-- Hello there! I am Ray The Guy and I joined Mobafire so that I could write this guide. Yes, this is my first guide ever, so feel free to add in your own thoughts and feedback. I've chosen to look at Fiddlesticks due to my love of him. Back when I was beginning at this game, Fiddles was the first champion I bought and I enjoyed playing as him until I discovered other mages. Nowadays I'm back to my good ol' Sticks and I feel like he's greatly underrated. I hope that this guide will provide you with all the help you can get concerning how to build him and how to use this skill. But remember: Experience is the best teacher.

Well, Fiddlesticks is an amazingly funny champion to play as, mostly because of his ultimate. While he's often played as a jungler, where he can definitely put some very threatening ganks, he can also prove to be a major threat in the middle lane should the AP Carry be a little too overconfident about his ability to defeat you... C'mon, towerdive me, I only have 150 HP left... oh, wait, did I just Terrify you under my turret? Am I using Bountiful Harvest on you now? Oh, don't worry, you can still Flash away -- oh wait, you can't because of my Reap. Too bad for you!




But of course, it wouldn't be funny if it were THIS easy, would it? When certain conditions are met, Fiddlesticks can easily excel in lane and in the jungle. Otherwise, you're either going to have to play veeeeery carefully, or else you'll have a very bad time.

Basically, you can feel totally confident about playing Fiddlesticks when:

- The enemy Mid is squishy and has no built-in escape mechanism (if laning)
- The enemy team has low (only slows) to no CC
- The enemy team doesn't know how to use wards ("unly da supprot shud buy warsd xd")
- The enemy Mid/Jungler has no gap closer
- Your team needs a damage-dealing Mid/Jungler
- Your team has enough tanky champions
- Your team has champions with good initiations

Pros Great self-sustain with Bountiful Harvest Amazingly annoying CC with Terrify and Reap Reap is a great poke at any point of the game Great sustain in the jungle and can counter-counter jungle Crowstorm is one of the funniest and strongest ultimates in the game Strong sustained damage even with very few items Cool skins

Cons Very squishy Medium-ranged spells mean you'll have to get closer than some mages Bad at farming both in lane and in the jungle Mana-hungry/Blue-buff reliant Highly susceptible to hard CC, ESPECIALLY when using Bountiful Harvest Crowstorm can be hard to use properly Crowstorm will put you in an extremely tough position in teamfights (aka in the middle of the enemy team) No burst damage Wards will ruin your ganks

For runes, I like to take offensives runes while also keeping a bit of defense, which is extremely useful early game.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power give me a great amount of early AP, thus making me a real threat to the opponent laner. Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration can also be used for devastating results.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist help me face AP carries in lane.

[Greater Seal of Armor]] help Fiddles deal with AD champions mid, which are getting more and more common ( Talon, Kha'Zix, Zed, Jayce, Jarvan IV etc).

Finally, Greater Mark of Magic Penetration increase the danger you represent, especially early game.

I consider this the standard Runes set for any kind of player and mostly beginners.

Ignite will help you secure kills early on and still proves useful late game to finish fleeing enemies. Take this one in lane the most.
While Fiddlesticks doesn't need Smite to get early buffs thanks to his sustain, this spell is absolutely mandatory for every jungler in order to secure buffs in the mid/late game, including Dragon and Baron. Please keep in mind, however, that Smite has been changed to have a shorter cooldown and less damage, making it a more spammable spell to help you clear camps.


Ignite is usually better, but Exhaust can also turn an ongoing 1v1 is your favor, especially against champions relying on auto-attacks such as Tryndamere or Master Yi. Take it if your team has lots of Ignite already or if you are going to Support.
Flash is a great spell that can be used both offensively (to secure a kill or to jump on an enemy) or defensively (to flash away from an enemy gank, or possibly over walls). Make sure to use it only if necessary, however, because its cooldown is quite long.



If you feel like you're going to have a lot trouble in your lane to the point where you'll Recall often, do not hesitate to take this spell. It is also useful when combined with wards for a SURPRISE CROWSTORM GANK on other lanes.
The most recent Summoner Spell can save your life when you're ganked, but also when you're Crowstorming the enemy team. It is a safer choice than Ignite, but also a less rewarding one.
Ghost allows you both to chase and to run away, and has a lower cooldown, although you can't jump over walls with it and is clearly more oriented towards chasing/diving an enemy than actually fleeing. I wouldn't recommend it.
A common mistake is taking Clarity to compensate for the mana starving early game. While it MAY help face this issue, it falls off COMPLETELY late game. A Doran's Ring will help better early game.
As if Bountiful Harvest wasn't enough.
Doesn't exist anymore :(

"Passive: Nearby enemy units have their magic resistance reduced by 10."
This passive is a great asset early game. Thanks to Patch 4.5, this passive is no longer giving you away when you're not visible from the enemy, which is great for ganks.

"Active: Strikes a target unit with fear, preventing it from taking any actions, and causing it to run around aimlessly in fear, while being slowed, for the duration of the spell."
This is one of the most annoying CC skill to suffer. When maxed, it makes the enemy unable to do anything for 3 seconds. The fear is also immediate, meaning it affects the enemy as soon as you click on them, and cannot be missed in any way. This can be used to lock an enemy champion into your Crowstorm, but also to stop any enemy chasing you, or stop channeled spells such as Nunu & Willump's Absolute Zero or Katarina's Death Lotus. It got nerfed recently, at thus the maximum duration is only 2.5s but it still remains one of the most solid CC skill in the game. However, beware as with recent changes, the Fear effect makes the enemy walk slowly away from you instead of walking randomly.

"Active: Fiddlesticks channels and leashes to a target for 5 seconds, dealing magic damage each second and healing himself for a percentage of the damage done. If the target leaves the range of Fiddlesticks' leash, he will stop channeling."
Fiddlesticks' main damaging skill is also what makes him so sustainable. Make sure that the enemy champion stays within range as long as possible for maximum efficiency. However, as Fiddlesticks stays immobile during the whole spell, don't use it on an enemy minion if you have overextended, as ganking you will be quite easy. Moving or casting another spell also stop the Bountiful Harvest.

"Active: Fiddlesticks throws a crow that strikes an enemy target then continues to bounce from that enemy unit to another nearby enemy unit 5 times dealing magic damage (50% increased damage to minions and monsters) and silencing for 1.2 seconds each strike. Dark Wind may strike the same target multiple times."
This skill is also quite useful! Taking a single point early game will allow us to last hit enemy minions as well as poke the enemy champion. For only 50 mana, Reap will deal from 65 to 195 damage to an enemy depending on the number of bounces. It can also be quite useful to finish retreating enemies, or, once you have invested a few points in it, farming minion waves or jungle creeps. The silence is also useful to stop the enemy from casting spells, and can also interrupt channeled spells.

