Hey guys, welcome to Kog'Maw: The Destroyer guide. Within this guide you will find all that you need to play Kog'Maw against the popular vote, and play him as an AP Carry. Oh, and did I mention get loads of kills and prove people who think AP kog is bad wrong?

Pros-
Insane damage. Able to 2-3 shot non tank heroes mid/end game.
Very good ganking abilites early on (despite popular belief)
Great bush checker
Great pusher and Harasser
If you get fed, you can take heroes on 2-1 and win
and of course, his true damage passive.

Cons-
End game he gets somewhat squishy
Targeted most in team fights
Requires a decent amount of skill and anticipation to use E and R
runs out of mana like it's his job

Runes are tuned for Straight Damage. Magic Pen marks, then All around AP for total domination. I was debating on using mana runes and cool down runes, but with Kog's ultimate being the focus here, and the CD already being so ungodly low on it, .29% runes wouldn't help all that much. Magic pen runes are where it's at, and the more AP, the better, as it could mean the difference between someone surviving your ulti or not.

Offensive tree mostly. This build relies on skill and quick reaction timing, Using the E to farm minions and slow enemies for getaways and ganks, and using the ulti to harass, pursue, and guarantee a kill. Taking all the CD, AP and damage masteries ensures this even further. The last skill in the Offensive tree really seals the deal as to why Kog should go straight down the offensive tree. You can potentially 1 shot someone from under 40% HP with that Mastery.

I built the items on this page with each individual stage, just so you know exactly what to do. I build like this exactly every time and it just flat out works. So sorry for there being a ton of items, but I wanted to make it clear that THIS IS EXACTLY HOW YOU BUILD THIS VERSION OF AP KOG. Follow it to the T and you'll be killing and loving it in no time. That being said, it doesn't matter which item you get first in the build, aka, after building revolver, my build says get amplifying tome next, but if you have the money, get the blasting wand first, as long as you get void staff second, you're still golden(same goes with the rest).

Also, as a Side note, you can switch out for , that is also a viable option and costs less gold.

Your E is key here, around the time you get void staff you'll be 1 shotting minions and doing a chunk of damage to champions HP. Max that first. Make sure you put a point into your W Early on, use it for pursuing pre-6 after tagging them with your E. Max W last. Q is very good for burst damage if you're being attacked at close range. Fire your ultimate, then quick slap on a Q to do instant damage and lower their magic resist for the incoming ultimate shot. Max Q Second.

Lots of good choices here. Most people automatically think Flash and Ignite are the two best choices, and you're wrong. While that will work for this build, I have found the best combination to be Exhaust / Clarity. This build runs completely on mana... no mana, no damage. Exhaust is for early game escaping (I tend to solo lane top or mid a lot, exhaust saves me from getting ganked, combined with a well placed E) and late game is used for slowing would be attackers and escaping foes.

Early, game, always remember to not over pursue, Kog has range, use it to your advantage. Harass with his E, and when a champion gets over agreesive, make them pay. Tag them with the E, activate W, and hit with Q and if you think you can secure the kill, use Exhaust. Many people believe that Kog has no ganking capabilities, and I think this build/play style disperses that. Kog's E not only does great damage and scales fantastically with AP, but it also slows, so that if you are coming up behind a champion who is attacking an ally or a turret, landing the perfect E will ensure they do not escape.

Mid game, Kog'Maw is essentially ruthless. By now, you should have some kills, and be well along with your AP. Sit back.. you have your ulti now. Harass, harass harass! In teamfights, sit close enough to be able to tag Champs with you E but far enough not to be targeted first. Once they see how much you do, they'll start to target you first, so avoid getting to close. If you happen to fall victim to a gank at any time, especially to a melee character, hit exhaust right away. If you have the health, Turn to them, ulti, Q, E, Ulti. If they aren't dead, they'll be running away. It can't get much easier then that.

Late game, dat ulti. No really. After 16 he has one of the longest ranges in the game, albeit Caitlin. Use this to your advantage to take out running heroes, partake in teamfights from further away(aka in your jungle when fight is mid/side lanes), and clean up kills.

Overall this build is all about damage, and if you're laning, provides excellent harass and excellent escape for both you and your laning buddy. Farming mid/late game is easy, with the eventual AP you get, your W can do upwards of 200-300 damage extra on a normal attack, just an icing on the cake of a move that lets all your other moves hit from a further distance. Your E will also one shot minions about the time you get void staff, so instant farm/gold. The key here is getting used to using Kog's Ulti and running at the same time. Placing shots is easy if they are standing still, but is a whole new game when you're being chased or chasing.