EUPiLoL#8 - Playing on Mundo's strengths

  Honestly, the way some people play Mundo annoys me to no end. I feel like a lot of people try to shove him into one of the standard play styles without realizing that he is a unique hybrid and shouldn't be seen as the traditional carry/off-tank/tank. This leads people to build him AD/Tank/Hybrid and often leads to what I perceive as a lot of potential gone to waste. Since the LoL community's biggest issue seems to be his role, let's discuss that first.

The most traditional role that he falls into is a tanky DPS, although I think this does little to describe the unique role that he has, and this is much of why people incorporate fundamentals that I feel don't quite fit with him. The way I play Mundo, is as a Chaser/Kiter/Baiter/Semi Carry. He is very good at chasing, and he is very good at running away. His ultimate allows him to do both of these things well as well as baiting the enemy in certain situations. The way I build him allows for decent damage (Through unorthodox means ;) ) whilst giving him the means to use his passive and his ultimate to their fullest extent. He excels at keeping the enemy locked down as well as kiting them about if need be.

Just because I've failed to call him an off-tank doesn't mean we suddenly drop tanky gear and rush for attack items, but before I even begin to go in depth into his items, we need to talk about his strengths and his issues.

Strengths

A lack of mana.

Natural regeneration

Amazing early game potential

Scales well into the late game (Damage and tank-wise)

AMAZING chasing/kiting ability

Awesome poke

Decent farm / Last Hitting

Issues

 

Lacks a stun

Extreme focus fire is to much for his ultimate to handle

Ignite will fuck you over

Aim Reliant

As you can see, you can't do a whole lot when it come's to Mundo's weaknesses (item wise). Because of this, we must adapt our own play style and focus on his strengths when itemizing. First things first, we all know that Spirit Visage is amazing for him. The DPS Mundos get it. The tank Mundos get it. Let's get it.

Even though it's not a very good item to rush for (Health Crystal and Null Magic Mantle are so-so starting items), I still like to rush for it (Or Boots+3 HP pots). It's really up to your preference, and whether or not you are comfortable going for the Crystal / Mantle.

Spirit Visage and Boots of Swiftness are my core items. They rock. He gets everything he needs for the first portion of the game from these two items. Our next item is when things will start to get a little bit different from the normal Mundo.

I like to go for a Rylai's Crystal Scepter next. I know that might seem like a fucked up decision at first, but try to look at it from my perspective. Like I said, Mundo excels at chasing and baiting. He also has NO skills that scale off of AD, so why bother building him that way? It's expensive, and it lacks synergy  with his abilities. Rylai's, on the other hand, has a shitload of Synergy. 

- Adds slow to your cleaver, as well as your Burning Agony. 

- Adds a pinch of damage to your burning agony

- HP is amazing on Mundo.

These don't seem like huge reasons to get it, but it is something that you need to experience for yourself so that you might understand the potential it holds. Mundo is about the long term and that damage does add up, and the added slow is extremely noticeable.

Your next item is a toss up. As much as I would like to stack flat HP, that isn't a viable option. You can be bursted down pretty easily and you need some defense under your belt. You need to keep two thing sin mind when looking for mitigation items and that is HP and HP regeneration. If I need armor, Randuin's Omen is an excellent choice. If I need MR, an obvious pick is Force of Nature. If you need a mixture of both, I usually opt for a Guardian Angel.

Past this, I tend to do something that you might not enjoy the idea of but might like once you see it in action, and that is to stack Warmogs. You see, my Mundo style is all about being bulky, having lots of regeneration, and being able to slow someone down to a crawl whilst poking them for decent damage. Mundo can do all of this. He has a built in 25% HP poke, a built in +100 damage, and a built in AoE. He doesn't need massive amounts of damage items to be effective. What he does need is a lot of HP to increase the effectiveness of his ultimate, and a lot of regeneration to win any poking war whatsoever. I know that Warmogs aren't very cost effective generally, so let's do some math and find out exactly what they do for Mundo. 

At it's worst, it offers you 920 HP and 30/5 HP regeneration. Now, when we incorporate your passive and your ultimate, it adds...

 27.6 / 30/5 HP regeneration

644 HP to your ultimate

Now, any of this is before we incorporate spirit visage at all. Remember that it adds 15% to your heailng and regeneration effects.

That means that at it's minimum, Warmogs actually offers...

65/5 HP Regeneration

740 HP to your ultimate.

At it's best it offers you 1370 HP and 45 HP Regeneration

Which translates into (With Spirit Visage)

86/5 HP Regeneration 

1102 HP to your ultimate

And that is before we even discuss the added bonuses that it gives Force of Nature.

Are you beginning to see the awesome potential that Warmog's can offer Mundo? This is coming from someone who HATES Warmog's and has never been able to justify them on anyone. 

ITEM BUILD/TL;DR

Spirit Visage

Boots of Swiftness

Rylai's

Force of Nature / Randuin's Omen

Warmog's

Warmog's

That's it. It rarely changes, and it is always effective for me. Let's move on to other things.

