The more I play this build, and LoL in general, the more I've come to notice that there's really 3 different types of people that play LoL. There are the people who think that there's only one way to play this game, the people who go with the flow and don't care as long as you win, and the people who don't speak english. Just kidding about the last one. They all speak english. They just don't want you to know they do.

There's a third kind out there. Our kind. People who want to have fun. Win or lose.

*Steps off soapbox*

On to the Playstyle!

How I usually start off in Dom is to cap bottom and then rush their mid. There's 3 scenarios that happen from here. Their bot comes up, their top wins/loses windmill and come down, or you cap their mid. I'll give you instructions on what to do should these occur.

If their top comes down and your whole team is herping around the windmill... RUN. If they come down and your team is chasing behind them, hide till they catch up and join in the fun when they get to you.

If bot comes up, mush him. Just make sure the tower is at least neutral. There's a strat on how to mush him too. In early game, champs are pretty much on even ground. Abilities have long cooldowns and auto attacks usually don't hit that hard. That's where you shine. Remember that Pickaxe? Yah... that damage is useful. I take out my opponent with a W, swing, Q, swing, mush into wall, swing, swing, Q, swing. Remember that hitting your W gives you that armor/damage buff, so don't hesitate to use it.

If you end up capping their mid, that usually means that your team has taken the windmill and killed everyone, or your bot is being taken and people are flipping out on your team saying things like "wtf" or "noob poppy". Don't let those idiots discourage you. Not only do you have 3 turrets, and are therefore winning, you just got 200g and possible another 150-300g from re-capping your own bot. Hit b and run down there to take back what is rightfully yours!

Also, in the not-so-unlikely event that both teams are ******ed and haven't capped yet windmill yet, use your W, ghost, and hit that speed boost next to you and fly up there to clean up the mess. By this point, their team should all be damaged just enough for you to help them take the windmill.

Once the opening festivities are done, an AD Poppy never sits still unless she's capping a turret. You don't defend. That's not your job. I'm not saying that if your teammates are getting rocked 3v2 you don't jump in, I'm saying that you're not the person to camp at a turret just waiting to be ambushed. YOU, are the person ambushing.

There's a certain point during this build where you will be able to ult a champ and take out at least 2. When you're able to do this always depends on who you're fighting.

The main goal as Poppy, and in dom, is to control more turrets. Cap 3 and defend only applies in that last 100v100 nexus life battles where it's down to the wire. You should be constantly watching the map for champs running around by themselves you can mush, or when they're split up and you can cap a turret. Always be moving. If an ally calls out for help, go help. Don't stick around till they get back. Try to cap something else. Always be moving. Go take out a few minions. One of the best things is when you're capping a turret and one of your allies comes up and clicks the turret too. You see that group of minions hanging out behind you? 120g+75g from the turret. Don't be afraid to break off as long as the turret will be capped and you still get your gold. Did I mention you should always be moving?

So far, this has been a how to dominion play style guide. Now we get into the finer points of this build and what it means in dominion.

With an AD Poppy, your Q and E won't hit as hard as an AP Poppy, however your auto attacks will hit almost as hard as your Q and E with an AP Poppy. There's the trade. You want to maximize your time fighting so you can get in as many auto attacks as possible to murder everything around you. A good tip for this is to ult the champion that can't quite hit as hard or doesn't have a stun. Ult Soraka all day. You can't silence an auto attack.

Another way is to make sure that when you use your E, you're hitting them into a wall. That stun is 2 or 3 autoattacks.

That's how you should play Poppy, so what's different for Dominion? That's the thing. There's no special "trick" to it. There's just different objectives than in classic.

Oh, and make sure you're using your W liberally to get around the map, just remember to pick up health packs so you don't run out of mana.