Flex Support
A support pick like Ana, Zen, or Bap whose damage output, debuffs, or utility swing fights beyond healing.
Where the main support handles AoE buffs and tempo management, the flex directly moves "who can we kill / who can't be killed" through single-target amps and debuffs (Discord, Nade, Anti). The term got semantically fuzzy in 5v5, but it still works as shared language in the draft for "the more damage-leaning second support." It also ties into how shotcalling duties are split between the two. Coaches use it very often when talking about the division of labor in the support line.
When the enemy comp has a high-durability tank whose sustain you need to break. When the DPS are mobility-based and the supports have to provide supplementary damage.
The flex neglects healing so badly that the main support is overloaded and dies. The flex Ana is holding Nano and misses the window to use it.
Resource Trade
Spending a minor cooldown to force a major defensive one, netting an advantage for the real fight.
Peel
Switching mid-fight focus to protect a backline ally from a diving threat.
Concentrating heals and boosts on one ally to give them a structural advantage in their duel.
Burst Heal
Choosing between a single large heal to pull an ally back from the kill threshold versus a steady trickle.
Anti
Landing Ana's Biotic Grenade or similar anti-heal on a key enemy to zero out their healing economy.
Main Support
A support role — Lúcio, Mercy, Brig — focused on area healing, mobility boosts, and formation tempo rather than damage output.