Hello and welcome to this guide explaining Kog's awesomeness in *General*. In my opinion, Kog is one of the strongest ranged support/harass/carries you can use in the League of Legends. In this guide, I'll briefly go over the details that make Kog a BAMF.

:::IMPORTANT PLEASE READ NOTE BELOW:::

:::

Builds on the left are for dominion, and builds on the right are for summoner's rift. The chapters themselves will have prefixes for the game mode they pertain to. Organization to make the guide easier to follow is constantly ongoing. For now:
SR. - Summoner's Rift
D. - Dominion

:::

12/7- Re-organization. Build's are being combined since they are similar between dominion and summoner's rift. Runes, masteries, and other things of the like for dominion will be emphasized in the chapters themselves. The reason for this is mostly because i got nautious whenever i saw this guide in the list of the others. I don't know, something about six kog faces lined up together rubs me the wrong way in a messed up brady bunch style. That is all.

Pros:
- Built-in madred's
- Ground AoE slow
- Built-in penetration '.~
- Long range harass and reveal
- Lots of damage
- You die defending a point, you have the second best F*** you card within your kamikaze passive, (second only to karthus who has an admittedly better F*** you trump when it's off CD)
- People know that Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothin to F*** with. Wu-Tang Clan knows Kog'maw ain't nothin to f*** with

Cons:
- One of the slower ranged picks
- Squishy early on and possibly late.
- Not the best idea to assault points alone with him
- Has to keep a distance in fights which can make chasing a pain
- Isn't Neutered

a Temporary chapter I found necessary to include. Before, my summoner spells of choice ranged in order of importance:

1. Ghost
2. Ignite
3. Exhaust
4. Flash

Since the new summoner spells have been added, however, there are two summoner spells you should almost always take for any build you use with kog:

1. Ghost- This spell has always been a favorite of mine on kog. Any form of slow mixed with this spell gives you amazing chase and GTFO potential. Mobility, chase and run is pretty hard to beat.
2. Surge- The new ability riot had given to turn any hybrid champ's wet dreams into a reality. A summoner spell that gives attack speed and ability power should do this to you: Play Video
Side Note: Exhaust is still pretty bad @$$, but my preference falls with the above two spells because they touch my tra la la in just the right way.

Builds #4 and 6

are the most similar as far as masteries go. Build#4 being hybrid oriented while Build#6 is AP oriented. With that said the only differences between the two are:

Build#4
Brute Force - The items you will be picking up for hybrid kog will mostly focus on AP over AD. Because of this, I like to get a bit of extra AD from masteries. It should help tremendously with your initial farming process.
Weapon Expertise - The Items you pick up, again, will only offer Magic Penetration. This Mastery for just one Point will complement your physical damage considerably, so DON'T PASS IT UP!
Sunder - Again, the hybrid build items focus on Magic Penetration. This Mastery is a simple but effective complement to your otherwise neglected Attack Damage.

Build#6
Mental Force - Hard Core AP! Start building AP early and keep it strong.
Archmage - If you want to get magey, max it! It's a decent buff.

Aside from these subtle differences. The masteries for Builds# 4 and 6 remain the same. I like to pick up Meditation in the utility tree for a stronger Laning presence combined with Greater Seal of Replenishment. Right click to win is fun, but right click to win while spamming abilities on the same guy is undeniably more fun.

Build#5

I kind of have to eat my words a bit seeing as its a hardcore right-click build with the exception of Trinity Force. With that said, the Masteries for Build#5 differ slightly from the other two builds:

Swiftness - Move fast, chase and kill faster.
Deadliness - Crit more, laugh more maniacally.
Lethality - Crits hurt more? ^^^

Similarities in all builds:

Summoner's Wrath -Ghost and Surge buff? GG
Alacrity - $#@% hitting them harder, hit them faster.
Demolitionist - Surprisingly, this will allow you to bend a tower over and give it the Ol' in-out maneuver from afar utilizing your nine foot BAB @#$%. In all seriousness, I love this mastery because it allows un-neglectable pressure to towers, no matter what build you take on Kog.
Havoc - Because you want people to feel the Pain.
Executioner - The name justifies the mastery perfectly.
Expanded Mind - So you can pretend you're +1 on wisdom, while secretly really thinking "R! Another R! He's Still Not DEAD... R-R-R-R MAX STACKS WTF ONE MORE 'R' BUA HA HA HA HA! Yea... u dead... and mad..."

Builds #1-3 all, as before, have a few key similarities you should never leave home without.

These masteries include:

Good Hands - less time spent dead, more time spent taking and defending. That's all State's Stand; are you in ____________?
Alacrity - Attack speed for an attack speed champ.
Sorcery - CDR, more spam more fun.
Arcane Knowledge - Because you want people to feel the Pain.
Weapon Expertise - Because you want people to feel the Pain.
Havoc - Because you want people to feel the Pain.
Summoner's Wrath - To make your Tra La La experience more memorable.
Executioner - The name justifies the mastery perfectly.

