Elise Build Guide : It Came From The Shadow Isles! - An in-depth Elise guide

Insane Introduction

s
s

Hello and welcome to my first mobafire guide, which will be on Elise. From the moment she came out I've been hooked on her and her unique play style. She can fill a huge range of roles, including mid lane, top lane, and jungle, and her build options are hugely flexible, though I will be primarily focusing on her in mid lane. If you need any further convincing, here's what playing Elise makes you feel like:

SPACESPACE

s
s

Riot Champion Spotlight

s
s

Professional Pros / Consequential Cons

s
s

Strong mid game
Excellent burst if done right
Lots of utility and versatility

Weak early game
Vulnerable when abilities are on cooldown
Takes some time to get used too

s
s

Malevolent Masteries

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE

space

Offense Tree

In the Offense tree, you're gonna want to invest all the way like most AP carries. Not too much explanation necessary here.

SPACESPACE

space

Defense Tree

The rest of your mastery points should be invested into the Defense Tree because Elise scales surprisingly well with a defensive build. Relentless is rather situational; pick it up if you're against a team with a heavy kiting composition.

s
s

Ravaging Runes

s
s

Runes - First choice

s
s

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

s
s

s

spaaaace

Since our opposition will stack Magic Resistance, we have to deal with that asap. Because % magic penetration is applied before flat magic penetration those work really well in combination with Void Staff. The more flat magic penetration you got, the more effective those items will be, as they get their best effect at lower magic resistance levels.

s
s
s

Once you leave your lane and team fights begin you need to have armor. These give you that extra defense while you don't have your armor items yet.

Sometimes you will meet hybrid characters like Katarina or Ezreal in mid lane or a really magic damage heavy team composition. In this case I'd recommend Greater Seal of Scaling Health to lower their overall damage.

spaaaace

s

s
s
s

s

spaaaaaace

Most of the champions we will face in mid lane deal primarily magical damage. In order to trade properly with them, we need those cheap but very effective runes.

Against an AP lane you may consider flat ones to negate the damage early on.

s
s
s
s

Runes - Second choice

s
s

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

s
s

Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction and Greater Seal of Cooldown Reduction increases your overall damage really well, especially because cooldown reduction is harder to achieve by items than the rest. Still, I prefer additional protection versus magic damage burst without having to rush a magic resistance item. If you want to use them it's probably a good idea to use them with a more tanky build.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power increases your damage both in the early and late game. Since you are scaling decent, this results in better harass and some extra minion kills. Take these instead if your confident about your lane match-up.

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed are nearly on pair with the magic penetration ones because mobility is one of the most important stats in this game. The greatest AP doesn't help you if you cannot reach your target.

s
s

Super Summoner Spells

s
s

In my opinion, is non-negotiable; it seriously helps me burst down both squishy's and tanks with it's true damage, and nets me around 1-3 kills a game I couldn't otherwise have had.

can be really helpful for closing the distance to a target, or putting some between you and the enemy. You can also flash over certain walls with it, which is incredibly helpful.

If your worried about adc's bursting you down, take this. can often turn a fight around. It's also very useful for escaping or preventing an enemy from escaping.

s
s

Stupendous Skill Sequence

s
s

iiiiSpider iiSwarm

In Human Form, Elise's spells will ready a spiderling when cast on an enemy. When Elise transforms she summons her Spiderlings to fight by her side. Spiderlings deal physical damage and take reduced damage from multi-target abilities.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks

Spiderlings cannot be directly controlled, though they will prioritize Elise's target when attacking, and leap to the target of Venomous Bite
If Elise transforms back into Human Form after having summoned any Spiderlings, any Spiderlings that were alive will be retained and will return if Elise casts Spider Form again

SPACESPACE

Neurotoxin

Elise deals magic damage plus 8% of target's current health as bonus damage. Damage against monsters is capped depending on level.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks

Neurotoxin deals more damage the more health an enemy has, so always try to use it at the beginning of a fight instead of near the end
Don't use it to zone your opponent until you've invested a few points into it

iii
iii

Venomous iiiiiBite

Elise lunges forward and bites her target, dealing magic damage plus 8% of target's missing health as bonus damage. Damage against monsters is capped depending on level.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks:

Use Venomous Bite when your target's health is low to deal as much damage as possible
Spiderlings will attack the target of Venomous Bite

SPACESPACE

Volatile Spiderling

Elise releases a venom-gorged Spiderling that explodes after 3 seconds or when it nears a target.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks:

Volatile Spiderling will explode when it reaches its first target, which can be either a champion, a creep, or a monster
Make sure the way to your target is clear before using Volatile Spiderling, as other wise it might instead go after an entirely different enemy!
Volatile Spiderling grants vision of a small area around it
Volatile Spiderling jumps to the target of Venomous Bite provided that there's no minions blocking the path

iii
iii

Skittering iiFrenzy

Elise and her Spiderlings passively gain Attack Speed. On activation, the Attack Speed of Elise and her Spiderlings is increased for 3 seconds and Elise is healed by 4 health on every attack.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks:

