Veigar Build Guide by Decerux

Introduction

Welcome... To a guide for the one and only Tiny Master of Evil

This is a detailed in depth guide on how create a nuclear winter and reign with a iron fist over every squishy and AP Carry ingame.

Pros / Cons

Pros

• Extremely deadly burst
• Effective AoE stun
• Anti-AP Mage
• Passive adds great mana sustain
• ABILITY TO STACK AP

Cons

• Extremely squishy
• Banshee's Veil counters you well
• Needs lots of farm with Baneful Strike to reach full effectiveness
• Cooldown dependent

Runes

x9 Greater Mark of Magic Penetration +0.95 magic penetration
x9 Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration +0.065 mana regen / 5 sec. per level
x9 Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power +0.17 ability power per level
x3 Greater Quintessence of Ability Power +4.95 ability power

The Greater Mark of Magic Penetration is a given for any mage. Magic penetration scales well, and helps make every attack sting that much more.

The Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration is to help with your sustain. Together with Veigar's passive Equilibrium, you should be able to keep enough mana regen from level 1 to Baleful Strike a minion every time its up, with enough mana saved for harassment

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power is a great rune. What makes these greater than the Greater Glyph of Ability Power is by the time you hit level 6 it's already scaled to 1.02 ability power. This will also help people who have trouble last hitting with Baleful Strike as it helps close the margin of error of hitting too early.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power on the other hand is better than Greater Quintessence of Scaling Ability Power, Since Greater Quintessence of Scaling Ability Power doesn't surpass it's ability power until level 12. And overall it adds a pretty significant amount of damage.

The combination of these runes should help bring out the best in your TINY MASTER OF EVIL

Masteries

Updated Explanation Coming Soon

Summoner Spells

The most straightforward summoner spells are


Flash
This the most universal summoner spell in league so far. It can be used as a get out of jail free card, or to close the gap between you and your enemy. This is almost a must on any character.

and


Ignite
This summoner spell is one that will help ensure some of your kills. Using this while you're going for a killing blow can prove extremely effective. If your enemy escapes your burst with one bar of HP left, Ignite will go ahead and help turn that into a kill. That is not Ignite's only use though. Since it also reduces healing effects, it can effect counters to champions like Dr. Mundo, Swain, Soraka and even Tryndamere if you can time his ultimate.

Other Useful Spells

Teleport
Another useful spell, It can provide better map control and even surprising ganks from seemingly nowhere, especially if your team uses Sight Wards and Vision Wards often. If your not a big fan of Ignite I would recommend this spell.


Cleanse
This is not one I recommend too much, but it still has practical benefits. If you are extremely paranoid of crowd control effects then be my guest and pick this one up, but considering you won't be in the middle of that fight, it won't be my biggest recommendation.


Clarity
I do NOT recommend this spell, BUT some people do seem to have trouble managing their mana. If your one of those types of people, then go ahead and pick this, BUT it's best you just learn to manage your mana. This skill simply falls into worthlessness mid-late game.


Ghost
I would only really recommend this to players who have yet to unlock Flash. It is an effective chasing spell (as well as escape), but there is much more useful spells than this.

DO NOT GET

Heal (like Clarity) falls off mid-late game, Flash can save you more often than Heal ever will. Revive's cooldown is far too long and really you'll only want summoner spells that can assist you in your current fight, not one you just lost that will be long over by the time you return. Smite is obviously for jungling and Veigar is NOT a jungler. Fortify is a decent (at most) defense, but something a support would have, not an AP carry (Plus it's planned to be removed from League of Legends soon). Rally's benefits attack damage and is a stationary spell. All and all its worthless spell. Clairvoyance IS a useful spell, but it's, once again, something that should be on your support... NOT AP Carry.

Veigar's Abilities

Veigar's abilities are;



Passive : Equilibrium
Q : Baleful Strike
W : Dark Matter
E : Event Horizon
R : Primordial Burst

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This is one of the beautiful things about playing Veigar. The more mana he is missing, the faster he'll gain it back. This, along with provided items, masteries, and runes, will make farming with your Baleful Strike, as well as harassment/jungle gank aid, a breeze. This passive alone is one of the reasons I'm not fond of getting Clarity on him

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This skill is what makes Veigar so deadly if allowed to farm for too long. You can literally farm an infinite amount of AP. I do recommend maxing this skill first. It stays at a very low 75 mana per use, making both farming and harassing with it extremely effective and efficient.

Note : There is a lot of debate on maxing Dark Matter before Baleful Strike due to Dark Matter's enormous damage output. The problem I see with this is Dark Matter takes time before doing damage and is extremely easy to dodge. You might argue to just use Event Horizon to help secure a hit, but you have to think about it. Both Dark Matter and Event Horizon have mana cost. By level 6 you are spending 205 mana just to get 1 Dark Matter onto your enemy, and even then it can still be dodged. It's not a good way to manage your mana and can even effect your Baleful Strike farming. It'll also keep your mana exhausted by the time a jungle gank is available.

