League of Legends Best Supports To Synergy with Zeri

Zeri is a fast, mobile marksman who deals damage with a rapid stream of shots and dashes over walls. She is rewarded for good positioning and for playing close to her team, and she can be difficult early in the game because she needs time and items to reach her power. The support next to her can make that early game easier or harder. This guide covers seven supports that fit Zeri, what each one adds, and how to decide between them.

What Zeri Wants From a Support

• Protection while she scales. Zeri is vulnerable to engage supports and to assassins, so shields, peel and crowd control help her reach the point where her items work.
• Movement and attack speed. Her kit rewards chaining kills and kiting. Supports that add speed or shields let her do this more safely.
• A way to disengage. Zeri's dash over walls helps, but supports who can stop an engage give her room to keep shooting.
• Synergy with her ultimate. Her ultimate gives her a boost for a short time. A support who sets up a fight or protects her at the start can add to it. Check the current ability tooltips, since numbers change between patches.

Yuumi

Yuumi attaches to an ally, which makes her untargetable while attached and lets her follow Zeri around. She adds healing, speed and bonus damage through her abilities, so the duo can be hard to catch in longer fights. The risk is that Yuumi has little control over positioning when attached, so a good Zeri player has to avoid walking into danger, and the team needs to keep the enemy from killing Zeri first. Yuumi also benefits from patience in the early game.

Lulu

Lulu is one of the classic enchanters for marksmen who want to stay in fights. Help, Pix! (E) gives a shield and adds poke from her companion, Whimsy (W) can give an ally movement speed or turn an enemy into a harmless creature for a moment, and Wild Growth (R) makes an ally larger and throws nearby enemies into the air. Her tools help Zeri survive burst and stay in range of the target. Lulu is also useful against dive champions because her polymorph can stop them from reaching Zeri.

Thresh

Thresh is a playmaker. His Death Sentence (Q) pulls an enemy towards him, and Zeri can attack the target while it is held. His Dark Passage (W) can pull Zeri out of danger or toward a teammate, and Flay (E) pushes or pulls enemies depending on the direction. Thresh needs good aim and good timing, and he takes risks to land hooks. In return he gives Zeri a lot of opportunities to kill when the hook connects.

Nami

Nami combines healing and crowd control. Ebb and Flow (W) heals allies and damages enemies as it bounces between them, Tidecaller's Blessing (E) adds slow and bonus damage to an ally's attacks, and her passive gives movement speed to allies she touches. Because Zeri fires many shots, the empowered attacks can add up quickly. Nami's bubble (Q) and ultimate also give the duo a way to start or stop a fight.

Braum

Braum is a tank who protects with a shield. Unbreakable (E) blocks attacks from one direction, and his passive, Concussive Blows, stuns a target after enough hits from Braum and his allies. Zeri's rapid attacks help the passive stack faster. Braum protects Zeri from engages and is a strong choice when the enemy bot lane has dive or burst. The trade-off is that Braum offers less damage and less healing than a mage or enchanter.

Janna

Janna is a peel specialist. Howling Gale (Q) and Zephyr (W) slow and interrupt enemies who try to reach Zeri, Eye of the Storm (E) gives a shield and extra attack damage, and Monsoon (R) pushes enemies away and heals allies. If you fear being dived, Janna is one of the safest answers. She does not provide a lot of engage, so the pair plays for survival and late-game damage.

Karma

Karma offers poke, shields and speed. Inner Flame (Q) harasses enemies, Inspire (E) shields and speeds up allies, and Mantra empowers her next ability. With Karma, Zeri can trade in lane while staying protected, and the movement speed from Inspire helps in both engages and escapes. Karma is a good option when the enemy lane is aggressive but not overwhelming.

How to Choose

1. Read the enemy lane. Against hard engage, pick Braum, Janna or Lulu. Against poke, pick Nami, Karma or Lulu for sustain.
2. Think about your team. A team that already has engage may prefer a pure enchanter. A team with no front line may want Braum.
3. Choose what you can play. Thresh and Yuumi are strong when played well and weak when played poorly.
4. Check the current patch. Item changes affect how Zeri builds and how enchanters scale. Check a current champion statistics site or the patch notes before relying on any list.

Laning Tips for Zeri and Her Support

• Play the first levels carefully and avoid trades that put Zeri in range of the enemy support's engage.
• Communicate who will start a fight. Zeri should usually follow the support's first spell, not lead it.
• Use vision to stay out of ganks. Zeri's dash is strong, but it does not save her if she is already stunned.
• After a successful trade, back off instead of chasing a retreating enemy far under their turret.

Conclusion

Yuumi, Lulu, Nami and Karma give Zeri speed and sustain, Braum and Janna give her peel against dive, and Thresh gives her a playmaker who can start fights. No one pick is best in every game, so read the enemy lane and choose the partner who fills the gap in your team. If you want a coach to review your bot lane, our LoL coaching service looks at your replays. You can also read our guides to supports for Jhin and to ADC attack range, and our LoL ranks guide explains how divisions work.