Like tower defense games ? Try your skills with Tankydinger, the best solo tower defender ! Start in easy mode by defending bottom tower. Switch to Hard mode and defend top tower. Enjoy !

A word of warning : This is an advance guide for Dominion. In order to use this build, you must already know how to take advantage of Heimerdinger's strengths and weaknesses, master his skills and positioning. You can still try this build as a beginner. Just don't worry if you don't succeed at first, your tower defense skills will raise with time and practice!

Heimerdinger is the champion that made me want to play league of legend. I always loved laying turrets in any games (Alien swarm ?) so i loved Heimy from the start. At first i was thinking of Lol as just a towerdefense-style game, i was wrong. It is much more than that ! But after many games on summoner's rift, i realized that he was not fully adapted. Heimerdinger is all about defense and the gameplay of that map is all about offense !

Then Dominion came out and it instantly became his playground ! As a full solo defense champion and the best at it, Heimerdinger is a beast. Testing many builds, i tried to make him powerful AND durable as fast as possible, right from the start. One item outshined them all : Catalyst the Protector ! Tankydinger was born.

When using this build i am consistently ranking first in my games. I win all versus, but most important : i am having a lot of fun overcoming enemy strategies.

Try this build for yourself and feel the joy of tower defense !

A little chapter to thank you all for you help making this build n°1 Heimerdinger dominion build ! Thank you for your votes, comments and syntax checks !

Since the revamp of masteries, here is my actual analysis.
- Good Hands : This mastery is still a good investment to return faster to life.
- Improved Recall : can sometimes save you as you blue pill in dangerous places !
- Expanded Mind and Meditation : Before the patch, Quickness was profitable. Now its successor Swiftness needs 4 points for 2%, instead of 3 points for 3%. Since it is not worth it anymore, i choose to go with the mana boost and regen masteries.
- Transmutation : 3% spellvamp is not impressive but still more useful than the other masteries on that line.
- Awareness : Still a good mastery. You will level up faster to proc the Catalyst the Protector.
- Intelligence : This is the must have mastery. It will combine with Sorcery for a healthy 10% CDR !
- Mastermind : This is the second must have mastery. 15% CDR on summoner's spell is very efficient.
- Mental Force : Small boost to AP required to reach Sorcery
- Summoner's Wrath : taken to boost Exhaust . I had to choose between 1 more AP from Mental Force or reducing armor and magic resist. I believe enhancing Exhaust is more gainful.
- Summoner's Resolve : taken to boost Garrison. I feel the splash damage is really powerful as it kills minions and champions faster. Also very good, you can use that point in Arcane Knowledge to gain the 10% magic penetration. Your choice !

Exhaust :
Shut down an AD, slow anyone, main defense or offense skill.

Garrison :
Boost your tower damage while under attack or disrupts other garrison and capture. Once active, no one can stay in your range and not die.

Flash ?
Nope. not really needed for Tankydinger. You are safe under your tower even 3 vs 1. If they come to you full team, well you won't be able to a place to safe jump anywhere.

9 Greater Mark of Magic Penetration
Magic pen runes are good for harassing early game. It is considered standard. I was thinking about changing those for something else because turrets don't benefit from Magic pen.
But other Marks are so weak there is no alternative.

9 Greater Seal of Replenishment
In combination with Catalyst the Protector , it removes any need for Clarity or other mana regen items. You will never be out of mana ! Let's not forget the health and mana buffs on which you will have a complete control in your lane.

9 Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction
CDR runes + Heimerdinger's ultimate passive + masteries reaches 35.85% CDR. Very close to the 40% maximum cap. Good for spamming your spells !
With those runes an other combination can be tried : Ionian Boots of Lucidity to reach the cap without the CDR masteries. This way, you can get fully into the offensive or defensive masteries.

9 Greater Quintessence of Health
Health quints do for a very strong early game. It makes the difference between you dead or you enemy.

