Fiddlesticks Build Guide by M3ATL0V3R

Introduction

Hey guys this is M3ATL0V3R here and this is my Dominion guide to Fiddlesticks. I’ve played Dota for 2 years and League Of Legends for a year and I thought I would share my insight on playing Fiddlesticks in this new game mode for the benefit of you and myself. This guide won’t be long because there isn’t too much to know about Fiddlesticks and i will cover the bare bones of what you need to know to jump in on the right foot. The rest you will have to learn by playing the game and armed with this guide I am confident you will succeed!

> Please note this guide is still under construction so instead of down voting tell me how to improve and any tips would be helpful :) (I will credit all helpers in my guide too)

Lore

For nearly twenty years, Fiddlesticks has stood alone in the easternmost summoning chamber of the Institute of War. Only the burning emerald light of his unearthly gaze pierces the musty darkness of his dust-covered home. It is here that the Harbinger of Doom keeps a silent vigil. His is a cautionary tale of power run amok, taught to all summoners within the League. Decades ago, there existed a powerful rune mage from Zaun - Istvaan. At the end of the fifth Rune War, he became one of the League's first summoners. Too much a prisoner to the old ways of magic, Istvaan stepped further and further outside the rules of conduct in the League. In what was ultimately his last match, his reach finally exceeded his grasp. Sealing himself inside the easternmost summoning chamber, he began incanting the most forbidden of rituals - an extra-planar summoning.

What exactly happened inside that chamber remains unknown. No champion came to represent Zaun that day in Summoner's Rift. Only silence echoed back from repeated knocks on the chamber door. The first apprentice who entered was cut down immediately by an unearthly scythe. What few who followed and survived were driven mad by fear, mere husks of men gibbering about crows and death. Afraid of the evil even Istvaan could not control, the League sealed all exits to the chamber, hoping they could contain what they could not destroy. Years went by, but the wooden figure within never moved save to slay any foolish enough to enter. Seeing no recourse to reclaim the chamber, the Council instead devised a use for Fiddlesticks: executioner. While he comes to life and seemingly abides by the rules of summoning in the Fields of Justice, what he awaits inside his chamber is unknown. His unmoving face yields no clues, and his scythe stands ready to strike down any who stand before him.

Those who say 'you have nothing to fear but fear itself' have not yet felt the crows.

Runes

> Pretty much standard runes for casters. You can choose between Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration or Greater Quintessence of Ability Power runes depending on whether you want early game toughness (ability power) or all game advantage (magic penetration).

> I get Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power and Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration runes because Fiddlesticks is pretty dangerous from the start so some runes that build over time is best for Fiddlesticks. In dominion you also start from level 3 so flat runes are less effective here. You can get Greater Seal of Scaling Ability Power runes if you find you don’t need any more mana regeneration and you can get Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction runes if you find your abilities on cooldown all the time.

> Greater Mark of Magic Penetration runes are set in stone; you CANNOT replace these with anything better.

> Later on there will be a item tree for you to use and note that if you choose Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction runes you have to make sure you don’t go over 40% cool down reduction or else you will be wasting your gold because you can’t go over 40% cool down reduction. Dont forget to take into account your cooldown reduction masteries as well.

Masteries

We put 21 into the offense tree as it boosts Fiddlesticks damage by so much with plenty of ability power, cooldown reduction, magic penetration etc. Next we put the rest of our points into Utility. We do this mainly for the movement speed and shrine/relic buff because its way better than some armor and magic resist. We dont get Transmutation because the boost it gives (9 extra hp for drain level 5 for 5 seconds) is nothing compared to Runic Affinity . We also dont get Greed because dominion is so short it makes no difference

Fiddlestick's Skills

Skill Overview

Dread: A great passive on Fiddlesticks because this increases both your allies and your area of effect magic damage by reducing the enemy magic resist by 10. This is a flat bonus so it is most effective early on which will help your team snowball to victory.



Terrify: Short ranged disable that makes the target run around aimlessly and unable to take actions and this skill makes Fiddlesticks a close ranged champion. If you are lucky the enemy will run toward you while you are trying to kill them or away from you when you use it to flee. The duration the enemy is under the spell effect scales with level so you should get this second.



Drain: This skill is a moderate ranged channeling skill that stops when you are silenced, taunted, stunned, knocked around by champion skills or the target gets out of range. It does not stop if you are bound to the ground by skills like Ryze’s astral prison or morganas Dark Binding or if the opponent goes invisible like Shaco’s Deceive. It damages the opponent over time and heals you based on the damage dealt and the level of the skill so magic penetration does actually increase your healing. Drain’s damage scales very well with level so you should get this first.

No one in the right mind would take on Fiddlesticks while on a capture point without a disable. He regenerates ridiculous health from his Drain so he can withstand a lot of damage while destroying the enemy.




