This guide will focus on the core fundamentals along with the ins and outs of Teemo. We will go over the following:


Runes, Builds, every rune and how it relates to Teemo, Types of Shrooms, Shroom map coverage, how to effectively use Shrooms, every match-up versus every rune, how lanes are expected to play out, transitioning from laning phase to mid-game, transitioning from mid-game to late-game, winning every lane, when to get vision, utilizing Teemo’s passive, the best bans for every elo and patch, pros and cons to every build, SKINtimidation, going over every single item in the game and how Teemo uses them, ganking, avoiding ganks, in-depth guidelines.

Before we dive into the in-game portion of the guide, I’d like cover the pregame; specifically Runes and Summoner Spells.

With Teemo being the most unique and versatile champion in League of Legends when it comes to builds, I believe it’s important to go over every Keystone and Rune so Teemo enthusiasts all over can get some quality insight. I also didn’t want this to be just like every other guide and just say what to take; I’m going to tell you why and when you should take certain runes as Teemo isn’t a “Set and Forget” champion.

Let’s begin.

Note : Conqueror has not been updated in this guidePress the Attack (Tier 3)
Press the Attack, without a doubt, has its place in certain match-ups; this is a rune that should be taken when all-ins are inevitable in the match-up or when up against a meaty tank (**** you Mundo). PTA can also be abused against champions like Maokai, Riven, Illaoi and Camille due to extended trades being rather common in these matchups. If you’re unable to consistently proc PTA, then don’t bother taking this rune.

Lethal Tempo (Tier 4)
Not complete garbage, but not the worst. It’s simply not worth using Lethal Tempo unless you plan on going a full on-hit build that features Rageblade, BoRK, Wit’s End, etc., which really doesn’t shine until late-game. I don’t believe it’s worth it to sacrifice Teemo’s opressiveness in the early-game just to, MAYBE, shine in the late-game. I take it back; it’s garbage.

Fleet Footwork (Tier 3)
Just like PTA, Fleet has it’s place in certain match-ups that focus on kiting or dodging spells. A few of the key match-ups are Darius, Sion and Nasus where kiting and dodging spells make or break the lane. Aside from those match-ups, It’s a solid middle ground between sustain and poking, but I’d rather choose one end of the spectrum (Grasp or Aery).

Conqueror (Tier 4)
It feels okay based of the precision tree granting attack-speed, but not great. It’s just… meh. I’d rather take PTA or Fleet.

Best of Row One: Triumph
Triumph can literally win you games by coming in clutch during close fights. Overheal is also nice for this row, but the shield is nearly negligible until mid/late-game. Honorable Mention: Overheal

Best of Row Two: Alacrity
Alacrity is arguably the best rune all of the rows. With attack speed being an extremely efficient stat on Teemo, it’s hard to argue any other rune for this row.

Best of Row Three: Coup de Grace
Coup De Grace is the standard choice when picking deciding what to pick for row three. Cut down is okay versus tanks, but Coup De Grace is useful against all champions rather than just tanks.

Comet (Tier 4)
Comet feels pretty bad and Aery simply outshines it. The only time where Comet beats Aery is by procing Comet through a Shroom, but why sacrifice constant Aery poke for something so inconsistent and unreliable.

Aery (Tier 1)
Aery is one of Teemo’s Core Keystones with the other being Grasp of the Undying (See Full Article on Grasp). Aery is far and away the most consistent option for enhancing Teemo’s already oppressive playstyle in lane. The ability to double-proc Aery by catching the last tick of poison is just the cherry on top. The damage from Aery stacks up very quickly due to it being quite easy to proc consistently. Although Aery is preferred in the majority of matchups, there are times where it can be extremely feast of famine making lanes extremely volatile, which is where Grasp comes into play. Overall, simply perfect for Teemo.

Phase Rush (Tier 4)
The ONLY time to take this rune is versus champions like Nasus or Darius to counter slows, but other than that it’s trash.

