Kalista is an excellent kiting champion if you can master her passive which makes you leap every after basic attack you throw. Her early game is pretty weak and mid game is where she truly demolishes enmies given that she hasnโt died much in the early game.
Kalista excels with tank supports that can take the frontline and provide CC and peeling all at the same time. She is very reliant on her basic attacks so she needs enemies to be crowd controlled or else she can get caught. She has a pretty weak 1v1 potential so she needs supports that can stay by her side at all times. Without further ado, let us discover 5 great supports you can play Kalista with in season 12.
show
5. Alistar
Alistar is not only an extremely durable tank, he also has so many crowd control abilities that can be used to peel or initiate a kill. He also greatly synergizes with Kalistaโs ultimate. When cast, Alistar no longer need to use his headbutt to initiate an airborne combo.
Instead, He can use Kalistaโs ultimate to close the gap between him and the opponent, once the enemy is airborne he can knock it towards Kalista and follow it up with a headbutt. Enemies will be locked for a good 3-4 seconds with this combo giving Kalista enough time to stack her spears on their enemies.
Best item for Alistar
Zekeโs Convergence
Alistar removes al crowd control effects on him everytime he casts his ultimate. This is great as he can dash towards enemies with Kalistaโs ultimate and break crowd controls on him using his ult, this will immediately proc the effects of Zekeโs letting him give off a slowing effect on nearby enemis. This will also empower Kalistaโs basic attack with bonus magic on-hit damage.
Different Playstyle For Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Play safe in the beginning of the game as this duo doesnโt have much to offer in terms of damage in the early game. Try to use your relic on canon minions every time it is up but be careful that you do not take too much damage in doing so. Use your spells to peel Kalista and make sure that whenever the enemy tries to poke her when she takes CS, go and headbutt them away.
Mid Game Playstyle
If Kalista has built a substantial amount of attack speed, you can now start engaging the enemies. Your quick Q + W combo is enough followed by an E stun. For an all-in combo, opt for Kalistaโs ultimate engage, this will give you more space and adapt your playstyle because you have your spells up after engaging. You can play aggressively as well because Alistar has his ultimate that greatly reduces damage taken. Meaning he can stay beside enemies casting his crowd controls on them and preventing them from ever reaching Kalista.
Late Game Playstyle
You will be facing multiple team fights in the late game so you will rely on Kalistaโs ultimate most of the time to engage enemies. A 5 man knock up followed by another 5 man knock up (Alistarโs pulverize) is such a great combo that keeps enemies airborne for a long time, giving enough time for Kalista and team to finish them off in one fell swoop.
Also Check Out: Best Supports for Varus
4. Amumu
An excellent support that truly shines with the new season 12 items. Amumu has 2 sources of crowd control and despite that, they are more than enough to lock enemies down be it a team fight or a simple bot lane 2v2. Amumuโs ultimate is yet another great spell that synergizes with Kalistaโs ultimate, her wide AOE knock up secures a 3-5 man stun with amumuโs ultimate. Amumuโs early game engage is quite strong as well and he is tanky meaning he can simply build a plated greaves and enemies wonโt be able to greatly damage him.
Best item for Amumu
Everfrost
Everfrost is a classic item for Amumu eversince he was reworked to having two charges of bandage toss. There is a one second delay to Amumuโs bandage toss before he can throw it for itโs second charge. Everfrost guarantees that an enemy doesnโt go anywhere before Amumu can cast his bandage toss again. If you build this item, you are guaranteed to stun an opponent for a good 3-5 seconds if timed correctly.
Different Playstyle For Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
For the early game, try to build through armor items to help your Eโs passive that reduces damage taken by a flat amount. If you already have built some armor items, try to play aggressive as your stuns are an initiating factor for Kalistaโs early game kills. Your E and W are great spells as well to counter the enemyโs healing for pots.
Mid Game Playstyle
When Amumu builds his Everfrost, bot of them can engage enemies and once they are caught, there literally is nothing they can do. Their combined crowd control durations last so long that enemies wonโt be able to retaliate and just die. So everytime Kalistaโs ultimate is up, try to find kills by engaging with it.
Late Game Playstyle
Just like mid game, you will start team fights with the combined ultimate of Kalista and Amumu, landing a 5 man crowd control guarantees an easy win against the enemy team.
3. Morgana
Morganaโs ultimate is an easy pentakill initiator when combined with Kalistaโs ultimate. She is also a great support for Kalista because Morgana has low cooldowns and can poke enemies very aggressively. Her Q + W combo is an annoying skill that puts extreme pressure when laning against this duo.