Dark Wind: This skill is great when fighting against multiple champions but its damage doesn’t scale so well with level and the silence doesn’t scale at all with level so just get a single point in this and max it last. It has the best range of all your skills so use it to initiate battle when you aren’t crow storming in.



Crowstorm: Ahh yes your ultimate. This skill is wonderful when pulled off properly and can decimate groups of enemies changing the entire team fight. When you cast it you channel for a few seconds then you teleport to the point you selected and do massive damage in the area around you for a few seconds. Be sure to cast this where the enemy cannot see you or they will start running when they see you channeling. This also hits invisible champions. If you have Zhonya's Hourglass use its active after you teleport if you will be attacked by enemy champions or the enemy capture point.

Fiddlesticks is a great at taking heavily defended capture points because of his Crowstorm + Zhonya's Hourglass combo. Isn’t it annoying when the entire enemy team sits on a quest point? Well with Fiddlesticks this isn’t a problem because you can Crowstorm right on top of it and activate Zhonya's Hourglass. While you are invulnerable from Zhonya's Hourglass and dealing damage from Crowstorm the enemy will scramble away from you and your allies will pick them off. Also because of Fiddlesticks heal from his Drain he can take damage from the capture point while killing the enemy.

Skill Sequence

Drain is what you should max as soon as possible because it’s your main damage skill in fights. Get a point of Dark Wind at level four or two then Terrify second then Dark Wind last. Oh and always skill your ultimate first.

I get a point of Dark Wind at level 4 or level 2 to initiate battle because of the silence. The range of your three minor skills are as follows Dark Wind > Drain > Terrify so the best way to attack your enemy is to Dark Wind them because it has the largest range and now they can’t do anything. While they are silenced move closer and activate Terrify which has a short range which puts you in danger but since they are still silenced they can’t do anything. Once they are feared use Drain, after Terrify has worn off they can only do 2 things:

1: Attack you.

Or

2: Run Away.

If you have chosen a good target they can’t interrupt your Drain and will have to run but you are so close to them from your combo that by the time they leave your range they are dead. If they choose to fight you will be tanking and dealing ridiculous damage so you will kill them.

Summoner Spells

> I get Flash and Ghost because mobility on Dominion is essential so these are a no brainer. Flash really helps when you misplace your ultimate as well.

> Exhaust is nice for against physical damage champions or when your fear is on cool down, not really my style but definitely a good choice.

> Garrison is good for fiddle because you will be attacking and defending points a lot so it will be useful.

> Ignite would be good against healers but there isn’t many on Dominion with the reduced heal buff. It’s still quite viable for the damage and for against the odd healer.

> Cleanse looks ok since Fiddlesticks is prone to a lot of crowd control so it’s ok.


> Heal is more of a support skill and I don’t see how you would be able to make an effective support Fiddlesticks so don’t get it

> Promote isn’t that bad but I’ve tried it a few times and it wasn’t very game changing compared to other summoner spells.

> Smite is pretty useless in Dominion because there isn’t a jungle which is too bad because Fiddlesticks is a pretty good jungler.

> Clarity is ok but I’ve never ran out of mana in Dominion because of the buff to mana regeneration in this game mode so don’t get it.

> Clairvoyance is a decent spell and its ok in Dominion but you should let some other champion get this because you need the slots for other spells.

Items

So how do you get the right items to create the perfect champion? Well let’s see what happens when we only focus on a single attribute, for example, attack damage. Let’s look at an extreme case:


Tryndamere has a passive Battle Fury that increases his fury and critical chance on hit. So a great item on him is Phantom Dancer because he hits more often from attack speed so he gets more fury and he critical strikes more so more fury again. So why not get 6 Phantom Dancers? Well it just isn’t the effective way increase his damage as you can see from this graph:

If you had 6 Phantom Dancers you would critical hit all the time for double damage which is good but you only have 150 attack damage so you will only deal a tiny 300 damage per hit. The better choice would be to balance both damage and critical chance so the graph becomes more square and product of the two sides is higher. In reality though you have to balance cost, attack speed and armor penetration and more factors so instead of a 2d graph you will have to balance a 5d or more graph. Don’t worry about this though, just remember you need to balance all your attributes and not just focus on one.

This also applies to the team as a whole. Your team has to balance damage, effective health, crowd control and mobility to win. The problem is all champions have to be built differently because each champion has different base stats and skills, For example in Fiddlesticks case his skills are short ranged and place him in the line of fire often so defence is important, but he also has skills that deal lots of damage so balancing both his magic damage and defence is the best way to build Fiddlesticks. Other champions such as Ashe can deal lots of damage without being in the line of fire because of her range so you can focus alot on items that increase your damage however in a fight she is really easy to kill if she has no one to keep other enemies at bay so she is best paired with a champion that has to be up close and can take damage (fiddlesticks is ok but not the best choice with ashe). Fiddlesticks also needs to be paired up with other champions with physical damage that cover his weakness - a team that stacks magic resistance. As you can see you must not only balance the different ways to increase your damage but also your teams offence and defence as a whole. You will have to cover your allies weaknesses while they cover yours.

