Hi there! NAFA grad from COVID batch here! I previously wrote
tips to not waste time at NAFA. Currently studying in NUS. If you're looking for post O levels/ITE options, look no further! 4 years ago, I attended NAFA's open house after receiving my O level results and back then I was as clueless as the many DMs I've received asking about NAFA ;) . So I'm making this post to clear those doubts!
Edit: Added academic calendar to general curriculum and important degree update
Content
Things to note before entering NAFA - What is NAFA and who is it for
- Available Courses
- When and how to apply
- Application Timeline
- Financial Aid
During your study - Useful Acronyms
- Life at NAFA
- Understanding NAFA's SOAD Standard
- General curriculum
- Electives
- Using workshops/Loaning of equipment
- Internship
- Overseas Immersion/School Exchange Programme
- CCA
Post-Diploma - Furthering studies at NAFA
- Furthering studies at a local university
- Finding Work
Things to note before entering NAFA
[1] What is NAFA and who is it for? NAFA, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts is Singapore's pioneering art school. It is a private arts institution. It provides diploma studies with a study duration of 3 years just like poly. The special thing about NAFA is that it provides 1-year degree programmes which any student (usually from relevant diploma courses) can pick up.
Well, we always say 'art is subjective', it is a freedom of expression. The school is really
open to anyone (and that is on the account that you have a portfolio or passed the test). Literally, you can have aunties and uncles as your classmates! You also have people doing art because it's fun but in all seriousness do not sign up if that's what you think. I'd like to think of NAFA as a school that guides you in the beginning and later on they just kind of let everyone be independent learners. Anybody can say that NAFA teaches you the foundation but they do not intend to fully teach you long term or up to a professional level. The school is excellent for people who have existing art skills (you've won SYF, art awards, distinction in art before you were even 17 years old) and wish to be a local artist. It is also great for people who are passionate and have some sort of basic skill or are/have developing skills already (that's me!) however this group should avoid Fine Arts. You can also be passionate and start on a blank slate but be prepared to work doubly hard for the grades. The school is
not competitive, it depends on talent to stand out.
Do not come if you are doing for the sake of the diploma because the
difficulty of NAFA's diploma is no joking matter. Dropping out is common in every course and you do not wish to contribute to that. That is also the whole point of NAFA charging exorbitant school fees so that you don't run away. Many people actually bet their future on NAFA because they couldn't go to poly/uni course of their choice and it ends up being wasted because it's not what they wanted! You may have heard people of saying that the school's standard is trash but the truth is, it's not the school's problem 100% of the time.
For students looking to enter NAFA Foundation Programme, it's still new and dodgy. I strongly advise you guys to take O levels and head to Poly instead if you still wish to pursue further education at local universities. I personally find no point in skipping a year and getting L1R4>25 with an O level cert where you might've passed math seems to be a more lucrative choice to use for entering NAFA. The only benefit you're getting from the programme is a debt $$$.
Entry requirements: O Level: L1R4 equal or less than 25 points excluding English (can use CCA points)
ITE: Full-time Higher Nitec or Nitec
Other Local/International Admission Requirements Important note: NAFA diplomas do not equate with polytechnic diplomas. NAFA being the oldest art school does not mean that it is the best place to go instead of Laselle.
[2] Available Courses One misconception is that NAFA has double diploma programmes for 3D Design. I'd like to announce that it is
false. The school is not capable of teaching 2 types of diploma at a time but rather mash it up. So if you intend to take my course for example Diploma in Design (Landscape and Architecture), it is usually the 1st word that is mainly taught which is 'Landscape'.
List of courses: School of Art and Design 3D Design
Design & media
Fine Art
Fashion Studies
School of Arts Management, Dance and Theatre Arts Management
Dance
Music
Theatre
[3] When and how to apply? Once you received your results is usually the time applications are open. Local and international students have until March to apply. It varies annually. More here ->
How to apply Method of Application:
Online portfolio submission or physical admission test Neither is better than the other. You method depends on whether you can show what you have within a given deadline.
Online Portfolio Submission Minimum 10 images, various mediums allowed and a short writeup of 100 words.
1.Make the portfolio for the course that you want To make them pick you directly for the course, make it look like you are built for the course.
2. Have a variety of work Fine Arts doesn't only consist of drawings, it can also include some sort of sculpture or performance work. Same goes for the other departments.
Click here for what each course requires. If you wish to showcase a single type of work because you are unable to show more, it can make your portfolio look okay/bad compared to other people.
3. A passionate statement Only 100 words. Tbh I wrote what I wished to do after my diploma (plans have since changed and it was an odd statement lol). I don't suggest writing about your contribution to the sch because as long as you're a student you're contributing. Make it short and simple.
In case anyone is wondering, my application portfolio was mediocre, showing 11 images consisting of sketches/paintings/photos. If you have a god-tier portfolio because you have that artistic talent, there's a good chance to achieve a 1st-year full-coverage scholarship once you step into NAFA. You can submit whenever you want but my estimated deadline was 2 weeks after applying at the open house which waived my application fees ($70 better treat yourself Haidilao).
Admission Test (if someone has taken the test feel free to provide more info)
The test dates are staggered once per month from January-March. Held in groups. Consists of a drawing test and write-up.
I only know that the drawing test isn't difficult. People who took the test do not intend to submit a portfolio as it's quick and efficient. Nothing much to add on.
Important note: If you are writing a
2nd choice as a safety net please be cautious. I do not recommend as you may get the 2nd choice instead if the slots for your 1st choice becomes full. They will just shift you to the 2nd choice and that's where the 'appeal' part comes.
Choose to submit a portfolio if you can commit to the deadline, it usually gives you an upper hand over admission test applicants because you're showcasing more.
[4] Application Timeline (I only know O levels if anyone can kindly tell me I'll update)
O levels: January Receive results > submit JAE > apply for NAFA
February Wait for JAE AND NAFA results > receive JAE results 1st > receive NAFA results 2nd
You’ll receive NAFA results before poly starts unless you apply late. I applied during Jan on the day of the open house and got my results mid-end Feb. March is the last month to receive results.
[5] Financial Aid NAFA Financial Aid Now, we all know private school isn't cheap and many passionate young souls I've met depend heavily on financial aid like I do. If you're a Singaporean with a tight family income, the bursary is attainable for you. It covers half of the annual school fee. Can only be taken once for each year of study. If you are able to claim the bursary for all your years, you’d pay a total of $7050.
For those who are hoping to start at NAFA but is at a really tight end, you need perfect grades in art and portfolio to be considered a scholarship/merit in your first year. You'll need testimonials and pass the interview. If you ain’t good in art, pass this opportunity however you can work for scholarship/merit during your diploma years. I’d score close to the 4.0 (3.8X) in Year 1 in order to get a scholarship to cover my Year 2 fees.
Other options are the 0% interest study loan by DBS. You can make use of your PSEA which you can also use your sibling account to cover your own sch fees.
Last option but not really one is the student assistantship scheme should you already be a student of NAFA. The pay is peanuts, I would not recommend but it's nice to have a one-liner in your resume that you did some work for the school :).
There are NAFA students with a possibly far worse situation than yours but they are extremely talented and hardworking to end up not paying a single cent. NAFA is really expensive so if you do intend to work to cover the fees, take care of your grades as well. It is not impossible to do so. I chose to not work as I was in a hectic design course and needed to maintain my grade for university.
Next, you would need to understand how the system works.
During your study
[1] Useful Acronyms SOAD: School of Art and Design (Department)
SOAMDT: School of Arts Management, Dance and Theatre
SOM: School of Music
D&M: Design and Media
FA: Fine Arts
3DD: 3D Design
FS: Fashion Studies
FYP: Final Year Project (used in almost every SOAD course lol)
OIP: Overseas Immersion Programme
[2] Life at NAFA So you wish to know how life is like at NAFA? First thing, don't expect the same amount of glitz and glamour that exists in polys. It's much quieter where you won't even hear a mouse die.
Because entry to the school is quite easy, the population regularly consists of graduated ITE students (can’t make it to poly/NAFA is the last golden ticket) alongside many international students. O level cert holders are like a small 10% or less. So if you’re young, prepare to take care of the older lot and expect to carry lazy people.
