Hello, this is a guide to the new champion, Yorick, the Gravedigger. In this guide I will tell you about how to build a half-tank Yorick that can still dish out enough damage to be a threat on his own, or in a team fight be able to go into the back and kill high priority targets. I hope you enjoy this guide and give me suggestion on how to improve it. Have fun!

-Dave

Included in this guide are three builds. The first build is for when an enemy team does not have more then two casters. The second is for a jungling build, selling the Wriggle's Lantern near the end to get some of the better items. The third, for those who notice the enemy team has a lot of magic will help you worry about them less.

NOTE: Because of the recent update, Yorick has gotten a speed increase. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to get Boots of Swiftness, and instead getting a Mercury's Treads for the magic resist and the CC reduction.

I am putting this section in to address the growing number of comments I am noticing not only on my build, but others. Yorick is not a champion that can be build full AD or full tank. You have to find the point in between. If you go full AD, you will do a lot of damage, but die extremely quick with the lack of CC and ability to escape. You will not help your team if you Rambo into the enemy and die in seconds. If you build full tank, you will not be able to deal any damage, and because of your lack of CC, you will not be able to help your team mates. However, with this build I have chosen an in between compromise to both areas. With items such as Trinity Force and his passive unholy convent we can do this. Many people say Trinity Force is horrible as you will not be attacking the champions a lot but this is false. You are tanky enough to be able to run in and smack those pesky carries in team fights. Up to the point in the build where you have completed the Frozen Heart you can easily take on enemy carries in 1v1 situations, or if you are even more fed, you can take on multiple enemies. How? Your ult, your tankyness and Trinity Force.

1v1
Find yourself a tasty enemy by himself? He's in for it now! First makes sure that the enemy is surely by himself. Then go after him with your Omen of Pestilence to slow him, Omen of Famine to start off the burst, and run in with a combined Trinity Force proc and Omen of War on. Even if a tank, this will be a massive burst to him. If your doing good but notice it may be a fair fight, pop your Omen of Death on yourself for the bonus in attack damage (100% of your AD at max level) and finish give it to him. Make sure to have all your ghouls on at all times. With the bonus mana from Frozen Heart this will make it easy, and help you a lot if they happen to be an AS/AD champion with the bonus slowed auto attack speed.

1v2
You think only champions like Olaf and Tryndamere can 1v2? Your wrong! You can do this easily, after all you have Omen of Death! In other words when you use this, it's a 2v2, stacked in your favor. Always focus the squishy. Use the same combo as said in the 1v1 section, but use your Omen of Death right away. If you are starting to lose do not fret. Use your Exhaust and start to kite them around, using your Omen of War for the speed buff and Omen of Famine for the healing. Make sure to get that [[trinity force] proc off when you can.

Team Fights
This is where you shine. You are tanky enough to get back to the enemy squishes and do enough damage to cause havoc on them. Remember to watch your own carries however, if you notice one getting low (50% health) use your Omen of Death on them. This will not only create a massive damage out put from the ghost, but also give a chance for your carry to get revenge if he dies.

As Yorick, you have a number of Pros and Cons. Here is a short list of them.

Pros
-Big harass early on
-Little issue with health with Omen of Famine
-Decent damage
-AoE slow
-Beefy
-Can push amazingly with his Omen of Death

Cons
-Not amazing early game
-Mana hungry if you spam to much
-Hard CC ends your life
-Needs blue buff early on

I believe there are a few summoner spells that can be of great use as Yorick. I use mostly Ghost and Exhaust.

Ignite. Useful for helping boost your damage output and reduce healing. The extra damage is noticible and a nice help when killing such champions as Vladimir and Dr. Mundo.

Exhaust. Slows your target and reduces his damage. Can be used to help to get away, or to catch people trying to run. It's amazing against such champions as Tryndamere or Olaf who would normally destroy you in a one versus one situation.

Flash. Flash is great for catching runners or getting away to safety. Hug the walls when trying to get away with this for a quick escape.

Ghost. Great early game to catch people or get away. Not as useful later as in this build you will be incredibly fast about mid game.

Clarity. Some say Yorick is mana hungry. I do not hold this to thought however. It could be useful early game until you get that Trinity Force or Glacial Shroud.

*Note: All of his spells summon a Ghoul, or in the case of his ult, a Revenant.

Unholy Covenant (Passive)
Yorick’s attacks deal more damage for each summon that is active. Meanwhile, Yorick’s ghouls deal some percent of Yorick’s Attack Damage and have some percent of his total health.