Skittering Frenzy can be used to clear a minion wave, burst down a champion, or help destroy a tower
Skittering Frenzy has no cast time

SPACESPACE

iiiCocoon

Elise fires a web that stuns the first enemy struck for 1.5 seconds.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks:

Cocoon is a skill shot, so always remember to lead your target before using it
Cocoon will reveal any enemy hit

iii
iii

iiiRappel

On enemy cast: Elise and her Spiderlings lift up into the air and then descend upon the target enemy.
On ground cast: Elise and her Spiderlings lift up into the air, becoming untargetable for 2 seconds and revealing nearby enemies. She can then cast Rappel again to descend upon a nearby enemy.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks:

Use Rappel to chase down fleeing enemies or escape by jumping into the air next to a jungle camp
Rappel can be used to dodge Karthus's ult, Requiem if timed right

SPACESPACE

Spider Form / Human Form

Elise transforms into the Godzilla of spiders with new abilities. While in Spider Form, Elise deals bonus magic damage on each attack and gains 10 bonus Movement Speed as well as bonus Armor and Magic Resistance.

SPACESPACE

Details

SPACESPACE

Tips and Tricks:

Unlocked at level one and it costs no mana to transform
All abilities in Spider Form cost no mana to cast
Transform to roam the jungle faster or for some added survivability
Her Human Form and Spider Form abilities have seperate cooldowns
If your Spiderlings die, use your Human Form abilities to regenerate them
Spider Form's bonus damage does not affect turrets or other structures

s
s

Incredible Items: Early and Core

s

Starting Items

space

Because of the changes to Boots in S3 it is no longer the best start to take especially on champions that use a lot of mana. The Crystalline Flask is a very cost efficient item, as it gives you a total of 360 hp and 180 mana, and is refilled whenever you go back to your fountain. Then I go with 1 Health Potion for some sustain in lane and finally I buy one Sight Ward to protect myself from any early ganks.

space

sight ward

-

space

Starting 7 Health Potions and 2 Mana Potions will provide the sustain you'll need in lane. To go along with that you can take 2 Sight Wards to protect yourself from ganks. Since being in mid you are very vulnerable to ganks in numerous locations; having wards at the start will greatly help in staying alive.

space

s

space

Though it was the norm in S2, this combo has fallen out of favour due to the movement speed nerf. Nonetheless, this start is still viable if you're against a opponent that utilizes skill-shots or to help with poking enemies and avoiding delayed skills.

space

s
s

Early Game

s

space

Early on you'll want to pick up a Doran's Ring. This item will give a nice boost in health, Ability Power, and mana regen. If you fall behind, it might be a good idea to pick up an additional ring(s), though you should never buy more than 3.

space

s

space

On your first trip back to base pick up Boots if you didn't start with them to increase your movement speed, which greatly with dodging skillshots and overcoming ganks. If you can, try to buy this and your one Doran's Ring at the same time.

space

s

space

This item gives you even more early magic pen as well as a little bit of ability power and 200 health making you harder to kill. This is a great overall early item for APs especially since it builds into a Liandry's Torment.

space

s

space

These synergize extremely well to your Greater Mark of Magic Penetration to help you penetrate the base magic resist of most champions. These boots aren't the standard AP carry ones for nothing. Late game, you can replace these with Mercury's Treads after you purchase your Void Staff as it's added damage will be negligible.

space

s
s

s

Core Items

s

space

With your main early game power and regen bought it is time to add some much needed extra CC and more health to your kit. Rylai's Crystal Scepter is the item to do that. It provides a 35% slow to enemy movement speed for all single target spells and a 15% slow for all AoE spell damage done to the target(s). While this might not sound like a lot, it's still quite helpful and it will really combo well with your Liandry's Torment.

space

s

space

This is should be built after getting Rylai's Crystal Scepter. This item gives you some more ability power as well as everything that Haunting Guise gave you. It also has a passive that will cause targets to have 6% of their current health done as damage to them over 3 seconds. It becomes 12% if the target is slowed. The slow from Rylai's Crystal Scepter will proc the 12% and between that, your Neurotoxin and Ignite, you shouldn't have any issues moping up fights.

space

s
s

Incredible Items: Late Game

s
SPACESPACE
-

Offensive Items:

s

__

Seraph's Embrace: With the recent mana cost increases to Neurotoxin, a mana sustain item is almost necessary for laning. A early Tear of the Goddess should solve all your mana problems, and will build into a Archangel's Staff, but what you really want is Seraph's Embrace and its active, which, when combined with the extra mana from either a Iceborn Gauntlet or Frozen Heart, will grant you a ridiculous shield.

