Magic Items

Magic Damage Items: Combos, Combos everywhere

Magic Damage items are primarily for your AP casters, Initiatiors and AP supports. They amp up damage primarily through ability power, magic penetration, and cooldown reduction. They often come with other damaging effects and provide sustain through spell vamp, mana, and mana regen.

Abyssal Scepter
When to use it: This is one of the items designed to give Mages a little extra survivability, but the AP boost and magic reduction aura are really nice on other champs too. This is good for DPS casters who need to be in close range of enemies to deal damage like  Swain,  Soraka, and  Fiddlesticks
Who to use it with:  Fiddlesticks, it synergizes extremely well with his ult and his passive. Tanky mages like  Galio and  Singed also benefit from this item.

Archangel's Staff
When to use it:A great item for mages who started with an early  Tear of the Goddess. Useful for mages who have to spam abilities or have abilities that burn mana while they're active
Who to use it with: Karthus, Anivia, Ryze
Extra Notes: A character with 3000 mana gets 90 bonus AP, which is quite a bit. This item doesn't get picked up over  Rod of Ages much since it leaves you exceptionally squishy, build this if you're confident you won't die.


Athene's Unholy Grail
When to use it: A good item for mana intensive characters, use this if you don't want to be reliant on blue all the time. It gives you options other than a  Catalyst the Protector and  Rod of Ages if you want sustainability.
Who to use it with:  Anivia,  Maokai,  Galio,  Sona, etc.
Extra Notes: You'll likely need to choose between this item and  Rod of Ages. Keep in mind that you'll need some other form of health (e.g rylai's) if you want to avoid being burst down by pretty much anything. This item has seen some high level play on Anivia's and is a solid pick.


Deathfire Grasp
When to use it: Use this to counter HP heavy enemies like  Cho'Gath or  Dr. Mundo or on combo heavy mages as it will amp up the damage of your entire combo.
Who to use it with:Mages, not too many specific choices, but  Veigar is a notable mention since he has no AP cap and is another component for his single target nuke (pretty much another ult/q for him). Evelynn also uses this item in conjuction with her ult to chunk enemies for 50% of their health instantly.
Extra Notes: Be sure to initate with this as it will increase the damage of your following combo. It is essentially useless if you use it last. This item is also commonly seen on odd champion builds like AP  Sion


Fiendish Codex
When to use it:A pretty basic cooldown reduction item, it offers nice stats for its price and can be built into either  Nashor's Tooth, Deathfire Grasp or a  Morello's Evil Tome. A solid choice for mages and AP/AS hybrids.
Who to use it with: Brand, Kog'Maw, Teemo(AP/AS)
Extra Notes:While it's not the greatest item, it's also not a bad item and I'm personally a fan of CDR in any form, it's a great stat to have and this item gives you a little extra mana regen to counterbalance the extra skill usage. It also builds into 3 different things, so it allows you to keep your options open.


Guinsoo's Rageblade
When to use it:Great on hybrid champs and AP/AS champs, but it doesn't synergize well with too many champs, so you won't see it too often. It's great for farming and pushing towers. (especially when combined with a lich bane).
Who to use it with: Jax, Nidalee, Kog'Maw, Kennen, Kayle, Teemo
Extra Notes:This item should only be used if it synergizes extremely well with the champ you are playing, or if you need to build pure hybrid, otherwise there are better options. This item fits into either the physical damage or magic damage section.


Haunting Guise
When to use it:A solid early/mid game item for mages with single target abilities. Upgrade it to Liandry's Torment early on to really bring the pain to your lane opponent.
Who to use it with: Vladimir, Kennen,  Teemo
Extra Notes:The magic pen is the equivalent of buying sorceror shoes, so you have the option of buying this item and merc treads if you wish.


Hextech Gunblade
When to use it: Great for hybrid characters. It offers some of the best sustainability stats since it provides lifesteal as well as spell vamp. I often rush this when playing a hybrid character.
Who to use it with: Akali, Jax, Ezreal, Katarina
Extra Notes: Remember to use the active, when chasing down a foe it not only lets you burst them down quicker but slows them to ensure that your cooldowns refresh before they can get a way. Take advantage of the range as well, most of the characters that build this will have skills that have a lower range than the active, so you can initiate with it.
This is another hybrid item, so it's not restricted to this section, though physical damage dealers are more likely to build a  Blade of the Ruined King.


Hextech Revolver
When to use it:Great for any AP champ really, but even greater for those who aren't strictly mages (in other words AP characters with low cooldown abilities). It gives great sustainability and is core for many characters.
Who to use it with: Akali, Jax, Vladimir, Mordekaiser,  Ahri
Extra Notes:Usually the first component built for  Hextech Gunblade or  Will of the Ancients, it can and should be built early as well. Keep in mind that spell vamp has a diminished effect for AoE abilities, so this should not be built on AP champs with a lot of AoE unless their cooldowns are really low (e.g.  Rumble, Mordekaiser) Try not to build this on traditional burst mages with low DPS. They won't benefit much since they can't spam spells to gain health.


Kage's Lucky Pick
When to use it:GP10 item for mages for some extra early game income. If you're playing a support who is dependent on AP, you can also build it.
Who to use it with:Any mage  Veigar, Annie, Katarina, Sona,  Soraka,etc.
Extra Notes: This item has some good build paths, though I'd say it's more viable on supports than mages (unless you're playing twisted treeline since this item upgrades to  Blackfire Torch, but this isn't a guide for TT).


