Hello there its Nubey Tooby here. I am a Plat player( I know wut a noob). First I would like to say that yes I am a noob and that is the exact reason why I am making this guide. I feel like these high Elo players cannot really connect to us lower tier players. With this guide I hope to help lower elo player with my own personal experiences. So basically what I am trying to say is NO HIGH ELO ALOWED!!! Haha just kidding!

Firstly I am not claiming this is the best guide out there or if its even good.
Secondly I ask of you to comment to say if my guide is good or bad, this will help me with this guide and possible future guides.

Thirdly This is the very first guide I am making so its going to be rough.

I made this guide when I was in silver. I am now Plat 2. I would probably be higher if I wasnt going to school full time.

Please check out my stream, where I mostly play Xerath! https://www.twitch.tv/nubeytooby

Pros

Has great range and can poke most champs out of lane.
Passive that gives a butt load of mana.
Is strong at all times of the game even when you are behind due to his kit.
His skins are cool except for that battle cast one... like what the hell Riot.
Fun as heck to play.


Cons

Low mobility so easy to get ganked by enemy jungler.
All abilities are skill shots.
His ultimate is like crazy hard to land without practice.
High skill cap(IMO this makes him fun).
Has that stupid battle cast skin.

Flash is one you can bet on taking in 100% of your games. I'll say this straight out: this single ability can save your life in so many situations it's not worth taking anything else in its place. This is the only way to give Xerath that extra bit of mobility he so desperately needs. Always take this.

Heal actually suits Xerath's kit nicely. Since Xerath is very, very squishy this can be a massive life saver in many situations, especially those nasty early game ganks.

Exhaust Probably the best summoner to use currently in season 7. Helps against you bad match ups and helps team out in late game fights.

These are super standard runes. I like the 4 health runes to help fight against some of the true damage champs and it helps fight against some early burst.

As this is not a super in depth guide this item chapter may seem a bit lack luster for some people.

Items:

Sorcerer's Shoes These are a must on pretty much all AP mid laners. The magic penetration is just too much to pass on these. A standard.

Rod of Ages What a weird item on Xerath right? Well I have been playing with it on Xerath and my winrate sky rocketed. It offers that little bit of health as a cushion if you were to get caught out. Not only that it got buffed a while back so more ability power. Also it gives you more mana. I love ROA on most of my mid ap laners as it is a great end game item.

Rabadon's Deathcap Is it really necessary to explain this item??? Its amazing on Xerath, It gives a huge Power spike as soon as you get. This is a must have item.

Void Staff I honestly think this item is a bit underpriced. The passive with the high AP damage it comes with is just great. This helps Xerath be relevant in the late game. I usually get this as my third item just because it blast through the enemy's team defenses.

Liandry's Torment So many times my enemies get away with that 5-14 life after I poke them down. This is a great item with AP damage, Health, Magic Pen, and a great passive that burns enemies. I usually get this in my final build.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter A great item when you are behind and I usually get this over the Zhonya's Hourglass due to just not liking Zhyona's. Anyways, this gives Health, AP damage, and another great passive that slows enemies.

Zhonya's Hourglass Ok... This item is not bad I just do not like it that much for the reason that people in low ELO do not know how to use it or when to. Yes it has a great passive and amazing stats but IMO you should not be needing it if you stay back be hind the enemy's lines like you should be. I do get this when I am facing a heavy ad team or when I get focused hard. I am not at all trying to say its a bad item so by all means use it if you would like.

Morellonomicon When facing a enemy mid lane who is ad I get this instead of Athene's Unholy Grail because it has the great mana regen, cool down reduction, AP damage, and an amazing passive against people who have life steal.

Luden's Tempest This item is broken on any mid- laner currently and should always be bought. The wave clear amazing. Not only is the wave clear amazing, but it also gives you some extra movement speed which is insane helpful on a immobile champion like Xerath.

Farming is the most important thing to do other than warding. Its easy to farm with Xerath due to him have two great AOE wave clear spells. As Xerath you want to poke the enemy laner out of lane but still have great farm. This is not a hard thing to do. Just be aware of the creep build up, if you have more than 5 minions infront of you, focus on farming, if lower then 5 then poke. Use your common sense. I am also not telling you to ignore those less then 5 creeps so don't do that.

15 minons is equal to one kill if I did not mess up my math.
SOOOOO
FARM>KILLS

Warding is so very important to ensure a victory or to comeback from a loss. Without wards, I guarantee a loss due to the lack of vision. You need to keep up on your wards and you need to ensure that your teammates help you so pester them about wards.

Well I had a picture but I don't know how to post it LOL... Very sorry for the inconvenience. You want to ward around your lane and help ward around objectives. This gives you maximum vision and will make winning the game much more easier. I usually buy a pink ward if I can on my first back because in our ELO it can possibly last all game, I know its sad but exploit it!

That's right team fights.

What does this mean???
This means that your team groups up to obtain objectives like Baron, Dragon, or towers.
What is your role???
Your role is to poke down their team from afar so that before you actually start the team fight their team is at a disadvantage.
Placement???
You should stay in the back and just focus who ever your teams decide to attack.
How to disengage??
Disengaging is not hard with Xerath, you have a slow and a stun. So use when needed.

Thank you for checking out my guide and bearing with my noobiness hence the name. Like previously stated this is my first guide so please give me feedback. Also sorry for not going super in depth on some of these things but this is just a quick guide to help out some players. Anyways have fun with Xerath and I hope this guide helps you in some way.

Guide start date 7-19-2014