-A great passive. In fights, make sure you get as many ghouls up as possible to maximize this passive.

Omen of War
Yorick’s next attack will deal bonus physical damage and summon a Spectral Ghoul that deals additional damage and moves faster than Yorick’s other ghouls. While the Spectral Ghoul is alive, Yorick moves faster as well.

-Use this with Sheen for a massive burst of damage. Also great for catching people with the movement speed boost. When ganking hit a minion before chasing after him for the added bonus.

Omen of Pestilence
Yorick summons a Decaying Ghoul that arrives with a violent explosion, dealing damage and slowing nearby enemies. While the Decaying Ghoul remains alive, nearby enemies continue to be slowed.

-This omen gives off a nice AoE slow. It also gives vision, so you can check bushes with it. It also has a tendency to run after champions even if they are not close to the first AoE burst. Keep this in mind.

Omen of Famine
Yorick steals life from his target and summons a Ravenous Ghoul that heals Yorick for the damage it deals.

-Use this on enemy squishes to get the best of it. Also when laning use this on the caster minions if your low health. Also great for bugging the enemy. I take this one first. Alot of people tend to take the others first as they offer more to the plate, but this allows you to bug the enemy more and heal if you get into issues.

Omen of Death (Ultimate)
Yorick conjures a revenant in the image of one of his allies. If his ally dies while its revenant is alive, the revenant sacrifices itself to reanimate them and give them time to enact vengeance.

-This can be used for the extra burst needed to kill another champion also. If you find yourself in a 1v1, don't fret to use it for the boost. Always try to use it on other however, as they would love to get revenge on the people who just killed them. It can also be used to get away if you need to escape. Use it on yourself, use the ALT+Click command to make it look like your going another direction. It can also be used to push towers by yourself. Simply use it on yourself and get the ghost to attack the turret first.

Early Game
Early game you want to focus on last hits and bugging your enemy. Use Omen of Famine to bug enemy champions and heal yourself when your low. Once you get your Omen of War, you can run up to an enemy champion, hit them and run back to your minions with the bonus movement speed. Try to get as many last hits as possible, but if you have a Nasus or a Veigar make sure to not attack the same minions as them.

Mid Game
You can do one of three things. Stay in the lane to hold while your ally ganks or does some quick jungling, do some jungling yourself, or go gank. Any of these will help. If you jungle make sure you get blue buff. Ganking is mentioned in the next chapter.

Late Game
Late game your major job is to get into the back lines of your enemies to kill their carries and drop your Omen of Death on low health allies to make sure they get a kill even in death. During team fights, do not be afraid to run into the fight. Just make sure you watch your health.

As Yorick you do not have much ability to escape, or to gank. That does not mean, you cannot do it without the help of your team, your items and a little bit of thought process.

Escaping Ganks
This is a major area where you need map awareness to do this well. If you noticed someone missing in action, head back to the middle of your lane. Do not over extend or try to push the tower. Your life is more important then getting that tower down. If an enemy does appear, the first thing you want to do is hit an enemy minion, or the champion itself with Omen of War for the speed buff. After that put your Omen of Pestilence ON TOP OF YOURSELF. This is very important as it will go after the enemy chasing you, and slow them further. If you may not be able to get out, don't be afraid to use Omen of Death in the same way you would as Shaco's ultimate. Attempt to fool the enemy by using your ghost to fake which direction you are going in. Also remember to use Omen of Famine on the minions or the champion to heal yourself. The more health you have, the better your ability to get away.

Ganking
Like your escaping, you are not as well adapted to as other champions. You can still do it however. Always make sure you team mates know you are coming to gank someone. Wait until they over extend a bit, run in with your Omen of War and use your Omen of Pestilence on the enemy. Smack them with your auto attack as this will make you go after, don't forget to use Omen of Famine when ever you can. Repeatedly slow them and make yourself go after for the best ganks. Don't be afraid to use your summoner spells, or you ultimate to dive towers. Just ALT + click the enemy champion with it, and then run in after it has the turret attacking it.

I start with a Sapphire Crystal, Mana Potion and a Health Potion. This allows you to spam a little more in early game and some health just in case your Omen of Famine isn't doing it for you.

Sheen
Build this as soon as you can. You may not use the AP from the item, but the bonus damage and mana is amazing early game and will be a nice start to your Trinity Force

Boots
You have a choice of a few boots to pick on Yoric.

Mercury's Treads
Useful against a magic heavy enemy team or a team with a lot of hard CC.

