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Blink Rune for 
Purification Beads if enemy composition has heavy CC. Regardless, you will almost always want Blink and Beads as your two relics. I explain more in the Relics section below.
Bumba's Dagger due to the cheap price and stats late game, among other reasons. I was never a believer in Bumba's for Kali in the past because the clear was so poor compared to Manikin and Eye but recent jungle starter changes have pushed this item to the forefront where overall value is concerned. You will still struggle a bit with early camp clearing using Bumba's but once your first item is online this will no longer be an issue.
Healing Potion) and saving the rest to jump-start my first full item which provides a nice early power spike, etc. Bumba's Dagger you have some flexible start options when it comes to Potion management. You can also go 
Multi Potion or 
Hand of the Gods if you want.
Swap Blink Rune for Purification Beads if enemy composition has heavy CC. Regardless, you will almost always want Blink and Beads as your two relics. I explain more in the Relics section below.
This is the new start for Kali. You go with Bumba's Dagger due to the cheap price and stats late game, among other reasons. I was never a believer in Bumba's for Kali in the past because the clear was so poor compared to Manikin and Eye but recent jungle starter changes have pushed this item to the forefront where overall value is concerned. You will still struggle a bit with early camp clearing using Bumba's but once your first item is online this will no longer be an issue.
I usually do not spend my entire 1500 gold in the beginning, only purchasing what I need (sometimes skipping the second Healing Potion) and saving the rest to jump-start my first full item which provides a nice early power spike, etc.
With the cheap price on Bumba's Dagger you have some flexible start options when it comes to Potion management. You can also go Multi Potion or Hand of the Gods if you want.
Bumba's Dagger
Mace
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Blink Rune
Odysseus' Bow up to the Tier 2 
Charged Bow for the passive and 20% attack speed. If you do this, you will only finish building Odysseus' Bow after completing all other items purchased afterwards (as well as your starter upgrade). 'If and When' is up to you.
Hastened Katana for Wind Demon, an item with good stats but more RNG. Be aware WD got a nerf to the AS recently. If you go the WD route you can sell 
The Crusher late game and purchase 
Deathbringer. Some duo-queue users may want to skip Hastened Katana completely but to me it seems you still need it in most games where you're not in comms and teammates aren't on the same page all the time.
Berserker's Shield instead of 
Serrated Edge, if that's something you like.
This is the new standard Kali build. It provides a faster full build path and excellent stats overall. This is in part due to some item buffs/nerfs, including the jungle starters.
Some users may wish to only build Odysseus' Bow up to the Tier 2 Charged Bow for the passive and 20% attack speed. If you do this, you will only finish building Odysseus' Bow after completing all other items purchased afterwards (as well as your starter upgrade). 'If and When' is up to you.
NOTE: You may want to swap out Hastened Katana for Wind Demon, an item with good stats but more RNG. Be aware WD got a nerf to the AS recently. If you go the WD route you can sell The Crusher late game and purchase Deathbringer. Some duo-queue users may want to skip Hastened Katana completely but to me it seems you still need it in most games where you're not in comms and teammates aren't on the same page all the time.
You may also try Berserker's Shield instead of Serrated Edge, if that's something you like.
Bumba's Spear
The Crusher
Odysseus' Bow
Hastened Katana
Qin's Sais
Serrated Edge
Blink Rune relic more often than not or try to flank the enemy if possible.Prioritize "Lash" as it's your main burst damage. Next max out "Incense" as it increases power and buff duration. Lastly, finish maxing your "Destruction" ultimate for longer duration and a bit more damage, followed by maxing "Nimble Strike".
You won't use "Nimble Strike" to dive onto enemies as often as you'd think - it's your main survival/evasion ability - you will want to engage with your Blink Rune relic more often than not or try to flank the enemy if possible.
There are situations where using "Nimble Strike" to jump onto an enemy is the correct play. Use your own discretion and reflect upon previous experiences.
Final Note: You may wish to level "Lash" again at level 3 if you don't think you'll need "Nimble Strike" yet and wait to level it when you hit 4, which is what a lot of players lean towards.
Y
B
A
X
Tap each threat level to view Kali’s threats
Manikin Scepter being a popular choice for Kali. It has recently fallen out of favor to Bumba's Dagger. I still enjoy Manikin and Eye but if you're wanting the most efficient build you would probably go with Bumba's in Start #1.
Eye Of The Jungle if you're expecting team fights to focus around neutral objectives rather than lane/phoenix line or if you want to focus more on invading/contesting and brawling with the enemy jungler. Mana Potion but you may opt for 2 Healing Potion instead. I find that after doing camps and rotating mid I need the extra mana to use abilities and pressure in lane. Often health isn't as much as an issue if I can stun them and have enough mana for lash, etc. Again, up to you.
This is a typical start with Manikin Scepter being a popular choice for Kali. It has recently fallen out of favor to Bumba's Dagger. I still enjoy Manikin and Eye but if you're wanting the most efficient build you would probably go with Bumba's in Start #1.
If you prefer, you may try Eye Of The Jungle if you're expecting team fights to focus around neutral objectives rather than lane/phoenix line or if you want to focus more on invading/contesting and brawling with the enemy jungler.
I usually go 2 Mana Potion but you may opt for 2 Healing Potion instead. I find that after doing camps and rotating mid I need the extra mana to use abilities and pressure in lane. Often health isn't as much as an issue if I can stun them and have enough mana for lash, etc. Again, up to you.