You have to be very committed to the course and can’t skip class. More than 3 times and they start deducting marks. The workload is heavy and even if it comes in small numbers, it is intense. The number of student to lecturer ratio is not a big difference but later on, consultation times may not suffice. Facilities are sufficient unless you’re in a design course. There are CCAs in the sch but not all courses got time for it. Staying in school late is a common culture. Fine Arts students after class just camp in their respective studios and design students would camp till closing 11 pm at the computer lab waiting for renders to finish. Every student will experience staying late and you can say its #lifeatnafa.
The culture here is not as toxic and dramatic as poly but more towards weird because we’re creative artsy-fartsy people. It’s easy to get along with course mates but there’s a chance for things to get somehow cranky along the way. Could be you or your classmate. Everyone is pretty open and wild. There’s a lack of competitiveness which is both good and bad.
There won't be a course that goes without presentations. That's the point of producing works ain't it, to show it off to the audience. Group work to individual work ratio is about 3:6 so if you worry about bad groupmates, don't worry I've faced them too and it can't be helped ;). Carrying other people during group work is also common. NAFA does stand for lazy people what to do. Your complaints hold no power. (Arguably, many students want the school to make entry to the courses more difficult as there seem to be too many bums to handle)
If you're mentally depressed or anything the school does try to help but no legit support system other than the ECG counsellor (which I find it practically useless). Now, the school deals with this quite often so they don't give a damn about your life. Ownself take care ownself is the usual term.
School events anyone can participate: Open House (1-day Sentosa fun time with other Open House ambassador)
Orientation (has a 1-night camp! Recommend)
NAFA Fun Day
Overseas Immersion Programme (1-3 weeks long, Asian countries. Recommend but need $)
Student Assistantship Programme (1 year-long contract. Peanut pay)
The list of programmes here may not seem much but you can add it in your portfolio (except Fun Day). There may be volunteer work available within some courses itself. Do try to be active
And that's about it. Nothing special just expensive and less fun.
[3] Understanding NAFA's SOAD Standard Take a look at what past graduates have produced within their 3 years as a student. Only you can judge whether the school is great or the right fit for your goals (in being able to attain this particular level of skill for XXX course once you graduate for example). The best standard can be found under the best graduate tab.
2020 The Grad Expectations Graduation Showcase
[4] General Curriculum Academic Calendar The 1st semester of your study begins at the start of August and usually ends late November or early December depending on the type of assessment received. The 2nd semester begins in January till May. The span of 1 semester is always around 4 months with a 1-week break in between. We don't really have any sort of term 1/2 thing like poly and is much compressed, so breaks are less. However, you do get compensated with a 3-month vacation between years so that's fair.
*Applicable to SOAD only
Year 1 1st Semester: Foundation Study (not the same as NAFA Foundation programme for N level)
+ Basic art and design theory
+General Education
2nd Semester: Course Foundation
+ General Education
+ Basic course theory
(+ Electives)
Year 2 1st Semester: 2nd Set of Course Foundation
+ Intermediate theory
+ 1st project
+ Basic report/essay writing
(+ Electives)
2nd Semester: Last set of Course Foundation
+ Another set of projects
(+ Electives)
Year 3 1st Semester: Internship/
School project (wouldn't want to get this)
2nd Semester: Final Year project (practically on your own)
+ Report/Essay writing
+ Research and development
(+ Electives, not recommended to do during this semester)
It’s clearly not much different from poly, slightly worse at certain points.
Weekly school hours per week will increase each semester e.g year 1 sem 1 is 18hrs a week for classes, next semester you may get an additional 2-4 hrs increase of class time. The longest time I had for class each week was 24hrs, pretty sure the same goes for any SOAD course. Do expect late-night classes. It is inevitable because most lecturers are teaching part-time so do bear with them.
Important note:
For a lighter schedule,
do electives early as that's one of the simplest things to do.
The difference in timetable won't affect application to university.
[5] Electives 1 common mistake students commit is not reading the student handbook (from studentnet)/contract on the number of credits required for graduation. They end up finishing their electives during Year 3 Semester 2 which is the time one should focus on their FYP. Start doing your electives once you’re in Year 1 Semester 2. Good planning consists of not stuffing your modules until it’s way past 24hrs/week (also known as overloading). You’re required to do cross-disciplinary modules 2-6 credits worth (meaning not related to your course, if you’re from D&M you have to do either FA/3DD/FS) and course-related electives worth 2-6 credits. Days before module registration, plan out the electives you want to do based on your given timetable and then rush to pick on the day of the module registration with no hesitation to secure your placement. You may have to do an elective that is unfamiliar to you.
My sample plan: Year 1 sem 1: Can’t choose yet
Year 1 sem 2: Photography (Highly recommend, popular as well but must have time and skill + a friend who's free who be your model). 2 credits
Year 1 sem 2 special term (aka holiday): OIP to Hangzhou. China Academy of Arts for 3 weeks. Considered cross-disciplinary to FA. 3 weeks long. 4 credits
Year 2 sem 1: Intro to Rapid prototyping from 3DD (laser cut/3D print) (didn’t really learn how to use the machine as there are technical officers and I messed up at the end but still passed, great elective for embarrassing yourself if you’re a 3DD student who frequents the workshop ;) ). 2 credits
Year 2 sem 2 - onwards: No more electives can focus on FYP
Important note: Plan well so you accumulate just nice
120 credits for graduation. No point in exceeding the total credits as you have to pay extra for it. If you miss a few credits for graduation, you will be
retained for another semester to finish.
Cheat tip: if you go on the OIP to China only, you instantly get cross-disciplinary credits.
[6] Using Workshops/Loaning of equipment - The 3D workshop at wing B level 1 operates Mon-Fri 8 am to 6 pm but you need permission from the lecturer or Technical officer to use the machinery.
- Laser cutting and 3D printing in the 3D workshop operates from Mon-Fri 10:30-4:30 pm and it is based on a first sign up first serve basis. Booking is always done a week prior to the day of actual usage and maximum of 4 people per day (unless you let others share your slot). Every Friday the slate inside the workshop outside the room is wiped clean for students to book for the week ahead. Even if your name is on the booking board and you don't end up cutting, you will get a temporal ban after multiple attempts. Do ask the Technical officer about the laser cutting template as well and follow accordingly when you create the template so as to not cause a problem of cleaning up your drawing which may overtake another timeslot.
- Camera equipment for photography/filming can be loaned from a guy named 'Jack'. Priority goes to courses that require it, followed by the photography elective and so on. Loan lasts for a week and extension can be asked for after loan period.
- Photography Studio/Darkroom use needs to have a form signed, given to 'Jack' and then approved. Literally, find this guy for all your photography needs.
- Fine Art workshop time depends on the course instructor. People from other courses are free to walk in when its empty but usage not possible.
[7] Internships Usually done in Year 3 Semester 1, this is one of the key semesters every student should complete for it plays a very important role in your portfolio for finding a job post-graduation. The school has a reputable network, however for courses like Fine Art and illustration the intern positions may be limited because Singapore is not very welcoming for such talents. There are top companies who are willing to hire NAFA students on the basis that they have good grades and a juicy portfolio. So if you want the best, you got to be the best.
[8] Overseas Immersion/School Exchange Programmes Slots for OIP is limited (especially the ones to China), requires an interview. I think the max for some trips were 35-40 people at most. There are subsidies available and coverage varies.
Places NAFA has flown to: *Xiamen (3 weeks)
*Hangzhou, China Academy of Arts (3 weeks)
*Beijing, Beijing Technology University (3 weeks)
Bangkok (1 week?)
Korea (might've stopped)
Japan (might've stopped)
*Special programme during Year 1 Semester 2 vacation only
I forgot the cost but I've personally have flown to Hangzhou. Best experience ever despite getting a C. Crazy stuff happened at one of the finest Arts school in China :)
Important note: If you miss the chance to fly, fret not, NAFA's degree programme is a collaboration with a foreign university and they will open an exchange programme for 1 month (that is if COVID doesn't persist). Not sure about the cost though.
