Well hello there. My names Wolf3h, here and on the NA Servers. Today I would like to present my take on Leona. This, unlike the current top 5 builds, is not a tank Leona, but an AP top leona that still has a little bit o' the tankyness mixed in.

Just thought that to help everybody I would add in a section dedicated to the common terminology that us League players encounter.

AD- Attack Damage
AP- Ability Power
ArP- Armor Penetration
Mpen- Magic Penetration
CC- Crowd Control
CD- Cooldown
CS- Creep Score
DoT- Damage over Time
AoE- Area of Effect
DPS- Damage Per Second
MS- Movement Speed
Gp10- Gold per 10

Well Leona is a very underused (from what I have seen) CC Train. Her Q,W,E and R all slow and or Stun and scale with her maximum AP. This means, that a straight tank Leona can be wasting the potential of adding damage to the mix. I want this build to be flexible as well though, because one does not simply build the same every game. I aim to provide an AP variation of Leona that has a bit of damage that can make her a wall of CC that hurts!

Here are my Runes, I chose them to suit my build, enough said!



There ara a few different marks out there, some do this and some do that. I chose MP Runes because being able to get through a portion of that early game armor is a must!


I chose these Quints because the extra health is great. It does a few things for you.
1) You start with more base health than most of your opponents.
2) You can survive a fight over brush
3) You can stay in lane a little bit longer



Chose the standard Resistance Rune approach, having higher resist that some of your lane opponents ties in really well with your HP Quints.

Ok, im about to drop a bomb on this guide, and this one little section could make or break me, but here it goes...

Your gonna want to get kills and farm with this build, WAIT! you still here? Ok. This build will leave you the AP Carry type champ for your team, but you will need a small amount of kills and an amount of CS to get you the small fortune in gold that you need to get on your feet. It's best if you get say a 1 on 1 kill instead of denying your carry the kill. You will want to top with this Leona

Check down below for the Gameplay

Skills:

Leona's skills aren't the hardest to learn, and with a bit of practice will leave you decimating the competition. You need to learn these skills inside and out however to be effective and synergies with your team



Magic Damage: 20/35/50/65/80/95/110/125/140
Affected by allies' Magic Penetration

Sunlight is Leona's passive and will activate when a skill hit's an opponent. It will boost the damage of your allies who deal damage to the minions and champions affected by her passive for 3.5 seconds.


Magic Damage: 40/70/100/130/160 (+0.3)
Cost: 45/50/55/60/65 Mana
Range: 100

Shield of Daybreak is basically an on hit steroid that stuns and deals magic damage. This will be your third best damage dealer, along with your W, to the enemy team.



Armour and Magic Resistance: 30/40/50/60/70
Magic Damage: 60/110/160/210/260 (+0.4)
Cost: 60/60/60/60/60 Mana
Range: 450

Eclipse is Leona's self buff. whilst it is activated it provides you with armour and Magic Resist for 3 seconds, with a bonus effect of retaining these stats for another seconds if the skill damage an enemy minion or champion. The skill is also a great way to activate your passive Sunlight on enemies. Max this first!



Magic Damage: 60/100/140/180/220 (+0.4)
Cost: 60/65/70/75/80 Mana
Range: 700

Zenith Blade is a great skill to initiate and chase down enemy champions. It also allows you to bypass creep waves straight onto enemy champions. This skill however is a skill shot with a rather small hit box. And it roots the LAST enemy champion you hit, so you can jump right onto the enemy carry and CC his *** back to spawn.



Magic Damage: 150/250/350 (+0.8)
Cost: 100/150/200 Mana
Range: 1200

Solar Flare is Leona's Ultimate. It is an AOE nuke, which after a brief delay fires a beam down that
A) Stuns the champions in the middle of the template
B} Slows anyone else outside of the middle of the template
C) Damages things
You want to use this early, and also you want it to hit errjuan possible!

This build was made to be flexible in game. If an enemy is melting you, get some components for say a Defensive Item.

Ok, so here goes, I call forth a wall of text!


Core

catalyst the protector
I choose Mercury's Treads because they are, most certainly the BEST BOOTS IN THE GAME!
Now that I have that out of the way, ahem, These boots give you a nice boost to your MR as well as Tenacity, which makes all of the stuns,snares,roots ex-cetera last for a shorter amount of time.

Catalyst the Protector
Builds into a tanky AP item, which will let you survive early game. The AP will add to all your damages!

Optional/Situational Items


Spell vamp, AP and an AOE to help your team, I love this item. Get it after your Rod of Ages for maximum damages!


All of the AP is at your command! This will maximise your AP counter, a must have.


A nice on hit proc and some resist, as well as AP, you want this as the game goes on so you can still stomp everyone.


My finishing touch, it gives you health, mana and MR. A spell sheild is also nice, it will leave you all the wiser when Ashe stuns you or tries to slow you.


This item, a little bit of everything! It gives you Mana, Ability Power, Critical Strike Chance, Attack Speed, Health, Attack Damage and a nice Sheen proc in the mix. This item may be a little on the expensive side, but this build is not your average straight Tank guide, you need farm too!


Something tanky, something with Ability Power and even more CC. I like this item, gives you a boost to your AP and a nice little chunk of health. It also slows people when you pop a spell on them. So basically, you pounce on someone and then they have nearly no chance of getting away!


A nice little finishing alternate finishing touch to this build. You want to get this item if you need to melt the tank on the enemy team.


Armor and Health, as well as a DoT AoE on your person. I see a lot of Leona players run this, and feel free to swap it out for another item in the build. I find this item nice and a good pick when the enemy carry is stomping.


The bane of all AD carries. Seems that everyone that dominates as an AD Carry fears this item in some regard. Give it to Leona, and they are so screwed.


This item... if anything switch it with the void staff. It is a really nice item, and im not sure why I put it in the situational section but whatever. Take this when you need MR and AP, the AoE De-buff is also nice.












Feel free to add in your own items, its your playstyle not mine!

Combo's
For Leona, you want to follow a simple combo for her. There are two combos I use, and both require a little bit of timing

Pre-Level 6 Combo
Eclipse -> Zenith Blade -> Shield of Daybreak

Level 6 and up combo
Eclipse -> Zenith Blade -> Solar Flare -> Shield of Daybreak

Early Game-
Ok, so early game you want to stay back from your enemies zone and farm as much creeps from each wave. If the enemy tries to initiate onto you, smack em in the face with your Shield of Daybreak. Focus on getting your Gold up and make sure you have enough to get you a Catalyst the Protector when you go back.

Mid game-
By now your team should look on to team fights and sticking together. Keep on farming those lanes and even take a few jungle creeps here and there. You want to be the intiator for your team. Pounce on the enemy with your combo and head for the carry. Shut their carry/s down and mop up the rest.

Late Game-
By now everyone is finishing their builds, and so should you. You need to still be initiating, but now you will bring the hurt. Just combo away and use your item actives if you have any and try to shut their carry down. Wards should be something you but occasionally when you have a slot free. Wards will need to be put in the general traffic areas. Here is a small map of where I personally ward.



Red - Priority 1
Blue - Priority 2
Yellow - Priority 3
^ Thanks to Mobafire and Jhoi Jhoi for the map <3

A lot more will be coming soon, but for now this is still a work in progress! Please rate and provide feedback as this will keep me motivated. This is my first guide and I give it to the forum as a Gift! Have Fun Summoners!