Hi, I'm Melvillio. Welcome to my Cassiopeia guide. I've been playing Cass since I hit lvl 30. I was actually inspired to play her after watching some videos of people getting uber fed and turning fights with a single combo. So many times I saw a Cassiopeia at very low health and still managing to kite and kill like a boss. But you don't want to hear that, you're hear to learn how to play her and hopefully carry your games. The good news is, you picked the right champion. The bad news: depending on your skill lvl she can be a very difficult champion to master. But fear not, I'll explain to the best of my knowledge how to successfully brutally murder all your opponents and get you winning your lanes and games. So, without further ado, how to play Cassiopeia -The Serpent's Embrace.

PROS

Great harass
Great Farm
Wicked Teamfight
Good Mobility
Slippery Beyond Belief
High Damage


Cons

Squishy (who knew, carries are squishy)
Damage is hard to set up
Often Relies on Tanks to Peel for her

Flash is always a good spell, be it to get out of a gank or to land that last Q/E to finish off a kill.


Teleport is an often underestimated SS. Getting back to lane immediately upon respawn or after a B or maybe to get behind an enemy in another lane for a sneaky serpentine gank, both can easily be accomplished with a ward from your allies and a teleport. Ganking may require some good communication however and may not be your wisest option.


Ignite is undeniably a great summoner spell. Finishing off a kill, poking, simply adding DMG. I prefer other spells however since I'm confident in my DMG without it. If you prefer using it though it is of course very viable on Cassiopeia.

Items

Most important of all aspects: items. God bad builds hurt. Remember:
"If you don't equip yourself correctly for battle, you aren't coming back alive"-said no one famous ever.

My build is obviously not the only viable build nor even the best one depending on the situation but it is a good all around build I have used on numerous occasions. It is also designed to fit MY playstyle, if you don't think it works for you, then feel free to change it for items you're more comfortable with.

Early game Itemization:
For your starting items, a Faerie Charm, a Sight Ward and 3 of either pot gets you good sustain and enough mana to last you a long while (you should really only be getting low or out of mana after you use a burst to kill or escape a gank)


sight ward

On your first few recall s (1 or 2 depending on how long you stay in lane) you should pick up your Tear and at least your Boots. The Tear of the godess destroys once and for all your mana issues and the boots provide your essential MS . If you have the gold, pick up a Haunting Guise, useful since you'll be wanting your Liandry's Torment as fast as possible (without disrupting your Tear/Boots purchases)





Mid-Late game Itemization:
Mid-Game is a fun time filled with you getting kills to speed your way to full-build. Here you pick up a Liandry's Torment as a first item (your Q and E both proc it). Your Sorcerer's Shoes should be acquired with the Liandry's for the MS and MP (what else does it do? :P). That being done, you have a few options, for high MR opponents get your Void Staff, for lower MR opponents Abyssal Mask, for more survivability get your Zhonya's Hourglass. I personally think that after Boots and Liandry's, the final four items are very interchangeable in order. You should acquire your Seraph's Embrace as needed/when it's charged. I generally get my Rabadon's Deathcap as a last item since Cassiopeia isn't incredibly dependent on AP since she has high bases. Finally, I chose to get Furor on Cass for kiting but Alacrity and Homeguard are just as viable.





Losing Lane
Well, that thing we all hate, be forewarned, Cass does indeed have counters (shocker right?) and does lose lane to some opponents. If that happens... let the gods have mercy on your soul because there is nothing you can do... other than persevere and maybe get a Doran's Ring and a Rod of Ages or a Rylai's Crystal Scepter (the latter is a better choice over all but it's up to you) to help you out. Really just keep farming and you should be okay. One more "inspirational" quote: "Low budgets force you to be more creative."-again no one famous. So think on that :)





And for god's sake people WARD! It will prevent much hardship in lane *cough* ganks *cough* and get you vision on your enemies' movements so you know what to expect.*
sight ward

*This applies to every champion in every lane (except of course if you're the ADC and you have a reliable support)

Legend:
Escaping/Kiting
Damage/Bursting
Utility
Farming




Deadly Cadence ( Innate): What better innate could you wish for on a champion that is so trigger happy your fingers are going to be sore by the end of a game? The more you spam the less your abilities cost.

Tips and Tricks

This Innate can be the difference between getting a kill or being killed. Don't forget that once you cast it you other costs go down so a previously unusably spell may suddenly be affordable.
It allows you mainly to continue spamming your Q in lane while maintaining your mana thanks to your regen.




Noxious Blast (Q): This is really what makes Cass such a good laner. The spam-ability and high DOT giver her excellent harass and wave clear. It also procs a speed boost when it hits a champion so a great kiting tool.

Tips and Tricks

Use to Speed yourself up while escaping
Use to check bushes (you will notice an increase in MS and a little buff will show up on your HUD.
Using two casts should clear ranged minions while a third can be used to finish up the melees. (careful about pushing your lane however)
Kiting is easy when all you need to do is move forward, land a Q, move forward, land a Q and so on.
Use to harass your opponent without mercy like the trigger happy bully you are




Miasma (W): Miasma is not as damaging as Noxious Blast nor as spamable but it is still a very useful spell. Where her Q speeds her up, Miasma slows her enemies down. It also grants vision and continuously applies the poison until targets leaves the AoE.