[9] CCA (The price list is not updated as of 2020)
List of currently available CCAs: - Muay Thai ( $63 10 sessions)
- Yoga (basic: $50 12 sessions, intermediate: $42 10 sessions)
- Entrepreneurship club
- Urban runners club
- Volunteer club
Short story: Long ago, I actually joined the photography club only to end up leaving before they even started anything because everybody was too busy to meet up and thus disbanded.
During my time, Muay Thai is the most popular followed by Yoga. Do check out
NAFA OSC account on IG to find out what they do. Looks like they added Korean language class too hmm
Post-Diploma
[1] Furthering Studies at NAFA NAFA Degree courses for Arts Management and Music Update (thanks to the comment below): NAFA is going to change its programmes and collaboration starting from AY2021/2022. The new degree courses are collaborating with UAL (University of Arts, London) and it’s changing from one year course to two-year course which includes 5-7 weeks of going to the colleges in London.
All the courses are affected except for Arts Management and Music.
Students with A Level certificates, as well as those without relevant diplomas will be allowed to enrol into NAFA’s degree programmes.
The stuff I wrote may not apply anymore but I will still leave it here as a reference for NAFA's 1-year degree. The degree website is empty for now.
How do you determine if taking NAFA degree is worth it and why should you take or not take the NAFA degree? There’s always a mixed bag of opinions over the degree. Personally, I’m not a fan of it but I won’t be biased and input the pros and cons that can better aid in one’s decision.
PROS 1.Existing CGPA from diploma is Low Finding a job with the private diploma cert and low grades can affect your career progression. Make up for the mistakes that were done during the diploma study and try to do well for the degree.
2. High CGPA, expecting a scholarship (or free ride) for the degree course If you easily meet these 3 criteria (1) Singapore's local unis are too expensive for your taste, (2) you might be older than 21 years old and need to work ASAP, (3) "broke" but did quite well during your diploma and has an excellent portfolio to show, taking the degree might not be such a bad option. In some instances, the 1-year degree + years of work experience can allow one to take up a master degree at local uni if the pre-requisites are met.
3. Changing career path (still art-related) It's possible to change paths from design to fine arts. However, for a degree that lasts only for 1 year, it is impossible to acquire a decent knowledge at a degree level compared to the diploma stage in my opinion. Usually, the people who apply for the design degree e.g Spatial Design, have prior knowledge from the related course of study either from NAFA or other polys. 1 year is not enough but never said that it’s impossible and has been done over the years.
4. Increase in starting salary Nobody says this when asked why they want to take the degree but I'm sure they want an increase in starting salary. If you have a fear of starting out with low pay and want to bump it up by sacrificing a short amount of time and money, go for it.
CONS 1.Not a legit degree This isn’t a biased answer but an honest one. NAFA's degree is not a professional degree. 1-year won't be enough to acquire a lot of knowledge. There are no internships and full training of Softwares/techniques whatsoever. It's basically aimed at NAFA/poly students who have an existing skillset and internship experience during their diploma studies or international students with similar qualifications. I'm not discouraging anyone who wishes to take the degree because some companies do take in students and if they're lucky, they can work for them after graduation.
2. Not 100% applicable for postgraduate studies in Singapore The local universities may not kindly cater to all NAFA degrees. A number of students after getting a NAFA degree would choose to study overseas to pursue a masters. If getting NAFA's degree is a mean of broadening your studying experience by going overseas, why not? One real-life example that I've heard of works is landscape and architecture diploma + Spatial Design degree + 3 years of work experience at a good company + an excellent portfolio which eventually led this person to enter NUS Masters in Landscape Architecture. Spatial Design has a chance for relevant postgraduate courses although this may not be the same for the other NAFA degrees.
3. Not worth if you are a Singaporean The cost of NAFA's degree is considered affordable for an international student and it was practically built for them. If a Singaporean were to study at local uni for 3/4 years including subsidies + tuition grant for a design degree, it'd still be cheaper than a NAFA degree. Plus an actual degree from the public unis is still considered much valuable.
If you stand for better higher educational standards after staying there for 3 years, I say work hard and flee.
[2] Furthering studies at a local university It’s not impossible. It was already allowed a million years ago. It just a matter of effort you put during your diploma years. The current standard at NAFA has dwindled where only less than 10 NAFA grads emerge victoriously so don't be surprised knowing that NAFA barely has high flyers, the school doesn't even push for it. Even my juniors don't know my degree existed 1 year ago...
2 things to note: - NAFA diploma is not allowed entry into many courses that are irrelevant from the diploma unless the GPA is high. The usual entry requirements are GPA 3.5-4.0 also dependent on the 10th percentile, juicy portfolio and testimonial (I didn't need it FYI)
- Chances are higher for relevant degrees although any degree will definitely have entry requirements to meet. Some degrees require O level pass in elementary/additional math (they say they don't check anymore after 2019 but I don't want to play out my chances). I know of students who were optimistic about their GPA but they did not read the instructions beforehand.
You will be fighting with the best from poly, JC and beyond. Do your best to represent yourself as a student from NAFA and you'll find a way to stand out from the crowd.
A warning note to future/existing international NAFA students: I know most of y’all only started living in Singapore just before the beginning of the diploma. I don’t know whether your international qualifications can equate with O levels so
consider your future plans in Singapore carefully. My dear international classmates weren’t called up for uni interview (GPA already wasn’t helping, no offence) and the super stringent admission criteria crippled their hopes. Many have remained in NAFA to do the 1-year degree or have returned to their home country. I cannot answer for employment rates. If neither one is the option you want to end up with, do take note.
[3] Finding Work COVID really struck a lot of people hard. I can count the number of my coursemate who is employed with my 10 fingers or less. The full-time employment rate is terrible, believe it or not. The school hides it like the fine print in the student contract. Here in the
Graduate Employment Survey, you can see the ending choices of NAFA graduates.
I really can't tell the success rate of one finding a job even based on IG stories itself. I see quite a number of freelancer or people doing other things. Who will remain in the same industry? The top 10% in the cohort but even the best have struggled or are still struggling to find a job. NAFA students are not only fighting among themselves, there are poly students with similarly named courses out there too with a proper educational lineup that a NAFA diploma can't compare with.
A portfolio is usually the passport for finding work and the past 3 years of study is meant to fill it up. Don't waste time being a stubborn student especially when you will be spending a lot of money to study. The best way to make yourself look hire-able is to definitely have good grades and a portfolio. Can't emphasise anything else other than that to convince the company to hire you.
Wrapping it up
NAFA is one of the schools that provides a unique and alternative route away from the usual poly lifestyle. I had some crazy times in there be it social life or workload. It isn't a bad school (I quote 5/10) but if you can work for what you love, you'll do just fine.
The Open House is open and I suggest for those interested to take a look. A whole bunch of admission guides are up for talks.
NAFA Virtual Open House If you guys have any questions, comment down below so others can read or if you're shy, drop me a DM but I may be busy to reply. Thanks for dropping by!
submitted by [10.23] Preseason 11 Kai'Sa Bot Lane AD/On-Hit Guide (MASSIVE explanation of some Item and Rune Choices)
Intro and Recap
Rest In Peace my
hybrid guides of the olden days.
Okay, season 11 is massive. Unlike most preseasons, this overhauled the entire item system for everyone, which changed the game massively. Not to mention various other changes like changes to stats and runes. The
10.23 patch notes itself takes a very long time to get through.
So let's cover some important stuff that affects Kai'Sa before moving onto the guide.
SO MANY DIFFERENT ITEM PATHS! The biggest and most refreshing change in season 11 - Item diversity. Kai'Sa in particular has SO MANY different item choices to choose from. Everyone is building different stuff and quite frankly, it's amazing.
Of course that means playing her just got more difficult since more flexibility means a lot more thinking is required when it comes to item choices.
In this guide
I'll present my favourite item path, but I'll also touch on a few other paths to explain my thoughts. I also cover some unique item interactions which may not be obvious. However, I cannot explain everything as there's just SO MANY different ways of building Kai'Sa now.
Games end pretty quickly - I find it rare to go beyond 3 core items, thus creating a need to be useful earlier. This also influences my item build.
Critical Strikes Critical strikes have been technically nerfed across the board. Items now provide max 20% crit chance so you need 5 items to reach 100% crit chance. In addition, critical strikes now deal 175% normal damage, instead of 200% normal damage.
