AS Fizz is like sending your grandpa into the boxing ring against a massive dude in his mid-thirties that looks a lot like Darius. Your grandpa is going to get made fun of because he's small, old, smells like a fish, and goes AS.

However! Your grandpa comes out swinging, catching the opponent by surprise, and gets a first round KO.

Yes, what I just described is about 90% of my AS Fizz games. People will get mad when they see your Vampiric Scepter or Bilgewater Cutlass. But as soon as they hear "FIRST BLOOD" and see Fizz's smiling face splashing all over Riven's corpse, they'll change their mind real fast.

Bear with me and I will justify exactly why AS Fizz is so strong.

If you want to get to the bread and butter number crunching, skip to the "Damage Output Analysis" section for an AS vs AP Fizz comparison!

A nobody, really. I'm currently in Silver II and steadily working my way up with AS Fizz. My ranked record with him is 29 and 9 (about 75%). I used to play him AP but found that AS is much more effective. Also (I know it's an excuse, but it happened) about 5 or 6 of those losses were due to me disconnecting while playing on ****ty hotel wifi. Why did I keep trying ranked if I was DC'ing? Beats me...

My largest winning streak with AS Fizz is 11 games.

Pros:
+ Very strong early game; stronger than AP Fizz.
+ Can save his Playful / Trickster for escape, since he isn't reliant on it for damage.
+ One of the slipperiest champions available.
+ Great at roaming and ganking other lanes.
+ Better sustained damage than AP Fizz throughout the whole game.
+ Relatively cheap items synergize very well with AS Fizz.
+ Deals magic and physical damage as well as damage based off of percent missing health and percent current health. Very hard to protect against.

Cons:
- If you don't happen to win you will get blamed for the loss because you didn't go AP.
- Low total mana early and mid game.
- Squishy, but his evasiveness and mid/late game lifesteal help make up for this.
- Not a tank or bruiser, so those roles will need to be filled by other team members.

Quintessence - Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage x 3
Red - greater mark of hybrid penetration x 9
Blue - Greater Glyph of Mana Regeneration x 9
Yellow - Greater Seal of Armor x 9

The idea behind these runes are to make Fizz, who is already strong early game, even stronger; and to make up for his most blaring weakness: mana.

The Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage help a lot with last hitting early game, and helps ensure you win your very first skirmish. Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed would also work. greater mark of hybrid penetration makes your W hit like a truck at early levels. Greater Seal of Armor are to help you survive your early game fights, and are great to reduce minion aggro damage along with his passive, Nimble Fighter.

Fizz's biggest draw back is his mana. If the opponent manages to survive your second or third QW combo, you're pretty much out of mana. Throw in a Playful / Trickster or two and you won't even get a third QW combo off. I have tested AS Fizz with and without the Greater Glyph of Mana Regeneration. These Glyphs give you enough mana to ensure a third combo with your Playful / Trickster or allow for a fourth QW combo to finish someone off.

I'm not going to go into detail here. I go 26/0/4. I get Summoner's Insight and Meditation in Utility. Then I go maximum magic and physical damage in the Offense tree. One setup I've considered is 16/14/0. This will still give armor and magic pen in the Offensive tree, but more survivability in lane.

Blade of the Ruined King, or BORK for short, is what makes AS Fizz so strong. And here's why. BORK deals a percent of the target's current health as damage, which makes it hit hard when the enemy is at full health (and especially if they have a lot of health). On top of that, Fizz's Seastone Trident deals extra damage based off the targets missing health, which makes it hit harder the more your opponent is hurt.

On top of that, BORK gives AS which makes Seastone Trident hit more often. Throw in the lifesteal and active ability on BORK and the item couldn't fit any better.

Another amazing item on fizz is Wit's End. It, too add's AS which is super important on AS Fizz and also add's even more magic damage on hit. Throw in the MR it provides and it is perfect for assassinating an AP carry.

