Kassadin, the first Champion of the Week, has finished his ten game journey through the League of Legends. Let's take a look at his weapons of choice, and his tactics of battle.
First Impressions
When entering the League of Legends, with Kassadin, I chose Ability Power items and an ultra aggressive play-style. As you can see by the records, this didn't pan out so well. A change of equipment or tactics was in order. So with that, a little more patience and the biding of time were welcomed. After ten rounds (normal solo queue), Kassadin finished with 6 wins and 4 losses.
Record
Build/Playstyle
Kassadin's mana intensive abilities led to the Tear of the Goddess becoming one of his core items. It could eventually be built into an Archangel's Staff if the match lasted long enough. Mejai's Soulstealer proved to be an excellent choice for Kassadin as well. His abilities made him rather deadly which earned him more stacks, and his evasiveness allowed him to easily cheat death and keep those stacks. Another benefit of this mobility was the lack of need for defensive boots. Sorcerer's boots it is. After your core items, go ahead and start picking up Elixirs of Brilliance, and a defensive item to help preserve your growing stacks.
The range, silence, and deadliness of Null Sphere make it a powerful harassment spell. It's also good for last-hitting minions from a safe distance. It would be wise to put a few points into this spell early-game.
Early game harassing at the enemy's turret.
Oh so tempting!
The second spell you should focus on when playing Kassadin is his Force Pulse. An AOE/Slow/Nuke is just what you need when chasing or escaping an enemy champion. This, coupled with Riftwalk, equals one more kill for you, or one less death.
Nether blade was usually ignored until later on in games, but it does have its uses early-game. One point in this spell at level 4 helps with any mana problems you may incur, and it's one more spell to fuel the Force Pulse requirement. Putting it off until the end game is advised unless you are going for some crazy AD/AS build. Silly you.
Kassadin shouldn't get into the thick of things when team-fights break out. Instead, remain in the back and offer some support in the form of high-damage silences and slows. When the big fight is over, then you can proceed to chase the wounded stragglers into the jungle, and show them how futile it is to run from a Riftwalker.
Final Thoughts
Kassadin is a very fun champion to play if you enjoy the thrill of the chase. He specializes in ganks, escapes, and harassment; similar to Nidalee. This is only one of many viable ways to build this champ. Feel free to experiment. I'm very interested in seeing what everyone has come up with for the first Champion of the Week.
CotW #2
Now, it's time to get the next Champion vote underway. Who will follow in Kassadin's footsteps (does Kassadin even have feet?) as the second Champion of the Week. Let's look at our choices...
