MORGANA - MELTING FACES
This is a guide for a burst DPS Morgana. With my build, you can easily deal over 3K in four seconds while keeping your opponent snared. I have seen other guides that focus on Morgana as a support or cool-down toon, but I decided that since she has a high ability power ratio, it would be a waste not to pump AP into her. I just want to note that I haven’t been playing League of Legends for very long, so I am just writing this guide based on my short LoL experience.
PROS
Great burst DPS
Can remove debuffs off any friendly unit (including yourself)
Multi target stun
Great farming spell
Awesome in 1v1 situations
CONS
Useless when spells are on cool downs
Primary combo starter skill (Dark Binding) is a skill shot (requires you to manually aim at target; does not auto lock)
Cannot take down turrets
CHAMPION STATS & ABILITIES
Take a look at Fruitstrike’s awesome Morgana guide for her stats & ability tips.
ABILITY BUILD
Morgana’s ability build is very flexible for the way I play. If I feel like farming early in the game (ie soloing a lane), I would get my Tormented Soil to level 3 or 4 asap. If I feel like harassing, I would get my Dark Binding as high as possible. If I am facing an opponent that keeps on harassing me with debuffs (Teemo, Ashe) I would get one point into Black Shield first.
Usually, whenever the first ability on the list is available, I would put a point in it. I find that this is the best build for an early harassment Morgana.
1 – Soul Shackles
2 – Dark Binding
3 – Tormented Soil
4 – Black Shield
ITEM BUILD
Since my Morgana is about dealing as much damage as fast as you can, I pretty much focus on items with Ability Power with a splash of health, mana, and regen. Here is a list of my item build as well as my reasoning.
Starting Items:
Philosopher’s Stone
Sorcerer’s Shoes or Boots of Swiftness
Must Have:
Rod of Ages
Zhonya’s Ring
Situational:
Mejai’s Soulstealer
Archangel’s Staff
Abyssal Scepter
Lich Bane
I start with a Meki Pendent for the mana regen I will need when harassing my opponent. I will follow up by upgrading that to a Philosopher’s Stone for the health regen. Sometimes I skip this upgrade if I find myself not getting hit much, or if I am in a lane with a heal buddy.
My next item will be boots. I find that Morgana is a bit slow for my taste. I usually get the Sorcerer’s Shoes for the additional ability power, but if I predict that I maybe doing a lot of running away later in the game, I will get the Boots of Swiftness.
The third item I will be getting is very situational. By this time, I will have a good idea of all of my opponent’s skill level. If I feel that I will be able to kill a lot of them, I will get a Mejai’s Soulstealer. Getting this early in the game is important as this item can provide you with an additional 70 ability power if you have killed 7 champions. If you feel that your opponents are more skilled then you, this item should be skipped.
The next item would be Rod of Ages. This item is great because it provides you with health, mana, and ability power. In just 15 minutes, you can 725 health/mana, and 80 ability power. It is important that you get this item early in the game so you can maximize it. In addition, feel free to get more then one as this item has no unique ability (therefore it can stack).
The next items I would get will most be situational. If I am going against tanks with lots of magic resist, I would get the Abyssal Scepter. If I want additional mana regen, I would get Archangel’s Staff. Also note that Archangel’s Staff provides you with additional ability power based on how much mana you have. I personally think Archangel’s Staff will combo well with several Rod of Ages. Lich Bane is also a good choice as it provides you with a bit of mana and its unique ability which allows your next physical attack to deal an additional 100% of your ability power in damage (3 second cooldown).
Don’t forget that you always want to have Zhonya’s Ring. This item gives you +500 mana, +100 ability power, and +25% ability power.
When you have a total of six items, you might consider selling your Philosopher’s Stone for additional ability power. Remember that Philosopher’s Stone provides you with mana and health regen, so you might want to take that into consideration.
