AP-Tank Zac Top?

[quote=ZeUnit]I had the idea of playing Zac as a Tanky-Mage top-laner. Most builds of Zac top (though uncommon) seem to have the general idea of rushing [[sunfire cape]] and then stacking health and resists, with maybe some Magic Pen. However I tried playing him like the old Gragas top was played, with AP-Tank items and being super disruptive in teamfights. I feel like Zac can do this just as well as Gragas, since he has a long range slow, an AOE "stun" engage, and a disruptive ultimate. With the new buffs to Zac in the new patch, I felt like he was stronger than ever and after trying this build out it worked very well. [b]Main Build:[/b] This is the build I tend to follow, and I feel like it gives a good mix of tank and AP damage, which the [[sunfire cape]] build I feel lacks as it focus on health and resistances more. [[rod of ages]] Much like Gragas, you rush RoA in most situations, unless you have a terrible lane. Health and AP, both are good on Zac. [[zhonya's hourglass]] Another Gragas staple, it gives armour and AP, just what a tank needs. You can pop the passive to dodge abilities after engaging with your E and ULT and jumping in the middle of the enemy team, or just to wait for cooldowns (his Q an W have a fairly reliable cooldown so this can be useful) [[spirit visage]] I think CDR is important on Zac since his abilities cost no resource so they can be spammed, and since they heal for a % of his max health it can lead to a lot of healing. Spirit Visage gives you the defensive stats and health, plus CDR and the increased healing factor, which Zac does a lot of. [[rylai's crystal scepter]] Gives AP and health, a good tanky item for Zac. Since Zac is the tank who will be engaging, allows you to keep the enemy team locked down and peel for you squishies. Applies on all abilities which is good. [[liandry's torment]] The mother of all Magic Pen items. Gives health and AP, tank and damage stats, which Zac loves. The passive procs on 3 out of 4 of Zac's abilities, and if coupled with [[rylai's crystal scepter]] leads to a lot of damage from a couple of tanky items! [b]Boots:[/b] There is no "best" boots for Zac in my opinion. The three main contenders are [[ninja tabi]] for when you need armour, [[mercury's treads]] for when you need MR/tenacity, [[sorcerer's shoes]] as a catch-all. In general I go for Sorc shoes since it's what the Gragas build used to favour, and I feel like Zac already has a lot of tank in this build. [b]Other Items:[/b] I feel like there are some other viable items worth mentioning. [[abyssal scepter]] This gives AP and MR, just what we need. The passive will always be proc'd since Zac should always be the engage and in the middle of fights, and allows for a lot of extra damage, since all of Zac's abilities are AOE. Can be bought when you need more MR, but I don't feel like it can replace [[spirit visage]] because that provides CDR and the healing factor which is gold on Zac, but I will play test more to see its viability. [[randuin's omen]] If you need more armour, get this. The active is good as Zac will jump in the middle of the enemy team and can then pop this to lock them up. I don't feel like it can replace [[zhonya's hourglass]] just because Zhonya's is one of the best items in the game for armour. [[void staff]] One of the most versatile items in the game for APs champs. This could be bought if you are carrying and you can forgo Rylai's and Liandry's. [b]I would love it if people could try this out and give feedback, or just tell me what you think and if it's viable etc. Please comment![/b][/quote]

[quote=Savlonic][[Rod of Ages]] : No, wasting gold on mana, a stat zac can not make use of, the health and AP isn't enough to justify purchasing it. [[Zhonya's Hourglass]] : Really expensive for a heavy damage less defense item, the stasis is nice but you won't gain much survivability stat wise. [[Rylai's Crystal Scepter]] and [[Spirit Visage]] are pretty core with him so definitely good choices [[Liandry's torment]] is a solid damage item for him, [[abyssal scepter]] is a good alternative if you have multiple magic damage dealing champs on the team. [[Void staff]] imo not worth it as you waste a slot for more health/armor/mr for damage which he doesn't scale incredibly with. [[Sorcerer's shoes]] are solid on [[zac]] as well and I generally always run it unless against something with a very long CC such as [[morgana]].[/quote]