I am currently testing different items and builds for AP Bard.

I've also updated the damage items which you shouldn't buy.

I will be updating the guide as the Preseason and Season goes, feel free to check out my OP.GG to see what I'm trying, but be warned sometimes I just try items for the sake of trying items.

ITEM EXPLANATION
The trick about damage items on Bard is, we never buy items which purely only give AP and damage, as Bard doesn't have the best AP Scalings on his abilities, so he doesn't benefit much from them compared to many other champions, so you essentially waste your gold if you do buy them. However, Bard's abilities can synergize well with the effects on some items which also provide some sort of damage boost.
Quick tip on what item NOT to buy - if it provides pure Mana as stat, don't buy it, exception being Liandry's in rare cases.

Imperial Mandate build every game. Good and cheap core. Really good stats, and the mark is super easily applied with Bard, on multiple targets. Provides good burst as well.
Rapid Firecannon I found to be a great second item. It increases your catch potential with the extended auto range, which is perfect transitioning into the mid game, as that is usually what Bard shines in at this point. It also adds a bit to your 1-auto burst damage, especially good with my comet rune page because of that. Meep attacks proc comet if you didn't know! Attack speed is really nice on Bard because of the meeps.
Demonic Embrace Good item for second or further slot. At this point in the game you would probably have the meep cones upgraded, so one auto in teamfights could easily proc Demonic Embrace's effect on multiple targets, if not entire enemy team, which is huge. If you feel like you just need more damage, this is the best, perfect item choice, best damage boost overall. Get this second instead of Firecannon if they have 2+ tanks/high hp targets.
Cosmic Drive I think this item is a really good second or third slot item. It has insanely good stats and build path for Bard. Fiendish Codex and Kindlegem have always been the best components for Bard - they provide exactly what he needs, some Ability Haste, with either bit more damage or bit more survivability. And this item builds out of both, it's super good. The movespeed effect is rather lackluster, but the cost is still justified by the stats alone (This is the only 30 Ability Haste item in the game, and Bard's Q benefits tons from Ability Haste. If you're not sure what you want to buy or just want more Ability Haste, go for this.)
Sorcerer's Shoes If you have an early lead of 1 or more kills. Always buy on first back if you have 1100g+. Magic penetration does wonders on Bard, this is a really good damage boost. Otherwise, buy Mobility Boots
Oblivion Orb if you need Anti-Heal. When to buy it depends on how badly you need it. If you're against Soraka or Senna, you can rush it as your first buy. Otherwise buy it only after you finish Imperial Mandate. You can sit on it without upgrading if you want to prioritize other purchases, but if you really need the increased effect you can upgrade to Morellonomicon as early as 2nd or 3rd item
Void Staff Good third or fourth item slot. If more than 2 enemies are building Magic Resist items, get this.
Liandry's Torment only buy this if Enemy team has 3 or more tanks/beefy champions, and stack with Demonic Embrace so you can melt through them later on. I still need more testing to see if it's worth building this as first item. If you get into the very late game and you have full build and excessive gold, sell Imperial Mandate and get this.
Zhonya's Hourglass This item you can build pretty much anytime you want, but in order to fully get the max of its use, you need to adopt a more different approach to the game. You need to force a lot of fights. Enemies never expect an Hourglass buy from a Bard, so you can bait them super easily into fighting you alone while your teammates are approaching you, and before you die, you use it so your team can finish them off. You can be super super annoying with this item, and it will trigger a lot of enemies, especially assassin players :D
Always a good purchase so if you feel like you need the stasis effect at any point in the game (maybe to bait out assassins or key enemy ultimates?).
Oh and don't buy the Seeker's component first, as you don't farm minions to make use of it. You can buy Zhonya's even if the enemy team has no physical damage, the effect can be really strong on its own if used correctly and to its fullest.

Arcane Comet
Comet allows for safer trading, as it can be very risky at times to proc electro when going for that auto attack, due to our short auto range, especially in high elo where enemies are more likely to punish you for that.
I usually go for long- or max-range Qs in lane, which means I can't go for an auto attack, so Comet makes is that much more fitting, and is much safer. It's harder to land such Q's though, but you can always proc it just by auto attacking once, if you have a Meep ready.
Comet procs from meep autos, which makes short trades even easier.