Approaching Team fights

You can be initiate somewhat well if you have to, although Mundo is the sort of character whose job is to jump on a problem character that needs to be killed and keep them slowed down and taking his AoE damage. You are somewhat tanky, but not to the extent that you should be jumping before the main initiator. Use hit and run tactics with a focus on chasing and locking opponents down and you'll do just fine. Use your ultimate if you need the added speed, or as you are about to enter a fight to keep your HP up. If you get focused, laugh in their face. If you get focused and ignited, try to run because you might die. You'll find that your ultimate + your regeneration + your defensive items will keep you safe against most focus but ignite will seriously fuck you over. 

Runes

 There are a couple of runes that I like. I enjoy Cooldown, Movement speed, health, and magic penetration, although it is mostly up to what you find useful and what works for you. 

Masteries

I like 9/21/0

Spells 

This is something that some people will probably disagree with me on, but I honestly prefer exhaust/ignite for Mundo. He already has a built in ghost, and his amazing early game potential along with his decent 1v1 potential make exhaust/ignite a valid choice for him, in my opinion.

 

EUPiLoL#7 - A realistic approach to Heimerdinger.

 

    Heimerdinger used to be regarded as an amazing pusher with extremely annoying potential when it came to pushing and anti-gank methods. Although he had no natural escape mechanisms, a halfway decent player would, with ease, kite you to your doom whilst allowing his turrets to output insane damage. His nerf hampered his damage severely and left him regarded as a "meh" champion to most people. I believe this is mostly due to the fact that most people are building him improperly, and playing him even worse. Before we begin with the same template I use in the other posts, let's take a few moments to get into a "Heimerdinger" state of mind. Heimerdinger is probably the biggest niche role in the game. There are a couple of things that he is very good at, and some players have seem to have lost sight of this.

Anti-Pushing. 

  If you lose your mid turret as heimerdinger, all I can say is what the fuck. Both of your turrets can stop an early push in it's tracks along with your grenade, and Heimerdinger should be doing everything in his power to ward off pushes. I consider it his main early/mid game job.

Space Control and Proper Ability Use.

Heimerdinger rewards creativity. Instead of thinking of your abilities as tools for damage, try to think outside the box. They have many uses outside of that. Here are only a few things that Heimerdinger can do.

- An Escape Mechanism. Throwing down 1-2 turrets and popping your ult can and will save a teammate's (or your) life. My Heimerdinger play style supports mobility and mana regeneration in order to get around quickly and to always have enough mana to save a teammate in a clutch situation, as well as building around making it easier for your teammate to escape / chase with support items.

- Team fight disorientation. "Oh shit. I'm slowed and my armor/magic resist is being rapidly drained. Fuck. He stunned/blinded me." You need to live and breathe to be annoying, and to make life as difficult for your enemies as possible. Such is the way of the Yordle.

 

- Baron/Dragon/Tower Pushing safety net. Placing your turrets in strategic positions can give your teammates that needed 1-3 seconds in order to secure something of value. Usually upon getting slowed by a hidden brush-turret, players will either try to kill the turret or run right past it. You can punish both of them by throwing your grenade in their way and buying your team even more time.

Issues that Heimerdinger faces. 

- Mana hungry. 
-  Squishy
- Slow
- Positioning Reliant
- Reliant on a solo lane whilst carrying a support role.


Let's ignore the fact that his damage is shit. That ship has sailed and in my opinion it's a ship that should have sailed a long time ago. When we build, we build to address those four problems. Don't worry about getting massive AP. If you want AP, play Kassadin. 


We start out with a Regrowth Pendant and an HP Potion. 25 HP/5 + 200 HP from your potion. No one is going to be harassing you anytime soon.


You can stay in your lane however long you want, although the rule that I follow is that I will definitely go b when I have 1365 gold. I buy a Philosopher's Stone and Boots of Mobility.

Boots of Mobility are an obvious choice for a niche character like Heimerdinger. They give him a bunch of play style related options.

- Moving around the map to defend turrets.
- Rushing to help a fleeing teammate.

These are only two different situations in which these boots come into play, and there are plenty more. The possibilities are endless. 


Your next purchase, as some may have guessed, is Shurelya's Reverie. 

Suddenly, your lack of speed isn't as much of a problem, your mana issues are a bit less obnoxious, and your a tad less squishy. Now that we're starting to flesh out his early game speed issues and mana problems, we can focus on his alleviating a bit of his fragility. My next purchase is an Aegis of the Legion.


It's cost effective. It supports your team. It helps you push. I really don't feel the need to explain further. You'll find that Heimerdinger's mana issues are ever prevalent, even after buying a Reverie. This is why I always invest in Elesia's Miracle.  

If you don't feel like you need the Aegis at that point in time, you can get the miracle instead and get the Aegis after, although I usually enjoy the added safety. 


Now that you have amazing regeneration, mobility, and 35% effective CDR, we are going to work on bolstering your core defensive abilities. I almost always follow up with a Banshee's Veil and a Randuin's Omen. 

The Banshee's Veil is an obvious choice to avoid getting locked down by pesky CC, and with your veil + aegis, you have around 100/100 in both of your stats. 

