Irelia Build Guide by ad1das40

There are two ways for Irelia to start, depending on the lineup.
Starting Items:
If against the limited people who outlane you early game (Akali, Garen, Renekton):
Start with Cloth armor and 5x potions which turns into early Ninja Tabi
Against anyone else, start:
Boots of speed 3x potions.
Early Game Goals:
Ninja Tabi/Mercury Treads Philisopher stone Phage
or
Ninja Tabi/Mercury Treads Chalice of Harmony Heart of gold
Optinal: Heart of gold ----> Randius Omen
Middle game goal :
Phage/Wit`s end + Giant`s Belt
Late Game Goal (armor team)
Ninja Tabi Trinity Force Warmog`s Armor Atma`s Impaler Force of Nature
Late Game Goal (Magic Resist Team)
Mercury Treads Trinity Force Wit`s End Warmog`s Armor Force of Nature

CHAMPION THAT ARE PROBLEM

Akali, if not played properly, will snowball against you hard. Do not let her send you back early and farm delicately. You will not be able to compete until level 9, at which you will wreck havoc. I start With Null-Magic-Mantle + 2x Potions.

Against GP, you can start Cloth Armor + 5x Potions and instead of just last hitting, you will hit more consistently, counting your opponent's hits so that the lane balances. You can outsustain him, after you past his early game. Afterwards, Wit`s End is always a good item.

Renenkton
Aggressive Early Game, his combo incorporates E -> W -> Q -> E. Dodge his first E and he will recede, if he wastes his next E to catch up to you, this is when you turn and fight.
You can beat him at 7 if you have your Phage + Ninja Tabi by then.


Singed
I would recommend Chalice of harmony and Spirit Visage maybe even early to hold your minions outside of tower range. He will push like a madman. The best you can do is outsustain his harass and CS correctly

The thing with Garen is that he is a heavy early game damager and an ignorable threat middle-late game. To counter his laning phase, starting Cloth armor + 5x Potions is the best option. This will build into a Tabi, and at that point, he will be less of a threat. But until that point, the hard part is CSing to get to him. Normally Garen will not harass until 3 in which you must gather every single CS. Afterwards, try to kite him until his Q runs off so then you can E him when he spins on you. You will win afterwards.

Nasus- If he is at the same level (Skill wise) as you, you will most likely not beat him 1v1 in lane. The only way is to have a jungler give you an early game so then you can snowball. You cannot beat him, however, given the right situation, you can outlane him. Such that an early level gank will set him to play passive and miss early CS/gold. This will in turn slow down his Philo, giving you a snowballed advantage. Play wisely and don't die, that's the worst you can do.

However, if you do find yourself 1v1ing him, here's the deal. Fight him normally until he Wither's you for the AS/MS Debuff, then Q to an almost dead minion so the CD resets, and then kite until then. His wither is the reason you cannot fight him 1 on 1. But since it is on a high CD and high mana cost, you can kite him with your massive utility.

Udyr
The problem with Lanedyr is his Tiger harass. Because it deals Magic damage, I get a Chailince of Harmony against him. It sounds silly, but it will significantly reduce the damage. Also, the mana regen counterpart will help because, to cs early against him, you will need to manipulate the minions with your Q. With his nerfs, he is much easier to be dealt with. Just don't trade damage early. I recommend getting a Wit`s End immediately after Phage .

Lanewick is only a threat because of several things. His sustain comes from his Q and passive. If he spams his Q, he must start Doran's. If he is to use his passive, he must spam hits just like Irelia does. This balances the lane. If he does start Doran's, you will get harassed the first 3 levels, but then win afterwards as he can only Q so often. I recommend Spirit Visage or chailince of harmony (Not both) as you just need the early MR to play against him. You can regen more than his Q cooldown.

Talon is an issue in some cases. To be certain, the best course of action is to run Armor Seals Boots of speed + 4x potions . He can't burst you from 100 to 0, so dodge his W harass. If he does combo you to harass, turn around and fight him. No need to run then.

