Hi, I'm Slydunan, and this is my guide for playing Veigar(in solo queue), my main. I've noticed a lack of a comprehensive guide to Veigar and have thus created this one. This guide will cover my method of playing Veigar, and it has gotten me positive in every game I've played with him. As always, this may not be the perfect guide, but I'm not forcing you to use it so make your own changes or go with your own build if you don't like it (but please try it first before doing that). Thank you for reading my guide, please comment/rate, and without further ado, I'll introduce to you Veigar, my AP carry.

I have found that Veigar is a powerful hero who is rather often underestimated (ranked Tier 4 in Elementz Solo Queue Tier List), which I think is because there are not many good Veigar players out there. Hopefully this guide will change this and show the true power of Veigar.

So now the question, why play Veigar?



Pros:

-Unlimited AP Growth Potential that works with his high AP scaling skills.
-Can easily obtain 600+ AP and up to 1000ish.
-Can nuke many heroes to death within 2-3 seconds mid-late game.
-Best nuker in game
-You can one shot certain heroes.
-Has a huge AOE stun.
-Nice mana-regen passive.
-Prevents enemy AP heroes from stacking AP with the consequence of his ult.

Cons:

-Very Squishy-often targeted in team fights.<----biggest downside
-Requires a decent team that will tank for you when you are targeted.
-Requires fast fingers and a fast reaction time.
-Requires dedicated last hitting with Baleful Strike.
-Has a gay little dance(

/d) and an annoying voice (/t).

As you can see, the Pros far outweigh the Cons, which can easily be fixed with smart playing (HINT: read guide to see how).


Screenshots:

- Here is all of the games I've played with Veigar recently (I didn't play Veigar in all consecutive games, so that's why they are not in order). Hopefully this will inspire you to play him as well.
- Also, you may notice that there are many defeats due to leavers and not so great teams, but I believe that I should post every game, not just Victories and ones that I do incredibly well in. However, you should see that even if your team does bad, you are still able to get many kills, though it is rather annoying when your team can't finish the rest off after you kill 1 or 2.

Update [04/01/11]- Decided to play Veigar a few times again, this time I've included my final item build...As you can see, they aren't exactly the same as I had to change it up according to if the enemy was stacking magic resistance.

RUNES

I think that runes are self explanatory as it is common sense and thus I will not include much details in the build. For Veigar, get runes that have Magic Penetration, Ability Power, Cooldown Reduction, etc.

MASTERIES

For Masteries, get 9 Offense up to 15% Magic Penetration then spend the rest of the 21 on Utility. (You can choose based on your preference for Utility but read the following first).

- Be sure to get Spatial Accuracy, as it can make the difference between saving a teammate or not.
- Only one lvl of Perseverance should be taken, as it gives 2% instead of 1%, and although it is not much, it still works well with your passive.
- The other two lvl's are given to Good Hands, as a few seconds death CD reduction can also make a difference in a kill and the effects are significant during late game when there are 60 second Respawn times.
- I prefer +5% experience gain instead of +5% max mana because the mana gain won't make as big of a difference. This is because 5% mana gain early game is completely insignificant while +5% exp gain will allow you to out level your opponents. Regarding late game, unless you are building Archangel's Staff (see item build), at lvl 18, an extra 5% mana gain is just about as useless as an extra 5% experience gain.

SKILLS

I have found that this is the best skill build for Veigar and I have seen countless other builds get this wrong.

***See this page for up-to-date skill info--->Click Here

Skill Build Justification
[*] It is important to max Baleful Strike early to farm minions, get more AP with hero kills, and to harass heroes.

[*] Other builds that get 2+ lvl of Event Horizen ---> An extra +0.25 sec stun is not worth the dmg and AP gain you are missing.

[*] Other builds that max Dark Matter ---> Each lvl of Dark Matter adds 50 dmg as well as +10 mana cost. Each lvl of Baleful Strike adds 45 dmg and reduces its CD by 1 sec. Baleful is easier to hit and gives you AP. Enough said.

[*] Other builds that dont max Ultimate ---> Not getting your ultimate is just stupid. Don't even look at those builds when you see this.

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Veigar's Combo

Using Veigar's full combo can overwhelm even the tankiest of heroes and will decimate any non-tank hero.
You can just omit the items or summoner spells that you don't have yet when doing the combo.

=> => => => (Auto Attack)=> => =>repeat => as needed.

