The Support meta has taken a shift in season 12 with a greater variety of support archetypes seeing play in high elo and pro play ranging from Enchanters such as Lulu to the king of hook engage (sorry Thresh mains) in Nautilus.

However, recently, an old pick, once considered a troll, has reared its head, except this once horrific cygnet has become a swan, one I recently got the pleasure of experimenting with, so you don’t have to. So, time to name this abomination: Ashe Support.

The Concept

The concept of this pick is, well to borrow some energy from old TV commercials: It’s all about the Range! Range!! Range!!! Ranged harass in lane, ranged CC, global range scouting, global range ultimates, and they’re all on low, stupidly low, absolutely filthily low cooldown too!

As the almost insane sales pitch hints at, this pick is all about being a level of obnoxious to the opposing team, especially to their bot lane. Therefore, your setup is all about getting those cooldowns even lower and being an even better setup for your team, after all you are now a support, as opposed to ADC Ashe who is all about that attack speed and on hit damage.

Runes

Given the testing myself and those fine individuals/sites across the internet, the above rune page appears to be the most optimum setup, but we will highlight some variations that you can take from game to game.

Arcane Comet: As a Support Ashe, you’re going to be spamming that volley to be as much of an annoyance as possible and adding a touch of extra poke on your slowing spells is going to be satisfying and the optimal choice here.

Manaflow Band: Since this pick is all about spamming spells all game long, increasing your mana pool is a necessity, therefore Manaflow Band is a must take here.

Transcendence: As mentioned prior this, build is all about that cooldown reduction, and Transcendence is a source of that for free, so it’s the obvious choice here.

Scorch: This setup is all about irritating the enemy, so adding just that extra bit of damage in the laning phase is so damn tasty, hence Scorch’s place here.

Taste of Blood/Cheap Shot: Here you get some variety, as some players prefer having that bit of sustain during laning trades (I personally fall into this camp), others however feel that the bonus damage granted from Cheap Shot (given how all of Ashe’s damaging kit slows). Both are viable options here.

Ultimate Hunter: This pick in the mid game is all about using your ultimate as often as possible, so reducing the cooldown of that spell as much as possible is a must, making Ultimate Hunter the best possible choice here.

Offence Shard: Damage/AS/CDR; This one is whatever you find most favourable, as all three are ok. Personally, I like the damage variant but this is where you add a personal touch.

Flex: Damage; the best choice available in this slot.

Defence: Armor/Magic resist; select depending on matchup

Build

Opening: Opening with Spectral Sickle, two potions and a Warding Totem is a must.

First Back: Your first back should include a Tear, Boots, and potentially components towards Imperial Mandate.

Mythic: Imperial Mandate is the core of this build with the increased mana pool from Tear. Finishing this with Ionian Boots of Lucidity is the key early power spike.

Mid Game: Finishing Muramana is key given the CDR components it has, this paired with Executioner's Calling, and then Chempunk Chainsword (again, its CDR component makes the choice viable) is the optimal choice here.

Late Game: It is rare that you get to this point as a support however should you get there but late game you have two options, Watchful Wardstone and Axiom Arc. Build as you feel is most appropriate in these rare scenarios

Playstyle

Support Ashe’s playstyle changes depending on the development of a game. This can normally be broken into three stages: Laning, Mid Game, and Teamfights.

Laning: Be as irritating as possible, spam your Volley (W) as much as you can to try and make your opponents’ lives difficult. Use your Hawkshot (E) to scout the enemy jungler’s path and avoid ganks, as your harassment will naturally push the lane.

Mid Game: Time to be a long-range playmaker, using your Enchanted Crystal Arrow to set up picks and then assisting in skirmishes by applying Imperial Mandate as often as you can safely do is your core operation. Do not be afraid to throw your ultimate out from base, as it will be on a near 30s cooldown at this point. Go Fishing!

Teamfights: This is where things get messy. If you can use your ultimate to start a fight, do so. The rest of the fight you are just trying to apply Mandate through their whole time and slow whatever goes onto your team’s primary carry with the slows applied via your passive. Be sure to stay in the back line, because you are very squishy!

Matchups

Ashe Support is not without weaknesses. If it falls into a place where it’s not leading the engage/tempo and is being engaged on, it loses a lot of power. Therefore, picks such as Leona and Nautilus are risky for Ashe.

However, Enchanters such as Lulu and Janna are favourable for Ashe as they can do little to stop the Frost Archer from controlling tempo and going for picks using the Global aspects of her kit.

It is noted that Morgana is a matchup that is difficult for Ashe, but she can be played around using the global aspects of her kit.

Conclusion

So, there we have it, a look at how to run the latest in a line of former troll picks that have risen in recent times to grace the support position. Ashe joins the likes of Pantheon, Swain, Miss Fortune, and even Camille as a pick to flex away from their primary role into a support role and see the move get highlighted in pro play (with Ashe support already seeing play in LEC and LPL). Now as always, I apply the recommendation of taking this new pick into the practice tool and then normal games before trying it in your ranked games. However, if you do choose to add this arrow into your quiver (how on theme), I wish you luck. Until the next crazy thing comes along, I wish you GL, HF, and GG.