This is a guide for Kindred in the Midlane. This is coming from my experiences playing him at the Gold 5-1 range. Kindred Mid works due to her insane early game kill pressure, he mid game scaling with ArPen and Passive Marks, and her utility in a teamfight.

She is best played when there is a AP jungler or Top like Diana, Amumu, Gragas, Elise, etc. She can fit into an all AD comp if you are going up against an enemy comp that lacks tanks.

I have two dedicated Rune Pages for Kindred. One for an AD opponent and one for an AP opponent.

Both the AD and AP pages use these marks and quintessences.

AGAINST BOTH AP AND AD

Greater Mark of Armor Penetration: This massively helps your early game damage but CS'ing becomes a bit more of a challenge.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed: This allows you to proc your E more easily early, while also helping early CS.

AGAINST AP

Greater Seal of Health: Non-scaling health due to the focus on early game kills.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: Same as the Seal of Health, focus on being the best in the early game.

AGAINST AD

Greater Seal of Armor: Switch from Health to Armor as with your W, your sustain will be better.

Greater Glyph of Attack Speed: More damage, and may even allow for some of your AS quints to be swapped out for ArPen Quints, but you may find the increased Attack Speed convenient.

Flash: Not much to say. Use it to quickly get out of your ultimate once it goes off or two quickly gain ground in order to E-Q someone.

Ignite: The second go-to summoner, use to secure kills. Utiliy falls off late game, so when taking this realize that you are taking it to secure early marks through kills.

Teleport: Only other viable option, use when your top laner refuses to take Teleport and your lane opponent lacks a self heal or reliable disengage. Opponents that I would use this on would be champions like Yasuo, Lux, Viktor, Xerath, and maybe Kassadin.

Youmuu's Ghostblade: More than likely will be your first item, and it is awesome. Use the active right before a fight for maximum effect. The early ArPen is huge with your Runes and Masteries. Will more than likely be at 40ish ArPen when this is complete which will usually reduce someone down to 0-10 armor unless they buy early armor.

Maw of Malmortius: Start building this right after you finish Youmuu's and start by building the Serrated Dirk this will bump your ArPen up to 55ish which means you will start chucking people with your poke. Its passive is also great with your ultimate as you will more than likely survive whatever fight gets you low enough to proc it anyway. Keep the passive up by remaining in combat.

Rapid Firecannon: Great Item to get attack speed from.

Mortal Reminder: Best Last Whisper item unless they are stacking tanks. Get it before BotRK if they enemy team has multiple champions with big ticket armor items.

Last Item can be whatever as you more than likely will never have a game go long enough. My preference is usually Runaan's Hurricane if they have multiple melee that I need to kite, or Guardian Angel if they have burst. Trinity Force or Phantom Dancer if the game is still revolving around picks and split pushing towers.

Kindred's life blood of making it past the early game and into the mid game is her passive. Getting stacks early and often is very important in her scaling as both her auto attacks and W benefit from the stacks.

Start the game off by marking your opponent.

The first monster mark spawns with the Scuttle-crab and most of the time the first mark will be one of the crabs. If the crab is the mark, you have two options.

First option is to ward the river bush and quickly push the lane in and get level three.

Second option is to ward the entrance to the enemy jungle/mid lane and then rush the crab at level two.

I prefer to rush the crab as it allows my lane to push in, making getting a kill at level 3 easier.

You can easily kill your opponent at level 2/3 very easily, especially if they don't have a disengage or are melee. At 2, Q into them, drop your W, then weave auto attacks and your Q, finishing them off with ignite.

At 3, do the same as two but use E after your Q in.

While your lane opponent mark is on CD, mark either the jungler or top lane.

Mark the top lane as you are roaming up for a gank or mark the jungler if you are invading for a mark.