Note the hat does not exist anymore go for manaflow band instead
Best of Row One: The Ultimate Hat
With the recent nerf of to Manaflow Band, The Ultimate Hat is far and away the best rune for this row. Manaflow band is still a decent choice, but having the ability to fully stack The Ultimate Hat by level seven is simply too good to pass up. Honorable Mention: Manaflow Band

Best of Row Two: Transcendence
If you plan to be as oppressive as possible, then Absolute Focus is the best rune in this section. However, do not take this rune into a losing lane as it’s essentially pointless since you won’t be above 70% hp that often. If you don’t plan on being above 70% for the majority of the lane, just take Transcendence as it will give you more value throughout the game. Celerity is a pretty niche rune. Although I personally wouldn’t run Celerity, I could see a player’s logic for wanting to take it, especially for matchups where movement speed is vital (i.e. Darius). Honorable Mention: Absolute Focus/Celerity

Best of Row Three: Scorch
Once again, when going over this row you need to take into account your play style. If you’re going for the most harass in lane, then take scorch. If not, Gathering Storm is your next best bet. Also, if you happen to be playing Teemo Jungle and happen to run the sorcery tree, then consider taking Waterwalking as it will give you more mobility and impact on the map. Honorable Mention: Gathering Storm

Note : new darkharvest is viable.

Electrocute (Tier 2)
Electrocute feels great when going for a bursty AP build. It’s important to use your passive effectively when running Electrocute; otherwise it’s difficult to make the most of the rune. Unless you plan to truly play into Teemo’s theme of being a sneaky assassin, you’re better off going with Aery.

Predator (Tier 5)
This Keystone is meant for champions with a low amount of mobility or who are able to effectively abuse the movement speed boost with their kit. Don’t bother.

Dark Harvest (Tier 4)
To put it simply, why take Dark Harvest when you can go Electrocute? Although it’s weaker late game, I don’t believe it’s worth it to sacrifice your early and mid-game for a more bursty late-game as late-game is never guaranteed.

Note : Eyeball collection is better than zombie ward.
Best of Row One: Taste of Blood
With Runes Reforged, Taste of Blood replaced Feast and is extremely valuable in lane when it comes to sustain. However, if you’re going for the highest output of damage then go with Cheap Shot. In my opinion, the extra damage from Cheap Shot isn’t worth it. Honorable Mention: Cheap Shot

Best of Row Two: Zombie Ward
Zombie Ward can single-handedly spot out ganks making your overall laning phase safer. Every other option isn’t necessarily viable.

Best of Row Three: Ravenous Hunter

Ravenous Hunter is absolutely insane on Teemo. Ravenous Hunter allows Teemo to heal off his auto-attacks due to the on-hit damage from Toxic Shot (E) and the damage over time for your poison. This rune is a must when using the Domination tree.

Grasp of the Undying (Tier 1)
Grasp of the Undying is currently underrated when it comes to viable Keystones for Teemo (See Full Article). The reason Grasp is so great on Teemo is that it allows Teemo to win difficult matchups he would once lose. Grasp allows him to be just oppressive as Aery does, but sacrifices great sorcery runes for survivablity.

Aftershock (Tier 5)
If you plan on sitting next to blasting cones all day in order to proc Aftershock, considering seeing your doctor.

Gaurdian (Tier 5)

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Generally speaking you will always want to max E -> Q -> W every single game if you’re playing AP Teemo and max E -> W -> Q when playing On-hit Teemo. You wouldn’t Q max second on On-hit Teemo because there isn’t AP that’s amplfying your Q damage. With On-Hit Teemo, it’s more beneficial to kite with W maxed second than get a minor uptick in damage with Q maxed second. However, there are a few matchups where Q or W max/adjustment can prove to be beneficial.

When playing versus Riven, you actually want to take two points into Q instead of taking your second point in E when you hit level four; the extra .25 seconds, in theory, allows you to cancel 2 auto-attacks when she does her basic Q – AA – Q – AA combo. After taking your second point into Q, you can continue to Max E. Depending on the elo, the second Q point might be pointless if the Riven player is bad. You can also even Q max versus Pantheon and try to outpoke him by taking Doran’s Ring for the Mana Regeneration, which allows you to stay competitive in Q trades. IcyPhoenix has a great guide on how to win the infamous Pantheon matchup if you would like to learn more. With that said, the Pantheon player can definitely go for the all in, so the Q max strategy is not foolproof. Generally speaking, you will want to max Q second.