Start with 2 points in H-28G Evolution Turret and 1 in Hextech Micro-Rockets for a fast start and powerful harass. For your level 4, put one point in CH-1 Concussion Grenade. Your set is ready ! As you level up, max H-28G Evolution Turret first for sustain damage, then Hextech Micro-Rockets for better harass and CH-1 Concussion Grenade last. Upgrade UPGRADE!!! (^_^') whenever available.

Catalyst the Protector : Shinning early game !
This item is the best innovation in this guide. This start is only possible on Dominion. It makes the most out of your gold and out of this item. You get +290 HP, +325 mana and regeneration per level for both stats, from the very start of the game ! It's passive will trigger at all your levels and make you an unmovable force. With the spare gold left, you can buy a single heath potion. With such sustain, you will be able to farm fast and furious. After only 5 minutes, you should be able to buy Rod of Ages and Boots.

Rod of Ages : building toward glory
More HP, more mana, more AP ! Within 10 minutes you will be buffed to +80 ability power, +630 health, +725 mana. And you keep the Catalyst passive. Everything Tankydinger needs ! With each passing minute you grow more powerful.

Mercury's Treads : On the move
Magic resist and tenacity goes a long way in early game. You could go for magic penetration with Sorcerer's Shoes to round up the damage. Unfortunately they won't boost the turrets...so don't buy them. Ionian Boots of Lucidity are a good alternative to reach the CDR cap. But at 35.85% without it, do you really feel the need ? I don't. So it's up to you ! Anyway, by the time you buy one of those boots, you will be durable enough to be wandering a bit and go defend top tower. If you want to keep doing bottom defense and laning, you can postpone them.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter : No escaping Tankydinger
Rylai is a monster on him. It gives you all you need (again)! Massive damage with 80AP, massive health with 500HP and : A permaslow for everyone. It's like your ulti is always up ! With this item you will just have to run around the tower to kill people. You will be unreachable to your frozen enemies ! I believe the turrets won't proc the Rylai, but a rocket and a grenade will do it for sure !

Zhonya's Hourglass : Absolute power absolute defense
Sure Rylai will make them angry ! If they want revenge, they could go full force and try to burst you. Counter them with Hourglass ! Getting more deadly with a 100AP, more durable with 50 armor and laughing while totally invincible with your turrets wreaking havoc!

Rabadon's Deathcap : Godlike power
Not much to say... So much AP ! Use Rabadon to max your AP to a godly level of manliness !

Guardian Angel : Icing on the cake
First, it makes you more durable. Second, if you would die, you gloriously resurrect. The trick is that during all those seconds of dying and reborn animations, your turrets keep shooting ! Many will fall to this trick thinking turrets would disappear with your death ! Next pop the hourglass for further annoyance. :)

You won't use this passive often this late in the game, but it is so much fun you can't pass it.

Rule of thumb to pick your fifth item :
If your main enemy in lane or two on the opposing team are :

• AD melees champions, grab Frozen Heart or Thornmail.
• stacking magic resist, grab Void Staff.
• stealth champions, grab Hextech Sweeper
• For any other situations, grab the Rabadon's Deathcap.

Why no Spellvamp ?
Will of the Ancients is a great item. But you must consider that your turrets won't restore HP. In this regard, spellvamp is not worth the money. Considering the other stats, all the items listed above are better or more usefull to Tankydinger. Furthermore, with the red buffs everywhere on the map, you will be able to regain life easily between battles.

Tankydinger is the best solo tower defender. He can team up with everyone because he don't need any help ! Be clear with your teammates. Let them roam all around the map while you keep your tower safe. If facing 2 or more enemies, you can accept some help from a passing ally if there is nothing better to do elsewhere for him !