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This skill is the most straight forward definition of a nuke. It deals extremely high damage, scales extremely well, and is an area of effect spell which means it can damage multiple targets. During late game, this skill can be beyond deadly. So much power does come at a price though. It has a slight 1.2 second delay and is a little heavy on the mana cost. The delay is easily solved by a using your Event Horizon to lock them into place before dropping your attack. Dark Matter is also a good way to push a lane.

Note : The only time I would recommend maxing Dark Metter before Baleful Strike is when your are getting completely zoned. And I mean you can't even get near the minion wave without taking a heavy beating. In these cases, It's best to max Dark Matter to farm. Still try your best to sneak off some Baleful Strike kills though.

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Event Horizon is the skill that can take Veigar beyond your typical mage. This is an area of effect stun. Anything that touches the edges will get stunned for a maximum of 2.5 seconds. Better yet, this trap will stay up for 3 complete seconds, leaving plenty of time for your enemies to accidentally bump into it. This is SUPER EFFECTIVE in team fights and should be your opening move so you can get it off cooldown ASAP, as well as set up for your burst. I like to keep this at level 3, because it gives enough stun time for Dark Matter to successfully hit

Note : Only the edge of Event Horizon causes a stun, so it's crucial to practice landing the very edge of your stun on someone. Practicing this will aid you picking off single targets with relative ease

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The name itself implies a burst that creates the beginning... A big bang. Well, it certainly is the beginning of the end for whoever becomes the target of your devastating ultimate. Primordial Burst not only does massive damage based on your own AP, but 80% of your target's AP as well. This ultimate is literally an AP mage's worst nightmare. This attack can even devastate squishy AD carries. If your built well enough, you can even destroy semi-tanky targets in 1 single nuke combo.

Items

Openning

My Openners of Choice would be;

Sustain Openner

This openner is the standard one that I use. The Meki Pendant helps with your sustain. Veigar is not too much of a early harassment type, so I prefer this over a AP heavy openner.

Dodge Openner

This openner is when you are mid lane against Area of Effect/Skill Shot champions that require you to DODGE. This openner helps you avoid attacks from champions like Brand, Cassiopeia, Swain, and more.

Damage Openner

This openner focuses on early AP. This could either be used for closing the gap for error on last hits with your Baleful Strike or attempting early game harassment. It's personally my least favorite of the three, and also comes with the least amount of health pots (shrinking your sustain).

Why No Doran's Ring?

I dislike this item a lot. The problem with openning with Doran's Ring is first of all you can't get any health pots as well. This eats your ability to stay in lane longer and farm more. Secondly, it cannot be crafted into anything. In this game every gold counts, and getting to your build done as soon as possible is crucial to being successful. I highly discourage Doran's Ring as a starting item.

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Early Game

Kage's Lucky Pick

Kage's Lucky Pick
Upon your first recall, this should be the item you pick up. You'll want this item early for the bonus gold you'll obtain. This item also builds into Veigar's favorite toy.

Sorcerer's Shoes

Picking this up second can help you be a little more aggressive. You can move in and out for attacks much quicker and of course enjoy the lovely magic penetration.

Deathfire Grasp

This is Veigar's favorite little toy. Not only does it give CDR, AP and Mana regen, but it has a vicious active that does damage based on 30% of your opponents current health as well as your AP. Once you get this item, you can literally begin 1 combo-nuking squishies and AP mages. This will begin your snowballing and reign of terror. For maximum effect, use this early in your combo (Which will be explained later)

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Mid Game

Rabadon's Deathcap

This item was made for Veigar. I mean just look at it. It's the same hat he wears on the default his default skin. This item, along with all your hard work and farming should easily make Veigar hit 450+ AP.

Banshee's Veil

Veigar's drawback and being such a deadly nuke is being extremely squishy. At this point you can take a break from AP heavy items to get some survivability. My item of choice is Banshee's Veil. Blocking 1 spell could turn out to be the difference in life or death. Make sure to always be farming with Baleful Strike anytime you have a chance. It'll keep your AP rising even when your not building AP.

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Late Game

These last 2 can be bought in the order you feel appropriate

Void Staff

If your nuclear strikes have struck fear to the point where your enemy has started to build magic resist to defend against you, then this item will let your reign of fear continue. This item is perfect for melting them back down to a squishy.

Zhonya's Hourglass

The Zhonya's Hourglass is not only an extremely strong item. It works very well defensively. The armor, along with the HP boost from Banshee's Veil, will sharply aid your survivability. The passive of this item only increases that as activating it when your getting focused in a team fight can help get you out of a frightening moment.

Other Items

HELPFUL

Abyssal Scepter

It's nice to get this in a few situations. If your team is somewhat AP heavy, this will benefit in making your allies do more damage with you. If you want an alternative to Banshee's Veil that still pumps out AP, then this item will be a good choice.

NOT HELPFUL

Archangel's Staff

I'm personally not fond of using this in a build. Veigar's build focuses around rushing a Deathfire Grasp and Rabadon's Deathcap. By the time you can squeeze in a Tear of the Goddess. You don't have enough time to reap the full benefits of it.


RANDOMNESS

Guardian Angel

This is not something I really get on Veigar, but if you are on a killing spree and want a bail out for a slip up, then go ahead.


