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Abilities:
![[image loading]](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111005183702/leagueoflegends/images/9/96/AscendedForm.jpg)
Passive: Ascended Form: Xerath receives 15% of his ability power as bonus armor.
Its a pretty boring passive, its not bad, free stats are nice, but its not enough armor that you will ever really notice. Xerath is always going to be squishy, and its his positioning and range that is going to keep you safe, not this passive.
![[image loading]](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111005183816/leagueoflegends/images/c/c3/Arcanopulse.jpg)
Q - Arcanopulse: Fires a long-range beam of energy in a line after a short delay, dealing magic damage to all targets hit.
CD: 7s--->5
Range: 900/1300
Cost: 65--->85
Xerath's bread and butter skill, this spell has an tiny CD, especially at later levels, but watch out early game as spamming it too much will run you OOM in no time at all. Especially use sparingly at level 1, as its mana cost only goes up by 5 per level, but its damage by 40+. I only harass when at 100% at level one, then turn on the heat level 2+. Always pay attention to lining up the spell to both last hit creeps and hit the enemy mid, much more efficient this way. Note that this spell even without siege mode outranges pretty much everything in the game, but its tricky to hit without retaliation from some opponents due to the difficulty in hitting with only the tip as well as its small cast time allowing them to walk into range. The delay before damage is pretty short, if you use it when they go in to last hit its extremely hard to dodge. In teamfights REALLY try to use this on every cooldown, its easy to forget to use, but the DPS is very high if you are splashing multiple champs consistantly.
![[image loading]](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111005183853/leagueoflegends/images/7/72/LocusofPower.jpg)
W - Locus of Power: Xerath anchors himself to the ground he is standing on for up to 8 seconds, increasing the range of all his spells and granting him bonus magic penetration. Upon disabling this ability, Xerath gains 35% movement speed for 2 seconds. He can deactivate the ability at any time after 0.5 seconds of casting it.
CD: 20--->4
No cost
Signature Skill, gives you crazy range and magic pen. The primary use for this is hitting your E from safe range to start a combo, as well as reaching out obscene distances to pick someone or put out huge damage in a teamfight. In lane other than starting a kill-combo, this is a great harass tool. Just pop it and hit them with a few Q's. Remember it lasts for 8 seconds, you dont have to end it after one Q....just sit there and get off as many shots as you can safely. The cooldown starts off very high, but rapidly becomes basically nothing. By level 4 you can be in siege mode indefinitely. In lategame you should be sieging up basically every time you use multiple skills, as the range and bonus penetration will increase damage hugely. In lane even if you dont need the extra range, use the skill just for the penetration if you can. In standoffs just siege in the back and constantly throw out Q's.
![[image loading]](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111005183943/leagueoflegends/images/4/43/MageChains.jpg)
E - Mage Chains: Deals magic damage to an enemy and marks them with Unstable Magic for 3 seconds. The next spell Xerath strikes this enemy with in these 3 seconds will stun them for 1.5 seconds.
CD: 12--->8
Range: 600/1000
Cost: 70--->90
Your only utility spell. This is used primarily to start your combo and to get people off your back. Without using siege the range is a paltry 600, which is not a safe distance for xerath in many cases. Use a WE combo to get it off from a comfortable range, if you hit the keys fast the spells will que up and you can fire this baby off from surprising distances. This spell is really not worth harasssing with unless you have way too much mana, as Q will always be available with more range and for cheaper damage until lategame when chains will do significantly more single target damage. Be wary of wasting this spell, it has a long cooldown and if you dont have it available when you are jumped or need to start a combo you will be a sad rabbit.
![[image loading]](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111005184027/leagueoflegends/images/9/9e/ArcaneBarrage.jpg)
R - Arcane Barrage: Calls down a blast of arcane energy, dealing magic damage to all enemies in an area. May be cast another two times, with no cost, within the next 12 seconds before going on cooldown.
