----EDIT STILL IN PROGRESS----

This is my first build, and I chose to write on LeBlanc because she has consistently been my favorite and most enjoyable champion to play. She is a champion that any carry should be afraid of, with the best burst rotation in the game. As the assassin, it is her job to take out the squishies as fast as possible. The faster they die, the less damage they deal to the rest of your team. And so this is my LeBlanc guide. ENJOI

Pros:
- Best burst in the game
- Silence
- 2 potential teleports for escapes/chases
- Slow + snare

Cons:
- Extremely squishy
- Vulnerable to CC
- Stunned LeBlanc = Dead LeBlanc
- Only single target nuke

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration - For obvious reasons

Greater Seal of Replenishment - Early game, LeBlanc is lacking the ability to use abilities consistently, her abilities should honestly only be used for ganks or burst. Either way, the flat mana regen runes really help to sustain LeBlanc in lane

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power - More ability power, more burst, simple enough

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - For more early game AP, while glyphs give more in the long-term

Pretty standard 9/0/21 masteries. Spell penetration, cooldown reduction, experience boost, death time, etc.

The two spells that I feel are best suited for LeBlanc are Flash and Ignite.

The reasoning behind Flash is that although LeBlanc has a potential 2 teleports already, they never seem to be available when they are needed for a quick escape. Usually you will be in a fight already, and all of your abilities will be on cooldown from moments before. Then a FREAKIN' XIN ZHAO ATTACKS U! You either die, lose your Mejai's stacks, and enjoy your Ghost/Teleport/Clarity while you respawn.... OR you can flash and live to fight another day, with all of your stacks. You can then rape Xin's face after your cooldowns are up.

Now, for Ignite, I find that this is almost a must for LeBlanc. One of the worst feelings as LeBlanc is when you get a perfect burst rotation off on an enemy, and they escape with like 5% health. LeBlanc is a character all about burst, so if you are unable to finish the kill off, the Ignite is to ensure that they die. It also is a huge help once you hit 6, which is your time to shine. Finishing kills, especially with Mejai's, is crucial to your success, and Ignite allows you to get those stacks. The more stacks earlier on, the easier each kill will get from there.


Other Summoner Spells out there aren't very well suited for LeBlanc at all. The following Summoner Spells are listed as alternatives of how useful they are to LeBlanc.

Ghost - Ghost is a great spell, however it isn't very good on LeBlanc. I find that ghost is better suited on AD champions, especially melee ones, because they need to keep up with their opponent if they run. Casters like LeBlanc rely on more burst, even in movement. Ghost will not allow you to escape from that previously stated Xin, as you are so squishy that by the time he procs Three-Talon Strike, you are already dead.

Teleport - Useful spell that will teleport you to an allied non-champion unit. Pretty good replacement for LeBlanc, but I find that it doesn't really stand out as exceptional. Getting in lane faster and stopping a one man push is about all it will do for you. This spell is better used with champions that need to move around the map quickly, or for champions that can hold off strong pushes with sustained damage, as well as survive under the tower if they decide to tower dive you.

Exhaust - Again, this spell is more suited for AD champions, one whose fights will last for some time, unlike LeBlanc, whose fights should last no longer than a couple seconds in general. I am sure that this spell may allow you to pick up one or two extra kills, but I find it to be not worth it at all.

Clarity - This spell is not one that is recommended as LeBlanc, because she simply does not need the mana that other casters need to sustain their abilities. The short burst is mostly all that you need, and especially in the end-game, Clarity will serve no credible use to you. However, if you insist spamming abilities all through laning phase, as I highly discourage, feel free to pick this spell up.

Cleanse - This is surely a spell that can get a champion out of a sticky situation. However, seeing how LeBlanc is so squishy, if you really are close enough to the middle of a fight to be stunned, you might as well be dead already. Not a suggested spell at all for LeBlanc.

Clairvoyance - Extremely useful spell throughout the whole game, but this is a spell for the support on your team. You should not be getting this spell, because your role on the team is elsewhere, and wasting a summoner spell on this is not worth it. However, if it needs to be done, get it for the better of the team.

Fortify - This spell should only really be used by a tank with full defensive masteries, and even then, it is questionable compared to other summoner spells.

Spells that shouldn't even deserve their own section...

Heal - Heal is an absolutely useless spell from mid to late game, and even early game, pretty much the most it will do is make people laugh at you.

Revive - Terrible spell in general, only a few builds for a scarce amount of champions might even consider it...

Rally - Virtually useless spell overall, and for a caster like LeBlanc, you might as well sit at the summoner platform if you use this.

