I got to Masters by playing (almost) exclusively Support Dark Harvest Xerath
So, I've been maining Xerath for quite a few seasons, now, and I've been switching my runes back and forth. Between Arcane Comet and First Strike, I ended up settling with Dark Harvest, and here's why:
The support item Zak'Zak's Realmspike is just absolutely perfect for triggering DH after a strong ability combo. So I thought, "hey, this might just be a solid scaling build!" It starts off weak af, and you could get your ass kicked in lane if you aren't careful during early game.
However! Once you get your ult and your Support Item upgrade, you can start getting stacks. And by taking Gathering Storm, you get a considerable amount of AP by simply managing to hold on and not letting the enemy team snowball. AP scaling and DH stacks means you can pretty much delete non-tanks with ease in late game. And it only gets better! (Unless the enemy team counter builds with some Magic Resist).
I'm not sure how mathematically correct this entire build is and I might've just gotten lucky after a lot of time trying to climb out of Diamond, but I'm happy with how much damage I've been managing to deal as a support mage. And I'm just proud of managing to climb into Masters for the first time ever!
Got up to Masters 64LP, which is my highest rank ever, so far!
My usual runes. Weak late game, but very fun and rewarding late game.