CD: 80--->60
Range: 900/1300
Cost 150--->210
Shit son, this ult is where its at. RIDICULOUS. Its got everything, fat AOE, unchallenged range, nuts ratios, tiny CD. If you hit all 3 procs it is sitting at a 1.8 AP ratio. Use this ult ALL THE TIME. The biggest thing I have noticed that separates bad from good xerath players is how often they ult. If ever in doubt, do it, it will lead to many many kills and assists. Later the cooldown will be 24 seconds. SPAM IT. In teamfights do not save your ult until you can pick off some hapless fleeing soraka, if the opportunity presents itself and you can hit 3-5 bunched enemies DO IT, even if you wont kill anyone. Its almost always better to go for this maximum damage approach unless you have very specific targets that you need to snipe to ensure success. You will win tons of teamfight you never expected to win. Its like starting a fight with two karthus ults if you do it right.
SKILL ORDER
The usual is R>Q>E>W. Get a point in W asap without hurting Q, then leave it until last to finish, as the range is the same for all levels and it works. You CAN put more points into W and skimp on E, this will turn Xerath into a poke machine but you will have a significant drop in overall damage unless you are really splashing all over the place and they have lots of MR. I usually stick with one point in W and most pro's do as well.
+ Show Spoiler +
BASIC COMBOS
Your main alpha strike is going to be WERQRRQ, get used to using it. Basically siege for range, hit chains, proc stun from chains with ult (much easier to hit), hit them with Q while they cant dodge, then the last few ults are easy to hit as they run.
If you arent sure you can get the stun off due to a dash or something and dont want to potentially waste ult, feel free to try to proc the stun with Q and then pile on the ult if you do hit it: WEQRRR
EVEN IF THEY ARE CLOSE TO YOU ITS BEST TO SIEGE UP IN MOST CASES. It gives more damage and if they happen to flash/dash very far away you wont have to siege up during the combo and potentially lose them.
ITEMIZATION
Starting items:
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091016144102/leagueoflegends/images/e/ec/Boots_of_Speed.gif) Boots/3pot is your goto safe opening, especially vs skillshot champs, helps you dodge and gives you more effective HP inlane. You will be going boots3 90% of the time. ![[image loading]](http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091014175826/leagueoflegends/images/9/96/Doran%27s_Ring.gif) Dorans ring isn't as terrible a start as it is on most mids, only pick this if you are playing against someone you outrange so easily that you will be able to avoid all or nearly all damage (Annie/Ryze/Swain/Sion).The ring will give you much higher clearing and harassing power with its mana regen and AP. If you choose this start you are consigning yourself to a VERY careful and defensive early laning. DO NOT GET AGGRESSIVE AND TRADE DAMAGE, sit back and CS/harass from absolute max range while watching CD's carefully and only move in if they get very low.
FIRST BACKS
+ Show Spoiler +Double dorans will give you the regen to actually start using your spells to full effect, all around great. Get these babies as soon as possible, any respite whatsoever and you back and pick them up. They will hugely impact your usefullness and ability to CS well. Don't be a moron and end up sitting in lane with only boots out of mana and losing half of the creeps to tower because you "don't have to back" while your opponent has 3rings and is just farming away happily. ![[image loading]](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091014183729/leagueoflegends/images/9/9a/Sorcerer%27s_Shoes.gif) Mobility is great and magic pen is too. Standard caster stuff.
ITEM BUILD
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110105233940/leagueoflegends/images/3/3f/Rabadon%27s_Deathcap.gif) Dcap is your first major item, pure damage is what you need with your ratios and range. ![[image loading]](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110404102705/leagueoflegends/images/4/4d/Morello%27s_Evil_Tome.gif) CDR is the other biggie needed on xerath. You are half a man with your ult down and helpless with no stun. Morellos is the only thing to fix this problem plus some nice AP and mana. You wont build deathfires because you shouldn't be close enough to your target to use it. Even if you manage to get off the occasional safe usage, the damage you get from Morellos every time you use anything will be much greater in the long run. If you have a non-blue dependant jungle and a team where you can secure blue buff consistently, you can skip this and go right into other AP items. You may have to get another Dring to have enough mana if you avoid Morellos.
