Ahri Build Guide by Kiimochii

Introduction.

Hey Everybody.
I know it's early for a good build, which is why I will be updating occasionally!
Thanks for your support!

Pros / Cons

Her Charm has a 2 second CC when maxed
Her Orb of Deception does true damage on the way back
Her Spirit Rush Can go through walls, and chase VERY well.
Low Mana cost
VERY Good Ganker
Pretty okay cooldown's on her skills.
Shes Sexy.

Her spells are very easy to miss.
Her Essence Theft isnt too good until you get your Hextech Revolver
Squishy until you get your Rod of Ages.
Probably will be banned a lot in ranked games because shes new.

Base Stats

Runes

For runes, I pick up
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power
Greater Seal of Ability Power
Greater Glyph of Ability Power
and Greater Mark of Magic Penetration

I choose the Potency runes for that extra AP, and the Insight runes for that Magic Pen. This will help you a lot early game.

Skills

Soul Eater - 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.
VERY good skill for laning mid. It will keep you alive and frustrate your enemies, and goes REALLY well with Hextech Revolver, which is why I get it as my first item.



Orb of Deception - Ahri throws out and pulls back her orb, dealing 40/65/90/115/140 (+33% of ability power) magic damage on the way out and 40/65/90/115/140 (+33% of ability power) true damage on the way back.
VERY good harassing skill in mid with Ahri. It gains 3 Essence Theft stacks when thrown out (hitting minions too) at your enemy. So you could harass with it AND gain passive stacks at the same time, AND get minion kills with it, in ONE skill shot.




Fox-Fire - Ahri releases three fox-fires, which after a short delay lock on and attack nearby enemies (prioritizes champions), dealing 40/70/100/130/160 (+38% of ability power) magic damage. Additional fox-fires that hit the same target deal 50% damage, up to a maximum total damage of 80/140/200/260/320 (+75% of ability power).
VERY good skill, like all Ahri skills. I choose to max this last, but that does NOT mean that it is a bad skill. It does insane damage and can be used to get Essence Theft stacks easily because you will be maxing it last, so it will have low mana cost.



Charm - Ahri blows a kiss that deals 60/90/120/150/180 (+35% of ability power) magic damage to an enemy and charms it, causing them to walk hopelessly towards her for 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 seconds.
In my opinion, Ahri's best skill. It taunts them, which means that if you hit it you get a free Orb of Deception on them. The higher level it is, the longer they are taunted, so I max this SECOND.


Spirit Rush - Ahri dashes forward and fires essence bolts, damaging 3 nearby enemies (prioritizes champions) for 100/140/180 (+30% of ability power) magic damage per bolt. Spirit Rush can be casted up to three times before going on cooldown.
One of the best Ultimates. This ultimate can chase, run, dash through walls, damage THREE enemies THREE times in one press. Very good ultimate.

Skill Sequence

For skills, I max Orb of Deception first because it is your main Skill, along with Charm. You will need that damage from Orb of Deception so make sure you max it first.

Next, max your Charm. It does quite significant damage by the time you max it, and has a longer CC when you level it up.

Lastly, max your Fox-Fire, of course. The skill is definently NOT bad, but I choose to max it last.

Essence Theft is VERY good with your Hextech Revolver, especially early game. This is why I choose to get Hextech Revolver first because your Essence Theft has 35% Life steal, Plus the Hextech Revolver is 50% LIFESTEAL at about 10 minutes into the game, maybe earlier.

You can also charge up your Essence Theft with your W (3 charges) and your Q (3 charges) by hitting minions with Fox-Fire, and Harassing the Enemy with Orb of Deception while it comes back and gains extra Essence Theft from minions, and last hits as well.

Summoner Spells

Flash: VERY good summoner spell overall. Helps GET you ganks, helps you ESCAPE from ganks (if your Spirit Rush is on cooldown), and can be used to bait. I usually ALWAYS get this with Ahri.


Ignite: I usually get this summoner spell for securing the kill. As you level up, Ignite does more damage, so I would grab it.

Teleport: Good spell for saving your towers from being destroyed. You can just Teleport there and shoo them away. Also you should know that you could Teleport onto Sight Wards, which can help you gank, and run.

Items

First off, I grab an Amplifying Tome and a Health Potion and head to my lane. Last hit those creeps and when you have enough get back and grab a Hextech Revolver and a Boots of Speed

Once you reach level 6, (or when you feel comfortable), go in for some ganks for that extra gold for your next item, which is Catalyst the Protector.

Sorcerer's Shoes is your next item because by now you will probably need that extra Magic Pen.