Ok now that we know we need to keep a balance to maximise our damage lets see how my build order at the start of the guide holds up.


> Get Prospector's Ring and Boots of Speed for early movement speed survivability and ability power. Prospectors ring is quite balance offensively and defencively so its a nice starting item and coupled with basic boots it gives you an all round boost in all areas so its what you should start off with in every game.

> Get a Needlessly Large Rod for an early large boost in damage and to work toward a Zhonya's Hourglass to make you less vunerable when you jump in with your ultimate Crowstorm.

Next we get Sorcerer's Shoes for that essential movement speed and magic penetration. We dont go for Zhonya's Hourglass just yet because at this point our magic penetration and mobility is low so to balance out Fiddlesticks this is the perfect item at this point.

> Rush Zhonya's Hourglass next because after you use your ultimate you are in the middle of their team usually so they will instantly try to target you. AFTER you channel and teleport amongst them, activate Zhonya's Hourglass with a number key. The armor is good to help a little bit defensively so you are reasonably balanced for your next item.

> By this point you should be eating everyone alive so to chew your food faster get Rabadon's Deathcap.

> Next we get Abyssal Scepter to increase the damage of your ultimate, pretty standard item on Fiddlesticks because the magic resistance reduction affects all your enemies so you will deal a lot more damage overall to everyone around you. Plus after getting Rabadon's Deathcap our magic penetration is low compared to our ability power so this will be the best cost effective way to increase our damage.

> Last we get Morello's Evil Tome to get some cool down reduction because you have none at this point (except for your masteries or runes) and so it will stack well with the rest of your items.


Every game is different and so in different situations we should have different items. But how do we keep Fiddlesticks well balanced while also catering to fighting against different champions? Well to do this let’s start by coming up with a list of items that are viable on Fiddlesticks and work from there. The factors that make an item good on Fiddlesticks are as follows:

> Ability power because Fiddlesticks skills increase in damage with more ability power.
> Survivability because Fiddlesticks is usually in the middle of the action because of his short range skills.
> Cool down reduction because Fiddlesticks cool downs are quite high and are his main source of damage
> Magic penetration because opponents usually always get magic resist items so we must lower this to increase our damage.
> Any useful item actives or passives that increase the above factors.

Ok now that we have a list of desirable things we wish our items to have lets eliminate all items that have other effects that we don’t need (attack damage critical chance lifesteal etc) and list everything else. Here’s what we get:

List of Good items

> Abyssal Scepter
> Boots of Swiftness
> Catalyst the Protector
> Deathfire Grasp
> Fiendish Codex
> Haunting Guise
> Hextech Revolver
> Hextech Sweeper
> Ionian Boots of Lucidity
> Kindlegem
> Mercury's Treads
> Moonflair Spellblade
> Morello's Evil Tome
> Odyn's Veil
> Prospector's Ring
> Quicksilver Sash
> Rabadon's Deathcap
> Rylai's Crystal Scepter
> Shurelya's Reverie
> Sorcerer's Shoes
> Thornmail
> Void Staff
> Will of the Ancients
> Zhonya's Hourglass

Some of the items that do have things we need but aren’t on the list are explained below:

Bad Items

> Aegis of the Legion: this item is great because it gives you and your allies survivability but you should probably let your defenders get this because it’s a too defense heavy item for it to be viable for Fiddlesticks.
> Archangel's Staff: Another cool item for casters but it’s not very good on Fiddlesticks because his skills have a high cool down time and so you can’t get as much mana stacked with this item as other champions.
> Boots of Mobility: This item is good on champions that are not in combat very often such as capturers so don’t get this item.
> Chalice of Harmony: This item gives you a mana regeneration bonus depending on mana missing so item good to have on champions that are built to have high mana pools like Ryze. You don’t really build towards more mana so don’t get this item.
> Eleisa's Miracle: The tenacity is nice but nothing here to help us kill things.
> Force of Nature: Same as Aegis of the Legion, too defense heavy.
> Frozen Heart + Glacial Shroud: Again too defense heavy.
> Guardian Angel: Defense Heavy.
> Kage's Lucky Pick: This item is awesome on fiddle but not in dominion because the game is short
> Kindlegem: Kindlegem is ok to get for your Hextech Sweeper but don’t get it for Soul Shroud or Spirit Visage because they’re defense heavy.
Mana Manipulator: Don’t get Mana Manipulator either because it builds into Soul Shroud.
> Rod of Ages: We don’t have time to let the item build over time because dominion is very short
> Tear of the Goddess: Same as Archangel’s Staff
> Warmog's Armor: Defense Heavy

(note that I did not include some items that aren’t built from other items for simplicity)

Ok now we have to turn the list of good items into a sequence of items bought over time to maximize your power. This is the master sequence of items that you can use in most situations:


At each of the Junctions analyse which item would be best with the current champions and the items on those champions. At Junction 1 If the enemy champions have plenty of abilities that interrupt your channeling take Ionian Boots of Lucidity so you can use your skills more often to counter them. Otherwise take Needlessly Large Rod for more damage.

