Koshka: Return to Power by MisfortuneStrikes

Koshka: Return to Power

By: MisfortuneStrikes
Last Updated: Oct 22, 2015
4 Votes
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Build 1 of 1

Koshka

Build: 1.9 Koshka

Ability Path

Bloodrush
Heroic Perk
Pouncy Fun
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Twirly Death
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Yummy Catnip Frenzy
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Threat Meter

Threat
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High
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Threat Hero Notes
1
SAW "Hello? What a massive gun you have. It'd be a shame if something.... happened to it." WP SAW is going to need stacks to be effective, and you excel at bursting targets like him down. He's no issue, but be aware of his Roadie Run and Mad Cannon's missing health damages. If you're low, he can assassinate you.
2
Koshka "I am a beautiful woman. I respect me." This is a battle of skills and wills. This build gives you a defensive edge that your enemy likely won't match until later. Make sure you know your limits when engaging her.
3
Taka "Did you see that? No, over there-- OW! That hurt! You have a nice tail, do you like mine? Your claws are totally fake though, let me show you what REAL claws feel like!" WP Taka is no problem if you buy a Light Armor first. Pop a potion after he puts his first crit strike on you, wait for him to Kaiten and then give him a Twirly Death he'll never forget. "I'm getting real tired of this goop." CP Taka is practically a potato early game, so just go crush him. After his build gets going, you may need to ult him, but honestly a flare will provide all you need to wipe him clear off the map.
4
Fortress "Get back to Ask Again Later, you nasty dog!" Fortress truly is a "win more" sort of support, and while he can give you trouble, he isn't that great at helping his allies escape you, which is probably what he needs to be doing.
5
Adagio "You're just an old, boring man-thing! And put a shirt on! Also, have you seen my pants?" Adagio's Agent of Wrath can buff his allies similarly to your Twirly Death, an interesting balance. His Gift of Fire can save your targets too, which is quite annoying. Unless he's building CP as a carry, you're probably safe to ignore him until everyone else is dead, with the exception of making sure someone Crucibles his Verse of Judgement.
6
Phinn "Ugh. New guy problems. Why can't we all just get along?" Phinn is annoying. This CC machine can ruin your day, plus he's super hard to kill. Get caught in his chain of woe, and you're probably already dead. Dodge him, and you are free to make a fool out of his team.
6
Ardan "Sorry about your goat. No, it wasn't me. I just use my claws, not a bow or anything like that. You wanna see them? I painted them for last week's rave!" Ardan's Gauntlet is somewhat helpful for you, as it brings everyone together for a nice hug with Twirly Death (it isn't often that you get 3 stacks off of that during a teamfight, and yet here we are). His Vanguard is extremely good as it slows you, protects allies, and allows them to attempt to flee with a speed boost or to try and turn the tides. Just be careful of what he's up to.
6
Skye "Wanna race? First one to the other vain wins! Hey! No jetpacks! Fine, I'll just take a piggy-back ride then! Haha! How do you like THAT!?" Skye is obviously a huge threat if she lands her full combo on you or anyone else. Save your Pouncy Fun until after she Suri Strikes and you'll have no issues keeping on the offensive. If you wreck her early game, she stands less a chance of recovering at all.
7
Ringo "Shouldn't someone like you, you know, with just one arm, be healing up back on the platform? That's what I thought too! Let me get you back there the fastest way I know!" If Ringo gets an Achilles Shot off onto you before you get within melee range, just back off. Otherwise you can take his other arm for him-- he won't be needing it where he's going.
7
Vox "So fast! I can like, barely keep my eye on him. OONTZ OONTZ oh yeah that's a good beat man! WOAH!" *muffled excited yelling* I haven't run this against any Voxes while using this build yet, but he's one to keep an eye on. He can outrun you with Sonic Zooms late game, so make sure you don't overextend when chasing him.
7
Catherine "Big woman with a shield. Take that away and what are you? Another shield!? That's cheating!!" Catherine's Merciless Pursuit is wonderful for setting up your enemies to consecutively stuns you, or at least allowing her team to burst you down some unanswered. Her Stormguard makes her fairly difficult to kill, and Blast Tremor can make you have to wait precious seconds before engaging. Make sure to head into fights or potential fights with at least 3 stacks of Twirly Death so that even if you're silenced, you can still be effective.
8
Joule "Where I come from, yooooou aren't a nice person. Doesn't matter. Wanna play?" When run as Crit Joule in a Stuns-For-Days comp, Joule is a nightmare. Use your speed to get behind her (every bit of damage counts) and dodge her Thunder Strikes.
9
Krul "So this weird viking guy met me at the bar yesterday. He was, like, really shy at first, and I dominated the conversation, but all of the sudden-- NO I'M TELLING THE STORY! All of the sudden, he got real up close and personal, and he just wouldn't go away. His breath reeked and he had really bad manners, so I clawed his face off-- AND IT GREW BACK! It was super scary, but I totally want to introduce him to my super Yummy Catnip when my friends are around to enjoy it too!" Pressure Krul early on, but if he gets the ball rolling, save your Yummy Catnip Frenzy for him, and make sure that you and your buddies kill him before that 2.2 seconds is up.
9
Celeste "So this girl, she had really long hair, and I just wanted to chop it allllll off! Really! Like, locks of love, except really I just wanted to play with it all by myself. OUCH! That stings! Now they can see me everywhere, and I STILL haven't found my pants!" Celeste's late game potential and vision-producing capabilities make her a difficult enemy to face. Gank her after key buys and keep an eye on her for defensive items. If she doesn't invest, punish her. If she does, your carry should gain an edge in outdoing her damage late game.
9
Glaive KOSHKA, "Another cat! I knew there were more! Why what a big axe you have!" GLAIVE, "Meow. The hunt is on." KOSHKA, "Can't catch me! I'm made of ginger--" *GLAIVE uses AFTERBURN* KOSHKA, "Oh wow. You sure are one tough cookie!" Glaive is dangerous. He's tanky, he crits, and he ruins your day: stunning you and knocking you away from your team and off of his carry. If possible, engage after his Afterburn's stun is exhausted.
10
Petal "WHO IS THAT????!?!?!?" This potato-planting garden salad is unstoppable in 1.9. Just AFK if she's on the other team. If she's playing the limited edition skin, weep one tear of regret at that 1799 ICE.
10
Skaarf "Awwww, it's so cute! Who's a good little fella?" *YOU HAVE BEEN SLAIN* Skaarf will absolutely love playing against you, because Koshka plays right into his hands. Building health? Sitting on top of me (and my goop)? Getting some major Fan the Flames action? Don't let Skaarf have his way. Back out of the fight if need be, but remember how terrifying your burst is and hop back in to execute and save allies if you can.