Keep last hitting those creeps and ganking until you have enough for a Rod of Ages.Once you have Rod of Ages, you will have enough HP and Mana to harass and stay alive. This is in my opinion, your main item for Ahri.

Keep it up! Your doing good. Grab a Needlessly Large Rod and head for a Rabadon's Deathcap.

At this point, you have very good damage and you are not squishy. Work for a Lich Bane and you will be set.

If you DO make it this far into the game, grab a Will of the Ancients and start making a Zhonya's Hourglass

****IMPORTANT****
a LOT of people like to put Rylai's Crystal Scepter in their build. If you already have a Rod of Ages, you are NOT squishy anymore! You do NOT need anymore HP, get a Zhonya's Hourglass instead. This is all MY opinion, get what you want, but I am just pointing that out.

Why get these items?

Hextech Revolver; Its pretty obvious what this item is for. Works like a charm (hehe) with your Essence Theft. Put together, you have 50% Spell Vamp early game, which makes you a pain to lane againt.

Sorcerer's Shoes; Ahri is very slow (305 movement speed) in the beginning of the match. You need to pick up these boots early to get away from spells, ganks, or to chase. The 20% Magic Penetration that goes with it works very well with your Greater Mark of Magic Penetration Runes since you will get these early game.



Rod of Ages;This item is the item you will focus on after you grab your boots. This item works very well with Ahri because it gives Ability Power, Mana, and Health. Once you get this item, you are not as squishy, and wont have problems with mana. Plus, the Health, Mana, and AP increase every 2 minutes to a cap.


Rabadon's Deathcap; Oh you know, just any AP characters main item. Gives 140 Ability power with 30% extra AP to whatever you buy. Gives a HUGE increase to your damage.


Lich Bane; I get this item with AP carries that have longer cooldowns (like Lux. This goes swell with your Rabadon's Deathcap because the 30% AP that it gives you also goes toward your Lich Bane. Right after you throw in your Charm, throw in an AA, THEN throw in your Orb of Deception. You can also use it delaying Spirit Rush every 2 seconds. Example: Spirit Rush (AA) Wait 2 seconds - Spirit Rush (AA) - Wait 2 seoncds - Spirit Rush (AA). You get the idea. Don't underestimate the powers of this item. :).


Zhonya's Hourglass; This item gives you a HUGE Abiility Power boost (100 AP), PLUS the 30% bonus ability power you get from your Rabadon's Deathcap. This item also gives you 50 armor, which you will need towards the end of the game. You also need this item for team fights, while you are being focused, activate the passive and BAM, they can't hit you for a full 2 seconds. Meanwhile they are trying to hit you, your teammates are there messing them up.:) Such an evil item. xD.


Will of the Ancients; And last but not least, Will of the Ancients. This item adds to your extra Spell Vamp you get from your Essence Theft and also gives bonus ability power to your teammates. Grab this if you make it this far into the game :).

Other Item Choices:

:Banshee's Veil; Get this if they have a lot of nuke on their team (such as Annie, LeBlanc, Veigar and more). This gives you a good amount of Magic Resist, Mana, and health to counter against them. The 45 second passive can be very life saving. It can counter Annies stun with Summon: Tibbers, or LeBlanc Nukes.


:Rylai's Crystal Scepter In my opinion, this is not needed with Ahri if you already have a Rod of Ages. Sure, it slows them down, but do you really need that slow if you have Spirit Rush? Rod of Ages gives you more Health, more Mana, and more AP. But, if you wish to choose this item, take out the Rod of Ages out of your build in continue on.

:Void Staff; Get this item if you need that extra Magic Penetration, or if your fighting a team with a Banshee's Veil or a lot of Magic Resist. This will get your skills to do more damage and counter the magic resist that they stack up on.


:Ionian Boots of Lucidity; I usually don't have problems with Cooldowns. But if you wish to take these boots, grab a Void Staff somewhere in your build because you will need a lot of magic penetration that will go with your Greater Mark of Magic Penetration runes.


:Mercury's Treads; Grab this item if you notice their team has a lot of CC. For example, if they have a team of: Ashe, Annie, Taric, Warwick, you get the idea, grab these. They are life saving.


:Abyssal Scepter;I usually always take this item if they don't have more than at least 70+ magic resist. This lowers enemies around you magic resist by 20, which gets you maximum damage you could do with ahri. It also applies to all your teammates, which is very helpful too.

Summary

From what I have learned so far, Ahri seems like one of those Agressive characters. She reminds me a lot like Akali because of her Ultimate, and has a similar build as her. Ahri is a great harasser with her Orb of Deception, especially if you take mid (which you should), it gets you 3 passive stacks (if hit with minions), so you can harass your enemies AND get minion kills at the same time in one skill shot. Her Fox-Fire has lower mana cost since you will be leveling that last so if you really need the health, you can easily get 3 Essence Theft stacks from it.

