1/18/11
A complete rewrite of the whole guide was made.

I'm not here to tell you what to do, but simply to give you a perspective on Shen.

HEY
"I looked at the build and not the guide, its too standard man."
Well think of another build for tank Shen that works besides something close to this first please.

The first champion that I have ever loved was Shen. That was way back when I first started playing and Shen just so happened to be free that week. Something about his looks and his simple moves attracted me to this rather stealthy ninja. As the days grew old and the year slowly crept past, the different Shen builds I have tried and the different ways I have played him all made me realize that Shen is simply outstanding in almost any team composition you might encounter.

About the Marks
Marks for me meant either Magic Pen or Armor Pen and nothing else. All champions can make use one of these 2 types of marks, and it is probably a waste to invest on something else. For Shen, Magic Pen works a lot better than Armor Pen since it lets you make your 3 second Vorpal Blades hurt. Armor Pen is not really needed on Shen because he shouldnt be stacking any AD items nor be around constantly trying to melee the enemy.

About the Seals
Health runes always synergies with Shen, and I havent found a Seal that works better on Shen than health ones. Dodge seals are great on Shen too, although I would rather rely on more HP than on trying to dodge those auto attacks.

About the Glyphs
All tanks could use a little more magic resistance since most of a typical tanks items consists of mostly armor.

About the Quintessence
Health Quints synergies so well with Shen and his passive, and is the most obvious option out there. However, lately I have been running Movement Quints, and they do make a difference. First, Shen's main skill is his taunt, and you do need speed to get a good taunt in. Shen also does not need to be incredibly buffy like I thought before. His Feint gives him his tanking abilities imo. The bottom line is, I found movement quints more helpful then HP ones.

Not much to say here, makes the tanking role somewhat easier while covering improved versions of his summoner spells while also giving some beef to his AP ratios and a nice CDR. Chose not to throw the extra 7 points in Utility because that mastery doesnt really get good till later on, although the reduced time spent dead is very catchy. You could probably take out points from the CDR for that if you die in ur role as a tank a lot.

Doran's Shield is the typical starting item for almost every tank, same goes for Shen. The added hp and the regen allows Shen to have more lane presence. Sometimes I take boots because Shen can start ganking at level 2 if needed once he has his taunt up. Take a close look at their team comp and decide for yourself.

There is seriously only 2 reasonable boots for Shen. The BEST boot for Shen is Merc Treads for the magic resistance and the unique passive because Shen is the tank and he is gonna get cc'ed. Some players might want the CDR boots for faster ults, but ... meh.

Warden's Mail is a really unique item and synergies really well with Shen's taunt. It's basically like what a Phage does for many other champs. You taunt, they attack you, they slowed. Makes Shen a better ganker than what he already is. The defense and HP regen arent bad to have either. Aegis of the Legion is also a very important item for Shen. He is completely a team player, and only works in a team, or with his turret. With Shen's ult, he is constantly around an ally, so the buff from Aegis will be buffing someone 24/7. These 2 items basically make up the core of this Shen build, and everything else you get after that depends on what you face.

Noticeable items
Force of Nature
Thornmail
Guardian Angel
Randuin's Omen
Warmog's Armor
Sunfire Cape

Having Vorpal Blades maxed out is a must on Shen.

I was sorry that I thought Feint was useless. Feint is an extraordinary skill that is made so OP due to the fact that Shen is energy based. It will not be a waste of energy because you regen it all in a matter of seconds, and the 50 "HP" that it gives will significantly increase your lane presence if used correctly. All this is enough reason to have an early level Feint handy, especially if you decide to grab boots instead of Doran's Shield.

This time around, the dash is prioritized last because blades are just so important for the laning phase and last hitting while Feint is the reason why Shen can be a successful tank.

Personally, I grab tele/exhaust now. Tele to increase your presence all over the map, and helps the tank who needs to be everywhere at once actually be everywhere at once. Exhaust gives you the edge on supporting your team, lets you initiate and disable their carry, all that good stuff.

Other worthwhile Spell combos:
exhaust/ghost
Tele/fortify
tele/ghost
exhaust/fortify

andddddd
revive/ghost

Never waste your taunt. Takes time to get good with it. But you know when you cant hit them and you still want to try ...

Dont constantly spam your vorpal blades in teamfights. Use it wisely. Half the time all it does is consume all your energy and you cant dash or feint no more. I would throw a blade at someone being focused so your team can regen hp.

Spam your Feint in teamfights. But always keep enough energy to dash.

If its the difference between a feint or a dash during your escape, always choose dash. Gives you a better chance of escaping.

When chasing, dont be throwing blades at them thinking they will die, save up for a taunt.

BIGGEST MISTAKE(S) THE SHEN CAN MAKE
You know when they are going to die, you know when you have no way to save them, but you still ult to them for the hell of it. GG.
It is everybody's bad habit to look at the place they are teleing to instead of taking a good look at themselves first. Please dont be one of them. You got a mind to count, so just count the seconds it takes you to channel, then move on to the screen of the person you're saving when its around a second before you tele there. People do die because of this simple mistake.

THANK YOU MOM.
*cricket