AP Shen is a powerhouse, and the way I build him, he will not only end up with upwards of 300-400 AP, but he will also have at least 2000 health to tank with.

(This is my first guide, so bear with me)

Yes, you WILL die once in a while. At least I do.
BUT
You will almost ALWAYS wind up positive in you K/D average. You WILL be a huge asset to the team, and you WILL be able to dominate teamfights and save your allies when in trouble.

Ex.) I had a teammate in the upper left jungle on Summoner's Rift, a Teemo (about 1/4 health), who was being hounded by a Garen (essentially full health) and a Fiddlesticks (about 1/2 health). I ues my ult, saved his life, and killed both the Fiddle and the Garen. One team death turned into two kills for our team. Easily.

That is why I build Shen this way.

PROS:

---

-Gets a lot of Kills
-Mapwide Ganking
-Moderate/good Survivability
-Easy Midlane or toplane gameplay


CONS:

---

-Expensive early on
-Requires strong timing with Shadow Dash
-Vulnerable to early game ganks

I dont really care about this, build this any way you like >P

I put 10 in Offense and 20 in Defense.

I max out:
Summoner's Wrath
Mental Force
Sorcery
Arcane Knowledge

Resistance
Hardiness
Durability
Veteran's Scars
Initiator
Enlightenment
Bladed Armor


This setup will give you a boost to Shen's Natural tankiness, and a good bit of starting offensive capability.

Exhaust and Teleport.

Exhaust will give you that edge to get some of the more agile kills

Teleport gives you flexibility.

I could understand running Ghost and/or Surge insted of Exhaust/Teleport however.

[*] Doran's Shield [*] Mercury's Treads [*] Rod of Ages [*] Nashor's Tooth [*] Rylai's Crystal Scepter [*] Rabadon's Deathcap [*] Trinity Force

Sell Doran's Sheild after you get the Rod of Ages.
Doran's Sheild gives you early game armor and health regen, and the health bonus increases the power of your Ki Strike and Vorpal Blade.

Rabadon's Deathcap is the kicker to this build. Its passive (+AP based off 30% of current AP) is what boosts your AP to abouve 300.

Trinity force is a good last item, but a lot of the time, you will finish the game before a last item is obtained/needed.

AP Shen is a strong character, a good slayer, and a great team player.
It is also a lot of fun.
I hope you found this guide helpful and/or interesting.

~Mandokarla