Overview
Pantheon is one of the most versatile champions in the game in that he sees good play rates across every role except ADC (we won’t stop you from trying, though). A bruiser with a big shield and a big spear, he’s a champion that can dish out a ton of damage while enabling your hero fantasy with a global range ult that jumps on enemies. Click here for the latest data on his best builds, including Runes, Items, Summoner Spells, and more.
Keys to Remember About Pantheon
Once you start a fight, you are often committed to the fight in mid and late game situations as Pantheon. This means you'll want to be careful about when you use your ultimate especially -- make sure your team is in position to follow up, and you can use your ultimate to either catch enemies retreating or to block off their path.
You'll have good damage to commit for all-ins early game, so you want to pick Pantheon with a lane partner with early kill pressure. If they don't have kill pressure, you can just play passively until level 6 and then all but abandon lane to look for plays across the map instead.
Strengths
Having a global range ult as a support champion is an extremely powerful tool in the hands of a player who understands good gank opportunities and roam timings -- you can make an impact on the map as soon as you ding level 6 as long as you’re on the same page with your team. This pressure continues into the late game as Pantheon can appear out of nowhere to turn a 1v1 in your favor, which means enemy teams need to be careful about when and where they choose to take fights. And once the fight begins, if you time your Aegis Assault [E] correctly, you become a damage sponge, and it is especially effective against champions who frontload their damage.
Weaknesses
Without his Aegis Assautl [E] up, Pantheon is a rather simple champion to kill. If he’s in range to die, that typically means he’s already unloaded his kit onto you and has no means of retreating. If your team is able to kite back effectively and deal with his dives, he’ll often be isolated and free to pick off. This is exacerbated by his shift towards more support-oriented styles, which means his damage is typically not enough to threaten a kill even onto squishy champions once the game progresses.
Game Plan
Early Game: You can whittle down your opponents with Comet Spear [Q] before looking for all-in opportunities with Shield Vault [W]. At level 6, you should be roaming whenever you have your ultimate to look for kills for your team.
Mid Game: You can stay towards the middle of the map to help keep up vision on enemy movement. This will also allow you to use your ultimate to join fights on either side of the map.
Late Game: Be careful about ulting in too deep on the enemy team -- your goal is to create havoc and then slowly peel back to support your carries.
