If you've been paying attention to the first weeks of the LCS or following ProBuilds you may have noticed an alarming amount of support Trundle being played. Now obviously, once it's played in the LCS, the floodgates open and every player from Bronze to Plat becomes an expert on Support Trundle because they saw Yellowstar play it once...

This article is an attempt to inform some of you how, why, and when support Trundle works. And he does work. There is no denying that. He wouldn't be played competitively if this was not that case. But it is important to understand why he works in order to do well with him in solo queue or when playing with friends. Trundle works in the current meta for several reasons. Let's take a brief look at his abilities and then talk about where Trundle excels and where he does not.

Passive: King's Tribute

Whenever an enemy dies near Trundle, he heals for 2/3/4/5/6% of their max health.

Great for sustain in lane and in teamfights.

Q: Chomp

Trundle's next basic attack deals additional physical damage and slows the target by 75% for 0.1 seconds. After biting his target, Trundle gains bonus attack damage and reduces his target's attack damage for 8 seconds.

This allows for strong trades in lane if you can get close quick enough. It also acts as an auto-attack reset which can increase your damage output or be used for quickly clearing wards.

W: Frozen Domain

Trundle coats the target area in ice for 8 seconds. While inside, he gains bonus attack speed, movement speed, and 20% increased healing and health regen from all sources.

This ability is primarily used as a speed boost for roaming or gap closing. The bonus attack speed can be useful in a fight, but the health regen and increased healing are the more important buffs in this case. Trundle's damage output as support will be minimal.

E: Pillar of Ice

Trundle projects a pillar of ice at the target location for 6 seconds, knocking back everyone directly over it on cast, acting as impassable terrain for the duration and slowing enemies around it.

The versatility of this ability is what makes Trundle such a fantastic support pick. It can be used to peel for your backline, catch people out of position, block off jungle paths, it grants vision around it, and it can interrupt channeled abilities.

R: Subjugate

Trundle drains the life force out of the target enemy champion, instantly dealing them magic damage, healing for the damage done and stealing 20% of their armor and magic resistance. He then applies the same effects to the target again over the next 4 seconds. The modifiers on both Trundle and the target decay over 4 seconds after the drain completes.

This is the ability that let's Trundle survive and thrive during teamfights. Thanks to this ult, any tanks that dive your backline will get shredded to pieces before they get to your carries. And while your carries shred the tanks, you can dive the back line with your temporary stats.

The Laning Phase
In preseason, we saw large nerfs to general vision. Sight wards are no longer purchasable and the wards that are available through trinkets and items do not last as long as they did previously. One of the reasons tank supports and Trundle in particular excel in this meta is simply because they are able to facecheck a bush without getting completely deleted. Trundle's pillar grants vision, and if it happens to be on cooldown, he is tanky enough to walk into a bush and walk back out relatively unscathed if an enemy is lying in wait.

Like most melee supports, Trundle struggles during a standard laning phase. His passive allows him to sustain over time but when up against strong poke champs like Caitlin, or a lane that can chain CC, Trundle can easily be poked down and driven out of lane. Trundle's 'Q' ability, Chomp, reduces the attack damage of the target, but you have to be in melee range to use it. So it may reduce the damage you are taking, but as a reactionary cast, it's probably too late.

Trundle excels when your jungler comes in to gank for you. The best place to keep a Trundle lane is just outside of your turret range. This places you in relative safety and allows your ADC to farm. Then, when your jungler comes in for a gank, you have the entire lane to chase down the enemy. Frozen Domain and Pillar of Ice make is extremely easy to close the distance, block their path with a pillar, slow them with Chomp and troll dance on their bodies. At the very least, you will blow a summoner spell or two. Bonus points if your ADC and Jungler have some form of CC.

If you find yourself pushed to the enemy turret, ward up and make the best of the situation. Pillar of Ice can be used in between the turret and inner wall. This will slow the enemy laners enough to allow your ADC to land poke damage and either drive them out of lane or set up for a dive with your jungler. If the enemy jungler comes to gank, a well-placed pillar will allow you to walk safely back to your tower.

Pillar goes here to harvest the tears of your enemies

Trundle also excels in a lane swap situation. In competitive play, often times duo lanes opt to lane swap. This could be because the enemy team was able to draft a very strong duo lane or because the top laner of the enemy team is the primary carry and they want to put him at a disadvantage. The goal in a lane swap is to put your team in a more advantageous position, whether that be to funnel gold onto your ADC or to allow the support to roam and get kills for the mid lane.

In a 2v1 lane against top laners who are often melee champions, the carry is relatively safe. They can sit back and farm without the need of a support safety net. This opens up a lot of options for Trundle. Thanks to Frozen Domain, Trundle can roam very quickly to aid his jungler in skirmishes or to gank for the mid lane. Trundle's official title may be the Troll King, but he is also a king of blowing summoner spells. Many current meta mid laners are immobile control mages like Victor or Orianna where their only method of escape is their Flash. Roaming to the mid lane and throwing up a pillar for a Flash opens up opportunities for your jungler to return mid and get kills. This can be done in a regular lane, but it puts your ADC in danger if badly timed. Only roam mid if you have driven your opponents out of lane or if your ADC has backed to base and is safe from death. Even roaming while your ADC farms under tower is ill-advised. Any jungler who knows his role will see that and immediately call for a dive. Roaming without communication leads to deaths and angry teammates.

Lane swaps in solo queue, especially in lower elos, are difficult to pull off without complete communication with your team. If you can communicate the lane swap in lobby and everyone is on board, you can give it a shot, but without a superior understanding of macro tactics, they often result in frustration targeted at the players who suggested the lane swap.

Teamfighting

Trundle can take on multiple roles in a teamfight which is one of the reasons he is such a popular pick right now. He can initiate fights easily by catching an enemy out of position with a well-placed pillar. The pillar is large enough to almost completely block most jungle paths and even if it does not block the path completely, the massive slow is often enough to let enable a teammate to land another form of CC.

After initiating a fight, Trundle can choose to either peel for his carry or to dive the enemy backline. Trundle builds the standard support tank items which makes him fairly thick in general. Using his ultimate on the tankiest member of the enemy team turns Trundle into a brick who is able to dive the backline right along with the tanks or assassins on his own team. If your carry is having trouble avoiding the enemy frontline, Trundle's kit is perfect for peeling for them while enabling your carry to deal damage. Trundle can use his pillar to zone enemies away from his carry, he can use Chomp for a small slow and to decrease damage, and his ultimate makes tanks much easier for a carry to tear into.

Conclusion

As stated earlier, support Trundle fits extremely well in the current meta and can fill multiple roles on a team using the versatility of his kit. Now that I've given you a brief rundown of the champion and how he should be used, hopefully you'll be able to harvest the tears of your enemies with Trundle... Or at the very least, you won't be a complete and total detriment to your team. Troll away my friends.

If you enjoyed this guide, you can check out my other guides here. Check back soon to see other articles by yours truly and best of luck on the rift.

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