"Active: After channeling for 1.5 seconds, Fiddlesticks teleports to nearby target location with a murder of crows flying wildly around him for 5 seconds, dealing magic damage to all enemy units in the area each second."
Fiddlesticks is infamous for this huge Area of Effect spell. Once you've hit level 6, the whole enemy team will fear you. Mastering this spell is key to mastering Fiddlesticks. Once you've used it, you can either lock one enemy champion with Terrify+ Bountiful Harvest, or turn a whole teamfight around as you're popping your Zhonya's Hourglass. Keep in mind, however, that the channel can be interrupted by hard CC effects, so cast it from a safe place.



The skill order is, of course, dependent on your role in the team, but also situational: in some situations, maxing Reap first will prove to be the better option as it offers a better poke. In others, you'll want to get Terrify first for the utility it provides.

However, in case you aren't sure, here is a generally reliable skill order for every role:

AS A MIDLANER:
First point goes into Reap, then get one point in Terrify and one in Bountiful Harvest. Get two others points in Reap for poke in lane, then two points in Terrify for the two seconds Fear. Then, follow this skill order:

> >


AS A JUNGLER:
First point goes into Bountiful Harvest, then get one point in Reap and one in Terrify as you hit level 3 and head up for your first gank. Alternate between points in Terrify for more solid ganks and points in Bountiful Harvest for damage/sustain.

> >


AS A SUPPORT:
First point goes into Terrify, then get one point in Reap and one in Bountiful Harvest. A couple more points in Reap help to harass in lane. Then, follow this skill order:

> >

+ +
I used to consider a Boots starter as mandatory, however this was back in season 2, before all the champions got a +25 movement speed bonus and Boots of Speed's own MS bonus got nerfed. Do NOT take it unless you're facing a high-skillshot champion ( Lux, for instance) or plan on roaming a lot.

+ +
This items gives you HP to compensate for your squishiness, as well as a good deal of early AP. With the reduced cost you can now also take a few pots or a ward with the Doran's Ring, so it's a rather good start, with only one negative point: it doesn't build into anything.

+ + Sight Ward
This start is getting more and more common, and proves to be useful against AD Assassins going mid Talon, Kha'Zix, Pantheon...), which are fairly frequent since they counter many AP Carries, including poor Fiddlesticks. The early Sight Ward is beneficial at any stage of the game but feel free to replace it with more potions if you think you will take a lot of damage despite playing defensively.

+
Take this if you feel like your lane is going to be easy, and/or you want to play more aggressively. It is actually better than a Doran's Ring start since Amp Tome builds into Seeker's Armguard.


This item is free and gives you a free 60 seconds ward every 2 minutes. It's a no-brainer, really. However, please also consider purchasing regular Stealth Wards.



x2
If you're having a hard time in your lane, grab one or two Doran's Rings at your first return at base. It is mandatory for any mage and Fiddles is no exception. The mana regen and AP will make the opponent think twice before attacking you.


The newly introduced item allows us to acquire early armor, which proves useful against the multiplication of AD Assassins going mid. It also builds into Zhonya's Hourglass, making it a fine item to get early.


If you are doing VERY well in lane and got some early kills, or a HUGE cs advantage, and you can afford this item... what are you waiting for?


This item has always been great for early/mid damage, and the fact that it builds into Liandry's Torment, which is arguable one of the best items on Fiddlesticks, makes it even more recommendable.


A free upgrade to your Stealth Ward that lets you place a 2 minutes ward every 2 minutes. Don't worry about getting it, you automatically receive it when you hit level 9.



I used to take the Sorcerer's Shoes until I realized that my main build included little to no Cooldown Reduction whatsoever. Considering how Fiddlesticks can already shred Magic Resistance through both A Harmless Scarecrow and Haunting Guise / Liandry's Torment, I have decided to replace my usual boots for the Ionian Boots of Lucidity. However, in the end, between those and Sorcere's Shoes the choice is entirely yours, depending on whether you'd like more damage or a shorter delay between your CC skills or Crowstorms.


Yes. Yes yes yes yes. This is a must have on Fiddles. 100 AP is quite a lot, and 50 armor does help, but the best part comes from its active, allowing you to gain 2 seconds of immortality. This works remarkably well with Crowstorm, allowing you to jump in the enemy team and deal massive damage without taking any.


This item is also helpful due to the 80 AP and 500 HP it gives. Its passive also makes sure that your Bountiful Harvest will last even longer as it will slow your enemy. Also useful for chasing when combined with Reap. Not to mention the huge AoE slow you get with Crowstorm...


Liandry's Torment is one of these new items that work so well with Rylai's Crystal Scepter you should definitely go for it. The Magic Penetration is already great on its own, as all the stats it provides, but the best part probably comes from its passive, which will DEFINITELY burn your enemies' lifebars away.


Even more AP, and a deadly decrease in the enemy magic resistance which works well with A Harmless Scarecrow and your other Magic Pen items.


This item is a must have on ANY mage. Because of the crazy damages. I MEAN COME ONNNNN.


Given Fiddles' slowness, I think this Enchantment is the best for him. It'll allow him to chase more easily, as well as run away or simply get in position quicker. However, don't focus on getting this item ASAP; you should buy it only if you still have spare money after buying a core item.


For the mediocre cost of 475 gold, this item lets you place a 3 minutes ward every 2 minutes! It becomes cost-efficient after you place 7 wards with it.




If the enemy team is building magic resist massively to counter you, you NEED to get this item over Rabadon's Deathcap.



This item gives Fiddles some nice mana regen, Cooldown Reduction as well as magic resistance, and the AP given is decent. This, however, requires to rush Chalice of Harmony in lane, which is only recommendable if you get beaten by the enemy AP carry harshly. Get this over Abyssal Mask if you need more mana regen, which you normally shouldn't.



This item is nuts. It gives lots of AP, mana regen AND CDR! However, it doesn't give any defensive stats, which is why I usually prefer items like Abyssal Mask over it. However, the passive effect can be really useful, since it basically reduces healing effects by 50% when deal magic damage to an enemy below 40% HP, which is really great against the likes of Aatrox, Dr. Mundo, Volibear etc.


This item is really strong at the moment, and works well on Fiddlesticks: it does give some survivability with the HP and MR, but the passive and cdr make it work extremely well with your Bountiful Harvest. Definitely an item worth purchasing, though you will be sacrificing damage to get it.



With the Preseason 3 patch, this items has gotten some CDR back and give 100 AP, which is quite a lot. However, it has no defensive stats and its active isn't as strong as it used to be. It does make up for Fiddlesticks' lack of burst damage, but there are better items out there for him.


