"Time to make an appearance."

Greetings Summoners and welcome to my first guide! In this guide, I'll describe how I play my main, LeBlanc the Deceiver, in Dominion (and also Twisted Treeline) - you might find similar builds like this here since this here got inspired by them with my own little tweaks which made it more suitable for me. If you have any suggestions to improve the build, feel free to comment.

The playstyle for this LeBlanc build is made from some important Cooldown Reduction to use her Ultimate ( Mimic) more often (and also more substain since you can use Distortion/Mimic Distortion to get out of bad situations or wall blinking), some Health for more survivability and of course Ability Power.

The playstyle on Twisted Treeline however doesn't rely that much on Cooldown Reduction, but on simple Burst Power. There aren't as many teamfights in 3v3 compared to Dominion, but you have to think more tactical and pick the weakest target out of the enemy team. LeBlanc's disadvantage on this map however is, that the latest meta game on 3v3 is, that you mostly see 1x AP char and the rest is mostly pure Bruiser (so, Tanky DPS - but it can happen, that your team is like that and the enemy builds armor instead of Magic Resist until they notice that you nuke them hard) which can be dangerous for LeBlanc if the player doesn't move with caution. It can happen way more often to get catched here, but thankfully, there are many walls where you can just escape with Distortion. Those walls can also be exploited for funny stuff like stealing dragon over the top lane or simply for scouting without getting in too sticky situations.

Anyway, let's go to the beginning first, shall we? Who's LeBlanc, the Deceiver?

Every city has its dark side, even one whose reputation is already of a questionable hue. Noxus - though its name is already invoked with a mixture of reverence and revulsion - is no exception to this simple truth. Deep within the winding dungeons that honeycomb the earth beneath its dark, meandering streets lies the real underbelly of this sprawling metropolis, a haven for all manner of malevolence. Amongst the cults, covens, and secret societies that call this labyrinth their home, LeBlanc, the Deceiver, presides over the Black Rose, a remnant from a lost, yet similarly unscrupulous time in Noxian history. Ruthless and seemingly ageless, LeBlanc and her ilk were a mainstay in Noxian political affairs during the era before the militarization of the Noxian government. In those days, this guild of powerful magicians met in secret to further their hidden agenda, and to hone a craft more subtle than that preferred by those currently in power.

While their exact motives have always remained mysterious, it was widely believed that the Black Rose was the true power behind the throne while the aristocracy still reigned in Noxus. When raw martial prowess became the ultimate determination of whose will held sway in the Empire, the Black Rose seemed to vanish overnight. Many believed that perhaps their time had simply passed, and that its members had put aside their quests for social and political dominance. When LeBlanc reemerged at the gates of the Institute of War, however, it became clear that these masters of shadow and flame had simply been biding their time, waiting for a new global authority to emerge: the League of Legends.

"The world is very different for those who cannot see beyond what is placed before their very eyes." LeBlanc

"Watch closely."

• High Damage Output with her infamous combo
• Good mobility through Distortion (blink through thin walls for surprise, TT has lots of them)
• Flexible ultimate
• Nice supporting chains if used right

• Mostly focused in teamfights
• very squishy
• CC can make you useless and shut you down quickly

The rune setup is pretty much the same for both game modes.

• Greater Mark of Magic Penetration - Every single spell of LeBlanc is affected by Magic Penetration and makes her more powerful, the same goes for her Ignite Spell.
• Greater Seal of Replenishment - Maybe not THAT much needed at first, but still nice to have, especially at the beginning. Alternatively, you could get Greater Seal of Ability Power, Greater Seal of Health or even Greater Seal of Armor.
• Greater Glyph of Ability Power - Flat AP helps more in the early game but falls in later stages.
• Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power - Take those for the mid- & late game, as the Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power surpasses Greater Glyph of Ability Power around Level 6-7.
• Greater Quintessence of Ability Power - Same as the Glyph, the more AP the better, don't forget that you have a good amount of Magic Penetration through Reds, the Dominion Buff and also from Haunting Guise.

