^^Credit to Aman62696 for my banner, my brother irl. While you're at it, go check out his ezreal guide:D (He's a slacker at the moment however and hasn't finished it yet :P)

FUN FACT ABOUT MYSELF: Nidalee IS ONE OF THE ONLY CHAMPION IN THE GAME THAT I DON'T ALWAYS START BOOTS AND POTIONS ON :D

• Supports and some junglers are the only exception to this XD
• I'm a firm believer that you can start boots and potions on every single champion in the game and be successful :D
  
  
  Hello mobafire. This is a guide for one of my favorite, and main, champions Nidalee. Nidalee is a very viable champion, and can be played as an AD bruiser solo top, AP solo top terror (my personal favorite),a support in bottom lane, or one of my favorites, MIDALEE!! (get it? midalee? Nidalee in the mid lane...no? ok..nevermind then). Nidalee is best suited in the top lane, but if you want to have some fun, go mid! Mid is much more difficult, but it adds a fun factor to the game. With a properly played Nidalee, there are almost no enemies who can stop you. Below are my four most recent games with Nidalee *NOTE* I have been working on this guide for quite some time on and off, so these games are quite old but still do the job XD. Although there is a loss in the mix, as you can see, it was not my fault XD. Lets start out with the pros and cons of Nidalee.

Here's a song about Nidalee that I found the shows why you should play her XD. Pay no attention to the combo said during the chorus, it isn't correct :P. It does have some explicit language so take caution when watching it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqYbswOFoKA&feature=g-vrec&context=G20f0d89RVAAAAAAAACA

Pros:

• Very good farming post level 6
• Javelin Toss is a very powerful spell, it can do up to 250% more damage!
• Powerful sustain with your Primal Surge, you can heal yourself for well over 500 hp!
• Bushwhack acts as a good scouting tool and are comparable to Yordle Snap Trap, but not nearly as good
• Aspect Of The Cougar offers extra armor and magic resistance]]

Cons:

Marks:

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration

• Offers Magic Penetration.
• Makes your Javelin Toss hit even harder
• Makes your Swipe and Pounce do more damage.

Seals:

Greater Seal of Ability Power

• Offers extra ability power
• Makes your Javelin Toss hit even harder
• Makes your Primal Surge a more potent heal

Glyphs:

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power

• Makes your ability power go up as the game progresses, giving you an higher overall AP
• Again, makes you Javelin Toss hit even harder!
• Makes Primal Surge heal for even more!
  
  
  Quints:
  
  Greater Quintessence of Ability Power
  
• Again, more ability power, better Javelin Toss damage, more potent Primal Surge etc.
  

Greater Seal of Armor

• Armor seals are a viable option if you're going up against heavy AD damage or if you like to not be as squishy
• You will gain more armor and magic resistance when you transfrom into cougar form, so dont be afraid of the numbers in the cheat sheet, only once have I wished that I had armor seal on, and it was during a 1v1 against someone in solo queue.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist

• These are good if you're going up against heavy AP damage, aka Rumble
• I still prefer to have more damage, as you should be playing as a mostly poke champion, only jumping into the fight to finish off weaker enemies.

• Take all ability power masteries, and 3 points in Havoc for more damage.
• Take either armor or magic resistance in defense, one point in the one you didn't put three points into, health per level, and flat health in defense.
• This mastery page is centered around providing max damage with some added in survivability.
  
  You can also put points into the Utility tree, picking up extra mana, good hands, mana regen, improved recall time/the flash mastery(if you decide to go flash), and neutral buff duration. Blue buff is especially good on Nidalee. Being able to spam your spears and heal will benefit your team, giving you an advantage.

• Teleport is a very good spell for back dooring
• You can also go gank for a lane, then Teleport back to your lane to prevent your tower from being pushed
• Teleport ganks are very deadly
• Teleport is good for getting back into the action after an unfortunate death or recalling.

• Ignite is very good for securing kills, especially early game
• Ignite is also good if your enemies turret dive you, an Ignite plus turret aggro equals a dead enemy
• Ignite isnt affected by armor or magic resistance because it's true damage.

Other Viable Summoner Spells

• Even after the Flash nerf, it is still very viable
• If you like to have a for sure escape method, take Flash

• Only take Clairvoyance if you are going to be supporting bottom lane
• Good for keeping track of the enemy jungler and spotting possible ganks from the river.

• You start with Pounce so that you can leash for your jungler, and prevent early ganks.
• Place your Pounce in the bushes by the river, in tri-bush(if you're in top or bottom lane), in the lane bushes(again, top or bottom lanes)
• Next, a point in Primal Surge so you have some sustain in lane. You can hold the "alt" key and press "e" to automatically put the heal on yourself. Saves some time, and you wont have to hover your mouse over yourself to heal.
• After you hit level 3, you want to power level you Javelin Toss so that you have some damage to harass your opponent out of lane.
• Grab a point in Aspect Of The Cougar as soon as it is available and also at levels 11 and 16.
• Once your Javelin Toss is maxed, you are going to max Primal Surge followed by Pounce

Starting Items:

Doran's Ring or Cloth Armor & Health Potion

:

• Starting Doran's Ring is my standard start on nidalle.
• It offers extra health, extra ability power, and some mana regen. What more could you want?