This costly item is rather useless on Fiddlesticks, since it delays your Zhonya's Hourglass and you will still get enough HP via Rylai's Crystal Scepter and Liandry's Torment. It also requires you to build it early, delaying the purchase of items like the ones mentioned above.


Both this item's passive and the additional magic resist will then prove useful, but at the cost of AP. I wouldn't recommend it in most circumstances; Abyssal Mask should be your main Magic Resist item, if any.


Despite the nerf, this item is still very good!... on tanks. The armor may help against AD champions, and the CDR seems to be worth it, but the last of offensive stats really hurts.

/
This item is, I feel, very gimmicky. Unlike Ryze or Karthus, you actually take a while to charge it to its full potential. The Shield on Seraph's Embrace may seem interesting, but a Zhonya's Hourglass should really be all you need. Not worth it.


While I like the idea of a Crowstorm that regenerates you HP, or to increase the power of your Bountiful Harvest, this item isn't very efficient when compared to other AP items, and has such I can't seem to fit it in this build.


Fiddlesticks has little use for the additional AD.




I'll discuss the placement of early Stealth Wards but these are absolutely indispensable if you don't want to get surprised by the enemy jungler.

First of all, you need to help your jungler getting blue. Leashing no longer works, so you'll have to actually hit dat Golem a bit in order to help your jungler before getting back to your lane. If your team chooses to invade, Reap will help secure a kill as it will prevent the poor enemy champ from escaping with Flash / Ghost.

While it all depends on the laner you're facing, most of your early game can still be easily summed up: you have to farm by last-hitting minions as much as possible with both your auto-attacks and your Reap if there's a chance you'll poke the enemy champion. Reap is ideal for harassing the enemy due to the high range it has thanks to the bouncing, and you will most likely have a larger sustain than the enemy thanks to Bountiful Harvest. Beware of getting mana hungry though. Whenever you can, ward both river bushes and also the enemy Wraith camp: therefore, if the camp respawns while the jungler is doing a gank either top lane or bottom lane, you can kill at least the bigger wraiths and thus deny him some valuable experience and gold. Do not do it you don't see the enemy jungler either top lane or bottom lane, or if you don't feel secure enough to do it.




Now that you have Crowstorm, the enemy team will start getting paranoid everytime you're MIA. If your lane is secured enough, you can help other member of their team secure theirs. Don't channel Crowstorm in bushes unless you're absolutely sure there is no ward here. There are other places from where you can cast it without being seen. You can also try to towerdive enemies, which is must easier once you have Zhonya's Hourglass. Also, ask your jungler to help you get Blue Buff, which, if he has done his job right, should respawn around 7 minutes. Once you have it, claim superiority upon your lane by spamming Reap to clear minion waves faster and PUSH!




Mid/Late game is mostly composed of teamfights. Your role during teamfights can be summed up in two tasks:

• Melting the enemy team with your Crowstorm + Zhonya's Hourglass
• Killing weak enemy champions with Terrify + Bountiful Harvest (and Reap if necessary

However, since you are still a squishy mage, I wouldn't recommend INITIATING teamfights on your own. You should wait until someone on your team can engage, or until someone in the enemy team engages.

I wouldn't recommend roaming around unless you can surprise an enemy champion all alone. If you DO manage to ambush him, Crowstorm + Terrify + Bountiful Harvest is the way to go. Keep in mind, however, that chasing you is quite easing since you're rather slow, so you'll have to either Flash or use Terrify to get away. You can also try to bait the enemy, but this is quite risky, as the enemy team will have AT LEAST once gap closer. Basically, you're a powerhouse, but you're also quite frail even with the HP/Armor/Magic Resist boosts, the very definition of a Glass Cannon.

Depending on who you're dealing with, you may or may not have an easy laning phase. Keep in mind however that this is all from MY personal experiments; you may find it easier or harder to face some of them.



Difficulty: Low before level 6, Medium after level 6
Tips:

• Hide behind minions to dodge her Charm ; however, this does not work with Orb of Deception
• Ahri has to cast numerous times to get her bonus spell vamp: deny her this buff with Reap
• Upon reaching level 6, Ahri will be extremely mobile to the point where she may try towerdiving you. Using Terrify on her will allow the tower to deal her some damage, and Reap can then be used to slow her retreat.

Difficulty: Easy
Tips:

• She may try to poke you with Mark of the Assassin, however it does not deal as much damage as your Reap early.
• Your Bountiful Harvest still works on her when she's in her Twilight Shroud.
• Since she's a melee champion, she'll try to jump at you to burst you down. Terrify+ Bountiful Harvest her when she does.

Difficulty: Easy
Tips:

• Anivia is terrible at farming, slow and squishy early game. Play very aggressively.
• If you manage to get her in her egg form early game, Bountiful Harvest and Reap will completely destroy her due to the huge magic resistance decrease as well as your A Harmless Scarecrow.
• Don't get caught in her Flash Frost as she will most likely follow with Frosbite for early burst damage, or even lock you with Glacial Storm and cut your retreat with Crystallize. If this happens, use your Flash to get away and laugh as she runs dry on Mana.

Difficulty: Medium before level 6, Hard after level 6
Tips:

• Watch out for Annie's Pyromania; when she has 3 charges, she will most likely bait you, then activate Molten Shield and get her stun, hereby dealing you plenty of damage.
• Reap her and play defensively
• When she hits level 6, she will try to get her stun on you and Summon: Tibbers immediately after (or even AT THE SAME TIME). Tibbers will take tower aggro for her and will most probably chase you around too.

Difficulty: Medium/Easy
Tips:

• Brand's spells are only effective if they hit you numerous times as they proc his passive Blaze. However, you can hide behind minions to protect yourself from Sear and Pillar of Flame has a short casting time that allows you to dodge it if you're quick enough.
• Do not stand too close to ablaze minions, because if Brand casts Conflagration on an ablaze minion, enemies near it will be hit as well.
• Pyroclasm bounces and prioritize enemy champions; Brand may cast it on a minion, expecting it to bounce at you next. This is another reason why you should stay more behind minions.

