Hello everyone, this is my first build that I'm posting here on MOBAFIRE and I would like to start out by explaining that this IS NOT THE GUIDE YOU WANT TO BE READING FOR A 2200 ELO! This build is something I like to call "Shredder Teemo" and it focuses around attack speed and on-hit effects like that of Malady. You obviously won't be on the front lines with this build, as sustain is virtually non-existent. If you don't mind losing a few games and love trying new and fun builds, this is the guide for you!

I'm also adding in a section for AP Teemo. Once again, probably not the best for high ELO play, but it's quite hilarious for normals and games with your friends.

I'll be covering AP after Shredder so skip a bit for the AP sections.

Pros
-Ranged carry
-Is easily overlooked due to his small size
-Can completely shut down auto-attack champions with his Blinding Dart
- Camouflage Invisibilty and AS increase on a passive? Sign me up!
-He's a yordle!
-Really fun to play and is kind of a troll

Cons
-VERY squishy
-Almost no burst except in the most perfect set ups and if you build AP
-He's a yordle...
-Annoying voice

So my rune choices are pretty basic.

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Most people would probably wonder why I choose to use Magic Pen Quints on such a high attack speed build. I take these because most of the damage you will be dealing is from the on-hit effects of your items plus the bonus damage/DoT on Toxic Shot. All these effects and the poison deal MAGIC damage, so it is important that we get as much of that damage through the enemies defenses as possible.

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The Marks follow the same reasoning as the Quints, getting as much of that magic damage through defenses as possible.

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Here is where the runes become controversial and very preference-based. I take armor Seals to increase Teemo's survivability. Between Madred's Bloodrazor and the points I take in Hardiness , it brings Teemo's armor up to 119 at level 18. Over 100 armor is nothing to scoff at, especially when on a squishy carry that most people will expect to two-shot. 119 armor translates to just over 54% physical damage reduction which is HUGE against other AD carries. Sometimes it can give you the edge in a teamfight or even a 1v1 situation.

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Again, my choice of Glyphs will be argued as less useful than other Glyphs. With the points in Resistance and max stacks of Wit's End, it brings you up to 109 magic resist at level 18. This puts you at 52% magic damage reduction. Again, that's nothing to scoff at.

A lot of people believe that running mastery trees with builds like 21/9/0 or 0/21/9 are ideal, as it gets you the final mastery for a specific tree and as far into another as you can. I choose to go 24/6/0, however. The armor and magic resist from Hardiness and Resistance , respectfully, stacks nicely with Greater Seal of Armor and Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist to give Teemo that extra little survivability that he needs. I don't feel that going any deeper into the Defense or Utility tree is as useful as putting the extra 3 points back into Offense.

Arcane Knowledge is obviously necessary to help your magic damage get through and it works wonders with Greater Mark of Magic Penetration and Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration.

Alacrity isn't necessarily useful at late game, as with this build you reach 2.5 AS
pretty fast. It is, however, useful early game for getting those extra poison ticks and it allows us to get that point in Weapon Expertise .

Summoner's Wrath should also be another obvious choice, as we take the summoner spells Surge and Ignite.

Havoc is a mastery I'm currently experimenting with. I don't know whether or not the damage increase will affect the on-hit effects. If someone could officially tell me yay or nay, that would be greatly appreciated.

For this particular build, I run Surge and Ignite.


This might seem like a silly choice for Teemo, as we aren't building absurd AP and this build gives 2.5 AS. However, I choose this for early game, where I feel Teemo needs the most help. The small, yet significant, boost in AP helps his Toxic Shot bonus damage and DoT, the damage on his Blinding Dart, and the damage from his Noxious Trap. The boost in AS also helps you get in the extra attacks to proc Malady, Wit's End, etc.


Ignite is a staple summoner spell used on many champions. The TRUE DAMAGE DoT adds on to the various poison and magic damage ticks to help ensure a kill. The 50% reduced healing is probably the best thing about this spell. Shredder Teemo is about as far from bursty as you can get, so if an enemy such as Dr. Mundo or Volibear start doing some extreme healing, this can help you negate as much of it as possible for maximum damage output.

Many Teemo's I see start with Toxic Shot. Although there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, I prefer starting with a point in Blinding Dart. This way you can start harassing and preventing harassment from enemy champions. Imagine the look on Caitlyn's face when she comes strolling up with her Doran's Blade and full set of AD runes and not being able to do A SINGLE POINT OF DAMAGE!
Afterwards, I take a point in Toxic Shot at level 2 and Move Quick at level 3, and then I max Toxic Shot, followed by Blinding Dart and then Move Quick. Of course you should be leveling up your Noxious Traps whenever you can (levels 6, 11, and 16).
I believe this skill sequence helps maximize Teemo's damage early game, especially after you buy Malady.
As always, feel free to change up the skill order in different circumstances.
Is Caitlyn or Graves destroying you in lane? Try maxing Blinding Dart first.
Are you having trouble keeping up with that Master Yi? Try leveling up Move Quick some more. After all, you can't do much damage if you're constantly being forced to recall or if you can't catch your enemy.

