Aatrox is a legendary warrior, one of only five that remain of an ancient race known as the Darkin. He wields his massive blade with grace and poise, slicing through legions in a style that is hypnotic to behold. With each foe felled, Aatrox's seemingly living blade drinks in their blood, empowering him and fueling his brutal, elegant campaign of slaughter.
The earliest tale of Aatrox is as old as recorded history. It tells of a war between two great factions remembered only as the Protectorate and the Magelords. Over time, the Magelords won a series of crushing victories, leaving them on the brink of obliterating their sworn enemy forever. On the day of their final confrontation, the Protectorate army found themselves outnumbered, exhausted, and poorly equipped. They braced for inevitable defeat.
Just when all hope seemed lost, Aatrox appeared among the ranks of the Protectorate. With but a few words, he urged the soldiers to fight to the last before throwing himself into battle. His presence inspired the desperate warriors. At first, they could only watch in awe as this unknown hero cleaved through their enemies, his body and blade moving in unison as if one being. Soon, the warriors found themselves imbued with a potent thirst for battle. They followed Aatrox into the fray, each fighting with the furious strength of ten until they had won a most unlikely victory.
Aatrox vanished after that battle, but the Protectorate army's newfound fury did not. Their surprising triumph led to many more until they were able to finally return home victorious. Their countrymen hailed them as heroes, but though they had saved their entire civilization from destruction, darkness lingered in the mind of each warrior. Something within them had changed. Over time, their memories of battle faded, only to be replaced with a grim revelation: their acts of heroism were, in fact, brutal atrocities committed by their own hands.
Tales like these appear among the myths of many cultures. If they are all to be believed, Aatrox's presence has changed the course of some of the most important wars in history. Though these stories remember him as a savior in dark times, Aatrox's true legacy may be a world filled with conflict and strife.


"Some fight for honor, some fight for glory. It matters only that you fight." - Aatrox

Welcome to my Aatrox Guide. I have been playing him nonstop since he came out and even in the PBE. I have a good feel for his mechanics and I think he can be one of these strongest top laners in the game if used correctly. Thanks for chosing me and ENJOY THIS GUIDE :D

Teemo is your pure darkness for Aatrox :O

If it is your fisrt time playing AAtrox you might feel like this.

Play Video
No need to fear this guide will turn you into a Grade A AAtrox player. ;)

Pros

-W offers great sustain in lain and toggle provides great damage for coordinating ganks with.

-Small Knock-up/gap closer with Q.

-E offers small amount of AOE slow which can be helpful in team fights.

-Passive that works similarly to that of a Guardian's angel.

-Overall base stats aren't to shabby.


Cons

-Probably going to be nerfed.

-Doesn't quite fit the meta.

-Gap closer can be easily CC'd down.

-Abilities will take a chunk out of your health once returning to lane since it is based off current health.

FLASH AND IGNITE

Flash and Ignite are the best choices for Mobility and securing kills.


Teleport and Ghost are both good choices as well. I don't really suggest the other spells.

For marks I bring : 9 FlatAD or 9 ArmorPen The flat AD gives you a great chance to be aggressive early. The armor pen runes are great as well considering his Blood Price allows for a great amount of damage as well.
For Seals I take: 9 Flat Armor Seals This is standard for the top lane considering that the majority of tops play AD.
For Glyphs I take: 9 Flat Magic Resist Seals Again this is also standard.
For Quints I take 2 Life Steal and 1 Flat AD. The lifesteal quints allow for Super Sustain while keeping hard damage with Blood Thirst

Abilities
Blood Well (passive):

Aatrox stores a portion of his abilities’ health cost in the Blood Well, which slowly drains to a base amount while he is out of combat. When Aatrox loses all of his health, he draws on the Blood Well and recovers the amount of health stored.
When this is up, go HAM. Don't go too HAM though. But HAM enough to dive into teamfights without fear. In the lane make sure this is full before picking a fight. When it is down, try to be passive and just farm until it is up.
Dark Flight:

Aatrox rises into the air and slams into a target location. Enemies within the impact zone are knocked up and take damage, while nearby enemies take damage.
Use this for initiations in teamfights and for escapes from ganks.
Blood Thirst/Price:

Aatrox heals himself on every third attack. Activating Blood Thirst toggles Blood Price.
Blood Price: Every third attack now deals bonus damage instead of healing Aatrox. Aatrox loses health based on the bonus damage dealt.
This is maxed first in order to maximise damage. A good way to use this is to toggle Blood Price and attack twice and save the third strike. Then dive into the enemy top laner with your Q and hit them for the burst. This is a reat way to out trade with enemy. Bloodthirst is a great way to sustain and pull clutch fights from 1v1 situations.
Blades of Torment:

Aatrox fires a line attack that damages and slows enemies caught in its path. Aatrox is refunded a part of the health cost if Blades of Torment strikes an enemy champion.
I mostly use this for utilty. The slow is good for chasing and escaping.
Massacre (ult):

Upon activation, Aatrox instantly damages enemies in an area around him. For the duration of Massacre, Aatrox gains bonus attack speed and range. Massacre has no health cost.
This skill is amazing. The initial burst is high and the steroid is an amazing tool to stop enemies. Once you have a ravenous hydra, this skill becomes so much better and brings much MUCH more to teamfights.

Your start can be one of three choices. You can start with:

Doran's Blade is a great choice for an all aorund, perfect mix of agro and sustain. The lifesteal quints will help with the 5hp per hit passive and keep you in lane.
You could always go hyper agro and start with .
Or even go safe with and

Your core includes the following:

Blade of the Ruined King is a MUST BUY on Aatrox. The attack speed and lifesteal work prefectly with the steroid form the ult and the hp cost on Blood Price. It will even help to make Blood price cost little to no health.
Ravenous Hydra is one of the best purchases for Aatrox. This item allows him to dive into teamfights without fear due to the new AOE damage and lifesteal. And the Steroid from Massacre will basically turn you into Kayle 2.0.

Randuin's Omen is where you get your beef from. This item is the perfect mesh of health/armor/ and utility to help your team win those teamfights. If you dive in with Dark Flight and use this item's active slow it will devaste the enemy team and allow your team to pick off any fleeing champions.

Later in the Game...

You can pick any of the follwing if you wish to close the build with more damage:
Blood Thirster this item will allow you to get that extra load of damage... normally this would replace ravenous hydra if you are going for more of an assasin type. Make Sure to Farm Up its Passive.
Last Whisper the armor penatration is always good on champions such as Aatrox. This will help him retain his high numbers of damage through to late game and keep him in that right place to help his team.
Maw of Malmortius this item is a great early choice, as well as a late choice, if you are laning against a heavy AP laner or even a team of high Crowd Control. The built in tenacity will keep you from being held down from the enemy team.
Youmuu's Ghostblade This item is a good item if your goal is to splitpush or duel enemy champions in a 1v1 situation. With that said it is also very affective in fights. The steroid from this item's active and the steroid form Massacre mesh very well together to allow for great chase potential and also give you that extra attack speed to keep you dishing out damage. This item works well with Ravenous Hydra in team fights to maintain high amounts of AOE damage.

You can get any of these for more sustain and tankiness.

Gaurdian's Angel-Double Revive...enough said. Blood Well in itself, has a very GA feel to it. Later in the game, this item will give you that THIRD life that you always wanted. The enemy team will not want to focus you and you can keep dealing insane amounts of damage for your team.
Sunfire Cape- The passive burn and the general armor and hp will help with figths.
IceBorn Gauntlet- this item is different in that it can offer more damage and more armor. The offsetting part is that it give's usless mana here. I'd stay away from this one when you can.
Warmog's Armor-Super Hp. This item will grant you with a flat 1000hp and a good amount of HP regen. This will assist you with your survivanility and keep you fighting for a much longer time.
Frozen Mallet- This item is a perfect mix of sustain/ utility/ and damage. Always a good pick when you need that extra bit of Hp. The slow works very VERY well with the incresed Attack Range from Massacre. This item will also work well with Blade of the Ruined king and allow you to chase down stragglers very easily.
Spirit Visage- this item works well with the passive from Blood Thirst to give a good amount of sustain. It will also increase the amounts of all lifesteal from the other items.

In the top lane your role is simple. FARM, PUSH, AND SET UP OP GANKS. Depending on who you are laning against, it may be neccessary for your jungler to give you some help so you can faceroll your lane. Last Hit and Push. Over and over.

KEEP WARDSIN THE RIVER AND TRIBUSH

If the jungler ganks there is an easy way to get away. If you miss the jungler and he is currently getting too close for comfort, don't fret. Use Dark Flight (Q) to get closer to your turret. If thats not enough, use the slow mechanic on Blades of Torment (E) to get even further.

Match Ups

Well there are many people that say Aatrox is impossbile to beat, they are very wrong. As with any champion, some work better than others. Here are some examples.

