Hi, I'm RadioQuail! Lissandra's my mid main, and I main the Mid Lane, so she's basically my main champion to play. This is a basic guide of how I play her, and how she counters specific champs that you wouldn't think she'd counter. ON WITH THE GUIDE

Your average Runes are Marks of Magic Pen, Seals of Armor, Glyphs of MR, and Quints of flat AP. The only time you'd get different runes is basically when.) A: You don't have enough IP to afford them.) B: You switch from Marks of Magic Pen to Marks of flat AP, and Quints of Magic Pen.

I normally go 21/9/0, but the only time you'd go 21/0/9 is when you are confident in your ability to not die, or you're, for sure, going to get a Rod of Ages.

I normally start with a Doran's Ring and 2 Health Potions. That's your best start, since, with Iceborn you can use a free spell every 15 seconds. The only time you'd go Cloth Armor is when you're fighting Zed, Talon, or Yasuo. If you even dare to fight Kassadin as Lissandra, get a Crystalline Flask.

Early Core

You need to grab your Chalice of Harmony or your Seeker's Armguard depending on your matchup. Afterwards, grab your Sorcerer's Shoes and a Needlessly Large Rod to complete your Early Core. Always get Vision Ward and Stealth Ward.

Mid Core

For your Mid Core, get your Athene's Unholy Grail and Zhonya's Hourglass. After that, upgrade your boots with Enchantment: Alacrity or Enchantment: Homeguard, and get a Liandry's Torment. At this point, you should be able to burst enemies down with your Glacial Path, Ring of Frost, Frozen Tomb, Ice Shard combo.

Situational Items

If you're fighting Orianna, Syndra, or Lux, get yourself a Rod of Ages, which will help you survive their everything. Also, if you want to have Utility in your Masteries, grab a Rod of Ages. For extra magic pen, get Void Staff. If you get Rod of Ages grab a Seraph's Embrace because Seraph's passive has synergy with Rod. Why should I get a Rabadon's Deathcap? Why not?! Oh hey look, here's an item you can get if you're super fed and have no chance of getting shut down. (This is known as a Mejai's Soulstealer.) If you need to initiate teamfights, get a Twin Shadows for the vision, then the slow. Get an Abyssal Mask if you need to sport some magic resist.

Items NOT to get

Rylai's Crystal Scepter - You already have enough CC. Waste of gold. Will of the Ancients - Your literal everything is an AOE, making your spellvamp heal you for nothing. Lich Bane/ Iceborn Gauntlet - See, you never auto-attack, you're normally bursting down people via Ice Shard and Ring of Frost.

You always build up your Ice Shard first, giving your poke game potential ridiculous. After that, get either your Ring of Frost or your Glacial Path up. Ring of Frost for a high-mobility enemy team. Glacial Path if you need to escape a bunch.

I almost always bring Flash and Ignite. The only time I wouldn't bring Ignite is when I'm fighting Kassadin, which is when you either bring Barrier or Exhaust.

Lissandra's playstyle is different from a lot of other champions. She's not all skill shots, but instead, all AOE's (area of effect). With her short range on her main damaging ability, Ice Shard, she can expand that range by hitting a minion wave with it. Her Ring of Frost is meant to lock down enemy champions, as Lissandra is a heavy dueling champion, but she's also very good at teamfights with her Frozen Tomb.

Pros

Heavy Burst
Locks down enemy champs easily
Large amount of Crowd Control
Counters normally seen champions.
Great escape

Cons

Short spell range
Her Glacial Path has a high cooldown
Squishy unless health is built
Can be taken advantage of if you use Glacial Path to engage.

Thanks for reading my guide! If you found something wrong with it, comment and I'll fix it ASAP. CYA.