Hello, and welcome to my guide on Singed, The Mad Chemist. This article will give an indepth look at all of Singed's spells, optimal runes and masteries, my preferred item build, as well as what matchups Singed excels at, and how you should play him to make sure you are the most annoying toplaner possible.

Runes

The runes that I run on Singed are relatively simple, but I will highlight what makes them so strong. I run movespeed quints because of how well Singed synergises with movespeed, and it is arguably the most useful stat on him. I run dual pen marks to help with CS, as well as empower my fling-auto combo. The armor yellows and AP blues are basic runes and should be included in every Singed page, though the other runes can be swapped out for something that is of more personal preference.

Masteries

The masteries that I run are very standard for an AP toplane, but I have decided to go 21 into offense instead of a more defensive path, because I play a very aggressive style top lane. If you do not know what you are doing, or are in a matchup where the enemy has much higher kill potential than you do, I suggest switching to a more defensive or utility based mastery page.

Spells

Singed's passive is much like Galio's in the way that it uses one stat to give an additional other stat, but in Singed's case it is bonus health that is equal to 25% of his maximum mana. This allows Singed to have a unique build path that no other champion can reliably use, and gives him the choice of Tear or Catalyst depending on what the enemy lane looks like.

The first spell that will be discussed is the bread and butter ability of Singed, which is Poison Trail. This ability reads "Singed leaves a trail of poison behind him that lasts for 3.25 seconds. Enemies caught in the path will be dealt magic damage each second for 3 seconds. Continual exposure renews the poison." This ability lets you clear minion waves quickly without getting aggro, allows you to proxy waves very efficiently, as well as synergizes with Rylai's, which is one of your core items. If you can properly manage your mana, or at least keep an eye on it, this will make you a true terror in top lane.

Singed's W ability is Mega Adhesive, and it reads " Singed creates a pool of mega adhesive on the ground in a target 175-radius area. The adhesive lasts 5 seconds, causing all enemies who touch it to be slowed as long as they are in the adhesive and for 0.25 seconds once they are out of it." This ability has had new mechanics added to it, which has interactions with his E ability, Fling. With the new update to this ability, it gives the user a reason to get it earlier than the previously suggested level 7, and I suggest getting it at level 5 now for more kill potential, or possibly earlier if you are in a good position.

Singed's E is fling. This ability is fairly self explanatory, as it reads "Singed flings a target enemy unit, dealing magic damage and pulling the unit 550 units towards him. If Singed Flings a target into Mega Adhesive Zone, they will be snared for 1 second". This interaction with mega adhesive was recently changed, and makes Singed a much more potent top laner, and this is what you should keep in mind when trying to kill your enemy laner. The best combo to do is already have a Mega Adhesive down behind you, Fling the enemy into it, and have a puff of gas out so they get poisoned mid air. This is Singed's move that makes it so that he can have a presence outside of splitpushing, and enemy toplaners should beware of a level 2 all in with Fling.

Singed's final, and ultimate ability, is Insanity Potion. Insanity Potion has been changed from when Singed was a top tier pick, and no longer gives tenacity, which was a large nerf to him. Instead, this ability reads "Singed drinks a potent brew of chemicals, enhancing his ability power, armor, magic resistance, movement speed, health and mana regeneration per 5 seconds. Lasts 25 seconds". This is vital for sustaining in lane, and after your first back with a Tear, you can practically charge it for free. Because this ability gives so much health and mana restoration, as well as the stats that are enhanced, it gives opportunities for many troll plays, and you can easily bait kills or get out of sticky situations.

Matchups

Singed has very few favourable matchups, but what matters most is that you are against a laner that cannot kill you if you are inbetween their towers killing their creeps. The best matchups for this are tanky toplaners who really can't do too much to stop you. Some of my favourite are Sion and Malphite, though more in meta toplaners are Maokai (not enough damage), and Dr. Mundo who really doesn't have much kill potential either, though his cleavers can be annoying. Some matchups that you want to watch out for are Irelia and Gnar, due to their slows and percent hp damage, as well as gap closers that will make sure you don't have a fun lane phase.

In order to have the greatest impact toplane, you want to play relatively safely pre 6, as you have weak early game stats, and it is not worth trying to fight other laners as you will not win a lot of trades. Once you are past level 6, you can freely proxy waves, which is done by farming in between the enemy towers. This makes it so the enemy top has to cs under tower, or take a lot of minion damage and risk jungle ganks.

Items

These items are for facing a toplane who has CC. The Mercury Treads allow you to proxy more efficiently and the speed boost makes you uncatchable without needing to ghost. The Spirit Visage should be swapped out for whatever armor item is required if you are against an AD heavy team, and remember, every item path is situational!

How to play Singed?

When playing singed, you should be looking to play extremely passive until your first back. You have low base stats and very little duel potential, unless your enemy laneres are willing to chase you around or stand in the wave while killing creeps. After you back, you should be level 6 and have some sort of mana item, which also makes you tanky. At this point you should be looking to proxy waves in between towers. Make sure you buy multiple wards for every back and don't give the opponents any chance to kill you. Late game, you are one of the most annoying split pushers in the game, as you should be as tanky as a full build Cho'Gath, deal as much damage as a fed mid laner and be faster than almost any opponent. Be sure to use this to your advantage. If you follow these general guidelines, you should be splitpushing your way to victory in no time.

I hope that with this guide you are able to survive lane phase with Singed, and create enough map pressure that no toplaner will want to face you again.