_

SPACESPACE

-

__

Abyssal Scepter: Gives a good amount of ap and some helpful magic resist, which can be really useful against another ap caster. The magic resist debuff is very useful for bursting down squishy's or getting through tanks. Sell this item late game for a Void Staff if the other team is heavily stacking magic resist.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Deathfire Grasp: This item is really helpful, especially if you're having trouble with a offtank like Lee Sin or Olaf. All their health will amplify it's actives damage, and your spells will also do increased damage to them, so remember to use its active either first or right after your Neurotoxin. In addition to this, the CDR and ability power is nice.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Zhonya's Hourglass: Grants a huge amount of ap, and the armour is a nice touch. The active on this can often determine whether or not you die in a fight. Really useful for diving into a group of enemy champions, bursting down their carry, then just chilling while your team-mates mop up the rest of their team.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Rabadon's Deathcap: Has the highest ap of any item (and one of the highest prices). Though a must have on virtually any other ap carry, it's not necessarily necessary on Elise, since she deals primarily health % based damage, so magic pen. benefits her more than flat ap.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Void staff: As stated earlier, a good late game item if the the majority of the enemy team has over 100 magic resist. And even if they don't, it might still be a good idea to pick this up; by cutting through their magic resist, your health % based damage should skyrocket.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Blackfire Torch: (note: Twisted Treeline exclusive item) A good anti-tank that can help you get through their magic resist and use all that extra health against them. It also helps you stay in a fight longer thanks to its health and cooldown reduction. Just keep an eye on your charges to make the most out of this item.

_

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE

SPACESPACE
-

Defensive Items:

s

__

Frozen Heart: This is a good item on Elise because it gives her a huge amount of armour and the buff really helps against adc's. Though the mana isn't entirely necessary, it can be helpful if you want to repeatedly spam your spells. The cd reduction is also very helpful.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Guardian Angel: A excellent buy if you find that you're getting heavily focused in teamfights, or can't get your full combo off on the enemy team's carry.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Banshee's Veil: This item is great when you are looking to counter combo based spell casters. Examples would be Brand, Xerath, and Morgana. Also, if they have an annoyingly large amount of CC this would be a good time to buy.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Quicksilver Sash: When you're fighting Brand, Malzahar, or Morgana, this item will remove all stuns they lay out on you, effectively blocking their combos.

_

SPACESPACE

__

Iceborn Gauntlet: All the stats this item offers are quite good, and the passive can be very helpful during a teamfight.

_

s
SPACESPACE

SPACESPACE

__

Mercury's Treads: Buy these boots if you find that the enemy team has just WAY too much hard CC (ie. Cho'Gath central). The added magic resist doesn't hurt either.

_

s

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

s
s
Standard Combo:
SPACESPACE

--> -->

SPACESPACE

Your bread and butter so to speak. Use this to deal a fair amount of damage without fear of retaliation. Just don't use it to much or you'll burn through all your mana very quickly!

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE
Ultimate Damage Combo:
SPACESPACE

--> --> --> -->

-->

SPACESPACE

This is the combo you're going to use if you want to kill someone. Start out in Human Form and try to land your Cocoon on the enemy. If you do, quickly proceed to use your W and Q at the same time to deal the most damage possible. Next, switch to your Spider Form. If your enemy Flash's away, use your Rappel to jump to them. Activate your Skittering Frenzy for the attack speed boost and keep auto-attacking them. At the end use your Venomous Bite. If they still aren't dead, some of your cooldowns will be down already so just switch back to Human Form and repeat the same combo.

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE
Ganking:
SPACESPACE

--> --> --> -->

SPACESPACE

Use this whenever you're ganking a lane. Start out in Spider Form and use your Rappel to drop onto them. Next, transform into Human Form and land your Standard Combo.

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE

SPACESPACE
SPACESPACE
Escaping:
SPACESPACE

-->

SPACESPACE

If the enemy jungler ganks you or your simply being chased, try to land your Cocoon on them and then jump to a nearby jungle camp with your Rappel.

s
s

Tenacious Teamfights

s

After you hit lvl 7 - 8 it is time to start either pushing or ganking. If at all possible, ask your jungler for Blue buff. If you have any spare gold, pick up some wards.

As Elise, your job in team fights to neutralize their carry and clean up after your team has gone in. Due to the fact you have extremely high burst, you should be focusing a squishier guy like Ashe, Caitlyn, LeBlanc, and Veigar. Your Cocoon should be saved for when you see a carry or high priority target grossly out of position or exposed.

REMEMBER THAT POSITIONING IS KEY

For the first half of your combo, you must be near enough to the team fight to deal damage but far back enough to not be focused or exposed when doing so. The second half of your combo though forces you to go directly go into a fight, so you'll have to time your entry and use of Venomous Bite very carefully.

You may not always be able to pull off your full damage on only one carry, so don't be afraid to try and hurt a support or someone squisher at the front. By the later stages of the game, you should play extra cautious and always be on the lookout. Stay at the back of your team and focus the enemy carry, or the person you think deals the biggest amount of dmg.

If the enemies backline is too well protected, stay back and focus down whoever jumps in. Sometimes it's better to just focus down whoever is closest as a team than to just blindly jump onto the enemy backline, though if their carry shows up, by all means focus them instead.