The items and their general build order is shown above, but there are some specifics and reasoning that need to be talked about (this does not include any Health Potions that you wish to buy each time you recall.

Reasoning

Initial Items: Amplifying Tome and Health Potion
--- The Amplifying Tome is the fastest way to build into Mejai's Soulstealer, and because it is the item that is the core of this build, I see this as an essential item to get, not to mention the early game ability power. The Health Potion is bought for obvious reasons. It is just about the only thing to buy with the leftover money, and because LeBlanc is so squishy, she will take all the extra health she can get.

Mejai's Soulstealer - This is the potentially largest ability power providing item in the game, and it is all based on the amount of kills and assists you get. The more kills/assists you get, the more stacks you get, leading to more ability power. LeBlanc's role is an assassin, and a really good one at that. Her whole purpose is to get kills. If a LeBlanc is not getting kills, I don't really see the point of playing an AP burst champion like her, therefore I do not see the point of playing LeBlanc without a Mejai's. If you cannot get kills, do not play LeBlanc (unless of course you are new to this, then go right ahead and play her, while enjoying my guide :D).

Sorcerer's Shoes - Boots are in every build, therefore why not in mine? Movement and mobility is a requirement in League of Legends, and so if you are going to get boots, then why not ones that penetrate through the feeble defenses of my enemies? The more you penetrate through, the more damage is done, which, again, is LeBlanc's job.

Rabadon's Deathcap - The second part to the incredible item duo of AP (first one being Mejai's). Gives 140 Ability Power AND 30% increase to your total AP. This item plus Mejai's gives the most AP in the game, and especially because of Rabadon's passive, it is a required item for LeBlanc. More AP = More Burst

Zhonya's Hourglass - This item will give you the next best amount of straight up AP, as well as armor for a little more survivability, AND an amazing Active ability that makes you invulnerable for 2 seconds. This item is basically a requirement as well, due to the squishiness of LeBlanc, keeping her alive is essential, especially because all this time, Mejai's stacks are being built up.

You now are left with 2 empty slots to fill. From here, there is some variation as to which path to go. These last items should be built during end game, so while they still should grant AP, it should augment LeBlanc's survivability more, especially now that the Mejai's stacks should be higher than before. I see 3 different main options to go with from here:

Abyssal Mask - This item I feel is a great combination of everything that LeBlanc needs at this point in the game. It provides nice Ability Power, Magic Resist for additional survivability, and an awesome passive that decreases all nearby enemies' Magic Resist by 20. Great item, highly suggested, especially if the enemy has some dangerous AP carries, and/or the other team starts building up magic resistance.

Void Staff - Awesome item for any AP mage looking to deal damage. Ability Power plus an amazing 40% Spell Penetration is sure to impact your damage a lot. This item is also highly recommended for when the other team starts building magic resistance, and/or when the other team has many tanky champions.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter - Nice Ability Power item that also gives a nice amount of health, which is the main reason I get this item. Also, as a bonus, all of your spells will no slow the target, making it easier for your team overall.

Other Ability Power providing items are good, but I do not find that they are well-suited for LeBlanc, or they are simply too expensive to build, such as Rod of Ages and Archangel's Staff.

*When buying items, stick to the build order, but use some common sense in what items you buy. This may sound confusing, but you should always buy the most expensive, next available item on the list. Say that you are forced to recall, and you only have 500 gold (not enough to buy your Mejai's). What you should do is buy your Boots, and when you recall next time, try to buy your Mejai's then.

Sigil of Silence - LeBlanc projects an orb towards her target, dealing magic damage and marking the target for 3.5 seconds. If the target takes damage from one of LeBlanc's abilities, the mark will trigger, dealing magic damage and silencing the target for 2 seconds.
---- Sigil of Silence is an amazing ability that is the key damage dealer in your rotation. The combination of the initial damage, triggered mark damage, and 2 second silence easily makes it LeBlanc's best ability.

- LeBlanc rapidly moves to a target location, dealing magic damage to nearby units. In the following 3 seconds, she can activate Distortion again to return to her starting location.
---- Distortion is LeBlanc's mobility, and only AoE ability. I find this spell to be inredibly useful, and makes LeBlanc incredibly hard to gank, or chase. Combined with Mimic and Flash, LeBlanc has a potential triple flash, which should be more than enough to escape from anything. Also, once LeBlanc has more AP built up, a simple Distortion + Mimic combo is excellent for taking out a large minion wave or wraiths.

