Item Build

Starting Items

This start build on Nami is basically the "standard opening". So, if you have no significant goals or special circumstances I usually go with this build. It gives you lane and map control and keeps you safe during the lane phase.

This is an alternate opening I have been doing. I think that it is good if you are maxing W (the flask is good mana regen and you will need it throughout the lane phase), and its a good opening if you are going for a sight-stone rush, opposed to a philo-first build (I like sightstone rush if I'm against a tough jungler or a tough lane; like lee sin, maokai, amumu or a taric lane, leona, etc.). I then get philo/kage after the sightstone.

The final opening I have been experimeting with in solo Q is this build. This is a very greedy build, it's good if you are going against a weak lane and can bully it, or if you just want to play risky. With this opening I can then get a kage pick very quickly (only need 330g). This is just one of those high risk high reward openings that you can go if you feel its right - worth experimenting once or twice with it. 

End of Early Game Items:

These are the general things to get early, and I like them typically in this order. On most supports I prefer getting sightstone first and then getting the gp10s afterwards. Overall, if you are keeping 2 wards up 100% of the time then sightstone provides more gold savings than the generation from a philo stone (sightstone provides about 8 "gold" per 10 seconds). However, on Nami I usually favor getting the Philosopher's Stone first. This is because she needs the mana regen a lot in order to fund her W. This of course is something that is situational though, if they have a high threat jungler (threatening to bot lane) like Lee Sin, Maokai, Nocturne then sightstone first is essential; however, if you aren't against one of these scary junglers I usually get philo stone first and at maximum 1-2 wards and then get sightstone, I skimp on the wards early cause I am against a weaker jungler, thus I don't need to have 2 wards up 100% of the time, and the gold provided by sightstone doesn't outweigh the gold and regen given by Philo Stone.

That being said, Sightstone should always be in your first 2 items (except for very confusing circumstances). I follow that up with a Kage pick 3rd, as not only is the AP useful on Nami but also the new Kage items work very well with Nami's kit, and lastly boots.

Boots for supports in S3

I wanted to also talk briefly about boots for supports in this new s3 patch. For those who don't know/remember, every champions base move speed got increased by 25 and boots' move speed got cut from 50 to 25. This makes it so boots are very LOW PRIORITY now for supports. Also, since junglers now are starting with machete instead of boots this again lowers the significance of boots. I usually get boots last in my early game build because that is when I start roaming around the map or dragon fighting and move speed becomes more important, I very rarely now get boots early (1st or 2nd back). 

End of Mid Game Items:

At the end of mid game you should have completed 1-2 items. I would make sure to buy 1st big item (kage's last breath) before getting tier 2 boots. Maybe even upgrading sightstone to Ruby Sightstone before upgrading to tier 2 boots. After you have this set of items (Kage Last Breath, Ruby Sightstone, Philosopher's Stone, Ionian Boots of Lucidity), you can build into whatever the team needs. I am going to kinda outline the rest of these support items and as they interact with Nami, I feel some are better fitting with Nami's kit than others. 

End-Game Item choices:

Shurelya's Reverie has been iconic for support for a long time. With all the new additions to support itemization I have been always looking to build new and exciting items rather than Shurelya's, but for Nami specifically I think this fits her kit too well to not have it be somewhat "core". 

While obviously it gives cdr, HP and even builds out of philo stone which are all nice things but what makes this item special for Nami is how it fits so well with Nami's teamfighting strengths. Nami is great at either disengaging or following up on others initiations. Shurelya's is perfect fit for these situations. One of my favorite things to do with Nami is to use Tidal Wave + Shurelya's as it gives everyone a HUGE movement speed boost (+40-50ms boost from tidal wave and +40% boost from Shurelya's). This makes it so even if the edge of Tidal Wave hits an enemy we can capitalize on it because we caught up with the speed. Or similarly, it is one of the best escapes as the slow + knockup gives just enough time for people to sprint away with the movespeed. Overall, it pains me because I love looking for new builds and interesting content but the time-tested Shurelya's is just so fitting with Nami. 

The next item I love to get on Nami is Mikael's Crucible. While the active is overall just amazing for supports, one of the reasons why I like it most on Nami is it gives late-game mana regen. I have found very often that later game, during the phase where you are sieging towers or rushing around the map protecting objectives I run low or out of mana on Nami. You have to remember her W scales REALLY high with mana cost, topping off at 130 mana per cast. The mana and mana regeneration that Mikael's Crucible is great as well as it being a great item for a ranged support protecting their carry (while Nami more focuses on AoE cc rather than protecting her carry, this is still a great tool for any ranged support who is constantly in the back of the fights and thus watching their AD carry). 

I see there as being two primary "Anti-AoE" support items in the current patch. The first is Bulwark / Aegis of the Legion, and the second is this item: Locket of the Iron Solari. I prefer the second choice for ranged supports, as we aren't usually looking to build individually tanky, instead we are looking for more utility, which this item provides best. Also, in the new patch this item was changed so now it gives CDR and costs a bit less, making it an even better choice for supports. I usually grab this item if our team is having trouble with AoE like Karthus, Swain, Amumu, etc.. 

Other Possibilities:

Here are some of the other options I think that you can go if the situation fits. 

Zeke's Herald I think this is a good item, it got changed from attack speed/life steal aura to AD + lifesteal aura, still good - better now if you have AD casters or AD brusiers on your team such as Riven or Renekton etc.. On supports this item is usually more focused around a "protect the carry" teamfight style, while with Nami we are looking for more of an AoE utility / CC style. This can be good if you have a really fed AD carry (or a strong late game one like Vayne), if you have a more AD-focused team comp (like Jax top + Riven jungle + ADC bot), or if you are pushed into a more "protect the carry" teamfight-role (like if your AD Carry is bad and keeps getting dived by Irelia or something so then you have to buy Crucible / Zeke's and protect him so he isn't useless). 

Banner of Command is a new item which has the active of old promote. This is a situational item for all supports, doesn't have to do with Nami specifically. It can be good if you are stuck in these "sieging" situations so you can either promote the creep in your lane for a "big rush" or promote a creep in another lane to put pressure and draw someone off of the lane you are pushing and then win 5v4 fight.

Aegis of the Legion / Runic Bulwark, while these are common support items I do not think they fit Nami very well. Nami's has a ton of range and is more based around providing high utility. These items are more focused on building tankyness so you can get closer to teamfights and survive on supports - Nami doesn't really need this, she can bounce all of her abilities off allies. I however would think about getting this if I need to play a tankier role in the team or if they have a ton of divers/assassins. Also, bulwark can be a good 6th item if you are against heavy AoE teams. 

Twin Shadows is another new item that is questionably a support item; however, I think it fits well on Nami. The active is great not only for scouting (you can use this to check barons or if you think you are about to facecheck into 3 of them this can save your life), but this active can also provide great setup for your Wave and or your Q. However, I put this as situational rather than core because I think that Ice shard is generally better fitting for Nami (provides more AoE CC focused vs this is more single target pick-off or initiation focused).

All in all remember to think about your build, judge the situation you are in; what does your team need? What are teamfights going to be like? Who is most fed on each team?. Also, it is great to go experiment, whether its skipping gp10 all together or rushing gp10s before sightstone, experimentation is always great and even if it doesn't work out you can learn more about what makes your typical build so strong.