Whats up guys, I'm Sick97stang and am Plat IV on NA. If you have any questions or just want to play a game feel free to add me. If there is anything else you'd like to see in the guide let me know. I didn't do a champion match up section because there are too many different match up's as you need to play differently based on your support as well as based on their ad and support and how each person plays their champ.

Currently sitting at 10-3 in ranked with Varus. I feel Varus has a very strong kit. Strong poke with your Q, AOE CC with your E and ult, and % damage with his W. He also brings mixed damage with his W and ult doing magic damage. Another strong aspect of Varus is his wave clear. This is excellent against champs like Caitlyn who want to push the lane and harass you under tower. One last aspect I like about Varus is that no matter what support you have he goes well with just about anybody. He has a high enough burst to play with hard engage champs like Leona, Blitz, Thresh, and Annie. He also has enough poke to lane with supports like Sona, Nami, and Lulu.

I prefer to run 21-6-3 on Varus. Varus is rather mana heavy so I feel you need some sort of mana regen on him. This is especially important since Varus relies on much of his damage to come from his Q.

I think 21-9-0 is also a viable option. Really just depends on if you feel you need the extra mana regen or if you feel you need more survivability. If I was going to run 21-9 I would put the extra 3 points in Veterans Scars and Juggernaut.

Bloodthirster
Ideally if you can stay in lane until you have enough for BF sword that is the best option. If you are forced to back earlier pick up your vamp scepter and if you feel you need the extra move speed level 1 boots as well. If you weren't able to pick up your BF sword the first time around grab that and of course if you have the gold just buy bloodthirster outright.

Berserker's Greaves

I like to finish my boots here. The movement speed is just so crucial for so many things and since we won't be getting an attack speed item next these become even more important.

Last Whisper
After bloodthirster get your last whisper. We are playing Varus to do maximum damage with his Q so that is why you get last whisper before an attack speed item.

Statikk Shiv
Next grab an attack speed item. I prefer statik shyv just because it provides great wave clear. Fully charged Q through the whole minion wave then one auto attack and you've either cleared the whole wave or all of them are 1 hit away.

Randuin's Omen Mercurial Scimitar Guardian Angel
This is where the build begins to vary. As stated above you need to choose if you feel you need more damage or if you feel you need to stay alive longer at this point. If you are getting focused hard and can't stay alive long enough to do damage buy one of the above items based on the enemy team composition.

Infinity Edge
If you feel you need to do more damage and are not having a problem staying alive then go for the Infinity Edge first before your defensive item.

Just because I have blight marked as the first skill to take does not mean you should do that every game. You should always wait to see how the beginning of the game goes before taking a skill. I'll give a few examples of situations where you could take each ability.

W: I take W if there is no invade from either team. Little bit of extra damage to help your jungler and little bit of extra damage to help you last hit at the beginning.
E: If my team is invading I would start with E for the AOE slow. Could also think about starting with E if the enemy team invades if you need to try and help a teammate get away.
Q: If the enemy team invades and you think you have a shot at stealing the buff. A lot of times enemy junglers won't expect it and will smite early. For example if you are blue side and enemy team is invading your red. If you stand at the top of the golems you can hit red buff with a max range Q.

Q: Your main damage ability on Varus. Puts out insane damage if fully charged. Can hit multiple people. Always max this first. If possible always try and get off fully charged Q's for maximum damage. Does less damage for each target hit so be cognizant of that and try and hit only champs with it unless you are using it to try and push the wave. Even if you are using it to try and push the wave look to hit a champ at the end of it if at all possible.

W: Gives Varus basic attacks extra damage and apply blight stacks. Casting another ability on a target marked with blight will detonate the mark causing % magic damage depending how many stacks you have with a maximum of 3 stacks. Certainly a nice ability as it makes your auto attacks that much stronger and with lvl 5 blight and 3 stacks will do 15% of the targets maximum health. Whenever you can try and get the 3 stacks on a target before using an ability on them to deal maximum damage. I will usually max this last since this ability scales off AP and not AD. Also earlier in the game champs don't have as much maximum health so it's not as effective.

E: AOE slow and I think a part that is forgotten about this ability is that it also reduces incoming healing and regeneration. If you are going against a support with a heal keep that in mind and try and use this ability to reduce the effectiveness of the enemy supports healing.

R: One of the most important things on Varus is using his ult correctly and in order to do so you need to look at your team. If you have no initiation on your team then you will be best served using your ult to initiate. Hopefully you will be lucky enough to not have to engage with your ult and then you can use it to help peel for yourself. Always look to try and throw your ult where it will spread to other champs. More damage and CC you can put out with your ult the more likely you will be to win the team fight.