Cassiopeia is an Ability Power ranged champion. If played correctly Cassiopeia is a force to be reckoned with. She has great pokes and can easily put pressure on an enemy she is facing. This guide will go into depth on how to successfully play Cassiopeia including builds, runes, what buttons to press and when and more.

This is a really fast sum up of everything you will want to know, further details are below!
- Get Flash and Ignite
- Poke all the time with Noxious Blast and Twin Fang
- Use Twin Fang only when they are poisoned
- Use Miasma to slow
- Petrifying Gaze on multiple targets or a easy kill on one
- Ward at the enemy wraiths in the lane phase
- Don't push too hard or you will die
- Roam when u can
- Stand behind tank
- Miasma provides vision
- Noxious Blast makes you move faster

Pros
- Pokes for days
- Damage over time
(that great feeling of somebody dying as then run away)
- Never out of buttons to press
- Can slow and stun enemies as well as speed herself up
- Very high damage
- Counters many champions



Cons
- Squishy early
- Takes much practice
- Mana dependent
- You're an assassin magnet

Flash- I believe this spell is essential. It provides great escape or offence in situations. At times it is necessary to Flash close enough to an enemy in lane so they are in the range of Petrifying Gaze securing an easy kill, or if you are being ganked, it is excellent to have if you plan on surviving.

Ignite- Ignite... Noxious Blast... Miasma... Liandry's Torment... I honestly feel that this is enough said but I will further explain. Cassiopeia it the Queen of pokes, the enemy can be poisoned all day. When they get low and you go offensive the Ignite will be like a second Noxious Blast at the same time AND reduce healing. It is the best choice by far and should be taken.

Teleport- If you feel that you have to gank and love the spell Teleport you can get this over Ignite, but I still recommend Ignite.

*all other summoner spells should not be taken. I don't care if you like mana or a heal, practice and you will not need it. Buy potions, that is what they are for.

I believe that Cassiopeia is dangerous to lane against from level one if the runes are correctly selected. Essential runes to Cassiopeia are:
-Magic Penetration
-Mana Regeneration/Armor
-Magic Resist
-Ability Power

Marks - Greater Mark of Magic Penetration are essential to Cassiopeia. They negate magic resist that an enemy champion would have and when facing more skilled opponents they will have magic resist.

Seals- there are two choices to make with seals. Greater Seal of Mana Regeneration or Greater Seal of Armor. The mana regeneration is a good choice because with there runes you are very unlikley to run out of mana after building Chalice of Harmony. armor is also a viable choice because early armor Vs. an Attack Damage could possibly be crucial to survival.

Glyphs- I believe that Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist is essential to Cassiopeia if she is facing another ability power champion. The reason the magic resist is scaling is because the first item you would buy is a Null-Magic Mantle. This provides very early magic resist and when your magic resist scales it reaches highs that make it very difficult for an enemy ability power champion to kill you.

Quintessences- Greater Quintessence of Ability Power are another essential rune to successfully building Cassiopeia. These runes make Cassiopeia a threat at level one. With the magic penetration combination this makes Cassiopeia have painful pokes at level one.

Like most champions Cassiopeia has 4 different spells. The reason Cassiopeia is unique with her spells is because they dependent on skill shots. Cassiopeia has Noxious Blast and Miasma (both skill shots) to poison her targets and her Twin Fang to spam on enemies. The only issue is that the enemy MUST BE POISONED if you plan on spamming Twin Fang. Hitting a target that is not poisoned with Twin Fang can be a fatal mistake because you will be sitting useless for 3 seconds, and in league time 3 seconds is A REALLY LONG TIME!

- Early Game
Early game Noxious Blast will be your hardest hitting attack and when you hit enemies with it you can harass with Twin Fang for further damage. Always keep your Miasma available to use so that if you are initiated on you can slow them and then back out, or poison them so you can use Twin Fang on them without the cool down if you have missed your Noxious Blast. If facing a champion with a gap closer like Diana or Akali Do Not Use Miasma until they dive on you. If your Noxious Blast misses because they dash at you, and you have no back up it will not end well. Additionally, if a melee range champion is in the mid lane, do not let them basic attack without facing the consequences... Noxious Blast starts to hurt after 2 or 3 pokes.

- Mid Game
Mid game is nearing the end of the laneing phase and starting to roam. Mid game is similar to early game, constantly use Noxious Blast and if your enemy is at half health and you can stun them with Petrifying Gaze, do it. This will secure the kill nearly every time unless your enemy is fed or very tanky. When stunned use Noxious Blast on them and Miasma behind them so they cant run easily. then spam your Twin Fang securing a easy kill. When your opponent has been poked too much to stay in lane and is forced to recall or you have killed them, this is the time to roam. you have no penalty because nobody is pushing your lane while you are gone and you can often get very easy kills. during ganks use Noxious Blast to hit them first and wait for them to use their escape spells (for example Flash or Quickdraw) and then use Miasma so the slow is not wasted. If Petrifying Gaze is not on cool down, you can nearly guarantee a kill, just always try for the stun because it is much more effective than the slow.

-Late Game
Late game is often the hardest part to master as Cassiopeia. Constantly poke with Q to add harass and do not get caught by their team! Poking is ok but if you might die just to poke, don't do it. During team fights you want to position yourself behind the tanks and be in the back line of the team fight. As their team swarms towards you and the AD Carry, they begin to enter the range of you ult. Always try to hit at least three in a team fight with your Petrifying Gaze! Cassiopeia's Petrifying Gaze is a game changer if executed correctly, but it does take practice. Just use it when the enemy team is running toward you, usually that is at least one easy stun and slows if the person is not facing you.