DON'T CHASE! You'll cut off a huge amount of your teams overall damage, expose yourself, and more than likely lose the fight/get killed. Let them go, your team fight is more important than one potential kill.

Try not to fight when they have baron! The buff is really powerful and only unless you have to or are in a 5v3 situation, DO NOT ENGAGE OTHERWISE!

YOU ARE NOT THE TANK! Do not engage! Too many times I have seen people wandering in the front of their team, only to be jumped. A good rule of thumb is to stay a little behind your tank or support, depending on who they are. This way you won't get caught and can get right into the upcoming fight.

TL;DR

SPACESPACE

space

s
s

Jurassic Jungle

-

Start at a camp in Human Form. Use your Neurotoxin on the big creep and then throw out your Volatile Spiderling and quickly change into Spider Form and use Venomous Bite on the big creep again due to the % missing health damage and then activate Skittering Frenzy to clear the rest and move on to the next camp.

When you use your Rappel, it gives you vision of the whole area, so it allows you to jump over walls in the jungle to neutral camps and dragon/baron. This allows for some clever escape tactics when invading and in general.

It is very important to note that you can make your Spider Queen tank the creep camps as well as baron/dragon. All you have to do is change into spider form and attack the creeps, and then just move behind your spiders. Due to the nature of the Season 3 jungle aggro, they will attack your spider creeps and you should be able to have full health at all times due to your Skittering Frenzy and your spiderling. This gets rid of Elise's sustain problem.

Elise suffers from lacking the ability to gain huge amounts of health fast. She needs a bit of time to recover with her Spirit Stone and Skittering Frenzy, so try to do smart engages and not to take too much damage or you'll be more of a liability.

Ganking with Elise:

When ganking, try to initiate with Human Form and landing your Cocoon. After, Q then W. Quickly change into spider form and Q and W. They will most likely use Flash or leap away, so then use your Rappel and then quickly Q again for the kill.

If they are too far to reach and stun, initiate with your Rappel in Spider Form and Q them to close the distance. Quickly change into Human Form and land your Cocoon and Q and W them. Walk along with them to be able to change into Spider Form and Q them again for % missing health damage.
-

Sigh... Support

s

Play offensively. You are not a defensive/sustain support.

In lane, use Neurotoxin whenever possible to harass the enemy laners down. Just run up, cast it, and walk back, for free, unanswered damage that quickly adds up. You may wish to take it up to rank 2 before you start spamming it, as its level 1 damage is not very high for the mana cost.

If you can land Cocoon on an enemy, switch to Spider Form, jump on their face, activate Skittering Frenzy, and start biting away. Between Venomous Bite, on-hit damage, your Spider Queen, and your carry backing you up, you will hurt.

The above two actions, repeated, will make up 90% of your lane presence.

Use Cocoon to repel ganks, or enable your own jungler's ganks.

Use Volatile Spiderling to scout brush for vision. Avoid spamming this spell as it is less effective than Neurotoxin, and will drain your mana fast.

Use Rappel to escape, dodge skillshots, or snipe fleeing low-health enemies.
Remember you gain free armour and +10 movespeed in Spider Form. However don't always remain in Spider Form in lane, or your spiderlings may steal CS from your ADC, and may be killed off. You're not able to use your Cocoon -> Spider Form combo if you start out in Spider Form. You usually want to be in human form to keep harassing with Neurotoxin.

Later in the game, your playstyle is similar. Attempt to stun enemies with Cocoon for your team to engage, or save it to protect your carry if the enemy team has high-threat assassins. Harass with Neurotoxin if you can do so safely. Use Rappel to scout through fog of war. Switch to Spider Form for engagements; don't underestimate the damage you can throw out even with minimal items.

Generally you should prioritise protecting your carry over chasing enemies, but use your own judgment.
-

Majestic Mid Lane Match Up's A-G

s
s

Blue Indicates an easy difficulty champion.

Orange Indicates an average difficulty champion.

Red Indicates a hard difficulty champion.

s
s

Ahri

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Ahri

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Ahri is a champ with a combo reliant kit. She relies mostly on landing her Charm to achieve her high burst damage, so stay behind minions. This matchup is not too hard, but it will all come down to the player skills. You should try to farm the most you can and have your jungler gank as much as possible, because you are not going to get many kills in your lane. After level 6 Ahri gains high mobility through her ultimate, Spirit Rush.

s
s

Akali

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Akali

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Akali is a high-burst, high mobility champion. This lane match-up need's to be played very aggressively. You cannot let her free farm, try to zone her with your Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite and punish her every time she approaches to last hit. After level 6 when she has her Shadow Dance, she gets the high mobility she needs to make your life miserable, so take advantage before she reaches level 6 and use that in your favour to get ahead. After level 6 play cautious and wait for the right moment to strike.

