Morgana is my favorite character to play. However I play her a little off kilter from the meta and it works. My reason for creating this guide is to hopefully produce a wider knowledge base about this build so that I needn't explain it in each match I play.

Those of you with experience in League of Legends may notice the choice in spells before anything else. Before you dismiss me, I recommend you hear what I've to say about smite in the next section down.

Morgana excels at burst damage, dealing massive amounts of hurt in short, instantaneous bursts. There are three ways to do this. The first two are easy; either use cooldown reduction to make bursts more frequent or use ability power to make burst more powerful. This build focuses mainly on the second option as well as a third option which is healing so that more burst can be dealt out.

This build is mainly for middle lane, however it can be used without modification for top or bot apc. If playing support, minor adjustments can be made to make it viable as well. Those adjustments are to mastery, items and skill order.

Let me begin this guide by pointing out the obvious and explaining why what seems so so wrong is in fact not.

THIS IS A BUILD FOR LANING AND SMITE IS THERE ON PURPOSE

icon=smite size=50 Smite as a summoner spell is usually restricted to use by players in the jungle. For the most part, this is very much justifiable. Because smite can't be used on enemy champions, the loss in maneuverability over Ghost or Flash is hard to replace with the early game presence it gives to any lane. Even revive, hailed by many as the worst summoner spell, would provide better early and late game presence for most champions.

Those are facts which I do not dispute, however, Morgana has something that most other champions don't, and that is her passive ability Soul Siphon. Smite procs with spell vamp.

That means that whenever smite is used, a portion of the damage done is returned as health, and since Morgana has spell vamp built into her, she gets the most out of smite even when other champions don't.

Comparing Smite to Heal

Heal at level one heals nearby champions 90 hp and has a 240 second cooldown.
It also increases the movement speed of those affected by 30% for one second.
It also creates the recently healed buff which halves all health gain for a period of time.

Smite at level one deals 390 damage to a single target and is set on a two charge system with a fifteen second cooldown and a 75 second recharge time.
The build begins at 22% spell vamp, and 22% of 390 is 85.

So using smite at level one with this build for this champion will heal 85 health and damage a minion for a shorter cooldown than heal only by forgoing the Movement increase and the ability to heal allies. A fairly even trade.

At eighteenth level (With full build) the final numbers are

Heal: 345 Health (1725 health spread across five champions at best) and +30% move for 1 second to each. Further healing is Halved, and at best it is about 200 seconds before it can be used again.
Smite: 1000 damage to a minion, the gold for the kill, 888 Health. There is no decrease in further healing. At worst it is sixty seconds before it can be used again.

At both ends of the scale it is a fair trade off between the two. Thusly smite is a viable laning option for Morgana and possibly other champions who have built in spell vamp passives, which I don't know about.

When playing a glass cannon, the goal is to increase damage so much that before the other person can respond, they're dead. Morgana two abilities which make her incredibly well suited for this archetype, her snare and her stun.

The Snare: Q

This ability is a skill shot, so you select the direction you want it to go and click to confirm.
Morgana fires a single bolt in a straight line. After a certain distance the projectile fizzles having no effect. If, before it fizzles, it comes in contact with an enemy, it activates dealing a chuck of damage and snaring the target it hits for three seconds.
The Snared Entity will be unable to move or use abilities which cause it to change position. They will however be able to use abilities that don't require the ability to move, such as attacking enemies within range, or drinking a potion, etc.

The Stun: R

This is a proximity based ability which can only be activated if enemy champions are in range.
Each Enemy champion with range of Morgana takes damage and is tethered to her slowing their movement speeds for as long as they remain tethered. Both they and Morgana are allowed to move without additional restriction but if the distance between the two becomes great enough, the tether will snap.
At the end of three seconds, any remaining tethers are broken. The enemies they were attached to take a second round of damage and are stunned. If they break the tether by Moving away from Morgana, Enemy champions do not have to fear the second hit. The same is true if Morgana is killed before the three seconds expire.

Other Moves

The Cess Pool: W

W is an aerially placed a.o.e.
Morgana creates a circular area centered on your mouse within a given distance of herself. The pool lasts for five seconds.
During that time, any enemy units in the area take damage each half second and that damage is increased slightly based on how much health is missing.

The Shield: E

Morgana create a shield around her or one ally within range of her. This shield will protect against an amount of magic damage after which the shield expires.
The shield does not prevent attack damage or true damage, that is important.
While the shield is active, any stuns, slows, snares, suppression, knock-up, grabs, or anything else which affects the movement of the protected champion as a debuff is negated.
It is important to note, that if the source of the debuff is physical, the damage is still likely to go through.

Q

When aiming Morgana's Q, it is important to note that the first enemy it hits will be the only enemy it hits. Try to aim for champions which aren't hidden behind a wall of minions or cross over the wall to hit them.
Since the ball travels in a perfectly straight line, you have to be the one to account for changes in your enemy's position. Aim ahead by about two champion lengths should hit the mark forty percent of the time. The rest of the time, they'll manage to turn in a way you didn't expect.

W

W has the longest range of all of Morgana's abilities. It also deals damage as DPS which makes it very good at last hitting. You'll use it to poke at champions just out of reach of your other abilities or otherwise on minions to earn gold.

Occasionally it will have another use for you. If an enemy champion is very low on health, it is an excellent sniping tool to grab that last hit you need to kill them.

