Kripp's Apropos Scaling Pygmalien Build

Pygmalien's Greatest Hits

You could make a strong arguement that Caltrops and Atlatl are Pyg's two best items. While both require extra support in order to work, with enough scaling they can outperform almost every other Weapon in the game.

They are so build-defining that once scaled, you can usually drop other Weapons in favor of more defensive and/or utility items. This flexibility is one of the reasons they are so strong, and why they regularly find a home with many different Pyg builds.

Atlatl's speed is basically unmatched. Even Cooldown-increasing effects can't stop it, provided that it can scale its power to a higher value. Then there's Caltrops, which destroys mostly everything except the big one-Weapon setups.

Unlike most items in the game, they don't need Haste! This is a huge point in its favor, especially considering Pyg has extremely limited options when it comes to Haste. Instead you can divert all focus to Damage.

The existence of these types of Weapons (Yo-Yo is another great example) makes it always worth picking up some form of Damage scaling, unless you've narrowed in on some other very specific strategy.

Additionally, since many enchantments map to an item's stat value, Caltrops and Atlatl become super premium hosts for just about anything you can find. Unlike most items that can have some "dud" enchants, these two really can't miss.

Kripp had a Fiery Caltrops which applies an insanely fast clock to anyone on the opposing side!

Apropos Chapeau

Apropos Chapeau is probably the most unique of Pyg's scaling items. Since it needs specific tags to enable its Multicast, you have to be a little more mindful about the items you include on your board.

Its ability to scale all three stats simultaneously allows you to be rewarded for a more hybridized build. You can actually get value from including the odd defensive item into the mix, while also taking huge advantage of any Obsidian/Restorative/Shielded enchantments.

Don't feel the need to maximize its Multicast to five. Similarly to items like Weather Glass, you'll often get better results with a less restrictive board. 4x Multicast is more than enough output to justify its inclusion.

Alternative Scaling Items

It's important to recognize the other common scaling items in Pyg's pool. Being able to pick one of these up can really help strengthen your early to mid game, giving you decent odds at contesting in PvP so long as you aren't bursted before you can scale.

Weights and Ganjo are the most common as they're both available at Bronze tier, while Grindstone begins at Silver. All three will fulfill a similar role of increasing the Damage of 1-2 key Weapons, ideally creating a win condition in longer fights.

The actual builds can differ depending which scaling item you have, as 2/3 can also bolster your defenses. No matter which one you have, each option is an excellent building block as you work towards the late game.

Be sure to prioritize Medium vendors during the early game. As you can obviously see, all four of these items are Medium-sized, so this gives you the best chance at starting to assemble a cohesive build.

Matchbox

Matchbox doesn't have any inherent synergy with Apropos Chapeau. It's a Small item with zero tags, and Burn isn't one of the three scaleable stats. However, despite these facts it still warrants its space on board.

For starters, Matchbox is one of the fastest items since it Charges whenever a non-Weapon item is used; perfect with Multicast 4. However, what truly makes it strong is when you can land the right enchantment.

Kripp's Matchbox had the Restorative enchant, allowing it to become an excellent form of Healing that can benefit from Apropos Chapeau's Heal scaling. It's a great way to add sustain without dedicating a slot to a Heal item.

Monocle

Monocle is a rather underwhelming item on its own. Its six second Cooldown is less than ideal, especially for a defensive item. Plus it's very rare that you'll have a large enough supply of gold to make it worth it.

However, it's a Small Shield item with both the Tool and Apparel tags, making it a decent fit with Apropos Chapeau. Depending on the rest of your board this is a nice way to maximize the Multicast without filling much space.

Shadowed Cloak

Shadowed Cloak is another respectable scaling item in its own right. However, with this particular setup it's instead being used as Haste support for the Apropos Chapeau (plus it has the Apparel tag if you need it).

Even though its own Damage scaling goes to waste, by Hasting the Apropos Chapeau it increases the overall scaling across the board. After all, the Caltrops and Atlatl don't even need the speed boost.

Strong Arm

Strong Arm is one of many solid flat Damage buff skills. Given Pyg's natural talent for Income, Strong Arm tends to be above rate (or at least on-par) compared to most other options.

It's important to find Damage scaling outside of combat, especially before you reach the late game. Atlatl's Cooldown absolutely requires it, because if you have to wait for at least 1-2 scaling triggers, you've lost a ton of time compared to its potential.

Frozen Shot

Frozen Shot is a pretty insane skill when your "Slowest Weapon" has an effective one second Cooldown. Since Caltrops is a passive effect, Atlatl takes center stage and can quickly disrupt the opponent from the get-go.

It's worth upgrading from Gold to Diamond when given the chance as it will double the amount of uses you get out of the skill. Timing is everything in the end game, so having as much early disruption as possible can make all the difference.

Defense Grid

Defense Grid gives the build a very nice form of insurance. Builds like these that greatly rely on scaling often need a bit of time to get going, so having an immediate Shield at the start of each fight can really help.

It's still important to have a form of sustain, be it through a Lifesteal skill like Big Ego, or more commonly a Shielded/Restorative enchantment. Raw Damage can get the job done in a lot of matchups, but having an extra cushion can squeeze out wins where they otherwise wouldn't happen.