At Junction 2 if the enemy champions have lots of non interrupting crowd control spells (like slows) take Mercury's Treads to reduce the length of them, otherwise take Boots of Swiftness if your opponents move quickly so you can keep up. If your opponents are neither fast nor have lots of crowd control take sorcerers shoes to increase your damage against them.

At Junction 3 if your opponents are full of tanks take Deathfire Grasp because the percent damage is stong against high hp opponents, take Hextech Sweeper if you are facing invisible opponents that give you trouble so you can see them, otherwise take Moonflair Spellblade if there is plenty of slows (same reason as Mercury's Treads), otherwise take Morrelo’s Evil Tome if thier team has plenty of abilities to interrupt you.

At Junction 4 look at the opposing champions magic damage and magic resist. Abbysals scepter is best when they have high magic damage and low magic resist while Void Staff is best when they have mostly low magic damage and high magic resist.

Lastly at Junction 5 take Rylai's Crystal Scepter if you haven’t already taken Boots of Swiftness and the opposing team is mobile, take morello’s evil tome if the opposing teams interrupting skills were not numerous enough for you to get Ionian Boots of Lucidity there but still a few. Get Thornmail if the physical damage on the enemy team is destroying you or get Odyn’s veil if it’s the casters that are destroying your team. Get Will of the Ancients if your team is caster heavy and no one else on your team has this. If by now the invisible champion is fed and you went through Junction 2 get Hextech Sweeper.

Note that you should never choose the same item twice when going through the sequence and if this is too confusing or too hard to remember then just stick to the easy build order at the start of the guide because it is relatively balanced in most situations.

Also sometimes at Junctions there may be two or more paths that are right choices like for example the enemy team is fast and has alot of slows when you are an Junction 2 and you could either take Mercury's Treads or Boots of Swiftness. In these cases go for whichever is the most significant problem or if they are even check if thier is something you could take down the line to counter this instead like for this example there is no further tenacity items later on so take murcury's treads now and get Rylai's Crystal Scepter later.

Master Sequence Explained

So how did I create this master sequence form that list of items? Why are certain items where they are? To awnser these questions refer back to how I told you how to pick the best items for a champion and you will see why I do things such as getting Haunting Guise after Boots of Swiftness or Mercury's Treads. Its so I get some more magic penetration to make my ability power/magic penetration graph square after ive gotten lots of ability power from Needlessly Large Rod. We dont need Haunting Guise before Sorcerer's Shoes because Sorcerer's Shoes has magic penetration.

I get normal boots at the start because usually you dont know how your enemies will play when you start (whether they will use certain skills or buy certain items) and maxing your movement speed right off the bat is bad for your all round damage and survivability which Prospector's Ring provides for.

When To Pick Fiddlesticks?

If you can see the enemy champion picks (i.e. draft pick mode or ranked) make sure most of them don’t have a silence or stun because they can interrupt your Drain and ultimate Crowstorm while channeling and leave you defenseless. Also make sure most of them don’t have Ignite because it will reduce your life steal from Drain. If there is some stunners/silences/igniters on their team (most of the time unavoidable) try to make them initiate on your allies first before you terror and Drain. If you are playing blind pick and you end up against a stun/silence heavy team go for a high cooldown reduction build (shown below) so you can spend more time draining and less time tickling them with you right click attack. Fiddles second counter is burst damage, if they can burst you down your life steal won’t have time to take effect so pick Fiddlesticks when their picks are lacking in burst damage.

Heroes That Counter/Feed Fiddle

Part of League Of Legends game play is rock paper scissors so you definitely need to know who counters who if you want to step your game up. You want to target champions who can’t interrupt you or kill you quickly. There are a lot of heroes so remembering who has a stun or silence or burst and who doesn’t can be hard but if you go over this list a few times and play as Fiddlesticks for a while you will develop a sense of who to attack and avoid at what time in a team fight or skirmish. This hero mechanic intuition is best improved by playing the hero yourself so I HIGHLY recommend you don’t stick with a small group of heroes and play and master EVERY hero on league of legends.

This is a list of evey champion and what you should be wary of for each of them. Champions are a counter to Fiddlesticks if they have burst and an interrupting skill, they are average if they have only burst or can only interrupt and are food if they have neither.

