Caitlyn has been one of the most popular AD carries in League of Legends since her release back in 2011. Because of that, many League players will want to know what the best supports are to pair with Caitlyn.
When paired with the correct support, Caitlyn can become one of the most oppressive champions in all of League. But knowing which supports pair well with her can be a difficult task.
Caitlyn has a plethora of good support pairings that bring out her strengths, but none can synergize quite as well with Piltover’s sniper as the champions we’ve gathered below. Here are the best supports to pair with Caitlyn in League.
Best supports for Caitlyn in League
Morgana
Morgana and Caitlyn make for a terrifying duo in the bot lane when played correctly. Combining Caitlyn’s massive attack range and Piltover Peacemaker (Q) ability with Morgana’s Tormented Shadow (W) creates an oppressive poke lane for your unfortunate opponents.
This ADC and support combo truly shines with Morgana’s Dark Binding (Q) and Caitlyn’s Yordle Snap Trap (W). With all the poke damage you’ll be dishing out, just one Dark Binding landed by your support and a well-timed Yordle Snap Trap will likely result in a kill.
This obnoxious ability combo will have your enemy stuck in place for anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 seconds depending on Morgana’s Dark Binding rank. You can even combine this with Morgana’s Soul Shackles (R) for an additional 1.5-second root.
Another bonus to this duo is Morgana’s Black Shield (E), which, when timed well, can be the perfect save for a Caitlyn about to be caught in CC; a likely end for the squishy ADC.
Bard
One of the supports with the highest win rate alongside Caitlyn at the end of the 2023 season is Bard. The champion is often overlooked by many support players due to his complex kit that doesn’t excel in any aspect, but alongside certain champs like Caitlyn, he can do some seriously powerful plays.
As Bard, players can provide their ADCs with some utility and mobility. The latter is especially valuable for Caitlyn, who doesn’t have many escape tools besides her 90 Caliber Net (E), and even that is often not enough. Bard’s Magical Journey (E) opens the door to additional ganks in the bottom lane, more fights over objectives in the jungle, and can be also used as an escape route when skirmishes don’t go your way.
In lane, Bard can provide some decent poke, which is a massive advantage for Caitlyn players looking for opportunities to annoy enemies with their long-range auto attacks. Paired together, the two should look for some early action, possibly with help from their jungler, to get ahead.
Afterward, Bard can make some plays with his ultimate. It’s perfect for both protecting Caitlyn from threats, since it makes her invulnerable, or locking down enemies so that she and the rest of the team are able to catch up. As easy as it sounds, though, it requires some sophisticated communication in order to yield the expected results.
As powerful as Bard’s ultimate is, it can sometimes be more helpful for the enemy team rather than your own if misplaced. Try having as much vision as possible, and keep track of the enemy squad and the situation on the map so you don’t misplay.
Maokai
There are a few champions that fit numerous roles and do tremendously in each, like Maokai. Thanks to his stellar crowd control, tanky nature, and easy-to-master kit, he’s one of the best champs to pick alongside numerous AD carries, including Caitlyn.
With Caitlyn’s long-range and poking abilities, the strongest supports by her side are either those who provide even more poke, like Morgana, or those who can lock down an enemy AD carry. Maokai belongs to the second group. With his Twisted Advance (W) and Bramble Smash (Q) combo, the Twisted Treant doesn’t have many issues closing the gap and knocking up any enemy. This combo lets Caitlyn get free hits in.
However, Maokai’s prowess excels as the game advances into the mid-game There, he can create true chaos with his ultimate, separating squishy targets with the aforementioned combo and the addition of his Nature’s Grasp (R). This setup can be used defensively or aggressively, depending on the game state. With her damage and mobility, Caitlyn can able to stick to Maokai at all times, shredding through enemies’ health bars when they’re rooted.
Thresh
Thresh is a fantastic support to almost any ADC in League, and this is especially true with Caitlyn.
You may be starting to see a trend: similar to Morgana and even Bard, some of the best synergies between the two are their ability to CC opponents for long periods of time. All Thresh has to do is land a Death Sentence (Q), and along with a well-placed Yordle Snap Trap, the opponents will be stuck for quite some time.
