With Worlds 2019 in full force, the number one question everyone has is “What Champions will we see this time around?" Each patch brings in a variety of new picks and comps, so it's hard to narrow down specifically what each team will play. That being said, there will always be a select few Champions who have kits that are so valuable that a team would be crazy not to pick or ban it. One of those Champions is Rakan the Charmer. Best paired with his lover Xayah, Rakan is an aggressive support with several ways in and out of a fight. Even without Xayah, Rakan is still a high priority Support purely off of what he can bring to any team to round it out and give it an aggressive flare.

Runes

Rakan is the kind of Support that can either be really squishy and focus more on getting kills or he can be built to last and set up ideal fights. In nearly every scenario, you will want to run Resolve and grab Guardian for your Keystone Rune. Guardian gives you a shield based on your max health and bonus move speed based on upon what. Aftershock is a good take as well, but you'll find Rakan's kit much more effective with a shield and movement speed than tank stats and a bit of damage. While you could go more aggressive with runes and take Electrocute, that would leave you more vulnerable and easier to take down when Rakan's goal is to stay alive as long as possible and apply his powerful CC to opponents. Take Demolish next for Rakan because you will most likely be pushing and taking turret plates as Rakan is a very dominate laner. Bone Plating is ideal since you will be going deep into skirmishes and will be a primary focus of the enemy team so staying alive longer is crucial. Lastly you will want to snag Revitalize to help give your E's (Battle Dance) shield a little more strength in close fights.

Your secondary tree should be Sorcery for a very specific reason that totally benefits Rakan. This reason is movement speed, so take Nimbus Cloak and Celerity to boost your Ultimate (The Quickness). Utilizing this speed can be tricky at first, but the results will be a quick enough engage so your opponents can't react in time or get away. Offense and Flex will both run adaptive force to complement Rakan's high burst. For Defense, take armor as you will most likely be up against a Marksmen (but change to magic resist if your lane opponent is a Mage).

Abilities

Rakan has a very unique set of abilities that allows him to jump across the screen effortlessly while supplying a healthy amount of CC to the enemy team.

Passive - Fey Feathers: Rakan gains a 33-254 (90% of his ability power) hit point shield every 40-16 seconds (based on level) and will last until the enemy breaks it. This shields cooldown is reduced by 1 second each time you damage an enemy Champion with an auto attack or ability. A shield like this gives Rakan enough stability in lane to win trades of damage and still be ready for an all-out fight. Keep an eye on the cooldown of this shield as it can come up after a skirmish and allow you to turn a retreat into a few easy kills without risking your life.

Rakan also has a unique Passive, Lovers Leap, which allows Rakan and Xayah to recall together and will prioritize whoever started the recall.

Q - Gleaming Quill: Rakan throws a feather forward that deals Magic Damage to the first enemy hit. If the enemy hit was an Epic Monster (Dragon or Baron) or a Champion, Rakan then heals himself and any allies around him that's based on his level and 70% of his Ability Power. Since this ability doesn't do too much damage, you will want to use this to sustain in lane or in a combo. Rakan's kit is all about getting in, doing as much CC and damage as possible, and getting out. Using this ability after W (Grand Entrance) will deal more damage and give you health back as you retreat using E (Battle Dance). Overall, this just adds to Rakan's power but isn't nearly the bulk of his potential so get this ability at level 3 and max it last.

W - Grand Entrance: This is where Rakan gets fun. Rakan dashes to a selected spot and after a slight pause, knocks up enemies in the surrounding area for 1 second and deals Magic Damage. An incredible ability to start a fight or catch anyone out as it happens quick and puts Rakan right in front of the target. It also does a fair amount of damage early on in the game so using it to start a skirmish bot side or roam and catch out the enemy Jungler or Mid Laner are ideal. Later on in the game you will want to use this ability specifically on the enemy carry and go from there. You can also use this ability to hop over walls to get out of a tight spot without using your Flash. Always start a skirmish with this pre-level 6 or use Rakan's E (Battle Dance) to get in range for a more ideal engage. Start this ability first and max it at level 9. Let your mind roam on how you can best use this ability but use it to start up a play and eliminate targets.

E - Battle Dance: Another ability that gives you a ton of mobility. Rakan dashes to an ally Champion, giving them a small shield for 3 seconds. This can be re-cast within 5 seconds for no cost and can be to the same target. If Xayah is the target, this ability's range is increased by 300. Use this dash to make quick getaways or put you in a good spot for landing your W (Grand Entrance). The shield it gives isn't very strong but can come in clutch when your ally is about to die from Ignite or abilities similar to that. Having Xayah as your Marksmen gives you a huge advantage to be able to land a W (Grand Entrance) from outside the enemies' sight as that 300 can be unexpected by most opponents. Max this ability second.