LATE GAME
+ Show Spoiler +These are all situational picks, use your judgement. ![[image loading]](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091203061224/leagueoflegends/images/f/f3/Void_Staff.gif) If they are getting some MR, pick up the Void Staff. Simple. ![[image loading]](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110105233942/leagueoflegends/images/d/d1/Zhonya%27s_Hourglass.gif) A good defensive and offensive item, this is something I get if I'm having issues with assassins. Even with Xerath's range you can have issues if you have a fed Akali blitzing onto you ever teamfight and your team cant seem to stop them. Zhonya's leaves them helpless in the middle of your team and you live to fight another day. Remember to use this. ![[image loading]](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091014170803/leagueoflegends/images/f/f2/Banshee%27s_Veil.gif) If their AP is big, and you keep eating random spells, buy this. A great all around defensive item.
WTF WHY IS THIS NOT OVER
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100610183512/leagueoflegends/images/8/83/Will_of_the_Ancients.gif) Sometimes you keep winning teamfights and it just seems like you never have enough health to get anything important done. WOTA will give you basically unlimited sustain, a few Q's in the general direction of a creep wave will heal you to full. Other than that just buy more shit that gives you AP, whatever, Rylais, ROA, maybe GA if you do plenty of damage.
SUMMONERS
Other than Flash, which is just too good to ever not get, summoners are a bit of a tossup on Xerath, there are many viable choices for second summoner. The goto offensive summoner: Ignite, is pretty bad on Xerath due to the range problem. You can still run it and maybe eke out another early kill, but its usefullness will drop rapidly to near zero past 7 minutes in. Teleport can be good for getting around the map, you can use this to easily pick up free kills on people backing and other such stuff, or people who think they are safe sitting under tower with low health. Heal is actually pretty strong, many people dont expect it on mids and you can bait kills and survive trades when you otherwise wouldn't. I also like heal because its great for topping off your team during standoffs and poke wars where xerath excels. Ghost/exhaust are ok from a purely defensive standpoint of getting away when kids jump on your face, but I'm not fond of this choice because better positioning will solve most of these issues. Surge is also ok, but the damage it adds is insignificant and you obviously cant take advantage of the 40% attack speed buff.
I would choose between either:
![[image loading]](http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111115121116/leagueoflegends/images/e/e8/Teleport.png)
If you are predicting a more easygoing mid matchup and want to help your other lanes. OR:
![[image loading]](http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111115121117/leagueoflegends/images/6/6e/Heal.png)
If its gonna be a battle mid and you need every edge you can get.
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On February 15 2012 14:01 sob3k wrote:[center] ![[image loading]](http://www.the72pins.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/league-of-legends-xerath.jpg) [/center/ NOT DONE ACCIDENTLY HIT POST GIVE ME A SECOND
Reserved for future insight...I play Xerath a whole bunch and am interested to see how this turns out.
EDIT: I know you're not supposed but I figured the promise of future insight would stave off the almighty Neo. SO I will add something.
Levelling R>Q>E>W seems to be the way t go, but I seem to remember one of the pros saying you want to max W or at least put a couple points in early to lower CD to make for easier farming/poking....I've never had a problem with maxing W last though. What do you guys think?