- LeBlanc flings illusionary chains towards a target location. If it hits an enemy unit, it will deal initial magic damage and slow their movement speed by 25%. If the target remains shackled for 2 seconds, the target takes additional magic damage and is unable to move for a few seconds.
---- Ethereal Chains is LeBlanc's hard CC move, and an incredibly useful on at that. As long as you land it, this move is an amazing offensive and defensive ability, for both you and the whole team. Gank comes in? No problem. Hit them with your Ethereal Chains, Distortion away, then smile, as you know that they wasted their time with you. One thing to note, is that whenever you can, as long as you aren't putting yourself in danger, it is best to hold the Ethereal Chains until it snares the enemy, even on ganks. This is because of the extra damage, it looks awesome, it will help your team to kill that enemy if the situation allows it, and it leaves the target as a sitting duck. In the case of you getting ganked, as stated above, if you hold the chains, then most often, the ganker is a melee jungler. When he is snared, you are free to wail on him as you please if you so desire.

- LeBlanc casts the previous spell she cast. The mimicked spell deals significantly increased damage.
---- Mimic is the spell that makes LeBlanc so versatile in everything she does, as well as makes her one of the harder champions to play. Mimic not only copies the previous ability cast, but it also does additional damage, 40% more at rank 3. This extra damage on Sigil of Silence is the main damage dealt by LeBlanc. Mimic is the spell that makes or breaks any LeBlanc player, and it will most often be the thing that distinguishes a good LeBlanc from a Great LeBlanc.

- When LeBlanc is brought below 40% health, she instantly becomes stealthed for half a second. When the stealth fades, she creates a Mirror Image that deals no attack damage, has less health, and lasts for up to 8 seconds. This can only occur once per minute, regardless of cooldown reduction. The illusion's basic attacks will proc on-hit effects (including damage).
---- If you ever do get caught in a situation where you might die, Mirror Image might very well save your life. It is an incredibly convenient passive, allowing LeBlanc to escape and/or distract the enemy with her clone. As LeBlanc, when you see that your passive is being activated, keep in mind that the enemy will have not clue as to which one is the real image, especially considering the fact that your opponent is caught up in the rush of the battle. Be sure not to make it too obvious as to which image is the real LeBlanc. Situationally, it might sometimes be best to have the mirrored image (which can be controlled by ALT + Right-click) move either ahead of you or alongside you, confusing the enemy. One example might be if one of the enemy carries tries to pick you off in a teamfight, they might overextend themselves to finish the kill, only to realize that they are attacking the wrong image, or their abilities are being blocked by the image. **One thing very important to remember is that the image CAN block skill-shots, especially Ace in the Hole.

Skill Sequence Reasoning:

-- I start by getting Sigil of Silence at level 1, and I also max Sigil first. This is the main damage dealing device in your arsenal, and as the burst assassin that you are, the more damage you have earlier on, the better it is for everyone (except the other team). At levels 2-3, the decision between getting Ethereal Chains or Distortion first is purely up to you. As a passive player myself, I tend to get chains first, as I find the snare is more useful situationally. However, if you wish to harass a little more, feel free to get distortion. Ultimately, there is not much time between levels 2 and 3, and seeing as you are not an early game champion, the decision doesn't really matter all too much.

Now, here is where I notice some other LeBlanc guides go astray: Distortion vs. Ethereal Chains. You see, the difference between maxing one versus the other is this: Distortion, you gain decreased cooldown, and increased mana cost and damage, while with Ethereal Chains, you gain increased damage, increased snare duration, and no mana cost increase. Looking at the values, Distortion increases in base damage by 40 per rank, whereas Ethereal Chains increases by 25 base damage per rank, yet it damages the target twice. So there is a 40 vs. 50 damage increase per rank, giving Ethereal Chains the upper hand. In addition, the only other change to Distortion is an increase in mana cost, while Ethereal Chains gets a longer snare duration. That extra snare duration is HUGE, and should not be overlooked, the difference between rank 1 and rank 5 Ethereal Chains is a large 1.2 second snare duration. That is 1.2 seconds more of attacking/escaping the enemy, not to mention your teammates helping out as well.

Therefore I max Ethereals Chains next, followed last by Distortion, which I use only to get a little AoE damage on minons, escape, chase, or trigger the mark of Sigil of Silence. I have not mentioned Mimic, because it is fairly obvious that since it is LeBlanc's ultimate, it should be maxed above all else, as basically all other champions are built.

