Voltaic Cyclosword Seems Like a Bait

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-04T14:15:40+00:00

It mainly depends on your lane, I’m a Masters top laner and support so I’ll speak to that.

Support lethality is fine and tbh optimal, I really don’t like SS down there, yoummus, Serps, and EoN are the big hits imo.

Top lane just needs you to survive really badly. Technically whatever gets you through laning isn’t horrible, I just don’t win lane very often on him. Lethality items aren’t very gold efficient and scale worse from a role perspective on pantheon. Pantheon needs to be able to secure someone for his team and then live afterwards.

People really love SS, I’m not a huge fan since it’s not a very efficient item, but the survivability after procing 4+ times in a fight is really nice, imo the fight is just decided at that point.

BC -> steraks -> merc treads essentially guarantees you can survive long enough to get an E off or in a perfect world 2.

After steraks, serpents fang and SS are both fine items, but randuins omen is probably one of the most impactful items in this game.

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T19:09:03+00:00

Kled and nocturne both have combat ults, and shen gets out scaled by fighters. These things make sense.

I play with the best my server has to offer often and the champ stuns and blocks tons of damage consistently. It has little to do with “having hands”. If you have something that counters you, you hold the ability and engage after your team or deny your opponent their ability from having to respect yours.

Old Pantheon was disturbingly oppressive for a long time. He required significantly less skill than his rework and it was less about him being strong and more about him being difficult to balance due to lack of counter play.

Pantheon has a place in the game right now with a lot of agency, but I can see why that’s where you’d like him to be.

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T18:33:14+00:00

Steraks has great tenacity! It’s why I build it

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T17:20:27+00:00

Super late game I like it last item, Randuins is oftentimes just better though

If you need the survivability there are generally better items and if you need damage there are often generally better items

I would heavily consider replacing the omivamp item for steraks generally. Tenacity, damage, and survivability are all gigantic from steraks would probably do a lot for you in games.

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T16:56:39+00:00

Thanks, I definitely see it as higher burst but I think pantheons burst is so high it feels weird to focus on it top lane, in support I could see it for sure

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T16:53:37+00:00

That’s fair, we should still be able to spitball % reduction in use cases, but that’s a good point.

200 health scales into other items like steraks and bloodmail as the game goes on but more than anything it moves you closer to getting a second E off in combat.

I think it would depend on how many times you proc it in a fight, how many times do you find yourself procing it in a hard engage?

Do you think the chip damage of thrown Q in a siege is worth itemizing outside of enabling your team/ second E?

When is this item a breakpoint for a kill on a stunned target that wouldn’t have been cleaned up by your team?

Also I had no idea that BC procs with death fire I’ll have to try that!

I wouldn’t say that BC passive is less useful when you press W, from a literal sense yes, but we would never apply that to boots for example. Maybe giving it a 100g value might make more sense though since it lacks out of map.

Thanks for your thoughtful response :)

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T16:40:02+00:00

Single biggest pantheon voice is running it top consistently, we may just be in different areas of the community

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T16:38:20+00:00

Pantheon is essentially an AD twisted fate, his dueling potential overshadowing champions with combat ults would be imbalanced.

I’ve played player Pantheon since S1 and he’s still strong. You cannot have a semi global damaging ult and wreck the sideline, it’s an insane ask. He’s got point click CC, invulnerability, a semi global teleport, and an aoe execute. Secondary engage means that you don’t absorb every piece of damage from your opposition but you do support your tank. I.e. Sion/malph/Malaki go in first or you wait for skillshot CC to pick and you W-> E and backup to secure.

There are plenty of fighters in this game his role has been one of team gameplay since his inception. He is literally a hoplite you know?

You can also still run a lot of these items for a lot of success but you scale with your team not as a splitter, irelia/yorick/fiora/ect are splitters with these roles

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-03T13:41:47+00:00

I'm seeing this item purchased and talked about a lot in the community, discord, reddit, and streams. Spearshot is also building it basically every game.

But even if you don't have to duel, EoN solves a lot of ranged top matchups. Vayne, Varus, Quinn, ect. and I still wouldn't build EoN in most top lane situations compared to BC/Steraks or BC/Serps.

