Hey there summoners, I'm "I CoP I BlaZeE" and welcome to my first guide ever. This guide is designed for one of my favorite champions: "Irelia - The Will of the Blades". In this guide I will briefly describe what I believe to be an effective way to play Irelia as a Solo Top champ, including tips on items, gameplay, and laning phase.

The build I present to you is an offtank build (+ high DPS). The cheatsheet above does not show all ways of playing Irelia as a Solo Top champ, but I find this one to be very effective. The offtank build works great if your team includes Squishy champions ( Akali, Fizz, etc.), or you just need an initiator, or you just love being tanky with high DPS. This specific build is designed for higher DPS and burst damage in mid game as well as late game, while still remaining survivable throughout the whole game. These features will make you an even more effective carry in comparison to a standard AD Carry.

Please don't downvote me just because of seeing the items or masteries ... try to take your time and at least go through some of the chapters. Since English is not my native language, please try not to be too strict to me ... if you find any mistakes or have ideas how i could improve my guide, feel free to tell me.
I would also greatly appreciate any constructive feedback/critisism.

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The Ionians have developed some of the most breathtaking and deadly martial arts on all of Runeterra - just one manifestation of their pursuit of enlightenment. The most remarkable blade style to emerge, however, was the unusual byproduct of foreign intervention. Master Lito was a swordsman whose teachings were sought by ruling classes from nearly every city-state. His art was a highly-guarded secret, but it was said that swords would breathe in his grasp. He withered unexpectedly from a mysterious disease which baffled the brightest of Runeterran physicians. When he died, he left behind Zelos and Irelia, his son and daughter, and a truly unique weapon. Zelos became a sergeant in the Ionian military and left to seek assistance from Demacia immediately prior to Noxus' invasion of Ionia. Irelia, charged with the protection of their home until Zelos returned, was alone when the Noxian forces struck.

The Ionians fought admirably, but soon Ionian blood stained the land beneath the prints of foreign boots. At the Great Stand of the Placidium, Ionians prepared for surrender, but were inspired to maintain their resistance when the young Irelia lifted her father's enormous blade and pledged to hold until her brother returned. In the chaos of the ensuing fight, Irelia was cursed with dark Noxian Necromancy. As her life ebbed, Soraka, the Starchild, made a final attempt to anchor her fading soul. Unwilling to relinquish her home, Irelia rose at the brink of death, and her father's sword lifted in the air alongside her. Irelia rushed back to the fore, unfazed by the blade's sudden animation. The weapon danced around her effortlessly, cutting down Noxians as they gaped in horror. The decimated invaders were forced to retreat from the Placidium. Irelia was appointed Ionia's Captain of the Guard, and when the defense of her homeland moved to the Fields of Justice, so did she.

'The sword flourishes, as though painting with blood.'
- Taken from a Noxian Field Report

League of Legends - Irelia Champion Spotlight by RiotGamesInc

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Pros

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Cons

Flash is the first Summoner Spell I choose and which is essential for me. I use it as an escape mechanism ... e.g. in case of a gank, or if I just can't go 1vs1 against whoever I'm fighting. In most of the cases I use this summoner spell to reach enemies with my Q skill: Bladesurge, if they are not in my range or when tower diving someone with Bladesurge and then escaping with Flash. In some akward cases I use it to troll my enemies xD ... btw you feel awesome when having trolled someone ... =)
I would strongly recommend you take this specific summoner spell, since it can be used in many different ways.
An alternative to Flash is Ghost, which has quite the same effect as Flash, but our opinions may differ ...

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I prefer Heal as my second summoner spell and you'll now understand why ... so pay attention and check out my strategy! xD
Primarly I use it to troll enemies ...
1. If I have low HP I'll try to stay defensive and I'll just kill the minions in front of the tower ...
WHY NO BACKPORT? ...
2. My enemies on my lane will tell their jungler or someone else to gank the top lane because of my low HP. --> Now I know that someone will come and gank me and I'll try to save my Heal until the time has come.
3. Enemies will first see my low HP and will then try to tower dive/gank me ... In case of a tower dive or a gank I wait until they dive me then activate Heal. Simultaneously I'll just stun or slow (depending on the enemy's HP) them in front of the tower with my E Skill: Equilibrium Strike ... being slowed by me and focused by the tower they'll receive a massive amount of damage and will probably try to escape somehow, but believe me, you can easily get them (considering you have enough HP and mana ready).
Secondly I use this summoner spell just in case of an emergency (e.g. one of my teammates needs to be healed because of low HP, or I need to be healed in order to escape).

Irelia is an AD champ and therefore I chose 20/9/1 for my masteries.
I take 20 in Attack in order to deal more damage early game and to receive 10% armor penetration ( Weapon Expertise ) + 10% crit strike chance ( Lethality ).

9 points in defense help me to get rid of my early game squishyness and Summoner's Resolve improves my second summoner spell Heal.

I choose Summoner's Insight for my last mastery point in order to decrease the CD reduction of Flash ... basically you can just add this point anywhere you like if you don't want CD reduction for your Flash. I find this one to be very useful in some situations ;D

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I really want to thank the following people for teaching me how to use BBCoding properly:
Special Thanks to ...

jhoijhoi
IceCreamy
Matt