By far the most popular opening for a mana-based AP is double Doran's Rings. This is not without reason, it gives a player the mana regen needed to hold a lane, the health needed to survive a gank, and the AP needed to clear creep waves or burst down champions. However, Chalice of Harmony has been slowly chipping away at that monopoly.
Chalice has been increasing in popularity for a few reasons. The mana regen it provides is greater than that of two Doran's Rings in any circumstance where you actually care about your regen. The magic resist is better survivability against another AP's burst at 800 health, which most champions pass around level 6 (coincidentally around when you really need to worry about burst). It even costs slightly less and eventually builds into the powerful Unholy Grail. The primary, and arguably only, drawback is the lack of AP. Chalice is simply a very powerful item, and super effective in the lane most apt to buy it.
What has been holding back Chalice, besides simple inertia, is the lack of AP. 30 AP can be 100 damage or more on a level 6 burst combo, often the difference between a kill and a near miss. It also gets amplified by Deathcap, whereas Chalice has no stats which are. Chalice can therefore feel weak offensively, especially if you're used to double Doran's.
Still, Chalice is simply powerful on any champion with above-average mana issues. There are many who, even with Blue buff, can quickly exhaust their mana. At 25% mana with Blue, Chalice is easily a whopping 45 mp5 or more. Imagine being able to have two Blue buffs at once, and you have a pretty good picture of what Chalice does.
On all but the most mana-independent AP champions Chalice is simply better than double Doran's. There's so much to gain and so little to lose. For an item once considered one of the worst in the game, Chalice has certainly come a long way.
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