Hello and welcome to my first Mobafire Guide. I'm TheAngrySushi, a Platinum ranked player on the EUNE server. Since my favourite lane is mid, and Veigar is one of my mains, I decided to write this guide. In this guide I hope to show you all that I know about Veigar, and help you better understand his strengths and weaknesses.

Veigar is a lategame focused burst/nuker.
He is one of the four champions that get stronger not only with items and levels, but also with farm (The others being Thresh, Nasus, and Sion).

In Veigar's case, it's his Q, Baleful Strike, and his passive, Phenomenal Evil Power. Every time we kill something with our Baleful Strike we get 1 (2 VS larger creatures) AP, and every time we hit an enemy champion with any of our abilities, we also gain 1 AP. Additionally we also get 3 AP for every takedown (kill or assist) we score. These abilities put Veigar in a great position as it means that he can build tankier than other midlaners and still have the same AP as them. Veigar is extremely weak early game but he more than makes up for it midgame/lategame with his amazing burst. I feel like Veigar, if built tankily, fits into most team compositions because he deals great damage, has an amazing stun, Event Horizon which can stun an entire team if placed right, and he is also a lot less squishy than you'd expect. These are also some of the reasons why he is my favourite champ.

As most of you know, the meta right now (if you see a Veigar at all) is that he is squishy. But i feel that tank Veigar is stronger because of several reasons. This list wont help you with your gameplay much but it might be fun to know why I build Veigar more like an AP tank.

+Great AOE stun +Possibly the best nuker in the game +Free AP with farm +Easy farming with Baleful Strike +Several amazing skins +Amazing voice +Keeps getting stronger and stronger even with full build

-Needs items to be tanky -One of the weakest earlygames -Needs farm to be viable lategame -Very low mobility -Countered by enemies who poke early

Ferocity Tree:

Sorcery 2% increased ability damage. What mage wouldn't take this?

Double Edged Sword More damage for our burst. The 1.5% increased damage taken is unfortunate, but it's still better than the alternatives.

Natural Talent Another clear choice. More ability power for easier stacking and stronger burst.

Oppressor or Bounty Hunter . A difficult choice. Oppressor only gives more damage while the enemy is stunned, while Bounty Hunter gives a permanent increase in damage, but only after you have killed an enemy champion (1% damage increase per unique enemy champion you have killed up to 5%). I usually go for Oppressor , but Bounty Hunter is a viable choice as well.

Piercing Thoughts More magic pen = more damage. Yet another clear choice.

Deathfire Touch gives our abilities some extra oomph when we poke with them. 25% of our AP means around 200-300 damage in the lategame. That is a lot of damage from just one Mastery.


Resolve Tree:

Unyielding gives us some extra value from our defensive items. That's always appreciated.

Tough Skin gives some extra resistance to poke the first few levels, where we need it the most.

Veteran's Scars gives us some much needed hp. Veigar has a rather low base hp so every little helps

Perseverance Health regen helps in lane. This mastery is extra helpful should you decide to pick up
Spirit Visage instead of Banshee's Veil.


Choosing to spend 12 points in the Resolve Tree instead of the Cunning Tree means that you get more health and survivability, but also that you get less mana reg. It's not that much of a difference, but it's something to keep in mind.

Here are the runes that I use most of the time.

This gives a strong lategame and that's where we want to be strongest so i feel that these runes give the best mix of offense and defense.



Marks:

Recommended:Greater Marks of Magic Penetration: Magic pen reds are the best for most AP characters. They help getting through all that MR that our enemies are going to buy against us and they help us do more damage. They are almost always the best alternative on Veigar.

Alternative: Greater Mark of Armor: If you don't have Magic Pen reds then these are the second best alternative. They only lose 0.09 armor per rune compared to than Greater Seal of Armor so they are viable, but Magic Pen Marks are almost always better.

Seals:

Recommended: Greater Seal of Scaling Armor: These are the seals that I usually use. They don't help much the first few lvls (until lvl 6 where they are as strong as flat armor), but they will get 3x as strong as flat armor seals at lvl 18. That's a lot of free armor.

