Hello guys I am AchmedBlast and this is a guide for Kassadin after his Rework. He is my main champion in mid and I would like to share with you my way of playing him after trying many different build paths.

Kassadin is an assasin-mage champion that belongs in the mid-lane. His role is more to be patient in fights and burst enemy vulnerable and high-priority champions with his sick awesome mechanics,rather than poke enemys (like most mages do) or worse initiate a fight. The plan is always not to get easily focused or CCed in fights.

Pros & Cons

PROS

[*] High Burst Damage in Late game

[*] Can use Riftwalk 6+ times

[*] High mobility with pure Assasin features

[*] Good Sustain for a Mage

[*] Turn around a fight in Late Game

CONS

[*] Give up some Early & Mid Game Damage

[*] No means of great wave clear,although he is good farmer under turret with his Nether Blade

[*] He has trouble in lane against AD champions

[*] Needs some try to learn him

[*] He still says "Silence" although he doesn't silence champions anymore :P

Spells

Well I have tried out all of these combinations:

+ --> Recommended

+ --> Also Good

+ --> Also Good

+ --> Not that Good

I admit that Barrier is pretty much close with Heal (although I hated the heal reduction effects so I mostly take Barrier,granted that I don't really need the speed from Heal; I am Kassa!)

Teleport gives you a great advantage in roaming,but makes you vulnerable to pre 6 levels and fights before Seraph's Embrace and Zhonya's Hourglass.

I rejected Ignite due to the fact that an assasin with high burst damage like Kassadin doesn't need to secure kills...just wait a bit ult again and it is done.

Skill Sequence

Well it is easily noticeable that I believe > Nether , because Null Spheregives an easy early game way to poke your enemy laner lowering his Hp and waiting to hit 6 level or a gang to score a kill.

You can level up instead of , but [Nether Blade] gives you a great mana sustain,which you really need in a laning phase (and also helps you stack tear of the goddess faster).Also you may use [Nether Blade] far more times than [Force Pulse],once [Force Pulse] needs 6 stacks and always remember that [Nether Blade] is now crucial for farming under turret.

Items

Starting Items

For starting items I recommend the Crystalline Flask + Stealth Ward + Health Potion + Stealth Ward (if you think the enemy jungler will be an issue pre 6)

or

Crystalline Flask + Stealth Ward + 3 Health Potion

(if you think that the enemy jungler won't be an issue pre 6 or if you have a high-poke enemy laner, like le blanc,zed,ziggs etc.)

First Back

Get Tear of the Goddess on first back and start Catalyst the Protector, if you cant instant buy him too. Keep in mind that Tear of the Goddess costs 700 Gold and Catalyst the Protector 1200 Gold . Make sure that in max 2 returns to the base you will buy both items.

Defensive Start/Troubles in Lane

You can pop Seeker's Armguard or Glacial Shroud if you have trouble in lane with and AD enemy champion (like Talon, Zed, Kha'Zix etc.) This will make your lane easier since Kassadin is generally vulnerable against AD champions (His passive and the magic shield from Null Sphere are useless).

Core Items

Seraph's Embrace, Rod of Ages, Lich Bane = Most Important Items. After these you can consider being in Mid to Late game and deal #TONS OF DAMAGE

Defensive Items

Zhonya's Hourglass is generally a great option on Kassadin,since he can fast get away after the active with his low Riftwalk cooldown.

I do not really recommend Iceborn Gauntlet,because you have to give up the idea of Lich Bane, unless the enemy team AD members are a seious trouble (many or fed) or you need that slow

You can build Glacial Shroud to a Frozen Heart is maybe an extreme option for Armor,although the Mana and the Cooldown stats fit with the general plan of Kassadin.

Late Game

Rabadon's Deathcap does not need any comments. Its 30% more AP passive is just perfect for the burst Kassadin needs.

Void Staff is a good option only if the enemy team has stacked much Magic Resistance

Banshee's Veil is useful against annoying spells like Nidalee's Javelin Toss or Blitzcrank's Rocket Grab

Deathfire Grasp is great for the assasin role but you have to give up Rabadon's. Take it only if the enemy team has built great amounts of HP but little MR or if you want a super assasin Kassadin without feeling the need of massive Ability Power

Skill Combos

Lane Harass

>

This is how you will do some poke during the lane

Great Harass / Aggressive Lane

> > > > (If you are close to the target)

or

> > > > (If you have to gap close and then walk away)

Killing Combo

> > > > > (if needed)> (back to safety)

= Auto Attack

Burst with these items? (Let's do some Math)

So... if Kassadin is a burst champion why do I build so little ap items?

