Keystones add a nice touch of variety and personalization into the game by allowing us to adapt our playstyle. Unfortunately, most of us (myself included) tend to refer to websites like OP.GG and U.GG in order to avoid the mental hassle of selecting the right runes and, by doing so, inadvertently surrender our ability to lay down a trace of ourselves on the Rift. More often than not, we find ourselves naturally drawn to keystones that increase our damage output, resistance, or in fight movement speed. But what of the runes that we rarely see? The ones that tend to not be first picks but are incredible in certain situations?

Fleet Footwork (FF)

Fleet Footwork works on a system of generating energy from autoattacking and moving, when charged it heals for 3-60 that scales off of 30% of both AP and AD. This Keystone is optimal on champions who really need sustain for the laning phase or champions with high range, that are reliant on autoattacks, and do not benefit from other Keystones. Recent changes have made it so that ranged champions have reduced healing against minions, making FF more optimal for melee champions. In general, FF is a laning Keystone that gets champions through the early and mid game. In the later stages of the game it tends to fall off and become less efficient than other Keystones. Champions that immediately come to mind as FF users include:

Champions that do not immediately come to mind:

While Conqueror (Conq) and Lethal Tempo (LT) might spring to mind in conversations surrounding Tryndamere, FF is a solid choice into match-ups where you need some extra sustain to get you through lane. The sustain and movement speed can prove to be a precious commodity against ranged bullies like Kennen and Jayce. Against mobile champions like Akali with her shroud and Yasuo with his infinite dashes in a minion wave, you will be forced into short trades in which you may only get 1 or 2 autoattacks off per fight. In situations like this, LT and Conq will not be as optimal as you would initially think until you get enough CDR to keep on them with your E. Furthermore, FF is a very forgiving rune for Tryndamere's laning phase. If you are playing against an unfamiliar match up and are unsure which Keystone to go, FF is usually a safe bet.

Yet another face you would directly associate with Conq, Fiora has certain situations in which going FF makes life easier. Along the same lines as Tryndamere's plight against ranged matchups, Fiora can find it hard to stack Conq against squishy, high mobility, high damage, ranged lane opponents. In these losing situations, Graps of the Undying (GotU) may also not be optimal given it is more of a scaling rune due to its % health damage and healing which is weaker early in the game. Against matchups like Gangplank, Teemo, Vladimir, Jayce, Kennen, Pantheon, FF can provide you with a smoother laning phase. Much like Tryndamere, go Conq against opponents that build resistances and FF against matchups that harass you in lane.

Predator

Simultaneously one of the 5 main non-combat Keystones and one of the least played Keystones in the game, Predator has a really hard time finding a place in the meta because it provides no combat stats in lane. In a straight up 1v1, the enemy's Keystone will generally provide them with a distinct advantage over you if you run Predator. The main appeal of Predator is that it promotes and allows you to roam a lot. This potential to impact the entire map naturally appeals to the roles of mid, jungle, and support rather than top and AD.

That being said, laners generally benefit a lot more from Keystones that give them combat power. In most cases the raw damage or tankiness from other runes is just better and easier to play with than the ability to potentially impact the map. One of the few things that Predator does have going for it is that the additional movement speed you get allows you to gank a lane faster with less time for the enemy to react, especially if they only have shallow wards. All in all, despite this rune's extreme niche, it has been known to work well on some junglers:

Junglers with a desperate need for speed:

Choosing Keystones on Malphite has always felt rather awkward for me. This is especially true in the jungle. The only time I have not been left scratching my head at which rune to take in the jungle is when I go Predator-full-AP-one-shot-Malphite. Oh yeah. As awesome as it sounds, this stems mainly from there not really being any other Keystone that is ideal given the situation. In lane, Malphite can look to use GotU, PtA, and even Comet to great effect, but in the jungle, he will proc those once every 3 minutes at most if he even manages to get up to his enemies.

To be honest, Predator on tank Malphite in the jungle is pretty stellar as well, the movement speed and the slight bit of damage at the end makes playing the champion a little easier. Getting into range of enemies has always been more of the struggle when playing Malphite who lacks the low CD gap closers of Amumu Q or Zac E. While far from a perfect replacement, Predator certainly helps close the distance.

It is no secret, Udyr does not scale well into late game. Udyr's strengths lie in his ability to clear the jungle quickly, rush objectives in the early and mid game, and countergank lanes. When playing Udyr, it is paramount that you are proactive in the early game as you tend to fall off extremely hard once the enemy starts grouping, especially if you do not generate an impressive lead. Predator will allow you to have an easier time ganking and supporting nearby lanes that are being ganked. With its cooldown reduced to nearly half of what it used to be, you can used it more often which opens up more opportunities for you to impact the map. Similar to Malphite, getting in range of enemies tends to be the most nerve wracking part of the game for Udyr. While his passive makes it easier to keep up with enemies once he is on them, the additional movement speed from Predator can make it easier to get to that point and help make dodging CC easier.