Manikin Scepter
Light Blade
Healing Potion
Mana Potion
Blink Rune
The Crusher just provides more and is good for a hybrid burst build which this meta is leaning towards, so overall I would recommend Build #1. Also, with recent Manikin changes you may wish to choose another starter item such as Bumba's (which received a nice little buff) or Eye. Another change you may wish to swap 
Ichaival and Qin's Sais build order if you're worried about price and value early game. Just some things to think about.This path has some of the highest overall damage potential of all the builds I've tested previously. Very high AA damage and AS while having good team skirmishes and boxing potential.
As you can see it's somewhat similar to the new Kali build with some slight changes. I will say it has a slower start than Build #1 but provides nearly equal stats once you're full build. This build is if you're wanting to try something different than the meta build every Kali will be using.
The Crusher just provides more and is good for a hybrid burst build which this meta is leaning towards, so overall I would recommend Build #1. Also, with recent Manikin changes you may wish to choose another starter item such as Bumba's (which received a nice little buff) or Eye. Another change you may wish to swap Ichaival and Qin's Sais build order if you're worried about price and value early game. Just some things to think about.
This build was very strong a couple patches ago but has fallen out of favor for the Bumba's + Crusher start in Build #1. It still performs very well and the starter item is ultimately up to you so there's some flexibility.
Manikin Mace
Qin's Sais
Hastened Katana
Odysseus' Bow
Ichaival
Serrated Edge
Know your match-ups. Do they have heavy healing? Do they have high CC? Annoying Slows? Need more survivability? Etc. etc.. Use these items as you need them but make sure to keep your core build. You will usually slot these in around your 4th or 5th item. These can also be considered 'flex' or 'optional' items.
Toxic Blade
Winged Blade
Berserker's Shield
Magi's Cloak
Bloodforge
Demon Blade
Blink Rune allows you to engage without using your "Nimble Strike" ability so you can escape with it if necessary. It also allows you to disengage from a failing team fight if you're able to avoid damage for a period of time. Purification Beads is another necessity. You may be tempted to purchase 
Aegis Amulet but do not be fooled. You're Kali - you have a stun, leap and an undying ultimate. You can survive a lot of engagements without needing "Aegis". You WILL die if you are stunned, mesmerized, crippled, rooted, silenced, etc, during a team fight where you won't get a chance to use your abilities. This is why Purification Beads is so crucial.
You will want these two relics pretty much every game. Blink Rune allows you to engage without using your "Nimble Strike" ability so you can escape with it if necessary. It also allows you to disengage from a failing team fight if you're able to avoid damage for a period of time.
Purification Beads is another necessity. You may be tempted to purchase Aegis Amulet but do not be fooled. You're Kali - you have a stun, leap and an undying ultimate. You can survive a lot of engagements without needing "Aegis". You WILL die if you are stunned, mesmerized, crippled, rooted, silenced, etc, during a team fight where you won't get a chance to use your abilities. This is why Purification Beads is so crucial.
Purification Beads
Blink Rune
UPDATE: With the removal of Boots we are seeing a lot more build variation and I want to let you know that I have tested every item combination viable on Kali that I could think of. I've taken into consideration Pro builds, streamer builds, my own theory testing and actual in-game experiences. You may not agree with my choices but I am confident that these builds work very well when factoring in AA damage, protection shred, objective shred, boxing potential and decent ability damage.
This is a build guide, not a how-to-play God guide. Kali builds tend to stay the same or similar over the seasons with minor nerfs/buffs, if any at all. Your builds can flex depending on your playstyle but try not to overthink it. I go over more details about my item decisions in each of the builds notes.
I would make a build for every game mode but to be honest I don't play every game mode consistently and don't want to lead people astray with assumptions. The majority of my time played is Conquest followed by Arena when I'm feeling like a quick game. I am tempted to make a "Mid" and "Solo" build for Kali but I won't lie - you will probably lose lane against smart opponents or due to god picks (especially in Solo) but you can certainly carry as "Mid" playing Kali in Casual Conquest. We'll see if I add builds later.
Kali is my most played god with many mastery stars and is the god I am most comfortable with. But as always take what myself and others say into consideration and make your own conclusions. See what works for you!
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Also going Ichaival 3rd/4th? Kinda want it earlier (like 1st) if you're going it, no?
I started going Qin's first again after watching SPL/SCC games (which I know shouldn't be the rule for regular players) and it's worked as well as it used to, imho. I think you're only losing 10% attack speed early from the previous Ninja Tabi build. Instead of Tabi second you're going into Hastened which is 15% instead of 25%. I understand the passive makes more sense late game and if not "maximizing" the item is a concern early game I guess players could just swap
Also, players may opt for
Machine, I think we strongly suggest NOT to build into
It will show up on the website like this:
I made some more edits and double-checked they went through. Check them out. Also note, I made changes I agreed with, I didn't change absolutely everything. Thanks for all your input so far!
But if you do fix this, it makes the guide look much nicer! I see you have the same thing on like your beads and such in the notes. Are you sure you are hitting publish again? I know for me when I first started I would hit "save" and on my side the guides looked updated, but unless you hit 'Publish' after your changes it will not show those changes on the website!
You will know it worked because your guide will be put at the top of the updated guides page since it would be the most recent guide updated - for example 3 of my support guides are there right now because I made changes to them this morning
1st build: Swap
2nd build: Swap
3rd build:
4th build: Swap
Considering that she will likely be able to get very solid use out of the passive due to her ult, I just don't see how it's really a "bad" item for her. Not saying it's fully optimal, but I feel this is an exaggeration.
Because of this,
I would recommend using build 4 but going