Veigar stacks AP infinitely. At 30 minutes with 1000+ AP, his R point-and-click one-shots ANY champion. His E cage is the best zone-control in the game. He's weak early but becomes a god late.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Phenomenal Evil Power
Passive
Veigar is the greatest Evil to ever strike at the hearts of Runeterra - and he's only getting bigger! Striking an enemy Champion with a spell or scoring a takedown grants Veigar permanently increased Ability Power.
Phenomenal Evil Power: Q last-hits on champions/minions give PERMANENT AP. Infinite scaling.
Q
Baleful Strike
Skillshot · Stack AP
Veigar unleashes a bolt of dark energy that deals magic damage to the first two enemies hit. Units killed by this bolt grant Veigar some ability power permanently.
CD: 6/5.5/5/4.5/4 · Cost: 30/35/40/45/50
Q fires a beam through 2 targets. Last-hitting with Q gives AP stacks. STACK OBSESSIVELY.
W
Dark Matter
AoE · Delayed · Nuke
Veigar calls a great mass of dark matter to fall from the sky to the target location, dealing magic damage when it lands. Stacks of Phenomenal Evil reduce Dark Matter's cooldown.
CD: 0 · Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
W drops a meteor after a delay. Massive damage but slow. Use on stunned/caged targets.
E
Event Horizon
Cage · Stun · Zone
Veigar twists the edges of space, creating a cage that Stuns enemies that pass through.
CD: 20/18.5/17/15.5/14 · Cost: 70/75/80/85/90
E creates a cage. Enemies who touch the walls are STUNNED. The best zone-control ability.
R
Primordial Burst
Point-Click · Execute · %Missing HP
Blasts target enemy champion, dealing a large amount of magic damage, increasing based on the target's missing health.
CD: 120/90/60 · Cost: 100
R deals %missing HP magic damage. Point-and-click. At 1000+ AP with 30% missing HP = one-shot.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then W, then E · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — stack AP | ||||
| 2 | Take E — cage | ||||
| 3 | Take W | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Primordial Burst | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level W | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level W | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level W | ||||
| 13 | Level W | ||||
| 14 | W maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level E | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level E | ||||
| 18 | E maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Core Build
Archangel's Staff
Mana for Q spam stacking.
2600g
Sorcerer's Shoes
Magic pen.
1100g
Rabadon's Deathcap
AP multiplier on 1000+ AP = absurd.
3600g
Void Staff
Magic pen.
2800g
Situational
Zhonya's Hourglass
Stasis vs assassins.
3250g
Banshee's Veil
Spell shield.
2600g
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
W slow.
2600g
Archangel's → Deathcap → Void. Deathcap on 1000 AP = 1400 AP. R one-shots anything.
Runes
Sorcery Primary
Summon Aery
Aery on Q poke.
Manaflow Band
Mana for Q stacking.
Transcendence
CDR for more Q casts.
Gathering Storm
AP scaling stacks with passive.
Inspiration Secondary
Magical Footwear
Free boots.
Cosmic Insight
CDR.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Veigar
01
Early Game
Q Stack AP, Survive
- Q last-hit EVERYTHING for AP stacks. Each minion kill with Q = +1 AP.
- Champion hits with any ability = +1 AP. Q poke gives stacks.
- E cage at chokepoints. Don't use aggressively — it's your self-peel.
- You're one of the WEAKEST early mages. Don't trade.
- Farm farm farm. Every Q last-hit makes you permanently stronger.
02
Mid Game
E Cage Zone, R Execute
- E cage → W meteor on stunned targets → Q → R execute.
- R deals %missing HP. At 50% HP, R one-shots most squishies.
- E cage zones entire areas. Enemies can't walk through walls.
- 300-500 AP stacks by 20 minutes. Your damage is getting scary.
- Zhonya's vs assassins. They can't kill you in stasis.
03
Late Game
1000+ AP God
- 1000+ AP. R one-shots ANY champion from 30% HP.
- E cage covers half the teamfight area. Enemies are trapped.
- W meteor with 1000 AP deals 1500+ damage. One-shots.
- R is point-and-click. CANNOT be dodged.
- Deathcap on 1000+ stacked AP = 1400+ total AP. Absurd damage.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Veigar
Veigar E cage zones the fight, W meteor nukes, R one-shots the carry. At 1000+ AP, nothing survives.
1
Zone — E Cage
Area denial
01
E cage on grouped enemies.
02
Walls stun anyone who touches them.
03
Enemies are trapped inside or zoned out.
E cage has a brief delay before walls appear. Aim AHEAD of enemy movement.
2
Nuke — W + Q
AoE damage
01
W meteor on stunned/caged targets.
02
Q through targets for burst.
03
1500+ damage per W at 1000+ AP.
3
Execute — R
Point-and-click delete
01
R the lowest HP enemy.
02
%missing HP = more damage on low targets.
03
Point-and-click — cannot be dodged.
At 1000+ AP, R deals 1500+ damage at 30% missing HP. ANY squishy below 70% HP dies to R alone.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Veigar.
Basic
Stack AP with Q
Every Q last-hit gives +1 permanent AP. Stack OBSESSIVELY. Every minion matters.
Intermediate
E Cage
E cage walls stun. Place it so enemies either walk into the wall (stunned) or are trapped inside.
Basic
R Execute
R deals %missing HP damage. Use on LOW targets for guaranteed kill.
Advanced
E Placement
E around enemies, not ON them. They're trapped inside with W dropping on their heads.
Basic
Weak Early
You're one of the weakest early mages. Farm and stack. Don't fight.
Intermediate
Infinite Scaling
Your AP stacks are PERMANENT and INFINITE. Every minute you get stronger. No cap.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Veigar struggles against mobile champions who dodge E cage and assassins who burst him early. He excels when left to farm and scale.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Fizz E hops over cage walls. He bursts you.
E cage → Zhonya's when he dives.
Katarina E blinks through cage.
E cage her R channel.
Yasuo dashes through cage walls.
E cage → W meteor when he's inside.
Wins Against
Both farm. You outscale infinitely.
Farm equally. Your scaling is infinite.
Both are simple. You outscale.
Farm and outscale. E cage outranges her R.
Both poke. You outscale and E cage catches her.
Farm and scale. E cage her when she walks forward.