The only other item I highly recommend for AS Fizz is Phage. It gives some much-needed HP and the possible on-hit slow. Although Fizz doesn't usually have a problem chasing a target down to finish them off, the slow prevents you from extending too far.

Boots are completely dependent on your individual game. Get Ninja Tabi if facing an AD heavy team or having trouble with an AD lane. Get Berserker's Greaves if you are very fed and plan on staying fed. But most games I'd recommend Mercury's Treads. Unless you plan on getting Zephyr, the tenacity aids in your escapes.

If you are having trouble mid game vs an AP champion(s), I usually pick up Chalice of Harmony. This provides some MR and great mana regen, allowing you to spam your E more often to dodge abilities.

If you are having trouble mid game vs an AD champion(s), I usually pick up Glacial Shroud. The mana and CDR this provides is a huge help to your damage output and the armor is an obvious boon.

Seastone Trident must be maxed first. It is your primary source of damage. When activated, the DOT it provides is pretty substantial and can easily wear down your lane.

I usually get Playful / Trickster at level 3 for jungle protection and diving. However, if you know their jungler isn't going to gank you, and you don't plan on being under their tower, a second point in Seastone Trident will bump up your damage quite a bit that early in the game.

I take Urchin Strike at level 2. Immediately after hitting level 2 I go for the throat. QW into the opponent and fight until they are dead. You can also start fighting them with only your W on. This way, if they flee you can easily close the gap with your Q and finish them off. ( Barrier, Ignite, and Elixir of Fortitude use is discussed later)

I find it pretty easy to tower dive at level 3 with fizz, even if the opponent is at half health, unless they have a stun. It requires some smart timing of his skills but it can be pulled off every time. QW into the opponent. Auto attack them until they are just under 1/4 health. Ignite and E out. Ideally you watch the tower hitting you and attack as long as you can until the next tower hit will kill you. That's when you ignite and leave.

One last trick you can do to finish off an opponent under the tower is act like you're focusing on last hitting minions. Then flash towards them, QW into them, ignite for the kill, and E out. You can do this with taking zero or one tower hit and deal a few hundred damage.

Fizz excels at getting back to an enemy carry, killing them quickly, and escaping. AS Fizz is no different. His burst damage is still commendable and his sustained damage output is very high.

Here is the goal for a teamfight:

• Keep an eye on the carry you want to kill and position yourself so you know how you're going to get to them.
• Stay behind your team and wait for someone else to initiate.
• Once the fight has started get to the enemy carry. I quite frequently use Flash immediately followed by Urchin Strike to get to him or her. They typically don't expect you to flash into the fight, so it usually catches them off guard.
• AS Fizz's mid/late game damage is on par or better than an ADC's. So what ensures you kill the enemy ADC and not vice versa? Four things.
  1. Most ADC's will panic when a Fizz is on top of them and try to retreat. This is ideal for you. Use any combination of Urchin Strike, Playful / Trickster, Blade of the Ruined King active, Flash, and Chum the Waters to stay on top of them.
  2. If you can land Chum the Waters on your target, then they are doomed. They will attempt to flee, but the slow and knockup will give you enough time to auto attack them to death.
  3. Your auto attack will kill most ADC's in three or four hits alone.
  4. Urchin Strike has a 6 second cooldown at level 5. If you initiate with it, you can easily use it again during a chase, along with Blade of the Ruined King's active.
• Often, this method will put you far behind both teams. If this is the case, you can simply escape to the nearest jungle and wait to jump back in on the next priority target.
• If you are now being chased by other enemy champions, use Urchin Strike, Playful / Trickster, the active on Blade of the Ruined King, Flash, or even Chum the Waters to assist in your escape.

To sum it up, all of your abilities (except for Seastone Trident) give you an extremely versatile and potent kit for chasing, killing, and escaping. Using them wisely will ensure victory in all of your fights. And, even though Chum the Waters deals 450 damage with 0 AP, remember to use it as a utility spell, not a damage one. It's 3 seconds of AOE CC that will aid you in dealing damage with your attacks.