-Summary
Throughout the game always hit the enemy with Noxious Blast, use it on cool down even if you are busy spamming Twin Fang. If your poisons run out while spamming Twin Fang it is often a lost opportunity for a kill. When the enemy is running away or towards you Miasma will slow them down and is a helpful tool, and also Noxious Blast will speed you up giving you another edge on the enemy. Use Petrifying Gaze when the opportunity shows itself like explained above.

-Farming
When farming with Cassiopeia you are constantly poking your enemy when possible so you need to practice timing your final hit basic attacks. When you are poking and you know where every other player on the field is at you can push with your Noxious Blast and Miasma. The only time i suggest doing this is if you are confident you can take on your enemy and are effectively zoning them from the lane. you MUST know where the enemy jungler is if you plan on pushing the minion waves, or it is very likely the push will end badly. other times it is ok to push is if you are baiting a gank. if you want the enemy jungler to show up because you have backup waiting for you then push to bait them into a trap. Remember that farming is not only in the lane phase, it is throughout the game. kill as many creeps as possible. being ahead on Creep Score will make you have much more money than the enemy giving you an advantage.

-Ward Placement
The best place to ward is so you have vision of the wraiths on the enemy's side. This is because you can over toward that side making you aware if a gank is coming and if you are being ganked you know that path is clear. this is also a great place because if you see their jungler getting wraiths and his health is low you can get a easy kill on them.

Place a ward on the X that is Purple if you are on the purple side, and blue for the blue side.

The most important spell Cassiopeia has is Noxious Blast it does the most damage and applies a poison essential for the use of Twin Fang. Use this all the time to poke enemies or initiate a battle with them. After your enemy is poisoned use Twin Fang until your Noxious Blast is off of cool down again. always keep noxious blast on an enemy during a fight. The reason I do not recommend using Miasma at the start of your fight is because of its slow effect, often times you do not know if they are going to head toward you or away so I believe this should only be used when you know where your enemy is going to be and put it either where they are running or between you and them. And if you are facing a enemy with a gap closer, put it under your feet so they get stuck in it while attacking you. If you have a easy opportunity to hit with Petrifying Gaze use it and put Miasma under them while stunned and use Noxious Blast and Twin Fang on them as much as possible. after this they will be very low and try to run so poke as much as possible and finish with Ignite it you are unable to secure the kill. If Petrifying Gaze does not stun them continue the process being used before Petrifying Gaze was cast. (often times after Petrifying Gaze is cast then enemy will start to attempt to run or ultimate back, so be ready)

Chalice of Harmony- This is built early game because it provides mana sustain and defense. it is a key part to easily winning the lane but this item is never upgraded, and here are a few reasons why. first of all it does not provide very much ability power and with the scaling magic penetration runes the magic resist is not extremely important. By the end of the game Cassiopeia has enough mana to last a team fight without going out of mana, so the mana regeneration is not very important.

Sorcerer's Shoes- These are needed for magic penetration and movement speed. They make is way easier to kill targets with magic resist and will help the most out of all the shoes.

Liandry's Torment- The passive burning effect is the major reason this item is great on Cassiopeia. Each time you poison a target they are double poisoned, its pretty amazing. and it comes with ability power and health and magic penetration, making it a well rounded item for Cassiopeia.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter- Cassiopeia has a slow already, so why would you want another? well it is because only miasma slows enemies and this will make it so every ability slows down targets. and it is a wonerful combination with Liandry's Torment and Noxious Blast. Liandry's Torment does more damage if the target is slowed making it a perfect combination with Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Noxious Blast provides Cassiopeia with a movement speed buff, and if it also slows the enemy the combination is very strong.

Rabadon's Deathcap- This item increases ability power by massive amounts and is needed if you want to be able to keep up with damage in the game.

Zhonya's Hourglass- this is a great item to have if they have a heavy Attack Damage team because it provides armor. in addition it is great to have for the activation. if you make a mistake and hit a target with Twin Fang and they are not poisoned, you can be in a protective state while you wait for the cool down to come off. also, if they are trying to assassinate you early from the team fights, use it to simply stay alive and make your team protect you.

Void Staff- if your enemies are any good they will have built defense to you in some way. this will melt their armor a lot and make you a threat to everybody even very strong takes due to the consistency and high damage of Cassiopeia's attacks.

Guardian Angel- This item is helpful if you are playing a long game of a heavy assassin team, you get a second chance to kill or escape potentially changing the outcome of the team fight or ending the game.

Other Viable items in situations

Abyssal Mask- you could buy this item if their team is ability power heavy, and it will help you stay alive. this is not as effective as many other items for Cassiopeia because the range on the passive is not wide enough to assist her on most occasions.

Banshee's Veil- This item is useful if you need magic resist against the enemy and it give you health and mana. it also has a very useful passive and can save you from some champion combinations (For Example: Veigar or Amumu).

Lich Bane- this item could be used if your team has no pushing power and is at a stalemate forever. there are very rare situation where this item is needed because Cassiopeia has so many abilities to spam that she is not basic attacking often.

- Twin Fang can be used off any poison, even another champions! Twitch, Singed, and Teemo are fun to play with, try it out!

- Miasma reveals areas! if you are suspicious of a brush and want to check it out, throw down a miasma and you can see the area it is placed.

- Noxious Blast might not reveal an area but it sure lets yo know if there is a person in the brush. When hitting a enemy champion with Noxious Blast you get a speed buff, look for it and if you hit a enemy you will move faster! although it is not as reliable as Miasma, it is a cheaper way to check an area.

- Cassiopeia never needs to face check a bush so there is no reason to get caught!

- Petrifying Gaze stuns enemies that are facing you so if you fake them out by running and get them to chase you, turning and using Petrifying Gaze is an easy kill.

- Rylai's Crystal Scepter makes Miasma slow enemies even more!

I hope this guide helped, please leave comments on what I can do better or if you find any errors!