Difficulty: Hard
Tips:

• All of Cassiopeia's spells have low cooldown, larger range than yours and inflict either poison or stun. Stay very close to your turret, hope that she overextends and call your jungler for a gank.
• Cassiopeia relies on her skill combo to kill you, which you can disrupt with Reap. Furthermore, you can mitigate the poison's damage by using Bountiful Harvest on a nearby minion.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Cho'Gath will grow and become a tank, but early game he's rather squishy. Try to take advantage of this by harassing him with Reap. However, do not expect to defeat him alone.
• Cho'Gath has a great sustain with Carnivore. Combined with Vorpal Spikes, this will allow him to push very easily, which is when your jungler can best attack him.
• Rupture has a casting time, allowing you to dodge it if you react soon enough. If you don't, you'll be knocked up and slowed, and Cho'Gath will more likely use Feral Scream and Feast on you for massive damage. Either dodge Rupture or Flash away.
• You're an easy prey for Cho'Gath when casting Crowstorm, as he will most likely use the above combo to cancel the channel and destroy you. Always cast Crowstorm from a safe place.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Drop a Vision Ward in the middle of your lane to prevent Evelynn from using her Shadow Walk.
• Keep your distance from her Hate Spike and harass her with Reap.
• Don't forget to call MIA, since her passive allows her to gank and surprise your teammates very easily.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Tips:

• You've read this guide, while the enemy Fiddlesticks may have not. This gives you an edge over him.
• Tell your whole team to ward every bush with Sight Wards and to call MIA to prevent Fiddlesticks from ganking another lane with Crowstorm.
• Keep in mind that he will most likely act the same as you, trying to harass you with Reap and also inciting his team to use wards. Only the most skilled Fiddlesticks will survive.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Fizz can dodge your Reap and has two gap closers. If he does so, punish him with Terrify + Bountiful Harvest before he can attack you.
• If he manages to land a few basic attacks on you, the passive on Seastone Trident will reduce the healing you receive from Bountiful Harvest and also inflicts Damage over Time, so try to keep your distance.
• Chum the Waters will stay on area if it doesn't hit any champion, so try to not get caught by it. However, if you fail to escape, don't use Flash as Chum the Waters stays attached to you.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Tips:

• Galio gains AP as he builds magic resistance thanks to Runic Skin so your spells will just leave scratches early. However, his spells have a long range, which means that he can easily harass you. Stay near your tower and call your jungler for a gank as Galio is quite slow without Righteous Gust.
• You can interrupt Idol of Durand with Reap / Terrify... if you don't get caught in it, that is.

Difficulty: Hard
Tips:

• Thanks to his passive Happy Hour and Drunken Rage, Gragas has an excellent sustain in lane. Do not hope to defeat him.
• Dodging his spells is key, as all of them are linear skillshots or ground targeted AoE.

Difficulty: Depends
Tips:

• Heimerdinger is a really hard champion to play, so chances are your opponent isn't as good with him as you are with Fiddlesticks.
• Take care of his H-28G Evolution Turrets: they are Heimerdinger's main damage source and can take you down with ease if you aren't careful.
• Hide behind minions to dodge Hextech Micro-Rockets.
• Try to not get directly it by CH-1 Concussion Grenade as it will stun you.

Difficulty: Very Easy
Tips:

• Karthus has to farm a lot to be efficient. Harassing him with Reap will be very effective.
• If you get close, Karthus will most likely defend himself with Defile. However, since you can heal back with Bountiful Harvest, you can easily use this to your avantage to melt his mana.
• Lay Waste deals less damage if it hits numerous targets, so always stay close to minions.
• You can dodge Karthus's Requiem thanks to your Zhonya's Hourglass. A Banshee's Veil can also be used for the same effect.

Difficulty: Medium before level 6, Hard after level 6
Tips:

• Before hitting level 6, Kassadin is slow, has to get close to your minions to damage them and will most likely try to harass you with Null Sphere. However, your Terrify and Reap will annoy him greatly.
• Once Kassadin gets Riftwalk, you must absolutely play safe. If he tries to towerdive you with it, use Zhonya's Hourglass to save yourself from the Null Sphere / Force Pulse. Then, Terrify him under your turret and Reap him so that he can't Riftwalk away as fast as he wishes.
• Riftwalk also grants Kassadin a lot of mobility, allowing him to gank other lanes with ease. Make sure to call ss whenever he gets out of sight.
• Null Sphere can interrupt your Crowstorm, so beware when casting it.

Difficulty: Kind of Easy
Tips:

• Katarina has a terrible laning phase. She will only be able to harass you with Bouncing Blades at first; however, beware when she gets her Shunpo, as it will make it easier for her to get close to you and use Sinister Steel. If she does so, punish her with Terrify + Bountiful Harvest.
• You can interrupt her Death Lotus with Terrify / Reap.
• Katarina is only truly dangerous if she gets fed. She may try to roam if she can't take kills on you, so make sure to call ss whenever she is out of lane.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• It is an absolute priority that you don't get hit by Thundering Shuriken or else Kennen will melt you easily.
• You cannot counter Slicing Maelstrom with your CC; however, you can Terrify him during both this and his Lightning Rush to escape.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Kha'Zix is yet another strong melee AD assassin that is more often sent mid to destroy squishy carries. Keep your distances to avoid getting hit by Void Spike.
• Kha'Zix can be really unforgiving to positioning errors thanks to his Leap. Play carefully and all should go well. Keep in mind that his Leap will also make him quite slippery when your jungler is coming to gank.
• Since the nerf on hiw Void Spike, his damage comes mainly from Taste Their Fear, meaning he'll have to get into melee range to trade with you. Since he has no crowd control skills, you can easily lock him down with Terrify+ Bountiful Harvest if he tries to fight you.
• As with all AD champions, starting with a Cloth Armor will greatly improve your durability.

Difficulty: /surrender
Tips:

• LeBlanc, even more than Kassadin, was created for the sole purpose of shutting down mages early game. Her abilities deal a lot of damage, she has a gap closer that she can also use to escape, and even when you DO manage to dominate her, her passive Mirror Image will save her.
• There are several ways to identify the true LeBlanc when her Mirror Image is used: the decoy has no buffs/debuffs and deals no damage. Also, if you've used Bountiful Harvest on her before her Mirror Image activated, the original LeBlanc will still take damage from your Bountiful Harvest if she didn't get out of range.
• LeBlanc falls off terribly late game, and she is squishy at any phase, so she won't pose much of a threat mid/late game if she isn't fed.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Lissandra possesses some harass potential via Ice Shard, so keep your distance.
• Glacial Path is a great escape tool, but also has a high cooldown, and you can stop Lissandra from teleporting to the claw's location with your Terrify or Reap.
• Lissandra can also stop you and your teammates from chasing her with Ring of Frost or her ultimate Frozen Tomb, which can either stun you or one of your teammate, or protect her similarly to Zhonya's Hourglass. In both cases, it will deal damage in the nearby area and slow enemies.
• Lissandra's passive, Iceborn, can make it easier for her to spam spells; beware of her sustain.