s
s

Anivia

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Anivia

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Anivia's one weakness is that she has to slow you before she can do any real damage. Before she hits 6 her ability to combo is horrible. Punish her for this, but don't try to kill her. Unless she is asking for it, passively farm. Due to her passive, Rebirth killing her is a real pain in the ***, as you have to do it twice. Try to always be in lane after 6 as she can push it really hard with her Glacial Storm. AVOID HER Flash Frost, IT'S EASY BUT IT HURTS WHEN SHE HITS YOU!

s
s

Annie

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Annie

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Annie tends to try and bully you out of the lane, so just "let" her do it for a while. However, every time she gets close, hit her with your Cocoon and Volatile Spiderling then run back. Eventually she will have to stop doing this because she is simply losing these trades. Now all that is left to do is out farm her and not over extend. After level six, be extra careful around her when she has Pyromania up; she can easily stun you with it by using Summon: Tibbers. If you do get stunned by her, don't panic. Her range is rather bad, so if you Flash she won't be able to hit you again.

s
s

Brand

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Easy
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Brand

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Brand can be a rather easy lane, but don't underestimate him. The key thing to beating him is to harass him after he uses Pillar of Flame and Conflagration on the minion wave (this is his farm combo). After he does this, he can't really fight back, which is why you go after him. Also, if you are always moving while fighting him he will have a higher chance of missing his Sear and Pillar of Flame. Running side to side instead of up and down will throw him off as well. Also, don't bunch up with your team when fighting him, as his Pyroclasm will melt your face off if it's allowed to bounce around!

s
s

Cassiopeia

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Cassiopeia

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Cassiopeia is a force to be reckoned with. She has very good CSing and spamming. Her Twin Fang spam is devastating and Petrifying Gaze gives her a almost guaranteed kill if she lands it. Her Noxious Blast gives her a speed up, so she can use this to run right at you to slow and kill you. My best advice is to avoid being hit by her Noxious Blast at all costs, and let her push the minions to your tower so you can CS safely. If you do get into a fight, try to hit her immediately with Cocoon and/or turn around about 1.5 second into fight. She will probably miss her stun because of this, and now she is in trouble. Remember, dodge Noxious Blast and Petrifying Gaze and you're golden.

s
s

Diana

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Diana

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Diana can be a medium to major problem depending on how you deal with her. Traditionally built as a tanky ap assassin, she can dish it out while still soaking up a surprising large amount of punishment. She also has huge snowball potential. During laning, you'll want to play it safe; her Crescent Strike out ranges your harass, and her Pale Cascade can block your Neurotoxin. Once she unlocks her Lunar Rush, try very hard to avoid her Crescent Strike because if she hits you with it she'll be able to cast Lunar Rush twice on you. One thing to keep in mind is that while Diana has amazing chase potential, she doesn't have many escape mechanisms. If she does focus you, a well timed Cocoon can mess up her whole combo on and allow you to leisurely walk away, or punish her in turn.

s
s

Ezreal

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Easy
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Ezreal

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Better suited as a adc bot, Ezreal occasionally appears in mid as a ap carry. This should be a fairly easy lane since shutting down squishy carries is your job. He will constantly try to snipe you with his Mystic Shot, so just chill behind your minions or ran around hectically. If he manages to burst you down, be extra careful when recalling as he will most likely use Trueshot Barrage to snipe you. If you can't avoid his ult use your Rappel to dodge it.

s
s

Fiddlesticks

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Fiddlesticks

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Fiddlesticks can be pretty annoying mid. His silence from Reap is killer, and God forbid you get caught in his Crowstorm. Most fiddles max their Bountiful Harvest and Terrify first, so the silence doesn't last long. Just let him fear drain and silence you, but after the fear land your Cocoon on him. This will break the cast of Bountiful Harvest, and at this point you can just eat him. Don't try and out DPS his Bountiful Harvest, YOU WILL LOSE. If you see him casting Crowstorm you can interrupt it with Cocoon, which will stop it and reset it's cooldown. A real pisser if you are fiddlestick =D. Another note is that if he casts Bountiful Harvest on you, Rappel won't break its chain on you unless you jump to a far away creep or monster.

s
s

Fizz

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Fizz

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

This is a very hard and very annoying lane match-up. His Playful / Trickster can be used to dodge abilities in the same way your Rappel does, which can be extremely annoying. Like you, he is an assassin, and therefore he is very weak at pushing a lane, though Elise can farm a lane quite a bit better, so what I would recommend is warding both sides of your river and keeping Fizz pushed as much as possible, then call in your jungler. If he hits you with Chum the Waters's, use your Rappel to outlast the majority of the slow.

s
s

Gragas

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Gragas

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

In theory, Gragas is a morbidly obese hill-billy with a serious drinking problem (remember kids, alcohol destroys families), which should equate into a easy lane, though practice is often different from theory. He has a potentially high damage output, but 3 of his abilities are all skill shots. Dodge his annoying Barrel Roll and you should be all-right for the most part. Try to land a Cocoon on him, otherwise just farm and dodge. After level 6 when he unlocks his Explosive Cask his damage output hugely escalates. If he manages to land a full combo, you'll be seeing a grey screen for a little bit. Fortunately for you, your Rappel can dodge his ult if timed right.