Ahh, the glorious (and long) Items section. The time has come at last to fully explain the purpose of this build.


This is our starting item, along with 3 Health Potions. This allows Teemo to run in, harass that silly opponent and get out, possibly without taking any damage at all! Combined with Move Quick at level 3, you become nigh uncatchable in lane.


For those of you who notice that this build ends with Mobility Boots, you might be wondering what Berserker's Greaves are doing here. These boots serve to maximize our AS at soon as possible to help maximize our on-hit damage.


If you can, buy this when you go back to buy your Berserker's Greaves. This will add some nice damage onto your Blinding Dart and Toxic Shot early game, as well as building into our first main item...


I've seen many people complain when I build this, as Nashor's Tooth gives more AS and AP, as well as giving CDR. However, it is mostly the passive we are interested in. Not only does it deal magic damage on hit, it shreds an opponents MR by 6 each hit, stacking up to 4 times. This effectively gives your entire team 24 Magic Pen on your target. Early game, where most champs have little to no MR, this can help you and your lane partner almost deal true damage with spells.


MOAR ATTACK SPEED PL0X! This item is fairly cheap for the stats: 40% AS for only 1050 gold. With only 3 items now, you're getting close to 2 attacks per second. That means you can stack that Malady in 2 seconds. Plus it also builds into our next 2 items: Madred's Bloodrazor and Wit's End.

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At this point I look to see who on the enemy team is getting fed. Is the enemy Ahri ROFLing all over your team? Let's build a Wit's End for the stacking MR to help negate some of her damage. Or maybe their jungling Nautilus had some uber ganks and is running around with a couple of Giant's Belts and we should get that Madred's Bloodrazor.
This is an important aspect to mention. Every other good guide will tell you this as well: NEVER STICK TO THE SAME ITEMS/ITEM ORDER!!!!!!! You need to learn when to make that judgement call. Should you save up for a big ticket item, or buy something cheaper that will help you right now? I put Madred's Bloodrazor and Wit's End in the same spot here as they accomplish two different tasks and you need to decide which would be best to build first.


This item was introduced in Dominion and was moved over to Summoner's Rift later. Not many people see value in this item, but take a look at how it fits into our build. With a "chain lightning" occurring every 4 hits and only doing 110 damage to each target it hits, it doesn't seem very viable. However, at this point you should be at or near 2.5 AS. 2.5 AS nets you a chain lightning every 1.6 seconds. With a possibility of hitting up to 4 targets, this will add a total of 440 extra damage every 1.6 seconds in a teamfight. Oh, and it also gives you that 250 HP to bump you up to tank status xD


Okay, technically, this isn't a "shredding item" as it doesn't deal bonus damage. HOWEVER, in 3 hits it can lower an opponent's armor by 45. That's 45 Armor Pen for your ENTIRE TEAM!!!!!!!! This combined with Malady can insure that their carries are being dealt true damage and their tanks are now squishy.


Now is when we sell our Berserker's Greaves for Mobility Boots. We easily have over the AS cap of 2.5, so Berserker's Greaves are really only giving us increased move speed. If our boots are only giving us movement speed, why not go all out for increased movement 5!!!!!!!!! This combined with Move Quick ensures that you can outrun anyone (except for maybe that Master Yi...). It also allows you to easily kite people through your Noxious Traps and to dodge those skill shot spammers ( Ezreal!!!!!!).

Alright, so you're heading out to lane with your Boots and you feel like such champ. So you set up in the middle of the lane and let Camouflage do its work. You wait for the enemy laners to walk by you and BOOM, you pop out of invisibility, pop Surge and Ignite your target and expect an easy first blood. WRONG! 99% of the time this plan won't succeed and you will end up getting first blooded instead. How is this possible? Because Teemo is SQUISHY! You'll be hard pressed to find a champ that's easier to kill at low levels.
Teemo is a ranged champion, so let's play him like that. Poke at those enemy champions and last hit those creeps from a RANGE. Starting with Blinding Dart does not ensure that you can easily kill that enemy Caitlyn. Blinding Dart is mostly there for harassment and to help defend against early ganks.
Also, every guide will tell you the importance of LAST HITTING minions. I won't go into too much detail, but it basically ensures you get the gold for the kill and prevents your minons from pushing which in return can help prevent being ganked.
Teemo is not a tank, so don't go running out into the middle of the lane just to get a couple of hits on the enemy champion.

