So, why Udyr top? Most players like to relegate him to the jungle, but a damage dealing Udyr can get out of hand, run around the map at an alarming rate and stick to enemies until they die. Heck, the ability to do almost 40% of most champions health with the first Wilding Claw auto attack at level 1 is reason enough to consider him. The main reason I like to play him top however, is that he is fun to play although he does have some tough match-ups.

The best thing about playing a champion in a less conventional role however, is that the enemy team often won't realize be sure which champ is going top and which champ is jungling. This usually makes it harder for them to safely pick a counter.

Well, this is my first guide. I hope you enjoy it.

If you are wondering why I chose the items listed at the start of the build, hopefully soon all your questions will be answered.

Manamune: Udyr often can have early mana issues. He also stacks a Tear of the Goddess very easily and we want to build AD with him, so the early TotG with the late Muramana do a good job helping us throughout the game.

Iceborn Gauntlet: With Udyr's Blazing Stampede providing the stun and huge movement speed buff, building him with this item turns him into a glue that the enemy team will hate. Udyr also procs this ability so easily, just make sure to time your abilities correctly.

Blade of the Ruined King: This item is amazing, especially against a tanky team. In some instances, I would advise getting this item before Zephyr. In situations where the enemy is constantly engaging your team, BotRK is the better item since it helps you sustain in the fight. If you are snowballing and assassinating the other team, then get Zephyr.

Situational Items

Maw of Malmortius: Hexdrinker is a great early item if you run into an AP laner and builds into Maw which scales pretty well. Also building this item can allow you not to build Merc Treads.

Sunfire Aegis: This is the best item to get, if your team needs you to be a bit more tanky or if you just have a high burst ad champ against you.

Wit's End: A good replacement for Zephyr if you need MR and it pairs well with Sunfire Aegis

Ravenous Hydra: This item gives great sustain and a very strong split push potential. If your team is pretty safe and you know that no one can answer your split push, this is a great item on Udyr.

Black Cleaver: I prefer this item on Udyr over Last Whisper; however, both items are viable. I prefer the armor shredding this grants your team since Udyr's attack speed can get very high. If you are doing fine, and your team doesn't need you to be a tank, you can build this instead of Sunfire Aegis

Udyr is not a typical champion in that he has 4 abilities that he can level up at level 1 and no ultimate. On this offtank Udyr, the main abilities are going to be Wilding Claw for damage and Iron Mantle for sustain.

If you are in a very difficult lane, I suggest maxing Iron Mantle. If however, you believe you can bully your lane opponent max your Wilding Claw for its high damage output. Sometimes, you may want to put a bonus point in Blazing Stampede if you notice that the enemy is just barely escaping from your speed burst.

In this build Wingborne Storm is pretty useless. Sometimes, I will take a point in it early if I am just getting pushed against very hard and need to push back a little quicker.

When you get your Tear of the Goddess, you need to make sure you are using abilities consistently to just keep stacking up that mana. At early levels use Wilding Claw to harass your opponent as they cs and then use your shield from Iron Mantle to walk away calmly. Usually activating Blazing Stampede will make your opponent back off, so don't expect to easily just charge at them. By the time you have Iceborn Gauntlet the best way to engage, is to activate Blazing Stampede to get close to your enemy then right before auto attacking switch to Wilding Claw which will proc Iceborn and deal a lot of damage. Now that they are slowed, you can switch back to Bear Stance and stun them. Continue doing this and there is very little chance of them escaping. The reason you do not want to hit your opponent with Blazing Stampede first, is that this will proc Iceborn Gauntlet as well as the stun. If you have bot of these go off at the same time, a flash or dash ability will usually allow the opponent to escape.

I hope you enjoyed the article and I will continue trying to add more content as I continue playing him. I eventually plan to add specific match-up information as well as alternate Runes and Masteries options as I experiment more with them. I also eventually plan to add a just for fun AP Udyr section. If you have any questions for me, leave them in the comment section and please vote on how you felt about the article.