Aatrox is a somewhat versatile champion, though he is primarily a fighter or tank. Quite obviously, Aatrox is very auto-reliant and needs some form of lifesteal. His playstyle is fairly simple, use 'Dark Flight' to engage, 'Blades of Torment' to slow down opponents, 'Blood Thirst/ Blood Price' for either extra sustain or extra damage, and 'Massacre' to replenish health, replenish Aatrox's 'Blood Well' passive, and increase attack speed as well as attack range.

With the Core Items build, every item is in perfect synergy with the champion himself. The combination of Blade of the Ruined King, Guinsoo's Rageblade, and Wit's End will provide lifesteal, a good bit of attack damage, and excellent attack speed. Once the maximum stacks of Guinsoo's Rageblade have been reached, it also makes his 'BT/ BP' occur every two hits instead of every three, and deals a lot of on-hit magic damage. This effect blends perfectly with Thornmail's passive since you will also be stealing the opponent's magic resist and dealing magic damage to them based on their auto-attacks. Spirit Visage provides a bit of tankiness with great health and magic resist bonuses, as well as its passive which increases all sources of healing by 25%. Boots of Swiftness, particularly in combination with 'Blades of Torment,' make it easy to keep up with your opponents and maintain steady damage.