Talk:Xerath/@comment-4929259-20120816155834/@comment-173.17.13.86-20120820202610

Champions that push well (Heim, Cass, Morde, Malz) are tough match ups for me when playing Xerath because it's hard to push back w/Xerath's kit. Vlad becomes a difficult farm fest, Kass can crush you whenever you w w/his silence and ult on top of you, I find Gragas difficult early as well but I think I just need to play extremely passive against him.

Xerath is very item dependant, I find if I don't build either towards cdr/mana sustain (2xDorans, Chalice, Lucidity) or full ap (3xDorans, Dcap, Sorc's) that Xerath struggles early. 1st item RoA sucks imo on Xerath, and I prefer Chalice->Grail over Tear->AA. The quicker you can buy a Dcap the better, health can be addressed w/a Rylai's after damage and mana sustain are solidified. You want to be able to "rain damage" and "paint the screen blue" w/Xerath. Xerath's kit's only utility is a single target stun so you really just want to do as much damage as possible (either in a complete burst, or sustained).