The Randuin's, I may have to explain. This is probably my favorite item for Heimerdinger because it works amazingly with a Reverie, and bolsters your ability to escape and chase. The sudden burst of speed in conjunction with your enemy being suddenly slowed is enough for almost anyone to get away, on top of the slow from your turrets if need be. 


Now that we've established your build we can move on to spells. My personal opinion is that you should have some sort of combination of Teleport, Clairvoyance, and Fority. 


It honestly depends on your mood, your play style, and your preferences. I prefer teleport/clairvoyance personally. 

Runes 

Mana regeneration is your friend, as are defensive runes and movement quints. Try to avoid using cooldowns as this build maxes on CDR and it'd be a waste. 

This is what I use, although you can opt for a more defensive focus if you want fortify (You should definitely invest in improved fortify. It's worth it.)


Tips, tricks, and alternative uses for your abilities



- You can use your turrets as  bush wards, especially in the early game.
-  You can use your turrets to kite people fairly well.
- Your concussive grenade moves fairly slow. It isn't always a bad idea to close the gap in order to maximize effectiveness. Alternatively (a better option in my opinion) you can shoot it from behind a wall so the enemy doesn't see it coming. 
- Micro rockets are amazing for securing last hits and later in the game your grenade + Micro rockets can kill jungle camps. 


Leveling Order 

Max out your turrets first and your grenade next. I ignore the rockets until they are the last thing to level (Save a level for last hitting if I feel like it, it's a matter of preference).

The Role of Heimerdinger. 

I consider Heimerdinger the true essence of a utility support. His strength and usefulness lies within his debuffs, his steady stream of stuns (every 5.4 seconds), his ability to keep a lane pushed through the use of turrets and grenades, and his ability to be a safety net for baiting and when for when things truly go wrong, and finally his amazing farming ability.  To a good team, he is a support, and to a bad team, he is what makes a horrible situation more manageable. A true problem solver and one of the only characters that truly epitomizes utility. 

You won't output massive damage as Heimerdinger, and you won't CC as hard as Janna, or heal like Soraka, but what you do have is the ability to make things happen, and the ability to TRULY get your teammates out of a bad situation. Where as most supports are only as good as their carry, Heimerdinger is a self sufficient champion that doesn't need someone else to prove his worth. That being said, it is your job to make the enemies life a living hell whilst making your teammate's lives a breeze.

Map awareness is of extreme importance to him. Clairvoyance constantly, ward constantly, and control the map. Position yourself decently, and be creative in your play. Heimerdinger isn't a straight forward champion but once you get a hang of him you'll be having lots of fun. Remember to be creative, and to be constantly thinking about how you can make your play better. 

I'll post some replays soon of some Heimerdinger games, but here's a screenshot of some successful scores.  
 

EUPiLoL#6 -A completely different way of looking at Veigar

 

   Veigar is commonly regarded as the AP king, and the glass cannon of choice for people who want to go AP whilst still carrying through the use of an amazing stun and serious burst damage, both AoE and single-target. Let's take a look at his main strengths and his main weaknesses (In comparison to the other nukers)

Strengths

- Unending AP gain with your Q

- Spammable abilities

- An amazing AoE stun

- Potential at all stages post level 5

-  Passive helps alleviate some mana issues

- Awesome Ratios

- Farms amazingly

Weaknesses   

- Farm Reliant

- Early game isn't very good.

- Somewhat mana hungry

- Only has 1 utility ability (Even if it is amazing)

So the thing you notice right off the bat is amazing ratios, unending AP gain, awesome carrying potential, awesome farming and last hitting, and spammability,  as well as a so-so early game and lacking escape mechanisms or many forms of CC. When I say what I'm about to say, you should keep an open mind. I'll try to take it slow so as to not overwhelm you.  This is also something I would only suggest for an experienced Veigar player, as you have to be on top of your game at all times in order to maximize effectiveness. Obviously you take middle. Veigar doesn't have many escape mechanisms, he's farm reliant, and he last hits well. 

Start out with Boots + 3 HP pots and play normal as Veigar level's 1-5. Last hit constantly, try not to harass to much (To avoid missing out on AP), try to avoid getting harassed, try not to push your lane, etc. etc. The 3 potions should be enough to keep you in the lane. Use your creeps to your advantage along with your stun.

Upon reaching 1200 gold, your transformation officially begins.  At this point I pick up 

 Elesia's Miracle

 

  Players who were around for the days of Locket Veigar understand why early regen is amazing on him. At this point you can try to go in for the kill. Start last hitting again and every time your q is up just innocently send it at the enemy heroes way until you can successfully nuke them down with your ult + q combo. It works amazingly often and gives you another 5 AP on top of that. A general rule that I follow with mid game veigar is to farm until my ultimate is up and gank with it, only to start farming again (Unless your team needs you.). IF you don't kill him, your superior regen will force him to go back off 9/10 times and allow you to dominate the lane. 

When you have another 2k, you will want to invest in a Sheen and Boots of Swiftness before eventually proceeding to turn that Sheen into a  Lich bane. 

