[2.1a] Kai'sa Guide - VOID SEEKING CHALLENGER WITH KAI'SA
VOID SEEKING CHALLENGER WITH KAI'SA
Kai'sa Build
Best Build Guide for Kai'sa
Item Build Description
Additional information on the items
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝
Blade of the Ruined King
as our first item provides us with critical sustain and attack speed to start fighting with the team around objectives. With just the one item you do not want to go trying to 1v1 anyone as most other ADCs or mid laners have stronger item spikes, and our spikes come with our upgraded abilities.
Gluttonous Greaves
is always purchased second for its insane value (especially to Kaisa) and for the movement speed.
B.F. Sword
purchasing the BF Sword here gives us enough AD for our [Kaisa:1] upgrade and will be used for the future purchase of
Infinity Edge
Runaan's Hurricane
gives us enough Attack Speed to upgrade [Kaisa:3] and provides a huge power spike to our team fighting during the mid-game, letting us apply [Kaisa:Passive] to up to 3 enemies at once.
Infinity Edge
is finished off the back of our
B.F. Sword
purchase to further increase our DPS during team fights and allow us to shred any squishy targets.
Quicksilver Enchant
or [Stasis Enchant] will be our upgraded boots. If you're never sure which enchant to purchase use the quick and easy to follow flowchart i've provided at the end of the guide.
Guardian Angel
our last defensive item is GA for it's ability to give us another life if we get caught or make a major mistake that would lead to our death, the armor is also quite helpful when getting attacked by enemy AD champions.
Mortal Reminder
is our last item for the build, you normally wont really reach this item since most games will finish by the time you're buying
Quicksilver Enchant
or
Guardian Angel
, if the game does last this long you should buy
Executioner's Calling
first. The only scenario where you don't is when you notice you need the Armor Penetration from
Last Whisper
.
Kai'sa Runes
Best Runes for Kai'sa
The other runes I will explain below this section.
Skill Order
How to distribute skill points
Summoner Spells
When to take which summoners
Kai'sa Matchups & Counters
Detailed information on how to play matchups and counters
VERIFICATION OF THE BUILD
In case you've come into this guide thinking "this guy is just talking random crap, why would you want BF Sword instead of a full item with actual stats, or something similar"
Here are 4 of the top 10 Kai'sa players on the SEA server running similar variations of the build. I believe the 2 Kai'sa players with barrier duo with someone that runs heal, but this is just a speculation.
RUNE CHOICES
As the photos show, the Rune choices are different to the ones I have provided. Conqueror is the only common Rune Choice. You are free to decide what you think is better but I shall show the math behind the rune choices:
Red Rune Line: Vampiric Hunter vs Brutal vs Gathering Storm vs Triumph.
VH: Never really value compared to any of the others (on Kaisa)
Brutal: The only acceptable rune choice here IMO, other than Triumph in some scenarios.
GS: Too slow for Kaisa, acts more of a win more rune instead of a help bridge early to mid to late rune
Triumph: IMO Best rune, helps finish off opponents and keeps you healthy as each opponent drops.
Green Rune Line: Spirit Walker vs Hunter- Titan
I actually did the comparison and posted it on reddit a few days ago, here it is:
if you cannot view the image here is a direct link: Click Me
From this math I personally value Hunter - Titan more.
Blue Rune Line: Honeyfruit vs Mastermind vs Pack Hunter
I have posted the math below, I personally think Mastermind is the best rune choice here for all of its stats + gold. I saw some website claim Kai'sa takes the honeyfruit rune for more gold. Which just shows me they did not do their research.
As the math shows Mastermind gets you the same amount of gold and much better other bonuses for things that will naturally happen, for Honeyfruit you need to collect them off cooldown to not even come close in value, and for Pack Hunter it can be valuable in a pre-made but I still think Monument is better on you and Pack Hunter is better on the support.
In the pictures above from the Challenger players you will see that there is Hunter - Genius taken by Kaisa's. At max stacks it gives you 1.04 Seconds reduced CD from a 12 second ability ([Kaisa:3]). This to me is not really worth it when you could get a whole level and item component from Mastermind.
HOW TO PLAY & ITEM SPIKE
Kaisa is a very versatile champion. Although I cannot give you an exact do X when Y happens I can help you utilize your abilities.
[Kaisa:1] is very good at finishing off enemies, you will usually use this at the end of a trade since you will have higher conqueror stacks meaning slightly more damage from the ability.
[Kaisa:2] is not used for poke. You use it for 2 stacks of [Kaisa:Passive] to proc the bonus damage. You also have the ability to snipe someone with it and use a long range [Kaisa:Ult] to try and make an X Factor play.
[Kaisa:3] is really good for catching up or quickly repositioning (with upgraded version). If you see a skill shot incoming like
Rocket Grab
or
Piercing Arrow
don't be scared to pop it and sidestep mid fight
[Kaisa:Ult] is insanely powerful at surprising and changing a fight on its head. You also can use it to engage, kite, reposition or fly over a wall to safety. Just remember it is coded as a dash which means you can be CC'd during it.
Your first item spike is when you have completed
Blade of the Ruined King
,
B.F. Sword
&
Runaan's Hurricane
. Your DPS numbers vs a target dummy look like this:
2064DMG - 5 autos - 4s
1366DMG - 3 autos & 1 w - 2s
1889DMG - 3 autos & 1 w & 1 q 3s
KEY TERMS
As with any guide, if you have any questions or would like to discuss some things you can reach out to me on Discord: Paz#0737 or on my discord here: https://discord.gg/xp99TDD75j
- Rush: Build / do ASAP, no matter the circumstances.
- Skirmish: Smaller fight, think of it as a team fight but no one commits all resources to it.
- Pressure: To create pressure is to do something that forces your opponents to react.
- HPT: High Priority Target, usually the opponents carry.
- Immobile: A character with no gap-closers.
- Gap-closers: Abilities like Arcane Shift , Shuriken Flip , [Kaisa:ult]. Abilties that can close the gap by dashing / increasing movement speed.
- Engage: The act of starting a fight, usually with an ability that provides CC.
- CC: Crowd Control, Abilities that displace an enemy or stop them using abilities. Deadly Flourish , Apprehend , Decisive Strike , Unstoppable Force .
- AD Carry: An enemy that builds Attack Damage.
- AP Carry: An enemy that builds Ability Power.
- Combo: Your champions expected combo. Headbutt > Pulverize / Silver Bolts > (AA) > Tumble > (AA).
- Cancel: To cancel a champions ability means to stop it as it is channeling. For example Bullet Time and Curtain Call is a channeled ability and can be stopped by using CC during her cast, or by using CC during Headbutt will stop him from travelling the full distance. Keep in mind not all channels can be cancelled, for example Arcane Shift .
- Effective Health: Effective health is the durability of a champion, taking into account their health as well as their armor, magic resist, any regeneration they could have as well as any shields.
- X-Factor Play: A play that turns a losing fight into a winning fight.
CHOOSING YOUR ENCHANT
As mentioned in the build section. Choosing your Enchantment for Kai'sa is easy but not as simple as you would expect. Refer to the "flowchart" below for an easy to follow guide.
Here is a direct link if the photo below does not work: https://imgur.com/zQql9RV