Where this support pairing differs is with Thresh’s more all-in playstyle as well as his disengage capabilities with Flay (E), Dark Passage (W), and The Box (R). This means you won’t have a support partner to help you poke down enemies before the engage, but you’ll have a lot more CC during the duration of the fight. This lane duo is also a bit less susceptible to ganks from the enemy jungler.
Thresh’s displacement capabilities make this combo a bit more difficult to make work with a random support partner. If your support chooses to use Flay just as you put down your trap, they could potentially pull or push the enemy out of your Yordle Snap Trap’s range.
Aside from this, Thresh’s ultimate ability also makes for some great disengage or slows to keep your opponents within reach even longer. Additionally, most Thresh players take the Glacial Augment keystone rune, which will provide an additional slow for a few seconds whenever they land a CC ability. But be mindful that there’s a 25-second cooldown to this effect.
Leona
Leona is another support that functions similarly to Thresh and also pairs very well with Caitlyn in League.
The laning phase of this duo will revolve around waiting for Leona to land their Zenith Blade (E) and then immediately placing a Yordle Snap Trap on the target. Leona will then use Shield of Daybreak (Q) to stun the target for one second, leading directly into your trap’s 1.5-second root duration.
Throughout this layering of CC, you’ll obviously want to pump as much damage into your opponent as possible, using both your Piltover Peacemaker ability and 90 Caliber Net (E) to rack up as many Headshots as you can.
Additionally, if your Leona support partner has their ultimate ability ready, they can drop Solar Flare (R) on the target for another 1.75 seconds of CC.
Having early vision as Leona is pivotal, since the champion has an all-in kit. If you want to engage in the bottom lane, make sure you know where the enemy jungler and mid laner are so you don’t get ambushed.
This support option is a bit riskier than Thresh, though: You lose out on a lot of disengage and utility for pure CC, so be careful of ganks.
Zyra
Similarly to Morgana, Zyra can be a tremendous aid to Caitlyn in the bot lane if played correctly. The Mage needs to poke enemies with Grasping Roots (E) and Deadly Spines (Q), with the first one having the ability to root them. Once it happens, Caitlyn should use the opportunity and take the shot, lowering enemies’ health bars considerably.
Zyra’s greatest asset is her sustainability. The closer she is to level six, the more Seeds and abilities she can release, making it even tougher for enemies to lane. With the Rise of the Thorns by her side, Caitlyn can have complete control over the lane, unless they’re playing against an even more aggressive duo, or the opposing jungler comes to their aid.
Zyra is also better than most Supports in countering enemies’ aggression when she hits level six due to her Stranglethorns (R). Similarly to Maokai’s Nature’s Grasp, Thresh’s The Box, or Leona’s Solar Flare, the ability can be used in every scenario, providing Caitlyn with versatility at every stage of the game.
Senna
Though the strange double-marksman bot lane meta that plagued the end of last year and start of this season has started to dry out, one marksman remains at the top of the support meta thanks not only to how oppressive she can be in lane but the utility she provides her allies: Senna.
The Redeemer has been a nuisance for Riot to balance since her release due to her unique nature as a marksman made for the support role. She’s been subject to numerous nerfs and subsequent buffs for a number of years, now sitting comfortably as a great pairing for nearly any ADC—especially those who enjoy early-game lane pressure like Caitlyn.
Senna can not only reach targets from afar with both her normal auto attacks and her Q, Piercing Darkness, but if her Q hits an enemy, it will slow them, thus giving both her and Caitlyn the chance to unleash rains of bullets on their opponents from a safe distance. Like with many other champions that work well with Caitlyn, Senna can also combo the root from her W, Last Embrace, with a Caitlyn trap to burst through enemy health bars and oftentimes resulting in the need for them to expend a summoner spell.
While this combination certainly can be oppressive at all stages of the game, they lack any mobility whatsoever outside of the brief movement speed buff from Senna’s E, Curse of the Black Mist. Therefore, any initiation on either of these marksmen will either send them back to the fountain or force them to use Flash.