You might be wondering why I would invest in Lich bane, and it is something that becomes clear as the rest of the build  unfolds, but a mid game Lich Bane in conjunction with Veigar's amazing AP capabilities will add a whole new dimension burst to your play and strengthen your Q even further. With your boots as well as your newly found core item, you'll find that it's much easier to escape, kite, and chase, thus slowly making one of  your main issues not such a big deal anymore. Keep in mind that the strength of your Lich Bane is entirely dependent on your ability to farm with your Q. Keep that in mind when last hitting and farming in general. Slowly picking off creeps with your Q can sometimes be more effective than throwing a Dark Matter up. Please save your prejudice for after I've explained everything, as this build is about to get a bit fucked up.

Your next major purchase should be an Infinity Edge. 

I know. I understand what is going through your mind at this point. Infnity Edge. What the fuck. I understand completely, although you should probably give me a second to explain. Veigar does MASSIVE amounts of magical damage. He's known for it. Lich Bane scales off AP and does physical damage, AND can crit. Take all of this into account, and imagine splitting your damage down the middle between physical and magic, and making it very difficult for your damage to be countered.

With that thought process instilled in your mind, imagine adding two Phantom Dancers.

Okay, that might send you running for the hills already, which is why I feel the need to post this. 

No bullshit, no gimmicks, no tricks. This is an amazing build. Between your Infnity Edge and your first phantom dancer, you'll notice a bit of a sink in your ability to do damage. The second you get that Phantom Dancer, your crit chance skyrockets and you start critting constantly, for HIGH numbers (Crits for 900 on my lich bane are common place for me) Whilst still having an amazing burst. You PLOW through squishies and make tanks squeamish. Upon reaching the second Phantom Dancer, you are critting on almost every hit. 

Stupid players will stack MR against you. Smart players will try to do a mixture of Armor and MR, but it doesn't much matter because of how high each of your damage types are. I've had entire teams build magic resist, only for me to go Infinity Edge and wreck them with that. 

In the event that you can afford it (It happens often), you should sell off your Miracle and invest in an Archangel's Staff, and that ends your build.

Leveling Order 

I do something that might seem weird to some people, and ignore Dark Matter almost completely (I put 1 point into it early on) and focus on maxing out my Q and E. It's a matter of preference, although I think getting your cool down as low as possible allows you to spam your Lich bane and last hit more frequently. 

Runes 

This is based on your preferences. Cooldown, Mana regen, and AP per level are all very nice choices. I personally go flat AP / level. 

Spells 

Flash and ghost are what I use.

Masteries  

Classic 9/0/21 

 

EUPiLoL#5 - Tank Kennen

Tank/Support Kennen is something that I've been doing for quite a while and never got around to writing about. He was my first legitimate main, and one of my favorite characters to play. I've experimented with AP Kennen, and found that his burst wasn't worth missing out on the beefiness that tank Kennen provides. I tried AS Kennen, and found that his general lack of defense doesn't allow for constant auto attacking. Let's take a look at what you stand to gain, and what you stand to lose as a tank-centric Kennen.

You Gain..

Initiation capabilities
Better positioning on your ultimate without killing yourself or relying on hourglass.
Anti Carry Capabilities (Constantly stunning one target whilst being nearly impossible to kill)
Better early to mid game potential

You Lose..

Mediocre burst damage (Compared to other nukers)
A slow (Assuming you get a Rylais, although a tanky Kennen can fit a rylais/frozen mallet into their build with ease)
Carrying Capabilities (Not that I believe that an AP Kennen can carry, although some people seem to)
Farming Capabilities (Although building AP is more expensive than building tanky)


So as you can see, the role of a tanky Kennen changes drastically once he switches his gear up. Before we go any further, I'd like to discuss leveling order

More Stuns
Level 1: Electric Surge
Level 2: Lightning Rush
Level 3: Thundering Shuriken
Level 4: Electric Surge
Level 5: Electric Surge
Level 6: Slicing Maelstrom
Level 7: Electric Surge
Level 8: Thundering Shuriken
Level 9: Electric Surge
Level 10: Thundering Shuriken
Level 11: Slicing Maelstrom
Level 12: Thundering Shuriken
Level 13: Thundering Shuriken
Level 14: Lighting Rush
Level 15: Lighting Rush
Level 16: Slicing Maelstrom
Level 17: Lighting Rush
Level 18: Lightning Rush


OMG WTF YOU LEVEL ELECTRIC SURGE OVER THUNDERING SHURIKEN??

Yes, I do. Leveling shuriken first is a common misconception that bad or new Kennen's make. If you use the passive of electric surge + it's active, you can double your harassment and be able to stun easily by level 2. Maxing out electric surge over thundering shuriken is what gives you a lot of damage output and the ability to stun early on.


More mobility + Better Initiation

Max out Lightning rush instead of Thundering Shuriken first.

Items

Boots + 3 HP pots is my personal favorite starting set for Kennen, although Doran's Shield is a good choice also. It depends on what you are looking for.

