Best AP champions to build in League of Legends Season 15

League of Legends ^[1] may have over 100 champions, but not all of them are usually picked. There are usually two groups of people. The first go for AD champions to ensure they can deal devastating damage with their basic attacks. On the other hand, some players go for AP champions to ensure their abilities can wipe out entire teams easily.

Today, we want to focus on the best AP champions in League of Legends. To be specific, we want to highlight the best AP champions in League of Legends Season 15 while highlighting their strengths and the best items you should build for them if you want a competitive advantage against the enemy.

So, without any further ado, here are the best AP champions to build in League of Legends Season 15. If you don’t know how to use any of the champions we list then there’s no need to worry. Just hire a professional League of Legends coach from Eloking and have them show you the ropes. You can even use the code “BoostToday” for an excellent 20% discount.

Cho’Gath

Cho’Gath is a terrifying presence in the top lane, capable of massive burst damage and excellent utility in team fights. With this AP magic penetration build, you’ll easily shred enemies, dominate skirmishes, and control objectives. Everybody underestimates this champion when they first come against them but they end up banning him in the next game when they see how terrifying his size can eventually be.

Item Build Path

1. Start:

• Dark Seal + Refillable Potion (for AP stacking, upgrade to Mejai’s later).

2. Core Items:

• Lost Chapter, Luden’s Echo: High burst damage and mana regeneration.
• Void Staff: Magical penetration to neutralize resistances.
• Demonic Embrace: Adds sustained damage and durability.

3. Situational Items:

• Rabadon's Deathcap: Max AP for increased damage.
• Banshee's Veil: Protection from AP-heavy teams.
• Cosmic Drive: Mobility and ability haste for sustained fights.
• Morellonomicon: Healing reduction against sustain-heavy opponents.
• Gargoyle Stoneplate: Additional survivability in prolonged fights.

4. Boots:

• Sorcerer's Shoes for magical penetration and Defensive boots (e.g. Mercury's Treads or Plated Steelcaps) depending on matchups.

Gameplay Tips

• Early Game: Farm safely to stack AP while avoiding bad trades.
• Combos: Use Q (Rupture) for knock-ups, then W (Feral Scream) to silence. Layering constant damage with E (Vorpal Spikes)
• Late Game: Stay out of vision. Ambush the enemies and one-shot squishy enemies with your combo.
• Team Fights: Position yourself in order to get close to the enemy team while protecting your backline.

Gwen

Gwen is still an extremely strong top laner, even after nerfs. She can play tanky or full AP, and most high-elo players prefer the full AP build since it has huge carry potential. One of the best things about her is how she can quickly damage enemies with her scissors while also being immune to damage for a while, similar to Shen. 

Item Build Path

1. Start:

• Doran's Ring 
• Health Potion

2. Core Items:

• Riftmaker: Omnivamp and sustain for lengthy fights.
• Nashor's Tooth: AP and attack speed stack for easy and stable DPS.

3. Situational Items:

• Rabadon's Deathcap: Max out AP scaling.
• Void Staff: High magic resist penetration
• Zhonya's Hourglass: Survivability during an engage
• Cosmic Drive: More mobility along with AP 
• Jak'Sho, The Protean: longer durability

4. Boots:

• Sorcerer's Shoes for penetration or defensive boots when needed.

Gameplay Tips

• Don't blind-pick Gwen: She struggles against certain counters.
• Position carefully early: Focus on farming and scaling before engaging.
• Leverage her sustain: Prolonged fights are Gwen's strength due to her healing and damage.

Mordekaiser

A top-tier, high-damage AP carry whose simplicity scales best; the AP juggernaut whose unique ultimate of isolating those key targets seals the deal with reliable domination throughout mid to late-game fights. Mordekaiser has a fairly high pick-rate and that's no surprise when you consider how he can dominate the top lane and then snowball to become a menace for the enemy team.

Item Build Path

1. Start:

• Doran’s Shield 
• Health Potion

2. Core Items:

• Riftmaker: Sustained damage and healing in extended fights.
• Rylai’s Crystal Scepter: Enhanced utility with slows from your abilities.

3. Situational items:

• Demonic Embrace: Burn damage and durability.
• Zhonya’s Hourglass: Survivability and utility during team fights.
• Void Staff: Counters high magic resist builds.
• Rabadon's Deathcap: Max AP for late-game dominance.

4. Boots:

• Sorcerer's Shoes is for penetration, and Plated Steelcaps is for defense against AD-heavy teams.