E

Morgana's E, at first glance doesn't fit well in the kit. After playing with it however, it will come to be the most crucial part of the experience.When using E it should be noted that you need to click on yourself or another ally to get the effect.
If an enemy that you know has a stun comes into your lane, they will lead with their stun if they are any good. The same is true for slows, etc. It's important to be able to quickly cast the spell to avoid getting wrapped up in the negative effect of being hit. That's when you're alone.
In a group or team fight, not only do you need to be fast but you need to decide who needs it most. If the fight hasn't started, the person whose going in to initiate the fight needs the shield so that they can properly initiate, but if the fight has already started, throw the bubble on whoever has the lowest health or is closest to the strongest enemy.
This spell is the one which make Morgana hard, because practice is the only way to get it right.

R

You're R will automatically hit any champions within range, so using it becomes a question of when not how.
If all five champions are in range, use it immediately. There isn't much harm in dealing some damage to all your enemies.
Most of the time you'll use it on two or three champions. If the enemies go in opposite directions to escape, you need to pick the one you want to get that second hit on. If you hesitate too much you'll lose both (or all) of them.

Another helpful bit when using this ability is the item Zhonya's Hourglass. It places you in a stasis where you can't activate abilities or be harmed or targeted. Using this in conjunction with R leaves the clock on the tethers still running, but prevents the champions attached from killing you.

Since the first two abilities this build buys are Q and W, let's look at their interaction first.

Q & W

Q holds an enemy unit in place for 3 seconds
W deals damage every half second to Units within a selected area.

Hitting an enemy champion with Q holds them in place. You should then place the pool beneath them so that they are forced to take six pings from the pool.

Q's cooldown is much shorter than W's cooldown. For this reason it is often beneficial to not always cast Q every time you get the chance. Instead wait for W to come up so you can chain these two together.

W & R

W and R function together the same way Q and W do.
Use R then after the stun, place W underneath the stunned champion for maximum effect.

E & R

When you cast R, your opponent can still do anything they want. Their move speed is the only thing that really suffers. If they have a stun, and are trying to run away, they can use the stun to stop you from following, and letting them get further away.
E can be used on yourself to prevent the stun, snare, slow, etc from getting you that second hit from your R.

Q & R

Q and R works two ways. If you first use your Q, it allows you to get close enough to R, and helps you position yourself so that the enemy has the slimmest chance of escaping.

Conversely, You can use R to slow down a speedy enemy and/or reveal a hidden one, making it easier to hit them with Q.

Occasionally you will find your self alone with an enemy champion. Depending on how the champion is built, you as a glass cannon may be at an advantage or a disadvantage.

The Tank

A glass cannon cannot defeat a good Tank by themselves. Use Q to kite the tank back to allies who will be able to soak up more damage.

The Adc Wreckingball

This is a slightly less squishy glass cannon. First, you need to know that you could actually win. If you can't try your best to kite him as with the tank.
If you can win, you'll want to lead into the fight with E to protect against any debuffs the enemy has. Keep a slight distance until you land your Q, then go in for the R. If it is a melee champion, maintain a distance away that they can't hit you, but if it is a ranged champion, move in as close as possible.
Do not forget about basic attacks, because every hit is going to count.

The Marksman/Mage

The most important aspect of fighting this type of champion with Morgana is to outlast them. Marksman builds tend to favor burst damage the same way Morgana does.
This means that to win, you need to survive to after they've exhausted all their abilities. Begin the encounter by kiting them, allowing them to give chase but dwindling their health with Q and W. Once they use that big hitter ability, stop running and move in for to use your R.

The Assassin

Assassin's have one of two things, a long reach with a jump, like Warwick or a stealth ability like Evelyn. For the latter, use your R like a passive detection system. If it lights up, activate it and it will damage and reveal the hidden opponent. Assassination play hinges on landing the first blow so doing this will put them at a major disadvantage.
For the other type, push with caution, and be able to react with your E if something ever feels amiss. When an playing against a team with an assassin or other champions with long range engages, be extra certain to keep track who on the enemy team is where and who is isn't anywhere.

The Support

Supports are not pushovers. In a one on one fight against a glass cannon they can be one of the most challenging opponents. When fighting a support you actually need to slow down the clock of your build, because they lose power in long drawn-out fights.

The Other Glass Cannon

A glass cannon of similar level and load out as you will need all of their abilities to beat you, just as you will need all of yours. If you can avoid one source of damage, you have a good chance of wining the fight.

Don't do it.

It's a bad idea.

Just don't.

Run away.

Morgana has a skill shot so be aware of champions on you team whose abilities affect the location of enemies a short list includes:

SPACESPACE

Grabs Blitzcrank Darius Thresh Skarner

SPACESPACE

Knockbacks Alistar Azir Jarvan IV Vayne

SPACESPACE

Others Bard Singed Urgot Volibear

Also be aware of any champions which have slows, stuns, snares, or suppression abilities. If you do have an ally with one of those, you should wait to place you W until they have landed the skill. It is your decision weither to wait to use Q on an easy target, or use Q to make for them an easy target.

This build, to my knowledge has never seen ranked play. This is because I might be the only one to play it, and I don't enjoy the ranked play environment so I haven't tested in that arena.
The tips on how to use Morgana's abilities are sound regardless but the build mightn't hold water.