Getting a Hextech Revolver early game can make you VERY annoying, since you will have 50% LIFESTEAL with your Essence Theft in the first few minutes of the game. The champion you are facing in mid will get VERY frustrated because you will be regenning your life (kind of like Vladimir).

Ahri has a lot of mid enemies however. Such as Kog'Maw, Ezreal, Caitlyn, and others. Play safe when messing around with them, because they have farther range than you, and can harass you way more than you can harass them. This is where your Hextech Revolver and your Essence Theft will come in handy.

Early Game

When Laning with Ahri, you should always be mid, or solo top. Always poke/harass your enemies with Orb of Deception whilst getting minion kills at the same time. When you have enough for your Hextech Revolver you will have that extra AP, and that extra spell vamp for your enemy to be completely hopeless against you. Remember that if you choose to use the same Skill Sequence, if you really need the Health, hit some minions with Fox-Fire because it will have the lowest mana cost due to it being level 1. Take advantage because you get three Essence Theft stacks from it when you hit the minions with it, so if you have low health make sure you take advantage.

Ahri has great farming capability with her Orb of Deception. It can harass enemies AND get minion kills in one skill shot, which makes Ahri hard to lane against. Be sure to not push to far with Ahri (it can be hard xD) and play it safe and occasionally harass until you are able to gank. Dont be afraid to throw out a Charm and Orb of Deception combo at them when they are open.

Once you reach level 6 with Ahri you should go in for some ganks while you have your Spirit Rush. Warn your team to stop pushing because you will be headed for a gank. If they don't have the brush warded, hide in the brush until your team initiates them. IF they have it warded, go AROUND to the brush across from the turret, and go in from there (they probably wont have that part warded since its early game.)

When your jungler is hiding from the side brush (while your in mid), make sure you initiate the gank by hitting them with Charm, then your jungler will come in and help you finish them off. Remember to secure the kill with Ignite if you feel that they will get away.

One tower trick that ALWAYS seem to land on someone early game is the Charm into the tower trick. Basically if you are laning against someone that is REALLY pushing hard against you in mid, when they are close to your tower, Charm them, (this makes them walk toward you, and possibly if they are dumb try to attack you), and the turret can get a shot or two on them (depending on what level your Charm is). This will get you a kill guaranteed.

Other Early Game Starting Items:

:Doran's Ring; I usually only grab this item ONLY if you are going to invade their blue. This gives you 100+ Health to stay alive during that team fight, and +15 Ability power for that extra damage. Doran's Ring can also give you GREAT lane sustainability against certain champions. For me, this item is Situational


:Boots of Speed; Grab these boots if you are going to face a champion with fast spell casts like Karthus or Cassiopeia. These boots give you a good 3 Health Potion pots and great movement speed. It helps dodge Karthus Lay Waste or Cassiopeia Noxious Blast.

Early game Warding
No one likes getting ganked by junglers right? As your laning, farm up and on your first back grab TWO Sight Ward. Place them on your two side brushes to prevent from getting ganked by their jungler. Life saving, saves my life every game. Here is a ugly picture of it~ Green circles are where you put the wards haha

Mid Match Up's

:Ahri
Difficulty:(★★★)
- Laning against yourself could be very irritating. It all depends which starting item both of you get. Different starting items means different results for each other. Also, your skill level. If the other Ahri does not know much about Ahri, you will probably beat her out. Try to poke at her and make her afraid of her. Remember that since you are mirroring runes and masteries REALLY count here because you have the same skills.

:Akali
Difficulty:(★★)
- Laning against Akali shouldn't be hard because she is more of a melee and you have range. Just watch our for her Mark of the Assassin and (AA) combo and you should be fine. Once she reaches level 6, she might be a little bit irritating with her Shadow Dance, but you can beat her out. Harass and last hit, you have more range than her by a ton, so she cant harass much. You may want to buy a Vision Ward or an Oracle because of her Twilight Shroud She can confuse the hell out of you with it. Be careful

: Anivia
Difficulty:(★★★★)
- Anivia is just a flat out pain to lane against. Her Flash Frost has ridiculously long range, AND stuns you. I would suggest getting Mercury's Treads when laning against this annoying bird. For starting items, grab a Boots of Speed against Anivia to dodge his Flash Frost skills and you should be okay. Remember that her passive is Rebirth, when her life bar is gone, she turns into an egg, and if you dont kill that egg within 6 seconds, she will return to life. This is why I try not to rush in to hard with her because she could just be setting up a plan with her jungler to gank me. Try to get the egg out by harassing.