Gameplay Tips

Farm and poke: Focus on farming efficiently and harass with your Q to pressure enemies.

Ultimate usage: Use R (Realm of Death) to isolate and eliminate key threats or secure objectives during team fights.

Teamfight presence: Leverage your tankiness to soak damage and disrupt the enemy team while dealing sustained DPS.

Positioning: Don't get kited by proper timing of engages and management of cooldowns.

Kennen

Kennen is rarely seen in the games, but when he is, his veteran players unleash devastation. Though not often seen compared to newer champions, Kennen still is a good AP pick, with a great kit and a game-changing ultimate. Arguably the best thing about Kennen is how devastating his ult can be, damaging everyone surrounding him and having the potential to wipe out enemies in team fights. Not to mention how fast this little critter can be.

Item Build Path

1. Start:

• Doran's Blade
• Health Potion

2. Core Items:

• Hextech Rocketbelt: Closes distance and adds some burst damage
• Zhonya's Hourglass: Survivability on ultimate engagements

3. Situational items:

• Shadowflame: Extra magic penetration on squishy targets
• Void Staff: High magic resist counter
• Morellonomicon: Anti-healing utility
• Rabadon's Deathcap: Max AP for late-game damage

4. Boots:

• Sorcerer's Shoes for damage or Ionian Boots of Lucidity for cooldown reduction.

Gameplay Tips

• Poke & harass: Spam your Q and W for consistent damage against the enemy, creating trades.
• Combo execution: Land your Q and W marks and then pop off with E and R for a kill or win the trade.
• Teamfight positioning: Dive back with your ultimate at the right time to catch enemy carries.
• Zhonya's synergy: Activate your ult, then pop Zhonya's to stay alive while your R wreaks havoc.

Malphite

Malphite is a top-lane mainstay whose kit is extremely simple. This makes him a great beginner pick and an elite pick among many players. Not only can Malphite be built into a tank to ensure his already tanky stats are amplified, but a very popular build for this rocky champion is going for AP. This ensures Malphite can dish out insane damage while also being mildly tanky.

Item Build Path

1. Start:

• Doran's Shield 
• Health Potion

2. Core Items:

• Sunfire Aegis: Tankiness with damage via Immolate.
• Frozen Heart: Slows the attack speed of enemies and offers mana and armor.

3. Situational items:

• Thornmail: Anti-healing and reflection damage to AD champs.
• Abyssal Mask: Magic resist and synergies for allies that are heavily AP.
• Force of Nature: Counter for a heavy AP team.
• Randuin's Omen: Critical strike damage reduction to enemy ADC.

4. Boots:

• Plated Steelcaps is if it’s a heavy AD, and Mercury's Treads is if it’s a heavy AP or CC team.

Gameplay tips

• Select into AD comps: Malphite does well against teams with many AD, but dislikes fed AP threats.
• Q to poke and chase: Slows enemies while gaining movement speed to close trades.
• Ultimate impact: Use your R to set up fights, disrupt his enemies, and synergize with Yasuo.
• Team utility: Build a tanky and focus on CC and zone carries during fights.

Kayle

Kayle is an AD/AP champion and one of the game's strongest hyper-carries. Master her scaling potential to win matches and dominate enemies. The only downside is that Kayle doesn't show her full potential until later in the game when she hits the required level, though she's a force to be reckoned with when she finally ascends.

Item Build Path

We'll go through Kayle's item build path for those looking to build this AP-heavy champion.

1. Start:

• Doran's Ring or Doran's Blade 
• Health Potion

2. Core Items:

• Riftmaker: Sustained damage with omnivamp.
• Nashor's Tooth: AP and attack speed synergy using Kayle’s auto abilities

3. Situational items:

• Rabadon's Deathcap: Max AP scaling for max magic damage.
• Void Staff: Magic penetration through enemy resistance.
• Guinsoo's Rageblade: Hybrid build enhancement.
• Zhonya's Hourglass: Survival tool.
• Guardian angel: Extra durability + revive mechanic

4. Boots:

• Berserker's Greaves or Sorcerer's Shoes according to the build path.

Gameplay Tips

• Focus on farming to land power strikes.
• Use wards to avoid jungle ganks
• Compel fights through securing objectives for maximum late-game potential from Kayle.

Position well and let enemies come to you, avoid pushing.

References

1. [1] "League of Legends official website". www.leagueoflegends.com. Retrieved January 19, 2025