Now before I start I want to give you some prior information regarding me and this pick. My name is Robbie ‘RobsterMonahan’ Monahan and I’m a mid to high Platinum support main who has been playing this pick for several years and so have found an efficient method for using this currently off-meta pick. I hope you find the information that follows useful and insightful.

Nami, the Tidecaller, has her title appropriately named as, like the tide, her play is all about weaving in and out between offense and defense. Her kit revolves around what seems like defensive spells but in fact, she can set up to serve as a scary offensive partner for a marksman.

History

The Tidecaller has not gone through any major reworks or tweaks in her time as part of the LoL roster. The only noticeable changes she has seen have been reductions in the mana cost of her ultimate to a flat 100 at all ranks and a slight increase in her auto attack range while the rest of her kit has only seen minor number tweaks since her release in early December of 2012.

As for Nami’s history in competitive, she has only been relevant in a few metas, in part due to pros feeling that she is outshined by picks such as the completely defensive Janna. Her most noticeable uses were as an A tier pick in late Season 3 (in the hands of such players as PoohManDu) and as an S tier pick in late Season 4 (in the hands of such players as Lustboy).

Abilities

Passive; Surging Tides

Nami’s passive (Surging Tides) increases the movement speed of any ally (including herself) by just over 60 when hit by, or affected by, any of Nami’s spells. This passive may seem simple but its effect is huge. Movement speed is a very hard stat to build and having a consistent source of potential MS is powerful. Simple in concept, huge in impact.

Q; Aqua Prison

Nami’s Q is her bubble, the Aqua Prison. It involves Nami firing a slow moving area of effect projectile that, if it connects with an enemy (or enemies), will stun and knock up said enemy for 1.5 seconds. It is to be noted that the projectile is very slow and so you will have to predict where an enemy will be for it to connect. It should also be noted that firing it so that it hits an ally can be a neat way to proc Nami’s passive.

W; Ebb and Flow

Ebb and Flow is Nami’s W and bread and butter ability. It a point and click ability that creates a projectile that will bounce between enemies and allies (always alternating on each bounce), with each bounce being slightly less powerful. It can only affect three targets total and can start on either an ally on an enemy. It should also be noted that the bounce range is larger than the cast range which means Nami can cast it on an enemy, begin to kite back and it will still return to her for the heal.

E; Tidecaller's Blessing

Nami’s E is the easiest to use of her abilities. It very simply is a point and click buff for an ally (which applies her passive as a result) which gives that ally (it can be self-cast on Nami) bonus magic damage on their next three auto attacks. In addition, these three auto attacks will also slow the affected target by up to 35% (depending on ability rank) for 1 second. It should also be noted that this ability has no cast time.

R; Tidal Wave

Nami’s ultimate is the Tidal Wave, which summons a large wave in a single direction which passes through allies (applying her passive) and knocking up enemies before slowing them for 2-4 seconds (depending on how far away the afflicted is). This is a great engage and disengage spell. However, do note that the spell is not as wide as you may think and so, if it is used improperly, enemies will have time to easier dodge it and so I prefer to use it as either a disengage or follow up for the engage, not as an initiation tool.

Skill Order

Open with your W at level 1 as it is your primary spell. Now I know it is tempting to take E level 2 but don’t. Take Q as the stun is vital for any level 2 skirmish, and then finally take E at 3. Now, of course, take points in R when you can but when it comes to maxing abilities out go W>E>Q. W as it the spell you use the most and it also does the most out of the 3. E after as putting points into Q only increases its damage on a skillshot ability and as Q is inconsistent, E is the better choice for a second max, then finally max Q out as you approach level 18.

Summoners

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90% of the time it is going to be Exhaust with Flash. Remember, your play is orientated around a squishy marksman and having a tool that will neutralise a threat to them is very useful to you. However, since you are not a high damage threat, you can take Ignite if (and only if) the opposing team is running spam healers/mass regeneration potential champs (for example, Sona, Soraka, Mundo and Vladimir). However, remember that you are sacrificing Exhaust for this option and so you will be using the summoner slot very much differently that you will most of the time.

Build

Nami’s build path is very linear, especially in the first three items. Once you are past these three items then you get some variance in your item choice depending on what your team needs. But first I will cover the main build in the following sections: opening, first back, the beginning of item completion, the core three, and finally your choice.

Opening

Since Sightstone is now a part of the support gold generation items, they are now even more of a must for supports thanks to the 8.2 patch changes. Nami can proc Spellthief's Edge with ease via her long auto attack range and W meaning is a better choice than Ancient Coin or Relic Shield. Take a 3 pot start as it offers the most self-healing when compared to alternative openings. You need the early wards so a warding trinket is essential.

First Back

Your first back should always include at least one Control Ward alongside a Frostfang (or a Faerie Charm if we're sent back in a really bad spot). This is because of the increased gold generation capacity which also means getting your Sightstone active faster. If you can afford it, get your tier one boots too. You can also pick up a pot if you’re really rolling in the gold at this point.

