Ahri (아리) - The Fox in the Middle

Introduction

Hello everyone. I would like to show you how I play Ahri. Please keep in mind that
1. I don't claim to be pro, or the best.
2. You can use this how ever you like.
3. Opinions are welcome but please be nice about it :)
4. Oh and, this guide is apparently fluffy! LOL.


Please use this guide for Mid lane - you can use it for top or bottom too but, this is purely focused on soloing mid. So please keep that in mind. 

I don't expect everyone to like my play style or my item selection. This is just my personal preference.

If you find this guide helpful, or if you like it.. please vote for it and leave a comment. If you have screen shots, I'll post them <3.

Understand that I don't play ranked. This guide is based on my personal opinion and experience.. If you don't like something, leave a comment! I love hearing opinions.

Thank you!
- Bree

Positives and Negatives

+ Awesome mobility, you can almost always get out of a gank.
+ She can be a good ganker.
+ She has a CC.
+ Some of her abilities target champions over minions
+ Her damage is great.
+ Secure kills easily.
+ Ult allows her to turret dive and get that last hit! (If used properly)



- Goes OOM pretty quick if you're too offensive early game.
- If her ULT is down, it can be hard to get out of a gank.
- Squishy!
- Needs farm and early kills to do well.
- A skill shot champion, so she takes some practice to learn.

Masteries

Offensive Tree:
Since I take Ignite, I put a point in here. It will give me 5 AP when Ignite is on cool down. It is not a lot, but it is still AP.

A small boost to ability power. I take 3/4 because I've use one point in Summoner's Wrath. You get 5ap from summoners wrath, over one ap from Mental Force.

4% Cool Down Reduction. Cool down reduction helps a lot!

Magic pen is great. It equals more damage.

Increases your damage dealt by 1.5%. ^_^

18 Ability power at level 18. The more AP you have the better.

Increases your ability power by 5%! Nice boost there.

Increases damage dealt by 6% to targets below 40% health. That just screams assassin :p Haha. More damage! yey!

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Utility Tree:

I take this because I use Flash.

216 Mana at level 18. This is a nice boost :3

I take one point here.

3 mana regen per 5 seconds. This helps out a bit, because Ahri can be mana hungry.

This has to be my favorite. Blue buff is great on ahri. (Well any mage :p) and this gives you more time with blue. The more time, the better!


A note:
Most of the time, masteries are about personal preference. Especially the ones in utility. If you feel like mixing it up, go ahead. :3

Runes

My runes are pretty much the normal "AP" runes. Since I normally play AP champions, this is sort of my "cookie cutter" rune build that just happens to be great on Ahri too.

I go all out on AP for Ahri. I don't go defensive on her because I find that my enemies don't last long enough to do much damage to me.


Greater Mark of Insight - These will give you some nice burst damage early game and help break trough magic resist items late game.

Greater Seal of Clarity - Ahri can be mana hungry and this is an awesome choice for her. I chose this item because I'm not a Doran's Ring stacker.

Greater Glyph of Force - Ability Power will always be lovely on Ahri. Eventually, these will have more AP than the flat ability power runes Greater Glyph of Potency, which makes up for the lack of in the beginning of your game.

Greater Quintessence of Potency - & Even more Ability Power! I love these runes because they will give you an edge in early game.

You can switch it up with different runes if you want. Runes are sometimes about personal preference. Some people like to go more defensively.



Here are some other runes you can think about using. Runes are all up to you and your play style.


Greater Quintessence of Fortitude - Health/survivability

Greater Seal of Replenishment - More mana regen
Greater Seal of Vitality - Health/survivability

Greater Glyph of Focus - Cool down reduction.
Greater Glyph of Warding - Magic resist
Greater Glyph of Desolation - Armor

You can switch it up with different runes if you want. Runes are sometimes about personal preference.

Summoner Spells

As for Summoner Spells I like to use Flash and Ignite.

Flash is great for when your Spirit Rush is on cool down and you need to get away from an enemy. It can also be a good tool for getting closer to your enemy! Save yourself from blowing a spirit rush.

Ignite Because we have put mastery points in Summoner's Wrath, you will get 5AP when this is in cool down. I normally use this after I've spirit rushed and the enemy is still running away, or in team fights to help secure a kill, which can turn a team fight around.





Teleport Is another good on if you're mid, it will let you get to your turret faster if you need to B home.



Exhaust Although with your ultimate, you may not need this.. Its okay to take. Like I said its all about personal preference.