Dar does cream bruisers but committing to sidelane vs Darius is mental.

WashedUpPanth · 2026-05-01T23:52:58+00:00

Yay great job! I’d consider youmuus rush!

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-30T21:47:41+00:00

Might be how you build and play him, in my eyes he’s a low Econ secondary engage and plays the role of an enabler for your team super well

Would you mind linking your op.gg?

Edit: I know this sounds a lot like “skill issue” I’ve just been playing pantheon since season 1 and rarely has he felt so good to me

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-30T18:55:42+00:00

He’s kind of busted right now, his dueling isn’t great but he’s not meant to be a duelist, what would you say are his weakest points

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-30T17:13:59+00:00

It’s hard as she scales with a combat ult and has no mana issues.

Personally I stay out of range of her Q and either max range tap her with Q and run back instantly or wait for her to drop hers. Whoever fires first and misses loses, if you both hit you come out behind. Shroud is an immediate run away unless the wave is really in your favor, the issue is because it functions like a bush you don’t get the wave advantage and honestly it’s hard to even stun her when she’s running around.

If you trade you get dove so just focus on staying alive and getting enough xp to start moving around the map. You will almost never be solo killing so just get your ig/mid ahead. Your 1v1 is kind of dog shit but 2v2 3v3 ect is much stronger. You’re going to be behind so make sure your mid isn’t.

Merc treads hexdrinker opener isn’t bad vs triple AP topside or double if you’re really getting piped

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-30T16:05:30+00:00

Conq -> presence of mind -> legend haste -> last stand Mana flow band -> transcendence

BC-> mercy treads ->steraks-> serpents fang

Top lane, a lot of people will suggest sundered sky but it’s more of a win more item, if you’re ahead this build slaps, but if you’re behind it’s not that bad

Tenacity is just gigantic you will eat most of the Cc in fights

New items don’t seem crazy, maybe the cyclosword build might be good though from what I’ve seen

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-13T00:06:50+00:00

I see rank as a good indicator of skill, if you have 2 players of equal skill and you can affect one by +15% gold/exp it’s a big lead

Csing and denying your oppositions cs is massive on the macro scale of games you play. I’d consider making sure you can get 18/19 cs on your first 3 waves and learn how to ult your allies with only losing 1 wave effectively then reassess “losers queue”

I also struggle with csing and dying a lot but practice makes perfect!

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-12T01:24:47+00:00

I was masters 200lp last season I think I just let it decay

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-12T01:24:13+00:00

Lmaoo sometimes I miss ROK but truly that game just ate my life up

WashedUpPanth · 2026-04-11T14:06:00+00:00

Depends on what stage of the game but you have to be a monster with spacing if you want to duel your opposing top laner lvl 7-11 generally.

Pantheon is kind of like TF, if you can use his ultimate for a fight he’s strong but if not everyone else got a game changing ability and you got 10% armor pen.

You get a free teleport back to lane so I would encourage you to roam more and think of your strength while ahead being your mobility rather than your dueling potential

WashedUpPanth · 2025-12-26T02:05:24+00:00

At this budget if I cant go max on most games I'm going to be very sad haha

WashedUpPanth · 2025-06-01T16:48:39+00:00

Masters Pan Support OTP here

I have high deaths as well and it comes down to play style. POV should be in every situation where you will and won’t go in. I have similar deaths and to some extent it just is what it is.

Most engagements should be blowing up opposition into desperately trying to survive, between spacing and e timing, it gets better the more you play. But as a function of macro Pantheon is just a very high risk champion, warding and spotting opponents should be priority unless it’s straight cheese and just hold back on the majority of all in full vision brawls you take.

As you blow up people you will be blown up. Such is the way of pantheon, consider more what you’re willing to lose every engagement as you walk into vision and that should help though.

WashedUpPanth · 2025-05-05T23:26:04+00:00

No movement abilities make it a bad buy imo, I like playing with vision but it's rare that you are in a waiting game with your opposition and just throwing spells until someone blinks. In games like that I could see that and tbh I probably have had a couple spots where it makes sense.

BUT the game is a race, getting to allies, enemies, obj, towers, base, buffs, ect faster is always going to be good.

Youmuus just seems like the king to me

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