by p11

[2.1a] Kai'sa Guide - VOID SEEKING CHALLENGER WITH KAI'SA

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OUTDATED GUIDE - YOU WILL NOT RECIEVE Q LEVEL UP WITH BF COMBO - THE REST IS STILL RELEVANT THOUGH
Patch 2.1a
April 13, 2021 02:32
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VOID SEEKING CHALLENGER WITH KAI'SA

Inside look from high ELO Kai'sa players, overview of how they play and how they build

Kai'sa Build

Best Build Guide for Kai'sa

Basic Build
Blade of the Ruined King
Infinity Edge
Runaan's Hurricane
Quicksilver Enchant
Guardian Angel
Mortal Reminder

Item Build Description

Additional information on the items


𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 


Blade of the Ruined KingBlade 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 GreavesGluttonous Greaves is always purchased second for its insane value (especially to Kaisa) and for the movement speed.
B.F. SwordB.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 EdgeInfinity Edge
Runaan's HurricaneRunaan'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 EdgeInfinity Edge is finished off the back of our B.F. SwordB.F. Sword purchase to further increase our DPS during team fights and allow us to shred any squishy targets.
Quicksilver EnchantQuicksilver 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 AngelGuardian 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 ReminderMortal 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 EnchantQuicksilver Enchant or Guardian AngelGuardian Angel , if the game does last this long you should buy Executioner's CallingExecutioner's Calling first. The only scenario where you don't is when you notice you need the Armor Penetration from Last WhisperLast Whisper .

Kai'sa Runes

Best Runes for Kai'sa

Keystone
Conqueror
Conqueror
Domination
Brutal
Brutal
Resolve
Hunter Titan
Hunter Titan
Inspiration
Hunter Genius
Hunter Genius
Conqueror is your go to rune for Kai'sa, it has the best synergy between any of the runes for Kai'sa, it provides more damage as you start entering mid-game team fights.

The other runes I will explain below this section.
Keystone
Conqueror
Conqueror
Domination
Triumph
Triumph
Resolve
Hunter Titan
Hunter Titan
Inspiration
Mastermind
Mastermind
This is my personally preferred rune page, I will go into larger detail explaining the rune choices available below.

Skill Order

How to distribute skill points

Second Skin
Second Skin - Passive
Icathian Rain
Icathian Rain
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Void Seeker
Void Seeker
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Supercharge
Supercharge
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Summoner Spells

When to take which summoners

Flash
lol
Heal
You'll take this 99% of the time, works out to be ~60hp less than barrier at level 8 or 9 but its health you keep not just a temporary shield so its a lot more valuable, plus the move speed is nice.
Barrier
Take if your support is taking heal.
Exhaust
Take if you're versus an assassin and your supp has heal, although if that is the case ask your support to take exhaust.

Kai'sa Matchups & Counters

Detailed information on how to play matchups and counters

Alistar
Easy
Alistar
Janna
Easy
Janna
Jhin
Easy
Jhin
Jinx
Easy
Jinx
Lux
Easy
Lux
Vayne
Easy
Vayne
Annie
Medium
Annie
Blitzcrank
Medium
Blitzcrank
Malphite
Medium
Malphite
Soraka
Medium
Soraka
Braum
Hard
Braum
Miss Fortune
Hard
Miss Fortune
Nami
Hard
Nami
Seraphine
Hard
Seraphine
Sona
Hard
Sona
Varus
Hard
Varus
Ashe
Skill
Ashe
Ezreal
Skill
Ezreal

You are quite slippery post level 5 for Alistar, in my experience if he combos you ( HeadbuttHeadbutt + PulverizePulverize ) you can normally [Kaisa:3] or [Kaisa:Ult] out of range for his TrampleTrample .

Your [Kaisa:Passive] also directly counters Alistar.

Kai'sa

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.

Kai'sa

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.

Kai'sa

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 GrabRocket Grab or Piercing ArrowPiercing 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 KingBlade of the Ruined King , B.F. SwordB.F. Sword & Runaan's HurricaneRunaan'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


Kai'sa

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 ShiftArcane Shift , Shuriken FlipShuriken 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 FlourishDeadly Flourish , ApprehendApprehend , Decisive StrikeDecisive Strike , Unstoppable ForceUnstoppable Force .
  • AD Carry: An enemy that builds Attack Damage.
  • AP Carry: An enemy that builds Ability Power.
  • Combo: Your champions expected combo. HeadbuttHeadbutt > PulverizePulverize Silver BoltsSilver Bolts > (AA) > TumbleTumble > (AA).
  • Cancel: To cancel a champions ability means to stop it as it is channeling. For example Bullet TimeBullet Time and Curtain CallCurtain Call is a channeled ability and can be stopped by using CC during her cast, or by using CC during HeadbuttHeadbutt will stop him from travelling the full distance. Keep in mind not all channels can be cancelled, for example  Arcane ShiftArcane 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.


Kai'sa

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


Comments
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taki021
3 years ago
Any Update on this Guide?
DrCreecher
3 years ago
Fantastic! One of the best guides I've seen here so far. Keep up the good work. I tried buying BF Sword after BoRK, and it doesn't give enough AD to level up Q. Should I buy Recurve then IE instead?
DarkaneYasuo
3 years ago
https://omlet.gg/profile/darkayne
Omletskye
3 years ago
The best guide ive ever seen tysm