I should also mention that at the time of writing, the new Infinity Edge is seriously mediocre. This forms a large part of my item build reasoning.
Lifesteal, Omnivamp, and Grievous Wounds Lifesteal received a massive buff by allowing on-hit damage to also heal you. Omnivamp now exists in the game which means any damage (including true damage) can now heal.
Sustain in general has received accessibility buffs across the board, which means Grievous Wounds also received buffs in order to help compete against the gigantic spike in sustain.
As a side effect, marksmen are far more fun to play now since it's easier to survive now instead of instantly blowing up.
These changes are very important and play a large role in the reasoning of my item choices.
Almost all the items are different, and Mythic items are priority first buy I mean, you kind of
have to read the patch notes and see all the changes. But almost every item has been changed, and there's been a lot of new additions too. Rageblade now works very differently and forms an important reason as to why AD/on-hit is strong now.
Mythic items are extremely important 'first-buy' items that you can only have one of at a time, which obviously affects decision making for items.
Tanks are actually scary when fed Tanks across the board have received major power increases from their revised items. This means even if a tank isn't purposely building pure damage, a tanky foe is now more of a threat than ever and can seriously put a damper to your plans. They have more options for either accessing targets or throwing out more CC (Frostfire Gauntlet for example can create
really big slowing fields almost the width of a lane), and in general their damage is higher thanks to new item effects.
Hybrid is gone!? Unfortunately I don't think hybrid is coming back just yet. As you can see from my
past guides, I loved building hybrid back when it was viable. Currently, AD/on-hit is too strong to give up for Kai'Sa but as with any preseason, sweeping changes can happen pretty quickly so who knows if this will remain for months from now.
Hybrid is not gone entirely, as there are options to adding magic damage to her late game. However, currently the 'best' item paths involve a lot of AD. Games end too fast for me to actually judge how hybrid late game fares, because games rarely go beyond 3 items. The other issue is that armor penetration / anti-armor choices have increased, so there is less pressure to go magic damage.
Unique Item Interactions
- Guinsoo's Rageblade: Kai'Sa's passive works with Rageblade, including both the on-hit magic damage and the Rupture stacks.
- Guinsoo's Rageblade and Infinity Edge: Rageblade and IE cannot be bought together, so when you buy Rageblade you are unable to purchase IE and vice versa. This is because Rageblade disables critical strikes, so IE would literally have no effect.
- Guinsoo's Rageblade and Navori Quickblades: They can be bought together, but because it disables critical strikes a Rageblade user will never benefit from Navori Quickblade's passive. In other words...don't use Quickblades if you're using Rageblade.
- Black Cleaver: Individual Q missiles add a stack of Carve each, meaning if 6 missiles from an individual Q hits an enemy, they will be Shredded. Black Cleaver counts as on-hit against Shredded targets, so Rageblade can also increased Shredded damage.
- Ravenous Hydra: In case you missed it, Tiamat items work with ranged users now. Unique interaction with Kai'Sa is that individual Q missiles each will create a Tiamat proc once, but additional missiles hitting the same target do not repeat it. This means 10 missiles hitting the same target only procs Tiamat once, but hitting 10 different targets with Q means all 10 targets are hit with a Tiamat proc individually. The result is that you deal extra AoE damage and thus heal more depending on how clustered enemies are (closer together = more damage = more healing).
- Kraken Slayer does not count as on-hit, and so you cannot increase its proc rate with Rageblade.
As with my older guides, I present the Quick Guide first for those who only need quick refreshers. After that, the full guide explains everything which I recommend reading if you want to know the reasoning behind everything.
Quick Guide (my favourite item path)
Runes:
- Hail of Blades
- Taste of Blood
- Eyeball Collection
- Ravenous Hunter
- Transcendence
- Situational Nullfying Orb / Manaflow Band / Gathering Storm
- Shards: +Attack Speed, +Adaptive damage (situational Defence), +Defence
Items:
- Start: Doran's Blade (required to evolve Q quickly)
- Kraken Slayer + Pickaxe (this will evolve Q immediately with Doran's Blade and minimum level 6).
- Blade of the Ruined King second core item, with boots along the way. Kraken Slayer + BorK + Berserker Greaves will evolve E immediately, otherwise level 11 with recurve bow and Greaves.
- Everything from here on is situational (3rd item and above). Grievous Wounds is extremely important and I recommend grabbing Executioner's Calling after first two core items.
- Rageblade is safe general option as 3rd core item, but you can also build things like Black Cleaver, Ravenous Hydra, Zhonya's Hourglass, Runaan's Hurricane, and more.
- In general synergizing with the new Rageblade is a good idea with this build, but not necessary. You can skip Rageblade until later and still do well.
- Defensive options like Zhonya's Hourglass and Mercurial Scimitar can be really good.
Example full build (Standard physical on-hit) :
- Kraken + BorK + Rageblade + Mortal Reminder + Mercurial ScimitaZhonya's Hourglass/Runaan's Hurricane + Berserker Greaves
Example full build (Anti-armour / Anti-tank / My entire team's damage is physical):
- Kraken + BorK + Rageblade + Black Cleaver + Mortal RemindeLord Dominik's Regards + Berserker Greaves
Example full build (Anti-siege / Waveclear + sustain machine):
- Kraken + BorK + Rageblade + Ravenous Hydra + Mortal Reminder + Berserker Greaves
Example full build (I want all abilities evolved!):
- Kraken + Nashor's Tooth + Rageblade + Zhonya's Hourglass/Mercurial Scimitar + Mortal Reminder + Berserker Greaves
Example full build (Hybrid damage by adding magic damage, low sustain):
- Kraken + Nashor's Tooth + Wit's End + Rageblade + Mortal RemindeZhonya's Hourglass + Berserker Greaves
Full Guide
Runes
Primary Rune Choices
Hail of Blades is currently my favourite. I often go between Press the Attack and this, but currently HoB is too strong to give up. It makes her early game incredibly powerful and keeps you afloat for the rest of the game, even if it technically loses power the longer the game goes. The extra attack speed allows you to burst down frontline and squishies alike. It also allows exceeding the attack speed cap if you ever play super late games.
Press the Attack is an old favourite but right now HoB is simply stronger. Maybe later PtA will shine again but with how fast games are ending, HoB is just way more useful earlier.
Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, and Ravenous Hunter are safe picks for the rest of the tree. Given her short range Taste of Blood is a no brainer to survive early game. Eyeball Collection simply because it's the best for a non-support. Ravenous Hunter was changed to omnivamp with lower healing numbers, maxing out at 11% at 5 stacks. Previously Ravenous Hunter wasn't that great because it healed far too little until late game. Now, with the new changes, it is a strong rune and you will be surprised how much healing Ravenous Hunter can give you in each game, especially because omnivamp includes true damage.
As explained previously in my other guides, Sudden Impact is not that great on her despite sounding good in theory - it does nothing for basically more than half of each game, since you need late game to be able to spam E invisibility.
Secondary Rune Choices
Lots of options here (Precision especially) but I found Sorcery secondary to be the best for me. Transcendence has been reworked and provides ability haste at level 5 and 8. At Level 11, it suddenly turns into a crazy strong rune where takedowns now also reduce remaining basic ability cooldowns by 20%. This is a very powerful effect that plays a large role in keeping Kai'Sa deadly in the mid to late game, almost akin to the power levels the old Presence of Mind gave.
The last rune choice here is very situational. Manaflow Band is never a bad option as mana is hard to come by this season, so getting extra mana plus free regen is nice. Nullifying Orb is a safe option when faced with a brutal magic damage lane. Lastly, Gathering Storm is a "default" option when you don't know what to pick. It doesn't do much until 20+ minutes or later, but free stats is free stats.
I would lean towards a rune that is more impactful early, as getting past the early game is Kai'Sa's biggest concern right now. She does well once you get your items, so Gathering Storm is not really necessary especially since most games end before 30 minutes.
Shards
Attack speed is a must for the offense slot. Rest are situational. In most cases you can get away with Adaptive Force in the flex slot, but switch it to appropriate defenses if you're facing an oppressive lane.
Items
Mythic Item Choice - Kraken Slayer
Mythic items are introduced as the ideal first power spike of every player. Your first core item is pretty much always going to be a Mythic item, as they offer seriously powerful effects and then continually offer more power as you complete Legendary items.
