Hecarim is a very underrated champion. Most people think Hecarim sucks simply because they dont know how to build him. He is can be varied a tanky or damage dealing fighter. I have tried many ways to play Hecarim (Full on tank, AP, AD etc...) But as a tank i found while obviously taking a lot of damage, i couldn't deal enough back. And while building AP/AD i felt a bit squishy. While the items and masteries are focusing on two different things, for me playing this way seems to work fairly well.

As you can tell if you've used Hecarim before his ultimate isn't the best. The point of the Magic Penetration is for the Onslaught of Shadows and Spirit of Dread to deal more damage. By diminishing a lot of magic resistance your Ultimate and W can deal tons of more damage. Physical and Magic resistance are both benefited by Maw of Malmortius and Atmas Impaler but both also increase damage. The last item isnt a major buy but just good options for additional Health.

Due to the effectiveness of the items, points in the offense tree are not needed and with the mobility bonus from Initiator your granted bonus AD from Hecarim's passive.

The runes i chose focus on being resistant to damage and damage dealing.