Is Pantheon better as a mid laner or support?

Pantheon, the Unbreakable Spear, is best known for his global engagements and scary early game damage. But in which role is he currently best?

Pantheon is one of the few champions that can be viable both as a support and in the mid lane. The champion was originally a mid-game carry bruiser, but players quickly figured out that he can also be a niche pick as a support.

For several patches, Pantheon has seen solid win rates in both positions and therefore has become a scary flex pick in solo queue.  

When Pantheon got a rework in 2019, it centered around his ultimate ability and Aegis Assault (E). The new updates enabled Pantheon to more efficiently engage through his Grand Starfall (R) and not die instantly afterwards because his E could soak up a lot of the ensuing damage he might take. 

The two abilities are key in both the mid lane and support position, but are used in different ways.

In the mid lane, Pantheon is a champion that has kill pressure in many matchups. He has strong base damage on his abilities, which makes him scary in early-game trades. A successful combo from Pantheon during the early levels can chunk an opponent and maybe even kill them with Ignite.

As a support, Pantheon’s job is to poke in lane and later on set up his carries for kills. Pantheon won’t be the same type of assassin bruiser he is in the mid lane, but his damage early on is still great. This allows him to bully the enemy bot lane and get his carry a lead. Later on, Pantheon will use his ultimate or Shield Vault (W) as an engagement tool to pick off enemies who are out of position. 

Pantheon had over 50% win rate on patch 10.16

Pantheon is currently the perfect flex pick in solo queue and sometimes sees professional play as well. He sits at a 51.68% win rate in the mid lane, while he wins 50.55% of all games in the support position. 

Both of these win rates are solid, so picking Pantheon early on in champion select could throw off the enemy team. 

What is Pantheon’s best role?

During patch 10.16, Pantheon was mostly played in the support position with more than 170,000 games tracked in platinum rank and up. In the mid lane, only 80,000 games were tracked, which indicates that players generally prefer him as a support. 

With that said, his win rates are better in the mid lane. Pantheon has always been a niche champion that is picked in certain matchups and that is still the case. Pantheon is not always a safe pick in the mid lane and won’t work against certain bot lane combinations. 

Pantheon is mainly valuable because of his CC and engagement tools, making him valuable and an efficient pick as a support. He will lose out on damage, but the CC and engage will remain.

In the mid lane, there are currently better carry options such as Zed and Talon.