5/26/11 - Runes Changed. Build order changed to prioritize Lichbane.

Blitzcrank is arguably the best initiator in the game. Most people know that once 'Crank reels someone in, everyone should swarm upon the catch like piranhas. In order to be a successful initiator, you will need Cooldown Reduction to maximize your utility to the team. This means more Grabs and more Fists to catch someone and keep them in place. You also need high survivability, meaning the Magic Resists and the Armor needed to poke your head out and grab that squishy in the back row of the enemy line. An AP build synergizes well with both of these qualities, but the damage you produce is secondary to your utility to the team. This is by no means a passive role. As the initiator, you lead the team and direct their attention to the one you pull. Your ability to lead the team can turn the game around.

Pros:

Good burst damage
Excellent mid/late game farming
Good survivability
Excellent Mana Regen

Cons:

Little early game kill power until Archangel's Staff is finished
Reliant on laning partner or tower hugging for kills until level 6
Little physical or sustained damage

You are not a tank. Although this build is tough to kill, you cannot take sustained damage like a dedicated tank. The Mana Shield only lasts you 10 seconds, after which you would surely die if you are still being focused. This build does not have the HP Regen or Spell Vamp to keep you in the fight after your shield kicks in. In the best case scenario, your team's tank is sucking up damage from the enemy team, and you use your Rocket Grab to reach in and single out someone for focused fire. But it's almost never the best case scenario, and more often than not, you are gonna be right up there in the front line with the tank and you will be the first to get focused on once you grab an enemy squishy or carry. Hopefully your team will react and back you up. Don't be afraid to run or Flash away after your 'Crank Combo (Rocket Grab -> Power Fist -> Static Field). You will surely get focused and your combo is pretty much 80% of your damage potential. Running away with high HP ensures you will be healthy enough to initiate again. Time your static field so that you can get as much of their team as you can. You just interrupted their ability to finish you off, as well as give your own team half a second to jump in and kick butt. Heal, Flash away, then jump back in to chase down survivors!

Do not pull the enemy's tank Not only will you induce your team to focus fire on the wrong person, you will also help the enemy tank do his job by allowing him to reach your squishies.

You can pull through trees and walls! How awesome is that?! Enemy team is turtling near a turret? Get into the jungle, signal where everyone should gather, and yank someone into the bushes for a gank! Right outside the enemy base, and they refuse to leave their fortress? Stand up next to the wall and reach in. Enemy running away and just out of arm's reach? Wait for them to circle around an obstacle and grab them when they're making the turn. Your arm will cut a shorter path straight through the trees or river bank for the grab and for the win! It is sooooo satisfying....

Start with Power Fist. It is your farming skill and will help you immensely when last-hitting minions. Allow the enemy team to push the creeps to your tower, once you hit level two...

Rank Rocket Grab. Use your Rocket Grab -> Power Fist combo to pull a squishy into your tower's field and they'll quickly learn to keep their distance from you. You can use the reach of your rocket grab to zone them away from creeps and deny them XP while you push the creeps to their tower. At this time you should be hitting level three and/or have enough money for Tears of the Goddess. Depending on how much cash you've accrued and your mana supply you can choose whether you want to stick around until you can also afford Boots of Speed. Either way...

Rank Overdrive before you warp back to base and make your first purchases. The overdrive and the boots will help you run back to the tower before they even notice you were gone. Spam W and E from now on to ensure you can maximize the passive from Tears.

This is an AP build afterall. From here on in, the skill priority is
Static Field-> Rocket Grab-> Power Fist-> Overdrive

This build is all about balance. Armor and Magic Resistance are built up to mitigate about 50% of all damage received, and the items are chosen to give maxed CDR and as much AP as you can get without any active abilities so you can focus on the action and your core skills.

The base build is good for about 90% of the games I play. I build Tear first so I can start spamming spells and building up Mana through its passive. The boots come next because mobility is essential. Until I finish Archangel's Staff, this build has little in the way of kill power, so I will rely on tower hugging or a good laning partner that can capitalize on my pulls.


Core items:

Ionian Boots of Lucidity Cheap CDR! It will increase the number of pulls you can do. Nothing sucks more than missing that chance to yank a squishy or the enemy carry because your Rocket Grab is still on cooldown.
Archangel's Staff The single best item in the game for AP 'Crank. Immense AP, Mana, and Mana Regen bonuses that will be great for kill power and survivability.
Rabadon's Deathcap An essential part of any AP build, but I usually save it as a sixth item. The other non-core items you choose give Blitzcrank utility for all the team fights. Deathcap is just to scale killing power and clinch the victory late game.