NOTE: The Glyphs are a question of personal playstyle, if you want to have a stronger early game, take Greater Glyph of Ability Power, if you want a better scaling into mid and lategame, take Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power. It's hard to say which is really better in Dominion, as matches can be over extremly fast or take a while.

Those are the summoner spells I'm using and it works very well, but let's get into the detail:

• - This often grants you the kill on those pesky low HP escapers if you can't reach them anymore due to CDs or they're just out of range through Flash. And some extra damage is always welcome.
• - Since Dominion is a fast-paced map, some more mobility is needed to get from point A to point B. LeBlanc could use Distortion to move a little faster, but the CD is often needed for the last bit of damage - or just escaping.
• - Sometimes I take this over Ignite but it's merely a playstyle decision, since it can help out to escape out of ganks and lost teamfights, but it's also a nice tool to surprise unaware opponents at the top tower to take them down by surprise. Also, you can use an Escape Combo with Distortion -> Mimic Distortion -> Flash for a triple jump and mostly a save escape.

It's better to grab Flash in Twisted Treeline, as you can get caught offguard very fast and if Distortion is on Cooldown, that might be your chance to escape sticky situations for example to flash over your base wall to get back to safety.

• Mirror Image (Passive): This passive seem to be tricky and you need to be well aware of your remaining HP, but once it triggers, it can save your life if used well. You can control your Mirror Image like any other Pet (like Annie's Summon: Tibbers) with Alt + rightclick - so you could move it into a brush while you run in an unexpected way (I often run into the enemy, as they chased the escaping mirror image - then they just got killed, what a surprise), but tactics like that depend on the enemy players, some fell for that, some not. Additional, the Mirror Image can be used as shield against Skillshots like Caitlyn's Ace in the Hole by moving your Mirror Image between you and the one who uses a skillshot - it saved me very often.
  
  
• Sigil of Silence Sigil of Silence (Q): It may not look that impressive from the visuals, but this spell can really cause some pain, especially if used in combination with Mimic. The skill itself has some good damage, if you hit an enemy, you'll see some kind of orb over their head - if you use another spell of LeBlanc and hit the opponent, for example with Distortion, the Sigil will be activated, dealing additional damage and silences the target for 2 seconds - think of the double combo which can be truely a pain for other casters.
  
  
• Distortion (W): A VERY nice tool in LeBlanc's kit of doom, especially if it's paired with Sigil of Silence or it's Mimic version. Distortion allows you to blinkjump forward to deal damage (or to procc Sigil of Silence), the position where you started stays there for 3 seconds so when you use Distortion again, you can blink back to the start location. It can be very handy in different cases, for example to get into position for Ethereal Chains or even for escaping ganks. It also allows to jump over thin walls, for example - you can hide at the top position in the brush where the Health Pack is, move a little to the side and use Distortion for a little surprise - but don't hesitate and jump into your doom, it's not worth it.
  
  
• Ethereal Chains (E): Another nice trick in LeBlanc's sleave - it's a skillshot ability that deals damage and "chains" the enemy so they lose 25% movement speed - very nice to slow down escaping champions. But this is not all - if the target remains shackled for several seconds, the target will be stunned and taking additional damage - a very amusing trick if you use this underneath your tower - combined with your skillset, this can be an almost guaranteed "Go straight home without walking over Start" kill but this depends on your target. But Ethereal Chains has a little disadvantage: It's tricky to use and hit since it can also hit minions and not champions only. So, you might need to get into position with Distortion. It needs some time to get used to it, but once you can handle it, it's a powerful tool.
  
  
• Mimic (R): This skill is LeBlanc's Bread and Butter skill, the most flexible skill of the whole game. This skill repeats the last skill you used but with an increased 10%/25%/40% additional damage (depending on it's rank). You can use it to get a second and stronger Sigil of Silence to procc it's Silence effect and also leave a new Sigil on the target which can be used again through her other spells so the Silence continues. Also, you can use a second Distortion if it's the last used spell to get out of ganks combined with Ghost. Or root escaping champs even longer through Mimic Ethereal Chains. The use of Mimic is very flexible and if used correctly, deadly.