The first thing that I invest in is a pair of mercury treads, and I follow through with an Aegis, just because of how amazing it is early on. A lot of people doubt the potency of an Aegis because the stats don't seem that high, but it in fact gives you...

270 HP
30 Armor
39 Magic Resist
8 Damage

It's an amazing item and allows you to reach just about 100/100 on both of your defensive stats whilst giving you an amazing damage aura. A lot of people doubt the potency of it and fail to realize that it adds 8 damage to EVERY friendly unit around you, including creeps. Aegis is probably the most cost effective item in the game and that's what we are looking for in a support/tank Kennen.

Past that it depends, although I will list a bunch of choices that I find to be useful and why.

Randuin's Omen. Awesome item for Kennen, especially when trying to keep people inside of your ultimate.

If you're looking for heavy duty MR, a couple Force of Natures can help you out (The mobility is extremely useful for you as well.) I wouldn't suggest banshee's veil unless you absolutely need it, as the mana doesn't help you in the slightest and that lowers the cost effectiveness a bit.

Spirit Visage/Wits End/Hexdrinker/Abyssal scepter can be decent choices if you don't need a lot of MR, but still want a bit.

Guardian Angel is more of an mid/end game oriented item. I wouldn't get it until you have some form of health under your belt.

Speaking of HP, Frozen Mallet is an amazing choice if you are looking for general survivability / a constant slow. You can do a lot to fuck someone's day over with your stuns + slow

Redefining Kennen's Role

When you decide to switch it up and go for a tanky Kennen, his role changes drastically. He goes from being a soft carry with decent AoE potential and his stuns for utilities, to being a hard support with amazing carrying potential in the early game before he transitions into an anti carry and a CC god. Your new found beefiness gives you the ability to initiate amazingly, and stick on a certain target throughout the fight with little worry about things like dying easily or being targetted constantly.

While you do miss out on his burst, I think we can all agree that Kennen's burst is nothing to write home about, and if you are looking for a burst character, there are many choices that you're better off with (Anivia, Annie, Veigar, etc.), and if you are looking for a poker, there are better pokers out there as well. Kennen's AP ratios aren't anything to write home about, and investing in tanky gear not only helps his amazing early game become even more stable, it helps make sure his usefulness in the late game isn't diminished.

 Runes

I tend to leave runes up to the reader, although my personal favorite is a magic pen/CDR focus.

Masteries 

This is what I use, with Flash and Ignite as my preferred spell combination.

EUPiLoL#4 - Mage Malphite

A Burst/Initiation oriented Malphite is something that I've always thought of, but never actually acted on. Malphite's role has always been somewhat shaky. Riot doesn't even regard him as a tank, and he lacks true "tanking" abilities (taunts for example) outside of his amazing initiation capabilities. He has noticeably large ratios for AP, but in order to truly utilize him to his full potential, one must invest in armor. Let's ignore his base capabilities for now and jump straight to item ideas.

For a mage oriented Malphite, there are four stats that we are going to be focusing on. These stats are AP, Health, Armor, and Magic Penetration. That being said, I believe that a Doran's Ring suits him best as a first item. Boot wise, I am going to opt for Sorcerer's shoes, of course leading up to the Sunfire Cape as his first real item, and following through with an Abyssal Scepter.

Doran's Ring
Sorcerer's Shoes
Sunfire Cape
Abyssal Scepter

This is a core build that makes a mage oriented Malphite decently potent without missing out on defense (You are still expected to be tanky.)  Past that, I found a number of items could be of use.

I need to be more tanky, but I still want to fill a mage Malphite role.

Luckily with all that mana pen, you'll still be able to cut through squishies, although I would suggest investing in armor based items like Frozen Heart, or Randuins. Your core build allows for 110ish Armor/MR (160ish armor with your W activated), so you're already somewhat tanky. Zhonya's Hourglass isn't something that I would suggest, as you won't really see much use in it's active (in my opinion.).

In the event that you need magic resist, I would suggest a Banshee's veil, as at the very least the health on it will improve your shield.

AP Route

My favorite route for this style of play. There are a lot of things you can do. You can rush for a Rylais if you want. (health+AP is sexy on Malphite), you can get a Deathcap, and you can even opt for a Deathfire Grasp in the event that they are stacking heavy duty HP.

Rylai -> Deathcap -> Lichbane is my favorite AP related route.

They are stacking magic resist.

Haunting Guise -> Void staff can solve this problem, although I would only suggest Void Staff if 4/5 of them at least have 100 MR, as it isn't cost effective otherwise.

The Role of an AP Malphite

AP Malphite is an amazing choice if you're solo queuing. What you are essentially doing is sacrificing some of your tanking ability in order to add a large amount of burst to your initiation, and to give yourself better ganking potential in the mid game. You can still act as an off tank, if need be, but I find that he works best in teams that do a lot flash damage with a lot of CC (Kassadin, Veigar, Fiddlesticks). He works very well with other mage-like characters. AP Malphite's farming ability is also slightly less than the average armor stacking Malphite, although that isn't a big deal at all.