R - The Quickness: Rakan's Ultimate gives him 50% bonus Movement Speed for 4 seconds dealing Magic Damage to each Champion he touches and Charming them for 1-1.5 seconds (goes up at each rank). Enemies can only be affected once, but the first Champion that Rakan Charms gives him 150% decaying Movement Speed. This ability complements everything about Rakan's kit and once you have it, always use it first before you W/Q/E combo. Again always target the carries and then use it to distract the rest of the enemy team so that your team can come in to clean up. Having this much speed can allow you to chase down enemies on the run but don't overcommit, or you'll end up wasting your Ultimate and be vulnerable. Worst case-scenario, this can be used as excellent peel for your own carries. A great ultimate with plenty of strengths that makes Rakan one of the best team fighters.

How to Play

Rakan is a very unique Champion that brings a variety of potential to the table with his kit. This leaves the idea of “how to play” him up in the air. However, there is one golden rule you must always follow as Rakan and that is to have no fear. If you see even the slightest potential in a play, smart ping it, and go for it. A kit like this is very forgiving with Rakan's E and Ultimate so go in and find openings. Your opponents are not perfect, so they are bound to make a mistake and Rakan is one of the best Champions out there to capitalize on a misplay or over extension.

Early Game

In lane, your main goal should be to take control early and exert pressure so that your carry can have the spotlight to farm and poke. Most everyone knows what Rakan is capable of by now, but you'll want to keep an eye out for the enemy carry when they overextend for farm so you can catch them out with your W and dish out major damage. Once you've asserted dominance you'll want to go back and grab Boots of Mobility ASAP so you can begin roaming and help out the rest of your team. Rakan's early is really too good to be kept just Bot Lane, so look towards Mid lane and start snowballing that lane or set up some deep Wards in the Jungle to help out your Jungler. If you find yourself behind in lane, tone down the roaming and patiently wait for the enemy carry to overextend like you would at the beginning of the game and capitalize on their overaggression. Remember to always Ward and buy Control Wards since you will be moving around the map regardless of the situation.

Mid - Late Game

Around 15 minutes into the game is when you should be moving around with your Jungler and start taking bigger objectives such as Dragon or Towers. Remember, very few Champions have an initiation that's as good as Rakan's, so you will be the main fight initiator. If there are enemies around whatever objective you're going for, then start up a fight with your Ultimate and W. Every major spot on the map is a great place for Rakan to fight but make sure you have more than just yourself ready to fight. Rakan is squishy compared to most aggressive Supports so, if you go in alone, you're likely to not come back out of it unless you get some backup. Target the carry or the biggest threat around when you start up a fight and once you landed all of your CC, use your E to dash back to the ally carry and peel for them until the fight is won.

How to Build

Building Rakan can go a variety of different ways but he has a few patterns that are a must for his kit. Start the game off with grabbing Spellthief's Edge since you'll be fighting and getting damage off a lot, but occasionally you might want to run Ancient Coin first buy for those tough matchup lanes. After your first back, make sure to have enough for Frostfang and Boots of Speed or if things are going really well then straight up grab Boots of Mobility to start roaming as soon as possible. Your first item on Rakan should be Zeke's Convergence to add to your already explosive engage and give your carry some extra firepower. After that is built you begin to have a little freedom in what is needed. Good options after Zeke's Convergence would be Knight's Vow, Redemption, Locket of the Iron Solari, or Athene's Unholy Grail when it comes to surviving fights. If you're looking for more aggressive options, then take Shurelya's Reverie and/or Ardent Censer. Overall, your core build will consist of any items mentioned but you are most likely to find more success going the tankier route since Rakan's CC is what makes him valuable, not his damage.

Another key tip would be to avoid building a sixth item. This is more of a general rule for Supports, and the reason is to keep that last item slot open for Control Wards. Everyone else on the team needs all six item slots to hit their Champion's full potential but Supports (including Rakan) reach that much sooner, so maintaining vision control is more important. Good vision wins games, so having those Control Wards can be extremely useful when contesting an objective compared to having a final item that could be completely useless if you die.

How to Play Against

Rakan is no stranger to weakness and has plenty that can be easily exposed. Make sure to Ward deep to see where he could use an E/W combo from across the screen. Any hard CC can stop Rakan right in his tracks, so focus it on him right when he goes in. It will take good timing but stopping his W makes him almost useless pre-level 6. He is also very squishy early on so constant and quick harass will keep Rakan at bay. Champions such as Nautilus, Janna, and Morgana are great to use against Rakan as they have great ways to either catch him out with hard CC or poke him down with plenty of disengage.

Good Bot Lane Combos

As a Support, Rakan has plenty of Champions he synergizes well with. The obvious one is his lover Xayah. Aside from the bonus Passives they receive from playing together, Xayah has great burst and CC to combo with Rakan's equally lethal kit and makes their lane kingdom supreme. Other great choices would be anyone who can fight well early with good CC so Champions like Ashe and Tristana are ideal.

Now you are ready to truly flex on your opponents with Rakan. He's high priority at Worlds for a reason. Take what you've learned and climb that ranked ladder or just have fun using Rakan's incredibly fun kit. See ya on the Rift!

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