Anivia

Scarecrows don’t like birds... she has burst and has a stun from Flash Frost which can easily hit you because you will be standing still while using Drain and when she dies her egg from Rebirth usually can’t be killed when she’s alone.

Annie

Not fun to play against, her burst damage is quite large and her stun from her passive Pyromania can stop your Drain. Watch for a change in animation when her passive Pyromania is ready.

Brand

He has burst and he will stun you with Sear if you are affected by Blaze so be careful around him.

Kassadin

This guy can blink silence and burst you, don’t 1v1 him. His passive Void Stone makes him resistant to your damage, his Null Sphere stops your combo and he has large burst and mobility from Riftwalk. Avoid his silence and get him to burst someone else.

Katarina

She has a skill that reduces healing ( Bouncing Blades after using Sinister Steel) and her burst from Death Lotus will make you bleed, avoid her.

Kennen

He can run really fast with his Lightning Rush to avoid your Drain and once you get hit with 3 of his abilities you get stunned from his passive Mark of the Storm which stops your Drain. Be careful.

Xerath

Stuns and burst from afar is pretty harsh when you are playing against Xerath with Fiddlesticks. If you are defending a point he can poke really hard with Arcanopulse, Locus of Power and Arcane Barrage and if you try to use your combo a smart Xerath will stun you with Mage Chains and another spell while you are using Drain. Play with caution.

Akali

She has a bit of burst but no silence or stun, If you use Drain on her and she goes invisible with Twilight Shroud you will continue draining her. Also your ultimate Crowstorm still hits her while she’s invisible.

Alistar

He can knock you into the air with Pulverize or knock you back with Headbutt which interrupts you, be careful.

Amumu

His ultimate Curse of the Sad Mummy does not stop your drain but his Bandage Toss will. Otherwise not too much of a threat.

Ashe

She may stop your Drain with her ultimate Enchanted Crystal Arrow but not too much to worry about.

Blitzcrank

His Rocket Grab and Power Fist may stop you unless you can get in the right position (hide behind your tank/creeps so he can’t grab you).

Cassiopeia

Her ultimate Petrifying Gaze will stop you in your tracks and she has a bit of burst but more damage over time. She would be a counter but her Petrifying Gaze is never usually used when you Terrify then Drain because it’s an area of effect spell.

Cho'Gath

Cho'Gath has Rupture which pops you into the air and stops your channeling spells. His Feral Scream silences you too so he’s quite annoying to kill if he plays right.

Evelynn

Shes fast and a backstabber but you will continue to Drain her after she’s disappeared with Shadow Walk. It’s Probably a good idea to get Hextech Sweeper or an Oracle's Elixir if she’s fed.

Fiddlesticks

Its not fun to play against yourself with Terrify and Dark Wind stopping you all the time.

Galio

His ultimate Idol of Durand will stop your channeling and this usually goes off in a team fight so keep an eye out for this.

Gangplank

He would be food but his Remove Scurvy skill gets rid of your fear from Terrify so if you see him heal use Terrify straight after and Drain him.

Garen

Garen has a silence from Decisive Strike so be sure to catch him after he uses it.

Gragas

He can Body Slam you and his ultimate Explosive Cask explodes, pushes you away and interrupts you but he has no burst unless he is fed so you’ll be ok.

Graves

Graves is a pretty strong close quarters combatant and would be food but he can Quickdraw away while you Drain.

Heimerdinger

He throws a CH-1 Concussion Grenade that stuns when it directly hits you which isn’t hard when you stand still while using Drain.

Irelia

Her Equilibrium Strike stuns you when you have higher health than her so keep this in mind.

Janna

Her Howling Gale stops your channeling and so does Monsoon I think, shes a bit squishy but not food.

Jarvan IV

He can jump away with his ultimate Cataclysm (unlikely) while you are draining or use his Demacian Standard + Dragon Strike combo to get away but if you get the jump on him while either is on cooldown he is screwed.

Jax

He can stun you after he dodges an attack with Counter Strike and he can jump away from you with Leap Strike. Just remember as long as he isnt being hit with physical attacks he cant interrupt your combo.

Karthus

He’s Bursty but no stuns so not too bad. Almost in the counter section but I realized without any interrupting spells he isn’t a counter.

Leblanc

Huge burst from Leblanc early-mid game so don't get caught off gaurd. Funny thing is though her passive Mirror Image makes her invisible + makes a clone when she has low health but this does not stop your Drain so dont stop channeling while this happens.

Lee Sin

His ultimate Dragon's Rage stops your chanelling and he can move to another enemy while you are draining with Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike or move to an ally with Safeguard / Iron Will. Its a good idea to jump him when his escape/interrupting skills are on cooldown.