Pros
- Burst
- Multipurpose (Can Initiate, Gank, and perform some nice burst.)
- Less reliant on your team to get kills

Cons
- Less tanking ability
- More of a solo queue pick. I wouldn't go AP malphite on a team that knew what they were doing.
- Your teammates might rage at you if you don't perform well, thus making AP Malphite look bad. ;P

Spell Choices

I prefer Exhaust/Ghost. Although Flash, Ignite, Teleport, and Fortify are all  nice choices in my opinion.

Runes

You'll want to invest heavily in cooldown and/or heavily into magic penetration, as he needs a nice chunk of both.

Masteries

I prefer the classic 9/0/21.

EUPiLoL#3 - Early Game Domination with Sona (Sheen Style)

Sona is another character that I find to be generally misused. Her known role is an early game poker that transitions into a general support character (With an emphasis on auras.) People tend to either build her with auras in mind, with AP in mind, or with CDR/Utility in mind. This isn't how I think Sona should be built. Let's take a look at her strengths and her weaknesses (Compared to other supports).

Strengths

- Spammable abilities.
- Arguably the best early game -> early mid game support.
- Low Mana demand.
- Natural Auras
- One of the best early harrassers
- Decent nuking power
- Amazing teamwide mobility
  - Chasing Power
  - Escaping Power
- The best early game burst potential. Period.

Weaknesses

- Other supports outshine her in the mid to late game.
- Lack of stun outside of her ultimate.
-  Her heal is lacking.
- Difficult to focus damage.

So what you can see right off the bat is that most of her strengths are built around the early game, and most of her weaknesses come into play in the later stages of a match. I want to show you a style of Sona that isn't built entirely around support, and it isn't built around AP. This is a style that focuses on completely dominating the early game in order to snowball yourself and your team into the mid game. Before you judge anything at all, I ask that you read into this post entirely. Take it as a whole, and don't scrutinize on any particular aspect. When theory crafting and building in general, one of my favorite things to do is to emphasize the strengths as much as I possibly can. With this in mind, I fore go her heal entirely and follow this sort of setup.


Level 1: Hymn of Valor
Level 2: Song of Celerity
Level 3: Hymn of Valor
Level 4: Aria of Perseverance
Level 5: Hymn of Valor
Level 6: Crescendo
Level 7: Hymn of Valor
Level 8: Song of Celerity
Level 9: Hymn of Valor
Level 10: Song of Celerity
Level 11: Crescendo
Level 12: Song of Celerity
Level 13: Song of Celerity
Level 14: Aria of Perseverance
Level 15: Aria of Perseverance
Level 16: Crescendo
Level 17: Aria of Perseverance
Level 18: Aria of Perseverance

I know this might seem strange at first, but keep in mind the fact that her heal isn't what makes her shine. It's her early game damage and her mobility. Dispel any sort of desire to level a subpar heal with a mediocre defensive buff. It won't save your teammates, and it won't protect them from any legitimate harassment. Instead, use the other two spells to support as best you can. You'll find that your usefulness will sky rocket. 

Justification for maxing out Celerity over Perseverance 


My style of Sona is a damage oriented gank machine that uses the slow of Celerity as well as it's mobility to get around the map as fast as possible, and to cause massive amounts of damage as fast as possible. This sort of play style does everything in it's power to give you a large advantage in the early game so that you can use that advantage to skyrocket your team to a healthy lead. 

  Lane with other strong early gamers. (Garen, Sion, Teemo, Alistar, Jarvan, Olaf, Poppy, Xin, etc.) and hide in the brush. As the enemy approaches, pop your q and your passive (Along with exhaust for the armor/MR debuff) and hope for the best. Depending on who you're laning with, you have a decently large shot of scoring first blood. You'd be surprised at what Sona is capable of.

Items

Amplying Tome + Health Potion is your starting pick. It's a risky choice, but it's one that you will have to make. Mind the fact that you are squishy, but use that to bait your enemies to their doom. Use your celerity and your Hymn to aggressively poke and prod and bait at the enemy lane. It's usually best that Sona teams up with someone who can be aggressive (Sion, Garen, etc.) You'll be surprised at the burst you find yourself capable of.


Your first 860 should be turned into a Sheen. As a Dominating Sona, this is your new bread and butter item. You can unleash a surprising amount of damage once you pick up your sheen, especially with Sona's spam ability

Boot wise, I prefer Boots of Swiftness. They give you that needed in battle mobility that Boots of Mobility simply can't provide. 

TL;DR Core Build

Sheen
Boots of Swiftness

Past that, there are many routes that you can go, although I always turn my Sheen into a Trinity force sooner or later. 

Possible Options

- Starks and or Black Cleaver. Now that you've harassed the potential of your Sheen, a route that I enjoy going is massing armor debuffs. Not only does this help your personal damage, it helps your team overall.

- Frozen Mallet. An obvious pick if you feel you need it. Maxing out Celerity over your heal means you make an amazing chaser and an amazing kiter.

- Hex Drinker. A good choice if you are facing excess magic damage. Keep in mind that the earlier you get your Hex Drinker, the more effective it is.

