Supporting is interesting. Everybody wants to be the one making the fabulous plays, carrying the team, getting the kills. Supporting does, yes, involve buying the wards and letting other people get the gold.

However.

Supporting is about winning the game. Vision, freedom to farm, safety.

And, if you think that only carries make the big plays, look no further than EG Universe's Game Winning Echo Slam.

Introduction

Ethrain the Lich is a powerful ranged support hero, great at dealing high damage with his ice spells. He is relatively simple to play, and is very powerful in the early and middle stages of the game.

Lich is known as a "babysitter" support hero. This means that he's great at helping other heroes farm up in the laning stage, with the use of his Sacrifice and Frost Blast. Babysitter heroes should always lane with a carry, preferably a melee "Hard-Carry" (heroes that become incredibly powerful once they have enough gold and experience).
The Hard-Carries in-game include: Medusa, Phantom Assassin, Faceless Void, Luna, Phantom Lancer, Anti-Mage, Spectre, Terrorblade, Riki, Troll Warlord and Meepo. If you see one of those heroes on your team in game, that's the hero that you should be laning with.

Lich can also mid-lane well - his Frost Blast means that he can pose a considerable threat to the enemy hero. Middle laning allows Lich to get his Chain Frost much earlier to assist his team. A good Lich can actually have impact when Mid-Laning, but you probably shouldn't -- if you're reading a guide, you're probably not arrogant enough to steal the mid-lane from someone who needs it more than Lich, which is pretty much everyone.

Lich, as a support, is also King of Vision (warding). Throughout the game Lich is in charge of placing Observer Wards (and possibly Sentry Wards if necessary) in strategic places around the map. See the warding section below for tips on where to ward.

Pros and Cons

Pros


- Powerful support abilities
- High movement speed
- Strong teamfight attacks
- Easy to play
- Good at laning

Cons


- No escape abilities
- Low health/armour
- No stuns or crowd control abilities

Friends, Foes, and People You Wreck

Friends

Magnus - See our upcoming guide ( Reverse Polarity with Chain Frost blitzes)
Faceless Void ( Chain Frost can bounce around in the Chronosphere)
Disruptor ( Chain Frost can bounce around in Disruptor's Kinetic Field)

Foes
Anti Mage ( Lich is squishy with a high mana pool)

People You Wreck
Faceless Void ( Chain Frost can bounce around in his Chronosphere)

Gameplay Strategies and Tips

Early Game


It's important to stress how good Lich is in the laning stage. When played well, he can completely shut down the opposition. Sacrifice causes every wave to draw closer to Lich's tower; every Frost Blast is a devastating blow that Lich can cast over and over again. Abuse your power, destroy the enemy, win the lane and then the game.


Early game, you always want to have the fight as close to your tower as possible - for protection, and to deny the enemy last hits. A great way for Lich to bring the creep line closer to your tower (and to gain a tiny bit more experience) is to Sacrifice a creep in the first creep wave.

Every time Sacrifice is off cooldown, use it! The best target is a melee creep on high health, as they give more experience than ranged creeps (and replenish more mana). Whenever you sacrifice a creep you gain experience, replenish lost mana and deny the enemy gold.

!! as of the 6.85 update, Sacrifice no longer provides the enemy with experience -- so use it whenever!

When Laning With a Friend


Sacrifice and deny allied creeps as much as possible, and harass enemy heroes with your auto-attack and Frost Blast when possible. If an enemy is out of sight for an extended period of time report them missing (alt+click on their portrait). Remember to always stay close to the safety of your tower.

Try to keep some Observer Wards active around your lane to protect you and your carry from ganks. As a general rule, you should always have vision on the closest rune to your lane, as often the enemy midlaner will come to your lane via the river.

After a little while, if:
- An enemy hero is playing boldly
- Your Carry is a stunner
- An enemy hero is on low health for another reason
- There is only 1 enemy hero in lane
Then consider going for the kill. Depending on the situation, there are several effective ways to do this.

If your laning partner is a hero that deals high damage or has a movement slow (such as Phantom Assassin, rush in using Frost Blast as much as possible. Make sure not to overextend yourself or take unnecessary risks - you and your partner's survival is more important than a kill.

If an enemy hero is on low health or by himself, tell your partner to hide himself in the trees. Then run forward and cast Frost Blast, and if the enemy attacks or flees, your partner can jump out and destroy them.