Flash: One of the best summoner spells in the game, Flash gives you an instant escape mechanism that can correct bad positioning or even be used to juke through walls. Even better, you can blink forwards and catch enemies by surprise, nuking them down before they have a chance to escape. This ability has unmatched utility late game, and can net you First Blood quite well.

Ignite: Often seen as the "First Blood spell," Ignite is devastating against enemy champions in the early game. The extra true damage will often give you just enough burst to kill an enemy, especially as a nuker. Late game, it can still be used to finish off low champions (the true damage bypasses resistances) and is also great for reducing healing on regenerators like Vladimir, Dr. Mundo, and pretty much anyone with lifesteal or spellvamp.

Teleport: Veigar isn't designed to be a split-pusher, but by mid-game you can sweep up creep waves very quickly with Dark Matter. Building a lot of AP actually allows you to kill towers with moderate efficiency. In the early game, Teleport is a great way to recall to base without letting your tower get damaged. You can just Teleport back into lane after you shop and barely miss any XP. This is a good option for newer Veigar players, or if you don't have a reliable jungler that can cover your lane for you.

Dark Matter (W): This is a very powerful spell, though it is difficult to use. Like Living Artillery, this spell drops a delayed AoE nuke at the target location. Allies and enemies can see the spell before it lands, so it can often be easily dodged or blocked. The high AP ratio and base damage on this skill make it an important component of your nuke by mid-game. Try to hit multiple targets with this spell, especially when pushing minion waves or engaging in team fights. Dark Matter can do ridiculous damage if you can manage to land it.
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Tips and Tricks:

Use Event Horizon to set up a target for Dark Matter so they can't dodge it.
Dark Matter reveals the area where it was cast, so it's a great tool to check bushes or around walls.
If you can't stun, try to anticipate where your target will move, then place Dark Matter in their path.
In team fights, you may not even need to stun in order to land Dark Matter.
Dark Matter is very predictable. Beware of enemies with shields, especially Sivir's Spell Shield and Nocturne's Shroud of Darkness. Breaking these shields with a spell will actually give Sivir mana, or provide Nocturne with an AS boost.


Event Horizon (E): Veigar's only CC ability, Event Horizon is a spell with a bit of a learning curve, but is an indispensable component of Veigar's nuke. This spell creates a ring about the size of dragon's area, or Akali's Twilight Shroud. Any enemy unit that hits the EDGE of this ring will be stunned for several seconds (depending on the ability's level and their tenacity). This ability can be used very effectively as a defense mechanism, but is also a great way to line up a target for your nuke.
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Tips and Tricks:

Spell Shield, Shroud of Darkness and Banshee's Veil can be used to absorb the stun, while Quicksilver Sash, Cleanse, Unbreakable Will and Remove Scurvy can remove the effect of the stun instantly. Ragnarok, and Black Shield protect their target from all CC effects. Flash and other blink spells can hop right over the stun wall. Take inventory of each champion on the enemy team that has a way to circumvent your stun so you aren't surprised.
Event Horizon can be used to split up the enemy team if placed correctly. The radius of the ring is quite wide, and can prevent the enemy team from coordinating.
Dashing or displaced enemies will be stunned upon arrival if they passed through the wall.
Keep an eye out for tenacity items and abilities like Mercury's Treads or Insanity Potion. Tenacity can allow enemies to escape the stun sooner, which may allow them to dodge your Dark Matter if Event Horizon is at a low level.
Try to position this spell so that the edge connects with the target champion. Trapping a ranged champion inside the circle may allow them to escape, or even come after you.


Primordial Burst (R): This ability gives Veigar a serious advantage over many AP carries. This ability is built for incredible single-target burst, growing stronger with both Veigar's and the target's AP. This ability is great for bursting down AP champions, but is also effective at killing any squishy, or even finishing off a tank. Make sure you are ready to do your entire spell sequence before using your ultimate. Firing Primordial Burst prematurely can cause your enemy to retreat and escape your grasp.
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Tips and Tricks:

Again, keep an eye out for spell shields. It's a terrible feeling to watch your ult be completely cancelled by Banshee's Veil, Spell Shield or Shroud of Darkness. Intervention and Unbreakable Will are also dangers.
Check your enemies' health and AP numbers to see who is the best target for Primordial Burst.
Try to use Primordial Burst at the end of your spell combo when possible, just in case your enemy escapes. That way you won't have wasted your ultimate on a lost kill.
Primordial Burst has a fairly lengthy cooldown, so try to be sure you'll net a kill or assist before firing it.

