AYE. It's Makaveli aka the Hungry Haitian. This is my first guide ever for my favorite hero. I've read all these guides about the Spartan, but none seems viable or even decent, so this guide has to be created. I'm not level 30, but every game I use this build, it works 90% of the time, (if my team doesn't feed/leave). I have won multiple 4v5's, caused a number of 20 minute surrenders, and aced many times.

PROS

-Decent early game damage
-Can easily decimate/shred unsuspecting champions
-Low cooldowns allow many combos in one team battle
-Ultimate can be used to push, initiate, teleport, catch up, clean-up, has 1k damage possibly
-Huge AoE damage
-Scales well early to mid to late game

CONS

-Can be low on mana without proper runes/masteries
-Focused if doing well
-Will suck if positioning is off
-Is weak without proper farm
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Armor penetration is key for the Spartan as he shreds his enemies to bits. Mana is important throughout the game as you need to chase with your spear and other spells. Cooldown reduction is important throughout the game. Even at earlier levels the .5 seconds earlier your spear shot cooldown is off, can be life or death.

Straight forward masteries. 21-0-9. I used to take 9-0-21, but the offense mastery has gotten a lot better. This allows maximum damage for the Spartan. The 9 points in Utility allow you to solve early game mana problems.

The hp regen and mana regen is great in a solo top or bot lane. It allows you to spam spear to last hit minions or to harass the pesky Ashe. Tiamat deserves a very special mention. This is the most under-rated OVERPOWER items in game. For the price, it's a B.F. sword +$400. It comes with decent regen so you can farm a lane forever. It gives +50 damage. It has a GREAT PASSIVE. Your attacks splash damage, which include your criticals. For the price it's great. Mercury treads are taken as a precaution due to the heavy CC you with receive, because no one likes a Spartan shredding them to bits. The Last Whisper is perfect for the Spartan. It reduces the enemies' armor to a piece of cardboard. Frozen Mallet is another great item. HP and a sick passive. While you chase them down, they're slow, just in time for your shield to come off cooldown. Infinity Edge is the last item you should take. It makes sure, if they're below 15% HP, they die in one hit + one spear. The Ghost Blade is at the end because just in case you haven't won by then. The CD reduction, armor reduction, and the active complement the Spartan.

Q. Why not max spear first?
A. Is it sensible to max out the weaker non-aoe damage dealer second? Sure, it's viable for Dominion, but not for the Summoner's Rift. The Heart-Seaker strike, when positioned correctly, will shred people's life bars. I've actually shredded a whole team's health by 50% with that spell. Can spear shot do that when positioned correctly? Exactly.

Heart-Seaker is taken at level 3 and maxed out first to insure huge early game burst damage. Spear is taken at level 1 to allows some early harass and last hitting for lane creeps. The shield is taken at level 2 and maxed out last. His Ultimate is taken at every level when available. Easy peasy. If you disagree with my build, try it FIRST, then comment.

There are many viable spells. I take exhaust and flash. Flash is just great all around. Jump over walls, initiate, escape, catch dying fools, list goes on.
Exhaust is taken to shutdown carries that can beat you. Yes, other champions can beat Pantheon. This shuts them way down, allowing you to destroy them.
Ghost is another viable option instead of flash or even exhaust. Having no natural escape mechanism, Flash and Ghost work quite well.
Teleport is great too. Want to push a lane? Then return to a team fight no problem? Vice-versa. Take if no one else takes on your team. Should replace ghost/exhaust.
Ignite sure. I don't use it because normally my team has 2-4 ignites already. Pantheon also has a finisher, HEART-SEAKER or his SPEAR.

This guide is still under construction. This is my first guide too. Well Happy Shredding!