Remember that this entire combo should be completed within 2 seconds after casting Event Horizon and preferably before Dark Matter even falls.

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Skill Info

Baleful Strike ---Use throughout game to farm AP. Can be used to harass/kill heroes at lvl 3-5. Although it does not deal the massive damage that Dark Matter and your Ultimate does, it has a very short Cooldown, so it will still deal significant damage.

Dark Matter ---Your main nuke and farming tool. At lvl 3-5, you can kill jungle creeps(depending on your AP) to get blue buff and farm gold. Cast so that it hits all the creeps and finish with Balefuls. This takes 1.2 seconds to work after cast, so cast it where you think the hero will be. This also reveals the area, so can be used to scout bushes.

Event Horizon --- A great AOE stun, though it only stuns on the edges, meaning people in the middle are free to move and cast spells. Try to aim it so that the edge falls as close to the hero as possible based on your prediction of where he will be. Use this before Dark Matter to ensure a hit, to save a teammate, to chase, or to stun when they tower dive you. Heroes with flash abilities may be aggressive and flash to you. In this case, try to position the skill to stun both your position and theirs, just in case they do. Also, the cooldown is not short and this is your only escape skill, so use it sparingly and be ready to run once you use it.

Primordial Burst ---This skill is your finisher skill for heroes. It does not do massive damage early game, but by mid game, it will hurt like **** to most heroes and by late game, it is possible to one shot certain AP heroes (You just feel so powerful when you do this). Save this for when you know you can get the kill or when you are about to die (If you are about to die, try to cast all your spells).

SUMMONER SPELLS

Teleport : This is the a core item for my build with multiple uses for the entire game in terms of lane control. You should include this in your Masteries instead of one point in Good Hands.

--Use this spell after going to base to TP(teleport) back without losing xp/gold(early game).
--Use to help teammates with a surprise gank throughout game(0.5 sec reduction comes in handy).
--Use to quickly defend turrets or farm a minion wave (mid-late game).
--Use to TP to enemy base(late game).

The next spell is up to you depending on which you are better with.
I recommend either Flash or Ignite as the two best choices(I personally use Ignite).

Flash : Flash can be used to save your *** in a gank, position yourself in a fight, chase heroes, or to surprise an enemy. I'd recommend saving it to save yourself unless you know you can get the kill.
***Update-03/23/11- Recently, I've been playing with Flash instead of Ignite with good results, so I'm changing the recommended spell to Flash, considering that it is useful Early-Late instead of just Early-Mid.

Ignite : Very useful in your combo early-mid game in ensuring kills for your Mejai's. Adds a good boost to your nukes for easy kills.

Cleanse This is useful if they have stunners that can kill you before you are able to Event Horizen. Once you are stunned, Cleanse, Event Horizen, and proceed to kill them with your combo.



You could also have Heal if you like baiting or Clarity if you can't manage mana, but those aren't as good.--Only take if you are a new player.

The rest of the spells are just useless for Veigar compared to the benefits of the other summoner spells mentioned---don't get them.

Items

Ah, items. This is where my build differs from others, and trust me it works. If you don't believe me, try it out a few times on your own.

Final items that are good for Veigar are:


+ (Once you have maxed items)

I will explain items more later in the build along with the game strategy.

Item Build Justification
Faerie Charms ---Getting two Faerie Charms to start will give you 6 mana/5 sec: enough mana at a cheap price to farm with Baleful. In addition, it is a recipe part of Philosopher's Stone.

Philosopher's Stone Philosopher's Stone---This combined with Equilibrium will take care of all of Veigar's mana needs. In addition, it allows you to stay in lane even with a harraser with the hp regen. Even more, it gives 5 gold/10 sec, meaning it will pay for itself (not to mention +400 gold for selling it) in less than 27min. Perfect item for Veigar all the way to late game(Sell one Faerie Charm if you need the room, but keep this if possible.)

Boots of Speed/Sorcerer's Shoes ---Self-explanatory, you need the speed boost to run and chase and Magic Penetration buffs all your spells. It is more important to get and Kage's Lucky Pick than to upgrade to Sorcerer's Shoes.

Mejai's Soulstealer ---Core item for a good Veigar. A good Veigar should have no problems getting kills, or at least assists. Combined with Baleful's hero kill AP gain , potentially gives you 16+5+1(if you finish with Baleful)=22 AP for every kill. Getting even just a few charges early will drastically improve your performance. Plus the 15% CDR helps at 20 stacks. The only downside-you lose charges if you die, but you shouldn't be jumping in the middle of a fight anyways.

