Finding My Go-To Support for Draven
Okay, so I’ve been spending a lot of time on the Rift lately, specifically trying to figure out who really clicks with Draven down in bot lane. You know, Draven’s all about that early aggression, catching axes, and getting those big cash-ins. Finding a support who gets that and helps make it happen? That was my mission.
I started off like most people probably do. I tried the usual suspects. Thresh was one of the first I revisited. Hook city, right? Yeah, the lantern saves are nice, and a good hook can definitely set up Draven. But sometimes, it felt a bit… slow? Like, the setup was there, but maybe not explosive enough right from level 2.
Then I moved onto Leona. All that sunlight and stuns. This felt different. I remember one game specifically. We hit level 2, I immediately looked for the engage. Landed the Zenith Blade, popped the stun, Draven just walked up, caught an axe, threw another, boom. First blood. It felt so straightforward, so aggressive.
- Hit level 2/3.
- Look for the all-in engage.
- Lock them down hard.
- Let Draven do Draven things.
After that Leona experience, I started focusing purely on supports who could force fights hard and early. I gave Nautilus a good run too. Similar vibe to Leona, honestly. That hook is massive, point-and-click ult later on, tons of crowd control. If Leona got banned or picked, Nautilus felt like a really solid second option. He brings the same kind of intense pressure.
I did briefly try some enchanters, like Lulu or Nami. The speed-ups and buffs are nice for Draven, sure. Helps him kite and chase. But it didn’t have that same dominance feel in lane. With Draven, I feel like you want to dictate the pace, shove the enemy under tower, make them afraid to even walk up for CS. The engage supports just did that better, in my experience.
The Lockdown Kings Reign Supreme
So, after playing a bunch of games, spamming different champs, I kept coming back to the hard engage tanks. Leona and Nautilus just felt right. Their kits are practically designed to hold someone down while Draven piles on the damage. There’s less guesswork. You hit your stuff, they probably die, Draven gets fed.
The process was basically:
- Pick an engage support (Leona/Nautilus primarily).
- Communicate the all-in plan (or just ping like crazy).
- Wait for the level power spike (usually 2 or 3).
- Land the CC.
- Watch Draven collect his gold.
- Repeat.
It sounds simple, and honestly, the execution felt pretty direct too. It wasn’t about fancy plays; it was about brute force and enabling Draven’s snowball potential. For me, playing alongside Draven, that immediate, overwhelming pressure provided by someone like Leona or Nautilus just synergized the best. That’s what my time trying things out showed me, anyway.
