Irelia is a champion that scales well into the late game, has early kill pressure, has CC, and a lot of potential besides. She also has the highest skill cap in the game. This is both good and bad since it leaves a lot of room for improvement and failure. It is more than just sick micro that makes her hard to play. She requires heavy decision making, and macro. It is important to counter build unlike some champs that are strong even when built standard.

That means it is important to start the strategy during Champ select with runes and summoner spell.