Alternative: Greater Seal of Armor: If you feel like you need more armor pre lvl 6 then go with flat armor seals.

Alternative: Greater Seal of Mana Regeneration: These Seals wont give you any defense but they will give you more mana to farm with Baleful Strike. If you choose to use these, be very careful in lane since you will be very susceptible to physical attacks.

Glyphs:

Recommended: Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: These are probably my favourite runes overall. These glyphs give you a whopping 3 Magic Resist at level 18 per rune, and whith the cost of Magic Resist being pretty high these are very cost efficient. I take magic resist over AP because in midlane we are most likely facing an AP Mage (Such as LeBlanc or Kassadin) and we want to survive his/her burst. I think scaling is better than flat because at level 9 they give more stats and we are not going to fight a lot before level 9 anyways.

Alternative: Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: If you are versus an extremely high burst mage or you just generally have a hard time earlygame vs mages, then you could use these ones instead, but it will hurt our lategame since we are not building a lot of MR.

Quinessences:

Recommended: Greater Quintessence of Ability Power: Flat AP Quints are pretty much THE Quint for ap champs. 15 more AP at level 1 is pretty significant and it's not comppletely useless lategame either.

Alternative: Greater Quintessence of Magic Resist: These might be a good choice when against strong AP lane bullies such as LeBlanc or Azir. You will have a harder time last-hitting, but if it means you can stay in lane longer, then it might be worth it.

Midlane

On midlane you will pretty much always go with Flash and Heal. They can both be used both offensively and defensively, and they are almost always the best alternative.

Flash
Flash is a very important spell for most champs no matter what lane they are on. There are very few champs who play without it, and Veigar is not one of those champs. It helps you reposition and can be used both offensively (for examples to land a stun on someone far away so you can nuke them) or defensively (For examples to dodge stuns and snares so you dont get nuked).

Heal
Heal is ideal on midlane Veigar as it gives some much needed safety to your lane phase. But, while it is mostly used as a defensive spell, it can be used offensively because of the movespeed buff it gives.


Ignite
Ignite deals True Damage and helps you kill the ones that get away from your burst. It also cuts Health Regeneration in half (useful VS Sion and Dr. Mundo for examples). While I don't rank Ignite as the best alternative (mostly because I don't think the extra damage is worth as much as the extra safety that Heal provides), it is definitely a viable choice.



When playing toplane I usually take Teleport and Flash.

Teleport
The way to toplane is longer than the way to midlane so if you die it's nice to be able to just teleport back and not miss as many minions. It is also a good way to gank from anywhere, just make sure there is a ward on a lane and you can gank them really easily with a high chance of a kill.

Flash
Taking Flash on Toplane goes by the same reasoning as taking it on Midlane, so for more information, see above.


Exhaust
You are generally going to face Bruisers on Toplane and Exhaust keeps them away from you in 1V1's and early game. It's also a good way to shut down the enemy ADC lategame. It's therefore a viable alternative to either Flash or Teleport.

Phenomenal Evil Power: This is Veigar's Passive Ability. It gives us more AP from poking enemies. This combined with Veigar's Q, Baleful Strike turns us into an unstoppable AP-stacking machine. Keep in mind that this works on all of Veigar's abilities, so no matter what ability you hit an enemy with, you will gain 1 AP from it.

Baleful Strike: This is the ability that defines Veigar. At first glance it might just look like a normal poke spell, but it's so much more. It deals decent damage and hits up to 2 enemies per cast, but it also gives us 1 AP every time we last hit a minion with it. This is why we earlygame focus on last-hitting with it. While 1 AP might not seem that important, think about how we farm pretty much all game whenever we can. In the end, this ability's passive will have earned you around 125-200 AP, now that's substantial. Combine this with our passive, Phenomenal Evil Power and you can see why Veigar gets so much AP. A tip for this spell is to try to line up two low-health minions to kill them both with one cast.

