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Since the rune update in season eight, Kleptomancy has found its way into the League meta quite a few times. Whether it was top laners like Riven, Fiora, and Gangplank picking it up, or Ezreal’s taking it every game, the utility it provided was strong.
Kleptomancy’s RNG-element has the chance to dictate how your laning phase goes, which can affect the outcome of the entire game. Getting a crucial Sly Sack of Gold on your back, or possibly an Elixir of Wrath mid-fight can swing the tide of the game in your favor.
Pros have been increasingly picking up the rune in recent patches as overpowered runes like Conqueror and Aftershock have been nerfed. It’s not just limited to the likes of Ezreal nowadays, with Draven, Sona, and Twisted Fate becoming the three big users of the Inspiration keystone.
Kleptomancy’s synergy with auto-attack focused kits makes it incredibly easy to generate gold. Every time Draven starts a new axe, his first two auto-attacks on a champion are guaranteed Klepto procs, while Sona spends most of the game with Klepto up with her short cooldowns.
Twisted Fate usually tries to auto-attack a champion after using Pick A Card too, making Kleptomancy a sensible option for him over the likes of Arcane Comet.
Even the likes of Vladimir have found a way to use Kleptomancy effectively. Damwon Gaming’s top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon has been trying out Vladimir with the rune with varying success, but the principle of running Kleptomancy on Vladimir is trading with your Q, Transfusion, and an auto-attack or two to get the procs.
Another reason why Kleptomancy is so strong is because the rest of the Inspiration runes are so strong compared to other trees. Being able to take Magical Footwear, Biscuit Delivery, and Time Warp Tonic in one rune page is incredibly strong for solo laners.
You can swap runes around too, like bringing in Perfect Timing if you need a stopwatch, or Cosmic Insight if you value the increased cooldown reduction cap. This kind of universal power and flexibility is non-existent in the other rune trees, which heavily favor linear styles of play.
There’s an endless list of champions you can try out Kleptomancy with. Nasus is an old-school Kleptomancy user, allowing him to farm stacks and gold at the same time with his Siphoning Strike. Orianna would see value in Kleptomancy with her Q cooldown being incredibly low and her auto-attack focused passive, but Summon: Aery is still the stronger choice for now.
Either way, Kleptomancy is in a really strong place right now, and picking it up in your next ranked game might make the difference between a win and a loss.