There are 3 marksmen tailored Mythic items to ponder about (though Kai'Sa being Kai'Sa, has more than just these 3 options...). Galeforce, Immortal Shieldbow, and Kraken Slayer.
Kraken Slayer has immense synergy with anyone that values attack speed. Simple effect: Every third attack deals true damage. To compensate for not giving you any fancy defensive stats, it offers the most AD and attack speed stats compared to the other two Mythic items, which is great since Kai'Sa needs specific numbers to evolve abilities.
It also grants more attack speed as you build more Legendary items, which again is fantastic considering how it works.
Note that Kraken Slayer does not count as on-hit, so Rageblade will not make it more OP.
It offers the most synergy with Kai'Sa's kit by far out of these options and hence why it's my favoured Mythic.
Shieldbow is powerful and is probably one of the best Mythics in the game solely on the basis that it allows ADC players to, y'know, actually play the game now instead of instantly disappearing when an assassin looks in their direction. Given Kai'Sa's short range, it seems like it'd be great on her. It is, except for the fact that Kraken Slayer is just way better for her. To compensate, my item build grabs other items to help deal with the lack of survivability Kai'Sa normally has by giving up Shieldbow.
Shieldbow luckily also grants additional AD with completed Legendary Items. This is what allows Shieldbow to still give you a timely Q evolve at two items, as otherwise the missing AD would cause problems.
Galeforce is too mediocre. It's not a bad item, but the other two have better synergy with her. More importantly, it offers less stats which makes it annoying to evolve her abilities. The active cooldown is also really long. Overall this item fits better on other champions - Kai'Sa has better choices. The biggest bummer of Galeforce - it is not gold efficient immediately.
What about Eclipse?
Eclipse is an assassin tailored Mythic item that has emerged as a possible item choice for Kai'Sa. The item path involving it, called the "Korean Build", is a high risk high reward build path that relies on ending games quickly. More info on this build path way down below.
Second Core Item - Blade of the Ruined King (BorK)
Already got your head spinning around thinking about just the first Mythic item? Well, it doesn't end there!
Item diversity is hot these days and well, there's A LOT of choices even after you've decided on Kraken Slayer.
My favoured second core item is Blade of the Ruined King. This item has been reworked a bit, and as a result it's now a viable item on Kai'Sa!
My reasoning for BorK second follows:
- Much needed survivability from sustain and movespeed steal effect compensates for giving up Shieldbow
- Gold efficiency
- More useful item components, earlier
- Instantly evolves Q and E upon completion, if neither were evolved earlier.
- Reminder, lifesteal now works with on-hit.
- Makes tankier foes more bearable.
First, I am gaining immense offensive power with Kraken Slayer, but that means I am giving up Shieldbow. Every ADC needs something to survive, as this season your threats have been buffed too. Assassins got some big wins with their revised items, and tanks can be a threat earlier too. This is why Shieldbow is so popular.
To compensate for giving up Shieldbow, BorK second grants her much needed lifesteal/sustain and a nifty movespeed steal effect that, combined with Kai'Sa's E and R abilities, make her difficult to dive. This is GOOD, if not essential given her short range. Even without divers it is so easy to lose a lot of health to AoE and poke.
Next, BorK is pretty gold efficient. It exceeds its efficiency when facing healthy targets and only loses a minor amount of gold efficiency when attacking targets with less than 333 health, which by that point is not really a problem.
In addition, BorK I find gives you useful item components earlier. Building towards Runaan's for example doesn't help as much as 15% crit chance doesn't do much early on compared to lifesteal and additional stats. This is important because games end pretty quickly - I find it is rare for games to go beyond 3 core items. I need to be more useful and capable earlier this season.
The last hurrah - it allows you to evolve Q and E quickly. If you're ahead (as in, lots of gold but not levels) it will immediately just evolve either upon completion. Otherwise the components building up to BorK second will help evolve both. Kraken Slayer + Doran's Blade + Pickaxe is enough for Q evolve. The above with Recurve Bow and Berseker's Greaves is enough to evolve E. Remember that Kraken Slayer grants +10% attack speed per Legendary item, which is why you evolve so fast.
Basically, BorK second solves problems of survivability when giving up Shieldbow, while also remaining a gold efficient buy, synergizes greatly with her kit, and grants ability evolutions. That's amazing value!
As a reminder, on-hit now works with lifesteal. This means you're not just healing from lifesteal, but also healing from % health damage with BorK. Add on synergies like Rageblade and yeah, it's good.
Lastly, as a bonus % health damage is always handy since it's rare to have no tanks to fight against. This is really nice since penetration items are often grabbed pretty late, so this compensates quite a bit.
What about other items second, like Runaan's Hurricane, Ravenous Hydra, Black Cleaver, etc.?
Plenty of people swear by Runaan's second, as it'll still evolve Q and E while granting those multi target bolts which work with Kai'Sa's passive. The additional AoE is helpful for waveclear for sure, and can be handy in teamfights.
The issue is that again, I need to compensate for not going Shieldbow first. You are missing vital sustain and a life-saving shield. Kai'Sa is short ranged. You simply cannot get away with greeding for more damage after the first Mythic. As such, I don't like Runaan's second, but it certainly can be built later.
Ravenous Hydra covers the sustain aspect, while also granting AoE for waveclear. Unique interaction with her Q is neat as well for sustain and waveclear. However, since it offers no attack speed it delays her E evolution massively. A potential item to get later, but loses to BorK as a second item.
Black Cleaver isn't terrible - it has neat interactions with Kai'Sa that makes it really potent. But again, BorK second offers greater value and a fast E evolution. BC as a later item though has a lot of potential.
The pattern you're seeing here is that Kraken and BorK as first two core items offers so much that any other good items just have to be delayed until after them in my opinion. You get everything you need on Kai'Sa fast, and are useful earlier when games are ending fast.
Grievous Wounds
Very important since sustain is in every game now. Executioner's Calling is worth grabbing in between getting your 3rd+ core items. This is extremely important because everyone has far more sustain these days, and in most cases random teammates won't build Grievous Wounds until it's too late.
Kai'Sa can actually make use of other GW items if she builds differently (AP Kai'Sa for example), though for our purposes of on-hit, building Executioner's Calling which can later build into Mortal Reminder will serve fine, especially since it adds crit chance for Rageblade damage.
You do not need rush into Mortal Reminder unless the healing is really over the top though. If they have some heavy healers like Aatrox, Rhaast form Kayn, Soraka, Yuumi, Swain, Mundo, Vladimir, etc., 60% Grievous Wounds is a must and Mortal Reminder contends for third core item.
Situational 3rd and beyond items
As I mentioned earlier, everything after the first two core items and Berserker Greaves is entirely situational.
Head spinning after figuring out the first two core items? Fantastic, because now your options are about to get more complicated! It's all about adapting now, no single item path to follow. Just take a look at the amount of deviations you can take with my build in the quick guide...And that's just this item path!
Adapting to the situation: What items do you need next?
It's important to think before moving on to more items. By this point, games are usually rapidly approaching ending. Most games don't go to 30 minutes, which means games are ending before going beyond 3 core items.
There are A LOT of options. If you're thinking of damage, Guinsoo's Rageblade is a safe option. But there lots of options if you need more sustain, or waveclear, or defensive items, or AP stats / W evolution, or anti-heal (Grievous Wounds), or penetration...etc, etc. Think before impulse buying, as often taking a detour to get Grievous Wounds is what can end the game in victory faster than if you greed for more damage, for example. Same thing with getting a defensive item against a scary team who can reach you easily.
It's all about adapting to the situation, and Kai'Sa fortunately works well with so many items that you can make it work. Another shoutout to Greivous Wounds because again, this season sustain has received massive buffs and you can expect to need to use anti-healing every game.
Guinsoo's Rageblade
The general safe option is Rageblade third. Rageblade is a very potent item due to its rework this season - it disables critical strikes and basically turns critical strike chance into on-hit physical damage. Given that critical strikes have been nerfed, as well as how Kai'Sa's kit and stats work (less base AD = less effective crits), on-hit has become very powerful. The reworked Infinity Edge is very lacking at the moment, which contributes to on-hit being a better alternative for Kai'Sa at the moment.
