Hello everyone! I am TheAustinB. This is my first guide and probably one of the strangest you've seen. I had thought about making one for a while but I didn't want it to be some standard build guide or something. Anyways Amumu top is actually a somewhat viable lane but its really all about survivability and securing objectives. Keep in mind that without your ability to secure objectives is greatly reduced.

Down below you'll read about how this works and how great it can essentially be!

So for starters you're going to want the right runes. These runes I chose are very basic and are all around good runes for amumu to use. Most players should have these and of course there are many others you could substitute in!

-Magic Penetration Marks because of amumu's natural damage. Combining this with the marks is good for greater damage even when built tanky.
-Armor Seals are good all around and in combination with maxing for even less physical damage taken.
-Magic Resist Glyphs are good for going against AP tops and for when you roam with .

-Movement Speed Quints are probably in my opinion your best option. Use these to avoid ganks and dodge those q's from . Great considering your very little escape. Its also great with chasing the enemy top laner with !

Why 0/30/0 Austin! Are you crazy! Why not 9/21/0! Well before we get into the masteries I picked you should know that AMUMU DOESNT NEED EXTRA DAMAGE from his masteries. From the amount of times I've tested this build I have had no trouble whatsoever with doing damage. He actually does a great job with natural damage! One other thing! If you want some cooldown reduction in the offensive tree and go 4/26/0 that's fine too. The more the better!

As for masteries you dont need any offense or utility UNLESS your laner may be weak or have a lot of harass such as .

-I chose Block for the reduced damage it gives you. It may be minimal but in combination with the passive it helps.
-Recovery is good for the extra health regen and sustain.
-Enchanted Armor allows for you to build tanky and get a nice little boost from the tank items you built.
-Unyielding is very helpful for tanking all around damage.
-Veteran scars is very helpful for the bonus health it gives you.
-I took Oppression mainly for the later game, in lane you only have a stun making it not that big a deal but most likely you'll have allies with crowd control.
-Juggernaut is essential for it gives you and additional 3% maximum health. This increase goes a long way with a fully built amumu EX: Warmogs, Banshies Veil, Sunfire Cape.
-I took Hardiness for bonus armor and Resistance for the bonus magic resist.
-Perseverance is still a good mastery to put points in for the sustain bonus that amumu doesnt have much of.
-Swiftness is essential on amumu the faster you are through slows the better.
-Reinforced Armor is good against top laners such as , , , and others that build crit chance. Its also great for later game when ADCs build crit chnce.
-Evasive is especially good against teams with a lot of AOE damage EX: , , Etc.
-Second Wind is one you may not need to take since amumu doesn't have any self healing, however with the health regen from warmogs and masteries it may help.
-As an optional mastery you can take Runic Blessing if you want an edge at the beginning of a trade with your top laner but being amumu makes trading early not viable.
-Tenacious is just great for a champion like amumu. Being an initiator your goal is to lock down as many people as possible meaning this will help come in to play a lot.
-Legendary Guardian is basically a given, as amumu you dont want to be locked down that much.

I don't really recommend utility because you would be giving up too much in the defensive tree and also you can get good sustain from your item build.

Simple Description of item effectiveness

-Crystalline Flask --- Good item for sustain at early/mid game
-Sunfire Cape --- Waveclear, Tankiness, Bonus Damage
-Mercury's Treads --- Tenacity, Movements Speed, Magic Resist
-Frozen Heart --- MANA, Armor,20% CDR
-Abyssal Scepter --- Damage, Magic Resist, Initiate and do more because of MR reduction
-Banshee's Veil --- Initiate without fail! Health, Magic Resist
-Warmog's Armor --- TONS of health and good health regeneration.

Now for a more detailed description on why the items I picked you can go check out below. No need to read all of it if you don't need to!

ALWAYS start a Crystalline Flask and 3 . Considering amumu's natural sustain isn't that great this

helps his mana sustain greatly. This starting build will break any desire for your top laner to even fight you, as

they will discover that it seems like you are endlessly healing and taking no damage whatsoever. This should

give you the amount of sustain you need to get plenty of farm and levels. Try not to put yourself in a position

where the enemy jungler can gank you so you can sustain a long time. I can see how normally in top lane you would start a because its OP correct? Well because of Amumu's ability and in addition to his masteries you should take minimal damage anyway. Allowing the pick as almost a bonus. Prioritize a or with some on your next back. If the top laner is heavy AP then grab a and . If you got a good real of gold then you can get on that back. After you've gotten your and you should prioritize a for the mana, armor, and the 10% CDR. Of course if you're doing well in you're lane you can grab a for damage but don't forget your later. If the enemy team has a good amount of AP and you're not ahead, start working on a . If you are ahead grab an . If the enemy team has an average amount of AD then turn your into a . Its great for the 20% CDR, mana, and armor. Typically I would top off my build by grabbing a last, given its great amount of health and health regeneration. You don't

need too much damage with amumu because the longer you stay alive the more you can output. A straight AP amumu lasts about 1 to 2 seconds in a late game fight if you initiate with

There are several ways I could see you maxing your skills however the current set up is most likely the best.

should be maxed first for the reduced physical damage taken and its great for clearing minions and farming!

I like to max 2nd. It gives good AOE damage allowing you to farm better and zone the enemy top lane if they get too close. Helps with wave clear as well so you can roam if you need to.

Lastly I max . Its a good ability but not good for doing consistent damage in trades. You can max it for cooldown reduction but its more of a utility rather the damage dealer you want.

-At level 1 Start for damage reduction and for getting your first few waves of minions.
-At level 2 I grab for additional wave clear and zoning if you need to.
-At level 3 I grab in case I need it to close gap or trade with the enemy top laner.

NOTE: For maximum mana conservation don't keep active or it will drain your mana quickly. Its best to use it when trading to keep them away from you. Remember this lane is about survivability and having mana is a part of that.

Pros:

-Great farming ability and wave clear
-Good Objective Control
-Amazing Team fighter
-Good ganker
-Strong when ahead

Cons:

-Easily ganked if overextended
-Low sustain
-Can be hard to land skillshot

Difficulty scales 1-10

Difficulty 5/10. This guy may look scary but little mumu still can best him in lane. The trick is that after he's level 6 to not let him stack to much on you when you trade. His ult does true damage which can take a huge chunk out of you but overall the rest of his abilities are easily dealt with. I will have a video showing me against Darius top soon.

Difficulty 7/10. He's really strong right now in current meta and you don't want to trade with him that often. His level 6 is stronger than yours so be careful. His sustain is good and in fact better than yours. The trick is to just farm safely he shouldn't hurt you too much any way.

Difficulty 3/10. He shouldn't give you hardly any trouble. You can out trade him and even if its late game. Just be careful not to overextend. You push harder than him and trade better. The enemy jungler most likely will be keeping an eye on you.

Difficulty 6/10. She's strong in the current meta. She has AOE similar to yours and deals good damage if she uses all of her skills on you. The trick is to just trade with her after she uses her skills. Shes not that great with standard auto attack trades considering that you're Amumu. If she goes dragon on you just back it up and don't trade.

Difficulty 4/10. You probably wont ever kill him. But he probably wont ever kill you either. Just farm is all I can say if he trades with you, trade back but other than that happy farming.

Since the guide is still new it will take some time to get more counters updated.