Before reading onward you should know that Shyvana is by no means an 'easy' hero to play and this guide assumes you are at least a competent player of League of Legends.

These are 2 builds for Shyvana, the latest addition to League of Legends to date; this guide covers top lane solo and jungling. Shyvana excels in bursting a single target if uninterrupted and does a massive amount of aoe damage in team fights when she has her Dragon's Descent available.

She is very competent if played correctly and can hold her own against most top lane champs and has an early speed boost over a lot of them to avoid ganks in both lane and jungle.

Unfortunately she doesn't have a definite escape or gap closer until you get to level 6. I will go in to more depth of skills later.

Good picks

A Simple pick due to the fact Shyvana has no slow or CC of her own, it is also great as a counter-ganking tool if you do ever get caught out on top lane. Also good as a jungler ability instead of flash, would almost garuntee a successful kill on an overextended lane, at the very least you will use up their summoner(s).


It goes without saying flash is a great summoner spell, but when combined with heroes like Lee sin, to position your ult, and now Shyvana it becomes a whole new ball game. The spell brings a lot of diversity to the playstyle of Shyvana, netting you kills and saving your life throughout each match.


A good pick for any solo top, you will only back when you have teleport up to minimise exp loss. A very strong spell to maintain your lead over the double lane and jungle and keep on equal terms with your opposing top laner.


It is viable to pick up first blood but I feel it loses value late game unless you're against a healer setup or a warwick.

Bad pickups

You're not a tank, don't pick it up, the only time you should have a tank mastery set is if you're jungling, in which case your summoners are taken by more important spells.


You're not a support, refer to fortify.


You don't have mana.

Rune choice was simple;

Greater Mark of Attack Speed Attack speed Marks to help refresh Twin Bite.

Greater Seal of ArmorArmor Seals to help reduce damage while jungling and reduce poke damage on top lane.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist Magic armor Glyphs to help add some tankiness against early and mid game AP users.

Quintessence of Desolation Goes without saying the armor pen helps last hit creeps, jungle and is great end-game too.

Not a lot to justify here in my opinion but;

Jungling
Defensive masteries allow a Shyvana to go through from wolf pack > wraith > golem with ease allowing you to grab both buffs on your second way through and go for a lane gank early.


Laning
Offensive masteries allow you to keep up damage with the higher tier champs on top lane while the opt for defensive runeset allows you to keep up with sustaining heroes, overall it works out well and unless you are playing Shyvana wrong it is highly unlikely you will be die before level 6 (free escape mechanism) in which case you should never die to a gank again.

This is where it gets a little bit trickier as there are so many item pick ups that work great on Shyvana, first off you will have to weigh up who you are against, this applies to both junglers and laners alike; If the team is AD heavy you will want to get some armor - naturally. The same applies to AP heavy teams, you may wish to pick up a Wit's end instead of Black Cleaver for some damage and resilience.

End game if you somehow manage to get everything swap out wriggles for either Madred's or Bloodthirster.

Items which are good:

Banshee's Veil - great if there is a taric, sion, Karthas or any hero with either a hard nuke or disable.

Frozen Mallet - A good pickup if you need more hp and haven't upgraded phage into trinity yet for a slow. No point getting 2 slowing items, also good if you have decided to get warmogs/atmas combo.

Sunfire Aegis - another great tool vs an AD team, as a double bonus it adds even more to your already astonishing aoe damage as shyvana will always want to be in the middle of a team fight hitting as many people as she can with all her abilities, cleaving and flamebreathing everyone she can.

Warmog's Armor - It is a viable pickup if you're struggling even with your natural ability to absorb a lot of damage in your ult.

Guardian Angel - a good pick if you're getting focused down at the start of a team fight. Also adds general survival stats and a deterrence to being focused as they know you will pop right back up again.

Wit's End - as mentioned above, great against casters without lowering your damage, items like this are extra effective with Twin bite also, this goes for Malady and Madred's Bloodrazor.

Phantom Dancer - An alright pick for extra runspeed and crit if you aren't being focused, even more attack speed which is great on Shyvana.