Leona

She has two stuns Shield of Daybreak and Solar Flare but that’s it. She can use her ultimate Solar Flare to stun you pretty easiliy while you are draining because you dont move but otherwise she isnt too much of a threat.

Malphite

His ultimate Unstoppable Force can close distance while you are draining him or a friend and stop you in your tracks.

Malzahar

He can silence you with Call of the Void to stop your drain and he can also suppress you with his ultimate Nether Grasp which stops your Drain as well. Most of his damage is damage over time and his silence is not always easy to hit so you shouldnt have too much of a problem against him.

Maokai

He has one skill that can stop your channeling Arcane Smash but he has to be in melee range. He would be food but he has high mobility with Twisted Advance so he can use it to get to you after Terrify is over then use Arcane Smash to stop your channeling.

Master Yi

Not so sure about Yi. I think as soon as he uses Alpha Strike your Drain stops. He does have high mobility with his ultimate Highlander so he can get away after you Terrify then Drain.

Morgana

Her Dark Binding doesn't stop your Drain. Her ultimate Soul Shackles also stuns you if you are too close so keep an eye out for it. She mostly has damage over time with Tormented Soil and her Black Shield stops your Terrify so try to remember this.

Nocturne

He has high mobility with Duskbringer can block your Terrify with Shroud of Darkness and interrupt your Drain with Unspeakable Horror. He has no burst though so you should be ok against him.

Olaf

He would be easy to kill but his ultimate Ragnarok is a pain to deal with because It stops your Terrify and he quite strong at low hp because of his passive Berserker Rage. Use your Terrify when his Ragnarok is not active or when he is at low health.

Orianna

Her ultimate Command: Shockwave pulls you toward her ball and stops your Drain but she isnt really much of a problem as long as you avoid her ball.

Pantheon

He can jump toward you and stun you with Aegis of Zeonia so he isnt food. Combo him after he jumps you or an ally and he wont be able to do much to you.

Poppy

Her Heroic Charge stops your Drain and shes hard to kill with her ultimate Diplomatic Immunity but just use the same tactic against her as you do with Pantheon and wait till she uses Heroic Charge to use your combo.

Rammus

His Punturing Taunt stops your Channeling so avoid it the best you can. Hes quite mobile with Powerball as well so try to Terrify him when he isnt powerballing otherwise he will probably get out of range when wandering around.

Renekton

He will stun you with Ruthless Predator if his fury bar above his head is above half so keep an eye out for this. He is pretty mobile with Slice and Dice as well.

Riven

The third hit in her Broken Wings combo will stop your Drain and Ki Burst will stun you. She can also use Valor to block damage from Drain and get out of your range.

Ryze

His Rune Prison won’t stop your Drain but he has a bit of burst so watch him.

Shaco

His boxes from Jack In The Box are your only real problem because they burst you down when stacked and with the recent change to boxes he can use them to escape your Drain because they now activate faster once placed. You continue to Drain him even when he uses Deceive untill he gets out of range. In dominion he will probably stack Jack In The Box on capture points so if he sits on a point for any longer than usual click on the map to see where he is stacking the boxes and avoid them and tell your teammates too if you can.

Shen

His taunt from Shadow Dash will stop you and since he can use this to prevent your ultimate Crowstorm because the burst in speed he has. Use your combo after he taunts.

Shyvana

Shyvana is pretty new and I havnt played her yet but she looks like she will be average against Fiddlesticks because she doesnt have much burst and only has her ultimate Dragon's Descent to stop your channeling.

Singed

His Fling will stop your Drain but his damage will take a while to set in so you should be fine.

Sion

He has a ranged stun Cryptic Gaze and some nuking power. Just keep in mind his shield doesnt damage you when it explodes if you destroy it before it explodes. Your combo is most effectively used when he is using his ultimate Cannibalism in teamfights because your Terrify stops him from attacking.

Skarner

He can stop your drain with his ultimate Impale but he doesnt have much burst.

Sona

She has an area of effect ultimate Crescendo which interupts your Drain but you probably will never see it except in teamfights or in desperate situations so shes easy to take down.

Soraka

A smart Soraka will save her Infuse (3 second silence + damage) for when you start your Drain so if shes alone or has allies that cant stop your Drain use your Terrify on her so she cant silence you.

Talon

Talon is hard to kill because his ultimate Shadow Assault, his silence and blink from Cutthroat but his burst is not as high as some champions so you'll be ok.

Taric

His Dazzle is a problem when you are using Drain but otherwise he will be eaten quickly by your combo much like other supports.

Tristana

Her Explosive Shot will reduce your healing from Drain and her ultimate Buster Shot is really good against you because it can stop your Drain or get you away from her team when you jump in with your ultimate. Shes highly mobile with Rocket Jump as well so you will have a hard time with her. Definately the strongest carry against Fiddlesticks.