Kage's Lucky Pick Kage's Lucky Pick---Gives a bit of AP, pays for itself in 25 minutes, and is part of the recipe for Deathfire Grasp. As with Philosopher's Stone, get this early for maximum gold gain. If you want get two, BUT NO MORE!!(and not recommended as it takes up space) Gold generating items help significantly, but don't get too many. 25 AP isn't that significant for Veigar, and the extra Lucky Pick is just for the gold gain(the first to be turned into a Deathfire).

***Update-03/23/11
Meki Pendant ---I have recently started getting this if I don't have enough for the big items when I get back to base. This with Philosopher's StonePhilosopher's Stone should take care of all your mana needs. It is also part of the recipe for Fiendish CotexFiendish Cotex which, in turn is part of the recipe for Deathfire Grasp .

Rabadon's Deathcap --- This is a GOD ITEM for Veigar!! This item works better on Veigar than any other hero, working in sync with Baleful Strike . Once you have this, your AP will skyrocket.

Deathfire Grasp Deathfire Grasp size=35--- Another GOD ITEM for Veigar!! Get this right after Rabbadon's Deathcap. (**Why not before?-->1. Luck Pick will help you farm the expensive Deathcap. 2. Not as effective early with low hp heroes. 3. Not as effective before Deathcap's AP boost.**) With Deathcap's boost, you will easily have 500+ AP, causing Deathfire Grasp to deal over half the target's hp. **Note-You must remember to use the active(It is easy to forget to use it). Drag it to the first slot so that the hotkey is [1] and use it during your combo for bigger heroes. If you don't use its active, it is a useless item.

Lich Bane ---The final GOD ITEM for Veigar!! By the time you have this, it will be late game and you will have 700+ AP. That means that every two seconds you get a free 1 to 1 dmg/AP nuke(deals more or less the dmg of Baleful Strike depending on your AP). Try to use it every CD(2 sec). **Note- This move does work against towers, making Veigar one of the best pushers with this item.

Abyssal Scepter ---This gives Veigar extra AP, magic resistance, and Magic Penetration. A solid item, but may be replaced with void staff if their team is stacking magic resistance.

Void Staff ---May be bought instead of Abyssal Staff for a Magic Penetration boost only if the enemy stacks magic resistance. This takes off 40% of the enemy's magic resistance after all other debuffs, meaning Abysmal will be just as or more effective for low magic resistance heroes (i.e. <100 magic resistance).


Late Game replacements (**Optional**) :

****These items may replace Mejai's Soulstealer if you can't get enough stacks, or Abyssal Scepter

--Void Staff -- take if they are stacking heavy magic resistance

--Zhonya's Hourglass -- take if you are good with its active.
**Update: this item is especially useful against flashing heroes such as Jarvan, Nocturn, Fiddles, etc. Use the active once they pop in, and the two seconds should be enough time for your teammates to save you.

--HexTech Gunblade / Will of the Ancients -- gives you spell vamp to regen with your spells. Dont get in most matches, but can be very helpful with your huge dmg output during late game in accordance with Lich Bane to take down tanks that you cannot combo down.

Other Items
Archangel's Staff -- I've been seeing this item in many builds, but it is honestly not a great item for Veigar contrary to popular belief. Sure it gives you mana, but your passive combined with philosopher's stone is enough for your needs and cheaper as well. Sure it gives you more AP than other items on my build, but the other item's passives and actives are much more useful and outshines Archangel's in effectiveness (I don't care if having a bunch of AP looks cool).
Rylai's Crystal Scepter -- Why is this item in the 'recommended build'? I don't know. The only advantage I see is the hp boost, but Veigar's cooldowns aren't that short, and can usually kill a hero flat out anyways. Don't get this.
Rod of Ages -- If you really want extra HP, get this. However, I don't recommend it.
Banshee's Veil -- Can help you survive, but takes away from your massive damage capabilities.
Guardian Angel -- Can be a good safety item that will revive you after getting targeted. Again, it takes away from your dmg, but could used.
Generally, I prefer to use the build that has the most damage output, but if it works for you, use it.

Playing against Veigar
If you are playing Veigar, you should be aware of items that are good against Veigar. These include any magic resistance items or hp items. In particular, watch out for items such as Banshee's Veil or Guardian Angel. If possible, try to go for heroes that don't have these items.