Simply because they are not little ap items. I exchange some of early and mid game damage for a sustain and high-harass late game (which for kassadin is after the 3 core items).Which is:

-> Seraph's Embrace

3% Max Mana into AP

60 AP

1000 Mana

Consumes 20% of current Mana to grant a shield for 3 seconds that absorbs damage equal to 150 plus the amount of Mana consumed (120 second cooldown)

-> Rod of Ages

80 AP

650 Mana

630 HP

-> Rabadon's Deathcap

120 AP

+30% AP

-> Zhonya's Hourglass

120 AP

UNIQUE Active - Stasis

-> Lich Bane

80 AP

250 Mana

UNIQUE Active - Spellblade

SO:

1490 Base Mana (at Level 18) + 1900 Item Mana = 3390 Total Mana[/h4]

460 AP (from Items flat) + 101,7 AP (from Seraph's Embrace Passive) + 168,51 AP (from Rabadon's Deathcap Passive) = 730,21 Total AP

3500 Mana (with which you can use Riftwalk like 5 times in a row or with a smart play 7 times in a fight,waiting after the second or third time to lose stacks)

My opinion is that I have to take the most out of his so special ultimate which makes Kassadin a nightmare for all those ADCs who hopeless run away from him.

Farming

Well, farming is the most efficient way to gain gold and it is even more important than kills.That is,in a game there is a possibility not to get early kills; a good farming though helps you to stay in game and face even someone with 3-4 kills more than you, but with less farm.

Kassadin doesn't have great wave clear abilities (because in lane both Force Pulse and Riftwalk are dangerous to be "wasted" for minions (enemies will take advantage the few seconds Riftwalk is on cooldown and the 6 stacks of Force Pulse aren't so easy to get). So, it is far more recommended just to last hit.If your enemy pushes extremely then you will deal the issue of farming under turret.New Kassadin is great at farming under turret!

His Nether Blade is extremely useful to secure siege minions and the passive damage on each basic attack is a key not to let your turret get any minion.

I will prepare a video in a forthcoming update that show the method (can't really explain it in words).

Ranked Play

Kassadin is a great pick for both solo-queue and premade ranked teams. That is due to the fact that he is a great snowball player who can carry a team alone and if he is in a team with a great initiator-tank his duty becomes much easier.

Generally, in mid lane he specialises against mages with little mobility - CC and skillshots that can be avoided easily with his Riftwalk (for eg. Ziggs,Orianna,Nidalee etc.).When you find yourself in such a lane don't go like a maniac for the kill. Pre 6 level try just to poke him with Null Sphere and try always to have almost full HP (with Crystalline Flask and Health Potion). You can try for first blood before 6 if you see your opponent to be low health and out of range of his turret with a Null Sphere> Force Pulse> Nether Blade> Flash> Long Sword combo. Keep AA until he is dead. Most players underestimate Kassadin great damage from basic attacks (from his Nether Blade passive)

Conversely, Kassadin is in a hard position when opposing hard AD and CC champions (like Riven, Talon).This lane is absolutely hard for you,unless your jungler is 24/7 in Mid lane (which he has to do it,once your opponents will push a lot). Still,in these matchups I recommend to level up Null Sphere in order to make some poke (especially before they get Lifesteal). Exception is Riven who in my opinion is kind of unbeatable in lane (if she knows how to play and without help from jungler),because her shield makes your poke 0.In those kind of extreme situations you have to defend,farm under turret and wait late game where your damage evolves a lot and your mechanics are so great that not even a Riven can stop you!

Summary

This is a Mana based build for Kassadin. I think it fits him best after the rework because it emphasizes on his mechanics that make him special. Even if you don't get any lane kills, a good roaming and an extremely awesome late game can give you an easy win. In addition, Kassadin can snowball easily with this build because he will deal massive damage with a high sustain in fights make him unbeatable,whatsoever. I hope I helped you even a bit :) . CU Mobafire Community. Subscribe,this will make me better. (The build is fresh and under construction so judge kindly)