My ideal item build order is:
1 - Philosopher’s Stone
2 - Sorcerer’s Shoes (33 ap)
3 - Mejai’s Soulstealer (140 ap)
4 - Rod of Ages (80 ap, 725 health/mana)
5 - Rod of Ages (80 ap, 725 health/mana)
6 - Zhonya’s Ring (100 ap, +25% ap, 500 mana)
7 - Lich Bane (80 ap, 350 mana) [replace Philospher’s Stone]
Total stats at level 18:
Health: 3331
Mana: 3230
Ability Power: 641
Dark Binding: 1209 damage over 4 seconds
Tormented Soil: 1066 damage over 4 seconds
Soul Shackles: 1982 after 4 seconds
Black Shield: 1141 damage absorbed
Lich Bane: 641 normal attack
4898 potential damage after 4 seconds
For me, when I play a balanced game, the game will last for about an hour and I would be farming for my seventh item to replace the Philosopher’s Stone. I understand that dealing 4.9K of damage in 4 seconds is pretty unlikely due to magic resistance, lack of gold, and such, but that is a figure to illustrate how powerful Morgana can be. In addition, you have a significant amount of health/mana for a caster, plus a 1.1K magic resist shield. I think you’ll be in quite a good shape in almost any situation.
PLAY STYLE
Early Game (1 – 7)
Harass. Throw a Dark Binding and Tormented Soil combo on an enemy whenever you can. I normally reserve my mana just to harass enemy champs. Occasionally, when I have a surplus of mana, I would drop a Tormented Soil to kill some creep.
Mid Game (8 – 14)
Keep on farming and harassing your lane. Feel free to roam around and harass if you see an easy target. I generally play defensively until I have my 4th item.
Late Game (15 – 18)
Just gank and push.
End Game (18)
By this time, you should have over 400 ability power. Continue to farm with your Tormented Soil if you see a large cluster of creep for easy money. Continue to gank.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Again, to reiterate, my build is great for burst DPS. In 1v1 situations, with all the spells up, Morgana usually destroys any opponent. However, once her spells are on cooldown, she becomes quite useless. In addition, do not under estimate her Black Shield – especially once you have a lot of ability power.
I hope you have found this guide entertaining and hopefully have taught you a few new techniques. Feel free to comment.
This is a guide for a burst DPS Morgana. With my build, you can easily deal over 3K in four seconds while keeping your opponent snared. I have seen other guides that focus on Morgana as a support or cool-down toon, but I decided that since she has a high ability power ratio, it would be a waste not to pump AP into her. I just want to note that I haven’t been playing League of Legends for very long, so I am just writing this guide based on my short LoL experience.
PROS
Great burst DPS
Can remove debuffs off any friendly unit (including yourself)
Multi target stun
Great farming spell
Awesome in 1v1 situations
CONS
Useless when spells are on cool downs
Primary combo starter skill (Dark Binding) is a skill shot (requires you to manually aim at target; does not auto lock)
Cannot take down turrets
CHAMPION STATS & ABILITIES
Take a look at Fruitstrike’s awesome Morgana guide for her stats & ability tips.
ABILITY BUILD
Morgana’s ability build is very flexible for the way I play. If I feel like farming early in the game (ie soloing a lane), I would get my Tormented Soil to level 3 or 4 asap. If I feel like harassing, I would get my Dark Binding as high as possible. If I am facing an opponent that keeps on harassing me with debuffs (Teemo, Ashe) I would get one point into Black Shield first.
Usually, whenever the first ability on the list is available, I would put a point in it. I find that this is the best build for an early harassment Morgana.
1 – Soul Shackles
2 – Dark Binding
3 – Tormented Soil
4 – Black Shield
ITEM BUILD
Since my Morgana is about dealing as much damage as fast as you can, I pretty much focus on items with Ability Power with a splash of health, mana, and regen. Here is a list of my item build as well as my reasoning.
Starting Items:
Philosopher’s Stone
Sorcerer’s Shoes or Boots of Swiftness
Must Have:
Rod of Ages
Zhonya’s Ring
Situational:
Mejai’s Soulstealer
Archangel’s Staff
Abyssal Scepter
Lich Bane
I start with a Meki Pendent for the mana regen I will need when harassing my opponent. I will follow up by upgrading that to a Philosopher’s Stone for the health regen. Sometimes I skip this upgrade if I find myself not getting hit much, or if I am in a lane with a heal buddy.