Koshka and Nerfs Top

Following the slew of Koshka defensive nerfs (patches 1.2, 1.3, 1.5) and offensive nerfs (patches 1.3, 1.5, 1.7), it's just been a bit more difficult to play as the crazy cat who lost her pants. Recently, I've discovered a wonderful cure to these setbacks. As a general disclaimer, I'm not a high-ELO player (currently T6 Bronze yoloqueueing), but I do consider myself a Koshka main and to be pretty accomplished at playing her.

Please, in the name of Playoffbeard, don't abuse this until Koshka gets nerfed again. I'm not asking for a buff (at least, not a big one :D) but lets don't provide any reason to nerf her further.

1.9 and Koshka Top

The (brief) rise of WP Vox and the return of WP Ringo have lead to a number of shifts in the meta here in NA. Predominantly, 1.9 has resulted in Celeste being a prime (if not the best) choice for lane, but excluding her, most of the other power players (BP Krul, Crit Joule, CP Skye, WP Ringo, WP/Crit Glaive, WP Rona, and still some WP Taka) are, as you notice, weapon powered.

Why is this good for Koshka?
--Koshka needs to be defensively oriented towards the other team so that when she hops in to deliver her colorful attacks she doesn't get instantly nuked into a death timer. More on this later.
--Assuming your laner isn't Celeste or Skye, it's highly likely in the current meta that they will build WP, allowing you to build CP in jungle and diversify your team's damage output.
--Koshka has always had one of the fastest jungle clears of all time, and she still holds up. She's so much remarkably faster than other prime jungle picks at the moment, you'll discover she can apply immense pressure all around the map with relative ease.
--Koshka's key trait is really her Twirly Death stacks working with her Bloodrush speed boost, which give her arguably the most consistent non-Mage crystal DPS in the game

DISCLAIMER:
This is NOT a guide on how to play Koshka. There are general tips in the hero-analysis section above (with the threat meter) but if you're looking to learn how to play Koshka, you'll need to find a different guide. For those who play Koshka, this build has an in-your-face assassin feel. You will deal lots of damage but also need to be able to take and physically dodge a lot too.