Difficulty: Easy
Tips:

• Just dodge her spells (most of them being skillshots) and you'll be fine.
• She can shield herself with Prismatic Barrier, so she may try to lure you into easy kills before shielding herself and CC'ing you with her spells.
• Final Spark has a .5 second of channeling. While this is terribly hard to do, if you manage to shut if down with Reap or Terrify, your entire team will love you forever.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Tips:

• Call of the Void is very easy to dodge if the enemy Malz isn't predicting your movements well enough.
• Don't underestimate Malz's damage, for all of his abilities inflict DAMAGE OVER TIME, so don't hang around if you're low on HP.
• You can cancel his Nether Grasp with Reap / Terrify. However, you can't do it if he uses it on yourself as he will suppress you.
• Beware of the Voidlings: early on he'll use them to farm and harass you in combination with Malefic Visions. However, they can also be used at your advantage: since the Voidlings will always follow Malz, you can use your Reap on it to then have it bounce on Malz.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Mordekaiser can become one of your worst nightmares. His spells are very strong and give him a respectable shield, and his farming power is unequaled. However, you CAN dominate him early game because his shield will be quite weak, he is rather low because all your spells have greater range than his.
• Harassing him with Reap will also annoy him greatly since he needs his spells to charge his shield. If he trues to trade against you early game, Reap him then Terrify + Bountiful Harvest to melt his health, and Ignite him before retreating. This will help you set dominance over the lane, and maybe grab some kills.
• Beware of Mordekaiser as soon as he gets Children of the Grave and spell vamp items such as Hextech Revolver, as they will make him much more sustainable in 1v1. In general, keep your distance with him so that he can't damage you with ant of his spells.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Tips:

• Morgana has a built-in Spell vamp with Soul Siphon, which works with Ignite too, so beware of her.
• If you get caught in her Dark Binding, use Reap / Terrify to save yourself from her next spells.
• Black Shield absorbs magic damage and makes her immune to CC, so don't waste your spells on her when she has it.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• AP Nidalee's main damage source is her Javelin Toss, which hurts a lot and has a high range but can be dodged (it is the slowest projectile in game) or blocked by minions.
• Nidalee has free wards that deal damage AND reveal you with her Bushwhack, so take care when going into a bush that is probably warded.
• Thanks to her cougar form's Pounce and her passive Prowl, Nidalee is fairly hard to catch. Don't waste your time chasing her.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Nunu & Willump doesn't usually go mid, but if he does, you will have trouble holding your lane. Both Visionary and Consume allow him to stay in lane for very long, and he try to harass you with Ice Blast. However, Ice Blast has a rather short range, so play from afar and harass him with Reap to prevent him from dominating the lane.
• Interrupting Absolute Zero with Terrify / Reap is the best thing you can do to save you and your team during a teamfight.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Pantheon can and will harass you with Spear Shot, rushing The Brutalizer to reduce its already low cooldown. Since it has higher range than most of your spells except Reap, keep your distance.
• He will also towerdive you thanks to Aegis Protection and Aegis of Zeonia (and later Grand Skyfall); however, since his shield doesn't block MAGIC damage, you can Terrify + Bountiful Harvest him under your turret to make him regret his decision.
• Pantheon falls off greatly late game unless he's really fed, so play carefully.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Ever since the new patch, Rumble's damage is only truly strong when he is in his "Danger Zone".
• His Electro-Harpoon has a large range, so stay behind your minions and poke him with Reap.
• His Scrap Shield makes him extremely hard to kill so when your jungler is ganking mid lane, don't hesitate to use all your CC on Rumble.
• The Equalizer can be used to cut your retreat short, so try to flash over it as to avoid the huge slow and Damage over Time.
• Rumble is most vulnerable when silenced as he's "overheating", due to his passive, which is probably the best opportunity you have to get aggressive on him.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Tips:

• Ryze is all about CDR and spamming spells around. Chances are he'll get starving on mana pretty early. He will be helpless whenever it happens. However, since his abilities scale on mana, he will most likely build lots of mana and rely on his blue buff.
• Desperate Power gives him spell vamp, bonus movement speed and has no cost, making him very slippery and sustainable post level 6.
• Ryze's short ranges mean you can easily harass him and force him to play very defensively, at least for most of the early-mid game. Ryze's strength lategame will thus be largely reduced due to not having a huge amount of farm and kills/assists.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Tips:

• AP Sion's early game is rather strong due to the burst damage and stun from Cryptic Gaze and his shielding with Death's Caress. Keep your distance and harass him with Reap.
• If he manages to stun you with Cryptic Gaze, he will most likely follow by trying to blow Death's Caress next to you. You can stop this assault with Terrify.
• Cryptic Gaze will take lots of Sion's low mana pool early game, and he'll have to run back to back very often.

Difficulty: Hard
Tips:

• Swain has a great sustain in lane thanks to Carrion Renewal. He can easily root you with Nevermove, then use his Torment and Decrepify to melt your HP.
• His ultimate Ravenous Flock will great him even more sustain but will drain his mana if he isn't careful. Apply Terrify to him to make him waste his mana; you WILL take damage from him in order to get close enough to use Terrify.
• Swain with the blue buff can keep Ravenous Flock active for a very long time. If you and your jungler can steal his team's blue buff, it will greatly cripple Swain.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Tips:

• He will easily harass with with Cutthroat followed with Noxian Diplomacy, or Rake from a distance, and both Cutthroat and Rake outrange your abilities, so just hug your turret and, if he dares dive you, Terrify him AS SOON AS the silence wears off. This requires godlike reflexes.
• Since he'll be playing very aggressive because it's an easy lane for him, your jungler can easily gank him.
• As with all AD champions, starting with a Cloth Armor will greatly improve your durability.

Difficulty: Easy, but annoying
Tips:

• AP Teemo will try to damage you through the poison from Toxic Shot and his Noxious Traps, which are not that strong early game. This is where you must take advantage.
• Do NOT chase Teemo. Ever. He will outrun you with Move Quick and most likely lead you to his Noxious Traps, which will help him finish you off.
• An Oracle's Elixir will help you greatly to destroy the Noxious Traps as well as detecting Teemo if he chooses to sit still. However, given your squishiness, you will most likely get focused a lot, meaning that the Oracle's Elixir will have to be repurchased after every death, thus making Vision Wards more cost-efficient.

Difficulty: Hard
Tips:

• Twisted Fate is definitely annoying to face. Wild Cards have a very long range and the effect on his Pick A Card will help him push greatly. Just as with harder champions, hope that he overextends and call for a gank.
• Tell your team whenever Twisted Fate hits level 6. His Destiny will offer him great mobility and allow him to gank other lanes, but you can interrupt it -if possible- with Terrify or Reap.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Tips:

• Urgot can counter any AP carry, and you're no exception. If you get hit by his Noxian Corrosive Charge, he will be able to harass you easily with Acid Hunter due to its great range.
• Urgot is very mana-dependant early due to him constantly spamming Acid Hunter. Your aim is therefore to survive the laning phase thanks to Bountiful Harvest until he has to Recall.
• Urgot will often misuse his Hyper-Kinetic Position Reverse, putting him at disadvantage. However, it will grant him additional magic resistance and armor. If you see him casting him on one of your allies, stop the channeling with Terrify or Reap.
• As with all AD champions, starting with a Cloth Armor will greatly improve your durability.

