User blog comment:Canvasofgrey/A new way to look at Supports/@comment-72.181.130.147-20120401044902

First of all, sona and soraka are no longer really in the "god tier" of supports, janna is the only support that is played significantly more than any other. I see more alistar support (and bans in fact) while watching pro streams/tourneys than soraka and sona over the last few months since they were nerfed. The only time I've really seen soraka consistently picked is after a karthus pick as a counter. So I guess in a way I disagree with your fundamental statement that only those three champions are considered "true supports."

Overall I feel since the nerfs it opened the doors to a lot of other characters coming out of the shadows and being more openly accepted in the support role. At high elo leona, alistar, nunu, and taric are seen pretty often now depending on the team comps.

Second, as for other none traditional support supports, I agree with some of the champs others have pointed out. I've seen very strong support play from champs like maokai, blitz, and nidalee. These were all in games I've played though, so not high elo matches. I've seen a few pros and people at my elo use nautalus as a support, who basically plays like an even tankier leona.

What I would really like to see is the other "supports" currently in the game reworked to better function in that role. Currently zilean, lux, and orianna are more often played mid and function more as hybrid support/carry than true bot supports. Karma is rarely seen at all outside of dominion, though I'm not 100% sure why that is as I've never played her.

Note: Lulu also looks like she will be picked pretty often once they get the balancing on her down, as she has a very cool and versatile kit. Right now she does more damage with her abilities than she probably should, so she is used less for her utility and more for the additional damage output similar to zilean.