Primordial Burst is obviously first priority to maximize your nuke. Baleful Strike is important to level up early since Dark Matter is far too unreliable in the early game. Event Horizon needs about three points, then can wait to be maxed last. You'll need a couple points to keep your stun at a manageable level, or anyone with tenacity is just going to walk out of your Dark Matter. Max Dark Matter after you have 5 points in Q and 3 points in E. With this skill order, you'll have a powerful Q on a short CD, a decent E, and you'll have W as soon as laning phase ends and you need it to farm/burst in team fights. This is a fantastic skill order against a passive opponent, and it will give you strong harass as well. You won't have much AoE until mid game, so your burst will be mostly single-targeted.
Choosing Your Skill Order

Thanks Wayne3100 for suggesting this section.

Q: "PsiGuard, how do I stop pushers like Malzahar and Morgana from pushing the creeps to my tower? My Baleful Strike isn't enough to push back, and holding my tower seems impossible!"
//Great question, Wayne. This is a great example of the strengths of the alternative skill sequence. Putting more points in Dark Matter allows you to kill creep waves very quickly. This is an effective strategy against strong pushers who use AoE to farm your minions. Since you don't want your tower to take all the CS, leveling up Dark Matter earlier may be a necessity.

Q: "Why do you need more than one point in Event Horizon?"
//I've experimented a bit with leaving Event Horizon at level 1 and maxing the other skills first. Believe me when I say that it doesn't work. The first level of Event Horizon just doesn't hold your target long enough to land Dark Matter, and actually leaves you a bit vulnerable if you try to combo your target since they can just step forward and harass you back. I only use the first point of Event Horizon for defensive purposes, since the stun is long enough for you to retreat out of range.

The ONLY time I would consider leaving Event Horizon at level one would be if I were duo laning with another champion with a strong CC (perhaps Taric). If their CC is reliable enough for you to land Dark Matter, then you might be able to level Event Horizon much later in the game. If you're laning mid, you should never leave this skill at level one.

Q: "Why do you get three points in Event Horizon? When should you get more?"
//In my experience, level one Event Horizon is sufficient for defensive purposes. The second point can allow you to use your combo, but leaves you vulnerable to counter-attack. Level three will allow you to safely nuke any champion without tenacity. The fourth point and fifth points are necessary to nuke champions with tenacity, and provides more utility for your teammates. In team fights, you'll often be able to stun several enemy champions, creating open targets for your team.

Three points in Event Horizon is generally all you need to handle your AP carry opponent. Most AP and AD carries (your prime targets) get items like Sorcerer's Shoes and Berserker's Greaves. They often won't build Mercury's Treads until much later in the game. If you notice that your lane opponent has purchased a tenacity item and can now evade your Dark Matter, you may want to put another point or two in Event Horizon. Tanks and offtanks often take Mercury's Treads, but they aren't ideal targets for your nuke and are NOT worth losing damage from Q or W to put more points in E.

Q: "Why don't you just get one point in Baleful Strike for last-hitting?"
//While Baleful Strike can last-hit minions adequately at level one, it is still important to commit more points to it for several reasons.

1) Baleful Strike's cooldown goes down with level, allowing you to last-hit more minions in quick succession. The lower cooldown is also useful for harassing, and participating in later team fights.

2) Unlike Dark Matter, Baleful Strike is a reliable targeted spell that is much easier to harass with. Dark Matter usually requires Event Horizon or an allied CC if you want to land it.

3) Baleful Strike's damage increases with level, making your harass and last-hitting a lot stronger. Since Veigar has a fairly weak early game, it's important to be able to harass your opponent so they can't dominate the lane.

4) Baleful Strike's bonus AP on kills also scales with level. Often you won't get many kills until after level 6 (when you have your full nuke), so by the time you actually start killing champions, your Q should be between level 3 and 5. This makes a big difference if you want to snowball well into mid game. A champion kill with a level 5 Baleful Strike is comparable to earning a PERMANENT stack of Mejai's Soulstealer.