No CS, All Vision: the Support Economy
Gold-per-10 items, a bag full of wards, and the item that changed everything: Sightstone.
Living on a salary
Supports in that era didn't take CS — minion gold belonged to the carry. Their income was 'GP10' items that paid out every ten seconds: Philosopher's Stone, Kage's Lucky Pick. First recall: buy the Stone, spend everything left on wards.
A support's inventory was permanently full of wards. Three of six slots holding wards and potions was a healthy household. Core items came slowly; in exchange, the map stayed lit.
Sightstone changes everything
Sightstone, introduced in preseason 3, was the turning point of the support's life. One item with recharging wards turned 'the job of buying and carrying wards' into 'the job of reloading them.' For the first time, support gold stopped evaporating into consumables.
With warding rules tightening around the same time, vision became a strategic game. Sightstone was the first step in the support's climb from 'poor but diligent' to 'the architect of the map.'
The hands that defined the role
Thresh, released in early 2013, became the face of it all. One Death Sentence split a game open; the Lantern became the most dramatic save in the game. And MadLife — the hands nicknamed 'God' — proved supports could carry, landing hooks where your Flash was going to be.
Sona's Power Chord, Zyra's roots, Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab. Bot lane in that era was decided by a support's single hand as often as by the carries' trades. Their builds and runes live on in this archive's guides.