"Right where I want them."
The skill sequence for LeBlanc is pretty simple and easily explained: Max your Sigil of Silence first, since it's your main source of damage (and also for the Silence effect), followed by Distortion to maximize your damage. Ethereal Chains are a must to have but there's no need to max it out that fast. And, of course, get a point in Mimic whenever it's aviable.

On Twisted Treeline however, it again comes to a question of playstyle. You can take a point in Ethereal Chains at level 1 to help your team getting the First Blood or check the brush at bottom lane without facechecking there - but it can also backfire, as most teams run together for the First Blood and Ethereal Chains can only catch one of them. I was often in the situation, that I used the chain on one of them, but then got pushed back by my target's teammates so I had to get out of range before the stun applied to prevent giving First Blood to them. That's why I prefer the more standard way of getting Sigil of Silence and Distortion first for more survivability and better farming/poking tools.

"Looks can be deceiving."

DOMINION:

STARTING ITEMS:
Prospector's Ring, Boots
I prefer this variation over a fast Rabadon's Deathcap through Blasting Wand since the Prospector's Ring gives helpful stats, some Ability Power, some Mana Regeneration and also some nice to have 200 HP for more survivability.

The Boots are good to get some more movement speed, and you'll build you Ionian Boots of Lucidity of it. You could also head for Sorcerer's Shoes to get more Magic Penetration instead of Cooldown Reduction, but I prefer the Cooldown Reduction variant, since you often get into fights, and the more you have your Mimic ready, the better. Also, if you head for Sorcerer's Shoes, you don't need the Haunting Guise - I take this to get the missed Magic Penetration from the non-taken Sorcerer's Shoes, also the extra health and AP is a nice to have.

Then, I mostly head for Morello's Evil Tome since it offers some more amazing Cooldown Reduction, which helps you to get out your Mimic even more often - it also offers some Ability Power again. Additionally, the new active effect might help the team to fight off opponents with Life Steal/Spell Vamp as it applies Grievous Wounds which reduces all kind of healing by 50% for a short time - not to mention that the price got reduced with Patch v1.0.0.139. Alternatively, you could grab Deathfire Grasp, it may have less CDR and also a little less AP, but the active adds some nice burst damage.


ADVANCED:
After all those items, I head for the infamous Rabadon's Deathcap as your Cooldown Reduction is VERY good now, you can almost spam your skills. And Rabadon's Deathcap makes all those skills even more deadly, as you collected some Ability Power before this, and it gives you a huge amount + 30% of your maximum ability power. You'll be deadly if playing right.

The next items pretty much rely on your playstyle, as there are many alternatives like Rylai's Crystal Scepter for the extra health and slow, Abyssal Mask for the debuff and some healthy Magic Resist against other AP Casters, Archangel's Staff for some more mana and another Ability Power Boost by 3% of your maximum mana - and another viable choice is the Void Staff for some more Magic Penetration. But it's merely a question of your playstyle.

TWISTED TREELINE:

Boots, 3x Health Potion
For the start I mostly get the Boots and 3x Health Potion (alternatively Mana Potion) to get a safe start since most games start with a First Blood attempt at bottom lane or in the jungle, when the attempts backfire, Boots give you some decent movement speed to get away quick enough. The Health Potion is for the laning phase then if you get poked much, don't waste them after the First Blood scenario, I always Recall to refresh my mana and health at the base (or buy something like Doran's Ring if First Blood went in your favour) and get back into the lane along with the minions which should be spawned then.