So the runes I choose for AP Teemo are pretty standard for an AP melter.

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Flat AP for starting the match with a pretty significant amount of AP. Helps you harass and last hit better ( Toxic Shot does bonus on hit damage as well as a DoT)

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Magic Pen is pretty self-explanatory. More Magic Pen=more damage with your magic damage.

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AP per level allows you scale in lane as you level without having to go back to buy items. This ensures that your Toxic Shot and Blinding Dart keep doing significant harass without going back.

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Same rule applies for the Glyphs as the Seals. AP/lvl keeps you scaling in lane.

For those of you who are wondering why such a glass cannon rune set on an already squishy champion, honestly, you can't really make Teemo tanky regardless of how you build him so you might as well pump out as much damage as you can.

Pretty standard masteries for an AP champion. Some of you might complain about putting that extra point into Offense, but honestly, where else are you going to put it?
Points into Mental Force , Arcane Knowledge , Blast , and Archmage for the increased AP and magic damage. The 4 points into Alacrity work well with Nashor's Tooth to increase your magic damage from Toxic Shot.

Ignite and Flash is probably the most common Summoner Spell set currently. This is for a good reason. Ignite deals TRUE DAMAGE to the target while halving healing done on them, so say bye-bye to pesky people like Dr. Mundo and Volibear. It also helps shut down AD carries that have lifesteal via Bloodthirster and such.
Flash is arguably the best Summoner Spell in the game as it's a free initiating tool and an escape mechanism. With Teemo being as squishy as he is, you'll probably be using it more as an escape than an initiate.

The skill order I use for AP Teemo is almost identical to Shredder. The only difference is that I start with Toxic Shot instead of Blinding Dart. As AP Teemo you can easily last hit minions and get free harass with the on hit and DoT magic damage from Toxic Shot.
You should max Toxic Shot first and then follow up with Blinding Dart and then Move Quick. And of course you should be leveling up Noxious Traps at 6, 11, and 16.

This is a pretty standard start on most every champion in addition to 3 Health Potions. This starts you off with enough mobility to last hit and harass effectively as well as escape from potential ganks easier.

kage's lucky pick
I've seen a lot of people hate on gp/10 items, but I still believe that picking up 1 or 2 is helpful, especially if you're having difficulty laning. This also can build into a Deathfire Grasp later if you want more burst.

or
Based upon how you're doing in lane and how much gold you have when you go back the second or even first time, you can pick up a Blasting Wand or finish your Sorcerer's Shoes. I've seen people prefer Berserker's Greaves over Sorc Shoes, but I find the Magic Pen more effective than the Attack Speed.

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The ultimate AP item. Builds into your Rabadon's Deathcap next and gives you a huge AP boost for your harass.


Feel free to build this before finishing your Deathcap, or even before buying NLR. This gives you some mana to sustain in lane and CDR to pump out Noxious Traps ASAP.


This item provides a MASSIVE CDR and AS boost as well as giving you some AP. This item was meant for AP Teemo.


I like to finish a Void Staff next to bring you to a nice round Magic Pen total of 29 flat and 46%. This is a HUGE amount of Magic Pen, effectively halving any MR the enemies might have. All of a sudden items like Force of Nature are no longer as scary.

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The finishing items for my build end up being Lich Bane and Zhonya's Hourglass 99% of the time. Lich Bane allows for deadly 1-2 combos with Blinding Dart and Zhonya's allows you some extra protection in team fights and allow you troll people chasing you through your Noxious Trap fields.

The laning phase for AP Teemo is pretty much the same in top and mid lane so I'll cover it in one section.

Don't be afraid to harass the enemy laner with your Toxic Shot and Blinding Dart!!!!! I find that most people underestimate the damage of Toxic Shot early on, allowing you to get some really good damage on them if they aren't careful. Try and punish them for last-hitting whenever possible as well. Make them earn every single minion they kill.
When you hit level 6, prioritize placing your Noxious Traps in places where you can potentially prevent ganks. The river brush at top and side brushes at mid are especially important. Also place shrooms all around you tower if you can to prevent pushing when you have to leave because you're low on HP or need to buy. After you feel you've sufficiently protected your lane, start warding objectives like your Buffs and Dragon as well as putting some shrooms in the enemy jungle if you feel confident that you won't get caught.
Farm and last-hit as much as you can! Once you get Move Quick you're pretty much guaranteed greater mobility than the enemy so you can get better positioning for this without having to worry so much about harass.