s
s

Majestic Mid Lane Match Up's H-N

s
s

Karthus

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Karthus

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Karthus can be really annoying, he's going try to zone you with his Lay Waste and the worst thing is, he won't even run out of mana because it costs almost nothing and his Defile grants him mana regen everytime he kills something. That won't make it a hard lane, you are just going to need to be paying more attention to it. Try to hit him with your Cocoon to perform a full combo on him, otherwise just farm and run "around" to avoid his Lay Waste. Go for the kill whenever the chance presents itself, keep in mind that you can't have low HP when you go in for the kill or he will kill you with his Death Defied and Requiem.

s
s

Kassadin

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Kassadin

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for the one, the only, the original ANTI-MAGE! Kassadin is the ban of most ap carries, and though you're not just some average ap carry, you're still vulnerable to him. He's weaker than you earlier game, so use this to your advantage. Deny him as much farm as possible, and try to get your jungler to gank him before level six. Once he unlocks Riftwalk your life can become a living nightmare. Virtually any gank is rendered useless, and you'll have a slim chance of getting away from or catching him.

s
s

Katarina

SPACESPACE

sinister steel

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Katarina

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Katarina shouldn't be too horrible. You can interrupt Death Lotus with your Cocoon / Rappel, so that kind of cuts off a lot of her damage. However, Shunpo will make it hard to land skill shots. Her daggers hurt, and she has no mana so she can spam pretty much all day. Try and bait her into fighting you. If she does use her jump on you, you will win. If she walks up to you, then don't full combo her. Fight her when her Shunpo is down!

s
s

Kayle

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium/Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Kayle

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Her Divine Blessing is annoying as it boosts her movement speed and gives her health back, making harass harder. I have found that you can out damage her, but be careful when fighting her when her Intervention up. Don't blow your load all at once, watch her for an ultimate and back off. Only engage her when you have at least 30% more HP.

s
s

Kennen

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Kennen

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Kennen can be really tricky to deal with because he has a lot of stuns and speed. However for him to combo he has to get close to you. When he charges you, jump away with Rappel or flash from him if he use Slicing Maelstrom and beat him up from a distance. DO NOT STAND IN HIS Slicing Maelstrom! Hide behind your minions so his Thundering Shuriken can't hit you. A large majority of his damage and the beginning of his combo comes from you being hit by his Q, but that can only happen if you are in the open. Avoid getting a Q, kill his damage. If he does rush up to you, try and kite him. Distance is your friend, slows and stuns are your... SUPAH best friends!

s
s

LeBlanc

SPACESPACE

Sigil of Silence

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to LeBlanc

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

LeBlanc's burst is stupidly strong, but if you can live through her burst she is dead in the water. Try at all costs to dodge her Distortion and her Ethereal Chains. If you don't get snared and can live through her silence you can eat her alive. Be careful when she gets low, as her passive will momentarily make her invincible, and be sure to target the real LeBlanc and not her clone.

s
s

Lux

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Lux

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Lux is an champion with an very strong early game, though if you can shut her down early, she won't be much of a threat. Play real safe and don't let her free kill you. All of her abilities are long cooldown skill shots, so if you can dodge her Light Binding and/or Lucent Singularity you will win most of the trades. She is a high range caster, and will be spend most of the day trying to harass you from afar. If she burns her abilities, don't waste the opportunity; close the distance with your Rappel and burst her down.

s
s

Malzahar

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Malzahar

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Malzahar can deal some serious burst damage with his Nether Grasp, especially if it's cast on top of his Null Zone, since it deals health % damage. His Malefic Visions are very strong for farming and harass. Never get close to a minion with visions, because if it dies you will get it. Stay far away and wear him down gradually, and try not to engage in a 1v1 if you know his ultimate is up; chances are, you will most likely lose if you do. If you can survive his combo though, there's not much he can do since all his abilities have fairly long cooldowns.

s
s

Mordekaiser

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Mordekaiser

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Mordekaiser has a short range but his passive, Iron Man, can actually block a ridiculous amount of damage, especially when combined with his Creeping Death. Your best bet is to only hit him when his shield is down, and be careful when his ult is up. He will steal a lot of your HP with it. Try and kite him if you can, which is easier said than done. His shield is charged based on how much damage he does, so if he hits a whole minion wave he will get a lot more than if he hit one wraith. Therefore harass him before he can use his skills on the wave, not after.