Time to Shine: Early Game Top

For the first buy you will need to analyze your enemy team. Most games I play these days are either a CP late-game carry and a WP early/mid game carry or dual WP carries. Obviously in this case you want to buy Light Armor first (along with either 4 potions or 3 potions and a flares, your personal choice-- don't pick up a scout trap this time), but you should always decide where you think the most damage will be hitting you from, and build accordingly.

The reason you don't start crystal bit or boots is that:
--With Crystal Bit: You get 22 base damage on your Twirly Death boosted autos and 16 base damage on your Twirly Death itself. This isn't too much really (considering that the base damage will do just fine for now), and the amount of damage you'll negate using Light Armor/ Light Shield is much much more valuable than dealing a pinch more damage right now. You probably won't fight before you buy again anyways, and the lack of one Crystal Bit will not slow down your clear that much either.
--With Boots: You get to stick closer to enemy targets but have zero combat stats. You are squishy, don't deal more damage, AND your passive was already allowing you to stick to people in early levels with ease. I facepalm every time I see a Koshka start boots. Please just don't do it.

If your clear pattern takes you to shop with 600+ gold, buy boots and a crystal bit, otherwise just take the boots and consumables of your choice. Sticking to targets is still more important than that 16 + (22*number of stacks) base damage.

When engaging in combat, pop a potion after you take enough damage so that the initial healing burst doesn't take you back to 100%. With higher defensive stats than others at this point in the game, your base damage will shine as you take little to no damage with the heals from the potion.

Building Power: Mid Game Top

Farm, farm, farm. Gank, gank, gank. Actively look for opportunities to steal farm (WITH, your support, mind you-- you don't want to get caught out) and take 2v1, 3v1, and 3v2 fights. Press every advantage. Steal the enemy's back camps. Take that gold mine, and hold onto it. Press that first turret out so that your laner can help you at the drop of a hat.

In terms of build, you're going to start to want both more damage and more health. Get your Broken Myth going and add a Dragonheart to it soon. Whenever it seems that you're actually taking significant damage from the other team, upgrade your T1 armor or shield, and don't be afraid to have both. Travel boots are also listed here for the 200 health and extra stickiness the passive speed gives you. The out-of-combat speed allows you to steal camps like a fiend and make your presence felt like some sort of global ult that's always active.

Depending on how things are going, finish the Broken Myth or Crucible first, then devote yourself to the other. At this point you'll have significant burst damage that only amps up as the fight continues.

You don't have an Energy Battery, so you'll need potions for the energy regen (and the health never hurts too). Remember that because of this, you can't just use abilities because they are up. Leash camps together and then Twirly Death. Use basic attacks without Twirly Death stacks when you don't expect pressure from the other team so that your abilities are off cooldown and you have energy to use them.

Remaining Dominant: Late Game Top

Build a Chronograph and turn it into an Aftershock. This means you'll be somewhat more focused on farm than your team expects in the late game, so just make sure to continue to be a team player and get that camp later so you can help your team now.

Even if your enemies aren't building health, everyone has a decent-sized HP pool by late game, and Aftershock would just looooove to take a part of that. About 15%, to be exact. Your burst will now be fairly incredible, and you'll be tanky enough to enlarge that as your Broken Myth stacks. You may need to weave in and out of battle, temporarily disengaging. This is how Koshka plays, don't feel ashamed.

If you need more defense (you likely will), get an Aegis or a Metal Jacket, maybe a Fountain (highly situational). Upgrading your boots to T3 is not a bad idea. If the enemy really isn't challenging you and you just need some more pushing power, build a Heavy Prism. Turn it into either an Alternating Current or a Shatterglass (Alternating Current for tanky compositions that have long-lasting teamfights, Shatterglass for just wiping someone off the map instantly but not having quite as strong a follow-up).

You will fall off as the game goes later, but with your Aftershock and massive stores of CP, you annihilate objectives. Stick a bit behind your team and Pounce into the lines of combat, spin, and deal your damage, then leave if necessary.

Thanks to the Readers Top

If you read this far, thanks a million! It means a lot to me!

Feel free to comment with questions, criticisms, and other relevant ideas.

Good luck on the Fold, and go annihilate some poor Ringo with one of those beautiful skins!

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