LoL - Janna: Tailwind to Victory

Janna is a great support champion in League of Legends. She has many tools to help out the team, and her presence can become invaluable in a team fight for having the advantage against other teams. However, at the same time, she can be fairly tricky to use, at least compared to other supports like Sona. This guide isn't going to be as elaborate as my Akali guide however, since there really isn't one specific build that would work best for Janna, depending on how you plan on playing her. I personally believe that playing passively and focusing on your role as a support might be better for the team than going full AP, unless your team is incompetent, and require you to carry the game. That being said, here are my runes and masteries.

A generic rune page for Casters and Supports.

9 Greater Mark of Insight (+ 0.95 Magic Penetration)
9 Greater Seal of Clarity (+ 0.065 Mana Regen / 5 Sec. per Level (+ 1.17 at Champion Level 18))
6 Greater Glyph of Focus (- 0.65% Cooldowns)
3 Greater Glyph of Shielding (+ 0.15 Magic Resist per Level (+ 2.7 at Champion Level 18))
1 Greater Quintessence of Frosty Fortitude (+ 26 Health)
1 Greater Quintessence of Sugar Rush (+ 1.5% Movement Speed)
1 Razer Quintessence of Speed (+ 1.5% Movement Speed)

And some generic masteries for Supports.

Now, if you'd like a second opinion, which I would recommend looking at anyway since it is probably a better guide than what I can provide, here's one from Moba Fire. The first thing you'd notice is probably how my runes are totally different from what is suggested on the guide. Mostly because it is also a Caster rune page, and also because my focus for casters and supports is to be able to cast the spells more often. Considering that, that would mean that there would be more emphasis on Cooldown Reduction and MP Regeneration to help fuel the more frequent casting, naturally. Of course, there is the possibility that I don't need these CR and MP/5 bonuses from the rune page depending on my item build, but I think it's nice to have.

I don't want to go too far into detail of stats here however. What really matters as supports is whether if you are effectively helping the team when they need it, which consists of providing shields on those taking damage, shielding your AD teammate to give them the +AD bonus along with the shield to help them deal more damage against enemy champions, use Zephyr and Howling Gale to slow and pop up enemy champions when chasing someone down, and other support roles. Depending on the situation, flashing in front of the opponent and pushing them towards your teammates with the Monsoon ult can nearly guarantee the kill, but it may be a risky move, putting both of your powerful escape moves in cooldown. The ideal time to use Monsoon is during a team fight, when your team is losing a team fight and need to reset the fight by pushing the enemies apart, usually with one champion pushed towards the team to kill, while healing your team until the rest of the enemy team tries to engage on you.

It is most support champions' role to provide better map awareness by using wards in places that are helpful. The guide on Moba Fire linked above has an in-depth guide of good ward locations and when you should place them. Aside from that, I usually take Flash and Clairvoyance for summoner spells. Map awareness is an extremely helpful skill to have. If you suspect that there is an enemy champion in the jungles or in the tall grasses, don't hesitate to cast Clairvoyance to give your teammates the knowledge as well. It takes a lot of practice with predicting how your opponents play, but when you can keep your opponent's actions in check with visibility, it usually makes a huge difference.

Aside from using support skills and map awareness, the only other support you could provide is via Auras. Auras provided by support items are very helpful to anyone in your presence, and once you get an aura item, it is best to try to stick to teammates who are going to engage against enemy champions to pick up as many assists as you can. However, choose your Aura items wisely, as Auras of the same type do not stack, so if a teammate already has the same item, consider picking up a different aura item for the team. Also consider whether if your team would benefit more from AD bonuses or AP bonuses, as different items may provide better bonuses for one or the other. As earlier, the guide linked above has a nice list of items that have auras and provides good explanations for when they are most useful. Don't forget that a lot of the items you'll get tend to have active effects as well, like Shurelya's Reverie and Locket of the Iron Solari.

Ultimately, Janna is a very versatile support. Her supporting capabilities are great, and probably more fun to play as in comparison to other supporting champions currently available, except maybe Karma. ... at least in my opinion. Regardless, Janna is definitely a great champion to learn, especially if you have a friend who likes to play AD champions. Now go and rack up a ton of assists! Be the tailwind that pushes your teammates toward victory!