Switch out Nimbus Cloak for Nullifying Orb if you're against AP Support/Botlane.

Taste of Blood is a good choice for lane sustain. Cheap Shot is a bit hard to proc if you go for the comet playstyle. Taste of Blood better compliments this early lane-focused playstyle.

Take Relentless Hunter only if you don't plan on building Mobility Boots. There is a soft Movespeed cap in this game, meaning the more movespeed you build, the less you actually gain, so having both Relentless and Mobis, doesn't give you much bonus movespeed.
If you are really used to Mobility Boots and want to stick to them instead of Sorcerer's Shoes, take Ingenious Hunter instead, for the reasons stated above. Even if you don't build any active items, it works with your trinket cooldown, which makes it worth on its own and the alternatives are worse.


Electrocute
This is a more standard rune page, that I'm sure most of you guys know.
The small attack speed rune is a must for electrocute, as you play around with your auto attacks much more compared to the Comet page. Take Electro if you don't wanna focus on lane as much and opt to roaming more.

You can switch out Transcendence for Nullifying Orb if you're against AP Support/Botlane.

Yep, you've heard it right, AP Bard Support!

Because it's fun! :D

Hey there! I am a ex-Challenger Bard Main.I started playing League in Season 6, and as soon as I got to play Bard, I almost never stopped! I reached Challenger in Season 8 and Season 9, and Master in Season 10 playing AP Bard Support mainly. As of now, I have 2 Million Mastery Points on Bardo. AP Bard is a fun build which I've been used to for a long while now. It requires quite a bit of a different approach to Bard and the Support role, which many people disagree with, but hey, if it works, why not?
You can catch me streaming at times, or you can watch some VoDs to see how I make this build work. Or you can add McZeddy if you're playing on EUW if you wish to spectate my games.

NOTE: THIS IS MORE OF A BUILD/PLAYSTYLE GUIDE, NOT A GENERAL BARD GUIDE. THE FIRST THING YOU NEED, WITHOUT WHICH THIS BUILD WILL NOT WORK CONSISTENTLY - BE A EXPERIENCED BARD PLAYER. PLAYING THIS BUILD AS OPPOSED TO A MORE STANDARD BARD BUILD As bad as it sounds, it is but the truth. You cannot make this build consistent if you aren't used to Bard. And what do you need in order to do that? Games. Lots and lots of Bard games. I'm saying this because it will encourage new Bard players to go full damage builds, just to fail miserably, which would lead them to quit the champion. Please, get used to the champ first with more traditional builds. Get used to Bard's limits, his damage, his weaknesses, his pros, his ABILITIES. You simply can't learn any of those without actually spamming games with the champion. I will be updating this guide with general Bard tips, so as to help you on your way to becoming a consistent Bard player.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
When you get that out the way, there are other things you also need to consider. You aren't just a Support. You can fill the role of a Marksman or Assassin with this build. I mean, that's my inspiration for the build anyway - I rarely get good ADC players on my team, which I have to "support". So, using this build, I can truly "support" my team by kind of being the ADC myself, as Bard Support! Bard has a lot of damage, but you should know your limits perfectly.
But, of course, after all, you ARE a Support!
Providing vision, roaming, etc. is still your job! Despite me going for this build, I would always have higher vision score than the enemy, and would almost always have more Control Wards bought as well. I am a Support, just with a bit of a twist.

I can also offer you some in-lane Qs which you can use every game(and you should!)

In-lane Q #1
In-lane Q #2
And here's both!
#1 Explained:
This is the bread and butter of Bard's in-lane poke. Aim your Q for the enemy caster minions, behind them would usually be the enemy champions, which allow you for a free stun/poke.
#2 Explained:
Now this one, although it may look relatively easy, it really isn't. You should know that the enemy wave is coming, and you should position yourself perfectly so that you can stun an unsuspecting enemy champion after your Q goes through the first enemy melee minion. Extremely hard, needs lots of practice.
In the third clip you can see both of these done consecutively.
NOTE:
Don't just poke if you can stun the enemy.It is true that a stun makes it all just much more convenient, but it's not necessary. If the situation allows, just go for that Q straight to their face.

Soon
You can always ask me anything anyways, I'll be more than happy to assist you, it would help the guide as well, if it's any key thing I'd forgotten to include in here.

soon tm