Irelia was one of my first champions and I loved her. However, found her a tough character to use. I make this guide for those wanting to get a hold on this Champion an really fill her rolls as Tanky-DPS. This Build came after the recent patch I took the best parts of this character and really let them shine. However its a soft build, so if you feel like something is just off for you, then change it! have fun and enjoy carrying out the Will of the Blades!

Benefits of this build: survivability and damage output are great, meaning that although you are not as prime of a target as the carry, you can not be ignored until last either.

Weaknesses of this build: Probably won't get First Blood unless nobody has died by the time you hit 6, and you won't be showered with glory. (its about striking a balance between killing, tanking, and disabling the other team.)

I like these Runes because they Give you more oomph in the early game, and continue to have value into the later stages of the game, and generally make what her do what she does better.

Marks: I chose Greater Mark of Desolation because most of her damage is physical and it helps here get through the tougher foes early game, but you may want attack speed here.

Seals: I like Greater Seal of Armor although Greater Seal of Evasion is a viable choice as is Greater Seal of Defense (though this I have not tried). I like Armor the best thought for 2 reasons. 1 it helps you survive in lane early game and 2 it allows you more flexibility with mastery choices.

Glyphs: Magic resist is a great benefit early game to help survivability and you will max cool-down reduction with items anyway. For this the Greater Glyph of Magic Resist is the way to go.

Quints: here there are a lot of options. You can go Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed, Greater Quintessence of Desolation, Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed, Greater Quintessence of Health. In Short, This is where I suggest you play around and see what you like. I choose Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed because an extra attack early game is often the difference between you getting the first kill and you giving the first kill.

The items I listed are for What I feel is the safest build however, I tend to start my build with Boots and Health Potions instead of the Doran's Shield. Additionally it is safer to start with Phage, but If you want to bee more aggressive the mana and bonus damage from Sheen allow you to do so more easily at early levels. Be the time you finish Trinity Force you will want additional armor so grab the Chain Vest as soon as possible. from here it is easy to diverge as needed but I strongly suggest grabbing Spirit Visage as all of it's stats are great on Irelia. I really like to add Wit's End because I love Irelia's healing and true damage through Hiten Style and This really helps out on both points as well as giving a boost to damage (and in the form of magic damage making it even better) and rounding out magic resist at over 150. The last Item in the build is totally dependant on you and on the match you are currently playing, I tend to go with Black Cleaver or Guardian Angel, but Bloodthirster, Banshee's Veil, Frozen Heart, or Aegis of the Legion are all viable picks as are some more off the wall choices including Hextech Gunblade or Hexdrinker.

As a last note, I put Mercury's Treads for boots but depending on play style and the opponents' team Ninja Tabi and Ionian Boots of Lucidity are also good choices

I choose a somewhat unorthodox 11-19-0 build for my mysteries because there are a few things that you need, and there are others that help enough to make them worth it.

Offensive: More armor penetration and more attack speed...Yes please! Both of these help throughout the game and even the ability power will give you just a hair bit more damage.

Defensive Things You Need: This somewhat depends on what runes you choose. If you get the Greater Seal of Evasion you definitely ought to go with Nimbleness . Otherwise definitely Strength of Spirit . Adds to late game staying power significantly and synergizes well with Frozen Heart especially

Defensive Things That Are Nice: Veterans Scars give a nice boost in the early laning phases, even with just a few point.

A note: If you don't take dodge runes and bypass Nimbleness you get a decent boost in toughness. The reason why I choose not to go with dodge though, is that the small speed boost you get from Nimbleness doesn't quite help enough in my opinion. This is once again a preference.

The Skill sequence I usually decide on is the one noted up top, where you focus on Hiten Style until Transcendent Blades and then Equilibrium Strike. However this depends on the situation you are in. I find this order maximizes farming and survivability, however, if you find that you don't need survivability you can easily grab Hiten Style at level 4 and Max out Equilibrium Strike by level 9 giving you excellent burst damage early. If you find that this is the way you are going, it may be beneficial to grab a Sheen and/or Phage early. An alternative choice here is max Bladesurge, but the benefit is not as good as Equilibrium Strike in my experience.

With this guide your place will be to get some good farm and harassment early, then from level 6 till team fights harass your opponent and maybe try to gank another lane, and finally in team fights be the first one in after the Tank and kill as many squishies as you can before backing out. And don't forget to Stun any other major threat with Equilibrium Strike!

Thank you for reading my first Guide; tell me what you think and how I can improve!