Ghost I can understand rocking this summoner spell, it has a shorter cool down than flash and helps you catch up to your enemy without having to blow a spirit dash.



Clarity When I first started using Ahri I used this over ignite because it allowed me to last much longer in the game. The only time this spell would be useful is in the beginning because later on you have almost no mana issues.

Champion Spells

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Essence Theft- (Passive) - Ahri gains a charge of Soul Eater whenever one of her spells hits an enemy (max: 3 charges per spell). Upon reaching 9 charges, Ahri's next spell has 35% Spell Vamp.

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// Makes midding a breeze. You'll out heal and out last some damage. // Paired with Hextech Revolver, this passive is beast when utilized. // Use Orb of Deception to charge this. // Your ball will turn a pretty green color once this passive is active. // Depending on the situation, there are two ways to heal yourself idealy, use Orb of Deception on minions to heal (AoE) and Fox-Fire on champions (Single target).

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Orb Of Deception - Ahri sends out her orb, dealing 40/65/90/115/140 (+0.33) magic damage, and pulls it back dealing 40/65/90/115/140 (+0.33) True damage. Base CD: 7 sec Cost: 70/75/80/85/90 Mana Range: 880

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// Does true damage, so this will be your main damage and harass. // When laning, unless you are charging her passive, try to hit just your enemy. // This has nice range, so you should be able to harass anyone, even other ranged. // Do not underestimate the damage you can do sigle target. You can finish off a low enemy.. even if they are turet hugging!

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Fox Fire - Ahri releases three fox-fires. After a short delay they lock on to nearby enemies (prioritizes champions), dealing 40/70/100/130/160 (+0.38) magic damage. Additional fox-fires that hit the same target deal 50% damage [max damage: 80/140/200/260/320 (+0.75)]. Base CD: 9/8/7/6/5 sec Cost: 60 Mana Range: 800

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// A bit tricky to figure out, but pretty simple to use. // This will prioritize enemy champions over minions. // Love to use them when I use Spirt Rush or in team fights. // Do not underestimate the damage! Ever! !

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Charm - Ahri blows a kiss dealing 60/90/120/150/180 (+0.35) magic damage and charming the first enemy it hits, causing them to walk harmlessly towards her for 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 second(s). Base CD: 12 sec Cost: 50/65/80/95/110 Mana Range: 975

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// This will not go through minions! // A beautiful CC, that can change a game. // Use charm to lure your enemy to your team. // You can use this to lure an enemy to your turet. // Use charm to check bushes. :)

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Spirit Rush - Ahri dashes forward and fires essence bolts at 3 nearby enemies (prioritizes champions), dealing 100/140/180 (+0.3) magic damage. Spirit Rush can be cast up to three times within 10 seconds before going on cooldown. Base CD: 110/95/80 sec Cost: 100 Mana Range: 450

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// Use it to chase down a low enemy, and get a killing blow. // You can also use it to run away if it is completely nessessary. // This will make you an awesome turet diver! // Paired with Fox-Fire, you'll be dishing out some awesome damage. // This works like flash, you can juke your enemy by dashing over walls and back.

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Skill Priority and Rotation

Orb of Deception Is a great farm/harass. I choose it first over charm and fox-fire at level 1 to help me get more minion kills and harass my opponent. I will max this out by level 9.



Charm I get this at level 2 and finish maxing it out after Fox Fire. The damage falls off compared to Fox-Fire, its mostly used as a CC anyways.



Fox-Fire you pick this ability up at 3 and max it out over Charm, there will be a point where you can just spam it when you're around a champion and it will do some decent damage. Spirit Rush+ Fox-Fire=beast.



Spirit Rush, take this at 6,11, and 16. Its you're survival, your nuke, and how you chase your prey. This is a great and fun ability.



IMPORTANT! Depending on who you are laining against it may be smart to get Fox-Fire at 2 instead and Charm at three, following the normal priority after. This is because if the person is in melee who will be in with the minions you can pop Fox-Fire and deal some damage to them and harass. Since you're most likely in mid though, you'll be against a range. This is why I choose Charm at lvl two. To pull them in and land an orb on them.



In the start I like to use my Orb of Deception and hit my opponent as much as possible. Due to mana issues in the start, don't use it on just minions. Watch your Essence Theft, because if your opponent is doing some damage to you, you can easily heal yourself if you use Orb of Deception as as many minions as possibly when you have Essence Theftx9 (This is the reason why I get a Hextech Revolver First. The spell vamp makes laning almost endless). Make sure you last hit minions. You want to farm as much as you can!