Other decent masteries:

Brutal Force- Initial attack damage is a big help early on.
Mental Force - Initial AP only if you want to go hard core Magey
Blast - A good mastery to round up Kog's AP (Archmage isn't nearly as effective as this mastery unless you're going hardcore AP. I did the math, just trust me).
Sunder - bypass a bit of armor for more damage.
Deadliness - For crit Kog Only.
Lethality - For crit Kog Only.
Archmage - For hardcore AP kog Only.

Abilities and Function:

Icathian Surprise - ♪I see you killed me by this tower that I tried to defend and I'm like F*** You-u-u!♪ Basically, one of the best last laughs in the game. Typically, go figure, i use this ability to secure a kill after the fact or interrupt channelers on towers.

Caustic Spittle - Passive attack speed, good. Active nuke, great. Active debuff, pretty flippin sweet.

Bio-Arcane Barrage - (BAB): More often than not, you're number one bread and butter damage ability.

Void Ooze - Your chase and runaway go-to ability, slows and damage. (if you're not in lane, try to use between enemy champs and the towers they're defending to get the most out of the slow).

Living Artillery - One of The Best harass abilities for dominion. Use on enemies who are channeling (aim between if there are multiple champs stacked together to interrupt both). Good damage, procs item effects during fights, and awesome chase/assist/(ks) capability.

Sequence:

The skill sequence for Build #'s 1-3 are basically The Same. The two initial points in Void Ooze for Build #1 are based entirely on situation and preference and also applies for Build #2-3. If you don't have a lot of CC on your team and want the bit of extra damage on a champion running either to or from you, then drop in the two points. Otherwise, for Build #'s 1-3, I personally like to skill up Bio-Arcane Barrage and Caustic Spittle hand in hand. These Two abilities compliment each other beautifully. Attack speed increase from Caustic Spittle plays into BAB, leading to more damage and also serves as a beneficial small nuke (penetration still affording more damage). Void Ooze aside from the initial point(s) becomes your last priority. This by no means says its useless. It's by far your best survival/chasing tool in your arsenal (granted Living Artillery is a sick chase tool as well).

Just a quick side note before I sit down someday to really explain item choices. Each Build has more than 6 items. This was done in preparation for the upcoming patch where people will have two additional item slots, a.k.a.-8 item slots...

In case you're about to go scour the internet searching for this uber super info leak only I've heard about, please know that I was being sarcastic. The reason for the additional items is to show you up close my alternate picks for some of the late game items:

Build#4

Guinsoo's Rageblade OR Rabadon's Deathcap

Build#5

Black Cleaver OR Madred's Bloodrazor OR Last Whisper

Build#6

Frozen Mallet OR Rylai's Crystal Scepter AND Rabadon's Deathcap OR Lich Bane

Alternate defensive items will be explained SOON! For now, just know you can easily sub out Frozen Mallet or Rylai's Crystal Scepter for say a * Banshee's Veil*, Wit's End or Randuin's Omen to name a few decent picks.

For This section I'll first cover the items picked in Build #1 and its purpose, and then discuss the strengths of Items in each build as they pertain to Kog'maw (including some that aren't in any of the builds). This is based on personal opinion, and how I like to play Kog.

Build#1 (*****)

I start out the gate with Prospector's Ring and plain Boots. The ring serves as a minor buff to all of Kog's spells. This, however, Has Little To No Initial Effect on BAB!(100AP per 1% (don't let numerical rounding fool you!)). Still, it provides health for some early survivability and the mp5 keeps you from having to 'B' too soon. The boots help with initial mobility because Kog is slow.

On my first trip back i pick up Sorcerer's Shoes and begin working on Malady. The shoes are faster and buff Kog's damage on every front. This build focuses on kog's ability to dish out magic damage, even on kog's basic attacks (BAB and kitae's). Malady fulfills the same purpose with stacking magic pen, a hint of AP, and *attack speed*.

The next Item i make is Kitae's Bloodrazor. This item comes after malady because it doesn't buff kog's other abilities. However, This is definitely a core item for Kog's Damage. At this point in the game your kill count should really begin increasing, so don't hold it off any longer for other items.

Frozen Mallet comes next for those 'Not so Fast' chase kills. Pick your fights and chases carefully, but the health bonus and slow will really begin to seal the deal on multiple kills. You don't get this item sooner because, after all, you are Kog and you do have Void Ooze.

Hextech Gunblade keeps you in the fight longer and buffs your damage on every front yet again. This item will keep you out in the field for a much longer period, there are towers needing taking and defending after all. (even though this item was recently nerfed, its still pretty bad @$$)

Finally, yes, Rabadon's Deathcap has been removed from build#1. As Dominion has progressed, and since gold has been tightened over recent patches, and since the new mastery pages (nothing will ever be the same again...), I've taken a reaffirmed liking to Guinsoo's Rageblade. It's admittedly cheaper and serves as another all around damage buff with attack speed, AD and AP. A surprisingly strong item once you get it rolling. Keep in mind Guinsoo's works off abilities too so you can harass/stack with Living Artillery before you even fully engage in a fight.

