Varus is a unique AD carry in League of Legends due to the fact that he has multiple viable build paths that can each result in very different approaches to the game. To start, there’s the classic attack speed build that focuses on rushing Guinsoo’s Rageblade and maximizing the attack speed from his passive. He also has various poke builds where you’d want to stack Tear of the Goddess and lethality items. Finally, for the super adventurous, there’s his ability power build that focuses on bursting enemies with a combination of his W, Blighted Quiver, and his ultimate, Chain of Corruption.
With all of that item diversity, it can be difficult to decide which support character to pair with Varus in the bot lane. Here are a few champions that pair well with the Arrow of Retribution and what build they work best with.
Best supports to play with Varus
Lulu
Lulu is one of the top-tier supports to play with the classic attack speed Varus build. Both Lulu and Varus are able to bully opposing lanes out in the first few levels, particularly if you’re facing a melee support. As the game goes on and Varus transitions from a more poke-heavy playstyle to a more traditional teamfight carry, Lulu adapts with him. Her W, Whimsy, and her E, Help, Pix! make it easy for the Varus to navigate late-game teamfights and kite his way to victory.
Karma
Karma does a lot of the same things as Lulu, but she’s better at punishing ranged supports since she has a longer range. She also has better set-up tools for ganks in case you have an aggressive jungler on your team. Karma can definitely work with attack speed Xerath, but she’s probably at her best when paired with his lethality build. Put together, Varus and Karma have some of the strongest poke and zone control of any bot lane.
Xerath/Lux
Putting two champions in one heading is kind of cheating, but they fulfill a very similar role as supports. They want to keep the enemy bot lane at a distance, whittle them down with their long-range poke spells, and then leverage that pressure into securing tower plates and dragons. It’s a higher-risk lane combo compared to Karma because Xerath and Lux don’t have great escape tools, especially when they’re pushed far up in the lane. You almost exclusively want to play these two with the lethality poke Varus build.
Blitzcrank
Blitzcrank is the first melee support on this list. Varus is an AD carry that can simultaneously be a lane bully while scaling into a hypercarry in the later stages of the game. Ranged supports tend to pair well with him because they’re more easily able to bully out melee supports and gain control of the lane. When the enemy support locks in an enchanter before you, however, then Blitzcrank is a great answer.
If Blitzcrank can hit their Rocket Grab, then this lane has immense kill potential. No matter what build you go, Varus can do a lot of burst damage with stacks from Blighted Quiver. That being said, this is a lane where you could justify building ability power for the ultimate one-shot.
Thresh
Thresh is a fun option because he is just as versatile as Varus himself. In a good matchup, Thresh can play aggressively and look for picks with his hooks. When outranged or having fallen behind, his lantern is one of the strongest escape tools in League. He is especially potent with attack speed Varus because he has three abilities that can keep opponents in auto attack range. The longer the fight goes on, the more value you gain from Lethal Tempo and Guinsoo’s Rageblade. Still, Thresh is such a capable generalist that he can find success with just about any Varus build.