Once again, this is pretty much identical for Shredder and AP, just slightly different tactics so I'll cover it in one section.
Mid game is usually defined when people start leaving their lanes to roam and gank. There is no longer a "my lane, your lane" mentality at his point, so be prepared to help out other lanes. Teemo has great mobility with his Move Quick and a great escape mechanism in Camouflage, which makes him an excellent roamer. Don't expect to 1v1 a lot of people, however. As I've said before, Teemo is extremely squishy and as such, should be supporting more in this phase rather than initiating and going for the kills.
See the Noxious Traps section for more detail on shrooming up the joint.

Alright, now you've had some time to farm for some major items. You might have your Madred's Bloodrazor by now or maybe Wit's End instead. This is when teamfights start really happening, when people are getting a significant way into their final build and are ready to do some damage. If you start teamfighting early and often, consider rushing that Ionic Spark for the extra team damage. In no way should you be initiating the fights, that's the tanks job. You should be standing about as far away from the fight as possible to minimum damage done to you, so you can max those stacking debuffs for your team to take advantage of.
You might wanna start by throwing out that Ignite on the enemy tank or carry to prevent them from healing off items such as Bloodthirster or from receiving a heal from a support such as Soraka. IMMEDIATELY Surge if your team is committing, as the extra AP will benefit you more than you might think. Also make sure to Blinding Dart the enemy champion who poses the largest threat with auto-attacks ( Master Yi and Tryndamere come to mind).
If all goes well and you communicate with your team to focus down the carries and your tank can keep the other team off you, the fight should turn out in your favor. Keep in mind that 2 of our items ( Malady and Black Cleaver) REDUCE the enemy champion's Armor and MR. That means that everyone on your team can benefit from it.

At this point you should have at least finished your Rabadon's Deathcap and possibly your Nashor's Tooth or Void Staff. Communicate with your team so you can kite the fights over Noxious Traps that you have already placed. Make sure to Blinding Dart either the highest priority target or an enemy who uses a lot of auto-attacks.
If you are calm and collected enough you can try spreading your attacks around to get the DoT from Toxic Shot on as many enemies as possible.
And remember, you are SQUISHY! Use Move Quick to avoid enemy focus and kite the edge of the fight. If you start getting focused, kite as many people over as many shrooms as you possibly can. With AP Teemo, it's better for your team to pick the fights rather than being initiated on.

After you hit level 6 you basically get free wards that last 3 times longer than standard Sight Wards and Vision Wards in your Noxious Traps. Strategic placement of these for warding rather than damaging can separate the okay Teemos from the 2200 ELO Teemos. Make sure you ward your lane's ganking bush early on, followed by Dragon, and maybe even your and the enemies buffs.
Once mid game starts rolling around, try to ward as much of the map as possible. Just one well placed mushroom can prevent a gank on your team, or even turn it into a kill for you or your teammates. And every Teemo player has had a moment where kiting enemies over a shroom can allow you to escape or even get a kill on a chasing enemy. Singed is quite possibly the only champion more dangerous to chase, as his Poison Trail can be on CONSTANTLY!!!!! (no hate intended on Singed, I love playing him and think he's one of the most fun tanks to play)
For AP Teemo, your Noxious Traps are your most valuable assets. Kiting enemies over them can almost guarantee you a kill or even save entire towers while no one is there to protect them. I've also see Noxious Traps steal Buffs and even Baron. A couple of well placed AP shrooms can entirely stop a Baron initiate and even allow your team to go in to steal or fight.

Basically, Teemo can be a great support in teamfights, has free wards ( Noxious Traps), and is REALLY fun to play.

This is my first guide, so there will obviously be errors or sections I can improve. Please feel free to leave a comment telling me how awesome you think it is, or the long list of things to be improved. I am trying to spread a little knowledge around and I'm not saying this is the best build around, so please don't troll or leave comments like "QQ, YOU SUCKZ, TEEMO NEEDS TO BE PLAYED THIS WAY!!!1!11!!one." Feel free, however to leave constructive criticism, which for those of you who don't know, are comments that suggest ways to improve and are not just bashing.

Also, I know that items such as Wriggle's Lantern and Nashor's Tooth are quite possibly better than some of my picks and are definitely more popular, so you don't have to inform me of this and I would appreciate if you wouldn't complain/downvote because they aren't on the items list. This is my personal build for Teemo and has a theme of "shredding." It was not built for the purpose of carrying or sustaining yourself with a lot of lifesteal, it was built to show a surprisingly viable build for people who are looking for something a little different.

Thank you for reading my guide, "Shredder Teemo OP." I hope that if it didn't encourage you to try this specific build it at least helped you think about branching our from a standard build.

A special thank you to EidolonDragon for the inspiration to modify my regular Teemo build into full shredder!

10/22/12- Revisiting the guide and adding an AP section
3/25/12- Added in a quick section about Havoc in mastery section
3/24/12- Fixed some links that were buggy