Poppy Build Guide by Fyshie

Intro

Want to smash faces in? Make enemies cry? Halt a 15-0 Tryndamere in his OP little tracks? Then you've come to the right place. That's right, you're gonna learn to Whomp on enemies. Hardcore. Whether you're in top, mid, or bottom lane. This is one guide of many to a champion that can help you make noobs and pros alike cry and run home to their mommies. That is, the ones that aren't still living with them. I am open to constructive criticism, however. Enjoy your guide to Poppy, ladies and gents.

Pros / Cons

Pros:

• Fast. Very, very fast.
• Nukes well with Devastating Blow.
• Runs from enemies easily
• Underestimated
• Can be built as AD or AP and work perfectly fine either way
• Good at farming if you know how to properly farm as Poppy.
• Great CC Techniques
• Exquisite Diving Skills

Cons:

• So squishy ._.
• Focused in teamfights
• Is terrible at farming if you don't know how to farm as Poppy.
• Takes skill to use

Runes

Quints: Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed are a personal favorite for that nice early game boost of speed which is needed since you don't take boots first.
Marks: Greater Mark of Attack Damage help you completely wreck an enemy beginning game, along with giving you a definite ability to last hit.
Seals: Greater Seal of Armor are completely awesome. That little bit of extra armor helps out in the long run because you're only gonna build armor if you're getting wrecked. Don't get wrecked.
Glyphs: Greater Glyph of Magic Resist - See above explanation and exchange "armor" with "magic resist".

Again, feel free to change up your rune page.

Masteries

A 21-9-0 Mastery Page is going to give you some advantages for your summoner spells and all around damage output. I took a point in Mental Force instead of Lethality . This will give your Devastating Blow and Heroic Charge a bit more damage, which again, is key for getting fed early game. If you would like, you may also switch to a 9-21-0 Mastery page If you feel that you gain more benefit from it.

Items

Explanations of Item choices:
Sheen First: Sheen's passive is very helpful when paired with Devastating Blow. There's a very high damage output.
Boots of Swiftness: A bit of extra movement speed is very good. Poppy needs the ability to escape, as she is very squishy.
Trinity Force: The passives of Phage Zeal and Sheen Combined, but with a few more stats added on.
Infinity Edge: This item is a GREAT item for Poppy. The extra AD, and critical chance are greatly needed.
Phantom Dancer: This item is going to boost your movement speed, attack speed, and critical strike. It's a great choice for Poppy, seeing as it gives her even more movement speed!!! :D
The Bloodthirster: With this item, you're going to be able to sustain yourself much easier.
Guinsoo's Rageblade: For every autoattack, you're getting free AP and attack speed. In the middle of a team fight, this item's passive will help you very much. The extra attack speed and AP will give your abilities a bonus.

Skill Sequence

I suggest that take your Devastating Blow first. It will help give you better damage output early on, and is a great tool for getting first blood. If you feel like getting first blood, you're not a complete tactical failure, and you have a halfway decent laning partner/ganker, just take your Devastating Blow, Exhaust, Ghost, and smack your opponent into next season with. Next take your Heroic Charge, because you're gonna want to slam some buffoons into a wall or turret, then humiliate them by showing your superior skills. -Sigh- I guess you can take your Paragon of Demacia at level 3. It'll give you some extra damage and help a LOT in chasing. So yes, it's a good choice. Now, your ultimate. This is one of the best things about Poppy. Diplomatic Immunity is a wonderful ultimate to use in teamfights, to turret dive, and to finish off a wounded enemy running back behind his or her allies. Simply hit R, select a an enemy champion that does the least damage as the target, and you are immune to all CC/Damage except for that dealt by the selected enemy for a short duration of time. This includes turrets (besides the spawn turret).

Summoner Spells

Ghost and Exhaust: Chase, escape, or just blinding the enemy AD carry, these two go together like bread and butter.
Flash: Nice juke. But we thought since we're faster than you anyways, we'll just keep on chasing you. But damn, you got over that wall. -_-
Ignite: Finish off the enemy with 50 health that's running away. OR you could just use Paragon of Demacia for a boost of speed, use Heroic Charge to knock him into a wall and stun him, and use Devastating Blow to bash him in the face without wasting a Summoner Spell. Your choice, though.
Heal or Clarity: These two spells, in my mind, are somewhat unnecessary. As the game goes on, your mana pool will go up, and you won't be as much of a mana hog. So, Clarity won't be as useful end game as it was early game. Heal is always a welcome spell to save yourself every once in a while, but of course that is why we have a lovely The Bloodthirster.

A Bit of Strategy and Tactics For Your Benefit

Ladies and gentlemen, I'll give you a small guide down here for you. This guide will help you better understand how to use Poppy, and why she is a very good champion. Poppy is, overall, a great AD carry. You just need to know to use her. Here are a few helpful tips.

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• When playing Poppy early game, you can't try to farm with your Devastating Blow. That's going to waste a large part of your mana pool. Try to preserve mana for a ruthless attack against your enemy.
• When attacking an enemy, THINK FIRST. Here's your checklist;
  [ ] Is he low enough health that I can take him out?
  [ ] Am I low enough health that he can take me out?
  [ ] Are any enemies M.I.A. that could defend him and turn this situation around?
  [ ] Do I have enough mana to finish him off?
  [ ] How close am I to an enemy turret?
  [ ] Are my abilities on cooldown?
  [ ] (when diving) Will I get away with enough health to survive?
  [ ] Did I remember to use Diplomatic Immunity before I ran recklessly under the turret?
• Don't get too cocky. If an enemy sees you being reckless, they're going to call for a gank, and then your *** is grass.
• Be two moves ahead.
• Go back if you need to. Please, don't die because you're stubborn.
• Build some armor or magic resist if you need it accordingly.
• Help out some other lanes: gank.
• During the early game laning phase, only last hit,. Pushing is a big nono, as it leads to you not being able to farm.

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  Please, ask for more tips in the comment section below. I'd be glad to help anyone who would like more tips on tricks to playing Poppy.

Farming

Oh God Why... Poppy's early game farming is absolutely atrocious. Remember to time your attacks wisely, and only last hit. "-Pushing is a BIG nono." Remember "Don't drain your mana farming with your Devastating Blow". If an enemy is starving you (keeping you pushed back so you can't last hit), please call for a gank so you don't get underlevelled and underfarmed. This is bound to happen if you're facing an enemy with any type of a ranged attack. Once you master the art of farming as Poppy, you're going to become a master of the champion herself.

Summary

Sure, we all have our bad games. We win some, and we lose some. But win or lose the most important thing is that.. you didn't lose the game for your team and disgrace Poppys everywhere. Seriously, guys. Don't be a fool when you play. Maybe try out the guide in a game versus AIs first. At least do us all a favor and have nothing less than a .50 KDR. Again, I'm open to negative and positive criticism. Please leave a comment on what you liked and/or didn't like, and I'll read up. Remember, be as harsh in the comments as I was in this guide. Happy gaming, summoners.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Chroume, for the helpful criticism and leading me to JhoiJhoi's (thank you, JhoiJhoi) guide on making a successful and better looking guide, which can be found here.