Well, the good news is that syndra will likely get a little attention in the buff department before too long. I'd wager folks haven't explored all of the utility she provides. She's a character I'm still considering giving a go as a support/type (eg not full support, you'd go 2 gp/5 then build ap (maybe wota). The grab mechanic has reasonable potential in a support lane imo. And you could go boots of mobility (potentially) and just cause alot of havok with the enemy jungler. I think there's enough time to even toss the enemy red into the baron pit for a long walk or safe kill early. heh... if it works with flash, you could probably even toss a red at mid lane early. Anyway, lots of stupid potential. Still not sure if I'm going to blow my ip on her or not.
So, even though this is probably pointless, I thought I'd share a few thoughts after playing with pete's support taric. 1st - I've actually played with him before where he went taric and he was an exceptional support. This last game, he was quite awful. My main gripe with pete is that he refused to make any aggressive engagements and actually stood behind me during the majority of the laning phase. That's all I'm going to say about pete. But I am going to go over some of the basics of being a great support. Hopefully this is of some use to those of you that are inexperienced in the role and want to get better.
Runes
I run a total of 3 different rune pages for my supports. The most common one (eg the one you can use with pretty much any support and do fine) is this: armor red, armor yellows, a mix of flat/scaling blues (your pick), gold/10 quints. You can actually be a little flexible on the reds, but extra armor is always a good thing when you'll be up against another
Masteries
I don't have this in front of me, so I can't say off the top of my head. I run with 2 different mastery pages, though. 1 if I'm going to be a major bruiser/tank. The more common one takes a ton of points in the support tree (I get all the gold per sec + the extra starting gold options). I take 2 points in increased experience and 1 point in that sage mastery (I think its called sage). Did the research and one point in that is quite valuable.
Item build
This is pretty common on all supports as well. I get 4 green + 1 red or blue pot (based on character) and the 180 gold mana regen item that builds into the philo stone. A bunch of this is pretty standard, but I cannot stress this next part enough. You are a support. You should not leave base without 2 wards. If I'm back to base early and the choice is boots and no wards or wards, I'm getting wards. Its my job. Don't leave base with less than 2. Period.
OK - the rest of the build. So, go philo stone, then boots, the heart of gold. At this, your core is pretty much complete. Now comes the customization. I typically knock out my level 2 boots next. There are 3 choices and you should pick situationally: boots of mobility, the cooldown reduction boots, and mercury treads. It's most common to run mercury treads for the tenacity bonus + mr. I always prefer boots of mobility when its applicable, though.
Now, you are into your team item purchase mode. And you can actually go quite a few different ways here and I really don't suggest a dogmatic approach. If I have a support that could be useful with extra ap, then I might build a wota. If I'm a support that will initiate, abyssal scepter isn't terrible. But, theory crafting aside, its most common to build an aegis, upgrade your philo into sheulia's reverie, and then upgrade your heart of gold into whatever that item is called. I find that I typically end up with whatever item I choose to build 1st + sheulia's reverie.
Warding
Your 1st and most important job imo is to ward, counterward, and if possible, remove wards. I can't really think of a way to cover all scenarios here, but the goal is to do whatever is necessary to keep your adc safe with a minimal amount of wards. You are also a ward based on your positioning. There are 3 spots to ward that provide your adc with the safest possible setup. The tri bush, the river near dragon (so you can see dragon), and in the bushes closest to the enemy tower (this keeps you safe from lane ganks). Odds are you will rarely, if ever, have wards in all 3 spots at the same time, but those are the spots that are safeest for your adc.
Bush control
When you are laning, know what is going on in the bush is extremely important. You can answer that question immediately with a ward. But that's just a small portion of bush control. For instance, let's say you ward the bush closest to the enemy tower. You know what's going on there. But if the enemy then pushes up past that bush and is able to stand in the bush closest to your tower, then the ward you placed isn't doing a heck of a lot (outside of warning you of lane ganks). You now have to place a ward in the bush to maintain control (or simply full knowledge of where the support is, etc) or give up bush control completely and simply have no wards. The most important part of the control is to do whatever you need to ensure that they enemy cannot just push up and force you to back out the bushes closest to your tower.
For example, let's say you are playing against an enemy blitzcrank/corki. Now, you know that if blitz manages to grab you, then you are likely in a world of hurt. So, to avoid this, you try to stand behind creep waves, etc. You also very clearly understand the importance of bush control. Simply by existing as a character in the bottom lane, blitz exudes quite a bit of control. His chance for control skyrockets if you cannot see him in the bushes. So, its obvious that you'd want to know where he is standing to reduce the odds of getting pulled. It also works the other way. If you can see him, then it increases the odds of you and your adc catching him. If you have no bush control, you are generally completely zoned out. So, that's why its very important as a support to fight for bush control.
Mindset
There are a few mindsets for supports (not related to characters). Its a supports job to understand what your adc wants to do. In most circumstances, the adc should be dictating the flow of a lane (the exception being leona). If your adc just wants to safely farm, then its your job to help make that happen. You try to maintain bush control, provide sustain, ward as appropriate, and just make it as easy as possible for your adc to get the farming done. If your adc is playing aggressive, then its your job to help him be aggressive by getting lane control, warding as appropriate, and getting in the face of then enemy. If you get out with full hp and your adc dies, the adc is either a complete idiot or you are an awful support. There's not really a lot of in between ground. You need to absorb as much damage as it takes for your adc to get away safely if that's a viable option. And by that, I mean if you can make the difference and die but save your adc, do it. The bottom line, though, is that a support exists to support their adc. That is it. You figure out how best to do that based on who you are playing with. If you don't know the person, then you try to figure out their playstyle. If you initiate and the adc doesn't do a thing, assume that you need to play more passive and just help the guy farm. If your adc is going nuts and you aren't in the mix, get in the mix. Try to help the adc get it done. If you decide the adc is terrible, then suggest they try to play a little more passively and just farm, etc.
Peeling
Last - its a very important aspect of supporting, but you need to be able to peel for your adc as much as possible. Even in the time fight phase, your adc is still likely the big damage dealer. You want him alive and hitting as much as possible. So, always keep an eye on him. If someone is working him over, stun, w/e you can to prolong the adc's life.
