If you’re wondering which supports synergize best with Samira, here are the five top champions you should be playing with her this season.
Image Credits | Riot Games
The best supports to play with Samira in LoL
Samira was a refreshing addition to League of Legends. While she’s considered a marksman, her nature and playstyle are more similar to what an assassin or a bruiser champion does: she wants to go in and wreak havoc with her Inferno Trigger in the middle of the fights. She excels a lot in small-size skirmishes and whenever things get bloody, making her also one of the best picks for other game modes like LoL Arena and Nexus Blitz.
This distinctive characteristic is what differentiates her from the rest of the marksmen roster. That said, it also became quite difficult to balance her since she’s more of a situational pick who excels against specific team compositions or situations.
On top of that, Samira needs to play with specific supports, which are able to set her up for success with their own kit. She might not shine at all times, but when she does, nobody can hold a torch to her.
If you’re not sure which champions you should be playing with Samira, we have compiled a list of the best supports that work with her this season. We will be also explaining the key strengths and weaknesses of these bot lane duos, so you know exactly what to do and what to expect.
Nautilus – the no. 1 support for Samira
Samira and Nautilus are famously known as the strongest duo there is: if you have the chance, try to always play them together.
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The best thing about Samira-Nautilus is the synergy between the two kits. Nautilus has lots of knock-ups, which Samira can prolong with her own passive. Moreover, Samira is a champion that wants to fight in close combat, and Nautilus is one of the best engage supports in the entire game. Thanks to his ultimate, he’s basically guaranteed to crowd control someone to death.
The two only suffer a bit from Samira’s lack of damage early on. Make sure to find the right opportunities and, possibly, Samira’s item spikes to start the show. As long as you two are on the same page, you will smash most of the enemy bot lanes.
Read also: Best supports to play with Ashe in LoL
Rell – The Nautilus alternative
There are times when Nautilus will be banned or picked by the enemy team, leaving you without Samira’s best partner. In that case, we recommend the best alternative: Rell.
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Similar to Nautilus, Rell offers a knockup with her W, which can be proc’d on two instances. On top of that, Rell also has a small AoE stun with her E.
While her engage might not be as reliable or consistent as the other support, Rell has arguably a better engage combo with Samira. The latter can follow up on Rell’s Magnet Storm (R) which pulls in all the targets toward her, allowing Samira to fully cast Inferno Trigger (R) onto those targets.
That said, finding these combos requires an insane level of coordination and good trust among each other. Make sure to get a good grasp of the two champions’ limits before jumping into solo queue.
Alistar – One of the best diving supports
Continuing the list of engage supports, we have Alistar. The great thing about him, compared to other champions in this list, lies in the ability to tank damage during fights for much longer, providing consistent crowd control and engage potential throughout the game. In a meta where mid and late-game skirmishes are omnipresent, this is one of the most important characteristics to have.
Not to mention that Alistar has two knockup effect that Samira can concatenate on, as well as a stun to lock down a single target. It doesn’t have the same level of synergy Nautilus or Rell have in 2v2s, but it compensates for it in the teamfights and in potential dives setup since he can tank turret damage for much longer thanks to the ultimate.
The only issue with this duo is that Alistar’s engage can be hard to pull off, especially if the enemies have a lot of long-range abilities: choosing according to the team composition the enemy has.
Read more: Best supports to play with Vayne in LoL
Pyke – the assassin duo
If you’re looking for a more aggressive bot lane duo, then we recommend Pyke as a good partner with Samira. His assassin nature rewards aggressive and proactive plays, making it the perfect champion for those who want to get a good snowball.
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Pyke also has a good amount of crowd control, given his knock-up/slow on his Q and stun from his E. That said, the best thing about playing Samira and Pyke in tandem is their ultimate combo: Samira shreds targets with her Inferno Trigger, and Pyke gets the ultimate reset with his Death from Below (R), allowing Samira to get some sweet gold.
It’s a bit tough to pull off this combo on their own, but with a good engager or crowd control from other teammates, this is a scary combo that can turn the tides of the game to your advantage.
Maokai – One of the best supports to lockdown enemies
To round off the list we have Maokai, yet another engage support. One of the best things about the champion is his ability to force engages with his W or ultimate, allowing Samira to quickly get into a position to all-in with her own abilities. This can be done repeatedly throughout the laning phase but, most importantly, in the skirmishes and game-deciding teamfights.
Additionally, Maokai makes up for Samira’s lack of range by setting up saplings in bushes and disengaging by knocking enemies away with Q. Overall, Maokai is a great champion with Samira and unless he gets nerfed, he will always be a valid option in the bottom lane.
Read also: Best supports to play with Xayah in League