There are a few matchups where dodging/kiting the enemy laner effectively can win you your lane; this is where a few early points into W can come in handy. I personally like to take two, and sometimes even three, points into W when laning against Sion and Darius because kiting and dodging spells is vital in these matchups. However, this is a just a “safety net” playstyle; you can absolutely still have a successful lane versus Darius and Sion without taking the extra early points into W.

So you might be asking yourself: how is an ability that is so straightforward and basic misused? There’s more to Shrooms than just vision and damage; having foresight of what direction the game is heading and playing to the advantage of that direction is often missed by a majority of players. This means that you must actively be thinking about the direction of the game and not going through the motions, which is an issue that most players struggle with. With foresight in mind, not ONE of your shrooms should be placed arbitrarily or , in other words, randomly/just cause you feel like dropping one. Like every other champion in League of Legends, you should be able to justify the use of your ultimate and be content in the situation you used it in; this is no different for Teemo, regardless if Noxious Trap (R) is on a low cooldown. If you have watched any high-elo Teemo players, you have likely noticed that each shroom placed down has a justifiable purpose.

Pathing Shrooms are shrooms that are placed in the most efficient pathing routes; it can be placed in the most common gank paths or where champions are highly likely to hit your shroom (Jungle entrances/exits). Notice, in the image above, that these shrooms are usually hugging walls; this is due to players simply clicking the minimap to navigate Summoner’s Rift. Think about where champions commonly path and place them there, which is typically against walls. They can be used to both slow down the enemy jungler from pathing top or simply point them out on the map. These are far and away most common use of shrooms. It’s important to take into account the type of jungler you’re playing against and use your own foresight to preemptively place shrooms around their common pathing routes. For example, you wouldn’t want to shroom the same way for a Kayn and Shyvana due to their mobility/pathing being very different. They can also be used in lane; they’re generally placed either around the minion wave or the walls of top lane.

They’re similar to Pathing Shrooms, but the main difference is they’re not meant to be stepped on; their main purpose is for vision, not damage. Although you can still use Pathing Shrooms if you’re building on-hit, you may want to consider placing more Vision Shrooms rather than Pathing Shrooms due to your shroom damage being minimal. They’re amazing when placed by camps, so every member on your team has vision of the jungler. Also, once the jungler finishes their camp you can see where they’re pathing to next and predict where they are on the map. Information is everything in League of Legends; you never know if your teammates would like to be aggressive, but are hesitant due to the location of the enemy jungler not being known. This allows your teammates to play more aggressive and have higher possibility of winning their lanes. However, it’s important to be cautious and not go for Vision Shrooms against junglers who may have kill pressure on you. When placing Shrooms in bushes, put them towards the wall or the place you believe they’re less likely to be stepped on. These are great for top lane bushes to spot out potential jungle ganks. When shrooming the river with Vision Shrooms, try to avoid the common path of the Scuttler.

The true mark of a high-elo Teemo Main is effectively using Combat Shrooms. A Combat Shroom is exactly that: a shroom used during combat. Combat Shrooms are either meant to be procced immediately or used to create space between you and the enemy laner in order to force them to either back off or take a bad trade. As mentioned before, they can be meant to procced immediately; for example, dropping a shroom nearby the enemy minion wave when trading will force them to take damage due to being in the vicinity of the shroom explosion. Ttry to have atleast one shroom in safekeeping just in case you need to bust it out during a fight.

It’s a common misconception that Teemo is a horrible teamfighter. Although he’s not the greatest teamfighter, with the help of his Shrooms, he’s not bad in any means. Zoning effectively with Shrooms allows you to force the enemy champions to either path/move ineffectively during a fight or simply proc the Shroom and damage the rest of their team. When throwing shrooms in the middle of teamfights, aim for where the enemy is either clustered or certain choke points if you’re fighting in the jungle. If an enemy is sieging, use their minion wave against them and throw your shrooms on to the minions so the enemy champions are also damaged when escorting their wave. Similar to Combat Shrooms, if you feel there’s going to be a teamfight/skirmish, save all your shrooms as they can drastically change the course of the fight and win you games.

This has always been constant mental battle for me and a bad habit, but unless you absolutely have to hard push a wave, try to avoid using shrooms on a wave. It’s a waste of shrooms that could potentially save your life or give you other valuable information on the map. Yes, this alone can potentially cost you games.

Shroom damage over-time does NOT stack. Don’t be a rookie and keep your shrooms close together. Spread em!

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