And Now- Item breakdowns

Assume I have a ******* for each Item in Build#1

Prospector's Ring - See Build#1
Prospector's Blade - Another good start item with speed 1 boots if you're looking to focus on Kog's AD aspects.
Sorcerer's Shoes - See Build#1
Berserker's Greaves - Seen in Build#2. The attack speed increase if definitely nice early on and throughout, but I again wouldn't get this item if you wanted to focus on all of Kog's abilities and not just AD.
Boots of Swiftness - Not seen in any build, but still a decent item. If you want to go chase happy and GTFO of harm's way, this is a good item for you.
Malady - See Build#1
Kitae's Bloodrazor - See Build #1
Guinsoo's Rageblade - See Build#1
Nashor's Tooth - Bringing a piece of the Classics to Dominion for Build#3. A bit of attack speed so BAB gets a bit more love, and CDR for more spam more fun.
Phantom Dancer - Hold me closer. Build#2 core item for it's speed and focus on crit potential.
Sword of the Divine - For those jerks that wanna dodge you all day, and we all no one in particular that can really F*** up your day. (necessary altar boy joy addition)
Hextech Gunblade - See Build#1
Frozen Mallet - See Build#1
Trinity Force - Seen in Builds #2. I have mixed feelings about this item (considering my ******* for Frozen Mallet), but it is a damn good item. For kick's I'll hit Living Artillery when other abilities are on CD for the proc. It also provides a nice set of stats so I can't knock it.
Lich Bane - Build#3 strong item. Cash in on the abilities you use. A bit of MR is a small perk.
Sanguine Blade - Focusing on AD with a little survivability in the lifesteal for Build#2.
Infinity Edge - Damage and Build#2 crit cash in. Strong Item to pick when focusing on Kog's AD.
Rabadon's Deathcap If you're going magey for build#3, no brainer.
Rod of Ages Because I like health on my Kog. Strong item, keeps you out on the field longer, and... more mana more spam more fun.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter - I have hang-ups on this item for Kog because you have Void Ooze. However, I can't deny the health benefits as well as the slow added to Caustic Spittle and Living Artillery. MF's just not getting away at that point. (Does Not Work on BAB).

More Sidenote items (aka items I test and/or have really weird intimacy issues with)-

Entropy - I will experiment with this item more. I do still have a strong ******* for frozen mallet and don't have strong feelings on stacking items with similar procs.
Ionic Spark - A decent Item. Good attack speed and a bit of health with a cool proc. However, the items in the builds I've put up all to an extent play off each other so atm I have mixed feelings about this. Sure the proc can cut channeling on towers, but so can Living Artillery.
The Lightbringer- Same deal as Ionic Spark. Use Living Artillery, get good at guessing and you won't need this item.
Wit's End - An item I truly love for it's bonus on-hit damage and stacking MR. Not included in any build, but if mages are tearing you a new one when it should be the other way around, I would consider this a viable item.
Black Cleaver - a STRONG item that I've just never liked. I'm not knocking this item, to an extent i'm promoting it- but I'd rarely ever use it considering i like Kog's magic potential more. For build#2 though, who knows.
Last Whisper - See Black Cleaver
Void Staff - A good compliment to Build#3 somewhere if by the stroke of God people actually stack MR heavy.
Will of the Ancients - meh.
Zhonya's Hourglass - Let's not kid ourselves. If you're in trouble with Kog'maw, you're F***ed. the armor may be nice, but I have above mentioned weird intimacy issues with this item.
Deathfire Grasp - If you're gonna be a mage, don't be a gimmick mage. Nah, this item is alright but weird intimacy issues prevail again.

Yes, there are more items worth mentioning. However, unless they do for me what leaving the sunday service does for altar boys, then I don't really feel like talking about them.

Welp this concludes my guide/input for Kog in Dominion as well as Summoner's Rift for now. Please leave comments on thoughts as this is an ongoing work in progress and thanks for checking it out!


Oh, and if you catch any major typo lemme know, laugh at me, and i'll try to fix it.

I found it appropriate to start an update list since the fizz patch. I inititally didn't want to do one because i hate being totally meticulous about every little subtle change i do to the guide. With that said, small changes WON'T BE RECORDED HERE! Only large WTF significant changes will be shown.

11/16- OMG new masteries and a change to build #1 WTFIKR?
11/21- Summoner spell chapter temporarily added, or maybe permanent.
- Edits on item justifications
- Mastery explanations in development
11/22- Initial normal mode builds added
- In depth explanations, and tweaks to the new builds coming soon...