The major difference from previous seasons is that most of your on-hit damage is now physical, as Rageblade provides physical on-hit damage, and lost its hybrid stats (only gives attack speed now, no AD/AP stats). With Bork and Rageblade you deal a lot physical on-hit damage.
As a third item it works out well - at this point with 40% crit chance it is gold efficient. As with previous seasons it still makes every third attack proc on-hit effects twice, which means it has immense synergy with any on-hit abilities and items. For Kai'Sa, that means her passive (both the on-hit damage and her Rupture stacks), as well as BorK. It removes critical strikes, but at this point the synergy means it deals more damage than you were doing before.
In general Rageblade should be a core item, but the crazy thing this season is that Kai'Sa is surprisingly not dependent on it anymore. It's a fantastic item that has immense synergy with the items I've built so far, but it's actually not even necessary, which is absolutely bonkers! However, because it is still a strong item, I wouldn't advise ignoring it completely. Get it 3rd or 4th, just don't delay it too much.
Don't forget to get Grievous Wounds before building 3rd+ core items.
Runaan's Hurricane
I already covered why I don't get Runaan's second. As a 3rd or later item though, it has a lot of potential. It adds on to the on-hit synergy with Kai'Sa's kit, BorK, and Rageblade. I generally don't rush Runaan's though because if I'm looking for more damage, Rageblade 3rd item seems to be a better choice.
Runaan's is handy if you really need waveclear. In theory it's better for teamfights too but generally if you're close enough to hit 3 champions, there's a very high chance you're in a bad spot and are in massive danger. Otherwise, yeah it's a very good item that combos well with Rageblade thanks to bolts applying on-hit effects and crit chance adding more to Rageblade's damage. If the game goes late this is certainly an option. There is a lot of competition for item slots though and I often find myself favouring other choices, depending on the game state.
Oddly enough, Ravenous Hydra is decent competition for a similar niche of AoE damage. More on that below.
Black Cleaver
Bet you didn't see that coming eh? So it turns out a lot of bruiser items are viable on Kai'Sa too. Like I said, item diversity is through the roof this season!
Black Cleaver has been reworked, which works in favour of Kai'Sa. Like before, her Q missiles grants stacks of Carve individually, meaning if 6 missiles from a single Q hit the same target, they are immediately Shredded. This allows Kai'Sa to shred the armour of a target almost immediately, and then take advantage of extra damage.
Shredded targets take % missing health damage from abilities and attacks from you. This combos really well with Kai'Sa's kit. It is a surprising amount of damage, not only because you shredded their armour (which is good for your whole team by the way), but also because her high attack speed combined with her passive makes her rip through targets. It works well on squishies too, not just tanks.
Black Cleaver doesn't fit in as a second item, but as a third or later item it has a lot of potential. This is definitely something to have as an option against high armour stacking teams, and becomes more valuable if your team is stacked on physical damage too. Since it grants Ability Haste and Health, it also makes it really useful against a team of tanky foes who keep running at you.
Did I mention Black Cleaver works as on-hit effects against Shredded targets, thus increasing synergy with Rageblade? With Rageblade and high attack speed, Shredded targets go down even faster!
Ravenous Hydra
Ability Haste, AD, Omnivamp, and a crazy passive that works uniquely with Kai'Sa? Yep, another bruiser item with a lot of potential on her!
As mentioned earlier, it has unique interactions with her Q which makes it incredibly useful for sustaining from large waves and teamfights, while also improving waveclear. Each missile procs Tiamat once, so while 10 missiles hitting the same target only procs Tiamat once, hitting 10 different targets with missiles results in 10 individual Tiamat procs.
Otherwise, it makes all her attacks deal AoE damage which again, is useful for waveclearing and sustain. This is pretty bonkers as it actually can compete with Runaan's Hurricane surprisingly enough, depending on what you're going for. It offers a lot more sustain and AoE damage in exchange for losing bolts that apply on-hit, as well as crit chance to increase Rageblade by another +40 damage.
Unfortunately the Cleave does not count as on-hit, but that doesn't really matter too much. The Omnivamp is the crazy part, as remember it heals from all damage including true damage, which Kraken Slayer offers in abundance.
Like Black Cleaver, it's yet another great item to add as an option, but doesn't quite fit in as a second rush item. The complicated part is figuring out when to get these and why to get them over other choices, because Kai'Sa simply just has a lot of good options. Ravenous Hydra can be a good solution if you're facing a lot of siege situations where your team is stuck in a waveclear war - the combination of AoE and great sustain is fantastic for such situations.
Nashor's Tooth, Wit's End, and why no W evolution?
I miss hybrid, but it's not gone completely. Nashor's Tooth has been reworked and now offers +100 AP immediately, so it will evolve her W in one go. It also now deals more on-hit damage immediately, at 40 magic damage on-hit with 100 AP. The reason people seem to dislike Nashor's Tooth now is that it doesn't offer CDR anymore - in addition, due to Rageblade's changes, item paths favour AD and physical damage more, whereas before you could go true hybrid by switching a lot of your damage to magic and synergizing with magic on-hit.
That all said, Nashor's Tooth isn't horrible. It still remains one of the most highest, if not highest gold efficient item (if you can use on-hit that is) at way above 100% efficiency. However, I've never had a chance to try it because games end way too quickly, but just as importantly is that armour pen / anti-armour options have opened up greatly, along with Grievous Wound options. Rageblade also encourages building crit chance items, and a lot of those items still work well with Kai'Sa. The result is that it's really hard to fit Nashor's Tooth in an early build, and if the game somehow goes long, it's competing against A LOT of other good options. The only thing I can think of is using it in an Eclipse "Korean Build" path, or just straight up forcing it by building it and hoping the loss of another item doesn't hurt too much.
W evolution is no longer really a necessity. It's pretty useful late game, but it is usually more efficient to ignore it due to competition with so many other items.
As with before Nashor's Tooth synergizes with Rageblade as it has an on-hit effect.
Wit's End has also been reworked and still works well with Kai'Sa. It now offers AD alongside a lot of attack speed and Magic Resistance, and sports a nifty new passive that just straight up gives you movement speed on-hit. The interesting thing about Wit's End is that it does way more damage than Nashor's Tooth does unless you build a lot of AP. Wit's End does more than 40 magic damage on-hit at level 8, and only keeps climbing to up to 80 damage on-hit at level 18. This isn't taking into account Kai'Sa's AP scalings on her abilities though, but in general it's pretty safe to assume Wit's End handily beats out Nashor's Tooth damage, though in poke wars having an evolved W may be more valuable. However, Wit's End might just be more valuable not only in damage, but because the fat stack of MR and movement speed can be more important when surviving fights.
The addition of AD makes Wit's End a potential second item, as it can help evolve Q and E by the time you get it. In fact I'd love to be able to try this out, but have yet to run into an enemy team that is heavily magic damage biased. Also, giving up the lifesteal from BorK is hard.
Hybrid certainly is an option in the late game, but like Nashor's Tooth, the issue is the competition for item slots with other good items. Rageblade is physical damage and scales with more critical strike chance items which means even more physical damage. With more armour penetration / anti-armour options opened up, as well as the need for Grievous Wounds, it usually just makes more sense to go for those items instead of adding magic damage on-hit.
As with before, Wit's End synergizes with Rageblade as it has an on-hit effect.
Defensive options: Zhonya's Hourglass, Mercurial Scimitar, Guardian Angel, Maw of Malmortius, Wit's End, etc.
In terms of defensive options, well, it doesn't get any simpler. Kai'Sa is fortunate enough to be able to use almost any item here. If avoiding getting caught or surviving initial onslaughts is a priority, I highly recommend either Mercurial Scimitar or Zhonya's Hourglass.
Zhonya's Hourglass doesn't provide enough AP to evolve W, but it's a solid defensive item that no other ADC can realistically go for. It's also at a pretty affordable 2500 gold cost. None of the stats go to waste, the item itself is more than 100% gold efficient without its active, and the active is often way better than Guardian Angel in my opinion. A fantastic buy against certain champs as well, such as Zed and Fizz.