Which tower to be under :
At start, bottom tower is the place to be. You can easily farm and push full power ! First, put one turret between minions and the relic. It will give you control over the health and mana buff so you can freely harass with rockets and grenades. Once upgraded, put your second turret in bottom enemy bush. Your opponent won't be able to hide anywhere ! As you gain ground, place your turrets in the middle of your minions to make them hard to target. With the Catalyst the Protector, you can't be removed ! If you pushed all the way to enemy tower but can't claim it yet, you can use this position advantage to take a little detour and grab the central buff !

Once you get your Rylai's Crystal Scepter, you can go to top tower. Do that if your bottom tower is left alone and nobodies dives you. Better be defending something the enemy wants ! Furthermore, since it's close to base, your teammates can easily defend the bottom tower. Top tower is a more difficult spot to defend, but it is a strategic place for you to keep ! You will be under permanent attack, but this is where all the fun is !

If you have all the towers and great power advantage, you can sit with your turrets in front of one of the entrance to block them in ! Lot's of fun too ! Lay your turrets hugging the wall on the edge of the exit to block enemy line of sight. They won't see them before getting hit !

Under your tower VS AP :
AP and ranged champion like Ashe or even Grave can't do a thing against Tankydinger. They would take too much damage before reaching you. All they can do is destroy your turrets from a distance. But if they do, they are in range for rockets and grenade ! You can eat them little by little, playing safe.

Under your tower VS tank :
Tanks alone won't sustain all the damage you inflict over time and you are too resistant for them. Sure an Alistar or Rammus can lead an opening for their teammates. But they still need to be at least 3 to kill you. If it's the case, be happy even if you die : you took 3 champions out of the map for your team to gain control on the rest.

Under your tower VS AD :
Burst AD like Trindamere, Akali or Master Yi can be a pain. If they surprise you and dive you off guard, you're dead. So be always ready ! Watch the map, don't face check bushes, wait for teammates. If you see them coming, you're good. First launch the rockets to proc the slow, Garrison and ulti as they are diving you. If they come to auto-attack range, stun them with the grenade and launch the hourglass. They will die before you do. If you miss that grenade and Hourglass is on cooldown, you can cast Exhaust and run around the tower. If none of those works, they are clearly overfed and something went wrong with your teammates. :)


When under no tower :
Trap the jungle ! Of course, be aware. Check the minimap and if there is no one to see, stay close to a friend. One fun spot is the twin bushes just above the central buffs. Lay one turret in each bush and wait. Eventually, someone will go close to the bush and trigger the turrets. Most won't go inside the bush to check if you're inside. If they are playing safe and back immediately, they won't die. In the other case, jump from one bush to an other to disrupt their sight while your turrets fire away ! Whatever the result, once spotted don't stay in place. Go trap another bush ! You can place your turrets on the way to, or away from, a battle. You will prevent help from coming or kill fleeing enemies.

10/10/2012 :
Nothing new on tankydinger... still rocks bot lane !

27/08/2012 :
Cassiopea will kill you...>_<

24/07/2012 :
little update

21/05/2012 :
Corrected one syntax error. :D

16/02/2012 :
Added a few sentences about Relics and buffs.

14/02/2012 :
Moved out the "this is my first guide" paragraph.

3/01/2012 :
Added some Italic. Happy new year !

1/12/2011 :
Added a few corrections in "Tower" section.

21/11/2011 :
Added analysis and alternative build about CDR in the "Runes" section.

18/11/2011 :
Added analysis of the new chosen masteries is the "masteries" section.

16/11/2011 :
Added the changed masteries.
Added an alert about old masteries.
Added listed icon for items and runes

15/11/2011 :
Added some minor changes.
Added details in "tower" "item" "introduction" sections.

14/11/2011 :
Added a word of warning in "introduction" section.
Added more details on "how to live under your tower" section.
Added more details in "item" section.
Added "situational item" section.
Added links and colors.

12/11/2011 :
Correction of syntax errors.

10/11/2011 :
Adding images and links to items and spells.
Correction of syntax errors.
Adding more precision in all chapters.

09/11/2011 :
Publishing the guide.

Thanks for reading !