Champion Guide

Pyke Guide

By LoLSuggest

Support

Pyke is an assassin support who hooks targets, stuns them and executes them. Bone Skewer is tapped for a quick slowing stab or held to hurl a harpoon that pulls the first enemy hit, Ghostwater Dive camouflages him and speeds him up, Phantom Undertow dashes forward and leaves a phantom that returns to stun enemies it passes through, and Death From Below strikes an X-shaped area that executes low-health enemy champions and can be recast after a takedown. Gift of the Drowned Ones heals him while he is unseen and turns bonus health into attack damage. Every execution also pays an assisting ally the full kill gold, so he can fund his whole team.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Pyke build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start World Atlas and a Health Potion, and buy a Serrated Dirk, a Control Ward and a Refillable Potion on your first back. When the support quest finishes, take Celestial Opposition if the lane is even or the enemy has burst threats, or Bloodsong if you are snowballing. The top build is Celestial Opposition, Youmuu's Ghostblade, Boots of Swiftness, Edge of Night, Voltaic Cyclosword and Maw of Malmortius, with Death's Dance instead of Maw against physical damage; Umbral Glaive and Ionian Boots of Lucidity are an alternative. Randuin's Omen and Frozen Heart are strong defensive picks, Mortal Reminder cuts healing and Serpent's Fang breaks shields. Run Hail of Blades with Sudden Impact, Deep Ward and Treasure Hunter, plus Cash Back and Cosmic Insight, with bonus health shards, since his passive converts bonus health into attack damage; Cheap Shot with Bone Plating and Revitalize is an alternative. Take Flash with Exhaust. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Huge early and mid-game kill pressure with a hook, a stun and an execute.
Death From Below gives extra gold to his team and resets on takedowns.
Excellent roamer and vision controller thanks to Ghostwater Dive.

Weaknesses

Falls off against scaling teams, so he needs to win within the first 30 to 40 minutes.
Fragile and punished hard if his hook misses.
Strong peel and anti-engage supports such as Braum, Morgana or Blitzcrank shut him down.

Laning Phase

On arrival, avoid killing minions with your World Atlas passive so you have two charges ready when the second wave arrives, which helps you hit level 2 first. Take Phantom Undertow after Bone Skewer, and if you reach level 2 before the enemy ADC, engage from the brush to catch them with a surprise stun. Use the bushes to stay hidden so enemies have less time to react to your hook. Stay in the bot lane early so your support quest finishes around 11 to 12 minutes; leaving before level 3 costs gold and experience, so only roam after crashing the wave into the enemy tower and come straight back. Swap to Oracle Lens once your item reaches its first upgrade, and buy Control Wards.

Mid & Late Game

Once the quest is done, Pyke becomes the map's apex predator: catch isolated ADCs, invade with your jungler and use Ghostwater Dive to scout brush even when Oracle Lens is on cooldown. Coordinate with your jungler to execute high-bounty targets with Death From Below, which pays your teammates gold too. In teamfights focus the biggest threat, usually the ADC, then the jungler and mid laner, unless a healer like Soraka changes the priority. In the late game stay with your team, use Phantom Undertow through walls for escapes and chases, and save your ultimate for low-health enemies.

Key Tips

Do not kill minions with your World Atlas before the second wave, to get level 2 faster.
Ghostwater Dive scouts brush safely when Oracle Lens is on cooldown.
Phantom Undertow can pass through some walls for escapes or surprise engages.
Bonus health turns into attack damage, so health shards are worth more than adaptive ones on Pyke.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.