Choose one:

Frozen Heart Almost the highest armor bonus in the game, cool down reduction, a huge mana boost for the shield, and an excellent passive makes Frozen Heart an excellent item against physical dps.
Morello's Evil Tome If there is no physical threat on the opposing team, then this is a viable alternate source of CDR. The extra AP will also boost your kill power. The Mana Regen is excessive at this point, though.


Pick Two:

Abyssal Scepter Lots of AP and Magic Resist means this item is a very balanced addition to this build offensively and defensively. The best part is your whole team can benefit from the passive aura. It's like +20 Magic Penetration to everyone around you!
Lich Bane A powerful offensive item. The cooldown on the passive synergizes well with Power Fist, you'll basically do your entire AP as physical damage every time you press E.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter You need more survivability against a physical enemy, or there's a slippery bastard that keeps getting away after your pull. That's probably your team's fault for not focusing on the one you tagged. But the passive on Rylai's will ensure your catches won't get away. The extra HP will help against DPS stacking Armor Penetration. I usually sub this in for Abyssal Scepter.


Also look at:

Void Staff The enemy carry happens to have a lot of Magic Resist. You're not a hard killer, so if the enemy tank is stacking Magic Resist, don't think this item will let you finish him off. You're never supposed to pull a tank anyway. But substitute this item if the enemy carry is packing Resistance, and you have to carry the team to victory!
Thorn Mail Their physical DPS has been kicking your butt. This WILL solve the problem. Slip this on and they'll quickly learn to leave you alone. The problem is, any good player will know to ignore you and turn to your squishier team mates instead.
Force of Nature Their nukes are taking you down every time you pull. This will give you the Magic Resist to survive being focused on when you grab someone, and ensure you are healthy enough to grab again!
Banshee's Veil Enemy Crowd Control is really annoying you, or the other team has a Blitzcrank too! I hate that little white sphere as much as I hate Nocturne, Sivir, and Morgana. People will learn to grab this item ASAP to have a little immunity from your Grab. You can do the same if enemy abilities are keeping you from doing your job as initiator. I used to love this item a lot more before the last nerf where they pumped up the cooldown on the passive.
Zhonya's Hourglass They have no magic champs. It's Master Yi, Jax, Tryndamere, and two tanks. An unbalanced team like that means they're gonna lose anyway, but if you wanna screw them over real bad, then why not?

I usually go with:

Heal Noob spell you say? It's saved my *** countless times. And if you don't need it for yourself, don't be afraid to use it to give your allies that extra boost when they're not feeling healthy. I also like to keep my health at around 50%, this makes me more "approachable" to the enemy team. They usually don't expect me to have as much Mana shield as I do HP and become overly aggressive. Running in and out as if you're retreating also helps you seem more vulnerable. Make them pay for their mistakes if they take the bait, and heal once you land the grab. They'll realize that you're not as weak as you seemed, but it's already too late.
Flash Whether you are chasing or escaping, this is the spell will come in handy. Can't quite reach that squishy in the back? Flash. Drawing too much attention during a pull? Flash. The best thing about this spell is that it has an element of surprise in it. The enemies know to keep 1000 units away from you, but they don't expect that you will pop in instantaneously to close the distance.


Other Choices:

Exhaust Another great spell that fits your role nicely. Slap this on them after your Power Fist to ensure they stay in place. If you're near a tower, they can do nothing but watch their champ die painfully.
Fortify In addition to its usual defensive role, it can be used after a successful rocket grab near a tower to speed up your catch's demise. They'll never see it coming!



The other Summoner Spells don't have any special applications to this build, but feel free to choose whatever suits your style of play.

This build is already pretty tough, so all that's really missing is Magic Penetration to up your game. This build has the potential to do a surprising amount of damage without being a squishy hard AP. You can do very well in a 1v1 fight. Stacking Magic Pen runes can only help you do your job better.

If you want to focus more on your role as a tank, then HP Regen runes will do the trick. Survivability is not a problem. Your high Mana Regen will ensure that you will always have a strong shield, but HP Regen will allow you to move from one fight to the next without having to port back to base for the heals.

I feel the Defense Tree has more synergy with this build. Key to this is Tenacity, which gives you 4% more survivability against all damage.

Having 9 in Offense gives you access to Archaic Knowledge, which helps mitigates the lack of Magic Penetration in this build.