League of Legends S12: Kai'Sa ADC Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Kai'Sa in the botlane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Crown of the Shattered Queen

2800 Gold

Manamune

2900 Gold

Nashor's Tooth

3000 Gold

Build

Kai'Sa is similar to Ezreal in that AP items work really well on her. The triumvirate of Crown of the Shattered Queen, Nashor's Tooth, and Manamune wll offer attack speed, tons of damage, and lots of mana sustain. 

Starting Item & Boots

Health Potion

50 Gold

Long Sword

350 Gold

Berserker's Greaves

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Kai'Sa skill priority is:

R > Q > W > E

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Kai'Sa in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Kai'Sa is an ADC who is extremely powerful in the lategame, capable of bursting down enemy champions. She excels in drawn-out teamfights thanks to her passive and high mobility. You can almost play her like an assassin, too - executing low-health targets and the more vulnerable, helping turn the tide of a teamfight before it's even started properly.

• Level 1 - Take Q - Icathian Rain, for faster wave clear and poke.
• Level 2 - Take W - Void Seeker, for more poke, 
• First Back - Work towards your Manamune with a Tear of the Goddess, for the mana sustain, or pick up your boots.

Tips & Tricks

• Don't underestimate the damage of your passive, which is your main source of damage in lane or against isolated targets. 
• After you've purchased enough items to grant 100 Bonus AD, you'll fire 12 missiles with Icathian Rain instead of six.
• At this threshold Void Seeker also sees more stacks applied, while hitting a champion reduces its cooldown by 77%.
• At 100 Bonus AD Supercharge will also turn Kai'Sa invisible for 0.5 seconds. 
• Her Second Skin passive applies a plasma stack when allies immobilize enemy champions. This is useful for joining a fight with Killer Instinct. 
• Void Seeker does not pass through minions and monsters. 
• You cannot attack during Supercharge. However, once the animation ends you'll earn a sizeable attack speed bonus. 
• Auto-attacks reduce the cooldown of Supercharge.