Hello there, I am liammon from Sweden and I've hit a peak of 845 LP Grandmaster in EUW

I'm currently streaming my journey with Kai'sa on Twitch where I have hit on two accounts 400+ LP playing Kai'sa with a 60+ Winrate (might vary when you see this) so I decided to make a guide to help fellow Kai'sa players out and hopefully, I might be some help to you!



I've recently found my interest in Kai'sa after playing a lot of Samira, and going from Samira to Kai'sa has been a very fun experience since you can do a lot of plays and outplays with her. She has a very fun kit, and a lot of fun build variations and skill matchups. She also requires a lot of skill, and game knowledge and carries a heavy carry potential.

Pros:
- Great carry potential, can dive the backline with your ultimate in fights.
- Has stealth and is very mobile.
- Build variations (can go AD / AP)
- Great scaling
- Can poke and play slow with your W
- Great followups with your Ultimate.
Cons:
- Weak Early Game
- Requires good game knowledge
- Difficult to learn and master
- Low attack range

Early game:
Early game with kai'sa can be difficult since most ADCs outrange and outpoke you. It's okay to drop some CS early if you're playing against heavy poke or high attack range. Try not to lose too much HP, and aim to play lv 2 or 3. Kai'sa has a very good burst and usually wins longer fights if played correctly. Try to aim for autos and combine with Q to trade with enemy ADC/Supp. Also try to aim to get isolation Qs if possible for maximum damage. It's also important to acknowledge that your W is very high cooldown and should not be wasted too much. If you know that you're not going to be engaging with your suppors then it's okay to throw your W to do early trades or to secure cannons for an example. Just make sure to always try to have your W up for engages.

Mid game:
During mid game ADCs usually take over mid lane (depending on elos), always try to take wave first before you move for a fight unless it already breaks out. You don't want to be missing out on gold and XP for a fight that might end bad. Always try to make sure that you push out mid before objectives or moving to side lanes.
You can try to W enemy adc and use your ultimate to get closer and aim for a easy kill in the mid game (Try to make sure that you ult so your Q is isolated).
Look to poke with your W and trade with your Evolved Q. Make sure to always try to be ready for skirmishes in the jungle so you don't miss out on engages or potential kills.

Teamfights:
Kai'sa can be hard to master in teamfights, you need a lot of confidence since you're low attack range and you also require a lot of game knowledge. Before a teamfight begins, try to keep in mind what can kill you and what you need to do to avoid it. For an example, do I need to flash a hook or can I use my ultimate to reposition myself? Do I need to wait out a certain enemy ability, or do I wait for my team to do the engaging first? It's important to plan ahead, and you need to be focused and use your Ultimate wisely, look for good angles to dive backline or followups by your team.

Try to get Isolation Qs in fights to burst a target down faster, and make sure to use your E before a fight starts for maximum attack speed (increasing your DPS) unless you really need your Stealth E to kite/avoid something.
Use your W to poke before a teamfight begins.

Since of Kai'sa being very low range, she can be hard to play in the early game versus high range or poke. It's important to realize if lv 1 is going to be hard, you can try to walk up and and hit minions and combine it with your Q to secure push. It's always good to get prio early as Kai'sa as you won't be losing CS as easily since you're not getting pushed and poked. If they let you push as a high range / poke team, then it's most of the time very good. Just make sure to not overextend for enemy jungle gank timers.

But it's important that you do not lose too much HP since it's pushing towards them and crashing might be hard. If you cannot get a push or secure lv 2, then just wait for the wave to come to you, and it's okay to sometimes lose some minions to preserve your HP.

If support is about to hook, try to E before it hits so you don't waste DPS since you're going to be in running animation.

Try to always Q before you E so you don't lose out on DPS in duels or skirmishes.

You can W when using your Ultimate to get closer to a target, this is good so you don't lose out DPS when you arrive to your target.

Your W also gives true vision, you can use this versus Akali for an example to expose her when she uses her W (the shroud) or Teemo going invisible, or Vayne using her Ultimate to go stealth with her Q.

Try to aim for Isolation Qs when fighting a target, this is to maximum your damage.

You can W + flash like this video showcases:
Play Video
UPGRADES:
You can get Q upgrade by buying Kraken Slayer and Pickaxe (one level earlier, if you buy Cull early)

You can get W upgrade by buying the two AP components for Nashors.

Kai'sa has a lot of different builds, and it's very hard to fit it all in the build section. But the main build that you usually go for is Kraken Slayer - Rageblade - Nashor. But if you're going against a team with a lot of armor and HP, Terminus might be better as a 3rd item instead of nashors. 4th item usually depends on what you need. I sometimes go for Zhonyas if I really need to stay safe, or nashors if I don't need the early Zhonyas.

5th you can go for Rabadons or any other AP item that you might need but preferably Rabadons to increase your DMG.

There's also a build that I sometimes go for if enemy team is squishy and I have a nautilus / blitzcrank that I find very good which is Kraken - Rageblade - Nashor - Shadowflame. Shadowflame is very nice since most of your DMG is AP, and you can easy one shot targets with help of your engage support.

Since this is my first ever guide, there might be typos or missing sections. If there's any sections or things to improve that I've missed that you'd like me to cover then let me know.

I am trying to stream as much as possible on Twitch, you can find me by my username: liammon. Don't be scared to ask questions or for tips. I'm always happy to help.