s
s

Morgana

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Morgana

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Morgana is not a hard lane, though if you make mistakes you will pay for them with your life. She will try to land her Dark Binding on you, so just hide behind your minions. If you try to burst her down, she will pop her Black Shield, so the best thing to do is farm farm farm. And after that farm some more. In the mean while, try to zone her with your Neurotoxin. Call for ganks often but whatever you, don't get her fed! I would highly recommend a Quicksilver Sash against her since it counters her Dark Binding and Soul Shackles, several limiting her damage

s
s

Nidalee

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Nidalee

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

It's really important to punish Nidalee from levels 1-5. Try to spam your Neurotoxin and Volatile Spiderling, though don't burn all of your mana. It's also important to push up the lane a lot, as though this will leave you susceptible to ganks, there's nothing a Nidalee can do really do aid a jungler gank pre-6, so you should be fairly safe if you buy wards. Nidalee isn't good at last hitting at the tower, unless it's a very good player, in which case they'll still miss a few last hits. After level 6 you need to play extremely cautiously because she can punish you with cougar, maybe even kill you with 1 burst and a spear. The two most important things is to force her to burn her mana for heals, and to avoid her Javelin Toss / Takedown at all costs.

s
s

Majestic Mid Lane Match Up's O-Z

s
s

Orianna

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Orianna

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Truth be told, I haven't seen Orianna too much, so my information might be slightly off. Don't get to close to her, and remember that the ball can deal damage when it passes through you, so don't stand in her general direction with the ball behind you. If she casts Command: Shockwave, it's likely that a immediate gank is incoming. All of her damage comes from the ball, so don't get near the ball. Not extremely hard.

s
s

Ryze

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Ryze

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Ryze is a weak early game champ, and you need to take advantage of it. Zone him hard with Neurotoxin and Volatile Spiderling to deny him farm, though don't burn all of your mana! After level 6 things get a little different but you'll remain in front. Keep the harass and go for the kill when you're sure you'll get it. One thing you do not want is a fed late game Ryze.

s
s

Swain

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium / Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Swain

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

He has more poke than you, more sustain than you, and can Nevermove you when you try to go in on him. Swain's lane sustain is killer at level 6, so burst is your best friend. Don't get snared in his Nevermove and try not to stand near him when he casts Ravenous Flock, since he will just heal back most of the damage you deal, while your own health is slowly whittled away!

s
s

Talon

SPACESPACE

mercy

cutthroat

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : HardSPACEPost 6 : Damn Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Talon

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Talon is one of the hardest lanes you can get with Elise, or any mage for that matter. He's a high mobility burst assassin with a blink/dash that silences you. This alone will make your lane annoyingly hard. Try to zone him with Neurotoxin but always stay out of range of cutthroat. Try to rush an early Seeker's Armguard as it will offer a brief reprieve from him and can be built into Zhonya's Hourglass. Try to push the minion wave and then go for ganks, or stay in lane and ask your jungler for a gank.

s
s

Twisted Fate

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Easy
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Twisted Fate

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

His Wild Cards is very easy to dodge, and until he gets Lich Bane and some attack speed his damage is not very good. If he has his yellow card primed be prepared for a flash stun gank. Announce when he hits 6 so no one yells at you for not calling mia if he teleports to their lane.

s
s

Veigar

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Easy / Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Veigar

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

His early game is even worse than yours, and until 6 he deals little damage. Your primary goal in this lane to prevent him from farming up his Baleful Strike, with killing him coming second. It's very important to stack magic resist against Veigar since his Primordial Burst will use your ap against you. If he stuns with his Event Horizon you're pretty much screwed if he has a Rabadon's Deathcap, so yah... don't get stunned =D

s
s

Vlad

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Vlad

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Your best bet against Vlad is your Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite, since Vlad relies on stacking health. He can heal through a lot of your harass and dodge your spells with his Sanguine Pool. Ignite and range are your best friends, use both of them to your advantage. Though his Hemoplague does a rather small amount of damage in and of itself, it amplifies all his damage against you, so if he casts it on you try to get away or use Rappel to avoid most of his ensuing burst. I would highly recommend not attempting to tower dive him even when he has low health, on account of his Sanguine Pool.

s
s

Xerath

SPACESPACE

Ascended Form

Locus of PowerMage Chains

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Xerath

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

The definition of a poker. Pre-six, he will mostly try to farm with Arcanopulse and harass you. Post level six, if he uses his Mage Chains, you can't dodge all his ult, but you may be able to dodge 1 or even 2 if you are lucky. Excluding his Mage Chains, he is 100% skillshots so if you are good at dodging (or, most likely, he is a bad shot) the lane is yours. He has range on you, so you might as well poke him and try to dodge his burst. Remember that both his Arcanopulse and Arcane Barrage indicate where they are going to hit.

s
s

Zed

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium/Hard
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Zed

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

One of the newest additions to the League, Zed should be considered much the same as Talon. He uses energy instead of mana, so he's going to probably spam his Razor Shuriken all day. Try to move erratically and unpredictably around him. You CAN try to kite him, but he has a deceptive amount of range when his Razor Shuriken is combined with his Living Shadow, and he has a strong slow also. If he casts Death Mark on you, quickly use Rappel to avoid the brunt of his attack, as much of the damage from it comes from the repercussions of his other attacks on you.

s
s

Ziggs

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : EasySPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Ziggs