Dark Matter: Exept for our ult, Dark Matter is our biggest nuke. But it is also our hardest spell to land. It deals incredible damage when it hits, but it takes over a second for it to actually land. That is more than enough time for an enemy to dodge it, and maybe surviving your combo because of that. For easy hits, make sure that the enemy is CC'd before you use it. Either by your Event Horizon or by a teammate's CC. After you have stunned someone, you should cast this spell first if possible so the enemy won't get out of the stun before it lands.

Event Horizon: This is our only form of CC (exept for fear of coming near us), and it is also amazing. This ability can turn the tide of a teamfight if used correctly and will be close to as useful as an Amumu ult sometimes. In lane or in 1V1's you usually only use this to land your Dark Matter or to escape, but in teamfights it's your job to hit as many people as possible with it (and also nuking down the most important person you stunned). This ability makes sure that you are useful to your team even if you are far behind on farm and kills because this is purely utility and it doesn't need kills or farm to be good. Two things to remember about this ability is that it takes 0.5 seconds for the wall to appear and start stunning, so make sure to account for that, and that a Champion can't be stunned twice by the same Event Horizon.

Primordial Burst: This is our Ultimate Ability. This is an incredibly unfair ability (for the enemy of course >:D ). It has a very high Base Damage, great AP Scaling and it also scales with your enemy's missing HP. This ability is what makes you able to kill pretty much any squishy champion at any part of the game. It will make your enemies flip tables. For maximal Damage use it on a damaged enemy. But just because it does more damage to damaged champs doesn't mean you should always wait with using it until the enemy is already low. In many cases you can one-shot an enemy who's at 70% hp with Primordial Burst, so you should aim for that.

You don't always have to follow my build order to the point. Sometimes it's better to assess the situation yourself and see if you need to make some adjustments, but this is generally the way you want to go.

Doran's Ring is the best start for Veigar because it gives him all the stats he needs for earlygame. It gives him AP for easier Last Hitting and Mana to keep Last Hitting. It also gives him some HP to make it harder for the enemy to push him out of lane. I usually only get one, but there are times when you need to get 2 or sometimes even 3. Just remember that while it is cost-effective, you will have to sell it for a better item later, so make sure it's worth it.

Health Potions are important because in laning phase you are very fragile and very susceptible to poke. Health Potions help you regenerate that lost Health and keep you in lane for longer, so pick up 2 of them when first going to lane, and a few more the first time you go back, since they will still be helpful then.

Rod of Ages VS Everfrost: These items are very similar, both giving HP, Mana, the Eternity passive, and AP. The difference lies in the fact that Rod of Ages gives 100 more HP, and costs 300 gold less, but it's stats take 10 minutes to reach their optimal state. Everfrost also has a slowing and damaging passive. Both items are perfectly viable, but I personally prefer Everfrost over the Rod of Ages because I think it gives more for the money.

Archangel's Staff VS Morellonomicon: Now it's time for our primary mana item. Whether you picked Rod of Ages or Everfrost you will have 400 extra mana from that item. While 400 mana is a lot, if you don't buy an additional mana item you will run out of mana sooner or later. Picking up either Morellonomicon or Archangel's Staff will make sure that your mana supply will last much longer, and you will almost never run out of mana in a teamfight. The differences between the two are that while Morellonomicon gives more mana immediately, and also gives 20% CDR and gives us Grievous Wounds to help deal with those pesky healers, Archangel's Staff gives more AP (around 150 AP at max stacks and lvl 18), more mana once stacked, and once fully stacked it also gives a nice shield. I prefer Morellonomicon out of the two, mostly for the CDR and since the extra AP won't make a huge difference when you already have around 500 AP.

Randuin's Omen/ Dead Man's Plate VS Spirit Visage/ Banshee's Veil It's time for our first major Defensive item. This is mostly based on our enemy laner. If we are up against a magic-damage dealer, then getting Banshee's Veil or Spirit Visage first is generally a good idea, while if we are against a physical-damage dealer then getting Dead Man's Plate or Randuin's Omen first is genreally recommended. Of course, there are exeptions. If your laner is the enemy team's only magic-damage dealer, and he isn't doing too well, then ignoring magic resist outright might be the best course of action. Likewise with armor. Banshee's Veil VS Spirit Visage: The differences are that Banshee's Veil gives more magic resist and a spellshield, but Spirit Visage gives more health, 10% CDR and more healing. Banshee's is better if the enemy team has a lot of magic damage, or one particular CC that you'd like to avoid. Spirit Visage is better againts less magic-damage heavy teams, and also if you have a healer on your team. Randuin's Omen VS Dead Man's Plate: The choice between these two is usually pretty simple. Randuin's Omen gives more defense and a slow, while Dead Man's Plate gives you better engage and escape.