Mercurial Scimitar has been reworked. A bit expensive at 2900 gold cost, but because it now provides crit chance it goes well with Rageblade. A solid defensive item if avoiding specific spells or CC is the difference between victory and defeat. Definitely grab this when against champs like Rammus, Mordekaiser, Skarner, Malzahar, Warwick, Urgot, etc. Nullifies a lot of their powerful effects.
Guardian Angel is mediocre to me. It has poor gold efficiency so it is assumed a lot of the gold cost is going to its revive passive. The revive passive is good don't get me wrong, but you could do a lot better with Zhonya's or Mercurial, both of which have lower cooldowns and are far more practical in most situations.
Maw of Malmortius is a potential option if magic damage troubles you. However, Wit's End also provides +50 MR, and it has better synergy with Kai'Sa so it's usually the better option. The big difference however is that Maw provides a magic shield when you get low on health. Sometimes having more defense is better than having even more damage, though if I'm worried about dying I'd rather opt for Zhonya's or Mercurial.
What about other item paths?
So we're almost at the character limit and there's still many more items and builds I have not covered. That's how insane this season is. Below are some of my thoughts on some other paths:
Tear / Manamune
Tear has been reworked heavily. It's now a starting item and stacking it requires far more effort. Also, mana in general is harder to access thanks to item and rune reworks.
The result is that a Tear start for Kai'Sa feels terrible. It takes forever to stack due to requiring targets to spam abilities on, and you need to consistently hit enemy champions to even stack it fast enough. Unlike Ezreal, spamming Kai'Sa Q just causes problems by constantly pushing waves and leaving yourself in a bad spot, not to mention mana problems.
The other consequence is that with a lot less mana in the game, Manamune just feels bad on Kai'Sa. Granted, it has potential - an on-hit build with Manamune can actually deal more damage than other builds. However, it is simply not practical. A Tear start makes you incredibly weak early game, effectively handicapping yourself from the get-go. You don't need this as Kai'Sa's early game is the biggest hurdle right now.
In addition, games are ending faster, so taking forever to get an effective item is really bad as games tend to end by the time you stack it properly.
You could potentially ignore Tear start and stack Manamune later, but again you run into the same problem of investing a lot into an item that just simply doesn't help until it's too late.
Eclipse "Korean Build"
Eclipse is an assassin tailored Mythic item that has emerged as a possible item choice for Kai'Sa. It still gives enough AD to evolve Q eventually, and its effects can work with Kai'Sa. The synergy is a bit off, as the item is tailored more for hit and run assassins rather than trying to attack someone multiple times. Still, a shield and movement speed when going for the kill is nice. The biggest contribution that makes it potentially good on Kai'Sa is Lethality - it gives you a bunch of upfront Lethality, and any Legendary items made later grants more % armour penetration.
It does not scale as well as Kraken Slayer, as although it does deal % max health damage, the cooldown is lengthy. However, this build (coined "Korean build") has potential for early game dominance due to its sudden surge of Lethality given on completion. This can be game winning if you know how to close out the game early. As such, it may find popularity among high level players who know how to end a game early, before tanks and teamfights threaten victory.
The issue I've had with this is that in games where I get ahead early (say, 4 kills early on), Kraken Slayer can get you just as far ahead but still be useful if the game goes longer than expected. This is due to the fast evolutions Kraken Slayer gives, as for example Kraken + Doran's Blade + Pickaxe evolves Q as soon as level 6, whereas Eclipse needs level 9 with D-Blade and Pickaxe. This is not a big deal if you get items at standard time, as most of the time you're already level 10 or 11 by the time you have two big items. But in cases where you find yourself with a lot of gold quickly, the power spike of a faster Q evolve often is crazy when combined with Kraken and Hail of Blades.
Then again, Eclipse costs 200 less gold and with the right team comp, you can assassinate people quickly enough that the Q evolve is irrelevant.
Basically, in my opinion it has potential, but the average player will find it easier to snowball with Kraken Slayer. It's a far safer option in case the game does not end quickly. At higher levels of play where you can trust your team to end the game quickly though, this is appealing.
In addition, the Eclipse path offers some tantalizing hybrid damage and full evolutions, which is pretty nifty.
The idea is to go Eclipse+Pickaxe+Doran's Blade to upgrade Q at level 9, then build towards Nashor's Tooth to evolve W and E when you also have Berserker Greaves. Later items depends on situation, as you can turn the Pickaxe into items like BorK, Runaan's Hurricane, or Ravenous Hydra, and build Zhonya's Hourglass for defense, outplay potential, and more AP. If the game is still not over you can build whatever is needed, with Rageblade or even Rabaddon's Deathcap as options.
With the snowballing lead with early Lethality, you hope to be able to roam with your team to make more pick offs, win objectives, and force the game to a fast victory. The interesting thing to note is that the DPS of this build remains competitive with Kraken for quite a while, unless against tanky foes.
It's a high risk high reward path. If you're confident you and your team know how to end games quickly, you can easily go ham with a snowballing lead and just assassinate people left and right. It doesn't scale as well against tanks like Kraken Slayer does, and you don't get additional attack speed either. Fantastic against squishy teams, but even if there is a tank you end up with armour penetration and magic damage. Yay hybrid damage!
Traditional Crit builds
Traditional means ignoring Rageblade and building items that characters like Caitlyn would. As I mentioned everything is in favour of on-hit right now for Kai'Sa. Traditional crit is lacking comparatively, especially with Infinity Edge being mediocre right now. Not to mention Kai'Sa stastically scales better with on-hit over critical strikes (less base AD = less effective crits). I highly recommend skipping traditional builds and joining this item diversity frenzy. She just has better options right now.
Conclusion:
Season 11 is just insane for Kai'Sa. As you may have noticed, there's even more items I never even talked about, such as the many other critical strike items. The list of "minor" deviations with my own item path is already staggering, and it only gets more complicated from there.
Normally my guides contain gameplay tips but we're at the character limit here. Just discussing item builds has been an insane amount of effort, so this time I don't think I can cover gameplay advice.
To summarize:
- Games are ending faster, which means I need to find items that make Kai'Sa useful and more capable, earlier. We do not have time to wait until full build - games often end before going beyond 3 core items and boots, or less than 30 minutes.
- Mythic item choice is Kraken Slayer due to synergy and more stats than other Mythic items, allowing for ability evolutions faster.
- BorK second core item compensates for not going Shieldbow, while also being the perfect second item due to evolving Q and E quickly, and being a very efficient buy overall.
- Everything beyond the first two items is situational and there's a staggering amount of choices. ALWAYS grab a Grievous Wounds item before continuing on to 3rd+ core items. In general Rageblade and items that synergize with it are the way to go, but you have many options and Rageblade is surprisingly not that mandatory.
- Hybrid is difficult to build due to Rageblade changes favouring physical damage and critical strike items. In addition, item slots are competing for a lot of valuable items which makes Nashor's Tooth hard to fit in.
- Eclipse "Korean Build" is a high risk high reward path for higher level players who trust their team to end games quickly. Turns Kai'Sa into an assassin playstyle. The average player will benefit more from going Kraken Slayer though.
submitted by Super Bowl Game Breakdown
It’s the last game of the season and we’ll be doing it Breakdown style, even if we can’t call it Game by Game. We should actually get a pretty good matchup between the Chiefs and the Bucs, with the young GOAT taking on the old GOAT. This game is certainly more than Patrick Mahomes against Tom Brady, but we all know that’s the driving force. Let’s get into things and pick out some captain plays for the Super Bowl Game Breakdown to find the green screens!
Chiefs at Buccaneers, O/U of 56 (Chiefs -3)
Chiefs
QB – Provided his offensive line doesn’t fail him,
Patrick Mahomes is in a total smash spot. The Buccaneers had their issues against the pass this season, finishing fifth in DVOA against the pass but that doesn’t tell the whole story. They finished 21st in passing yards allowed per game and Mahomes already totally shredded this defense for 462 yards. That was the high watermark on the season and the other aspect favoring Mahomes is the run defense for Tampa.
It is the best in football, and has been for some time. They allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league by almost 10 full yards. Andy Reid and company are going to run just enough to keep Tampa honest, but not much more. Mahomes is going to have ample opportunity to crush this defense yet again.