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Ziggs kit is entirely based around skill shots, so try to keep your distance, and move around hectically and unpredictably. If you engage him, he can burst you down or instead escape rather easily with a Satchel Charge+ Hexplosive Minefield combo. If he gets you low, it's important to watch out for his Mega Inferno Bomb. You should generally save your Rappel to avoid the majority of his retaliation.

s
s

Zyra

SPACESPACE

Deadly Bloom

SPACESPACE

DIFFICULTY

Pre 6 : MediumSPACEPost 6 : Medium
SPACESPACE

Counter Items to Zyra

SPACESPACE

GAMEPLAY

SPACESPACE

Zyra is an very powerful mid, with both a strong burst and lane presence. Try to avoid getting rooted by her Grasping Roots, but if you do (assuming you have equal gold and hp) you should win the engagement. Poke her a lot, out damage her, watch for roots. They are very slow, so it's relatively easy to dodge them. Finally, don't fight near her plants. They account for half of her damage. IF you get caught in her Stranglethorns, simply cast Rappel to get out of it.

s
s

Sufficient Summary

s

Thank you for reading my guide! I hope you enjoyed it, and that it will help you in your future endeavours. If you liked it, remember to leave a upvote! If you found something you disagreed with or didn't like, I'd appreciate it if you left your complaint in the Discussion section instead of just downvoting my guide over one thing. I'd also like to thank the Academy, my friends, family, and especially jhoijhoi, who without her Making a Guide, none of this would have been possible, and also I Am Lord and Master, who greatly helped me with formatting and editing my guide.

s
s

Changelog

s

Day/Month/Year Format

2/1/2012 - Revised "Malevolent Masteries"

3/1/2012 - Revised Summoner Spells

4/1/2012 - Redid "Stupendous Skill Sequence" and "Incredible Items" sections

5/1/2012 - Edited Runes section; fixed various typo's and spelling errors

9/1/2013 - Added in top lane items and edited jungle items

10/1/2013 - Edited various pictures and icons

14/1/2013 - Edited various champions sections in "Mid Lane Match Up's"; edited Top Lane Items

18/1/2013 - Added in a 3v3 build

22/1/2013 - Added Abyssal Mask to mid lane items

23/1/2013 - Edited Masteries

11/2/2013 - Fixed several minor mistakes

12/2/2013 - Top rated Elise guide was archived, making mine #1 by default

20/3/2013 - Added Diana to "Majestic Mid Lane Match Up's"

23/3/2013 - Added Muramana to "Incredible Items" / Changed layout of "Incredible Items"

5/4/2013 - Added Support builds and laning section

6/4/2013 - Edited several builds and changed the layout of "Incredible Items"

It Came From The Shadow Isles! - An in-depth Elise guide

It Came From The Shadow Isles! - An in-depth Elise guide

Choose Champion Build:

Recommended Items

Spells:

Ignite

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Spider Queen (PASSIVE)

Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite (Q)

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy (W)

Cocoon / Rappel (E)

Spider Form / Human Form (R)

Recommended Items

Spells:

Smite

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Spider Queen (PASSIVE)

Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite (Q)

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy (W)

Cocoon / Rappel (E)

Spider Form / Human Form (R)

Recommended Items

Spells:

Flash

Exhaust

Items

Ability Order

Spider Queen (PASSIVE)

Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite (Q)

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy (W)

Cocoon / Rappel (E)

Spider Form / Human Form (R)

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Items

Ability Order

Spider Queen (PASSIVE)

Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite (Q)

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy (W)

Cocoon / Rappel (E)

Spider Form / Human Form (R)

Spells:

Flash

Exhaust

Items

Ability Order

Spider Queen (PASSIVE)

Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite (Q)

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy (W)

Cocoon / Rappel (E)

Spider Form / Human Form (R)

Spells:

Exhaust

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Spider Queen (PASSIVE)

Neurotoxin / Venomous Bite (Q)

Volatile Spiderling / Skittering Frenzy (W)

Cocoon / Rappel (E)

Spider Form / Human Form (R)

Insane Introduction

Riot Champion Spotlight

Professional Pros / Consequential Cons

Malevolent Masteries

In the Offense tree, you're gonna want to invest all the way like most AP carries. Not too much explanation necessary here.

The rest of your mastery points should be invested into the Defense Tree because Elise scales surprisingly well with a defensive build. Relentless is rather situational; pick it up if you're against a team with a heavy kiting composition.

Ravaging Runes

Runes - First choice

Runes

Once you leave your lane and team fights begin you need to have armor. These give you that extra defense while you don't have your armor items yet.

Sometimes you will meet hybrid characters like Katarina or Ezreal in mid lane or a really magic damage heavy team composition. In this case I'd recommend Greater Seal of Scaling Health to lower their overall damage.

Most of the champions we will face in mid lane deal primarily magical damage. In order to trade properly with them, we need those cheap but very effective runes.

Against an AP lane you may consider flat ones to negate the damage early on.

Runes - Second choice