Unleash Hel!

Hel is by far my favorite God. She is extremely versatile with her stance dancing; able to heal well, burst well, and even tank a bit.


Updates:

Pros:

+ Heals teammates and self
+ Strong Burst damage.
+ Can dispel Crowd Control (Cleanse) from teammates and self.
+ AOE ranged slow (Hinder) that also reduces magical protection on targets.
+ Between her two stances, she has seven different abilities.

- Vulnerable early game.
- Hel's defense relies on freedom of movement. She can die quickly if trapped in small spaces where she can't gain distance from attackers (Trapped in with Odin)

Reinforced Boots
I prefer to build my tank items early in game when Hel is most vulnerable, then build damage later game. Reinforced boots help with a good speed increase, protection, and crowd control reduction. CC reduction can be a game changer during late game when you can dispel the CC on the rest of your team, toss a heal and speed buff to help move out of Ults.

Health Potions
I just buy these at the beginning before I get my ult. After that, you don't need them. If you skip meditation, grab some mana pots after level 5.


From here things change based on how the game is going. I usually buy a defensive item third based on what the other side is fed. If their is no enemies fed and I am having no trouble staying alive in lane, I will skip the defensive until later.


Breastplate of Valor
This item provides good protection from junglers, as well as some mana, and cooldown reduction. The CDR is absolutely amazing for Hel as you can almost cast constantly with out stopping.

Hide of Nemian Lion
Sometimes I will go this item over BoV if I feel like I'm really taking a ton of damage. The other stats aren't as great for you, but if your having problems staying alive against the opposing jungler, this is a great alternative

Void Stone
This is great middle lane vs another mage, but make sure you buy your defensive item based on the opposing team comp, as you most likely be exiting the laning phase by the time you buy this. Void Stone provides magic power buff and reduces enemies magic defensives, so stacked with your Hinder ability, you can skip buying penetration unless you're really having issues.

Gem of Isolation
I buy GoI mainly to help me kite/escape. Stacked with your Hinder, you can gain great distance very quickly. This is also nice during team fights for helping your teammates land their Ults.
Update: Since the nerf to GoI, I have been occasionally been skipping this item for more magic power.

Rod of Tahuti
Finally building some firepower! Hopefully by this point, you've landed a few kills/assists. Rod not only increases your damage, but also your healing.

At this point, I tend to build as needed. If I am being focused, I may buy another another defensive. If not, I go Pythagorem's Piece. I don't tend do use my basic attack much late game because it slows me down, but if you do, Polynomicon can be a great buy.

Levels 1-4

-Play VERY defensive. An early gank can really put you behind and you are very vulnerable without your heals/dispel. Don't be overly concerned if you have to retreat to your tower early against some Gods. Just stay alive and farm. If they push up too hard, ask for a gank.
-I use Decay to harass early when the enemies stand too close to their creeps. Doing this can make it really hard for melee characters to get last hit.
-Use your Health Potions generously. You're not going to need them after level 5.

-Stay in light stance unless you are actively attacking. You can gain a clear mana and health advantage by staying in stance and using the passive to build your mana up.
-By level 7, you should be able move in between the opposing creeps and wipe them all with one Repulse.
-If you're teammates are responding you can set up some early ganks. You should gain a clear mana advantage but your opponent will be wary to leave lane before you so abuse it. Call the gank when your Opponent is half way down lane, wait for your jungler to get close, and, right as he enters lane, use Hinder and start your combo. If you time it right, you can wipe all the creeps at the same time.
-If you are against Anubis, buy beads. If you stay on him, you can shut him down by not allowing him to get any kills.

-If everything has went well up until now, you should be able to start pushing some towers. -I tend to use my combo starting at level 11 to grab some jungle buffs like the shield buff. The speed buff is also AMAZING for Hel! (LUDICROUS SPEED!) This is also a nice way if you have fallen behind on Experience/Gold.
-If one of the side lanes is getting pushed and you are in a good spot, leave lane for a short period to help heal, dispel, and gank.
-You can solo Gold Fury by level 15, but it is really slow going so call a friend and just tank it. You can also tank Fire Giant around this level as long as you have some solid DPS.

-Hang back at the beginning of team fights. A well placed Cleanse can turn the tide of the battle in your favor.
-Use Inspire to help your teammates chase/escape.
-Be careful charging in to use your AOE unless you know their CC/Ults are down. Use your combo to clean up enemies that are low and running.
-Stay the Hel away from Odin (on either team)! He tends to get me killed a lot because getting walled in is a death sentance.
-Heal teammates so they can dive towers.

Hel's Combo:
Hel's burst combo starts with landing a Hinder -> Decay -> Repulse -> Switch Stances ->Restoration
The exact order can be modified based on need (aka if you have a bunch of gods you want to hit with a repulse, or you need to swap stance and use restoration earlier. Mainly you want make sure you land your Hinder for the snare/debuff. Most importantly, don't use Restoration unless you are sure it is going to land the kill. Otherwise, you can find yourself quickly in a compromised position without a heal.

General Tips:
-Play super defensive until level 5 when you acquire your Ult.
-When nothing is happening, stay in Light Stance. This gives you and your teammates a good boost to your mana regen, as well as if someone comes in for a quick gank, your dispel and speed boost are ready.
-As you enter combat, you should move in a circular or spiral pattern around your enemy. Never stand still as Hel.
-Hel's abilities from the different stances are on different cooldown's so swap stances often!
-Inspire can be used on creeps! You can use this to push towers and keep them healed up as well as push a lane quickly by giving the creeps a speed boost.
-Turn randomly! Don't always run back towards your base if you are getting low and surrounded by 3 enemies. Cutting sharp 90 Degree turns can cause your enemies to miss their skillshots! Plus: You are faster than almost everyone with inspire/hinder, can heal yourself with 2 heals, and do great AOE damage.
-You can cast your Cleanse about 2 seconds before the CC lands and it will still work. Sometimes I use this to bait enemies into wasting their CC.