Unsealed Spellbook (US)

A defensive and scaling summoner spell, Spellbook is most often used on Champions who need help survivng the early game and spike in the mid-to-late game. For some champions, Spellbook seems like the obvious choice because summoner spells tend to have defensive utility throughout the game and have no other optimal Keystone option. Take Ornn for example, in lane with heavy trading where he can go even or win, he would generally take GotU. But against a ranged laner who can punish him heavily for using E to go in, he may never proc Grasp till mid game. No other Keystone can really help him in this instance and he has no pressure to make plays early, so naturally getting Spellbook and scaling with it makes sense! Additionally, when it is fully scaled (anytime after 29:45 depending on how you use it) you feel like a little girl (Zoe) in a carnival, getting a new balloon every 150 seconds. Pretty awesome huh?

At the same time, taking Nimbus Cloak in your secondary gives you 15-35% bonus movement speed and ghost for 2.5 seconds which has both defensive and offensive applications. In closing, Spellbook takers tend to be mid-to-short ranged, AP champions, who are immobile, have no intention of making solo plays in their lane while allowing Spellbook to scale, and do not benefit much from other Keystones. Prominent members of the Rift's book club include:

Surprisingly, there are also a fair number of other champions that opt into Spellbook more often than you think, such champions include: Singed, Orianna, and Kennen. Meanwhile, champions I think would benefit from picking up a book or two include:

A hard scaling champion that can reap benefits from nearly all the summoner spells in the game, on paper Anivia seems like one of the most ideal champions to run this Keystone on. That being said, Anivia's insatiable thirst for mana leads most to opt for Presence of Mind (PoM) in your secondary rather than Nimbus Cloak. Additionally, US further weakens your early game since it only comes online at 6 minutes and reaches maximum effectiveness near 30 minutes. In the mid game, your damage might feel a little lackluster without the little extra from Electrocute or Comet but thats the price for a tonne of late game utility. Against comps with lots of pick potential, the mobility and utility of different summoner spells could make up for Anivia's innate immobility. Much depends on your playstyle, there is an argument to be made that stacking scaling on top of more scaling sounds pointless, but I personally prefer to have a host of summoner spells to call upon to get me out of the sticky situations I tend to find myself in when I know I can get away with it against my lane opponent.

A nice way to add some complexity to a basic champion, US with Nimbus Cloak secondary has the added benefit of helping Malzahar reach long ranged mages which are Malzahar's notorious counters. While there is no denying that Aery is especially useful in the early game, giving your abilities and autoattacks an additional boost of damage and allowing you to have better trades, it is contingent on you being able to reach the enemy. Against Xerath, Vel'Koz, Azir, you may have a hard time getting full use out of Aery. At the same time, in match ups where your goal is to go even in lane (against ranged AD mids like Lucian and Tristana), the utility from summoner spells and your passive shield will allow you to survive the lane easier and give you more options to impact the map.

Prototype: Omnistone

You cannot have a discussion about underutilized, unconventional Keystones without mentioning Omnistone. While I would love to sound like a master strategist who has it figured out, truth be told, to this day I have no idea what champion would do well with Omnistone. Having looked into the Keystone, it becomes clear that one of the key benefits is being able to cycle through Keystones quickly in fights, in an extended trade you will be able to proc more random Keystones than your opponent by far.

That being said, for Omnistone to be optimal, you need a champion who 1) does not have an ideal Keystone, 2) can effectively use several Keystones, and 3) wants to look for extended trades. The problem then becomes a case of most champions not having 2 or more random generated Keystones that they can use to better effect than one specific Keystone. Furthermore, in lane you could roll into a Keystone that is useless and may even hold you back from being aggressive when you need to in lane. Omnistone tends to leave you at its mercy through randomness and inconsistency, making it hard to dictate the lane when your tools keep switching.

Champions that have had some success with Omnistone:

Unfortunately, this is where my creative juices run dry. There is nothing I could recommend here. But I encourage you to find some guides and test out Omnistone on these 2 champions before running it on champions in situations you find ideal.

Closing

To wrap it up, I encourage you to find out why each Keystone and rune is used on the champions you play now. Once you understand the reason behind you choosing each rune, you will feel more in control when you play and it will also set you upon your own path of discovering new ways of playing champions. This is one of the ways that OP champions are discovered, when someone looks into a rune and sees synergies with champions that others have yet to notice.

In the end, whether it is because the champion itself is OP or the synergy between champion and Keystone is unfair, every champion loads into the rift with a Keystone. For more educational content, head over to our guide on the fundamentals of the game or check out champions to pick up in the current meta. Happy experimenting!