Best item for Morgana
Zhonyaโs Hourglass
For this duo, Morganaโs most valuable item is an hourglass because sheโll need it when she uses Kalistaโs ultimate to engage. To ensure that she lands her ultimate stun, she needs to stay in stasis with Hourglass and come out just after the stun proccs. After that, she can focus her root ability on the enemy carry champion and her allies and Kalista can simply follow up on this wonderful engage.
Different Playstyle For Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Try to harass enemies with your Q + W to put pressure on their lane messing with their minds making them less efficient in taking CS. Focus on pressuring your enemy botlaner while Kalista farms, this way your enemies will have a hard time to try and poke Kalista making her perfect her CS. Try to be careful however if you are facing champions with long ranged pokes like Lux or Xerath, use your blackshield every time they try to poke.
Mid Game Playstyle
Your Q roots are the most crucial factor for a mid-game pick in this duo. Surely you can all-in an opponent with your ultimate combo with Kalista but for 2v2โs in the bot lane all you need is to secure a root with your Q and both of you can finish that one enemy down before going to his/her duo. Morgana is best played aggressively in the mid game so you can extend the lead youโve built in the early game.
Late Game Playstyle
If Morgana builds like a mage, she can carry the game as well with her simple Q + W combo. But the main value of Morgana comes from their ultimate combo, landing a 5 man stun on your ultimates is a great way to end the game quickly if you execute it right in the late game.ย
Also Check Out: Best Supports for Sivir
2. Sett
Settโs kit make him a highly adaptable champion depending on the team comp of the enemy. One such role he can play is a support that can dominate the bot lane by being a tanky engage champion. Combine him with the ultimate of Kalista and he can CC and beat enemies down even just by himself.
Best item for Sett
Turbo Chemtank
If Kalistaโs ultimate is down, Settโs means of engaging the enemy comes from his movement speed boost coming from his Q. He can improve this by building this item making him even faster when chasing enemies. As an added bonus it slows enemies down after Sett closes the gap between him and them.
Different Playstyle For Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Typically, you can take hex flash on Sett and have a trade flash with the opposing duo at the start of the game. Start with your W so you can make up for the HP loss when trading with them. When they run away, use your flash forcing them to use theirs as well, if you manage to do this you can take control of bot lane bushes and dominate the lane. You will have your hex flash to engage them and they wonโt have anything to disengage from your early game kill attempt.
Mid Game Playstyle
Play safely if the opponents have excellent kiting abilities but you can use Kalistaโs ultimate as a gap closer and use your ultimate as well to perform a simple insec move. Donโt worry about going down in HP when engaging enemies because the lower your HP is the stronger your W is gonna get.
Late Game Playstyle
Upon reaching the late game, Sett becomes very tanky and can heal so much with his passive or with a goredrinker. You can switch items in the late game adapting to the needs of your team. You can even do a 5 man knockup followed by a 5 man stun with your facebreaker. Sett is a very good frontliner that can take tons of damage and return just as much to the enemy.
1. Sion
Kalista needs a support that can stay alive and extend the CC duration of her ultimate. She needs a tank that can take tons of damage when she uses her ult so its value doesnโt go to waste. Sion is an excellent example of this type of support and he is quite a cheese support as well. Sion can be built extremely durable or with a high burst damage. But on this duo Sion tank is the best way to go.
Best item on Sion
Gargoyleโs Stoneplate
Being the one to cast Kalistaโs ultimate, Sion needs survivability after being sent in the middle of the enemy team. Gargoyleโs Stoneplate extends his life stronger the more enemy champion he is facing. Activating it after knocking everybody up with Kalistaโs ultimate is a great way to have better survivability.
Different Playstyle For Each Phase
Early Game Playstyle
Sion is a beast in the bot lane given that he has complete control over the bushes. His Q has a very high early game damage and a very long stun if he manages to land it perfecty. This can be a very crucial thing in the laning phase as one full charge of this stun could lead to the death of an enemy in the bot lane and could propel Kalista to an unstoppable snowball.
Mid Game Playstyle
You have two means of engaging the enemy, Kalistaโs ultimate or yours. Both are devastating and can lead to a kill so try to use it everytime you see a vulnerable enemy. It is quite hard to land Sionโs Q without a bush so try to play safely and engage only if you know you can hit enemies with your Q or if you have your ultimates up.
Late Game Playstyle
Late game sion is an incredibly tanky champion, he scales with his W that increases his HP for every minion he kills. Be the frontline and prevent enemies from reaching Kalista in the backline, use your ultimates to engage just as how you would in the early game and you can use your spells as well to peel for Kalista.