So the Skill Sequence oder is as follows:

Mimic> Sigil of Silence> Ethereal Chains> Distortion

LeBlanc is solely reliant on the efficiency of her rotation in order to achieve success. Therefore, I see it as important to designate a chapter only for rotation purposes. LeBlanc relies on a correct rotation more than any other champion in the game. Opening with a Distortion, followed by a Mimic, into an Ethereal Chains and Sigil of Silence only leads to a sure death, and another kill for the other team.
The basic burst rotation for LeBlanc goes like this:
Sigil of Silence - Mimic - Distortion - Ethereal Chains
(The 1, 2, Step + Chains)

However, the order of the Distortion and Ethereal Chains is entirely situational. The Sigil followed by Ultimate Sigil is a required part of the damage rotation. The first Sigil will damage and mark the target, so when the second Sigil comes in, it triggers the mark, damaging and silencing the target, and adds another mark to them. The next spell will then trigger the second mark, damaging and silencing them for an additional 2 seconds. Now talking situationally, if your target is in the middle of or behind a group of minions or his teammates, you will want to follow this up with a distortion to trigger the mark as well as damage them. Your goal following this is to find open room to cast Ethereal Chains without obstacle, where you can wait as Sigil comes off cooldown again. This is all assuming that they somehow managed to survive the initial burst.

In the case where they are in an open area, or you have a clear shot at Ethereal Chains, cast it at your opponent following the double Sigil combination to prevent them from fleeing, as well as triggering the second mark. From here they are snared, and you have a Distortion that has been left unused. If they are very close to dead, just finish them with the Distortion, but if they would be able to survive it through your estimate, then wait. By the time Ethereal Chains goes from the slow into the snare, your Sigil of Silence should be about to come off cooldown. Immediately when it goes off cooldown, pop them with the Sigil, followed immediately by the Distortion, again triggering another mark, dealing extra damage as well as silencing the target yet again.

Key Notes

The different amounts of rotations are just about as numerous as there are situations. I will go through some possible situations that may be encountered during your long journey as LeBlanc, but after going through some key things that should be remembered:

-- Unless it is absolutely unnecessary, abilities such as Distortion and Ethereal Chains should always be preceded by a Sigil of Silence, if available, as the extra damage from the Sigil and the mark, as well as the 2 second silence, is incredibly useful.
-- When using Distortion, be careful not to spam it or press it too many times, as this may lead to an unintended teleport back to the original destination, resulting in a failed kill or failed escape.
-- Ethereal Chains deals its damage twice per cast, once for initial damage, and once for the triggered snare. If a Sigil of Silence hits a chained target before the said target is snared, then the delayed magic damage may also trigger the Sigil's mark.
-- When using a full burst rotation on an enemy, based on the opponent's distance, a rotation done too fast may lead to the Ultimate Sigil of Silence being in midair as you Distortion. This small error results in a damage loss from the un-triggered mark, and no second silence (assuming that the Ethereal Chains is not landed immediately afterwards, triggering the mark anyways).

Ganks

Whenever an enemy gank comes to your lane, whether or not the lane is pushed (which it should not be, as much as possible), it is important to stay calm. People sometimes freak out when they see a scary man wolf thing running at them from the bush, and although they should be scared of the gank, it is key to know how to handle it. If the gank is a poor setup, you should be able to simply

Distortion away, staying on the side of the lane opposite the jungler. If, however, the gank is coordinated so that your minions are pushed up a bit more when the jungler comes, you need to analyze the situation. Ethereal Chains at its maximum range will slow the ganker (who is most often an AD melee champion) enough so that they dont even get close enough to you to do anything. Either you can walk away, or throw in a Distortion for good measure. This is all for early game, and when you get Mimic, avoiding ganks should be even easier with a double Distortion. Always Flash if you have to in order to avoid dying.

Now, when the ganks are from your team, it is a different story. What you want to try and do is bait yourself, making them think that you have overextended the lane. When they see a squishy LeBlanc, usually the might try to kill you, and if they engage, then the gank will come in. However, if the gank comes at a time where the enemy has pushed their lane, it is not really necessary to bait them much at all. All you need to really do is get Ethereal Chains landed on them, and it should be a successful gank. You may do this by casting Distortion to either close the distance or get an angle around the minions, if necessary, followed by Sigil of Silence and Ethereal Chains. If the target champion is one with an easily activated speed boost or Ghost, sometimes it is best to land the Ethereal Chains first, followed by the Sigil of Silence, still silencing the target with Chains's delayed damage.

-- Considering the most standard situation, this displays for your best burst. The fastest, uninterrupted, smoothest combination for LeBlanc's burst is the "1, 2, Step". This consists of Sigil of Silence into a Mimic'd Sigil, following up with a Distortion.
-- In the situation where you are looking to slow an enemy's progress in order for your team to catch up, you should start off with an optional Distortion, depending on the enemy's distance, then follow with an (also optional Sigil of Silence to silence enemies with escapes or Flash) Ethereal Chains. After the chains have snared the target for about 1 second, you now want to hit them with a Mimic'd Ethereal Chains.
-- This next combo is the maximum possible AoE (area of effect) damage that can be dealt by LeBlanc. This should really only be used for farming minions because of the relatively insignificant amount of damage it deals. First, Distortion, then simply follow it up with a Mimic'd Distortion, including all of/as many of your targets as possible in Distortion's radius.