Sorcerer's Shoes VS Mercury's Treads: Choosing boots is pretty easy. Generally you are going to want Sorcerer's Shoes, but if they have a lot of CC that might ruin your day then it may be worth getting Mercury's Treads. Also, if you are vs a laner such as LeBlanc who can burst you down with one combo, then it might also be worth getting Mercury's Treads. Remember to upgrade them before midgame because you don't have a lot of Mobility and without Boots you will have a hard time positioning yourself.

Void Staff is the best Magic Penetration item you can get. If you see more than one enemy stacking Magic Resist, or if your priority target (most likely the ADC) is buying MR, then Sorcerer's Shoes might not be enough. With Void Staff you basicly ignore 35% of the enemies Magic Resist. If you get this item I would recommend replacing your Rod of Ages/ Everfrost with it.

Abyssal Mask gives you some Magic Resist, some AP and some Flat Magic Pen. Only build this if you are VS an early AP burster (such as LeBlanc) and you fear the burst. If you want to get this, this should be your first item and you can then proceed with the normal build but not get the first major tank item. This will make you a bit tankier in lane, but a lot less tanky Lategame, so I recommend that when you are done with your build you replace your Abyssal Mask with a tankier item (Such as Banshee's Veil or Dead Man's Plate unless you want a more offensive build.

Zhonya's Hourglass is the more damage-focused option to Dead Man's Plate or Randuin's Omen. It gives you 70 AP, 45 Armor, 10% CDR, and an Active that puts you in a stasis for 2.5 seconds. This stasis renders you unable to move or cast abilities, but it also makes you invincible and untargetable for the duration. I'd recommend taking this instead of a tankier armor item only if you want a more offensive build, or if there is one ability you are particularly scared of (such as Requiem, Unleashed Power or Pyroclasm). It could also be a good idea to pick this instead of your major MR item if the entire enemy team deals physical damage.

Earlygame all that you care about is getting stacks. I cannot stress this enough. Farm your Baleful Strike as much as you can, while avoiding the enemies' poke. You don't even have to poke back really, but a basic attack once in a while will show who's the boss (just make sure the enemy isn't the boss). If you can't get a minion with your Baleful Strike then it's better to kill it with a basic than letting a minion/turret kill it.

A tip for stacking up your AP stacks quickly is to try to line up two damaged minions in a row to kill them both with one Baleful Strike, and if it isn't possible to kill two minions at once, try to kill one of them and hit the enemy laner with the second hit of the Baleful Strike, as hitting the enemy laner also grants you 1 AP.

If you are having an easy lane and you get a lot of farm, you don't want ganks from your jungler. Ganks will result in either
A. You use a lot of Mana and get a kill. This is kind of worth it but you might have to go B after because you won't have enough Mana to keep farming.
B. You use a lot of Mana and DON'T get a kill . This isn't even close to worth it. Your lane was going well and you were getting farm, but then you waste all your Mana to get your enemy out of lane, even though he didn't bother you? Not worth at all.

However, if the lane is going poorly and you are getting poked every time you last-hit, then you do want a gank from the jungler. If you have a particularly strong jungler, you can ask him to run in and just do as much damage as he can to your enemy and make him go B. Then you'll have free farm for a while.

Blue Buff is a big help for Veigar Earlygame as it gives him nearly unlimited Mana. You really should ask your Jungler for it every game, but respect him if he says no. He's not gonna give it to you just because you are acting like a douche about it, and you'll probably get the next one anyways.