If, for some reason, you are unable to get to the enemy carry, AS Fizz can quickly eat away an enemy tank's health. Blade of the Ruined King deals 5% of the targets current health, which helps eat at away a tank at full HP. Then, Seastone Trident deals 8% (at rank 5) of their missing health as extra damage. These combined allow AS Fizz to take shark-sized bites out of any opponent.

It's a fact, Chum the Waters (CTW) scares people. There have been plenty of times I should have lost a fight top but haven't simply because I used CTW. Here's an example.

I was at about 1/3 health and was facing a Riven top. She was about 3/4 health. I initiated with CTW then QW'd into her. She tried to run, even though CTW was on her. This gave me ample time to lay on the auto attacks and wither down her HP. By the time CTW was done she was at 1/4 and couldn't do anything. If she had just attempted to fight me she would have forced me to Playful / Trickster away and would have lived, thus wasting my CTW.

You may say, "Well, a good player isn't going to do that." Possibly. But I've seen it happen enough to know that it usually works. CTW scares people. It's a fact. I also feel like the opponent expects a jungle gank if you use CTW early in a fight. This psychology works in your favor.

Another thing to note about CTW is you need to have a good feel for its range to use it right. You can throw it over walls or corners to snare people to secure a kill. CTW stays on the target even if they flash away. If they have a spell shield it will prevent the 1.5 second slow, but not the knockup and damage.

One thing to note is that you can hit invisible targets with CTW.

Just don't forget to use CTW as a utility spell when playing AS Fizz. Don't think of it as damage, think of it as an AOE slow and knockup (or even a fear, lol).

The first thing to remember is that Fizz's passive, Nimble Fighter, greatly helps him trade hits. That, plus Seastone Trident make every one-for-one trade with your opponent come out in your favor.

First Minion Wave:
This strategy works for me almost 100% of the time. Kill five out of the six minions in the very first wave as fast as you can. Use your W to help kill them faster. Let your minions weaken the sixth enemy minion and last hit it. I do this for three reasons.

• If you get some AA trades with you opponent during this first wave, having more minions than your opponent will result in more minion aggro towards them if they hit you.
• The reason I kill them ASAP is to get to level 2 before my opponent.
• I don't kill the sixth minion immediately because if you do you end up a little bit too close to their tower, and per LOL101, overextending is bad. Slowing it down on this last minion lets the next wave arrive about when this minion dies, preventing you from overextending.

Now, all you need to do is kill one minion in the second wave and you hit level 2. Grab your Q and go in for the kill! Try to fight in the minion wave. You should have more minions, and your passive, resulting in your opponent taking more damage from minions than you!

VS a Melee Opponent:
If your opponent is melee, use this trick to ensure you get First Blood. Perform what I stated above, but also watch your own minions health. When you see that your opponent is going to last hit one of your minions, auto attack him and back off. Your Seastone Trident DOT will start to add up real fast.

VS a Ranged Opponent:
With a ranged opponent you aren't going to be able to push the first wave as fast without taking a lot of harass. Just play it a little slower, but still try to get level 2 before they do.

If you followed my advice in the "Farming" section, you should hit level two before your opponent does. Now for the kill.

It's best to wait until they are heading in to last hit a minion. This works vs ranged and melee since you are going to Urchin Strike into them. Here's the ideal situation:

• Urchin Strike into the opponent, making sure you are between them and their escape path.
• Activate Seastone Trident during the middle of your Urchin Strike. This ensures you don't waste its active time while not attacking.
• Keep auto-attacking the opponent, making sure to stay in range of them.
• Use ignite when the opponent gets low.
• Pop your Elixir of Fortitude if your health gets too low.

Most of the time the enemy will realize you are winning the fight and will use an escape ability and/or Flash. Anticipate this and Flash right after them and auto attack some more.