Liandry's Torment
When to use it: The upgrade for  Haunting Guise. This item is strong against enemies with lots of health and with pretty much any caster (though DPS casters are very strong with it and they constantly reapply the effect).
Who to use it with: Teemo,  Vladimir,  Singed,  Swain
Extra Notes: This item forms a great combination with  Rylai's Crystal Scepter as impaired enemies take double damage and since your spells now slow, your enemies will always take double damage.


Lich Bane
When to use it: Allows mages to actually make use of their auto attacks. It synergizes extremely well with champions who proc extra damage on auto attack.
Who to use it with: Akali, Lux, Evelynn, Poppy,  Twisted Fate
Extra Notes: try to pace your abilities so you can proc the effect as often as possible. This will really maximize your damage output. Lich Bane is also a great late game item since it allows the AP carry to suddenly start hitting turrets really hard (upwards of 300 damage for an autoattack)


Malady
When to use it:This item is great for AP/AS hyrbrid characters and synergizes extremely well with champions who apply bonus magic damage on auto attacks.
Who to use it with: Orianna, Teemo, Kayle,  Diana
Extra Notes: This item synergizes with on-hit builds and since the passive scales with AP, it makes AP carries damage much more consistent throughout the entire game.


Morellonomicon (Formerly known as Morello's Evil Tome)
When to use it: Useful for mages who rely on CDR, it provides the best CDR for the combination.
Who to use it with: Brand, Zilean. Not too many champs who really benefit from this item, but there aren't many champs it would be explicitly bad to build this on.
Extra Notes: This item offers the most in the AP and CDR combination and is pretty cost efficient.


Nashor's Tooth
When to use it: Used for AP/AS hybrids
Who to use it with: Kog'Maw, Teemo, Kayle,possibly  Kennen
Extra Notes: A really solid set of stats, but the lack of any real passive makes it somewhat lackluster for its price. Its counterpart is  Phantom Dancer, for comparison.


Rabadon's Deatchcap
When to use it:If you're a mage...seriously, if you're playing an AP nuke, you will be buying this item
Who to use it with: Veigar, Brand, Annie, Anivia,etc.
Extra Notes:This is the Infinity edge for mages, it's a huge boost to the raw damage that you do and it buffs every other AP item in your inventory as well.


Rod of Ages
When to use it: Useful for mages who want durability and since it builds from a catalyst, you can have a much more sustainable game.
Who to use it with:  Anivia, Singed, Galio, Cho'Gath, Gragas, Malzahar, Kassadin.
Extra Notes: Try to build early to reap the full benefits, but its not absolutely necessary to do so.


Rylai's Crystal Scepter
When to use it:Use this item if you're playing an DPS mage or a tanky caster with low cooldowns. This item lets you stick to your opponent to ensure the kill
Who to use it with: Akali, Mordekaiser, Vladimir, Kennen, Rumble
Extra Notes:Great health and good AP boost, for characters like Akali, the slow is EXTREMELY beneficial and should be rushed in many cases.

Seraph's Embrace
When to use it: The automatic upgrade for  Archangel's Staff. It will happen automatically, so you don't have to worry about rushing it.
Who to use it with:  Ryze,  Karthus,  Nidalee,  Cassiopeia
Extra Notes:The shield for this item is based on your current mana, so try to use it at the beginning of a fight before you burn through your mana. It will take a chunk of your mana, but the more mana you have the larger the shield.


Seeker's Armguard
When to use it: Use this item if you are an AP champ up against an AD champ. Most commonly you'll need to use this against a  Talon or  Zed mid.
Who to use it with: Any AP.
Extra Notes:Even if you don't end up building this into Zhonya's, this item provides great stats for its price.


Sheen
When to use it:Great for champions who have an ability that augments the next auto attack, and since it builds into  Trinity Force or  Lich Bane this is really a great item to have.
Who to use it with: Nasus, Nidalee, Lux, Irelia, Renekton,  Ezreal.
Extra Notes:Remember that this item only applies your BASE attack damage, don't expect it to do much more if you're stacking B.F. swords.


Tear of the Goddess
When to use it:Used for any carry that has mana issues. Buy this item if you intend to toss out abilities to deal the majority of your damage as opposed to auto attacks. Mages and Ad carries with low cooldowns benefit from this a lot.
Who to use it with: Karthus, Zilean, Ryze, Corki, Ezreal,  Urgot,  Blitzcrank, etc.
Extra Notes:Rush this item early to reap the benefits later. This item solves almost all early game mana issues.


Void Staff
When to use it:A great late game item when enemies are stacked on magic resist. Use on mages, an alternative to  Abyssal Scepter.
Who to use it with: Veigar, Anivia, Malzahar,  LeBlanc,  Zilean, etc.
Extra Notes:Damage from mages tends to scale down in the late game( unless they're fed) so this item keeps their damage consistent. This item is the AP counterpart to  Last Whisper.


Will of the Ancients
When to use it: Very useful on casters who want spellvamp, but do not want to build a  Hextech Gunblade, as  Hextech Revolver is usually an early build for such champs, upgrading to WotA is relatively easy.
Who to use it with: Vladimir, Rumble, Brand, Swain
Extra Notes: You won't have to worry about rushing this item. The  Hextech Revolver is good enough for the most part, so focus on your other big ticket items and get this one late. Rush it if you're playing a champ like Vladimir who is really dependent on spellvamp.


Zhonya's Hourglass
When to use it:Useful for mages who get focused down quickly, or if you have an ult that requires you to stand near enemies.
Who to use it with: Fiddlesticks, Morgana, Brand, Veigar
Extra Notes:This item gives you an advantage in 1v1 situations as well, cooldowns continue to refresh while your in stasis, so it's the equivalent of taking off 2 seconds of all of your cooldowns. Throw down your initial burst, activate, then when enemies have stopped focusing you, continue your barrage.

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