Competitive Poseidon - As of July 2013

As of the current meta, AP mages are by far the most viable mid lane picks due to their incredible wave clearing abilities and burst in team fights.



I will be discussing some things about the midlane and how it should be played as the God Poseidon, as I believe him to be one of the most high burst AP carries out there.

REMINDER

You WILL be reading a wall of text, so before you *****, its for your own good, not mine, Im just trying to help, and so I will put as much of info as possible.

As you can see, I have not filled in the skill sequence for the reason that I would like to let people decide that for themselves as it maybe very situational.

What you want to prioritize in order:


1. Whirl Pool (Number 3 Ability)
This is Poseidon's trademark ability, it gives him the ability to cripple, this skill paired with the item, Gem of Isolation, really makes Poseidon a deadly threat in team fights.

2. Release the Kraken! (Number 4 Ability/ Ultimate Ability)
This is what makes Poseidon scary for this ability can turn around a fight instantly and can decide who wins or loses. Its insane burst is easily avoided by an aegis but if not can stun and potentially wipe out a whole team.

3. Tidal Wave (Number 1 Ability)
This is used with Whirl pool for quick wave clearing in the midlane, often this can be used to interrupt and knock back opponents who can be attacking your buddy or your self, for example, Isis's Wind Gust can be interrupted by Poseidon's Tidal Wave.

4. Trident (Number 2 Ability)
This ability is your least prioritized ability, it is used as a steroid for his basic attacks (AAs) and his movement. This ability I level last as it is not very important, its damage scales bad early ~ mid game and is good for finishing enemies or running away from enemies.

KILL SKILL COMBO

REMEMBER POSEIDON DEPENDS ON AOE BURST FOR KILLS, THIS CAN EASILY BE COUNTERED BY ACTIVES SUCH AS SHELL, SHARD, AEGIS

So as I said above, this skill combo depends heavily on Poseidons burst, burst can be easily countered by the actives above, so make sure you dont blow everything on an aegis, as after blowing up your Kraken, Poseidon has no kill potential.

Whirl Pool -> Release the Kraken! -> Tidal Wave -> Trident

||Tips||

So to make sure you arent denied of that beautiful Kraken kill, some things to consider is making sure the enemy has used his Aegis if he has it. ALSO knowing your damage is very important. Things you should be CONSTANTLY thinking is "Do I have enough damage to kill him?", if you blow your ultimate kill combo on a tank with full health and magical protections, its a complete waste.

STARTING ITEMS

Vampiric Shroud, Boots (Level 1), 1 Health Pot, 1 Mana Pot

Then

Enemy Team Builds slightly Tanky -> Boots of Magi
Enemy Team does not build Tanky items -> Boots of Focus

Then

Enemy Team Has high magical Burst damage -> Focused Void Stone (Build Gem right after this)
Enemy Team doesnt seem to have much Magical threats -> Build Gem of Isolation (Ignore Void Stone)
Enemy Team seems to play not to aggressive, giving you a lot of farm -> Doom Orb (Build Gem of Isolation after this)

Then

Enemy Team has a fed (As In has been "fed" many kills by a player on your team, making him/her very strong) AD carry -> Breastplate of Valor
Enemy Team doesnt have a fed AD carry -> Spears of Magus

Then

Rod of Tahuti

YOUR BUILD at this POINT 25:00~30:00

Physical Heavy Opposing Team: Vampiric Shroud, Boots of Focus, Gem of Isolation, Spears of Magus, Breastplate of Valor, Rod of Tahuti

Magical Heavy Opposing Team: Vampiric Shroud, Boots of Focus, Focused Voidstone, Gem of Isolation, Spears of Magus, Rod of Tahuti

Snowball (If you are winning): Vampiric Shroud, Boots of Magi, Doom Orb (Sold later), Gem of Isolation, Spears of Magus, Rod of Tahuti


Replacement for Vampiric Shroud -> Bancrofts Talon OR Ethereal Staff OR anything really, very situational.

Replace Spears of Magus for Obsidian Shard (IF IT GOES VERY LATE GAME)

Replace Doom Orb for -> Focused Void Stone OR Bancrofts Talon

I`m not a math whizz, so I dont select items by adding and subtracting stuff, but I do know my items, so without further delay, here is the item section:


Vampiric Shroud

Standard starting item for Mages. It gives a bit extra Mana and magical power for just 750, and gives you the amazing passive for sustain in lane. Great for Poseidon as he blows through mana very quickly in the early game stages.


Boots (Magi/Focus)

Every God of every Role needs movement for obvious reasons. Mages have the selection between the two types of boots. Magi which has Magical Penetration, and Focus which has CD reduction, allowing your skills to be at your disposal quicker. I find Poseidon to be decent with both, but it is very situational. If the enemy has gods who are prioritizing tanky items, I will go for Boots of the Magi for extra penetration, if the enemy team does not build tanky I will build into Boots of Focus so I can spam abilities.

Gem Of Isolation

Like I said before, Poseidon has no real stuns to help him set up kills for himself and his teammates. Therefore, he really depends on his Whirl Pool ability to set up kills as it has the cripple effect (Making enemy Gods unable to use escapes within them)However, Gods can easily walk out of the Whirl Pool although it pulls the enemies to the center of it. Gem of Isolation slows enemy God`s within in, making it more difficult for God`s to simply "walk" out of it. This slow, mixed with the cripple effect make Poseidon`s Whirl Pool ability very deadly. It is amazing for setting up kills.