Please note that these equations take into account all damage associated with that move. This means that Sigil of Silence includes the initial damage as well as the triggered mark, and Ethereal Chains includes both the initial and delayed damage.

The numbers displayed by this graph may be somewhat surprising to some people, because it shows how much damage Ethereal Chains really does. As you see above, Ethereal Chains actually surpasses Sigil of Silence in damage after 500 Ability Power. However, this graph is more a fun fact section more than anything, because the practicality of actually using Ethereal Chains over a Sigil combo is close to zero, considering how much time it takes to fully use the Chains. Another thing to take note of, is the significantly lower damage that Distortion is outputting, compared to LeBlanc's other two abilities.

Early Game

Laning

Early game in lane should be a generally passive time for you as LeBlanc, because the key to your effectiveness as an assassin is the use of your ultimate. However, you are not totally ineffective, and when it is time to engage, you should be ready with everything, which is another reason I suggest not using abilities too much early game. Your time is best spent simply farming last hits off of minions as much as you can, as that is an area where LeBlanc sufferes greatly. To help regulate how often you cast an ability, try to stay at around 75% of your total mana, so that you have enough for a nice, solid rotation/escape if the situation calls for it. Ganks should be easily avoided thanks to your Distortion - Ethereal Chains combination (flash if necessary). When a gank comes in for you however, the most important thing you can do is silence and/or snare the target enemy. The silence will prevent them from flashing or ghosting away immediately, as well as using any other escapes or heals, and the slow + snare will greatly provide an opportunity for a successful gank. It is a good idea to stay in lane as long as you can, without risking your life. On the other hand, if you do not have enough money to buy a Mejai's Soulstealer, I would not suggest recalling unless you are dangerously low in health. One note, Leblanc should not be taking a solo top lane, for there is always going to be a better solo lane champion on your team.

Solo Mid

LeBlanc mid is very good, and will win almost every time against other AP mages, and probably about half-half against AD carries. Mid LeBlanc requires you too be much more aggressive than when laning. Harassment is important, to both feel out your opponent, and diminish their health bar to the point of an easy kill. One thing to remember when harassing however, is that the enemy is able to attack back, especially ranged AD champions. One thing to do with the first harass is put yourself out there a bit, harass them and see if they simply run, or if they answer back. Often times, a less experienced player will simply run away, even though the damage is already done. Get a feel for how aggressive they are going to be, and think of how to respond to their moves. The ideal goal of harassment is to force the opponent to use any health potions they may have, and get their health down to a point where they feel comfortable staying in lane, yet to the point where you will be able to kill them with a

Sigil of Silence into a Distortion, Ethereal Chains, and Ignite if needed. For mid, recalling time should be as soon as you get enough money for Mejai's Soulstealer, and when your lane is pushed a little bit, so that you don't lose out on much experience.

One thing that is very important to remember as LeBlanc is that you are an assassin. Assassins are champions which specialize in killing their enemies quickly, usually with some form of stealth or ambushing ability. LeBlanc is the AP version of an assassin, and with the best burst in the game (no, a stacking Veigar does not count), she is darned good at it too. LeBlanc's role is not to help with the overall team fight. The most AoE damage that can be done is a double Distortion, which frankly doesn't do much damage at all, and is not even worth it, especially with resistances.

In order to help out your team the most, the job assigned to you is to kill a single one of their carries as soon as possible. The carry that you target should generally be the one doing the most damage to the rest of your team. Aside from figuring this out for yourself, your team should be communicating on who to focus. Their carry usually is located in a position behind the rest of their team, safe from harm where they can pound on your teammates. If the carry is going a full damage role, they should generally be squishy enough for you to literally 2 shot, wasting Distortion in order to reach them. Although this shouldn't happen, the least you should do is get the carry low enough to back up from the fight, still serving your purpose of eliminating them from the equation for the current fight.

Once that job is complete, now comes the part to help your team more directly. While staying out of danger, turn to the main area of the fight, and start dishing out Sigils, Distortions, and especially Chains, still trying to keep some general rotation going. One key thing to do is cast Ethereal Chains on any enemy that is fleeing the battle, or an enemy melee carry, if there is one. So basically once the first carry dies at your hands, help out your team as much as you can, picking off more squishies or low health enemies as you go. Other than that, all you need to worry about is never to engage, ever, and remember your role on the team.