Fiddlesticks Build Guide by Gramps Tewks

Introduction

Hello and welcome to Fiddle in the Middle... of your TEAM!; a Fiddlesticks build guide of a different color!

I'm Gramps Tewks, and I'll be your curator as we explore the possibilities of playing with the fearsome bag of sticks and hay that we all know and love!

"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man- if you devote yourself to an ideal- and if they can't stop you, then you become something else entirely."
"Which is?"
"A legend, Mr. Wayne."

Here's Phreak's Champion Spotlight, in which he highlights Fiddlesticks' abilities, playstyle, and possible item builds:

Please comment and rate in the comments section below; share your experiences playing with or against Fiddlesticks and/or put in your criticism about the guide itself.

As always, endless kudos upon kudos to the incomparable JhoiJhoi for the template, which you can find here.

Onward, then!

Pros / Cons

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Pros + Disgustingly OP fear + drain combo + Game-changing ultimate! + Decent farm and crowd-control + Amazing voice-actor! + Hard-counters MANY champions

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Cons - Squishy. Thus, this build. - 45% AP ratios. Thus, Magic Penetration! - Crowd-control stops him dead. Thus, play smart ;)

Masteries

Fiddlesticks gets a great balance of Offense, Defense, and Utility from the new Mastery Trees!

Runes

• Greater Mark of Magic Penetration: Magic Penetration is extraordinarily powerful on Fiddlesticks, and this adds to the stacks.
  
• Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: Stayin' alive; stayin' alive...
  
• Greater Seal of Armor: Ah, ah ,ah ,ah
  
• Greater Quintessence of Health: When you consistently survive ganks with 40-80 health left, you'll wonder what you did before these.

Summoner Spells

Exhaust: Exhaust + Drain is rather cruel, and it can also help you escape pursuit!

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Flash: THE summoner spell. There's a really good reason that pro tournament matches always feature 10 Flash. Try it, master it, love it. It'll save your life.

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Skill Discussion

• Dread: An excellent passive due to his low AP ratios. Begin stacking Magic Pentration quite early-on!
  
  
• Terrify (Q): Simple fear, yet borderline OP.
  
  
• Drain (W): In Pokemon, drain abilities regain the user very little health. Well, this bad boy is fully capable of draining champs to zero in short order! It's not very fair.
  
  
• Dark Wind (E): Harass, last-hit farming, and silence; all provided by this essential long-range ability!
  
  
• Crowstorm (R): SO GOOD. It's criminally misused by awful players, but SERIOUSLY this wins games.

Skill Sequence

Crowstorm 101

Crowstorm, Fiddlesticks' ultimate, is fired off ineffectively by far too many players.
It is so good that sometimes I cry when thinking about it.

Here are some tips for proper usage:

• Always begin your channel where it cannot be disrupted by stuns, silences, knock-ups, etc.
  
  
• Never teleport in front of your enemies; teleport where they will want to run when they start dying.
  This will help ensure that they stay in the damage radius and die.
  
  
• The Wraith camp is an excellent place from which to teleport!
  You can channel from safety and wreck their advance.
  
  
• You may indeed use abilities while Crowstorming!
  A good order is: Dark Wind to silence, Terrify on the damage-dealer, and then Drain on the champ with the highest health.
  
  
• When assaulting contested towers, tell your teammates to attack the structure when you Crowstorm, then run their team over while yours takes the tower down.
  
  
• Walk with your enemies as you Crowstorm. Many players spazz out when 'storming, but remain calm and the kills will fall into your lap.

Have at it!

Items

• philosopher's stone: Philosopher's Stone boosts the three resources with which you make in-game transactions!
  
  Significantly.
  
  You will have better items, lanestay, and experience than others, which WINS GAMES.
  
  
• : An excellent buy with Philosopher's Stone on your first trip back!
  
  
• : Due to his Drain, Fiddlesticks has no need for puny Health Potions! Therefore, get bang for your buck with Doran's Ring early.
  
  
• : Magic Penetration is the name of the game!
  
  
• : The massive wave of Cooldown Reduction begins!
  
  
• : Do do his dirty work, Fiddlesticks must dive into the heart of the storm.
  This ensures that he returns.
  Drain now slows as well!
  
  
• : The end is nigh.
  
  
• : Ultimate CDR + damage!

Gameplay

Early-Game

"Fiddle in the Middle" does hold true; Fiddlesticks can indeed solo mid. However, I find him to be even more devastating when duo-laning, as the brush allows Crowstorm to absolutely dominate his lane. Anyone who likes their targets to be feared but has no crowd-control loves to lane with the Fiddle!

From the outset, last-hit minions with your auto-attacks and Dark Wind; farming is ESSENTIAL. Additionally, with a capable partner, you can get kills left and right with Terrify + Drain!

Damage the turret whenever possible, but don't take it. You need to farm.

Mid-Game

With Rylai's Crystal Scepter and Morello's Evil Tome, you can really wreck the joint! Roam the map and destroy those who oppose your team's inexorable advance!

Late-Game

Push to the Nexus with your teammates! Let the tougher ones initiate, then unleash terror and anguish upon the enemy!

Summary

If you need a taste of the imbalanced, a whiff of the tantalizingly terrible, or an earful of the piercing shrieks of freshly-pwned nubz, then hit up Fiddlesticks for a good time.

"I don't have a brain... and soon, neither will you!"

~Gramps Tewks