Tips and Tricks

Use to slow enemies while escaping
Use to check bushes and objectives (dragon, baron, blue, red)
Use to keep low enemies at bay while pushing a turret
Add this to your kiting (follow up your distance advantage with this slow and another Q)
Use to slowly but steadily hurt less bright opponents
Plant in the middle of a minions wave to get some great on the whole group (don't worry, it grows bigger to hit all of the minions in the wave)




Twin Fang (E): A basic nuke spell that has a 0.5 sec cooldown if target is poisoned.

Tips and Tricks

Use to last hit minions if you can spare the mana
Use to pound continuous damage into a stunned/poisoned target.
Makes for great burst when you Q/E/E/E/etc... until you can't no more
Careful when casting if you're relying on the shortened cooldown. If your poison hasn't yet proced or just ran out you might find yourself in a sticky situation




Petrifying Gaze (R): Last but of course not least, Cass' ultimate. A long stun(2secs)/powerful slow(60%). An excellent tool all around.

Tips and Tricks

Use to stun your pursuer(s)(much easier to land if they're chasing after you.
Use to lockdown a kill while your other abilities rip through your target's HP.
Use to finish off an escaping enemy

Now I'm sure you're thinking; great, I know what she does, but how do I use all these abilities together to maximize damage? Turns out there isn't much to it. Here are my three favorite combos:

1. The good old Ult-Burst-Beatdown: One of the more obvious combos and the one that maximizes her damage on a single target. You start off with an R and follow up by immediately placing your Miasma at the target's feet, then you land your Q and a succession of Es. Land as many Es as possible and your Q whenever its up. Odds are the target will be either dead or dissuaded to continue pursuit. If he runs, chase with your Q (should be easy to land since he's slowed by the Miasma at his feet).

Tips and Tricks
To easily land your R, wait in a bush (mid lane is good to ambush laners returning from a gank) and R them as they get in range. Unless they have a ward they won't see it coming and will not be able to avoid the stun. Bring a Vision Ward so as not to waste time. I.E: you can clear their wards and make sure they can't see you.




Opening with a Q makes it very likely you will be able to land at least a second one before they break free.

2. The Slithering Kite Snake: It's fairly simple. I've described the steps in the "Skillset" chapter but here they are all together. So this fool is chasing you (let's say a Darius) and all he wants is to land his yoink. So of course you deny him this by landing your Q, slithering away, and landing another and another and another. Should you feel confident about your abilities to keep out of range, land your Q and follow up with an E or plant a W at your feet. The latter is not recommended since it can be avoided easily and deals less damage. If you played it right, Darius is now low. Whether he continues the chase or not depends on how foolhardy the player is. If he does continue, punish him by slaying him.

Tips and Tricks
Well it's fairly simple so not much extra advice I can give you: making sure you land the Qs is incredibly important though so be careful.

3. Raking in the Harvest: Easy to do, good for getting all the last hits you want. Plant a W in the middle a minion wave and land Qs until they start to get low, land Es on each one in quick succession for 6-7 CS (or more if some minion buildup has been allowed).

Tips and Tricks
Careful for your own minions stealing those last hits. Focus your Qs at the ranged minions so that your own minions lower the melee minions.

One of Cass' two strongest points is her phenomenal laning. You can bully your opponent like crazy with her Qs exploding all over the lane and maybe the occasional E. Her range makes so that you need not fear retribution (unless you count minion agro :P). And her low mana costs make for great sustain. (once you have your Tear you should be set for a long while).




Against Ranged Champions: Focus your Q casts on their ranged minions. Often your lane opponent will be amidst those minions so you can hit all 4 with one Q. As I've mentioned, landing 2 Qs is usually enough to clear back minions so you have that CS and as a bonus you've kept your enemy at bay. Once the back minions are gone you can try to time a Q on the melee minions or wait to last hit. Meanwhile, launch Qs at the enemy laner whenever he gets close to make sure he knows who's in charge of the mid lane.




Against Melees Champions: Now they really are vulnerable to you since they can barely last hit with you in lane. If they try, launch a Q/E/E/etc... combo or to conserve mana just the continuous Qs. He will either get CS and take heavy damage* or conserve HP and get little to no farm.

*Bonus points for killing him ;)

Farming
Cassiopeia's kit is ideal for farming with high damage AoE from her Q/W and low cooldown nukes from her E. I think I've mentioned this twice or thrice already but Qs on the ranged minions pretty much guaranty those three and can easily finish the front minions. A W in the middle of the wave will clear most of their HP over the duration of the Miasma and finally Es speed up the process or make for stronger/faster last hits.

TEAMFIGHTS

Now, teamfights. Here is Cassiopeia's second strong point. She has incredible teamfight because of her three AoE spells and single target nukes. A good engage is to bait an ennemy team to a bush in which you fire back your R for a up to 5 stunned enemies. Your team can then fall upon the helpless enemies while you begin your work of W/Q/E/E/Eing them all to death.

Tips and Tricks
I advise opening with your R if it's likely to stun at least three targets. Otherwise you aren't getting the full potential.
Good communication is always important so make sure you aren't just wasting your R if your team isn't ready
Finally if you have a responsive team in solo-duo queue or a premade team, get some CC heavy champs to keep enemies within your AoE spells ( Amumu, Blitzcrank, Galio and Jarvan IV come to mind)

Cass is strong? good 'nuff?

So basically, don't get caught because she's squishy and use her phenomenal damage to bully and farm until you win that lane.

Well, that was my guide. Hope it helps you out.

P.S.
If you think of something I should add/address just say so (or if there are things I got totally backwards). Please mention grammar mistakes as well, I want this guide to be legible. I will try to update whenever patches come out (but don't trust me I'm unreliable).