I mostly take the bottom lane on Twisted Treeline as I can get better stats through Kills and Assists, it's also helpful for your teammate to chain an running enemy in order to get the kill. However, you should get 1-2 Doran's Ring soon after the start in order to give you some survivability and Mana Regeneration, depending how well the game went. If it's in your favour, you can buy just one of them and then head straight for Needlessly Large Rod for more Ability Power in order to get your Rabadon's Deathcap later. Be aware, that they will focus you once they notice how deadly you can be. An early Giant's Belt (which can be built into a Rylai's Crystal Scepter can help to keep you alive, but it would delay your power - that's why 2 Doran's Ring would come more handy. However, before you build your Rabadon's Deathcap, you should upgrade your boots to Sorcerer's Shoes to get the well needed Magic Penetration, as most players use Magic Resist runes. After that, Rabadon's Deathcap is next, no matter what. Alternatively, a Haunting Guise can help to keep you alive with some HP and deliver some more Magic Penetration, but you should be mobile enough to live without that.

After you got your Rabadon's Deathcap, you problably already got some kills or assists so your opponents might start to build Magic Resist. That's were the Void Staff comes in to give you some more Magic Penetration and AP. After that, it's mostly up to playstyle once again, I prefer getting a Deathfire Grasp then, to get some Cooldown Reduction, Ability Power and more important: An insane active which has a nice synergy to your already powerful nuking arsenal. However, most games won't go that long if the match is in your favour, it can happen often enough, that you get feeded in no time so an enemy surrender is often the case.

Patch 1.0.0.138 - Hecarim Patch

Marks

• Warding: Magic resist reduced by 20%.

Glyphs

• Insight: Magic penetration increased by 20%.
• Potency: Ability power increased by 20%.
• Warding: Magic resist reduced by 10%.

Quintessences

• Insight: Magic penetration increased by 15%.
• Warding: Magic resist reduced by 11.1%.

Note: Overall a nice buff to all AP casters, so Magic Penetration is even more effective and Magic Resist Runes doesn't negate the damage as hard as before.

Patch 1.0.0.139 - Spectator Mode

Morello's Evil Tome:
Now builds out of Fiendish Codex and Kage's Lucky Pick
Total cost reduced to 2330 from 2350.
Now has a Grievous Wounds active.

Note: A pretty nice buff, the item is cheaper and the active might help the team in fights against opponents with Life Steal and Spell Vamp such as Tryndamere, Vladimir and similar.

Patch 1.0.0.138 - Darius Patch
Athene's Unholy Grail Released.
+80 ability power.
+36 magic resistance.
+15 mana regeneration per 5 seconds.
Unique passive: 15% cooldown reduction.
Unique passive: Restores 12% of your maximum mana on kill or assist and increases your mana regeneration by 1% per 1% mana missing.

Note: This sounds like a solid item for LeBlanc, but it might fall off in the late game as the cost for Mimic falls drastically and you have a good amount of mana later. But I haven't tried this yet, might give it a try if a game would last that long.

- Adding details to the Mastery section.
- Improving the Item Section's visual appearance to make it easier to read.

• 2011-11-08 - First release of the guide.
• 2011-12-21 - Updated Masteries (haven't tried Deep Utility yet).
• 2011-12-22 - Added Deathfire Grasp to Item Section.
• 2012-05-04 - Added additional explaination to Morello's Evil Tome due to Patch Changes (v1.0.0.139). Also added information on Flash and changed Glyphs in the Rune section. Fixed several format errors. Added a Patch Change section.
• 2012-06-08 - Added a Mastery Section, To Do List, Twisted Treeline Build with explainations. Also reworked the whole visual appearance of the guide and updated Patch Changes.

LeBlanc is one of the most fun to play champions I ever played - she is a beast in Twisted Treeline and Summoner's Rift and she's also a beast in Dominion - but only if played right. The correct use of LeBlanc's abilities is what defines a good or a bad LeBlanc. But she's an easy kill, once she pulled out all her tricks out of her sleaves - but the Cooldown Reduction helps a little on that.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed my first guide and I hope it's not too stuffed or hard to read - I'd like to get some feedback for improvements, as I'll update the guide if needed (probably some more sections about her role in Dominion or similar, so feel free to comment below!

Enjoy the build!

"The Black Rose shall bloom once more."

Big thanks jhoijhoi, the Making a Guide Guide (that sounds funny) helped to improve the whole guide!