- Brutalizer. If you find yourself completely and utterly destroying the enemy team, this can be a good choice to quickly and cheaply amplify your potency.

- Shurelia's Reverie. An amazing item, even if you don't particularly need the regeneration. It works well with Frozen Mallet, as well as your speed boost.

- Heavy duty DPS (Infinity Edge, Ghostblade, Phantom Dancers, etc). This is a viable tactic if you find yourself getting seriously fed and have nothing to do with it (Although you shouldn't be getting kills, sometimes they just sort of pile in.).

Runes

You're going to want to maximize your early effectiveness so that you can snowball into the later stages. Flat AP is my personal favorite choice, as it gives our Hymn an added oomph that can take many enemies by surprise. 

Masteries

9/0/21

Spells

Exhaust/Ghost or Exhaust/Ignite are my two suggestions (Ignite being a higher risk,  higher reward choice.)

EUPiLoL#2 - AP Kog'maw

I know this might not be the most out of the ordinary style in the book, but I feel like it is one of the most misunderstood ones. There is a lot of controversy behind Kog'maw. There are three common ways that Kog'maw can be built,  AS, AP, and hybrid.

To truly understand why AP is so good on him, you have to take a look at his strengths and weaknesses as an AS character (Compared to other ranged carries)

Strengths

Built in Attack Speed (30%)
Built in Armor Reduction (-25)
Very good range and very good DPS in short bursts.
Decent poking potential

Weaknesses
Very poor range (When his w isn't active)
Damage is mediocre when Bio-Arcane Barrage isn't active
You have to choose between having no mana and almost never using your R.
Long Cooldowns
Mediocre farming capabilities compared to most carries.
Lack of escape mechanisms.

Now that you've looked at his strengths and his weaknesses, let me ask you a question. Why would you pick AS Kog'maw over any other ranged carry? Is that small window of high end DPS worth being mediocre the rest of the time? I think not.


The Metamorphosis

The second that you decide to go AP over AS, your role changes completely to the most unique one in the game. I consider AP Kog'maw to be an AoE nuker. Did you know that around 250 AP, the damage on his ultimate surpasses the initial damage of Annie's Tibbers? All in a spammable spell that reveals the enemy and let's you sit far out of harm's way.

Did you know that it's blatantly easy for your Void Ooze to reach 500+ damage, and that it has one of the longest ranges in the game, AND it slows, AND it's an AoE. Did you know that the slow is one of the most potent ones in the game?

The more you examine him, the more you begin to see the utility that lies in an AP focused Kog'maw. You don't have to worry about building defensively, because you're rarely, if ever, in the actual fight. The few times that you do get close enough to a teamfight to start throwing auto attacks, you can thankfully pop that range boost of yours and hit that 10% health per hit from a mere 400 AP.

Caustic spittle does everything that it did before, except now it's a single target nuke that does more damage than Annie's Disintegrate, while simultaneously smacking the target with an armor reduction in order to aid the actual carry.

What you stand to gain

- A complete fix to your mana problems
- A unique role that only AP Kog'maw can fill.
- Increased damage from a safer distance
- Said damage is 80ish% AoE
- Amazing farming potential (Void Ooze one shots entire creep waves.)
- HIgher damage on your Bio-Arcane Barrage

What you stand to lose

- Tower pushing power that doesn't amount to actual pushers.
- Using your passive often

Building AP Kog'maw Properly



The thing about AP Kog'maw is that you don't need any sort of survivability to get the job done, as you are rarely, if ever, in the fray.

Meki Pendant / Sapphire crystal + 2 HP Pots
Tear of the Goddess + Boots of Speed
Mejai Soulstealer
Archangel's Staff / Sorcerer Shoes
Sorcerer Shoes / Archangel's Staff
Rabadon's Deathcap
Archangel's Staff
Archangel's Staff / Void Staff

The classic glass cannon build, except much safer (Kog'maw's range FTW!). Mejai soulstealer is easily justifiable because of your amazing ability to catch fleeing targets, your massive range, and the fact that 90% of your damage is AoE.

2-3 Archangel's Staffs with a deathcap means you will be maxing your AP as far as it can go whilst giving yourself enough mana regen (50-75/5) to last you however long you need.

Skills an AP Kog'maw must have

- Awareness. Awareness of your surroundings, and map awareness. You need to be constantly knowledgeable of what is going on around you. You are very squishy, and one false move could kill you! Abuse your range, place wards frequently, and try not to get close unless you know it's safe.

- Decent aim and the ability to lead your target. It's important to be able to predict where your target will go, even in fog of war, and to place your ult accordingly.

- Patience. I've seen a lot of bad AP Kog'maw's that rush into the fray in order to use their entire burst. You need to know the best times for using your slow and your Caustic Spittle, and this will often require patience on your part.

Spell Choice

It honestly depends on what you are comfortable with. Flash, ghost, teleport, ignite, and exhaust are all nice choices.

Masteries

9/0/21 is what I use for AP Kog'maw.