Once you get Charm, you can start to pull your opponent to you and hit them with an Orb of Deception right on. At level 3, you would hit them with Charm, Fox-Fire, and then Orb of Deception. You may or may not get your first kill here, but at level 6.. that is where it is almost guaranteed.

At level 6 you'll have Spirit Rush. This is where the fun begins. Pull them in with Charm, hit you Orb of Deception on them, Fox-Fire+ Spirit Rushx3 and they are dead. If not they are darn close to it and you can hit them with your Orb of Deception again. Then they should be dead for sure.


Highlights of level 1-6
+ Harass with Orb of Deception (Try to avoid the minions and just hit your enemy champion)

+ Farm! Don't push your minion wave, allow your minions to battle each other and just get the last shot on them when their health is low. It takes practice, but soon you won't even have to think about it.

+ Try to land a kill with Charm + Orb of Deception and Fox-Fire after you have harassed your enemy a bit.

+ Ward your bushes on the right and left to prevent ganks from enemy jungler.



This is pretty much simple. Fox-Fire+ Spirit Rush. Those are awesome together because they will target champions over minions. Use Charm to interrupt enemies or lure them into aoes (like Amumu's stun or Nunu's ult. Toss out your Orb of Deception in clusters and for last kills. Heal yourself at Essence Theftx9 with the waves of minions.

For one on one fights start off with Charm then throw your Orb of Deception, pop Fox-Fire and orb again if they are still around. If they are low you can Spirit Rush and pop Fox-Fire again.

When you get comfortable with Ahri, she can be pretty simple. Be smart about where you Spirit Rush and about where you're standing. Most of the time you can get away if things get too heavy or your team is not doing well in a team fight.


Highlights of level 6+
+ Help your team mates if they need it.

+ When team fight happens try to nuke down their carries. Never focus a tank!

+ Try to get the blue buff in the jungle.

+ Never go in first in team fights, stay back and harass!

Tips and Tricks

+ Use Charm to check bushes!

+ Charm Can also be used to help you escape a gank, if you toss it at some one who is close to you like a melee, it will stop them from harming you and then you can just Spirit Rush away.

+ Always try to get Crest of the Ancient Golem (Blue Buff). This will help you with your mana. Its really great since you've picked up Runic Affinity. I also will pick up Elixir of Brilliance when I b-home if I have some gold left over from an item (or don't have enough for much).

+ Sight Ward is always good to help you foresee any ganking. (Even more so if your team is horrible at calling MIA.

+ As with almost all champions while laning, try to get the last kills on the minions. The more gold you get the faster you get your build. Sometimes when I try to let the other person push a bit more (so I can land a sneaky kill), I let my minions do the work and make sure to last hit the enemy ones that are low. I still have to remind myself to do it sometimes. Using the Orb of deception is a great way to get last kills if there are a lot of them low at a time. I'm sure most people know this, I just wanted to get it out there for the newer players.

Items

Doran's Ring Is a nice choice. It gives you health, AP, and mana regen. Everything you really need. Some people will stack rings, I don't. I find that my next item is affordable enough for me to buy my first home.


Amplifying Tome with one Health Potion is something I sometimes do if I feel like I can dominate a lane. The reason why I get this sometimes, is to rush my Hextech Revolver. The extra spell vamp between your nine stacks of your passive is good enough to keep you up longer in mid.


Boots of Speed with two Health Potions is another choice. I've done this maybe 4 times, just to help me dodge champions Like Xerath and Ezreal. The health pots can be nice if you happen to get hit and it will tie you over till you can use your passive.





My "core" Items are Hextech Revolver, Sorcerer's Shoes, and Rylai's Crystal Scepter. The Spell Vamp + Mobility + Health is amazing in my opinion. It makes midding a breeze.


I go for my Hextech Revolver first because I enjoy the AP and Spell Vamp. If I get harassed in the beginning, all I do is toss my ball out hitting as many minions as possible and I've almost healed myself though the enemy damage. Yes, I know her passive heals too, but why not add a bit of a boost with it? You can't lose. It costs 900G to upgrade into Will of the Ancients. I suggest you do this when you can.


I like to go for these over the cool down reduction because I get more damage out of these. The CD reduction comes from Morello's Evil Tome, and I'll just stick with that.