I will divide the game into early, mid, and late as well as phases for each one, providing a step-by-step guide.

//First of all, make sure you bought Veigar or else you can't even play him. (Obviously)

- Tell your teammates that you will solo mid.
- Once you pick him, make sure t-o change your Summoners Spells to Teleport and your other choice.
- Check to make sure your Masteries are correct and Lock in.

Early Game

**Early game starts when the loading screen disappears.**

Phase 1
- Once the game starts grab 2 Faerie Charms and also buy a Health Potion in case you get an early harraser.

- 2 Faerie charms with Runes/Masteries is enough for you to spam Baleful whenever you need.

- Even if you run out of mana, your passive will regen it within 3 seconds.

***Update[03/31/11] Alternatively, take one Regrowth Pendant and one Mana Potion to start and go back to the base when you have 365 gold. This way, you get your Philosopher's StonePhilosopher's Stone much faster and you won't have to worry about harassment in early levels.
- Head down to mid and tell any other teammates to go away because you called it first.

- Veigar needs mid to avoid getting harassed and to have the creeps to himself.

- Side lane is viable only if you have a tank or healer who will let you last hit all the creeps.
- Make sure to use Baleful Strike on every CD (cooldown) to kill a minion (even if it's low enough for you to attack). Each time you kill something with it, it will give you 1 AP.

- If your Baleful is in CD, you can last hit with your auto-attack.
- Tip: you can cast Baleful to kill a melee after two tower hits or a ranged with one tower hit and one attack (depending on your AP).
- Again, don't worry, spam it as much as you can; you will regen your mana.

- Don't worry about harassing just yet.

- If you are able to farm the same amount then he does, you will have an advantage because of Baleful Strike.
- Also, even if you don't harass, make sure to tell teammates if your lane is missing.

- Between Balefuls and attacks, you should be getting a bare minimum of half the minions.
- Keep an eye on your gold, and once you hit 620 gold, clear the current creep wave and Recall back to base (you should be lvl 5 or less if you farmed well).
- Press [P] to open the inventory and buy aPhilosophers Stone Philosopher's Stone using one of your Faerie Charms .
- Immediately teleport back with your Summoner's Spell to mid.

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Phase 2
- Continue farming until you hit lvl 7.

- If your lane hero is weak or has low hp, then

harass him with Balefuls in between minion shots. (You can start at lvl 5 if they dont have regen items and are weak as well)
- At lvl 7, you should have a short enough cooldown to farm and harass at the same time.
- Once you harass the enemy to a few bars, you can go for the kill.

- First, make sure you have enough mana to pull of all the moves you need.
- If he is close to you, hit him with a

Baleful to make him run first. Otherwise just continue to the next step.
- Cast Event Horizon so that he will run into the edge (Only the edge will stun him).
- Predict which part of the edge he will hit and cast Dark Matter at that spot.
- Then, before Dark Matter falls, cast Primordial Burst and Baleful as well as Ignite just to make sure he's dead.
- Remember, each hero kill gives you an extra 1-5 AP, so even if both of you die, it's OK because you will still get buffed while the enemy wont.
- If you can't kill your lane hero, you may look to ganks **See section for GANKING**.
- Otherwise, continue farming until your Teleport spell is available again.
- Once it is, you should have at least 1100 gold (preferably 1600 gold). (If you can, keep farming until you hit 1600 gold)
- Recall to base and buy Boots of Speed .
- If you have 750ish gold, buy a Kage's Lucky Pick Kage's Lucky Pick.
- If you have 1235-ish gold, buy a Mejai's Soulstealer . (preferred)
- If you are under 50 gold off from an item, you can wait at base until you have enough- it's worth it.
- Again Teleport back to mid and this begins your mid game. (Unless you see an opportunity to Teleport to another lane and kill a hero---be smart!)

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Mid Game

**Mid game starts when you have Mejai's Soulstealer.**

Phase 1
- Now that you have your , you should be focusing on either killing your lane hero or constantly looking for ganks(see Ganking section).

- You probably have 2-3 lvls of Dark Matter by now, meaning that you can take down 1/2 hp heroes with ease using your combo(see SKILLS section for his Combo)---so be aggressive.

- For every kill, you should begin to see the difference Mejai's and Balful's Passive does for your damage output. If see a chance for a kill don't be afraid to pop your stun and unlease your full combo. Don't be afraid to use your Ultimate and Ignite if you can kill them, because as long as you get a kill, it is not wasted.

