Esports
League of Legends’ patch 9.10 is nigh, bringing with it a brand new support champion: Yuumi the Magical Cat. We run down how you can play her best on the Rift.
Yuumi is a magical cat that rides around on a book like a surfboard. Yes, you heard it right. League of Legends’ newest support champion gives a completely new dynamic to the game. She’s a nifty little kitten with a lot of attitude, and she’ll no doubt put a spanner in the works against many teams on the Rift.
Ahead of the release of Patch 9.10, we jumped onto the Public Beta Environment (PBE) to give Yuumi a spin. We’ll run through her abilities, her playstyle, her build and what runes will work the best for her.
Yuumi’s abilities
Passive: Bop ‘n’ Block
Yuumi’s innate passive ability empowers her next basic attack against an enemy champion to restore mana (based on level) and grant an Ability Power shield (based on level) that lasts until broken. While she’s Attached to friendly target, the shield transfers to her Anchor.
Q: Prowling Projectile
Yuumi fires a missile that deals magic damage to the first enemy target hit. If the missile travels long enough, it deals bonus damage and slows enemies. When she is Attached to a team-mate, the projectile travels from her ally’s position and can be directed with her mouse.
W: You and Me!
Passive: When Yuumi is Attached to her team-mate, she and her ally gain a percent of each other’s Attack Damage or Ability Power converted to Adaptive Force.
This means Yuumi and her ally will be granted additional points of the stat they have the most. If Yuumi is laning with Twitch, for example, he’ll be given AD, and Yuumi, AP. Players gain 0.6 AD per point of AF or one AP per AF.
When Yuumi joins the game she starts with a point in You and Me!
Active: She dashes towards a team-mate and attaches to them. When she’s Attached, she follows the movement of her ally. She’s also untargetable by everything except tower shots.
The ability has no cooldown, therefore she can jump from team-mate to team-mate with ease. If Yuumi un-attaches from her target, however, it goes on cooldown, forcing her to wait a short period before re-attaching. The cooldown starts as soon as she’s Attached.
E: Zoomies
Zoomies heals and gives her a burst of movement speed. If Attached, the spell targets her team-mate. Yuumi’s E has two charges.
R: Final Chapter
Yuumi’s ultimate ability launches waves of magic damage that root enemy targets after being hit by the ability three times. When Final Chapter is in effect, Yuumi can move, attach to team-mates, and heal.
How to play her
1 - 18 (Skill Priority)
Q > E > Q > Q > Q > R > Q > E > E > E > R > Q > E > E > W > R > W > W
We reckon Yuumi is the ultimate support champion. There’s no second guessing with her. Everything about her kit screams support, and the bot lane is where she thrives.
She has the potential for being a strong team orientated champion, but she does have her weaknesses. Yuumi’s E ability is the defining factor of her kit. It gives her the unique capability to stay out of harm, and dictate a team fight without the fear of death. Although attaching to her team-mates can often be strong, a good Yuumi player will have to learn when and when not to use it.
In an ideal world, you’d attach yourself to your team-mates whenever possible, but this approach to Yuumi won’t give you any favours. You can’t auto attack when you’re Attached, so you’ll miss out on trading altogether. This is especially notable in the laning phase. You’ll give your enemies the advantage, exposing your AD Carry to a 1v2 scenario, for example. You can still attach to your ally, but you should use it selectively.
In the early stages of the game, look to trade as efficiently as the match-up will allow you. If you’re against a particularly strong lane orientated duo, you should play more passively. But if you’re on a level footing, or you have a long-ranged ADC, you can look to be more aggressive. You’re not tanky, so it’s not the best idea to get up in your opponent's faces, but you shouldn’t be afraid to take some damage. You do have a heal, after all, and your poke can do considerable damage pre-level six. You’re not the most deadly support, but if you can trade, while dodging threats by attaching to your ally, you can get the advantage in lane.
It’s a little different when the game progresses, however. Your damage won’t be as crucial, and you’ll be able to spend more time Attached. Playing Yuumi is about finding a balance. You’ll want to aim to attach to your team-mates whenever you can, but at the same time, you don’t want to be predictable. If you stay on your team-mate for too long, your opponents will quickly target the pair of you, and you’ll both lose out.
What you should be doing is finding the best time to reposition. You have to rely on your team-mates somewhat, so not everything will always go to plan. If you think it’s necessary, you should dismount your team-mate in order to peel or get map pressure. When one of your team-mates is reaping the rewards of your kit, you’re technically in a 4v5 scenario. This means you should avoid attaching in certain circumstances. If your team is skirting around the Baron and looking for a skirmish, you shouldn’t necessarily attach to your engage target. This will give the game away, and your enemies will instantly know what to expect. You should instead look to switch from target to target, and into your regular cat form when required.
Once you’re in the late game, you should always be trying to make the most out of your abilities. Catch out an enemy with your snare, damage them with your projectile, or root them with your ultimate. You should be proactive, and not have to solely rely on your team-mates. They have the means to deal more damage than you do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take the game into your own hands (or paws).
What items should I build?
Yuumi’s You and Me! passive allows her to not only aid her teammates with utility, but also buffer up their damage. She can be built in a number of ways. The safest option will likely be the most commonly used, but a more aggressive AP build is definitely viable.
The most efficient build for Yuumi will start with Spellthief’s Blade. It’s great for poking in lane and it will come in handy for late game skirmishes, once upgraded. Next Redemption and Athene's Unholy Grail are perfect for utility and sustain. They both fit nicely around your kit, and they act as all-around support items. You’d normally want to build into boots at his stage, but it’s not necessary when you’re playing Yuumi. If you want to, you can buy boots and upgrade them to Ionian Boots of Lucidity, but it won't make a great deal of difference. When you’re Attached to a target, their movement speed is the only factor that matters. You will have to un-attach yourself at some point, so your personal movement speed can come into use. It’s not crucial, however. Next, you should build in the direction the game takes you. There are a few possible items you can build, but all are situational. Mikael's Crucible, Locket of the Iron Solari, and Ardent Censer each come under this category.
If you’re more of an aggressive player and you want to play a high risk / high reward playstyle, you can build into heavy AP. This means you’ll go in the direction of a mid lane carry, building the likes of Luden's Echo and Rabadon's Deathcap. This method isn’t recommended, though.
What runes should I use?
There are multiple rune pages that would work well with Yuumi. This is just one of many alternatives. Summon Aery will allow you to deal more damage with your Q ability, particularly in the laning phase. Manaflow Band will give you that extra important mana that’s important for your sustain. Transcendence allows you to dish out more spells. And Scorch increases your poke damage.
As for the secondary part of the tree, Resolve is the most stable option for the supportive aspects of your kit. Font of Life will synergize nicely with the snare on your Q. And Revitalize will boost the healing on your E. Overall, this rune page gives Yuumi a nice balance.
If you want to try another option, you could instead opt to choose Resolve as primary, and Sorcery as secondary. It will look similar in theory, but you’ll be more reliant on being a defensive support. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, however, poke damage and utility are Yuumi’s strong points.