If you are doing bad, Stay Calm! Veigar is amazing at coming back into games with his Baleful Strike and his Event Horizon. Just keep calm and keep on farming, and you will carry the game later. If you get killed as soon as you enter the lane, buy defense and stay by your tower. A little farm is a lot better than no farm at all. You might also ask your top- or botlane to swap lanes with you, as you might have an easier time on one of those lanes. Just make sure they agree before you run to their lane and take their farm. *Farm, Farm, Farm.
*Don't call for ganks unless you are doing poorly. You don't need kills right now anyway.
*Ask for Blue Buff, but respect your Jungler if he says no.
*Stay calm no matter what. Just keep farming.




Now you will have around 2 items and full Boots. This is the time when you should start looking to kill your enemy laner. If you have gotten a decent amount of farm and you haven't fed the enemy, CONGRATULATIONS! You have pretty much won lane. If you haven't got a lot of farm, then just keep farming. You will probably be stronger than your opponent by now as long as you got decent farm, and with your
Morellonomicon and your Everfrost you will probably be able to kill him in 1 burst. I usually poke him with 1-2 Baleful Strikes first just to be sure.

If you see any of your teams other lanes struggling, you could go gank them. With your incredible burst and CC, there's a good chance to get a kill. Otherwise just keep on farming. You should keep asking for Blue Buff since you still need more Mana Reg than you have. *Keep Farming
*Go for kills
*You still need Blue Buff




In lategame, if you have farmed your Baleful Strike you will be incredibly strong. You will have around 600-1000 AP and you will be very tanky.
Your role in Teamfights is to:

1. Assassinate the enemy ADC or AP Mage.
2. CC as many people as possible
3. Protect your own ADC
4. Deal as much damage as you can

Remember that your main role is not tank, but AP Mage. This means you should not be in the front line of the battles, but try to stay back a bit, somewhere in the middle of your team.

Before teamfights, try to catch someone out of position with your Event Horizon and hit him with a Dark Matter and a Baleful Strike. Don't use your ult unless it's an important target (such as the ADC or AP Mage).

Sometimes you won't be very strong lategame, because of varius reasons. Maybe you couldn't farm in lane, or maybe you disconnected for a few mins only to come back to a fed lane opponent who killed you. In these cases the best thing you can do in teamfights is to protect your ADC and let him do the damage.

When your team isn't teamfighting, keep on farming. You can never get too much AP and your abilities will just keep on getting stronger, but the team comes first in Lategame.

*Teamfight and get kills
*Try to catch people out of position
*Help your team take objectives
*If you are weak lategame, focus on protecting your own ADC instead
*Don't waste your ult on a Tank
*If you have nothing else to do, farm some more

Changelog!
20/8 2014: Guide released! hoping for the best
24/8 2014: Removed all the unneccecary colors that were distracting people from the message and apparently were hurting peoples eyes. I also changed all item and champion names from text and image to a direct link to the database. (From Veigar to Veigar).
27/8 2014: Realized i had to press "Publish" again to actually update the guide. Whoops!
16/6 2016: Dusted off the old guide and brought it out of the archive. It's fully updated to the new Veigar, the new items, the new everything! (I also fixed some of the old typos. How embarrassing!)
7/7 2016: Fixed a few faulty uses of apostrophes, and also edited the name of the guide to highlight the type of guide this is (From "[S6] Veigar, the immovable burster." to "[Tank Veigar] Veigar, the immovable burster.".


This was as I said, my first guide on MobaFire and i would therefore really appreciate any advice i can get and if this guide helped you in any way, an upvote would really make my day. This was really fun and I will probably make more guides in the future (hopefully better looking ones :p). There are several people i need to thank for helping me make this guide.

Extra special thanks to Foxy Riven! He did everything he could to help me improve my coding. He deserves all the praise he can possibly get.

I need to thank JhoiJhoi for her guides at making guides and her amazing Line Dividers


I also need to thank xDanielWang for his beautiful Ahri guide from which i drew much of my inspiration regarding design of the guide.




Finally, I definitely need to thank my friends GranpaDrilldo & Lithiumfluorine for helping me with ideas and improvements for this guide (and also pointing out my gr8 spelling).