- In addition to Ganking, there will likely a couple of Team Fights.

- In Team Fights, you should first cast Event Horizon to either isolate one hero from the rest for your teammates to beat on, trap as many heroes as you can, or to initiate your combo and kill their squishiest or most dangerous hero(recommended). Once you have used your stun and combo, if you see any heroes coming towards you, Run Away!!!. This is when you need good teammates who are aware that the enemy hero is isolating himself in hopes of bringing you down and who will stun/kill him in return. If your team is obviously winning the fight, then keep chasing with your team, using your spells on every cooldown. Remember to cast Event Horizon if possible before casting Dark Matter, since most people are smart enough to move after 1.2 seconds. All in all, be smart and don't die!! You are the carry, and a dead Veigar with 1000 AP is more useless than a tanking Twitch with an inventory full of Boots.

- In addition to killing heroes, your Dark Matter at lvl 4-5 can one shot weak creep camps, so just pop one in there and reap the gold. It can also easily one shot ranged minions and eventually melee minions, so this will boost your farming as well. However, whenever possible, keep casting Baleful Strike to farm AP as well.

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Late Game

**Late game starts approximately when you have Rabadon's and Deathfire.**

Phase 1
- Once you have farmed these two items and 600+ AP, you can combo down anyone who's not building magic resistance.
- Be aggressive and kill lone heroes you come across and make sure not to be that lone hero. Travel with at least one teammate with a disable everywhere you go to be safe.
- In team fights, you should be able to kill one hero within 3 seconds, which will give your team a 5v4 advantage. Try to save your ultimate for high AP mages, but don't hesitate if you know it can kill someone else because it will still deal massive damage with your AP alone.

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Phase 2
- I consider Phase 2 as games that last over 45 minutes when you should almost have a full build. By now, if you are doing as well as you should, enemy heroes will be stacking magic resistance: therefore, make sure you have at least one magic penetration item (other than boots). Focus your spells on heroes with <100 magic resistance and combo them down whenever they are in range. Again, remember to run once you unleash your combo because any good Veigar WILL BE TARGETED.
- Veigar can not only nuke enemy heroes, but can also make short work of towers with the help of Lich Bane . Towers should take maybe 3 or so Lich Bane attacks to fall- that's under 6 seconds!! This ability adds to Veigar's late game dominance.

I've decided to add a ganking section, because a good mid Veigar should not only be farming, but ganking as well.

GANKING = 'Going Around 'N Killing'

As a solo mid, you are the closest to both lanes, meaning that it is not only your duty to farm mid, but also to gank every so often.
Ganking is especially important to Veigar, because each hero kill will make him much stronger, and with a Mejai's Soulstealer, you will be getting massive AP gain with each kill.

The process of Ganking
- Ganking usually starts when you get your ult, but that does not mean you can't gank earlier or that you have to gank at lvl 6.
- While in your lane, you should every now and then go check out top and bottom lanes to see if they have any low hp heroes. If they do, and you don't think they will heal or go back, then head down to that lane to gank.
- Before going to any lane, make sure you kill the minion wave and make sure that no one can see where you are going, or else they will just tower hug and you will have gone out of your lane for nothing.
- In high lvl games, they may put down wards, and it will be much tougher to gank unnoticed. However, this guide is for Solo Queue, and people hardly ever put wards.
- When you go to gank a lane, make sure to ping (alt+click) and tell your teammates to get ready. This way, you will have the distinct advantage of a 3v2 situation.
- Find the weakest hero and trap him in the stun, unleash your combo, and if possible, kill the other hero as well.
- Now you can either recall to base, or return to mid. (Or be really sneaky and stay in the bushes for when they come back out if they are tower hugging).

- Also, if you have teleport and you see your teammates getting chased with the enemy overextending behind your creeps, cast teleport on a creep behind them and kill the enemy heroes. I have gotten many kills-even double and triple kills this way.

First of all, thank you for reading my guide, please vote and comment. If you have any questions, it is probably covered in the guide, but otherwise just comment and I'll answer it when I get the chance,

Again, please feel free to give comments and suggestion...if I use it in the guide, this is where I'll put them.

Any updates will be posted here:

03/19/11- Guide Finished-Having troubles publishing it...
03/19/11- Added some more Masteries explanations.
03/20/11- Added something about Zhonya's Hourglass as well as a screenshot.
03/31/11- Added alternate starting items.