After a few days to play him, both in normals and ~1700 solo queue, I've mixed opinions on Thresh. He's definitely one of the most fun champs I've ever played, and completely re-invigorated the support role as it is, but his kit comes with some drawbacks. His kit encourages risky, very Blitzcrack-esque, gameplay, coupled with stats that make him very inherently squishy. In terms of balance, this is fine and probably needed, but it makes for an interesting early game, to say the least. And to be quite honest, I absolutely loathe playing him in solo queue, at least for now...

CLICK THE LIGHTWE- I MEAN LANTERN!

The Pros and Cons

I'm sure you've heard it in game by now, "CLICK THE @$^%@#$% LANTERN!!!!," I have at least. It is probably the single most awesome and frustrating mechanic in the game. With great utility comes great iadjustment, I guess. As if a flashing lantern with a clicky arrow and countdown timer weren't indicative enough of a need of damsel's click, teammates will still forget even if you yell at them, but I digress. The point is, while Thresh is awesome, he is a new champion, and as such, will take a long time for people to get used to. I put this as con 1.

Con 1: Like Blitzcrank, Thresh is one of those supports that really likes to get up in your face and make plays. But because of his still new status, not many people aren't aware of what exactly he can do. This can create a very frustrating experience, for you and for the other players.

Con 2: As stated before, Thresh's kit encourages aggression, but to me, it seems counterintuitive that an aggressive support should come with no armor scaling. Until you start to get items and souls, Thresh is incredibly squishy compared to the other supports. Also include that your new armor value directly correlates to how many souls you're actually able to pick up.

Con 3: Lastly, for aesthetic purposes I presume, Thresh's Q has this really annoying wind-up time before releasing the chain/hook. Not only is the hook itslef slow, the whole spell is very choreographed and as such, very easy to dodge.

The PROS

Pro 1: Once people get used to his kit, Thresh will likely be on first pick/ban status. His kit is insanely good. Numbers aside, his Q is a suppress/stun/pull, his W is one of the most versatile spells in the game, his E is a knockback with a huge slow, and his ult is a huge AOE slow. Seriously, Thresh is amazing in terms of the utility he provides to his team.

Pro 2: Thresh's W is extremly versatile. He can use the lantern to save an ally, create extra gank opportunities, or allow a teammate to steal objectives easily. Once people learn to click the lantern as a reflex, it should prove to be very strong. This is a spell that just screams for attention, I can't wait to see what the pros use it for.

The Numbers

Now, that's all fine and dandy, but it doesn't really speak to how good or bad Thresh is as a support. How does he compare to other aggressive supports like Leona and Blitzcrank?

Let's assume we have a level 18 Thresh, a level 18 Leona, and a level 18 Blitzcrank, discounting Thresh's passive.

Leona's combo of Ult, W, E, then Q does around 990, ignoring resists, gives Leona 70 armor and Magic Resist, and provides 3 stuns. Also with her passive allowing 4 140 damage sunlight procs.

Next with Blitzcrank. Pulling in an enemy, knocking them up, then silencing them provides 2 stuns and a silence, and about 1000 damage, depending on how much AD he has.

Lastly, with Thresh, chaining someone with Q, knocking them back with E, and ulting provides 2 pseudo stuns, and 2 slows, also dealing around 975 damage.

All three basically provide the same utility and basically the same amount of damage. So why pick Thresh over Blitz or Leona? The easiest difference in my mind, is Thresh's W allows for a more diverse AD carry. If you're laning with a less-mobile AD carry like Varus, or Draven, Thresh would be a good option, considering his W is a free blink in case of an emergency. By the same logic, you could pick Thresh with an AD that already has a lot of mobility, like Ezreal, to reinforce this and allow for an extra margin of error.

Some Tips and Tricks! (This is probably the most helpful section if you're already a good Thresh!)

1. First off, some things I've noticed about Thresh's hook. Because of the wind-up time you will almost always need to lead the opponent in order to hit it. It is also possible to just hook a minion next to said enemy and immediately reactivate his Q to allow for an easy E pull. After some observation, I've come to notice that Thresh's hook has 3 parts. The initial cast, A first drag animation, and a second drag animation. If you time it correctly it is possible to get both drag animations AND reactivate your q to get next to the enemy. Lastly, while Thresh can't drag people over walls with his Q, he can however go over the walls with the reactivated portion!

*A possible but not yet confirmed observation: From what I've noticed, 90% of the time, the reactivated portion of Thresh's Q will always put you behind the target, you can use this to your advantage*

2. Not only is W an instant escape if you click on it, like other targettable spells, Thresh's lantern can be jumped to by Lee Sin, Kat, etc. through use of their spells. Thresh's lantern also reveals the target area, and makes for a good facechecking spell as well.

3. For Thresh's E, if the wording confuses you, simply cast it in the direction you want your enemy to go. Whether you are in front or behind your enemy, if you cast your spell Downward, they are going to be pulled or pushed downward, respectively. If you cast it in the wrong direction; don't worry, the knockback is short, and the slow will still apply, allowing for an easy catch-up.

4. Lastly, For Thresh's ultimate, it appears to me at least, that the damage is instantaneous upon using the spell when properly lined up on the enemy. Even before the animation of the wall popping up and breaking appears, the enemy will already be slowed and damaged. Also, like Nunu's ult, Thresh's can be used inside of brush and not able to be seen by enemies outside the brush.

Conclusion

Thresh is an incredibly fun and rewarding support if you and your teammates play it properly. While some of his mechanics are frustrating to deal with now, once people start to become adjusted, I feel Thresh will be a first pick/first ban Champion; he's that strong. Like people say with Blitz; one good hook combo can instantly swing a losing game back in your favor. While I do have some gripes with his kit and numbers (Let's be honest; his passive, while unique, is pretty gimmicky.), he is totally worth a purchase, and I can't wait to see how the pros utilize his kit in higher level play!

Hope you enjoyed the Read!

Chryxis

As always, I'd love to hear any and all criticisms or comments. Tell me how I'm doing!