HELPFUL

Haunting Guise

This item is a good choice if you want to to pump up your early game damage. It's not my personal favorite, but it can make a difference in early game nukes. ONLY get it in the early game. By mid or late it's better to just get Void Staff


HELPFUL

Lich Bane

This can actually add even more damage to your combo-nuke via auto-attack. I don't take it personally, but I do recommend that you play with it to see if you like it. It's effect also works on buildings, which can make you be a huge aid in chopping them down.



HELPFUL

Mejai's Soulstealer

I'm not one to recommend snowball items, but I won't tell you to not get them either. If you feel your in a situation where you can endlessly kill without dying, be my guest and pick one of these up.


NOT HELPFUL

Morello's Evil Tome

This item is a decent item, the problem is you just don't benefit enough from it. Your Deathfire Grasp already gives you enough CDR, and even though the ability bonus is quite high, you could easily benefit just as much from a Needlessly Large Rod alone, at a way lower price, than this.


RANDOMNESS

Quicksilver Sash

A good way to bail yourself out of some frightening CC. If you are that afraid of your opponent's CC or just plain tired of stuns, silences and fears (oh my), give it a shot


NOT HELPFUL

Rod of Ages

Now I won't lie, Rod of Ages is a great item and I love it. I just don't love it on Veigar. As I said earlier, his build focuses on Deathfire Grasp and Rabadon's Deathcap. Even though Rod of Ages adds a great deal to survivability, it interfere's too much with his core build if bought early, and if bought late, there's not enough time to reap the full benefits. Rylai's Crystal Scepter or Banshee's Veil would be better options for HP


HELPFUL

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

This item is a decent item on Veigar. Veigar does not reap the full benefits on the slow, since he's the caster that is more based on burst nukes, but he does get a nice survivability bonus from the HP obtained by this item. It's not a bad way to go.


NOT HELPFUL

Will of the Ancients

Veigar is a cooldown based burst mage. This is not an item that suits him well, since his damage is not sustain, like Swain for example. Veigar fights defensively as it is.


EXTREME RANDOMNESS

Warmog's Armor

If you're feeling really cocky and are just plain tearing up the battlefield to the point where you don't give a damn about your AP, do it. I've done it a few times when for giggles. It's pretty funny seeing a tanky mage who can 1 burst you into oblivion

Putting It All Together (Lane, Farm, and Nukes)

Your Lane

As being an AP Carry, your most desired lane is mid. This will allow a good amount of selfish farm with your Baleful Strike. I don't recommend taking a side lane (unless you're laning with a support). It can be very difficult having to farm along side someone, and even more frustrating when you start missing Baleful Strikes on minions because your partner killed it before the spell could hit.

A mid Veigar is a happy Veigar

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In the Beginning

Veigar is extremely easy to harass early game. Opponents like Nidalee or Kennen can be nightmares to fight against, especially if they take advantage of their auto-attacks. Keep your early game as PASSIVE as possible. Only harass if you feel like you can do it without taking much damage yourself. (Example, if your opponent just missed a spell or used it on a minion).

Your main focus is FARM FARM FARM FARM

Last hit as much as possible with Baleful Strike. I try to make it a goal for myself to get 100 Ability Power before my first recall. Your early game farm is crucial to your late game success.

tl;dr - FARM

Tips

• Communicate with your jungler
  Try to keep track of your own junglers movements and ganks. Have your jungler tell you in advanced that he's setting up for a gank. Use this time to preserve mana so you can combo as much damage during the gank. By level 6 you should try to preserve 405 mana for a full burst.
• Dark Matter is good counter pushing
  If your opponent is an aggressive pusher and he's getting close to doing damage to your turret, use Dark Matter on a group of minions (preferably caster minions, but wherever the bulk is) to help relieve pressure

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Becoming Nuclear; How to combo

Now there's quite a few combos you can use.
They are as follows;


Damage Combo

This is the combo you'll probably use the least. It's hard to connect Dark Matter unless there's a stun. So I'm not too fond of using this unless I'm with teammates to provide CC for me early game.

Precision Damage Combo

This is mana expensive but will provide a much greater chance of doing damage. At lower levels where you stun is still low, you might want to drop Dark Matter before Event Horizon, but this can be somewhat tricky.

Big Bang Attack

This your first deadly burst combo. You can melt their AP Carry/Squishy and if this combo does not kill them, the Ignite at the end is more likely to. If I'm gonna use this combo in the laning phase I prefer to harass them down to under 3/4th health before letting it fly.

Final Flash

This. Is. Death. If you've been keeping up with farm and levels, then this combo is INSTANT death to any non-tank enemy. You can even instant kill a Tryndamere without him having a chance to press R. It is one of the most deadliest combos in League of Legends, Learn to use every skill in this combo in a single second and you'll start scoring kills at will.

Video Tutorial

Coming soon

Summary

Veigar is an amazing burst mage.

Though he is squishy, through defensive play and burst nukes you can simply melt away a teams biggest threat within a single second. This build is what has worked best for me, and I hope it works wonders for you as well. With constant farming and precise combos, you too can become...

The Tiny Master of Evil