After you obtain the kill, push the lane into their tower, while being mindful of their jungler, and then immediately B in a safe location. You can show up in lane with your next items shortly after your opponent does and repeat this whole process.

Now, a very small percentage of the time this doesn't kill the opponent. However, they will be at very low health. If this ever happens, what I do is simply zone the opponent and let your Health Potions take effect. If the opponent is at low HP and smart, they wont get near you because they know a single QW + auto attack will kill them. First Blood is ideal but zoning is acceptable.

This is incredibly hard to do because it is highly situation based, and because these calculations deal with a lot of percentage-based stats. But I will do my best to show you the damage output of AS Fizz vs AP Fizz.

Assumptions

• No runes or masteries are taken into account.
• The opponent has 2000 HP, 100 armor, and 100 magic resist.
• Fizz is level 9.
• AS Fizz has one item, Blade of the Ruined King (3200 gold). His Q is level 2, his W is level 5, his E is level 1, and his R is level 1.
• AP Fizz has one item, Lich Bane (3000 gold). His Q is level 2, his W is level 1, his E is level 5, and his R is level 1.
• This theoretical fight will last for 5 seconds.
• All numbers below are after armor and MR reductions.

AS Fizz Damage Output

• Urchin Strike deals 71 damage + 24 from Seastone Trident + 150 from Blade of the Ruined King + 51 from attack damage. Enemy HP 1755.
• AS Fizz gets 5 auto attacks with the attack speed from Blade of the Ruined King, each dealing 30 (up to 45 due to missing HP % from Seastone Trident) + 150 from Blade of the Ruined King. Enemy HP after the 5 attacks, 1005.
• If you add in Chum the Waters you get 100 more damage, resulting in a final enemy HP total of 905.

AP Fizz Damage Output

• Urchin Strike deals 83 damage + 33 from Seastone Trident + 55 from Lich Bane + 39 from attack damage. Enemy HP 1829.
• AP Fizz gets 4 auto attacks each dealing 35 (up to 41 due to missing HP % from Seastone Trident). Enemy HP after 4 attacks, 1623.
• Playful / Trickster deals 165. I'll give AP Fizz the benefit of a doubt and say he was able to proc Lich Bane a second time in this 5 seconds for another 55 damage. Enemy HP 1403.
• Chum the Waters deals 240 resulting in a final enemy HP of 1163.

I also crunched the numbers with a Rabadon's Deathcap and the enemy's final HP was 1197.

Even if you were to condense this to 3 seconds, still allowing AP Fizz to get off his Playful / Trickster and Chum the Waters, AS Fizz still comes out ahead. Additionally, if you extend the time out to right before AP Fizz's cooldowns are reset, AS Fizz will have dealt more damage due to his auto attacks.

Also, this didn't take into account the active on Blade of the Ruined King.

Plus! AS Fizz still has his Playful / Trickster ready for escape. In this scenario, AP Fizz does not.

And finally you need to remember that at rank 5 Playful / Trickster costs 130 mana. If you keep it at level 1 it's only 90. Urchin Strike and Seastone Trident are only 40 and 50 respectively, relatively cheap compared to Playful / Trickster.

I prefer to go top as AS Fizz because I can reliably take down the most common tops at level 2. However this Fizz build is extremely versatile. You can go mid as well (no surprise) and you can also jungle. I don't even change any runes or masteries for jungling AS Fizz, I just rush a Madred's Razors. You can start blue or red buff and gank easily at level 2. Having two gap closers, great early game damage, and his passive make him an excellent jungler.

Hopefully I have convinced you of the viability of AS Fizz. It may seem counter intuitive, but his kit works wonderfully with Blade of the Ruined King. Playing smart as top AS Fizz will result in you snowballing your lane.

Fizz's roaming potential and escape ability remain and you have a higher damage output. Why wouldn't you play AS Fizz?