Veigar Build Guide by Urashi

Introduction

Welcome to the guide of Veigar, The Tiny Master of Evil.
This is my first guide here on Mobafire so any tips, advice and criticism would be much appreciated.
This is a build and strategy that I use with Veigar on Summoner's Rift that wins a good portion of my games. I will go through the purchase order in detail and explain why I do it that way and explain pros and cons throughout the build and what to be aware of while using this strategy.

Pros / Cons

PROS High burst damage output Decent CC from low level Can sustain his lane for a long time Never have to worry about mana or blue buff Even Death trembles in his presence!

SPACE

SPACE

CONS Relies on jungler to get early kills Dependent on team battles Must play defense until after level 6 Super squishy Hard to push mid lane early on

Veigar's burst damage is probably one of the highest in the game. With a limitless ability power Veigar can be one of the strongest characters end game if played the right way. But he is very squishy and doesn't have much power until he gets his ult, Primordial Burst.

Runes

Greater Glyph of Ability Power: Solid AP at the beginning is useful for getting that last hit on minions and helping with those early ganks. Giving you an extra 10.8 AP to start your match may be just what you need to get that gank.
Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power: This rune is also a good one to have. The pro to this is it will give you 27.54 AP at level 18 plus %30 from your Rabadon's Deathcap bringing it to 35.8 which is nice to have but the con is at level 18 it won't make that big of an impact on the game. Having the solid AP at the beginning and possibly getting those 2 extra ganks early is what could have a major impact on the game.

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: Magic penetration is your only choice for Veigar. It's pretty self explanatory.


Greater Seal of Health: I pick this one for that extra boost early game since Veigar has a rough time early game we want to make it as easy for him as possible. These rune mixed with Veteran's Scars mastery gives you an extra 80 health at the beginning of your game! that helps a lot with a squishy character like Veigar.
Greater Seal of Armor: This would be a decent pick to go with if you don't want the extra health. The main problem with this is you will most likely be fighting AP users early game so this will only really help against a gank in my opinion.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power: AP, AP, AP. Thats what Veigar is good for. And an extra 15 ability power to start your match is just what you want. Again I'm going to stress about last hit on minions because it is a necessity to raise your AP through Baleful Strike. Don't let that passive advantage go to waste and 15 AP will help you get that last hit.
Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed: You can never go wrong with your speed boost. It is actually a tough decision between this and Greater Quintessence of Ability Power. The extra AP in the beginning I think helps you out in the long run. But extra speed is always nice for a chase or a get away.

Masteries

The mastery page is tough to choose between. Offense and Defense is my top choice here. Obviously you want as much damage as possible because your are playing a burst damage character so 21 points in offense. The reason I choose the Veteran's Scars , Hardiness and Resistance is all for Veigar's early game. 3 points in Resistance because you will be fighting an AP first. I feel like the early game is most important, that is when the feeding is done and 1 death can give your opponent a huge advantage over you and cost you your tower which in the long run will most likely end up in a loss.



Another page other people may prefer which is not a bad choice at all is the Utility build. How many times have you tried to recall and been struck and killed just milliseconds before your recall went off... I love using Improved Recall for killing an enemy, running into a bush and getting out ASAP. And a whole second makes a huge difference. Also the 15 second cool down on Flash is nice. The mana and mana regen is good for your early game and will help sustain your lane a little better but with Athene's Unholy Grail you won't have to worry about mana regen. And of course Runic Affinity for that extra time crest of the ancient golem and exalted with baron nashor .

Summoner Spells

Flash is a must with Veigar. Its the best way to escape a conflict hands down get it no matter what.

SPACE

I choose Ignite for more DPS to get that final blow of a running target

• : This would be the only ability I switch out for Ignite. It's good for a quick get away or chasing an enemy to get just in range to stun him with Event Horizon and take him out.
• : A lot of people like to have this spell because when you're controlling a lane by yourself you either have to have someone sub in for you while you go back to heal or purchase items or let the enemy push and sometimes do damage to your tower. Teleport helps you get back to your lane quickly or help another lane in need when yours is doing just fine. I can see why this spell would be beneficial but I don't see it being as beneficial in the long run as Ignite or Ghost.

The choice is yours, these are the abilities I choose, you can mix and match all you want.

Skill Sequence

The reason I focus my Baleful Strike is obviously because you're focusing on last hit and it raises your ability power per kill. And more damage + shorter cool down = more last hits which = more AP! Remember when killing a champion you still gain the bonus ability power whether the killing blow was caused from this spell or any other spell. So don't focus on killing champions with this spell, only minions and neutral monsters.


This is where you may think my skill sequence is a little odd. instead of focusing on my Dark Matter I instead put all my points into Event Horizon. Dark Matter is good but I mostly use it as a CC in early game which I will explain in the next section. As I said earlier you will mostly rely on ganks for your kills and that little extra time your enemy is stunned really helps when he's getting pummeled by 2 people. Since you won't find yourself running around solo trying to kill everyone you will mostly stick by your allies side so your stun is VITAL. It is also a good defense when enemies are closing in on you just cast that on yourself when the enemies are close and get the Flash outta there!


I'm sure you're wondering why you don't level this 2nd... well let me explain. A 1.2 second delay before impact makes it pretty difficult against a good opponent to land a hit, they'll be expecting it. Instead if you keep Dark Matter at a low level you will be able to scare your enemies with little mana cost. Just cast it on your target and the instant they see it they will start running back trying to avoid it. Also keeping it at a low level makes it perfect for farming minions and neutral monsters when your jungler is off ganking top. just cast a Dark Matter on the banshee's or minions and they're ready to be taken out with Baleful Strike in 1 hit.