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On February 15 2012 14:05 WaveofShadow wrote:Show nested quote +On February 15 2012 14:01 sob3k wrote:[center] [/center/ NOT DONE ACCIDENTLY HIT POST GIVE ME A SECOND First? Reserved for future insight...I play Xerath a whole bunch and am interested to see how this turns out.
you're not allowed to do "first" and also not allowed to reserve posts (unless you're a red or admin) on TL :\ quick! edit your post with something insightful before someone reports you! :O
moving my post from GD here to start things off while sob3k works on his OP
+ Show Spoiler +Generally, boots3 or dring -> 2~3 drings. Then WotA/Dcap/Rylais in no particular order. Void staff is a must for longer games. Boots generally sorc boots, but cdr can be okay. Mercs/Tabis are super situational but I can see you buying them. R>Q>E/W, tho E should usually take priority over W, but getting a few early levels of W can be helpful in solo q since it drastically lowers the cd and in solo q you'll probably find yourself needing to reposition often.
One of my friends has a 70% winrate with Xerath as his top 3 most played champ (currently 1500-1600). He says in lane you want to shove the lane as much as you can to hit 6 asap. Don't overextend too much tho and be mindful of ganks. If you can land some E+Q or just Q harass that's good too. Once you hit 6, you have the ability to 100-0 most squishies and to bring basically any non-bruiser really low. Your ulti's super low cooldown lets you spam it at will. Generally, what you want to do is once you tag the other guy with E then follow up with RQRR. Smartcasting helps. Don't change into siege mode in the middle of a combo. The animation is long enough that they can sometimes move out of range or let them react.
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@Ryuu What's the point of WotA? I can only understand it if you have a team comp that benefits a ton from wota, because your damage is from 1200 range, unlike kennen, vlad, or rumble where at least one of your main sources of damage has low range.
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I personally dont think wota is a good rush on him because you arent looking to trade.
rings-cap-void imo.
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Imo, you don't want to rush wota like you would on Kennen, Vlad, Cassio. Like T_D said, Dcap is almost undeniably the best first big item (Rylais is situationally better). However, WotA is still quite good on Xerath since he gets a good amount of sustain out of it in drawn out fights or poke standoffs considering the extremely low cd on his Q. It's also really nice if you're running double AP/double WotA comps. I'd say Wota would make a nice 2nd or 3rd big item.
I know Dan dinh used to grab a fast dfg to help his insta-gib ability in lane. I don't think it's all that optimal tho since out of lane it's more or less useless.
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I disagree with the void pickup on him. At least that early. He already has so much magic pen from his seige mode I would rather go drings -> cap -> some CDR. Personal preference though. Void isn't even that good of an item to rush because most teams don't build MR that early (or it is only a little MR).
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What I love most about Xerath is that everyone playing Starcraft calls his w siege mode.
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On February 15 2012 14:29 Ryuu314 wrote:
Imo, you don't want to rush wota like you would on Kennen, Vlad, Cassio. Like T_D said, Dcap is almost undeniably the best first big item (Rylais is situationally better). However, WotA is still quite good on Xerath since he gets a good amount of sustain out of it in drawn out fights or poke standoffs considering the extremely low cd on his Q. It's also really nice if you're running double AP/double WotA comps.
If you're playing a poke team comp vs. a team with abilities that can hit you, then maybe wota's a good idea.
But even for drawn out fights, lvl 5 q does less damage than lvl 3 r (and probalby won't have the %mpen if you turn off w after your initial combo) so if you're safely hitting the enemy at the start of a fight, you have much more burst damage than sustained.
@Hoban: If you can get blue, then blue + blue pot gets you to 35% (or higher if you have cdr from masteries/runes), so I don't see the point of buying cdr if you can secure blue.
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Best champion guide ever made. This man is truly an artistic genius.
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Alright, there you go, OP is finished and ready for business!
If you've got something good to add just tell me and i'll stick it in there.
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On February 15 2012 14:35 Nehsb wrote:Show nested quote +On February 15 2012 14:29 Ryuu314 wrote:
Imo, you don't want to rush wota like you would on Kennen, Vlad, Cassio. Like T_D said, Dcap is almost undeniably the best first big item (Rylais is situationally better). However, WotA is still quite good on Xerath since he gets a good amount of sustain out of it in drawn out fights or poke standoffs considering the extremely low cd on his Q. It's also really nice if you're running double AP/double WotA comps. @Hoban: If you can get blue, then blue + blue pot gets you to 35% (or higher if you have cdr from masteries/runes), so I don't see the point of buying cdr if you can secure blue.