Difficulty: Easy before level 6, Medium after
Tips:

• Veigar will have to farm with Baleful Strike, which has a high cooldown, in order to be effective. He is also very squishy. As such, you should have no problem with him early game.
• His Dark Matter is VERY EASY to dodge because of its high delay, so chances are Veigar will try to trap you with Event Horizon before using it.
• Since you're a mage, Primordial Burst will hurt you a lot. A well-timed Zhonya's Hourglass activation will save you from taking massive damage.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Viktor has a very effective poke with Death Ray. If he gets Augment: Death, it will destroy your HP so make sure to dodge it whenever possible.
• Power Transfer is on a short range, so Viktor won't bother using it except to save his life with a delayed shield. You can easily stop him from doing so with Terrify + Bountiful Harvest.
• Gravity Field is a very effective stun. Viktor will most likely cast it in the direction you're going, so either Flash away or turn around.
• Chaos Storm causes a very short silence that can stop you from casting Crowstorm.

Difficulty: Easy
Tips:

• Vladimir will be weak early game since most of his abilities cost health and his Transfusion doesn't heal much early. Take advantage of his initial squishiness; harassment with Reap will greatly annoy him.
• Play more carefully when Vladimir gets tankier thanks to Crimson Pact and/or gets spellvamp for he will be much more sustainable.
• Sanguine Pool can help him dodge most of your Crowstorm, but it cannot interrupt your Bountiful Harvest if you used it prior to Sanguine Pool. Additionally, Sanguine Pool has a high cooldown, which you can easily take advantage of.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• As always, an early Cloth Armor will protect you against him.
• Wukong can harass you early with Nimbus Strike into Crushing Blow, then escape retaliation with Warrior Trickster, so play carefully.
• Similarly to Vladimir's Sanguine Pool, Wukong will still take damage from your Bountiful Harvest if you used it before he used his Warrior Trickster.
• Cyclone can knock targets up, thus interrupting the channel of Bountiful Harvest or Crowstorm, so beware.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Xerath can have an insane range that requires you to dodge his Arcanopulses and Arcane Barrages. Easier said than done.
• Xerath is most vulnerable when locked into Locus of Power. If you use Terrify / Reap on him, he will not be able to do anything, allowing you and your jungler to easily take him down.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• You can use your Terrify to interrupt Yasuo's Q combo.
• Make sure to dodge Yasuo's third Steel Tempest, especially after level 6.
• Your Reap is very strong against him, if only because Yasuo relies on his spells for his damage output and mobility. However, remember that he can also block it with Wind Wall.

Difficulty: Hard
Tips:

• Ziggs's abilities have a very large range so chances are he'll harass you from afar. However, this will also drain his mana pretty quickly, so a foolish Ziggs will have to recall, allowing you to take advantage.
• Hiding behind minions will help most of the time.
• The knockback effect from Satchel Charge will interrupt Crowstorm's channel, and is also, in general, a very effective escape tool.

Difficulty: Medium
Tips:

• Zilean's Time Bomb has a shorter range than your Reap, but the difference is almost negligible. A nasty combo has him using Time Warp on himself to catch up to you, then Time Bomb on you, then Rewind and Time Bomb again. This combo will hurt a lot if you're careless, so don't hesitate to hug your tower.
• If you see Zilean using Chronoshift on himself as he's about to die, kill him, then, as he's resurrecting, Terrify + Bountiful Harvest + Ignite + Reap should be enough to take him down for good.

Difficulty: Hard
Tips:

• Zed can harass you from afar thanks to Living Shadow followed by Razor Shuriken for lots of damage, so be quick on your "feet"!
• Zed may also try to close in for a kill with launching his Living Shadow near you, then switching places with it and Shadow Slash and Contempt for the Weak. If he does so, lock him with Terrify, Bountiful Harvest and Reap to prevent him from escaping easily. This strategy, as with all melee champions, is very effective when you're getting towerdived.
• Against all AD champions, starting with a Cloth Armor will greatly improve your durability.

+ / /Sight Ward
Doran's Ring is the best starting item for Junglesticks right now, especially since its price was reduced, allowing you to get some pots or even a ward really early on. It gives HP, AP and mana-regen, all of which come in handy through the entire early and mid game.

+ /
On the other hand, while Amplifying Tome gives less stats and costs more, but can be useful if you wish to rush Seeker's Armguard or Spirit of the Spectral Wraith.

+ / /
The Machete once again increases damages not only of auto-attacks but of all sources, making it an interesting purchase once again, though it doesn't grant as many blunt stats as the two previous items do.

+ / /
Starting with Boots is an idea that has been around since season 2 and which favors early ganks and mobility at the detriment of farming the jungle. Since Fiddlesticks has no sustain issue, it might be an interesting purchase. Be wary, however, that the addition of the Stealth Ward makes early ganks harder.


A free item is never! This trinket's purpose is to clean wards set up by the enemy laners, which will prove useful for you when it comes to ganking them.




As mentioned before, Boots are more important when you're jungling, because they allow you to move faster from a point to another for your ganks.


An item I used to skip, the changes to Spectral Wraith in pre-season 4 make it actually interesting. It first passive allows you to increase your mana sustain in the jungle, while the Conservation passive guarantees that you will remain steady in gold with your teammates. Additionally, the AP and CDR can allow you to perform deadlier ganks more often, not to mention assure a greater buff control - you can easily solo Dragon with Spectral Wraith and a couple of points in your Drain.

/
Simply put, if you can afford NLR, go for it; if not, Seeker's Armguard should be your priority after Spectral Wraith item. Why? Because Zhonya's Hourglass is going to be your main item AGAIN!


Free upgrade with a better range!


This upgrade costs you 475g, but can help you scout major objectives such as Baron Nashor without having to place yourself in trouble. This upgrade isn't mandatory but can prove useful.

Next items, both mandatory and situational, are basically the same than in lane, so time to scroll up to that section!

1- Start at the Ancient Golem with the help of your team. Do NOT Smite it!
2- Do the Ancient Lizard camp, and Smite the Ancient Lizard.
3- Kill the Wraiths camp to get to level 3.
4- Time to gank!

This route is rather fast, and provides you with the opportunity to gank a lane at level 3 while the laners will most probably be at level 2, giving you the advantage since you will have two types of cc (silence and fear) available.

Alternatively, if all your lanes are pushed, you can make stay in the jungle and farm, or even attempt counterjungling.


1- Start at the Ancient Golem with the help of your team. Smite it.
2- Do the Wolves camp and Wraiths camp.
3- Do the Ancient Lizard camp, and Smite the Ancient Lizard.
4- Time to gank!

