Talk:Elise/@comment-4834593-20131024052915/@comment-7967732-20131025163518

Flask + pots is a decent start, nothing so special.

Doran + pot is the risky start, though with Elise, you can get away with it vs many other champs.

A bunch of pots + ward + Faeri Charm is the safest start. I either go this way or doran + pots.

How to decide? If I play vs someone that I can poke without much trade back, while he doesn't have much sustain (Darius, Jax, Olaf...) I will often buy Doran + 2 pots

If the thread of a gank is big (champion like Rammus, Xin, Lee will surely visit top at least once pre 6) then I often choose pots + wards + charm route. If a champion has huge sustain, I would also go this route this to poke more (Nasus, Vlad...)

The rest, I go with pots + flask.

I'm never a big fan of Seeker armguard or Zhonya for Elise. Unless vs a dangerous AD assassin (Zed, Kha, Talon...) I will always choose guise over armguard.