User blog comment:Care Level/Solo Queue: The Bronze Adventures of Care Level/@comment-12314620-20130828225600/@comment-9593635-20130829211525

Runaan's and Hydra are niche items for niche situations; there's a time and a place for them; Hydra is often a better item than BT for a losing lane (that burst and sustain), or losing game (that split push), for example.

I probably could buy more wards (especially since no one else does), but, aside from that, I generally have tons of gold from runes/masteries and early philo, sightstone, and pick. Like, tons of gold. So. Much. Gold. Frequently more than laners.

And I know, playing Leona relies a lot on synergy between you and your partner, but she scales better than almost every other support (barring maybe Thresh) into lategame and can do more, I think, than supports like Sona or Nami. Also, she's fun to play. That makes a difference, let's be honest!