This route is mostly made for junglers who focus more on farming, or in case lanes handle themselves better. With this jungle route, you'll try to achieve level 6 sooner for better, more crow-involving ganks.


In case you team isn't willing to help you get Blue buff because they know they'll have to focus on farming (whenever they are facing a hard laner ALL AT ONCE, it happens), start at Wraiths, Smite the biggest, then move on to Wolves, and now that you're level 3, you can get Blue buff easily on your own. If so, make sure to place a Sight Ward at the entrance of your Blue buff jungle to make sure that the enemy jungler isn't trying to steal it.

You can even try starting at your red buff, getting a smiteless pull, then moving on to blue buff in order to be able to gank top faster if you're on the blue team.

If there is any jungle route that you've tried or wish to try, feel free to propose me it in the comments. I will try it on my own and give you my impressions.




You can either gank (read the chapter below), recall to buy items (chapter above) or simply keep jungling in order to keep ahead in terms of gold and experience. The only difference comes from the attribution of buffs: you will most likely help your midlaner get the Blue buff (unless they are playing a mana-less champ, in which case you can keep it for yourself).

Concerning Dragon, Fiddlesticks' sustain makes him able to do it ON HIS OWN once you get some AP items and some points in Bountiful Harvest. If you choose to do it, make sure that you're attacking Dragon FROM THE BACK, staying near the wall to Flash should the enemy be arriving in numbers. Make also sure to protect yourself from said enemies by placing a Ward nearby (check the Wards chapter).

Concerning ganks, feel free to gank anytime after level 3 (you NEED Terrify in order to do a successful gank) if the following conditions are met:

• The enemy laner has pushed too much, making it easier for you to come behind him.
• The enemy laner has put no wards, or you can easily bypass them and/or get to them before they notice you => Ask your laner if their enemy has any wards!
• The enemy laner's behavior hasn't gone from defensive to offensive lately, hinting that his jungler is coming => in that case, just tell your laner to back off and hug his turret.
• You can get to the lane you want to gank in less than 10 seconds (aka when playing in the Blue side, don't go and gank top if you're at the Small Golems, for you will be there far too late)
• The enemy laner isn't able to escape, except by using Summoner Spells => take notice of abilities like Vi's Vault Breaker, Jax's Leap Strike, Ezreal's Arcane Shift etc.

When ganking pre-6, open up with Reap to prevent them from Flashing immediately, then Terrify + Bountiful Harvest will allow you and your laner to do some damage and maybe even pick a kill. When ganking anytime your Crowstorm is available, simply wait in a bush, wait until the enemy comes into range, Crowstorm in, Terrify + Bountiful Harvest, complete with a Reap if they are still alive somehow and trying to escape, and you've got a kill!

Consider the gank successful if:

• The enemy laner has died.
• The enemy laner has used their Summoner Spells ( Flash, Ghost...) to escape.
• You have allowed your laner(s) to get some rest, allowing him to either push or recall to buy items

The gank is a failure if:

• You and/or your teammate(s) die.
• The enemy jungler comes and counterganks.
• You and your teammates have wasted their offensive Summoner's Spells ( Ignite, Exhaust) on an enemy that managed to run away without using their escape Spells.

Basically, the enemy laner MUST NOT see you come, or else he will either retreat, focus his attention on you and likely kill you (do not forget how squishy you are) or have his jungler assist him. Hence why it is important for your team to use wards, and why it is important for you to know where the enemy wards are (if any). Keep note that with the Stealth Ward, ganking has been made more difficult. Fortunately, thanks to Sweeping Lens, you can scout for enemy wards on your own and thus delete vision, albeit on a rather long cooldown.

Why would you dare to adventure in the enemy jungle? Well, pretty honestly, to steal some farming from him, and thus preventing him from getting gold and experience, leaving him behind. Your main targets when counterjungling are the Blue and Red buffs, but smaller creeps also count!

You can feel safe about counterjungling when you know EXACTLY where most or all enemies are. DON'T venture in the enemy jungle if there are MIAs all around. Example: the enemy jungler and midlaner are nowhere to be seen. Should you be trying to go to the enemy Blue buff? Certainly not, for they are most likely to be there already, and they outnumber you. Although if you can hide safely behind the trees and steal the buff with Smite, you can try this stunt, but always have someone cover you in that case. Additionally, adapt your counterjungling to the enemy jungler's route: if you can get to Wraiths and kill them before he comes, do it, but stay cautious.

When counterjungling, try in priority to get the Blue and Red buffs. If you can get them (with the help of a teammate or without), make sure to NOT kill the small lizards, because that will force the enemy jungler to do it himself if he ever wants his Buffs to respawn. The same also works for minor creeps camps: if you're trying to steal his Wolves, kill the biggest one first, then maybe a second one but leave the last one alive. The same goes concerning Wraiths. Your jungler will then be faced with a very unrewarding jungle, reducing the threats he represent.




An early invade is a very risky yet rewarding stunt to pull. The enemy team will most likely do a cover for their jungler, but if you still manage to pull your whole team with you, it will have chances to succeed. If you decide to invade, pick Reap as your first spell to do damage on multiple targets and prevent them form using Flash, thus helping your team to pick First Blood. Aim for the Blue buff and make sure YOU are the one who gets it or else your invade would have been in vain. This strategy can prove very effective against junglers such as Amumu who are very mana-hungry early on, but is NOT to be used when facing junglers such as Rengar or Lee Sin who don't rely on it so much and/or start their jungle route elsewhere, or Shaco, who can ruin your invade with his Jack In The Box.




What if the enemy jungler decides to counterjungle you? That might also happen, especially if the enemy jungler is Shaco (grrrr). To prevent yourself from loosing too many creeps and buffs to the enemy, make sure to place wards in the appropriate places (again, check the chapter about Wards!) and ask your laner(s) for help when necessary.

Support Fiddlesticks is getting more and more common, especially at higher ELOs, and has seen a lot of tournament play. There are many factors that make Fiddlesticks a good support, including his 3-Seconds instant Fear and his multi-target Silence.

However, I feel like Fiddlesticks doesn't quite play like the likes who Blitzcrank or Leona who just engages/force engages, protect their carry and carry auras for their entire team.

As Fiddlesticks, you are and remain a squishy champion. Even if you build lots of HP and resistances, you will never be as tanky as a Leona, or a Blitz, or an Alistar, or even a Thresh. As such, your role as a "Support" is quite different from what you'd expect.