Easy Match Ups

Medium

HARD

Good Luck

Surrender at 20

Filthy Yordle

Early on

Be passive. Farm it up. there is no rush. Once you reach level 3, your jungler should be thinking about ganking. When he decides to come, set up a good gank for him and initiate with Dark Flight. Then slow him with Blades of Torment. You will either score a kill, or at least burn a summoner spell.

Midgame

Team fights should be brewing up at this point. Fights over dragon ect. If you have been farming alot and have decent kill score, you should have Blade of the Ruined King and Ravenous Hydra.. These items will make your team happy to see you fighting. When the fight starts, you can choose to dive in on their carry or save Dark Flight for any fleeing enemies.

REMEMBER TO USE YOUR ITEM ACTIVES!!!

Late Game

At this point there should be some high tention. With everyone's damage potential being high there is one thing in sight... Baron Nashor Now you may be asking, "Mega Knight. How do I prevent the enemy from taking Baron and keeping that buff for myself?" Well it's simple. WARDS!!! Ward all round the snake with vision wards or bring sight wards and make sure someone hasOracles Elixer on. This will keep the enemy blind and guessing. Once the buff is obtained try and teamfight with your new found strength. DON'T GO FULL POTATO! Just because you have the buff does not mean you are invincible. Be smart and make plays. Then PUSH for Victory. It lasts forever you know?

Last hit....Last hit....push....Last Hit. Your farm can vary depending on how difficult your lane is. You want to aim for AT LEAST 80 creeps/ minions by 12 minutes.. This will put you at a good place. If you notice your team is doing fine without you, and the enemy top is scarred of you, go ahead and keep pushing. Get to the Tier 2 turret and back out. Make sure you bringwards to see the enemy coming. Remeber to use Dark Flight to get you out of sticky situations.

Your teamfights are ok. They become OP when you buy Ravenous Hydra. If you have Blood Well up, use your CC and dive into their carry and do as much damage as you can. Prock Hydra and Bork and even Randuins if purchased and you have a HUGE impact for your team. Your damage from your Massacre and the AOE from Hyra will be devastating.

The Items

As always you will want to start with Hunter's Machete and Potions.


OR Your next item is up for choice. You can either take a Wriggle's Lantern or A Spirt of the Elder Lizard. While the Spirit of the Elder Lizard offers the burn effect on attacks, in light of recent patches it has come to my attention that Wriggles Performs very well. With the new base 100 bonus damage to monsters and the built it Sight ward it allows for a safer and mroe reliable jungle.


You can take one of two paths at this point...

You can become an offtank carry jungler similar toNocturne OR you can be a Super beef jungler such as some Xin Zhao Builds.

You Next items can be any of the following. The order you buy them is completely up to how your game is going.

Randuin's Omen: as stated in the previous part of the build... it makes you tanky and give you the aoe slow to help with teamfights.
Locket of the Iron Solari has been a popular choice for the jungle. It gives you some great cool down, health, and armor, as well as the passive shield for your entire team. This will make team fights, as well as slaying Baron Nashor, much easier.

Frozen Mallet is a great choice no matter what path you take. This item gives a good amount of AD and alot of health. On top of that the passive slow makes your ganks much, much stronger.

As far as boots go....
Boots of Mobilty are a great pick if you are the type who likes to gank often.
Mercury Treads offer the Magic resist and tenacity that gives you that edge in teamfights that prevent you from being held down with CC.

Your Jungle Path

You want to start at Blue with a smiteless leash from your mid and top lane carries. Then rush over to Red Buff and kill it quick with you saved smite. At this point you should be level 3. Gank Bottom lane and then check the enemy blue buff. Then either clear wraiths or gank middle lane. Then clear wolfs and head up to top lane. Check the enemy red buff and repeat.

Dragon and Baron Nashor

Keep these guys warded and wait for a good time to clear them. A good time to clear them woul be after a won team fight. Or an out of place or far away enemy.

Ganking 101

When ganking you will want to initiate with Dark Flight. The pop-up will allow for a strong entry . Then follow up Blades of Torment to slow down any champions attempting to escape.

Thanks for reading the guide.

If you want to leave a comment please make it constructive. I want to help myself and other players get better and the only way for this to happen is for all summoners to help each other out.

Here is a link of one of my many games carrying. My new name is Bubba Ducky.
http://imgur.com/W8A6i8p
http://imgur.com/ztJbAqM