Twisted Fate

Close to being a counter to Fiddlesticks but it takes him a while to prepare his stun from Pick A Card and his burst isnt really that high so hes average against Fiddlesticks. Just remember that if he has a yellow card above his head his next attack will stun and interrupt you.

Udyr

His attacks will sometimes stun while in Bear Stance but he doesnt have anything else to stop you.

Urgot

His ultimate Hyper-Kinetic Position Reverser is all he has against your Drain. Just make sure to dodge his Noxian Corrosive Charge because he can harrass you from afar with Acid Hunter once he hits you with it.

Vayne

Her knockback from Condemn and mobility from Tumble will save her but if your teammates surround her she’s a goner. Your Drain will still continue if she goes invisible from her ultimate Final Hour.

Veigar

His burst is insane against you with his ultimate Primordial Burst (you have alot of Ap) and he can stun you while you Drain with Event Horizon. He would be a counter to you but hes lackluster early-mid game and needs farm which is hard to get in dominion.

Vladimir

He has a bit of burst but he cant really stop your combo. Your Drain still continues to hit him after he uses Sanguine Pool I think (im unsure).

Warwick

His ultimate Infinite Duress stops your Drain but its unlikely he will use it when he is trying to get away so he will often fight to the death. Not much burst so you will be fine.

Wukong

His ultimate Cyclone interrupts your channeling but your Drain continues even when he uses Decoy so he isnt a huge threat.

Xin Zhao

His Three Talon Strike will knock you into the air stopping your Drain which is annoying because he can dash toward you with Audacious Charge.

Caitlyn

No stuns and no burst but she can use 90 Caliber Net to escape.

Corki

he has a bit of damage but he can’t interrupt you so don’t worry he’s not a big threat.

Dr. Mundo

No burst no stun no silence no threat. He can run away with Sadism though.

Ezreal

No burst, no stuns, sweet. He can try to escape with Arcane Shift however.

Karma

No stuns or disables, shes a really versatile champion but against a good Fiddlesticks she wont last long.

Kayle

She cant do much after you have feared and started draining her except using her ultimate Intervention + Divine Blessing to get away.

Kog'Maw

Easy to kill, just Drain away and his right click won’t do much. Careful when he dies though because of his passive Icathian Surprise

Lux

Shes food when she plays as support because her burst is low and in the middle when she plays as a mage. If her ultimate finales funkeln is on cooldown you dont have much to worry about.

Miss Fortune

The only thing you should worry about at all when facing Miss Fortune is her Items and when she activates Impure Shots. Make sure she can never get any good items by ganking her constantly and watch for when she activates Impure Shots because it reduces your healing from Drain.

Mordekaiser

He has no interruption skills or burst so hes usually not a hard kill. Most morde players usually have Ignite and couple it with thier his ultimate Children of the Grave. If he is giving you any trouble get Quicksilver Sash to shut his combo down.

Nasus

He can’t do much against you in a 1v1 he has no bursts and he can’t interrupt you so Drain away. He’s only a problem if he has Ignite and is fed.

Nidalee

Pretty easy to kill but she can move fast so silence her to stop her from jumping away with Bushwhack / Pounce while in cougar form from her ultimate Aspect Of The Cougar.

Nunu

No burst or stun, easy experience and gold. Use Terrify to interrupt his ultimate Absolute Zero.

Rumble

No burst or interrupting skills. Scrap Shield can help him get away after you Terrify and Drain but hes pretty helpless against you.

Sivir

Shes fast and can block your Terrify with Spell Shield but she has no burst and cant interrupt your Drain so focus her when you can.

Swain

He has a few skills very similiar to yours but you have the advantage in dominion against him because his passive Carrion Renewal is not as good as yours Dread in dominion because there is no laning phase and his Nevermove will not stop your Drain while you can use Terrify to stop his combo. Get the jump on him and you get gold in the bank.

Teemo

Teemo can use his Move Quick to escape but his damage over time is lackluster against you in a fight. He is usually used to defend points or health points with his ultimate Noxious Trap, capture points or kill opponents with on hit items. As a capturer he is real quick but if you hide where you predict he will capture next you can jump him real easy. When he plays defender just dont collect health when youre at low hp. And when he plays on hit you shouldnt have too much trouble against him either.

Trundle

He has no skill to interrupt or kill you quickly so you will have a good time against him.

Tryndamere

He can get away with Spinning Slash and is annoying to kill because of his ultimate Undying Rage but with no burst or stun he should be on the run.

Twitch

He can still be hit by Drain and your ultimate Crowstorm while invisible from Ambush, he has no stun and doesnt have that much burst so spilling his blood wont be too hard.

Yorick

Yorick is dps + mage hybid and doesnt have too much burst and cant counter your combo very well either.

