Rumble Guide <Bumbling Mech Pilot or Sparkster?>
By Randlarr


Rumble is a tanky, med-heavy damage AP pusher, and teamfight support. I have been maining him since his release and enjoy him more at laning than my previous tanky AP laner, Nunu. His ability to spam attacks and gather great burst of damage using his heat guage makes him an excelent pusher as well as making zoning enemies a breeze. I will touch base on all of Rumble's main features and my physical builds.


Masteries:

I tend to run 9/0/21 on Rumble. Spell penetration is important as most of his abilites don't do bulk damage at once, they spread it out over time in fairly nice chunks. On the Utility side it is important to max the extra speed and grab the ghost (You will be able to get pretty much every other support ability that is not linked to mana or a summoner skill on the tree). As Rumble tends to need health regen and a little bit more MR rather than getting Defence masteries I pick up a Force of Nature mid-late game if I need one. (The speed boost spells doom for any runners.)


Runes:

I run...
Magic Penetration reds (Insight)
Armor Yellows (Resilience)
Magic Resist Blues (Warding)
Speed quints (Swiftness)

The Magic pen is a must for his damage output and the yellows and blues help with his overall laning phase by allowing him to be able to mitigate more damage. Swiftness is great for those times when you want to get away, harass safely, or chase down a runner from a team fight. You could also run with Health quints if you feel like it. As long as you are careful health is never a bad choice for early game.


Items:

Rylia's Crystal Scepter
Mercury's Treads
Force of Nature
Rabbadan's Deathcap

I start out rushing towards Rylia's Crystal Scepter (getting the normal boots nearly halfway through the build) and then finish up Mercury's Treads afterwards. Depending on how the game is looking I will either build Force of Nature or Rabbadan's Deathcap. If the game does not require super heavy damage I tend to build a Force of Nature and a Sunfire Cloak to boost my health and survivability, as Rumble can dish out pretty nice damage with only a Crystal Scepter since his abilities are so spamable. If the game goes super long getting either a Banshie's Viel, Guardian Angel, or an Abyssal Staff might prove useful


Summoner Spells:

I use Teleport and Ghost.

Teleport is great for laners as you can save and free farm any unattended lane anytime you have the chance. It is also good for getting into far away team fights. Ghost makes Rumble a speedy fellow. Combined with the speed from Scrap Shield and Force of Nature (as well as the runes and masteries) you will be able to catch-up and escape all but the fastest of champions.

Flash would also be a fair choice if you would rather.


Abilities:

Always start out with Flamespitter. It deals a lot of damage at level one and can very easily get you a safe first blood.
Maxing Flamespitter and Scrap Shield are the most important. (other than The Equalizer whenever you can put points into it)

Be sure to overheat for the extra oomph your passive gives to crush towers when able. It's a very nice boost of damage and can make towers into rubble if used safely. If too careless you may be unable to escape incoming enemies and very possibly die. Staying in the Danger Zone as much as humanly possible is a great way to bust out some damage during any phase of the game, but remember that you are silenced while you cool down from overheating. Overheating at a crucial moment in any battle can cause you to lose a kill or die.


Early Laning:

Gauge your enemies.
If they are on the defensive/passive side use your flamespitter/scrap shield combo to use. It's a wonderful
feeling to be able to rush into enemies who are trying to lane, pushing them back and taking next to no damage. You can often times hurt them badly and zone them temporarily if your positioning is right. If you get caught in a tough spot never be shy about scrap shielding and running back a bit. The shield is great but it won't save you from getting stomped on. Blind fire Electro Harpoons into bushes from a safe location; It's a great way to find enemies safely and prepare an escape or a gank as it slows them down. (And since it fires twice you can check two positions.)

If they are offensive you always have the ability to get some minion kills and if not solo will be able to most likely out offence them. If you are solo just take it safe and get minions when you can. Going against two ranged or a ranged and a hard stun could prove difficult.


Mid-Late Game:

Team fights are another strong point for our "fox-kitty" friend. You can use The Equalizer as an initiation or as a damage wall during the fight as it is completely tailored to whatever direction you deem it's use. Using it to lead an injured enemy is often a great idea. If you don't manage to kill it the damage and slow will be sure someone else will. Due to the nature of Flamespitter and The Equalizer you can't always be sure you are going to get a killing blow, but you will always be there to get the assist with the speed from your Scrap Shield and assortment of runes,items, masteries. Electro Harpoon is great for slowing down any focused enemy and equally as great for escapes. Rumble can be a pain for enemies who chase you under a tower as your Scrap Shield is fairly quick on cool down and you will be extremely fast compared to many other champions. You are not a tank and should never bust in a team fight first unless there is a number difference in your advantage as after your Scrap Shield is down you are very vunerable to being focused.