Bot Lane Support Summoner Skills

With the not-so recent changes to heal, more and more teams are replacing CV with heal. Even in IEM Kiev, we've seen a shift away from CV and into heal for the ability to "win" bot lane and teamfights using the AOE HP advantage.

However, top teams like M5, TSM, and CLG.EU have ALL used CV on their supports in every tournament game that they've been in, dominating teams without it. So what about solo queue? Should supports be running Clairvoyance or trying to win their lane with Heal/Exhaust + Flash?

I personally think Clairvoyance is indispensable. 

Why is Clairvoyance so important?
CV is no longer the spammy spell that you can use to track a jungler throughout his entire path, rendering him completely useless. Yes CV has been nerfed. Yes Heal is very powerful. However, the fact is,

1. Clairvoyance is a free, indestructible form of sight that isn't blocked by bushes or hills.

Once an enemy team gets ahead, if they have a competent support with good wards and an oracle on their team the game is all but won. If your team has no sight, then you cannot engage a team battle.

The best example of this is at baron late game. If you have CV, then your team has the ability to counter them at Baron and possibly make a comeback from a losing game. However, without CV it is IMPOSSIBLE to get close to them since they could just hide in the bush near baron and wait for you to come.

This essentially gives them a free Baron, and as everyone knows, a free Baron generally ends a game.

2. Clairvoyance allows supports to impact more than just bottom lane during the laning phase

If you've ever been laning top and both you and your enemy are each one hit away from death, you'll know what I mean. At this point, whoever can land the hit first will win the battle, and probably the lane. However, the person closest to the bush has a distinct advantage, since he'll get the first jump. 

But if your team's support has CV, he can CV the bush and even the odds. This is especially true when your ally has a blinking ability like Irelia or Akali. Even if an enemy flashes and your throw CV down, your ally can easily blink right over that wall and secure the kill. Without CV, this kill gets lost into the fog of war and lets the enemy live to fight another day.

3. Clairvoyance allows your team to set up jungle invades and prevent them as well

I think this one is nearly self explanatory. You almost absolutely cannot pull off a successful jungle gank without CV. An early jungle gank and kill secures you an early lead, and if you can convince your solo queue team to do it, chances are the other team won't be ready for it. 

This leads the jungler falling behind, possibly some kills, and overall breakdown of the other team's playstyle.

Meanwhile, on the defending side, a jungler with no CV on his support is literally walking blind. If he can see that the enemy team isn't at their blue and probably invading, he can counter by taking the enemy blue instead. Without CV, your jungler will have no premise to make a decision.

CONCLUSIONS:

Obviously Exhaust or Heal will have a more visible impact on your gameplay, especially bot lane. You'll also feel like you're saving heroes or disabling enemies more than just giving sight. However, with global range the impact a support can have on the early game is much more profound with CV and thus I say, why change what works? The most successful teams in the world are still running CV, and you can rest assured that they've tried all sorts of set-ups.

Thus, I think that the only viable combinations of summoner spells are Flash + CV or Heal + CV, or rarely, Exhaust + CV for your bot lane support hero. Unless of course, you and your duo queue opponent outskill your elo so heavily you're confident you can easily secure kills.

Sona's not the only one who can hold a beat!