Amplifying Tome

Every mage build in League of Legends starts with an Amplifying Tome somewhere: 20 Ability Power for 400 gold in patch 26.21, no passive, no recipe. Sixteen items build out of it, from Lost Chapter, Fiendish Codex and Haunting Guise up to Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Hextech Gunblade and Imperial Mandate, which is the widest tree of any Ability Power component.

What does Amplifying Tome do?

It adds 20 Ability Power. Spells, shields and heals that scale with AP get a little bigger, and that is the full description.

Twenty AP is a small number on its own. A level three Lux Q with a Tome does maybe 15 more damage than without, which no one notices in a single trade, and that is why nobody buys the Tome for its own stat. You buy it because the recall timer is up, the next component is still a few hundred gold away, and 400 gold of progress beats 400 gold sitting in the bank. Is there a situation where the stat itself matters? Early roams, maybe: a mid laner who recalls at minute four with a Tome and a potion has slightly better kill pressure on the first gank than one with nothing (slightly is the right word).

Is it worth the gold?

Exactly even. Amplifying Tome is the reference item our efficiency numbers use to price Ability Power, 20 gold per point, so 20 AP is worth 400 gold and the item sits at 100% for 400 gold.

It sells back for 280 gold. Thing is, two Tomes are a worse buy than one Blasting Wand whenever the Wand is affordable, because the Wand packs more AP into one slot at a slightly better rate, so the Tome is for recalls under 850 gold or for finished items whose recipe calls for a Tome specifically rather than a Wand.

What does Amplifying Tome build into?

Sixteen items, which cover almost every AP build in the game:

• Mage components: Lost Chapter, Fiendish Codex, Haunting Guise, Aether Wisp, Hextech Alternator, Blighting Jewel, Fated Ashes and Bandleglass Mirror.
• Defensive components: Seeker’s Armguard and Verdant Barrier.
• Finished items: Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Hextech Gunblade, Imperial Mandate, Horizon Focus, Oblivion Orb and Guinsoo’s Rageblade.

So a Tome in your inventory commits you to nothing, and that flexibility is its real value. In practice the common route is Tome into Lost Chapter or Fiendish Codex on the second recall, but a mage who decides mid-game that Rylai’s or Horizon Focus is the right call loses nothing by having started with a Tome. The LoL items database shows all sixteen with their current prices.

Who buys it?

Mages, AP junglers, AP top laners, enchanters heading for Imperial Mandate or Bandleglass Mirror, and the on-hit champions who want Guinsoo’s Rageblade. Honestly, that is close to half the champion roster. Marksmen, tanks and AD assassins have no use for it, and a Tome on a Zed is the kind of misbuy people screenshot (it happens more than you’d think). Who else might want one? Nobody comes to mind.

How has it changed over the patches?

Once. Riot’s data lists the Tome at 435 gold from 2013 or earlier and cuts it to 400 gold in patch 14.1, the big item update of that season. The 20 Ability Power has never moved. Funny enough, that single price cut reset the reference rate for Ability Power across the whole shop, since every AP item takes its price from the Tome.

When should you buy it?

On any recall where you are an AP champion with between 400 and roughly 800 gold after wards and potions. Above that, a Blasting Wand or a Fiendish Codex is the better use of the slot. For what it’s worth, the Tome and a Refillable Potion is one of the most common first backs in the mid lane for exactly this reason: cheap, safe, and on the way to everything. If you are still deciding whether an Ability Power role suits you, our guide to LoL roles covers what mid laners and mages do with their early gold, and Amplifying Tome is usually the first thing they buy.

FAQ

How much does Amplifying Tome cost?

400 gold in patch 26.21. It sells for 280 gold.

What stat does it give?

20 Ability Power.

Does it have a passive?

No. It is a flat Ability Power component.

How many items build from it?

Sixteen, including Lost Chapter, Fiendish Codex, Haunting Guise, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Hextech Gunblade and Imperial Mandate.

Amplifying Tome or Blasting Wand?

The Wand when you can afford it, since it gives more Ability Power per slot. The Tome when you have less gold or your finished item needs a Tome in its recipe.