)

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By now you should be pretty well catered. This is the point where you should buy a Frozen Mallet. This'll do you for durability until late game. After this, grab a B. F. Sword then follow up into an Infinity Edge. The I-edge may take until late game to finish. You CAN get a Bloodthirster beforehand, but it is not recommended.

Late Game (25:00-60:00)

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This is where your apex will be reached. You will begin to weaken around this point. If you've managed to build everything up to this point, you will still be very dangerous, but your damage won't quite match what it was early and mid game. Here, you get a Bloodthirster and a survivability item of some kind. Usually a Sunfire Aegis will do the trick, but for others a Guardian Angel is a better choice. This is typically left up to you, depending on the situation.

Manamune is a good item for AD casters with mana problems. Pantheon does use quite a bit of mana. Don't build this. Pantheon's pretty easy to manage his mana usage on, and it isn't worth damaging your game just so you can recklessly spam Spear Shot. If you're REALLY hurting for mana, get a Frozen Heart as your survivability item.

Well, okay. Attack speed isn't a terrible stat on Pantheon. Phantom Dancer is a good attack speed item, and since Aegis Protection procs every four auto attacks, attack speed is good for him, right? Wrong. Attack speed simply doesn't work as well on Pantheon as it does for others. Considering he's an AD caster, it's a wasted stat. I don't blame you for thinking this, though. The same goes for other AS items.

AP items in general. It's tempting to build them, what with Grand Skyfall having a 1 AP ratio and all, but do not get AP items. It's wasted gold. Your Aegis of Zeonia does very little damage, too. AP Pantheon simply isn't worth it. Trust me. Just don't build it.Trust me. Just don't build it.Trust me. Just don't build it.Trust me. Just don't build it.Trust me. Just don't build it.Trust me. Just don't build it.Trust me. Just don't build it.

If you find something is missing out of this guide, let me know in the comments and I'll get right on it. As soon as I find out how, I'll be prettying it up a bit.

Current planned updates:

• Ganking
• Videos
• Teamfighting