Talk:Skarner/@comment-181.132.172.149-20120626135921

I tried Skarner during his most recent free week and found out that he is actually a lot of fun, so I've decided to buy him as soon as I've accumulated enough IP; however, I only played him in custom games just to try him, and as such I don't have any real in-game experience with him.

Thus, I came to this page on a whim to get an idea on how to build/play him. I learned a lot, but I have a few questions which I can hopefully get answered.

Unless I'm mistaken, the best way to build/play him is an off-tank initiator, with your main role being to Impale the carry and haul ass back to your team. Am I correct in that?

Why is Heart of Gold necessary? Is it solely because it's a gp10 item, or is it because it builds into Randuin's Omen, which is (as far as I can tell) a good item for Skarner?

From what I've gathered, one should build Skarner either as a full tank with Trinity Force or as an off-tank with Trinity and a bit more AP to the side. With that in mind, wouldn't Rylai's Crystal Scepter be a good item for Skarner? Since he does the most damage when he's up close to his target, the slow let's you pound away easier while the health boosts your tankiness and the AP boosts your damage output. Additionally (unless I'm very mistaken), the slow will proc on your ultimate after it's finished, giving your team more time to kill the unfortunate victim OR giving you more time to kill someone after your ultimate is finished OR something else of the sort.

Finally, it seems generally accepted that Skarner's first few buys should be Philosopher's Stone, Boots of Speed, Heart of Gold, and Sheen. Where should I normally go after I have these items? Should I focus immediately on building my Trinity Force? Should I have already bought my full boots (most likely Mercury Treads) before Heart of Gold or Sheen? If I'm building tanky, will it be an upgrade to my gp10 items or should I focus on other tanky items first?

These are a lot of questions, I know, but if I could get them answered that'd be great. Thanks and such.

tl;dr: noob skarner help plox.