*EDIT* 2/22/11 A lot of changes has happened to Veigar since this build was made, however all of the rules apply. You still play him the same. In this build I put a lot of emphasis on only putting a few points into B.S. till the end. Recently I've been pumping the Q since you now get 2 AP for every kill.


RUNE Explanation:

I find this Rune build to be the most balanced Rune build for almost any NUKE caster. Instead of going all one type of RUNE (for example all AP runes), you have a balance of stats that can fit in any situation.

SKILL SEQUENCE Explanation:

My skill sequence for Veigar is different than a lot of other builds. Most Veigar builds will max baleful strike early, or at least put 3-4 points into it very early, and then max Event Horizon and Dark Matter as the game progresses. This is wrong, and here's why: Baleful Strike IS your most important spell EARLY game, but that is no reason to max it out. As you know, every time you kill a minion with B.S. it gives you +1 AP. A lot of Veigars choose to add points to B.S. so it is easier to get the last hit. However if you read to tool tip and realize how much damage it actually does it is easy to time it right.

You want to max Dark Matter and Event Horizon ASAP. Dark Matter Scales with 100% of your AP, B.S. Scales with ONLY 60% of your AP. Also D.M. does more base damage AND is AoE! You want to max E.H. with D.M. to ensure D.M. hits. Also E.H. is not only for landing D.M., it is also a great get away mechanism.

**DO NOT CHEAT YOURSELF OUT OF MID GAME KILLS BY PUTTING TOO MANY POINTS INTO B.S. EARLY ON, YOU WILL NEED THE KILLS TO FEED YOUR MEJAI'S SOUL STEALER**

MID LANE Explanation:

Many Veigars will start off with Chalice of Harmony to fix his early game mana issues. However, this will cheat you out of some damage mid-late game. I like to start off with a Sapphire Crystal with a Health potion and Mana Pot. Due to Veigars New champion passive he gets enough mana to keep spamming B.S. almost as soon as the cooldown is up.

In the mid lane you are not in THAT much danger of getting ganked however you need to be more mana efficient to push that turret or even kill your rival mid laner. Tear of the Goddess is a great way to stack mana early on because you will be spamming your B.S. constantly in the mid lane (even more so than a side lane). Near late game you will soon be feared and focused in team fights. If this happens you will die instantly. Ghost, flash or even your stun will not help you. At this time, (before that happens) I choose to get Rylai's Crystal Scepter . It makes up for the health item you didn't get early on and the slow will not only help you get away but it will also help you and your team kill fleeing enemies.

***** Note: The time on Rylai's slow is 2 seconds and the cooldown on Veigars B.S. is 4 seconds. Time it right against a fleeing champion and they will not get away*****


In the mid lane do not over extend yourself too early, because it will end in your death. As a mid laner you want to cancel out the other mid laner because that is the champion that is going to try to gank your teammates. Be patien and wait it out, use D.M. when you have enough mana to play around with to push the minions. After your ult you will want to start harrassing your rival. If they are stupid they'll underestimate you and stay in the lane with half life, and that's when you E,W,R,Q, them. That should kill them. As soon as you kill mid you should either A. Go heal up, or B. Go help another lane. Let the big hitters like Olaf, Yii, Xin, or Jax help take the mid turret later.

SUMMONER SPELL Explanation:

Ghost: I find that Ghost is a MUST with Veigar. His E.H. is a great get away, but he still naturally slow, and throughout the game E.H. is just not enough, AND Flash doesn't have as much ground cover as Ghost. ALSO Ghost is great for kiting your opponents until your B.S. and D.M. Cooldowns come back up. This has gotten me that extra kill many times!

Teleport: Great for mid laning, Use teleport to quickly heal or get mana back if you need to. You can use it to help your other lanes after you kill your rival laner. Also if you see that your rival mid laner is running to another lane, use teleport to meet him up there with your buddies. Be sure you're sneaky about the last one, if they don't expect you to help, then that will turn the fight EVERY time. Remember, even though you are a caster, the element of surprise is always your greatest weapon.

SIDE LANE Explanation:

If you choose to Side lane with Veigar you have to play differently and build your items differently. Sorry, that's just the way it goes. In a side lane you will need more health so starting with Catalyst the protector is the way to go. You will be able to stay in your lane for while with Catalyst's passive. You want more health because you are going to be focused by two champions rather than just one. This is also the reason you will need an added form of retreat which is FLASH. After you get rod of ages, your boots, and Mejai's, start building Lich Bane. Lichbane is an excellent item for someone with quick cooldowns like veigar. It adds another chunk of damage to your already powerful nuke. ***Be sure to throw in an auto-attack when you are doing your combo to get the effect*** If you do this you will do more damage that you would if you had Rylai's scepter, and since you are going to be with a teammate the whole game the need for Rylai's slow isn't as important since your job isn't to gank.

Also, take care of your laning partner. Throw up a E.H. everyone once in a while to take care of his over extending butt.

SUMMONER SPELL Explanation:

Ghost: Same as Mid lane *See Above*

Flash: In the side lane you will need an extra way to get away because unlike the mid lane you will be focused by TWO champions. Using flash as a combo with ghost you should be able to get away. Use flash BEFORE you get stunned or get into a fight you'll die instantly in. Choose your battles.

Strategies and things to think about while playing Veigar:

OF COURSE, you will need to farm the entire game using Baleful strike. THE ENTIRE GAME, don't stop. Early mid AND late game, every time you are near a minion throw a B.S. at one of them.

Use Ghost to kite, I mentioned this earlier but it is so important.

Playing as Veigar you must realize, no matter how much health you have you will be focused. If this happens you will die, sorry. Positioning is everything. Do not initiate the team fights. However, it is good to watch the overextending caster champions and throw up E.H. and nuke them for a kill.

Mejai's Soulstealer - The most important item in your build is Mejai's. If you end up getting 20 stacks from this bad boy, by the end of the build you should have well over 1000 AP (NO JOKE). Play it safe. Work on surviving, DO NOT DIE in the lane. The only time should die is during a team fight. A lot of the time that can't be helped. DO NOT RUN AWAY. You are probably close to half of your teams overall damage output and you need to stay with them till the bitter end. You will get focused but your team should take care of you. If you run away at the first sign of trouble then you are hurting more than helping. Remember this is a team game and you have to do what's best for it.

**** I still have a lot to say but I'll put it to rest here. If you made it all the way down here thank you for reading this far! Please Comment and Rate my build I would like feedback on my builds and guidelines.