: Annie;
Difficulty: (★★★★)
- Laning against a good Annie can be irritating if they can play her well.
When she has her stun Pyromania be cautious, because she just might be saving that for her jungler to gank you. Remember that Annie is deadly with her Summon: Tibbers and Pyromania combo. When she has tibbers, ask your jungler for a gank, because you will probably not win a fight against her just yet. Remember that she goes from Squishy to Unsquishy the moment she gets her Catalyst the Protector, just like you. This gives her total advantage because she has mana, and health. I recommend grabbing a Doran's Ring as your first item when laning against her, because she will harass you a lot with her Disintegrate and Incinerate combo. Play safe when laning against this little devil and you should be fine. Ask for ganks a LOT and play smart. :)



:Brand.
Difficulty: (★★★★★)
- Brand is just a pain in the freakin' butt. His Pillar of Flame has a HUGE area of burst to hit you. I recommend you grab a Boots of Speed and three Health Potion pots when laning against this monster. He has VERY great harassment, and burst. Ask for ganks a lot from your jungler, and play safe. You can also harass him a lot too, with your Orb of Deception while last hitting. Don't be TOO scared, because he will just sit there and wreck you . haha.

:Caitlyn
Difficulty:(★★★)
- Laning against Caitlyn can be easy, depending on how good the player is. I recommend grabbing a Boots of Speed against her because her Piltover Peacemaker will be easier to dodge when she tries to harass you with it. Harass her *** back with Orb of Deception and ask for ganks once in a while from your jungle because you will need it against her, she can out-push you. Not too hard to lane against her, but be sure to back when your low health because of her ultimate Ace in the Hole will murder you if she harasses you till your almost dead.

: Cassiopeia
Difficulty:(★★★★)
- Cassiopeia is a VERY good mid character. Shes like Karthus but worse. Grab a Boots of Speed when laning against her to dodge her Noxious Blast. Noxious Blast can be VERY irritating, because if your hit by it, she can automaticcally spam her Twin Fang on you, which has about a 1 second cooldown. One hit by her Noxious Blast and you will be harassed like a mother. Dodge her Noxious Blast moves and you will be fine against her.

:Ezreal
Difficulty:(★★)
- Laning against Ezreal is very easy. He can't harass you as well as you can harass him, because your Orb of Deception. He does have a built in Flash which is his Arcane Shift, so watch out for his combo with it. Grab your normal Amplifying Tome first item against him, because he wont give you much of a hard time.
: Fizz
Difficulty:(★★★)
Purty easy to lane against him. He can harass you pretty well but to do so he has to get up close to you, so thats when you can land a Charm, Fox-Fire and Orb of Deception combo on him. Grab a Doran's Ring for first item against him because of his harassment, and you should be just fine.
:Gragas
Difficulty:(★★)
Gragas can be annoying to lane against, but absolutely not with Ahri. Grab a Boots of Speed as your first item to dodge his barrels and your pretty much good. Once you see his barrel is on cooldown go in and throw a Orb of Deception at him or your E,W,Q combo at him if hes open for it. Be careful for his ultimate though, he could be planning a jungler gank with it.
: Heimerdinger
Difficulty:(★★★★★)
I HATE laning against this scientist. His turrets just WONT stop shooting you and does massive damage, he doesn't even need jungler ganks. His turrets are basically his jungler ganks, LOL. Grab a Doran's Ring as a first item to help you sustain with health, and try to take out his turrets fast. Make sure he doesn't get blue because he WILL win the lane if he does. If you have a jungler that doesn't need blue Riven, Tryndamere, you know, ask if you can have it to take down his turrets.
(UPDATING EVERY TIME I CAN FOR MATCH UPS! STAY TUNED! :))

Mid game / late game

Ahri can absolutely turn tides in team fights. Make sure when you know a team fight is coming up, DON'T INITIATE!!!! That is your tanks job. In fact, when you are using Ahri, make sure you are the last to go in so you don't get focused. Remember, you are doing most of the damage in there. Jump in the fight with a Charm, and aim your Orb of Deception to hit as MANY people as you can. Jump in with Spirit Rush and Fox-Fire. Jumping in with Spirit Rush is very good because it will hit THREE enemies in the fight, and ANOTHER three, and ANOTHER three because you can activate it three times. It is a very good spell for team fights, chasing, running, everything! Remember to trigger that Zhonya's Hourglass when you are being focused in the middle of a team fight. They will be trying to hit you will your teammates are wrecking them! hahaa.

Shanks guys~

Thank you guys for taking the time to read my boring guide. I willbe updating every single time i can. Thank you/;