Of course you already know whenever this ability is available to level up (level 6, 11, 16) always level up this one. This ability will take a good chunk out of your targets health no matter who it is. Don't focus on trying to hit an AP target just because of the 80% increase of the targets AP. Most likely if they're an AP user they're going to die from your 3 hit combo (which I will explain later in this guide). Instead just focus on the groups main target to get him out of the picture instantly and quickly turn a 5v5 team fight into a 5v4.

Purchase Order

Alright, for the purchase order I put exactly what you want to buy in that order. It's that simple. start with your Boots of Speed, since all you need at the beginning is last hit and then back off. And Health Potion, just in case, with [m[ana potion]]x2 for better lane sustainability.
After you need to return purchase your Sorcerer's Shoes and start building up to your Chalice of Harmony. Once you have your Chalice of Harmony you shouldn't have to worry about mana too much because of its 1% for every 1% missing mixed with Veigar's passive Equilibrium. And the magic resist will help with mid since you will most likely be fighting another AP character.
After that it doesn't matter how you build into your main items as long as you follow the order. When you get Rabadon's Deathcap your AP should be around 400 which is enough to start annihilating your enemies in a 3 move combo I will explain later.
Now that you're doing massive damage the enemy is starting to talk... they're saying "We need to kill that Veigar!" Which is where you're Zhonya's Hourglass comes into play. The armor on this will help you survive a little longer and then if the enemy happens to get up in your grill surprise them with being untargetable for 2 seconds while your team destroys them and you Flash your way out of danger.
Next up is your Deathfire Grasp. By now your AP should be around 600.... Yeah, this thing will do roughly 50% of your targets health instantly... But it is 50% of your targets CURRENT health so use this BEFORE you start blowing them up.
And lastly is your Abyssal Scepter for some more magic resist, AP and that awesome magic penetration aura.

Creep Score/Jungling

Minions and neutral monsters are Veigar's best friends.
Early game while you are defending your lane watch your jungler to see if you could steal his specters while he is up ganking top and your lane is safe (make sure you call your MIA if mid goes up to help.) Hit the specters with your Dark Matter, because it was kept at a low level it will not kill them in 1 shot, and kill the little ones with your Baleful Strike while auto attacking the big one while it cools down. Kill the big one with Baleful Strike and thats 5 extra AP (plus %30 AP from Rabadon's Deathcap. It's safe and efficient.
Any time you have a chance to get the last hit with Baleful Strike do it, your AP will be sky high by the end of the match.
Keeping your Dark Matter at a low level prevents you from killing all the monsters in 1 hit, it will do just enough damage to keep them alive so you can last hit them and constantly raise your AP with no problems.

Team Work

Team work is IMPORTANT!!
You are very squishy with almost no escape mechanism's. You rely on team battles but with your burst damage you don't have to worry about people kill stealing from you. Stay a little out of the fight stunning the enemies and damaging them from afar. If your team happens to lose the fight Veigar is amazing at defending. He can hold people back with his Event Horizon- Dark Matter combo or just constantly spamming them on the enemy while posted at your tower. They'll hesitate to rush in because your burst is so strong you should be able to keep them back for a while, long enough for your team to respawn and regroup again.

Ability Breakdown

: Equilibrium is a passive that I absolutely love. Mana regen is a fantastic thing to have and with this your mana regen just gets better and better as your mana gets lower and lower. It's basically telling you the more people you kill the more mana we give you!

: Baleful Strike is a strong ability but not the strongest. Yet the passive on it is amazing. This will be the last time I stress about killing minions and monsters with this spell, I promise... But this spell is what makes Veigar so OP. And remember your bonus AP from this ability will be increased by %30 from Rabadon's Deathcap as well! This ability is like giving Veigar a 7th item!

: Dark Matter is a very powerful spell but difficult to land in an early game. Mid to late game is pretty easy since team fights will be starting and your chances of landing a hit raise with more people in the area and the spell isn't the first thing on the enemies mind. Also this spell can reveal fog of war and bushes so use that when you suspect an enemy is hiding in the grass waiting to surprise you.

: Event Horizon is Veigar's only real crowd control ability. It's a great spell but not the best, the range on the stun is what makes it so unique. With a range of 900 for the center of your "stun room" and a diameter of 225 actually makes the range of this stun 1012 which is very helpful when trying to chase an opponent with your team. Using this can be tricky at times, try not to cast the spell directly on your target because this stun can be easily avoided by spells like Flash, Distortion or Arcane Shift. Which makes it not the best. Try to cast the spell so the edge immediately hits your target and they have no time to react and Flash out of it. The stun is 2.5 seconds at max level giving you plenty of time to cast your Dark Matter for a direct hit every time. But be mindful of enemies with Mercury's Treads will only be stunned for 1.6 seconds. It's still possible to hit them but you have to be quick because of the 1.2 second delay before impact.

: Primordial Burst is Veigar's ultimate ability with a massive amount of damage and %120 of your ability power plus another %80 of your enemies AP makes this one of the strongest one hit wonders in the game. Make sure you always have this ability available when you enter a fight, without this spell you only do decent damage and you most likely wont get a kill.

Summary

Veigar has a deadly 3 hit combo that usually takes out your target, and if not, leaves them running for the hills. Once you cast your Event Horizon on an enemy, (try to cast it so they immediately touch the edge) they will be stunned for 2.5 seconds which means you have 1 second to cast your Dark Matter on them mixed with your Primordial Burst and Baleful Strike all at once is most likely going to take out your opponent.

A Special Thank You To...

jhoijhoi for your guide that helped me to start creating my guide and improve and answer any questions I had.
Te Curt for giving me suggestions to help make my guide better. And for having an amazing Jax guide himself that inspired some of my work.