In the Early Game phase, Elise is also a good Top laner, so I've heard. However, I prefer to play her in the jungle because:

• Elise is more mana efficient in the jungle than in lane
• Clearing jungle camps is a breeze
• Spider Form gives movement speed to help travel the ma
• Ganks make good use of her Cocoon

... but as a jungler, Elise need to be cautious because:

• She is vulnerable to early 1v1 confrontation
• Ganks are difficult if the enemies ward or if allies do not cooperate
• She does not counter jungle well (ganking dependent)

As a jungler, Elise gank's a lot, but does not have that early game damage compared to some other junglers. She may almost act like a support in a gank, making use of her Cocoon and Bilgewater Cutlass. The rest of her skills will definitely bruise up a target, but not enough to kill. For this, she needs cooperation from her teammates.

Elise's damage will show great improvement Late Game. By then, Elise will have exceptional:

• Burst damage
• Crowd control
• Sustain (from Skittering Frenzy and Hextech Gunblade)
• Focus power (from Rappel and Venomous Bite)

However, she will still have a few weaknesses near the end, being vulnerable to:

• Crowd control, especially stuns and suppresses
• Heavy AoE that can kill all of her Spiderlings
• Focus power. Without Rappel or Flash, she has no defensive or evasive abilities.

Greater Mark of Insight x 9

= 8.6 Magic Penetration
This is not for jungling as it is for ganking and late game. This is to make up for the lack of magic penetration from the mastery build.

Greater Seal of Defense

Greater Seal of Defense x 9

= 24.3 Armor at Level 18
"Why go per lvl armor & start with Cloth Armor, when you can go flat armor and start with Boots?"
First of all, per lvl armor seals out-rank flat armor seals by lvl 10, which up until then, you are mostly facing creeps. It is best to save the armor for when you really need it late game, when team fights are most critical.

Greater Glyph of Shielding x 9

= 24.3 Magic Resist at Level 18
Per lvl magic resist glyphs out-rank flat magic resist glyphs by level 9.

Greater Quintessence of Swiftness x 3

= 4.5% Movement Speed
Elise needs a lot of movement speed to gank and travel the map. That bonus 10 movement speed from her Spider Form just won't cut it.

Basic

• Attack Speed for jungling & sustain
• Armor Penetration for her Spiderlings
• Lifesteal for jungling & sustain

in addition to:

• Cooldown Reduction
• Mana Penetration
• Bonus Damage from Executioner

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Disapproved

Attack Speed, Armor Penetration, and Lifesteal for a very small amount of Ability Power. It's just not worth it.

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Recommended

• You should never be going be low 30 health with that sustain. There's a chance of one in a million where an extra 30 health would actually make or break a fight.
• While jungling, Elise will never reach below 30 health, but she won't always have full health either. Health regeneration from Vigor will keep her health high throughout her jungling phase.

Starting Items

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+ 5x

Basic defense from creeps and potions for sustain. *NOTE: you will use ALL of your Health Potion while jungling.

If you don't have Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed, you'll have to decide between sustain in the jungle and effective ganking. If you'd rather gank, then start with Boots. Without that Cloth Armor though, expect to Recall to base while jungling.

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Early Game

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Bilgewater Cutlass is excellent for it's lifesteal, damage, and slow. Elise is an excellent gap closer, but once she has initiated with Cocoon and reached her target in melee range, she needs additional crowd control to secure a kill.
Of course, you could argue that you can simply replace Flash with Exhaust, but Elise will benefit more from Bilgewater Cutlass:

• Exhaust slows by %40 while Bilgewater Cutlass slows by 50%.
• Exhaust has a 210 sec CD while Bilgewater Cutlass's CD is only 60 sec.
• Without Exhaust, Elise can use Flash to escape sticky situations or gain positioning for that Cocoon.
• Bilgewater Cutlass is part of her build anyway ( Hextech Gunblade)

You can double-up with that crowd control and build some durability with a Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Versatile for almost any AP champ, on the offensive or defensive, Rylai's Crystal Scepter is the way to go, and should be the first completed core item.

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Late Game

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These two should definitely be in your finished build. Rabadon's Deathcap will give Elise that damage while Hextech Gunblade will give that melee-fighter power.
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Situation Items: Defensive

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Together, these will give considerable armor and magic resist as well as 35% cooldown reduction. If you're playing defensively, it is safe to assume you need the shortest cooldowns, especially on Rappel.
Replacing Frozen Heart with Zhonya's Hourglass would not be ideal. Rappel already acts similarly to Zhonya's Hourglass, and you'd lose the enemy attack speed reduction and cooldown reduction.

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Situation Items: Offensive

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Lich Bane is an excellent choice because:

• 7% Bonus Movement Speed, crucial for melee-fighting
• Bonus Damage on Attack, which is supported by Armor Penetration masteries and is easily proc'd by Venomous Bite
• 30 Magic Resist for durabilty
• 350 Mana for sustain in Human Form

Void Staff will help shred tankier targets.
It is best to buy these items after your core items, Rylai's Crystal Scepter, Rabadon's Deathcap, and Hextech Gunblade.