My next item will be boots. I find that Morgana is a bit slow for my taste. I usually get the Sorcerer’s Shoes for the additional ability power, but if I predict that I maybe doing a lot of running away later in the game, I will get the Boots of Swiftness.
The third item I will be getting is very situational. By this time, I will have a good idea of all of my opponent’s skill level. If I feel that I will be able to kill a lot of them, I will get a Mejai’s Soulstealer. Getting this early in the game is important as this item can provide you with an additional 70 ability power if you have killed 7 champions. If you feel that your opponents are more skilled then you, this item should be skipped.
The next item would be Rod of Ages. This item is great because it provides you with health, mana, and ability power. In just 15 minutes, you can 725 health/mana, and 80 ability power. It is important that you get this item early in the game so you can maximize it. In addition, feel free to get more then one as this item has no unique ability (therefore it can stack).
The next items I would get will most be situational. If I am going against tanks with lots of magic resist, I would get the Abyssal Scepter. If I want additional mana regen, I would get Archangel’s Staff. Also note that Archangel’s Staff provides you with additional ability power based on how much mana you have. I personally think Archangel’s Staff will combo well with several Rod of Ages. Lich Bane is also a good choice as it provides you with a bit of mana and its unique ability which allows your next physical attack to deal an additional 100% of your ability power in damage (3 second cooldown).
Don’t forget that you always want to have Zhonya’s Ring. This item gives you +500 mana, +100 ability power, and +25% ability power.
When you have a total of six items, you might consider selling your Philosopher’s Stone for additional ability power. Remember that Philosopher’s Stone provides you with mana and health regen, so you might want to take that into consideration.
My ideal item build order is:
1 - Philosopher’s Stone
2 - Sorcerer’s Shoes (33 ap)
3 - Mejai’s Soulstealer (140 ap)
4 - Rod of Ages (80 ap, 725 health/mana)
5 - Rod of Ages (80 ap, 725 health/mana)
6 - Zhonya’s Ring (100 ap, +25% ap, 500 mana)
7 - Lich Bane (80 ap, 350 mana) [replace Philospher’s Stone]
Total stats at level 18:
Health: 3331
Mana: 3230
Ability Power: 641
Dark Binding: 1209 damage over 4 seconds
Tormented Soil: 1066 damage over 4 seconds
Soul Shackles: 1982 after 4 seconds
Black Shield: 1141 damage absorbed
Lich Bane: 641 normal attack
4898 potential damage after 4 seconds
For me, when I play a balanced game, the game will last for about an hour and I would be farming for my seventh item to replace the Philosopher’s Stone. I understand that dealing 4.9K of damage in 4 seconds is pretty unlikely due to magic resistance, lack of gold, and such, but that is a figure to illustrate how powerful Morgana can be. In addition, you have a significant amount of health/mana for a caster, plus a 1.1K magic resist shield. I think you’ll be in quite a good shape in almost any situation.
PLAY STYLE
Early Game (1 – 7)
Harass. Throw a Dark Binding and Tormented Soil combo on an enemy whenever you can. I normally reserve my mana just to harass enemy champs. Occasionally, when I have a surplus of mana, I would drop a Tormented Soil to kill some creep.
Mid Game (8 – 14)
Keep on farming and harassing your lane. Feel free to roam around and harass if you see an easy target. I generally play defensively until I have my 4th item.
Late Game (15 – 18)
Just gank and push.
End Game (18)
By this time, you should have over 400 ability power. Continue to farm with your Tormented Soil if you see a large cluster of creep for easy money. Continue to gank.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Again, to reiterate, my build is great for burst DPS. In 1v1 situations, with all the spells up, Morgana usually destroys any opponent. However, once her spells are on cooldown, she becomes quite useless. In addition, do not under estimate her Black Shield – especially once you have a lot of ability power.
I hope you have found this guide entertaining and hopefully have taught you a few new techniques. Feel free to comment.