The Beginning of Item Completion

Your Sightstone active should now be up, so it's time to switch to the Sweeping Lens so you can clear vision as well as place it. The cost of upgrading Frostfang is not currently worth it, so just sit on the Frostfang for now. Your first major support item is always going to be Ardent Censer, so you should look to getting its components now. If you can, get your Mobi Boots. Note this is the most efficient path in item building for Nami but you still have some variance to fit around how much gold you have.

The Core Three

If you haven’t finished Mobis, finish them now. Apart from that, get your Censer going (you can get the Censer first if you wish). By this point, you should be approaching level 9 and that means upgrading the Sweeper to an Oracle's so you ward clearing potential is maxed out. By this point, you also need a little more health and so it is now time to upgrade that Frostfang to a Remnant of the Watchers for that extra bit of HP and having the extra ward helps. Don’t forget you should always be carrying control wards too.

Your Choice

For your last three items, you can take any three of these items depending on what you and your team need. However, the choices I would recommend is Redemption, Locket, and either Knight's Vow or Zeke’s Convergence (built in that order) but you should adapt to each game as needed. Also, you still need to be carrying Control Wards so do not start on your sixth item until you can buy it straight up as you need the item slot for those control wards.

Runes.

This what I have found best to run on support Nami:

Primary Tree: Sorcery;

• Summon Aery – Nami utilises both parts of Aery’s uses very well through the shield via her W and E (which will apply Aery to an ally (which also procs Ardent!) and W can still be used for triggering the offensive damage alongside Nami’s large AA range. This makes Aery the most efficient, and therefore the optimal, choice for a keystone, especially in the sorcery tree.
• Manaflow Band – You are a mana based supporting spellcaster meaning Manaflow Band is the optimal choice here. Simple choice.
• Celerity – The bonus 3% MS from this rune is nice but it is not why we pick it. Due to the extra AP gain from bonus MS, we get extra AP from Nami’s passive which means we get extra bonuses from it. It is this interaction that pushes Celerity over its competitors of Ultimate Hat and Transcendence.
• Gathering Storm – Gathering Storm is simply the best choice of the three here as Scorch does nothing for you later on and Waterwalking is just too inconsistent leaving GS as the best choice in this slot

Secondary Tree: Resolve (+65HP, +10AP);

• Font of Life – The utility of FoL outweighs the bonuses offered by any rune in the first two line of resolve for two reasons; it can proc Ardent Censer which is immense for a support like Nami and Nami has two sperate ways of applying it on multiple targets via her Q and R which makes FoL too powerful not to take on the Tidecaller.
• Revitalize – Nami’s bread and butter spell is her W, which is a healing spell so having an option to buff its effect is great making Revitalize a smart choice here. It also amplifies FoL (and Redemption should you buy it) so it gives a double bonus, making it the optimal choice in this slot.
  
  

Matchups

Most matchups tend to be variant on the ADC matchup due to how versatile Nami is in nature and even then, in one on one comparisons, Nami tends to go even until an advantage is ground out either way. However, there are some matchups of note

Morgana

Nami does very well into Morgana as she straight up out sustains her while popping the Black Shield with ease, all while staying at a range where Dark Binding is easily dodgeable.

AP Supports

Most AP supports (such as Brand and Vel’Koz) need to poke you down and then all in but Nami’s healing and disruption shuts that down hard, giving her the edge by amplifying her carry while her opponent cannot.

Hook City

Unfortunately, Nami is still relatively squishy and if she gets caught she’s not going have fun and so hooking champions (like Blitzcrank) can do well into her provided the skillshot is not missed/juked.

Janna

Janna does nothing stop Nami, meaning she gets to run all her healing and ADC amplification to neutralise the effect of Janna while Nami also gets all of her disruptive potentials on top of that making the matchup Nami favoured

Primary Engage

Nami can disengage well but if she doesn’t do this well against primary engage supports (like Leona and Alistar) and the matchup can swing and run away from her. Apart from that the matchup is in the skill of the player.

What to Be Doing in the Game

• Level 1 – Play defensive. Just cover your respective jungle entrance and leash your jungler. If your jungler is invading, go with him but do not be the first person entering the jungle.
• Laning Phase – Swith to playing semi-aggressive. Use the return bounce W trick I mentioned earlier alongside auto attacks to pester where you can while looking to punish overextensions with Q. If trades go poorly, sustain with potions and W for you or your carry. If you go in, put your E on the carry. Don't play too aggressive but punish where you can.
• Mid Game – Start roaming and ward up where the fight is going to be, start skirmishing with your ADC using your Q to peel him while your ultimate should be used to disrupt as many enemy players as possible. This should set up your ADC to clean up every fight should they position themselves well.
• Late Game – Keep the vision line up but be wary of being caught. Apart from that you are on full peel and power up on your ADC duty, given that your kit will naturally play through the team (especially via your W and R) this an effective approach as you have team impact while optimizing your best win condition in your ADC.

Conclusion

To conclude, Nami is in a better spot than her win rate indicates but only if she is playing smart. Her versatility gives her immense punish potential that, if used correctly, makes playing against her, especially if you’re the opposing support. If you do put in the time to understand her, she has the potential to quench your thirst for LP. GL HF and GG.

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