I've never ever made a guide, so this one is my 1st. It wont go into depths as others since its impossible for me to master that craft thing at first attempt. I just love playing Aatrox, have checked for builds in the net, some are great, others are pure random mix of items and complex words, but i didnt really found one that suited my play style. So here it goes - short and simple.

early game is all bout farming , farming, farming, you would want to keep minion weaves just outside turret's range , with tiamat, you wouldn't have to break a swear clearing them. Once the enemy top champion starts bullying you(poking) u should trade him(almost none of em can withstand a fight 1v1) and switch W into Damage mod(remember its vital to have ward in the bush near river).after that Tiamat will shine out , that passive Hp regen plus the life steal from W, you should be back on full hp for the next weave. Another important thing is when to call for ganks,most players think its gank time whenever the enemy passes half the lane- WRONG! You have to bait him(presumably his jungler too) to turret dive in for the kill ,also make sure you have passive up(since it might proc),thats the time for a gank.To be successful your jungler have to be in the top part of the jungle. Initiate the gank by pingin(spotting) the enemy jugnler, then position yourself between the brush and turr, so u can easily dash behind turret. this is 90% a kill if not a double.

In most cases this is the time when some kills are down, and the 1st turret in game is bout to fall, thats ~17 min mark, if you have a team and a decent communication, its round ~13-15 min mark. This is the time when u have to get your ninja tabi and hydra and stinger and get some objectives. Scout the jungle place a ward or 2 onto entrances , secure dragon, a turret or two. Get a skirmish by buff camps. If all that is done properly then you are really pressuring the enemy team, its a perfect time to get lanes pushed up (with siege minions) and go get baron, 1st check for wards, have your support warded (vision) all the time, you dont want em sneaking upong and stealing buff.Since its not game-off, its a huge buff that you dont want to give to the enemy team.

That phase will start bout 22-25 minute mark.This is where Aatrox is really all bout blood, all you ahve to do is just wait for the teams to engage and then jump upon them, use ultimate and activate hydra , in a few secends they would be decimated, if not and you are the only one left on your team - DO NOT CHASE, instead look for obectives- securing dragon or buff camps, even soloing baron. If all above is met in time table , by now u will be free (and must) to switch to the TRUE Aatrox build sheet.