Hello and welcome to my Kog'Maw guide, I try to play Kog'Maw a hybrid that can attack fast to maximize the damage he can deal out. Try this build before you vote on it! Out of all the games I have played with this build (which is over a long period of time) I only remember losing twice. And every single game (except for one cause of some rediculus Leblanc) I came out with positive stats.

When the prophet Malzahar was reborn in Icathia, he was led there by an ominous voice which thereafter anchored itself to his psyche. From within, this voice bestowed upon him terrible purpose, and though Malzahar was no longer tormented by its call, the voice did not cease its unrelenting summons. This baleful beacon's gentle flicker -- now fastened to Runeterra -- drew forth a putrid beast that ambled across a threshold it did not understand, widening a fissure between the spaces which were never meant to meet. There amongst the haunting ruins of Icathia, Kog'Maw manifested in Valoran with unsettling curiosity. The spark which led him to Runeterra teased him still, urging him gently towards Malzahar. It also encouraged him to familiarize himself with his new environment, to the stark horror of everything he encountered on his journey.

The enchanting colors and aromas of Runeterra intoxicated Kog'Maw, and he explored the fruits of the strange world the only way he knew how: by devouring them. At first he sampled only the wild flora and fauna he happened across. As he traversed the parched Tempest Flats, however, he came upon a tribe of nomads. Seemingly unhampered by conventional rules of physics, Kog'Maw consumed every nomad and any obstacles they put in his way, amounting to many times his own mass and volume. The most composed of his victims may have had time to wonder if this was due to the caustic enzymes which stung the ground as they dripped from his gaping mouth, although such musings were abruptly concluded. When his wake of catastrophe reached the Institute of War, an enthusiastic Malzahar greeted him with an enticing prospect: taste the best Runeterra could offer...on the Fields of Justice.

'If that's just hungry, I don't want to see angry.' --Tryndamere, the Barbarian King

MY ADDITION TO THE STORY
Later after Kog'Maw was added to the league Taric began to depise him, he was so "icky". So Taric decided he would do something about this, he began to plot to make Kog'Maw more beautiful. So one day taric snuck up on Kog'Maw and used a super "FABULOUS" potion and turned Kog'Maw into a butterfly. That is why Monarch Kog'Maw is amazing and every good Kog'Maw player should get it because it is the true story of what happened.

- Passive: Increases Kog'Maw's attack speed. Active: Kog'Maw launches a corrosive projectile which deals magic damage and corrodes the target's armor for 4 seconds.
Passive: Increases Attack Speed by 10/15/20/25/30%.
Active: Kog'Maw launches a corrosive projectile which deals 60/110/160/210/260 (+0.7) magic damage and reduces the target's armor by 5/10/15/20/25. Cost60/60/60/60/60 ManaRange625

- Kog'Maw's attacks gain range and deal a percent of the target's maximum health as magic damage. Kog'Maw's attacks gain 130/160/190/220/250 range and deal additional magic damage equal to 2/3/4/5/6% (+0.01)% of the target's maximum Health (Max: 100 Damage vs Monsters). Lasts 6 seconds. Cost50/50/50/50/50 ManaRange530

- Kog'Maw launches a peculiar ooze which damages all enemies it passes through and leaves a trail which slows enemies who stand on it.
Kog'Maw launches ooze which deals 60/110/160/210/260 (+0.7) magic damage to enemies it passes through. Additionally, it leaves a trail which slows enemies by 28/36/44/52/60% for 4 seconds.
Cost80/90/100/110/120 ManaRange10000

- Kog'Maw fires a living artillery shell at a great distance dealing damage and revealing targets. Additionally, multiple Living Artilleries in a short period of time cause them to cost additional mana. Kog'Maw fires artillery from a great distance. After a short delay, the artillery falls dealing 80/120/160 (+0.3) magic damage and reveals targets for 4 seconds (deals 150% bonus damage to Champions). Each subsequent Living Artillery in the next 6 seconds costs 40/40/40 additional mana (Max 200). Cost40/40/40 ManaRange1200

- Upon dying, Kog'Maw starts a chain reaction in his body which causes him to move faster and detonate after 4 seconds; dealing 100 + (25 x lvl) true damage to surrounding enemies.

Pros:
LONG range
High damage
Natural Panzer
Attacks quick
Has a epic butterfly skin

Cons:
Poor ability power scaling
Squishy
mana problems if not preservative

The Runes I use for Kog'Maw help out his Utility and damage dealing abilities mostly through ability power. I get Magic Penetration marks and quintencenses to help give Void Ooze and Living Artillery to help out since these and masteries (not to mention Sorcerer's Shoes) but that totals out to about 34% magic penetration, this will be great for harrassing all of your enemies. For Seals I chose mana regen, in my opinion it does not make a huge difference which mana regen seals you want but you do need them. Harrasing the enemy is very important on Kog'Maw and you need a great mana pool to do so.

