Why Singed builds multiple Dark Seals

If you’ve been anywhere near the top lane recently, you may have noticed a new pest in the top lane. It’s even popped up in competitive play, with appearances in the LCK, LPL and three games (with two wins) by Echo Fox top laner and Singed master Hyeong-seok “Looper” Jang in the NA LCS (using his own Singed skin from his 2014 Worlds victory with Samsung White).

Dark Seal is a cheap item that gives you mana (100 of it), ability power (15) and 25% increased healing from all potions. It also builds stacks on champion kills (two stacks) and assists (one stack), granting you three ability power per stack for a maximum of 30 AP at 10 stacks. You lose four stacks when you die, so there is significant risk involved.

Normally, you don’t see people build multiple Dark Seals because that stacking mechanic does not stack on top of itself. So even if you see a Singed with three Dark Seals each at 6 stacks, those stacks still give 18 AP, not 54.

What does stack, however, is the bonus to healing from potions, and that’s where Singed comes into play. If you’re familiar at all with Singed, you know that he wants to fling you over his head into his poison trail and run away, laughing while you die chasing him.

Adding 50%, 75% or even more bonus healing to Singed’s Corruption Potion (another early buy) increases his sustainability an incredible amount, especially when stacked with his ultimate (which also increases his health regeneration) and Catalyst of Aeons (his first major purchase, which turns 20% of mana spent into health gained). Add it all up, and the Mad Chemist becomes nearly impossible to kill.