Ok, some people think AP Shaco is worthless because: His DPS is less than AD Shaco, he 'sucks in team fights', and because 'Clone is the whole idea of Shaco', and AP doesn't up clone, then Clone is worthless on AP. But here's the deal, the REAL idea of Shaco is Jack in the Box, and doing maximum damage with Jack in the Box will not only get you a lot of kills, but it will make the enemy team so afraid of the forest that they will usually not go near it. Also, if your teammates are being ganked, they run through one of your Jack in the Box traps (turret traps for short) and they can usually get a triple kill. Also, Shiv gets AP to Damage 1:1 ratio. One of the best harass / nukes in the game. AND Clone is NOT useless with AP Shaco because it is a great baiter for a turret trap, and in the event they kill it before you bait them, they take 1.5K damage to the face. And in the event that they can easily tell the difference between your Clone and you, it's a great dummy to use to get in their way while you run.

In the beginning of the game you shiv harass, and at level 4 you can start placing a turret in the bushes near you to 1) help with ganks. and 2) prevent their ganks.

In the middle of the game (Lvl 9), your shiv should hit like a bus. If you are doing good early game, get Mejai's soul stealer before Morello's, and then late game (if you have at least 10 stacks) do not buy Will of the Ancient's.

End game you should have it easy with good teammates because they WILL be fed.

Ok, some people think AP Shaco is worthless because: His DPS is less than AD Shaco, he 'sucks in team fights', and because 'Clone is the whole idea of Shaco', and AP doesn't up clone, then Clone is worthless on AP. But here's the deal, the REAL idea of Shaco is Jack in the Box, and doing maximum damage with Jack in the Box will not only get you a lot of kills, but it will make the enemy team so afraid of the forest that they will usually not go near it. Also, if your teammates are being ganked, they run through one of your Jack in the Box traps (turret traps for short) and they can usually get a triple kill. Also, Shiv gets AP to Damage 1:1 ratio. One of the best harass / nukes in the game. AND Clone is NOT useless with AP Shaco because it is a great baiter for a turret trap, and in the event they kill it before you bait them, they take 1.5K damage to the face. And in the event that they can easily tell the difference between your Clone and you, it's a great dummy to use to get in their way while you run.

The only runes that are set in stone are the 9 Marks of Insight. No AP Character should be without them. I strongly suggest the 9 Glyphs of Potency, but you can specialize if you want.

Getting the mana regen is really important if you start off by getting the health regen part of Philosophers stone.

If you are doing well after you get Morello's Evil Tome. Get Mejai's before you get Rod of Ages.
You can customize the items, but they are the ones I use, and I rarely go negative with Shaco, in fact, the last 10 games I've played with him the worst I did was 14-7. Also, in 9 of those games my team won.

Shiv is your nuke and around lvl 7-11 IT HURTS.
1:1 AP to DMG is huge.
I get decieve before I get turrets because I always go for firstblood and decieve
1) Helps chase down.
2) gets the jump on them.
and 3) is great to getaway if creeps / turret are attacking you.

I always go Ignite and Exhaust. Perfect combo for first blood. But, while I strongly suggest both of them, Teleport and Rally can be a good combo for a turret trap. How it works is when one of their champions hits your turret trap, you Teleport in and drop Rally, chances are, they are F**ked.

So far my 3v3 team is 9 wins 7 losses. All 9 of our wins I was playing Shaco, all 9 of which I carried. It is completely false when people say AP Shaco can't help the team. As my turret traps provide safe haven, a lot of ganking opportunity, and server as wards.

Don't start placing actual turret traps (3-5 turrets in one place) until your turret abilty is lvl 2. At level 1 they don't do enough damage to be worth the mana. Although, using one in a bush near you is great for:
1) Running through it to fear those chasing you.
2) Fears those coming to gank you.
3) Adds dps if a fight is close, just run to it and likelihood that they will chase you is high.