Runes

Again, it depends on what you are comfortable with. My personal favorites are flat AP/level and flat magic pen. Cooldown is also a decent choice.

Here's some incentive for trying AP Kog'maw

EUPiLoL#1 - Roaming Alistar

Hi! Welcome to the first installment of "Exploring unorthodox playstyles in LoL". In this post, we will be discussing "Roaming Alistar."

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Alistar

Alistar is an underrated character that has slowly (But surely) began to get a bit of recognition, especially with the recent buffs. His role in the common game is generally to initiate upon the enemy team, pulverize them, and headbutt an enemy squishy into your team for an easy kill, although there have a been a number of playstyles attributed to Alistar. These include AP centric Alistar, Pushing centric Alistar, and my personal favorite, Roaming Alistar.

If you are unfamiliar as to what roaming is, it is sort of like jungling, except you rely solely upon killing enemies for xp. It's a support role that focuses on getting your teammates fed at the cost of your own leveling power and gold farm. That being said, Alistar is one of those characters that can play amazingly regardless of his level (Or items), and if you are doing well enough, you can catch up to / surpass certain members on the enemy team.

First things first, let's discuss the pros and cons of a roaming Alistar vs laning as him.

Roaming Pros

3 Solo lanes (Assuming you have a jungler)
Potential to shut down the enemy team
Jungler + Alistar gank = Very deadly
Amazing ganking power (Pulverize + Headbutt + Ignite = Potential)
Counter Jungle capabilities

Roaming Cons

Somewhat team dependent. When I say this, I don't mean that you are reliant on your team to execute the ganks, because only the most moronic player could mess that up. You are literally GIVING your teammates kills, but one of the issues I ran into is that certain type of player who felt it necessary to push their lane to the ends of the earth, despite me asking them not to. This can cause problems for you, especially if everyone on your team is doing it. Pushed lanes equates to zero kills, which equates to you being horribly under leveled. If this happens, you should probably switch to laning Alistar.

Somewhat kill/assist dependent. Like I said, if you aren't getting kills, you aren't getting xp. In the case that I made an enemy go b, I would usually stick around that lane and soak up some xp / get a few towers hits before moving on. Your farming capabilities skyrocket come mid game, so I wouldn't worry to much about this. You generally just want to make life difficult for the enemy team. Don't worry about falling behind, but at the same time, don't let yourself be level 4 when everyone else is level 10.

Runes

I've seen a couple people argue a couple different things when it comes to runes, and at the end of the day, it depends on what you want. What I found to work for me was flat AP runes. Although they don't do much to help you in the long run, most games are decided within 15 minutes, and you'd be surprised at what you can accomplish with an extra 30 AP under your belt at the start of the match.

Spells

Again, people argue different things, but as a roaming Alistar, my main focus is sealing the deal. For this reason, I run flash and ignite. I've seen other Alistar's go for ghost and flash, flash and clarivoyance, and even exhaust/ignite.

Masteries

9/0/21 is what I use. Grab improved ignite if you want to.

Items

Alistar can do so many different things, item wise. I've seen Alistar's opt for carrying, hardcore tanking, AP bursting. That being said, your role as a roaming Alistar is a support/ganker for the first twenty minutes or so. You should build to represent that.

My starting build is Boots + 1 HP pot + Ward / Boots +2 HP pot +Mana pot (Depending on whether or not they have a jungler.) If they do have a jungler, go ahead and ward their ward their red so you can come back and fuck with their jungler between your ganks.

Past that, my core build looks something like this.

Boots of Mobility
Philosopher's Stone
Aegis of the Legion

What you're looking for when building as a roaming Alistar is cost effectiveness. That's why I build Aegis (Not to mention the fact that it's an amazing support item, and amazing on Alistar.) I had the intention of turning my stone into a reverie 99% of the time.

Past that, it is completely dependent on the game. One game I rushed a Force of Nature after my reverie. Another game we were widely magic based, and our damage was lacking, so I went for an abyssal scepter and a malady.

Build for what your team needs, although keep a couple things in mind.

- Auras are amazing.
- Building tanky is very cost effective.
- Don't go Warmogs

- You don't need to dump 100% into tank gear so long as you know when to use your ult.
- A partially damage focused Alistar can yield amazing results.

The Actual Game

#1: TELL YOUR TEAMMATES THAT YOU ARE ROAMING. Don't just start roaming. Tell them what you are doing, and explain to them what that means. Tell them that you will feed them kills if they don't push.

#2: Identify the easiest target. Ask yourself a couple questions while looking at the enemy composition.

Who doesn't have flash?
Who is the squishiest?
Which one of my teammates are most likely to snag the kill?

These are all equally important. If the person you are ganking has flash, then you should likely save your flash. If not, feel free to use it for initiation purposes. Let the enemy push, tell your team to get ready, and ping when you are about to go in.

#3: It is okay to die, become underleveled and to become under farmed, so long as you feed your team kills. At the end of the day, if your team is overall better off then theirs is, you have done your job. Alistar is probably the least level/ item dependent character in the game. Keep that in mind and build / play selflessly. Try not to take kills, and try not to steal to much farm.