LeBlanc truly is the league’s deceiver. One of the most banned champions in solo queue, summoners fear and respect her skills that can take down any champion when executed perfectly. Even without Deathfire Grasp, she is just far too elusive thanks to her passive ability, Mirror Image, as well as her ultimate ability, Mimic. One does not simply kill a LeBlanc. Dash in, dash out maneuvers are a staple in any LeBlanc player’s bag of tricks.

With the removal of the Deathfire Grasp from the arsenal of all Ability Power (AP) burst champions in patch 5.2, you may be looking for an alternative for your LeBlanc build. Your options are mostly limited to the Morellonomicon, which is the go-to item for AP assassins now, or stacking up Mejai’s Soulstealer early in the game. Face it, the AP one-two punch is gone.

What if we take your experimental build to the next level? How about going one step further and placing her in the top lane instead of middle? What if we go for attack damage, a path less taken by LeBlanc players? Trinity Force, Statikk Shiv, Ghostblade? What if we swap ignite for teleport? This is not a typo. It may seem impossible but you should know by now that crazier things have happened in the rift other than top lane Attack Damage (AD) LeBlanc.

Professional players, most notably the Koreans, have popularized the top AD LeBlanc build. They’ve streamed games and have shown the potential LeBlanc has as a bruiser instead of a burst champion. A LeBlanc that no longer needs to retreat to the backline while waiting for her skills to cooldown, AD LeBlanc can stay in the fight and erase lifebars with auto-attacks along with her skill combo.

Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin, former AD carry of Season 3 World Champions SKT T1 and now the current ADC of Team Liquid, played AD LeBlanc as well as Jang “Looper” Hyeong-seok, the top laner of the Season 4 World Champions Samsung Galaxy White.

Piglet’s team forced their enemies to surrender, his KDA sitting at a pretty 14/0/2. No Deathfire Grasp? No problem. Even when laning against a Riven, AD LeBlanc can go toe-to-toe on early game exchanges and harass at a safe distance.

But just because we’re playing AD, that doesn’t mean we won’t be using any of LeBlanc’s skills. LeBlanc wouldn’t be called the deceiver if it weren’t for her kit because her auto-attacks alone don’t quite pack the punch natural AD champions offer. Let’s take a look at her kit and see how we can combo these up with basic attacks.

Skills
 Mirror Image (Passive)

Whenever LeBlanc drops below 40% health, she becomes stealthed for a second and creates a clone which lasts 8 seconds. Make it an effort to always confuse your enemies once you pop your clone whether you move it with you or away from you. There’s always a possibility of enemies targeting the wrong LeBlanc.

 Sigil of Malice (Q)

A targeted skill that deals magic damage and marks the target, the mark triggers if the target is hit with one of LeBlanc’s abilities and will deal additional damage.

 Distortion (W)

LeBlanc dashes to a target location and deals magic damage to nearby units leaving behind a pad or marker where she can teleport back to once distortion is reactivated. This is your get in/get out skill. Be aware of where your distortion marker is. Know when to keep running and when to reactivate it.

 Ethereal Chains (E)

A skillshot that slows and damages the enemy it hits. If LeBlanc stays in range, the target will be rooted and will take additional magic damage. This is LeBlanc’s only lock up skill, so make sure to land them on the right target and at the right moment.

 Mimic (R)

LeBlanc’s ultimate lets her re-cast the last spell she used.

Looper deceives enemies on AD LeBlanc with the following runes, masteries, and items.

*Hybrid Penetration Marks for a mix of armor and magic penetration, health per level seals, ability power glyphs and attack damage quintessences*

*26 points in offense putting 4 in utility for reduced recall time and enhanced mana regeneration*

Put a point in W at level 1 and max it first so you can dash into your enemy to land a few basic attacks then distort back to safety. Aside from providing mobility, it also deals a fair amount of magic damage. Max out Sigil of Malice by level 13. Ethereal Chains should be maxed last since you will only be needing it as a utility skill, and of course, level up Mimic whenever possible.

Items

Starting Items:   

First Recall:   

Core Items:   

Starting off with the Doran’s ring will help you in the laning phase considering that early in the game, you still need to rely on your spells to deal some decent damage. Landing auto-attacks on your opponent aside from your spell combo also helps to zone them out of the lane. Your goal is to soak more experience and gold. With your Sheen completed, you can play more aggressively; try to create opportunities to harass the enemy or you can gank other lanes. The Trinity Force is your bread and butter. Damage, ability power, attack speed, critical — all of these stats are crucial for your AD LeBlanc and perfectly complements your rune setup.

The Ghostblade should be a priority item as well. Cooldowns will be shorter, combos will be quicker, and coupled with Ionian Boots of Lucidity, you’ll be spamming those dashes all over the rift. The Statikk Shiv will give you more critical strikes with your basic attack and adds a fireworks display worth 100 magic damage.

Conclusion:

Playing LeBlanc in an unconventional way adds a new twist to her whole kit. Unwary enemies will be thrown off-guard at an instant when they see you teleport to a lane wielding a Trinity Force instead of a DFG. This also means that you can still do damage and contribute to team fights even if you miss your combos. With the amazing mobility and assassination potential that LeBlanc is known for, mixing in critical hits and attack damage makes her the assassin you all know and love or hate just with some swords.

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