The question really boils down to if he’s worth a captain pick and I would lean no. If Mahomes is the optimal captain, it likely means one of two things. The first is for him to have multiple rushing scores. That seems unlikely but the other avenue would be spreading the ball around. That doesn’t seem likely either. With
Tyreek Hill and
Travis Kelce accounting for roughly 60% of the air yards and 50% of the target share, the passing game is too concentrated normally for Mahomes to be optimal. Of course, play him at will but I will likely be underweight at the captain spot.
RB – This spot is fairly ugly in honesty. As of now, we don’t know if the backfield split between
Darrell Williams and
Clyde Edwards-Helaire continues. In the AFC total game, Williams totaled 14 touches to seven for CEH. That’s not something we’d want to get involved in against such a good run defense. The one reason I won’t totally cast them aside is the Bucs gave up the most receptions to backs in football. CEH had an 11.1% share of the targets and if he’s full go, he could be interesting in PPR formats. Still, this spot is mostly a fade for me. Nobody is really that cheap and I’ll have other priorities. If you’re in a 20 max, a couple shares make sense but that’s as far as I would go.
WR – Let’s hit the way back machine and take a look at part of what I wrote for Hill –
Here’s the really exciting part. Hill plays almost 40% of his routes from the slot. That gets him to
Sean Murphy-Bunting in coverage and this man just got pantsed on Monday night. He’s allowing a 2.40 pPT, 137.1 passer rating and a 13.3 YPR. If you think Andy Reid doesn’t know that, think again.
That was before Reek went Godzilla on the Tampa secondary for a
massive 60 DK points. Not much of my outlook has changed in the Super Bowl Game Breakdown, but this is interesting. Kelce is more expensive, so I wonder if Hill is the most popular captain since he’s the cheapest of the big three from the Chiefs and everyone saw what he’s capable of against this secondary. Hill is lethal from the slot, and even though Murphy-Bunting is playing better in the playoffs he’s going to struggle. He allowed a 122.7 passer rating and a 2.10 P/PT on the season over 115 targets. Tampa has to come with a different game plan than last time. Having said that, I still think Hill will be one of the most popular options up top and I’ll have shares myself.
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The secondary receiver is up in the air.
Sammy Watkins is on track to be active for the first time in the postseason, and we shouldn’t ignore that. He had a 13.9% target share to go with a 14.2% share of the air yards, third-highest on the team. Even though he’s only played in 10 games, he has nine RZ targets which is third on the team as well. Watkins played the slot 34% of the time but would mostly see
Jamel Dean who was fifth in YPR allowed at 9.6. The veteran could be a cheaper way to get exposure to the Chiefs passing game and would be my preferred target if he’s active. Watkins would make it tough for
Mecole Hardman to get a ton of work, so we’ll update this if we need to.
TE – The elephant in the room is on DK, it’s likely not possible to play Mahomes/Hill/Kelce altogether. The cheapest stack of those three leaves $5,666 per slot after that. That’s if you don’t use any of them at captain. It’s potentially workable but I’m not sure if it’s the best path to take. If you’re making a lineup that has some of the high profile Bucs passing game players, you’re going to have to pick a path here. I ever-so-slightly lean Kelce, since there’s receivers to replace Hill. You can play Mike Evans or Chris Godwin for cheaper and hope that Kelce outscores Hill. Tampa gave up nine touchdowns on the year to tight ends and it’s possible that they get so focused on not letting Reek go nuts, Kelce has a slightly easier path. Even though he is more expensive, Kelce is the Chief I’m least likely to fade.
D/ST – These units should likely not be very popular, but I kind of dig the Chiefs. Tampa turned the ball over plenty last week and Kansas City sports a pressure rate of just about 25%. We all know that pressure is the one aspect that makes Brady a mere mortal. They’ve forced 25 turnovers and actually only allow about 22 points per game. In the first matchup, they forced two picks and had five DK points. That could be enough for the salary.
Buccaneers
QB – I still am not that interested in
Tom Brady as captain because he’s honestly hasn’t been playing that well in the postseason. When’s the last time you’ve seen Brady go three straight games with a 55% completion rate and an 8/4 ratio of total touchdowns to turnovers? Maybe the rest week will help him and he certainly has the narrative behind him. You know, it’s not like Brady has lost Super Bowls before or anything. KC finished mid-pack in DVOA against the pass so the matchup isn’t anything crazy bad for Brady. I would tend to think he gets at least 35 attempts, but I honestly don’t totally love the price. I will say I like him better as a captain option than Mahomes. If Brady goes nuts, he’s got a better chance spreading the ball around to multiple touchdown receivers. There’s much more a path to Brady hitting optimal value at captain than Mahomes in my eyes. I’m not going to tell you to not play Brady, but fitting him and Mahomes in will require a punt somewhere along the line.
RB – Speaking of punts,
Ronald Jones has entered the chat. All eyes are going to be on Playoff Lenny, a.k.a Leonard Fournette, and with good reason. However, RoJo offers double-digit touches at a rock-bottom price. Folks will be scared off by the 1.6 DK in the NFC title game but he did have 10 carries. That’s in line with the 13 he got in the previous week as well. Since the Chiefs struggled against the run with the 31st ranked DVOA, this is a very solid spot. I don’t love the fact that Jones is not involved in the passing game. Fournette has racked up 17 targets over the postseason run to just one for Jones. Still, the price difference is undeniable. In the first matchup, Jones took 10 touches and turned it into 17.3 DK with over 100 scrimmage yards and a score. Don’t expect that but RoJo stands to be the most attractive punt right now.
Fournette is the “better” choice in the Super Bowl Game Breakdown because if the Bucs have to abandon the run, he’s going to get the passing work. You could take the path of playing Chiefs pass game+Fournette and either Evans or Godwin without Brady. If you threw Jones and Fournette together, you lock up all the backfield touches for the Bucs at under $10,000 and have some wiggle room left to play with. Either way, Jones looks like a key way to mix in a punt with some serious upside in this game.
WR – Mike Evans has been super quiet the past two weeks, but consider who he’s faced. Marshon Lattimore always gives him fits and Jaire Alexander never really left him after a big touchdown grab early in the game. If folks want to overlook Evans, that’s fine by me.
Bashaud Breeland has had a very solid season for the Chiefs, allowing just a 1.40 P/PT and a 50.8% completion rate (third-best). He’s also giving about six inches and 35 pounds to Evans, a major physical mismatch. Brady loves him in the RZ and EZ, where he racked up 18 and 14 targets respectively.
Corner
L’Jarius Sneed really played well for the Chiefs when he was active since he played just nine games. He’s lined up in the slot and only allowed a 52.3% catch rate and a 1.30 P/PT on the season across 44 targets. They could elect to use Sneed on
Chris Godwin or possibly
Tyrann Mathieu, who played some slot as well. Either way, the road is a tough on for Godwin. It’s not like
Antonio Brown has a cakewalk either. He gets
Charvarius Ward for a good chunk of the game. Ward was targeted 67 times and allowed a 1.80 P/PT. While it’s the “easiest” matchup on the board, AB has only been targeted six times total in two playoff games. He’s not even all that cheap at $6,200. I’d rather play one of Evans or Godwin even at the salary.
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TE – If you’re playing a tight end,
Cameron Brate looks like he’s going to be the safest bet and there is upside here too. Even Dawson Knox of the Bills posted 15+ DK points, and KC struggled against the tight ends all year. They allowed the seventh-most DK points, fifth-most yards, and nine touchdowns. Brate has been the pass catcher in the playoffs with 16 total targets and never scoring below nine DK points. Compare that to Rob Gronkowski who has been targeted seven times and has two games of just one target. If the game goes high-scoring as projected, Brate is a very solid way to get exposure to the Tampa pass game.
D/ST – I was prepared to be willing to play them, but they are more expensive than the Chiefs. Kansas City could have a major weakness with the loss of tackle Eric Fisher. It’s hard to really quantify that because it happened so late in the Buffalo game. One thing the Bucs do extremely well is get pressure at the third-highest rate in football, 27.9%. I have to believe that the Chiefs will have an answer for that and I’m not overly concerned with it. If playing a defense, I’d be much heavier on the Chiefs.
Captain Pool – Kelce, Hill, Fournette, Evans, Godwin, Brate
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