Zilean

Usually played either as a mage, support or capturer (like in my guide) He doesnt have much burst or interruption skills so sink your teeth into Zilean whenever you can. He can run away with Time Warp so Terrify before this happens or he will wander away like Rammus when he uses his Powerball.

Please correct me if any of these heroes are in the wrong category and if you have anything to add for any of the heroes please comment, thanks.

Additional Tips To Improve Your Gameplay

> Use shift + qwer to activate your skills because you will be able to use your combo faster and it will be easier on your fingers. Also use the number key to activate Zhonya's Hourglass.

> Constantly look at the map and keep in mind where you allies and enemies are at all times, League Of Legends is a team game so if you master map awareness you will always be in the right place at the right time and always win. Pro tip: use the mouse to click on the map to where you are looking then use spacebar to quickly get back to your hero.

> Don’t forget to use Zhonya's Hourglass!!! Zhonya's isn’t just to use after your ultimate, you can use it when all your skills are on cool down and you need a break for a few seconds.

> Dont forget to right click when your spells are on cooldown!!! You may be a mage but your damage is still significant. I see too many players only use thier spells and run around like idiots afterwards just because thier spells are thier main source of damage, dont be like them, maximise your damage. Also when you shoot your with your right click, issue a move order straight after it, this lets you get in a better position as you fight and it cancels your backswing animation which is a waste of time and slows you down.

> Know your role in the game. Your role in Dominion is to defend and take points. You should change what you do depending on where you are, where your allies are and where your enemies are.

> In Dominion the most reliable way to win is to hold the three points closest to your spawn point so unless one of the other points are really close after your team got an ace, or you get a quest to get one of the other points don’t bother getting them.

> Two of your skills are channeling so knowing what champions can interrupt you is vital. If one of these champions are around wait till they use their interrupting skill if you can or go in a team fight second so they don’t interrupt your Drain or Crowstorm. If you are using your ultimate to initiate instead of Dark Wind just make sure they can’t close the gap and stop you from using it.

> To win all you have to do is kill and not die, points will be captured after you fight so focus on the enemy team first.

> My item build is not absolute, you can exchange a couple of masteries or runes to suit your individual play style or make your own item tree, just make sure you remember that stacking a single stat is not effective, nor is stacking the wrong stat.

> Because of League Of Legends matchmaking system its guaranteed that you will lose and win games so if you lose don’t worry, next time your allies won’t be as bad and you will win.

> Play more champions, especially those you don’t know well. Know your enemies and you will win so many more games.

> Read some more guides and ask me questions, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Alternative Build + Gameplay Video

Recently a champion spotlight video came out for Fiddlesticks and its pretty much whats in this guide. If you want to see Fiddlesticks in action and see another way to build him in dominion watch this video:

The video outlines some very important things to know when playing Fiddlesticks such as channeling your ultimate in the fog of war or bushes so enemies don't run away and so they don't interrupt your channeling. Also after you use your ultimate chase your oppontents down if you have the advantage or use Zhonya's Hourglass if they try to focus you.

The alternative build outlined in the video is:

This is a great way to build Fiddlesticks and would be better in a situation where your opponents have high magic resist ( Void Staff) and are quite mobile ( Rylai's Crystal Scepter). What is good about this build is you have alot of cooldown reduction early game so you'll find you can Drain and Terrify alot (like in the video) so if the enemy team has more spells that can interrupt you, you will be better off because you can start draining again soon. What it lacks however is early - midgame ability power so if the enemy team doesnt have that many interrupting spells you've wasted your gold. Check the enemy champions before you start each game and adjust your item build accordingly.

Summary

Fiddlesticks should be played like most other casters in Dominion and he should be easy to pick up if you are aware of his skill mechanics. Optimise every aspect of your play and you will really enjoy playing
Fiddlesticks. Goodbye, goodluck and most of all, have fun.

Timeline

4/10/2011 - Guide first published

18/10/2011 - I have exams coming up and im quite busy with uni so I will probably continue writing this guide after exams are done in a few weeks

27/10/2011 - Wow so many upvotes :) exams are finished in a week and as soon as that happens expect a very well polished guide including a complete hero counter strategy list and an item tree for every situation.

14/11/2011 - Gave the entire guide a good polish and added the item tree and hero list as promised.

18/11/2011 - Updated for the new masteries and gave the guide another polish.

25/01/2012 - Havent played Leugue of legends in a while so I rewrote some of the explanations to make them more clear.

Thanks To

Zemizas - For making such a great dominion guide so soon after dominion was released and then putting my guide as his reccomended dominion fiddlesticks guide :)
Jhoijhoi - For making a guide on making guides, it helped me alot
Jobryn - For making me realise I was getting Zyhonas slightly early
Pooninja - For pointing out that brand has a stun
YOU - For reading my guide :)