Spears of Magus

This item is used in this build for one reason, its passive and magical penetration it offers. The passive lowers enemy magical defenses when hit by the user`s abilities. God's who primarily use this item are Gods that can stack the passive quickly. Poseidon spams his whirl pool into Kraken into his tidal wave very quickly making him great with the item. The reason for picking the item over Obsidian Shard is because, Spears of Magus scale a lot better early game, and really helps in teamfights as it lowers enemy magical protections, allowing magical damage dealers on your team besides yourself to be more effective when it comes to damage. I will sell this late game (Late game as in when everybody has there full builds) for Obsidian Shard as Shard scales a lot better than Magus late Game.

Rod of Tahuti

The main purpose of the item is that it gives so much magical damage to mages. Not only does it offer 125 magical power, but 25% more magical power to the user. So this is a core item for obvious reasons. It is however very expensive, so be mindful when buying.


Bancrofts Talon

This item is also purchased and incorporated in the build because of the damage it offers to the buyer. Not only that but it offers lifesteal, which is never a bad thing. Its passive, gives magical damage the lower health you have, so can be very useful when you are about to die.

Doom Orb

This item used to be considered very bad before the last patch which made it so you only lost half the stacks you have. Not only this very worth it for a midlane player who can gain those stacks very quickly, it is very efficient and cheap, making it worth the buy. I only buy this item if I know if I can efficiently farm and can limit my deaths that game.

Ethereal Staff

This is a very tanky item as it offers 600 health. The only reason I would buy this item late game is if I get focused a lot in teamfights or just focused in general. If the enemy team feels a Poseidon is the biggest threat, most likely he will be targeted. Ethereal Staff will give you that extra survivability, making it a very efficient buy.

Breastplate of Valor

This item is used/picked up when I feel the enemy AD carry is a huge threat. Lets say an enemy Hun Batz or Anhur gets fed, a squishy Mage like yourself will easily get destroyed, so the physical protections offered from this item help you out very much. Reason why this item would be picked over something like Hide of The Nemean Lion is because it offers cool Down reduction and also gives a ***ping 550 Mana. Allowing you to spam more spells.

Focused Void Stone[/color

This item is not a core item for me as I find it kind of situational. It is a great item after the patch for Poseidon, as the Aura effect is only on the Normal Void Stone. I normally pick this item up if they enemy team has a heavy AP damage dealer, (I.E Freya, Agni etc...) The magic protection and damage along with the penetration make it an amazing item.

Laning Phase is very important for the Mid Lane as it is a 1 v 1 farm fest to see who can outplay the opponent better. Here is a brief run down on what you can do to maximize your efficiency while in the midlane.

EARLY GAME

Arrive to your lane, and farm very cautiously, with the new meta, Junglers can jump through the side harpy camps and easily kill you. As Poseidon you can farm very easily. When the creep wave comes up, hit the front creeps constantly with your Auto attacks, this will bunch the creeps\Minions up by the time they meet your minions, allowing you to round them up with your Whirl Pool and deal the maximum damage possible. Your wave clearing combo will consist of bunching them up with your Auto attacks then using Whirl Pool then using Tidal Wave.

VERY IMPORTANT

In the early game, YOU MUST, and I will not stress this more, meet up with your jungler and help him clear the side harpy camps, or any buff in general. Push your wave quickly and meet up with him and help him clear it. This allows your jungler to move through the camps quicker, setting up more ganks and giving you additional experience. MAKE SURE to prioritize the side harpy camps (THE ONES PLACED RIGHT NEXT TO THE MIDLANE), as they give a significant amount of experience.

MID GAME

This is where things get fun, farming is still important but you want to start making plays. By "Plays" I mean coordinated ganks to your sidelanes, or taking Gold Fury. ROTATIONS are so important when it comes to playing the midlane. YOU MUST rotate and call any missing calls. So this is how rotating works: Push the wave, see that enemy is backing in your lane, you wait until they back and swiftly move to a sidelane and set up a kill. If no lanes seem gankable, push your lane HARD, but carefully and buy WARDS. Place them around places you can potentially get ganked from, and near the Gold Fury.

LATE GAME

Same stuff as midgame, except now your attention shifts to the Fire Giant and teamfights. As a mage, generally in teamfights you want to stand in the very back, spamming spells and doing as much damage as you can. Your tanks should protect and peel (Peeling means when your tank/support "peel" the enemy from you, allowing you to be safe) and you should position yourself so you dont get caught in a Odin ult, or a Ymir Freeze. Let your team initiate, and when the time seems right, Release dat Kraken, and see the health bars drop. At this point, you should always be with your team, and constantly pushing to Phoenix's and trying to take Fire Giant, You should not have ANY potions, but only Wards, WARDS WARDS WARDS, vision is love and love is Vision, remember that. If all goes well, you should win.

Thanks so Much if you did read the whole guide, I know its a wall of text but for anyone who wants to get better and succeed a little bit, then I suggest reading the whole thing.

The Meta is constantly changing, and this guide will probably washed up in no time. However I feel the Kraken will never get old.


The success to winning is also logical things such as not being mean to your teammates and always giving out constructive crticism.

Remember: WARDS, ROTATIONS, CALL MISSING CALLS.


Any feedback is appreciated as this is my first REAL guide. Thanks.

<3 :*

-IGN Elitee