Arguing that you can get 40% CDR with bluepot and buff so you dont build CDR is just a terrible argument. You arent going to have blue buff all the time, and you certainly aren't going to have bluepot active. Its like kids arguing against getting Good Hands because you shouldn't be dying in old masteries.
You are going to go for long periods without Blue in most games, and definitely without bluepot, you will get killed and lose them or be engaged on the other side of the map, or have buffs stolen etc. Pro's build CDR all the time because its really good. I've seen pros build Morellos or other CDR ever time i've seen him played on stream.
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I'd love to see some discussion about runes and masteries added - I know most people play with the "typical" caster runes and masteries, but sometimes these can vary, especially the runes. What do you use, and do you have different runes for different situations? Have you considered defensive or utility masteries at all?
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11589 Posts
I'd say CDR boots are better than Sorcs on Xerath because of his built in Mpen, but it would be a situational thing. In mid lane, if you're really trying to destroy your opposing laner, sorcs would arguably be the better choice because even 30% Mpen (max rank W) isn't as good as 20 flat from sorcs. However, you did acknowledge that CDR is HUGE on Xerath, so it would at least be a viable option, if not the preferred one.
With a build like 2 doran's -> boots2 -> dcap -> VS (completely viable on Xerath), I would say CDR boots are better. But if you want more survivability or whatever before you buy VS, then Sorcs are a valid option.
I've also seen Xerath builds go like 2 doran's -> boots2 -> DFG -> Dcap -> VS, and in that case you could say sorcs are better. But I don't like that build in general because DFG is much shorter range than R/Q, and you don't need to 100-0 people like LB/Veigar do to be useful in a teamfight situation.
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its not the fact that u can get 40% cdr with blue and blue pot, its more like the fact that if u have morellos and then get blue and blue pot you are essentially wasting that additional CDR - in other words not using stats that you are paying for / overspending on stats that you don't need for half the game.
i would take it out of the core for sure. its probably the most situational item out of all the items you have listed in your list, lol
don't get w at 2 (that's what you make it sound like?) as while the additional range is ok you probably won't be able to / need to utilize it at levels 2-3 anyhow. E->Q is actually better for escaping ganks at that level as well, if that's why you get it then. QEQW then R>Q>E>W
only ever open boots if you are expecting any competitive laning, as they are too good for dodging skillshots and avoiding lead up cc for ganks, as well as giving you some buffer hp via pots
ignite is good for winning lane, lategame its ok just a short range nuke which is always relevant and with healing debuff - certainly not necessarily any worse on xerath due to his range, as when shit hits the fan people will be close to you if they have any brains at all
in solo queue winning lane tends to equate to winning game more than in arranged play, but i can see teleport being a strong option in 5s
i dont like heal personally as i find that xerath often isn't in a position to use it properly in teamfights (too far back) and in lane he is almost always the aggressor due to his steady harass and easy kill combo
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11589 Posts
On February 15 2012 17:02 Wetty wrote:
I'd love to see some discussion about runes and masteries added - I know most people play with the "typical" caster runes and masteries, but sometimes these can vary, especially the runes. What do you use, and do you have different runes for different situations? Have you considered defensive or utility masteries at all?
Becuase of Xerath's unrivaled range/poke/harass kit, you're going to want to go almost always for full offensive runes/masteries. Mpen reds, Mp5 yellows, AP/lvl blues, Flat AP Quints are standard caster runes and work great for Xerath's early game burst and late game scaling. 21/0/9 for full caster offensive masteries and the mana masteries/buff duration in utility is pretty standard stuff, too. If you feel like your early lane levels could be a problem, you could change to 9 Defense for the MR and health and/or your blues for flat MR, but that's only against mids like LB who can consistently 100-0 you.
