Bard

Arguably the most unconventional support in League of Legends, Bard carries a difficulty rating of 9 not because his buttons are hard to press, but because his entire playstyle bends the rules of laning. He is a roaming support first and foremost, with rare mid lane experiments.

Traveler’s Call is the engine behind his wandering. Chimes spawn across the map, and collecting them empowers his meeps — the small spirits that add magic damage to his basic attacks, eventually splashing in an area and slowing targets. This creates constant tension: Bard must leave lane to scale, so good Bard players turn every chime route into a roam, a ward or an ambush, while bad ones simply abandon their carry.

A Toolkit of Map Tricks

Cosmic Binding is his core playmaking spell — a missile that slows the first enemy and stuns them if it pins them against a wall or a second enemy, rewarding clever positioning around terrain. Caretaker’s Shrine leaves healing pickups that power up over time, sustaining allies without Bard needing to be present. Magical Journey opens a one-way portal through terrain that both teams can use, enabling escapes, flanks and the occasional disastrous misplay.

Tempered Fate is unique in the game: it puts everything in an area — champions, minions, monsters, even turrets — into stasis. Used well, it isolates enemies, cancels channels or buys a dive time; used poorly, it saves the enemy team. Bard belongs to creative players who value map pressure and improvisation over rigid lane play.