& X5

• It is very rare that I will start Cloth Armor & 5x Health Potion
• The only time I would start this, is if I am up against a heavy auto attacking champion. For example, Shyvana, Tryndamere, Riven
• Starting with five Health Potion will give you that extra sustain that you will need if the enemy gets too aggressive with you.
• This will also help you save mana by not having to spam Primal Surge
• Be aware, this will put you a little behind in your build sequence, but it isn't anything Nidalee can't overcome :D

First Trip Back Home:

Option #1

, x3, , sight wardx2

Option #2 *NOT RECOMMENDED*

& sight ward

Option #1:

• Allows you to be a bit aggressive since you have Health Potion & mana potions
• Offers you the use of sight ward's!
• Very important to avoid being ganked by the enemy jungler

Quick explanation on where to place sight wards:

There will be a picture here soon, once I can get a computer that has LoL on it -.-

Option #2:

• Offers big damage early, at the cost of extra susatin
• You will have to play much more careful if you decide to go this path
• The only time I will EVER do this, is if the enemy team does not have a jungler and you are forced to 2v1 in top.
  
  From here on out, you can just follow the build sequence in the cheat sheet. Dont be afraid however, to stray away from this. Honestly, I'm just too lazy to type out the rest. I'm sure i'll come back to this once I see it in my guide and fix it because this is sloppy XD

Farming with nidalee, as with any champion, is very crucial to your success.

• Without farms, you have no gold
• Without gold you have no items
• Without items you lose the game

Nobody wants to lose the game, so remember to farm :D

In order to be successful at farming, you need to be able to last hit. This becomes much easier past level 6 because you have Aspect Of The Cougar. Pre level 6, you just have to last hit with your basic attacks.

PRE LEVEL 6

• Do not use your mana to last hit, you will need to to harass with Javelin Toss and to heal up with Primal Surge

LEVEL 6 AND AFTER

• Use Aspect Of The Cougar and then you have all of the farming tools you need
• Pounce into the minion wave
• Use Primal Surge to get the minions to low health
• Use Javelin Toss to secure last hits *NOTE* Javelin Toss resets your auto attack timer, so you can basically get in two auto attacks in on the minions, making it almost impossible to miss the creep.

In the top lane, you will face many different opponents. In this section, I will explain how all of the match ups work, and what you need to do in order to win your lane :D

Popular Solo Tops:

Please note, these are the more popular solo tops, which is my I am explaining them, if a champion is not listed here, just let me know and I will add them to the list :D

• Cho'Gath can be a real pain.
• He has just as much, if not more, sustain than you do.
• This match up must be played with caution.
• Be sure to use your range to your advantage, and constantly poke him with your auto attacks and Javelin Toss.
• Ganks from the jungler can put you at a very high advantage.

• Dr. Mundo has recently evolved as a viable solo top.
• Your goal here is going to be trying to kill him pre level 6. If you cant, do not worry however.
• Ignite is ESPECIALLY useful here, It will make his ult much less effective.
• Once you both hit level 6, be sure to take care if you decide to commit to the kill close to Dr. Mundo's turret. He can ult and run you around his turret until you die.
• Once Dr. Mundo uses his ult, it is best to just back away from him, because then you can zone him away from the creeps and cause him to lose experience, giving you a very good advantage.
• Ganks from the jungler in this lane are appreciated, but not completely needed.

• Gangplank is a very tricky opponent.
• You may want to consider starting either boots and potions, or cloth armor and 5 health potions.
• Gangplank, if he is a good Gangplank, is going to Parrrley you every chance he gets.
• Dont let him get close enough to you to do that, again, USE YOUR RANGE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
• Once you hit level 6, you can start to get more aggressive with your Aspect Of The Cougar
• Pounce into Gangplank, use your swipes, then use javeling toss.
• After this combo, your Pounce should be off of cooldown, or close to it. Pounce out of the fight, transform back to human form, and throw a Javelin Toss in gangplanks direction.
• Using this combo, there is no way that Gangplank can trade with you.
• Again, ganks from your jungler are appreciated but not necessarily needed

• Irelia is one of the harder solo tops for Nidalee
• Again, use your range to your advantage, and passively farm, poking her down any chance you get
• Poking Irelia may not be very effective thanks to her passive life steal, so don't be discouraged
• Ganks from your jungler are VERY much appreciated as well as needed.

• Unlike most of the previously mentioned champions, Kennen also has range so you're range isn't an advantage here.
• Sit back and farm with just auto attacks until level 6, occasionally throwing a Javelin Toss to chunk his health bar.
• PRO TIP: When preparing to set up a gank, try to bait out Kennen's Lightning Rush so that he is either forced to blow a Flash to escape, or die.
• Past level 6, you can really start to punish Kennen.
• Pounce in, use swipes, then Takedown. Kennen should be chunked quite a bit, and will think twice before letting you engage again.
• Ganks are appreciated but not necessarily needed.