EUPiLoL#10 - Examining our Obession with Mercury Treads

This post is going to be a bit out of the ordinary, but I believe it might be helpful to some of you. I was thinking up a build for a certain character and when thinking about which boots I should buy, the thought popped into my head that no one has actually (to the best of my knowledge) gone through the trouble to examine Tenacity and see if our reliance on it is actually misplaced. No one has put forth the effort to actually get some hard numbers on how much CC reduction we are actually getting. My first instinct was to go through and apply the 35% duration reduction to every form of CC in the game. Obviously this is a terrible idea, so I came up with the much simpler (as well as convenient) idea for starting at .5 and making my way to 3.5. My findings were a bit eye opening.

.5 seconds = .325 seconds (Minus .175 seconds)
.75 seconds = .4875 (Minus .2625 seconds)
1 Second = .65' (Minus .35 seconds)
1.25 Seconds = .8125 (Minus .4375 seconds)
1.50 Seconds =  .975 (Minus .525 seconds)
1.75 Seconds = 1.125 (Minus 0.625 seconds)
2 Seconds = 1.3 (Minus 0.7 seconds)
2.25 Seconds = 1.4625 (Minus 0.7875 seconds)
2.50 Seconds = 1.625 (Minus 0.875 seconds)
2.75 Seconds = 1.7875 (Minus 0.9625 seconds)
3 Seconds = 1.95 (Minus 1.05 seconds)
3.25 Seconds = 2.1125 (Minus 1.1375 Seconds)
3.50 Seconds = 2.275 (Minus 1.225 seconds)

The unspoken rule within the LoL community has usually been that if they have 2+ forms of CC, you opt for Mercury Treads. I was one of those people up until recently when I realized that a lot of the CC in the game doesn't last very long. Because of this, a lot of that CC reduction is modest at best. Before you jump to any conclusions, know that I am a proud supporter of Mercury Treads. I can definitely see and without a doubt acknowledge their usefulness. That being said, allow me to pose a question. How many of you actually notice the difference after getting these Tenacity items? Obviously the difference between a 3.5 Second Ashe ult and a 2.2275 Second Ashe ult is huge, and obviously being able to leave Galio's ult early can do wonders wheni t comes to countering him, but perhaps we are being a bit narrow minded when it comes to our reliance upon Mercury Treads. Perhaps Tenacity boots are a more situational pick that we have grown to become so attached to simply because that's the way it is. I'm not saying that they should only be picked in extreme cases, I am simply pointing out the fact that in certain situations, it might not be the best choice, and the +2 CC rule doesn't apply to every composition.

That being said, tenacity isn't the only attribute that these boots offer. You are getting enough MR to feel somewhat comfortable in the early game, and it is probably the most cost effective choice of boots (excluding Attack speed boots, perhaps).

EUPiLoL#9 - A different way of approaching AP Taric

(I picked that picture because it looked more "AP-like", NOT because of his boots. Just clearing that up.)

Sorry for my lack of posts recently. I lost interest in League of Legends (And blogging about it), although my interest has been peaked slightly and I am back on the horse for the time being. I come to you with a post about AP Taric. AP Taric is nothing new. That being said, with his new changes, I've been looking at him, and I feel like I have a certain approach that some people who play (or want to play) AP Taric might find appealing.To the player who suggested an alternative Taric build, I finally got around to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

The big issue that I find with AP Tarics is that they forget their role as a support character, and that leads to them building him the same way they would build your common nuker. The thing about Taric, is that 2/3 of his damaging spells are close ranged (dazzle being medium ranged, although you might as well use it as close as possible as well). The point (however obvious it might be) that I'm trying to make is that glass cannon builds  don't work on Taric. He needs survivability in order to be effective. The new changes to dazzle make survivability even more important.

The second issue that I find is that most AP Tarics is that they try to build expensive nuker items on him straight from the get go, despite the fact that he is a side lane babysitter / aggressive support first and a nuker second. He lacks much farming ability, and the idea of having a Taric go mid or top is quite frankly sickening to me. My Taric will focus on gold efficiency and early survivability followed by heavy focus into AP.

Let's look at some of the strengths and weaknesses that AP Taric has compared to your run of the mill support Taric.

Strengths

- Heavily increased late game damage.
- Improved heal (This can lead to the argument that in certain ways, an AP focused Taric out-supports a tankier one)
-  Increased support potential for an AP focused team (Will explain why later)

Weaknesses

- Less survivability (This can be slightly countered by the fact that your heal is much more powerful as AP Taric)

- Slightly more mana intensive

- Somewhat costly in comparison to support Taric

Now... What you've all been waiting for...

Itemizing  

Like I said. I prefer a support Taric that moves into heavy AP after his core is done. Like I also said, this build is costs more than your average taric build. I like to start with Boots of Speed / 3 Pot or a Regrowth Pendant / 1 pot. I would suggest starting with the regrowth pendant because you can turn it into an extremely early philosopher's stone. My core build is as follows (In this order)

Philosopher's Stone

Boots of Speed (Unless you started with them.)