In lane, you mostly play the same as any support would, aka making sure to ward correctly, gaining superior map vision of the area around drake, and helping your carry win trades. You can even roam and gank other lanes should yours have an advantage you can abuse of. However, you later transition into what I'd call a semi-carry. Fiddlesticks damage is still pretty high, even without items, at least for the midgame, meaning you can rush items like Ruby Sighstone or Ionian Boots of Lucidity and still a great asset to your team. In fact, to be fair, in the LCS Summer Split and during Season 3 World Championship, most Support Fiddlesticks players only get those two items yet are performing great.

However, when the lategame comes, you will need the additional damage to prove useful in teamfights. Thus, building damage allows you to be far more useful than a mere CC machine while still being able to help shutting down important targets.

Pre-season 4 buffed the Support's gold income by a fair amount, making it easier for Fiddlesticks to itemize as a carry mage. More on that soon.

Some champions work fairly well with Fiddlesticks, and if you are going to play with friends, you can incite them to play these champions with you for great results:

• can trap several members of the enemy team with his Cataclysm.
• can provide a similar, but shorter, assistance with Curse of the Sad Mummy.
• can not only trap several members of the enemy team with his Idol of Durand, but also make sure that they are not attacking you.
• 's The Box has a 99% slow that will prevent most targets from escaping the area of your Crowstorm.

• , ( Bandage Toss) and ( Death Sentence), as mentioned above.
• 's Unstoppable Force is one of the best engages of the game, and the knock up can protect you while you're Crowstorming the enemy team.
• 's Tidal Wave is another knock up that can serve the same purpose.
• can also engage really well with his Onslaught of Shadows, which fears enemies for one second.
• can engage with Dredge Line, but also cripple squishy targets with Depth Charge.

... and I'm not even kidding. For both when you are laning or jungling, wards are very important to inform you of the enemy jungler's position, and thus save yourself from ganks or, if jungling, getting counterjungled and counter-counterjungled.

However, not everybody wants to use wards because they feel like it's a waste of money over, say, potions. Now here's my question: would you rather have two potions to restore your health SLOOOOWLY after using your Flash to escape a gank you did not see coming, or have a ward you can place in a bush, thus allowing you to inform of an incoming gank and to retreat safely as a consequence without wasting your Flash?

Please note that, due to the preseason 4 changes to ward, you can only place up to 3 Stealth Wards and 1 Vision Ward at once.

Anyway. Below are the most important places for you and your team to place wards. Following this typology:
Red: Mandatory wards no matter what.
Purple: Wards you should place when jungling
Blue: Wards your teammates should put to help themselves but also you
Green: Major buffs where Vision Wards will be needed to see and destroy the enemy's wards.

In the Middle Lane:
Check the appropriate wards placement!
Explanation: When laning mid, putting wards in the two bushes is essential, since this is where the enemy jungler will be waiting before ganking. When jungling, if your mid laner is having issues in his lane and has to hug his tower tightly, you can help him set up those wards. As a jungler, you should also set wards to the entrance of both Wraiths camp, yours and the enemey's, no matter which team you are. The ward at your wraith camp will allow you to prevent counter jungling, and the ward at the enemy wraith camp will make your counterjungling easier, since you will be able to see the enemy jungler leaving the camp to head to a lane for a gank.

In the Top lane:
Check the appropriate wards placement!
The ward in the top-river bush is mandatory, since it will help both laners to protect themselves against ganks. However, if you or your laner places a Sight Ward, they will be able to spot and neutralize the enemy ward, which will assist you greatly in your ganks. As second ward, more advanced ward (when playing as the Blue team) will also help seeing the jungler coming.
As a jungler, warding the entrances to your (Blue side) or the enemy (Purple side)'s Blue and Wolves will fulfill the same function as earlier concerning counterjungling and preventing counterjungling, and even telling you if the enemy is approaching to attack you while your team is fighting Baron.
Finally, Baron Nashor will most likely be warded by both teams, hence why a Vision Ward is necessary.

In the Bottom lane:
Check the appropriate wards placement!
The wards here work the same as in Top lane, except Baron Nashor is replaced with Dragon, jungle belongings are switched and there is a guy called "Support" who's job is specifically to put wards here and there and just about everywhere. However, while your support may be able to place wards where you should, do not rely on him only for the bottom lane, because the wards he places are much easier to know about (Botlane support MIA? Oh, he's back, he was just placing a ward in that bush) and thus much easier to counter.
One final note about Dragon: Dragon is much more important than Baron in the early/mid game since he's easier to kill and grants a gold bonus that can turn the tide of a game around. As such, one should always note the time upon which Dragon was slain, for he will respawn 7 minutes later, and your team needs to be ready to get it or prevent the other team from getting it.

BASICALLY, Wards in bushes are primordial to save yourself from ganks (you can't spell "Ambush" without "bush") but also assaults while fighting Dragon or Baron Nashor and to predict the enemy jungler's movements. Map awareness is an necessary skill for any player, and even more especially for the junglers. But you shouldn't be the only player using wards: tell your ENTIRE TEAM to buy wards if they want to win the game!

Thank you for reading this guide! I sincerely hope it helped you playing and understanding Fiddlesticks. If you have any comment to make, or anything that seems weird to you, do not hesitate to discuss, I'll gladly take any constructive criticism and answer your questions.

UPDATES:
- 12/04/2012: First publication
- 12/05/2012: Updated with Preseason 3 patch masteries and items.
- 12/07/2012: Added Enchantment: Alacrity in the core build
- 12/10/2012: Added Malzahar to the laning opponent list
- 12/14/2012: Added more build options.
- 01/10/2013: Reworked Masteries and added Jungle core sheet
- 01/11/2013: Added Jungle guide
- 01/17/2013: Added Pantheon and Talon in the laning opponents list
- 01/20/2013: Corrected typos and added Zed in the laning opponents list; Added analysis of Hextech Gunblade, Shard of True Ice and Morellonomicon, as well as more build options and a different skill sequence for Junglesticks.
- 02/05/2013: Added new item Seeker's Armguard in the Build section as well as changes relevant to it.
- 03/30/2013: Added Kha'Zix in the laning opponents list.
- 05/19/2013: Overhaul of the build sections.
- 05/27/2013: Improved readability and coding; added Lissandra, Nidalee and Wukong in the laning opponents list; added Twin Shadows in the build section.
- 06/14/2013: Edited starting items to fit in with the last patch.
- 07/17/2013: Edited starting items for jungle
- 08/14/2013: Added a "Supportsticks" build and sections, reworked "Middlesticks" and "Junglesticks" builds. Removed Master Yi in the lane opponents section because AP Yi no longer exists :D
- 11/30/2013: Updated the guide to match pre-season 4 patch changes; more to come soon.
- 12/23/2013: Updated the guide to match pre-season 4 patch changes and patch 3.15 changes
- 02/01/2014: Added Yasuo to the list of opponents.
- 04/04/2014: Patch 4.5 update - more to come soon.