I find the most effective masteries are 9/0/21, grabbing magic penetration in offence and maximizing mana regeneration in utility along with improving summoner spells. Some alternatives to this is not getting reduced death time and increased buff duration if you do not inteand on taking buffs that much. The buff duration is mostly for Lizard or Red Buff but blue buff is also great on Kog. I will explain why later in the guide.

These are the bare essentials on Kog'Maw, each of these three items supplies him with necessary stats and passives that make Kog'Maw extreemly deadly.

Explainations:

Nashor's Tooth- Great item for CD reduction which is good for Kog'Maw because he might have somewhat short ability cooldowns a little CD reduction can always come in handy. This item also gives tons of attack speed and gives ability power, basically this is a great item for Bio-Arcane Barrage and helps it in every way. Additionally it gives good mana regen which is all the better for harrassment.

Malady- This item is what will make enemies fear you. It helps all your abilities in everyway. The on hit effect make Bio-Arcane Barrage a deadly combo with Void Ooze and Living Artillery not to mention faster attacks that deal damage each hit make this item a must have. It is extreemly uderestimated but is essential for Kog'Maw.

Banshee's Veil- This is the defensive item, without it and/or a Frozen Mallet Kog'Maw is just a glass cannon. This will help your health and mana not to mention give you more magic resist which is what you main problem will be (most harrasing moves are based of ability power). But what is most usefull about this is the passive, the spell blocking will save you life from sneaky champions trying to CC you. This item is a must have.

My Preferences:



Guinsoo's Rageblade- The more you attack the faster you attack and the more ability power you get. Perfect item for Bio-Arcane Barrage because its health percentage drop is based off of ability power and you just keep attacking faster.

Sorcerer's Shoes- Great item for Kog'Maw, the penetration allows him to deal lots of damage with his harrasing moves. But this can be replaced for Mercury Treads if you are having a very hard time with CC.

Hextech Gunblade- If you actually make it this far in a game it should be near a end. This is the kind of item that could do it. It will increase your damage of both attack damage and ability power. Not to mention both lifesteal and spell vamp to give you some extra utility and help in 1v1's. The passive is great, the burst is very helpful to Kog'Maw if he needs some burst damage. The burst combo would be:



Other Great items:

Frozen Mallet- The slow and health work great on Kog'Maw, I just prefer to take lizard buff.
Hexdrinker- Damage, MR, the sheild its all good.

Help me come up with a bigger list suggest items and I am likely to put them in the guide.

I like to start Kog'Maw out like a mage, having to rely heavily on Void Ooze until level 6. The extra damage and slow I find greatly increases your damage output more then any other skill ranking. You can hit Living Artillery much more easily and attack the target more while they are in the AoE, making it much more likly for you to get a kill.

Another option is ranking up Bio-Arcane Barrage first but that is just if you play Kog'Maw more attack damage then anything else.

Explainations: Kog'Maw has no real escape mechanism other than a well aimed Void Ooze so I find that it is essential that Kog'Maw has both Ghost and Flash. They are also great for chasing or catching up just enough to hit a Living Artillary

Other good Options:

Exhaust- Great for 1v1's and when you get focused by the AD carry or just need a slow.

Teleport- If you need to move around and your team has none just take this, it can win a game.

All of the other summoner spells do not have a very good synergy with Kog'Maw and the role he plays in this guide.

How to play Kog'Maw: spam your Living Artillary whenever you do not have its mana increasing passive on you. Make sure you lead with it too and use the following combonation when you want to do some major damage to your oponent:


Avoid using Caustic Spittle unless you really need to, in the end you will likely deal less damage. Only use it if you are desprate and need to finsh someone off. For instance, if you are about to die and you know there is no escape drop the enemies health as low as you can and use Icathian Suprise to finish the job. Be aware that when you go into this state your enemies will likely try to juke you out so make sure to give yourself some room to still hit them if they change direction.

Try to normal attack whenever possible, in this build it will make you deal tons more damage if you simply right click and hit "W" for a almost garenteed kill (especialy with red buff). On that note always try to kill the lizard because I do not add a Frozen Mallet to the build itself.

I hope you have had great sucsess with this, I know I have. Make sure that you play Kog'Maw right, stay back and harrass. Good Luck and Have fun!