Items which are viable:

Youmuu's Ghostblade - Not my favourite for Shyvana, the damage crit and armor pen is nice but as far as a champ not requiring a movespeed bonus shyvana is one of them. Once shyvana is on a target shes not going anywhere, especially mid-late game.

Hextech Gunblade + Guinsoo's Rageblade - Two ok picks if you are trying out a hybrid build, both add damage to AD abilities as well as her Dragon's Descent as well as Flame Breath, a good ranged slowing tool in gunblade if you don't land a hit during Burnout and you're still chasing.

Atma's Impaler - A strong pickup if you've had to get a warmogs, her naturally high HP gain on top of warmogs will give this a huge impact, as well as some free crit and even more survivability.

Items which are bad:

There aren't really 'bad' picks for Shyvana, everything has its uses as she uses both physical and magical damage - you have to use your head. There are also no AP builds I have come across just yet which seem viable compared to this build but I will be testing her out as a hybrid and will update guide accordingly.

By leveling Burnout first it gives you a great chaser and once you get there it is nigh impossible for your opponent to shake you, as well as free damage it's a great moboility tool to spam to get to wherever you need to be.

Twin Bite is a great burst tool which has a very low cooldown if you're attacking someone thanks to her passive. Her passive is also the reason the build has a lot of attack speed included so you can spam twin bite as much as you can.

Flame Breath has a static armor reduction as such you only need 1 point in it.

Lead with Burnout to gap close if you are going to land a hit before it runs off or your Dragon's Descent if they are too far away for that, once you have gained extra time on your Burnout you want to land a Flame Breath point blank and follow up with twin bite so that it bennefits from the armor reduction.

Rotate this, use skills wisely in team fights to ensure they hit as many targets as possible; positioning is key with a hero like Shyvana, cleaving, flame breathing and Burnout on all 5 targets is a huge ammount of damage compared to soloing down their carry. Leave the disruption to your tank. Her aoe damage is too high to waste on a single target in my opinion.

A brief section for jungling, it is very easy for shyvana to clear regular jungle in 1 go, and go around again at level 3 and come out with both buffs and enough hp to gank. By starting at wolf pack and going to wraith (smite wraith) and going to double golem to finish, all the while using abilities on cooldown to get around quicker (more specifically Burnout).

Shyvana is not the 'best' at killing dragon early, but once you get wriggles you can pretty much do it whenever he is up, just make sure to ward dragon so you can get a smite pickup on it if the opposition go for it first (ult in, smite, flash out - I have done this in multiple games and it always upsets my opponents as there is nothing they can do if you are a good smiter)

As Shyvana has no slow or stun of her own and her only form of 'CC' is her Dragon's Descent, if you are wanting to gank you need to ensure you have a red buff. It is the only sure fire way of ensuring a successful gank or at least a summoner used.

Players new to Shyvana will realise like Lee Sin she has '2 abilities in each slot', they change when you use your Dragon's Descent; also worth mention is that your Dragon's Descent is a free flash, if you have flash and your Dragon's Descent up you are unkillable, simple as that, you can ult over some trees, if they flash over, you flash back - Winner.

Twin Bite becomes an aoe cleave

Burnout leaves a trail behind which burns the ground for a period of time.

Flame Breath becomes an aoe cone nuke and armor reduction.

Successfully landing all of these in a team fight is a huge ammount of damage and a fully farmed Shyvana can half or more hp an entire team with 1 rotation.

PS - ALWAYS lead with Flame Breath before Twin Bite.

The only thing to note for Shyvana as far as team fighting and ganks is concerned is when you should use your Dragon's Descent. It can be a great initating tool, or it can ruin the team fight for your whole team. If you drag people out of skill shots or use it on a single target instead of getting their team together then you're simply doing it wrong.

Shyvana is a naturally tanky hero with her ultimates passive so don't be afraid to run through the fray and Dragon's Descent your opposition toward your team.

Burnout is a great farming tool, both in the jungle and as a laner. Twin Bite is great for last hitting creeps as it resets swing timers. Don't be afraid to go in to the oppositions jungle and steal a pack or two if there is nothing available, if you have your Dragon's Descent up it is highly unlikely you will be killed by a jungler, just be sure to make note of where the rest of their team is.

Your Dragon's Descent can jump over everything. Well done, you're the winner.