Vladimir - With Vladimir's new buffs. He is a pain in the *** to deal with. Your choices are to go Mercury`s Treads early and then rush Phage . This is simply because his early harass is quite annoying, however, he cannot kill you mano e mano. Also, he'll most likely shove his lane, so one gank could set you way ahead. Overall, it's quite a balance lane assuming equal skill level. An early Doran`s Shield is nice as well, for the health, and hp5.

Kennen is one of the few champs that cannot lose his lane. Whomever you put him up against, he will not lose. But this doesn't mean he'll win. This is one of those situations. It becomes a farmfest, however, his appearance in team fights is DEVASTATING. Lane-wise you will not lose, but the Kennen runs teleport, his mid game appearance will be tenfold better than yours. Your best plan is to shove top, while warding, and prevent him from roaming.

This is simply a losing lane. Malphite hard counters all melee-induced attackers. It's just recommended not to pick Irelia when Malphite is picked as a top solo. However, if it's been forced, play passively. He can't kill you, but you can't kill him. And he may even deny you early game. Conservation is essential here.

If the other Lee Sin is smart, his first priority will be E. If this is the case, you will not be able to kill each other in lane. If he does play aggressive, if he hits his E, then stun and kite until the debuff is over. After that, you can face him, but like Malphite, you cannot fight him with his E debuff on you. The damage trade will fall in his favor if you do.Doran`s shield + Phage should be sufficient.

Tryndamere used to be a hard counter to Irelia due to massive crit bursts vs slow sustain. However, with his recent nerfs, he is much more easier to deal with. Of course, run Cloth Armor + 5x potions , and it should be quite an even lane. You may even kill him if he plays overly aggressive.

Jax is a very one-wayed lane. Against him, I rush Philisopher Stone , because you can outlast him in terms of mana. Afterwards, I rush Wit`s End . Before you get to that point though, to trade, make sure to simply auto attack him without your W up, then when he finally engages, let him E, then WQ onto you. Once the stun wears off, stun him back, activate W, auto him, Q, Auto, and chase him. At that point, he cannot fight you 1 on 1. And in between these trades, be aware that Jax can only trade once his 20s E is off cooldown. So in that time, regenerate and prepare for another. Jax has no natural regeneration, so this lane is simply a matter of outlasting him.



*NOTE* - YOU MUST LEARN TO LAST HIT PROPERLY

Level 1:
77 AD
I cannot explain how to last hit, but you will get used to her animation

At tower:
Front minions = 2 Tower hits + 1 Basic Attack
Back minions = 1 Tower Hit + 1 Basic Attack


I normally will not go back until I get 1700+ Gold. Enough to get Boots, Phage, Wards. And even then, I can just teleport back at any time.

Mid Game
Back To Top

Mid game is very important for Irelia.

You should at the same farm if not outfarming your opponent. No champion can stop you from farming extensively. This is where your teleport will shine far over your opponent's Ignite or Exhaust. Utilize it wisely. If you see a jungler ganking your bottom lane, why not counter gank by teleporting into the bush? And with that advantage, you could easily dragon right afterwards.

Secondly, your job is still to eat up the carries. You will be tanky enough to resist major damage, but also to slow the carry down, especially with a Phage and E.

Follow the guide above to determine your item build.

Late Game will revolve around you eating up the squishies in the back and taking advantage of your Teleport. Remember, your teleport changes games. By near 30-40 you will have 75% of your final build and will become a meat truck. Ask for red buff, it may be better on you then your AD carry in some situations. See what is appropriate for your team.

I hope you've learned from this in depth guide to Irelia.

Also, if anyone can teach me how to upload videos, I'd be glad to add it onto this guide. Just make sure to leave a comment saying so and to add me in game.

Unfortunately, I have a near-full friend's list, so I had to deny many requests. However, message me or comment if you need a question answered.

Thanks for reading my guide.
Good luck, Summoners.
- WancHooY