Welcome to my Shyvana guide! In this guide i will detail how to build shyvana as a successful bruiser. When built correctly, Shyvana is an extremely disruptive initiator, tank, and mild damage dealer.

Shyvana has been my main since her release, and although relatively new, i have obtained considerably experience 'tanking' with her. The main focus of the build is to obtain the ability to initiate, a survive fights, while utilizing her 'buffed' abilities while in Dragon Form to deal considerable AoE DPS.

While it does make considerable sense to build Bruiser Shyvana with AS, considering her passive, I find that generally, I have Dragon's Descent whenever necessary, and, as far as sustaining the ability, generally, the fight will either have been won or lost prior to Dragon form expiring.

Lastly, I would not recommend this build to any team which already has a tank.

Pros + Can be very tanky. + Has 'unlimited' use of basic abilities. + In 'dragon form' can deal considerable burst AoE damage. + Burnout, when combined with sunfire cape, deals considerable DoT, especially with the Dragon's Descent buff. + Dragon's Descent deals great burst damage, and is a great initiation and escape method. + Can turn into a dragon.

Cons - Requires effective farming early game to be truly effective. - Build does not facilitate attack speed, so more time is required to prepare Dragon's Descent - Is only half a dragon :(

Marks:
Greater Mark of Vitality
Assists with Mid-Late game effectiveness.
Synergises with Force of Nature
Surpasses Greater Mark of Health at level 7, and before level 6, shyvana is unable to utilize Dragon's Descent anyway.
When Combined with Juggernaut , result in a considerable heal pool.

Seals:
Greater Seal of Vitality
Assists with Mid-Late game effectiveness.
Again, synergises with Force of Nature
When Combined with Juggernaut , result in a considerable heal pool.

Glyphs:
Greater Glyph of Attack Speed
Synchronizes well with Fury of the Dragonborn, especially considering the lack of AS in the Build.
Allows for easier farming.

Quintessences:
Greater Quintessence of Vigor
Allows for great sustainability in early lane.
Is only surpassed by its scaling counterpart at level 10.
Compliments Vigor

Defensive Masteries

Tier one - 3 points in both Hardiness and Resistance improves durability in lane, and in team fights late game.

Tier two - Durability for increased survivability late game, and Vigor for increased survivability in lane.

Tier three - Veteran's Scars for early game survivability in lane.

Tier four - Initiator , because, after all, you're an initiator.

Tier five - Honor Guard for increased Tankiness both in lane, and mid to late game. however these points are equally well spent in enlightenment, as Shyvana's basic abilities are limited only by cooldowns, and not mana.

Tier six - Juggernaut as this Mastery scales exceptionally well with Warmog's Armor and Frozen Mallet, as well as a large decrease in incoming disable's. this health, and manoeuvrability increase greatly increase escape potential, even when greatly outnumbered.

Offensive Masteries

Tier one - Brute Force and one point in Butcher for increased farming potential, especially considering Burnout's scaling with attack damage.

Tier two - Alacrity for increased farming potential, as well as proc's on Shyvana's passive, and fury gain.

Tier three - Weapon Expertise for increased burst and AoE damage late game, with Burnout and the buffed version of Twin Bite

Flash Often considered the most exceptional summoner spell available. ideal for chasing and escaping for various situations. this also replaces the need to use Dragon's Descent to escape, but can also be used in conjunction with Dragon's Descent to escape most champions. Teleport ideal for returning to lane early to increase exp gain, and promptly defend tower after recall. also a viable method to aid team mates in a team fight which otherwise would have been lost, especially considering Shyvana's role.

SPACE

Optimal Options ignite a viable option to deal a small amount of DoT on severely damaged oppenents, and temporarily limits the effectiveness of healing spells. Viable Options Ghost provides a mildly effective escape pattern, however, the tenacity provided by both Juggernaut and Mercury's Treads, reduces the effectiveness of this summoner spell.

SPACE

Exhaust An effective slow, aswell as effectively reducing the damage output of a single target. effective if no one else in your team has selected it. exceptional for duelling in early lane. Cleanse Only effective if you have chosen not to purchase Mercury's Treads.

Although Shyvana has an impressive skill set, however, her damage output is not reliant on them, such as characters like Riven and Brand, and as such, if you find yourself slightly under levelled, this does not pose a huge issue.

Fury of the Dragonborn is Shyvana's Passive. Shyvana's basic attacks enchance her abilities.

Twin Bite: Each auto attack reduces the cooldown by 0.5 seconds. This doesn't work on structures.
Burnout: Each auto attack extends the duration of Burnout by 1 second to a maximum of 6 extra seconds. This works on structures.
Flame Breath: Each autoattack that hits debuffed targets will deal 15% of the ability's damage as additional magic damage.
Dragon's Descent: Each of her autottacks will generate 2 Fury. This will allow for Shyvana to prolong the duration of Dragon Form by attacking. This ability works on structures.

Twin Bite is a single target damaging spell, which deals damage based on attack damage. however, it scales poorly with leveling, as, at level one, Twin Bite deals 180% of Shyvana's attack damage, and at level five, deals 200% of her attack damage. It is also important to note that with each level, the base cooldown is reduced by 1 second. However, due to the nature of her passive, this is not a huge issue. When in dragon form the dynamic of this skill changes dramatically, as it deals damage, equal to Shyvana's attack damage, to all units in front of her. It is important to note that Twin Bite deals less damage to a Single target when in dragon form. Twin Bite also inflicts on hit effects when cast, such as Sheen's Unique Passive. Also, Twin Bite resets the attack timer when cast, thus, it is possible to increase its effectiveness when cast, if timed correctly. Twin Bite is one of the few , directly damaging abilities that are capable of increasing Damage per second when destroying turrets. I take this skill at level 3, and max it last.

Burnout is the skill which defines Shyvana, and her play style. it deals AoE magic damage, with a range of 325, and increases movement based on the extent to which the skill has been levelled (25+15(Level of Burnout). It is also important to note that the speed boost depreciates over time, at a rate dependent on whether or not Shyvana has extended the duration through use of basic attacks. When in Dragon form, Burnout 'scorches' the earth under Shyvana, which continuously deals damage based on the level of Burnout. This trail of fire is particularly useful when Shyvana is being chased by an enemy, as it continuously deals damage to them, and, as with Burnout in general, increases her movement speed. Burnout also scales with Attack damage, as opposed to Ability Power, however, this scaling is minor. It is important to note that the movement speed boost scales with levelling(30%+5(level of Burnout), and it is for this reason that I take Burnout at level 1, and max it first.

Flame Breath is a skill shot nuke, which 'debuffs' the target hit, reducing their armour by 15% for a few seconds. targets effected by the this debuff take 15% of the base damage from Flame Breath as bonus magic damage, when struck by a basic attack, a common misconception is that Flame Breath increases the damage taken from Twin Bite and auto attacks by 15%, this is not the case. Flame Breath is, in my opinion, a greatly underestimated harassment tool. Most avid Shyvana users consider it to be useless, because it scales poorly with AP, and the only other ability Shyvana possesses which scales with Ability Power is the initiation from Dragon's Descent. However, Flame Breath scales exceptionally well with levelling, dealing 45 more damage per rank, and also its cooldown is reduced by one second per rank, and unlike the only other alternative ( Twin Bite), its cooldown is not reduced through use of her passive. it is for the reasons stated above that I take Flame Breath at level 2, and max it second.

Please refrain from voting as yet, however constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.