This is my first expensive item. People normally go for this or Rod of the Ages. The reason why I choose this is because of the slow cc. This can be really nice when your chasing some one down when Spirit Rush is on cool down or to help land that charm. Its a beautiful thing when you hit your charm on them and they are slowed, very easy to pop Fox-Fire and Orb of Deception. Some people have asked why use this item when your charm is a 2 second CC, well.. after they have been charmed they normally still try to run away right? That is when the slow will help you the most.







Like every other mage build - I include this deathcap. It is an all around good item. If I die, or go home before I have enough to buy the item all together I shoot for my Needlessly Large Rod first. If I don't have the 1600 gold for that than the Blasting Wand. The more damage the better.


Will of the Ancients Is good is your team has a lot of AP. (This has some good spell vamp also and will use your Hextech Revolver to complete. I almost always get this item. I get this item when it feels needed. Sometimes I get it before my deathcap or Morello's tome. It only costs 900G, so if you have the gold for it - go for it.







The End items are sorta situational and you may swap them for something you personally think would be better depending on your play style, your team, and the enemy team.

After I have fully built/bought my deathcap I go for Morello's Evil Tome. The cooldown reduction is nice. If you don't have your blue buff, at least you have this. Cooldown reduction makes it so your Fox-Fire is majorly spamable along with your Orb of Deception and Charm. During your game you should know weather or not you're going to want Deathfire Grasp. If that is the case, skip Morello's Evil Tome and go for Deathfire Grasp instead.


Void Staff Is another great option, magic pen is always a good thing especially if the people are building against you. Can't really go wrong here. I normally end up with this item.


Abyssal Scepter can actually be better than Void Staff. Only swap out Void Staff for Abyssal Scepter when the enemy team has less than 100 magic resist, if they don't have magic resistance Abyssal Scepter would be more ideal.


Deathfire Grasp Is a great tool. It gives your more CD reduction and another ability. I like to use it on tanks. Only get this item if you plan to actually use it, and if you do get it, swap it with Morello's Evil Tome. You don't need both items





I will list some other items you may use, although some of them are not recommended. Again, it all depends on how YOU want to play.

Lich Bane Is another okay item. I don't use it because I don't find myself auto attacking a lot late game. By the time late game comes around with my Blue Buff I can basically spam the hell out of my abilities.. so not much auto attacking going on there. A lot of people like this. I suggest you try it and see how you like it.


Archangel's Staff This can be good if you want to fix your mana issue at the start - but the lack of cool down reduction and spell vamp, will make you less valuable in mid. This would be an "okay" item for some one who is laning with a partner.


Zhonya's Hourglass Can be awesome. It has an on use ability that can save your butt. I can see going for this item if there is a Karthas on the enemy team. It has a lot of AP too!



Haunting Guise would not be something I would use. Yeah, it gives magic pen and health but, you get the magic pen from Void Staff, and better AP. This would be better for some one who can't move around as fast as Ahri.


Rod of Ages This is a good item. I don't take it because I prefer to get my Rylai's Crystal Scepter. The scepter's slow is more appealing to me. If you decide you want this item, build it early because you want to benefit from it as soon as possible or it is a waste. If you find that your mana problems are too annoying, this could be a good choice. Later on though, I've found that I don't get mana problems and this rod is not needed.


Mejai's Soulstealer If stacked to 20 you can get some really nice AP. But, you would have to be doing really well. Therefor, I hardly risk another item for this and if I do it would be an item with cooldown reduction. I don't suggest this unless you really, truly believe you can pull it off.


Banshee's Veil Is a lovely defensive item. It can be good when the enemy team has some one like Annie, Morganna, or Lux. Like CasterMaster said, "As Ahri dashes about, accidents are bound to happen. If you get too close and get hit by a stun in a team fight, it could really be all over for you." :)

Screen Shots

Ending Note and Change Log

Thank you for reading my guide and I hope you find it some what useful. If you have any screen caps of good games that you have played using this build I'll post them up here. Please leave a positive and/or constructive comment. I appreciate it.





UPDATES INCOMING


3/6/12 \\5:09AM - Updated some stuff.


1/24/12 \\ 12:29PM - Changed some items around (After some more testing, found the I now prefer Doran's ring over the tome. Changed some masterties. Updated the masteries section.


1/14/12 \\ 5:00PM - Added some images and stuff. Officially purdified.


12/16/11 \\ 10:00AM - Changed my spell priority. (Thanks to Cellestial who's guide made me lean towards fox-fire. You can find his guide Here.


12/15/11 \\ 4:00PM - Added some option items.