Heart of Gold

Kage's Lucky Pick

Aegis of the Legion

I finish my boots whenever I generally feel the need to, although I try to make it past aegis. You can either go Mercury Treads or Sorcerer Boots. If they have more than 2 stuns, I'd opt for the treads (although you can go sorcerer boots and turn your philosopher stone into a Miracle later on).

As you can see, this is a run of the mill support build. It offers you enough g/5 to fund your AP, as well as the most cost effective survivability item in the game. I know this might seem boring for people who want to jump in and start blasting things, but believe me when I say that all of these items are necessary in order to achieve success as AP Taric.

This is where the fun begins. Your next item is Rabadon's Deathcap. The great thing about this build is that it looks like a normal Taric, and then you turn around with the biggest AP item in the game and start bursting like crazy. After getting this item, it's not unheard of that I burst a squishy down to 20-30% life, all the while supporting my team with a seriously powerful heal, damage/AP buffs, and my Aegis aura. This is especially true if you opted for Sorc Boots. 

After that, you can continue going AP to your hearts content, but let's look at some AP options and why we might chose them. The choice I usually go with is Deathfire Grasp. This isn't an item that I normally suggest so early, but it is simply amazing on Taric. The combined mana regeneration from your philosopher's stone and your DFG nets you enough MR to be somewhat comfortable. The cooldown reduction is helpful on Taric because his cooldowns are long enough for CDR to have a substantial impact, but short enough for that impact to matter. The active adds another chunk to the burst potential that caused you to pick AP Taric in the first place. 

Another good option that I enjoy going is Will of the Ancients. This is an especially awesome choice if someone else on your team gets it  (110 AP and 50% Spell Vamp for each of you) due to the fact that the auras combine between the holders. If you want to go crazy, and would like a bit of DPS, and for some reason have the gold for it, you can even get a Gunblade and enjoy 75% Spell Vamp as well as an added slow (Although it does little to help your supportability and is quite expensive.) 

Abyssal Scepter is another good item (albeit situational) that I enjoy getting. It's a good item if you are on an magic focused team and having issues with magic damage as well. That being said, either reason is a good enough reason to get it. If you are getting it simply for the aura, I would get will of the ancients first, unless your team isn't AP focused. 

If you are in desperate need of armor, I wouldn't suggest Zhonya's Hourglass, as the active won't be of much use to someone like Taric. Glacial shroud into (possibly) Frozen Heart is a great choice. Randuin's is good as well if you can make use of the active. 

TL;DR 

Core:

Regrowth Pendant + Potion / Boots of Speed + 3 Potion

Philosopher's Stone

Boots of Speed

Heart of Gold

Kage's Lucky Pick

Aegis of the Imperium

Mercury Treads (If 2+ CC) Sorc Boots

Rabadon's Deathcap

Past Core:

Doing Well - Deathfire Grasp or Will of the Ancients (Works best if someone else gets it as well)

Need MR / Teamwide Magic Penetration - Abyssal Scepter / Banshee's veil

Need Armor  - Frozen Heart (Better CDR, Mana, More armor, Passive Attack speed debuff)
/ Randuins Omen (Active AoE slow, more HP)


-> BUY WARDS!!!!!!!!!!! <-

Approaching Team fights

AP Taric walks the line between Tanky AP and support. His strength lies in his ability to burst someone down and then turn around and heal someone else, all while offering up auras. Because of the fact that 2/3 of your damage is AoE, try to use those two abilities with as many people in them as possible. Also, try to use your ult first, so your following abilities do more damage. On top of that, try to use your ult with as many teammates around as possible, so they benefit as well. You aren't incredibly tanky, but you would be surprised at how often you can heal when you're constantly hitting someone, and you'd also be surprised at how much your heal is actually worth with some AP under your belt. Try to make sure your shatter lands on whoever your carry is targeting so they can benefit from the armor debuff. 

TL;DR

- Try to get as many enemies in your AOEs

- Use your ult first so your abilities benefit from your AD/AP buff.

- Try to get as many allies as possible in your ult

-  Try to get your shatter debuff on whoever needs it to be on them the most

- Make sure you are constantly auto attacking in order to get the most out of your heal.

Runes

I like to use AP runes. That's just me. Cool down runes, magic penetration, and even defensive runes can work very well. It's up to preference at the end of the day

Masteries

There are a couple of different approaches you can do. 9/0/21 for the improved CDR and magic penetration or 0/9/21 for the improved regeneration and MR/Armor. It's up to you. Whatever suits your fancy is fine. 

Spells

Either Clairvoyance/Flash or Exhaust/Flash or Ignite/Flash. Once again, preferential.

Leveling Order

I take Dazzle first, followed by imbue, followed by Shatter. I then Go in the order of Shatter -> Imbue -> Dazzle. I max out Dazzle last because it doesn't really do all that much damage and it's duration is the same throughout all the levels.

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.