Top 7 Best Tank Supports in League of Legends

Players used to believe that Support was not a role for climbing. However, that notion has been put to bed. In modern League of Legends, Support is a fantastic role that allows skilled players to carry games through significant damage or the protection of their teammates. Tank supports have always been popular because of their ability to survive significant damage and protect their team’s carries. Tank Supports also typically have some engagement to allow you to initiate fights, which is invaluable in solo queue quickly. Now that we’ve talked about why tank Supports are fantastic, let’s talk about the best tank supports in League.

7. Braum

Braum has it all; a shield to protect your team from projectiles and auto attacks, a leap to buff your teammates, position you in a place to peel them, a stun, and a colossal ult that he can use to peel or engage multiple enemies. Braum excels at defense thanks to his big ol’ shield (E). During the laning phase or team fights, he can easily hop to his carry with his W and shield them from enemy ADC auto attacks and projectile abilities. He can also use his auto attacks and Q to stun important targets, or dangerous assassins, making him more versatile than he appears on the surface. 

Braum only falls a bit short when it comes to his damage. Many tanky Support Champs will deal quite a bit of damage early game or even mid-game if they are fed. Braum never really deals damage, which takes away a lot of his pressure. He’s still a great Support to play if you love to peel and defend your teammates, but not so much if you enjoy hard-carrying fights and skirmishes. 

6. Taric

Taric is one of the most utility-heavy tank Supports in the game. He has a heal, a stun, shields, and an AOE invulnerability circle. Taric is fantastic in lane because he has heals for sustain, a stun, and a shield for fights. If you like to fight a lot during the laning phase or are with an ADC that likes to play aggressively, Taric is a great pick. Taric’s ultimate is his bread and butter because it can make his entire team invulnerable if used correctly. Landing a colossal ult will guarantee a win in just about every team fight. 

Like Braum, one of Taric’s major cons is his damage. He does not do a lot of damage, and being a melee Champ, he doesn’t get a chance to auto-attack during the laning phase. On top of Taric’s lack of damage, his stun can also be inconsistent. Mobile Champs can easily dodge Taric’s stuns and kill their intended target. However, Taric is still a great option and can carry games with well-timed ults. 

5. Pantheon 

Pantheon deviates from the previous entries because he has significant damage potential, unlike them. Pantheon excels when paired with very aggressive ADCs that can do massive damage early game. With Pantheon, you need to take Ignite and look for early engages on the enemy Bot lane. If you can start snowballing with a couple of double kills, you will have the ability to shut the enemy Bot lane out of the game completely. Did you know that Pantheon is also one of the best lethality supports in the game? Well, if you didn’t, now you do!

Pantheon’s downside is that he has to play extremely aggressively and get ahead during the laning phase. Otherwise, he’ll quickly fall off. If he doesn’t have an ADC willing to fight with him and grab those early kills, he will potentially end up useless. It is scarily easy to accidentally feed three or four kills trying to engage in fights, so you need to be pretty careful when playing Pantheon. However, if you have great synergy with your ADC and know how to pick your fights, Pantheon is a fantastic support to roll through the enemy Bot lane mercilessly. 

4. Nautilus

With that beefy diving suit, it’s no surprise that Nautilus is one of the tankiest Champs in the game. Naut is very scary to play against, especially as a squishy ADC. Nautilus is equipped with a hook (Q) and root (Passive), which allow him to stun his target for almost two seconds, even in the early levels. Naut also has a fantastic ultimate that he can use to single out the enemy team’s carries, whether backline or frontline. 

Naut has decent damage, but he isn’t much of a threat without other Champs to back him up. He can also find himself in awkward spots if he lands a hook and drags himself into the middle of 5 people. Naut is great in the right hands and is smack dab in the middle of advanced and simple mechanics. 

3. Amumu

Amumu has recently received a significant buff, which has shot him to the top tier of tanky Supports. Amumu’s Q has always made him quite dangerous in the Jungle, but now Amumu can stack up to two Q’s at once. Having two stuns in the early game makes our sad mummy quite the threat already, especially when he has the Support of his Jungler. Amumu shines with his ult, though. He has one of the best ults in the game, a massive AOE stun that does quite a bit of damage when he is ahead. Oh and if you’re stuck in the elo hell, such as Bronze, Amumu is one of the best champions in Bronze!

Amumu’s ult landed him at number three on our list, but that’s as far as it could take him. Amumu has pretty simple mechanics, so there is not much outplay potential. If his team cannot follow up on his engagement and ultimate, there’s not much he can do. However, in the right hands, Amumu can create opportunities for his team to win crucial team fights and ultimately shift the momentum of games. 

2. Maokai

Maokai is great because he excels during the laning phase and team fights throughout the game. Unlike Pantheon, Maokai is not forced to win the early game to carry the game. Unlike Taric and Braum, Maokai has a good amount of damage, which helps him win early fights. Maokai is strong because he has a point-and-click stun and a massive ultimate that can root an entire team. These stuns allow him to carry minor skirmishes and entire team fights, whether he is fed or not. 

Maokai becomes tricky to play because he is tanky, but he is not invincible. He is one of the more vulnerable Supports on this list. Maokai’s point and click stun (Q) puts him right on top of the Champion he’s rooting, which will be in the middle of a group of enemies a considerable portion of the time. His Ultimate is also a little difficult to use perfectly, but Maokai is one of the best tanks in the game if you get good with it.  

1. Leona

I don’t think anyone will be surprised to see Leona top this list. She is one of the most iconic Supports in the game and, of course, one of the tankiest. Leona is one of the stickiest, most stun-heavy Champions in League of Legends. Players that master Leona can play as aggressively as they’d like, immediately from level two onwards. She is terrifying when paired with an aggressive ADC that can follow up on her stuns in the early game, like Draven, Lucian, or even Cait. Leona’s early game strength cannot be overstated, and in the late game, she can create opportunities to pick off enemies thanks to her Ultimate. 

Like other tanks on this list, Leona falls a little flat in damage. If her ADC is not aggressive, she becomes a little useless. Her peel is fine, but nothing special. Good Leona players will find opportunities to roam around the map and snowball other lanes when she can’t get kills in her own. Leona is the perfect pick if you are an aggressive player (or duo’d with an aggressive player). She has more Solo Queue carry potential than any other tanky Support and almost any other Support in general. 

And there’s our list of the best tanky Supports in League of Legends. Tanky supports are the unsung heroes of the Rift. Many Support players enjoy playing Champs that can deal massive damage or easily pick of Champs. These supports are great, but sometimes what a team comp needs is a sturdy wall that can peel or engage as needed. Some may say that tank supports aren’t the best choice for carrying. However, we believe that they do carry through peel and engagement. They are the perfect class for players with top-notch game sense and situational awareness, which is why they’re so popular in high levels of competitive play.