Hello my name is BenignTumorz, and this guide is on Akali, one of my favorite champions in the entire game. Akali has a weak early game (pre-6), but can still manage to snag a kill or two if your opponent misplays in lane or if you have a good jungle gank. After 6 is when Akali shines, which will be discussed later on. Overall, Akali is a strong mid laner that is often underlooked, and will make your opponents rage if you get fed and carry the game. Phrases that have been said to me on multiple occasions include, "Wow, this champion is so broken," or ,"WTF, how many R's do you have?" and my personal favorite, "Akali requires no skill, all you do is spam R." Even through these misguided impressions of Akali, she actually requires a lot of skill to master. Trust me, Akali is SUPER OVERPOWERED and will snowball like no other.

There exists an ancient order originating in the Ionian Isles dedicated to the preservation of balance. Order, chaos, light, darkness - all things must exist in perfect harmony for such is the way of the universe. This order is known as the Kinkou and it employs a triumvirate of shadow warriors to uphold its causes in the world. Akali is one of these shadow warriors, entrusted with the sacred duty of Pruning the Tree - eliminating those who threaten the equilibrium of Valoran.
A prodigious martial artist, Akali began training with her mother as soon as she could make a fist. Her mother's discipline was relentless and unforgiving, but predicated on the fundamental principle: "We do that which must be done." When the Kinkou inducted her into the order at the age of fourteen, she could slice a dangling chain with a chop of her hand. There was no question – she would succeed her mother as the Fist of Shadow. She has had to do much in this role which others might find morally questionable, but to her it is in service of her mother's inviolable doctrine. She now works with her fellows Shen and Kennen to enforce the balance of Valoran. This hallowed pursuit has unsurprisingly led the triumvirate to the Fields of Justice.

For runes, I take 3 AP Quints, which give me about 15 AP right at the start of the game. Then I take Hybrid Pen Marks, since Akali has a mix of both physical damage and magic damage in her kit. Then for seals and glyphs, I take armor seals and magic quints. This will allow you to survive most matchups and allow for plenty of kill potential in lane. These runes synergize really well with Akali's passive and her early game skills. The AP from the Quints goes really well to boost Akali's early burst damage. The hybrid penetration marks make Akali's auto-attacks and skills even more deadly early game. Armor seals are just a very good option while the Flat Magic Resist Glyphs help Akali survive the burst of other mid-lane assassins and mages.

These masteries allow for Akali to be able to deal some extra damage, while also giving her some defensive stats to be able to better survive pre-6. I focused the Attack tree mostly because then Akali could better do what she does best, and that is to kill anyone thats within range of her Shadow Dance. The extra defense tree, as I said, allows Akali a safer lane so that she can farm to 6 and then start getting racking up kills in lane or by roaming.

Now for the items you build on Akali. Akali is a champion with a few core items that you would like to rush as soon as possible. These items are the Hextech Gunblade, Zhonya's Hourglass, Rabadon's Deathcap, and Lich Bane.
Why Hextech Gunblade?
Hextech Gunblade is a VERY good item on Akali, and if you get a kill or two early game, I would recomend you rush it. In order for one to truly understand it, here are the stats:
+45 attack damage
+65 ability power
+12% life steal
UNIQUE PASSIVE: +20% spell vamp
Unique PASSIVE: Reload-Your basic attacks and single target spells against champions reduce the cooldown of this item by 3 seconds.
UNIQUE ACTIVE: Deals 150 (+ 40% AP) magic damage and slows the target champion's movement speed by 40% for 2 seconds. 60 second cooldown. (700 range)
Now I can go over each individual stat and show how it makes Akali much stronger. The 45 AD that Gunblade gives you makes your passive give you more spell vamp, while the 65 AP will give you more damage and more damage per autoattack.