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On February 15 2012 16:59 sob3k wrote:Show nested quote +On February 15 2012 14:35 Nehsb wrote:On February 15 2012 14:29 Ryuu314 wrote:
Imo, you don't want to rush wota like you would on Kennen, Vlad, Cassio. Like T_D said, Dcap is almost undeniably the best first big item (Rylais is situationally better). However, WotA is still quite good on Xerath since he gets a good amount of sustain out of it in drawn out fights or poke standoffs considering the extremely low cd on his Q. It's also really nice if you're running double AP/double WotA comps. @Hoban: If you can get blue, then blue + blue pot gets you to 35% (or higher if you have cdr from masteries/runes), so I don't see the point of buying cdr if you can secure blue. Arguing that you can get 40% CDR with bluepot and buff so you dont build CDR is just a terrible argument. You arent going to have blue buff all the time, and you certainly aren't going to have bluepot active. Its like kids arguing against getting Good Hands because you shouldn't be dying in old masteries. You are going to go for long periods without Blue in most games, and definitely without bluepot, you will get killed and lose them or be engaged on the other side of the map, or have buffs stolen etc. Pro's build CDR all the time because its really good. I've seen pros build Morellos or other CDR ever time i've seen him played on stream.
Good hands is different because the old alternative (Perseverance) literally gave you < 1 HP5.
Morello's is going to be good during the time when blue is down, but it's going to have wasted stats a lot of the time (especially because CDR on xerath is most important when poking, and when you decide to poke you should have blue.) If you want CDR, get cdr boots, not morellos imo, since sorc boots works badly with his w anyways. If you still need cdr (in games where you're really behind and couldn't secure any blues), then get morello's, but that's definitely situational and shouldn't be listed as core in every game.
As your comment about pros building Morellos, every single pro who plays him builds him a different way. (And a lot of them can't land more than half of their ults...) There are almost no NA pros who are actually good at xerath.
EDIT: Also, IMO you should mention that you can ward some areas (particularly the three-entrance area near wraiths) and then siege in nearby brush when enemy comes near and snipe them with your combo.
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On February 15 2012 17:18 Navi wrote:
don't get w at 2 (that's what you make it sound like?) as while the additional range is ok you probably won't be able to / need to utilize it at levels 2-3 anyhow. E->Q is actually better for escaping ganks at that level as well, if that's why you get it then. QEQW then R>Q>E>W
in solo queue winning lane tends to equate to winning game more than in arranged play, but i can see teleport being a strong option in 5s
Thats what I meant by in the skill order, I posted up a pic so people can see.
I would say Tele is stronger in soloque, winning lanes is nearly always equal to a win, and I win mid with Xerath already 90% of the time. Its those games where top and bot lose that we have issues, tele allows you to win all the lanes at the same time...or at least keep them under control.
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i wouldn't get tele if top takes it tho. 2 teles on 1 team is a bit excessive
edit: i confess i have little to no experience with AP mid matchup, but I read your reasoning behind dring opening and disagree. In top and bot lane, when you open dblade, it's because you want to trade early and trade hard, not for sitting back and passively farming.
edit2: also can you flash while anchored? and if you can does it break it? might be worth mentioning in the skill description.
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On February 16 2012 04:56 barbsq wrote:
i wouldn't get tele if top takes it tho. 2 teles on 1 team is a bit excessive
edit: i confess i have little to no experience with AP mid matchup, but I read your reasoning behind dring opening and disagree. In top and bot lane, when you open dblade, it's because you want to trade early and trade hard, not for sitting back and passively farming.
edit2: also can you flash while anchored? and if you can does it break it? might be worth mentioning in the skill description.
I'm pretty sure you can't flash while seiged.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/tJJGf.png)
![[image loading]](http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091016141734/leagueoflegends/images/e/e2/Health_Potion.gif)