Boots of Swiftness
Gives you no bonus besides the speed, but it can be great during the entirety of the game.

Berserker's Greaves
Give you the movement speed and a little attack speed.

After Boots
These will form the core of your items, they are a mix of tank items and damage.

Trinity Force
A great item on Yoric. Give you movement speed, health, attack speed, attack damage, crit, and the most important part a massive boost in your damage from the passive. A very solid item for Yoric to build first.

Glacial Shroud
This gives you the mana you will need, and a decent bonus of armor. On top of this it give you a 15% cool-down reduction.

Black Cleaver
A big boost in damage for Yoric. Also give you bonus armor reduction for each hit and attack speed. A good item if your needing a boost in damage for him.

Frozen Heart
Build this from your Glacial Shroud. Just finishing this gives you 99 armor, a ton of mana and more cool-down reduction. This will make you more able to run into fights and avoid damage from the AD carries.

Final Items
You should be entering late game before you can get any of these.

Banshee's Veil
Gives health, mana, and magic resist. This will help you against casters. The main point of the item is of course the passive. The passive gives you the ability to ignore one spell cast on him. Get this before or after the next item, depending if you need more damage or more survivability.

Bloodthirster
Gives a massive boost in attack damage and a decent % of lifesteal. After getting this item (Before or after the Banshee's Veil) make sure to farm it to the full extent of the item.

Items to Consider
The following items can be considered into the build.

Thornmail
A great item for when your enemy has alot of AD damage. Gives 100 armour, and a passive which deals damage back to anyone who strikes you with an auto attack. Switch this with the Banshee's Veil if they happen to be an AD heavy team.

Philosopher's Stone/ Eleisa's Miracle
These items are great early game if you notice you are constantly out of mana or missing health. The Philopsopher's Stone should be kept until you need the CC reduction from the later as this ill give you a steady income of gold for further use. Later on, such as after your Frozen Heart, you may want to upgrade it to the Eleisa's Miracle. I always find myself in the end if I do get this item to sell it near the end.

Spirit Visage
This increases the healing done on you by lifesteal, heals and other sources. Combined with the Omen of Famine you can easily get all your health back quickly. Also gives a nice bonus of cooldown reduction and health/magic resist.

Frozen Mallet
Gives a ton of health and the ability to slow with your auto attacks. It gives not as much damage as some of the other items, but enough to notice it.

Warmog's Armor
Gives you more health and health regeneration. Again, like the Bloodthirster you need to farm it to get the full use of it. I would not use this item over the Frozen Mallet however.

Randuin's Omen
More omens? Sure, give you health, armor and regeneration. The great thing about this item is that when activated it gives an area of effect slow. Not very useful as you have this but it could be nice.

Manamune
Only good if you get it start with. Every time you spam an ability, you gain more mana, which in effect because of the passive gives you more attack the more mana you have. I do not enjoy this item as much as the Trinity Force and it only give you attack damage.

Guardian Angel
Gives you more armor and a little magic resistance. When you die you come back to life with a little bit of mana and health. The only issue is that the enemy can easily camp your body until you come back to life.

Yorick can be a great jungle! Please see the second build for an item selection. With help from my friend Sirus Cord for helping. He is a great guy and devoted his time to making this section better!

Jungling is great for Yorick as it lets him set up ganks and help your teammates easier. The reason why he is so effective is because of his Omen of Famine. So to start off the build we get that first.

*Note: When you get enough money for Bloodthirster as your 6th item, sell the Wriggle's Lantern

Skill Order

Omen of Pestilence AoE first is nice
Omen of Famine Good health gain
Omen of Famine More health gain
Omen of War A quick wack that does additional damage. Use this on the bigger creeps
Omen of War Another point will help you when you gank at level 5.

Starting

To start off with as a jungle, you should get a Cloth Armor and 5x Health Potion.
Go to Blue Buff. Get someone to pull it. Smite the golem, and drop your Omen of Pestilence on the group of mobs and pop a Health Potion. Now this jungling should be easy. Make sure to get your Omen of Famine.

Move next to the wolves, drop your Omen of Famine on the big one and throw the Omen of Pestilence on the group. If you missing some Hp pop your potion.

Go to the wraiths and do the same combo. Get another point in Omen of Famine after these and head to red buff. Smite the Lizard, pop a health potion, and do you combo. After this pick your Omen of War and head to the golems. Finish them off and go back to base. You should be finishes off about 7 mins in, a great time for a jungler.

You have now finished the jungle run. You can do one of a few things here. Wait for the wolves to spawn, gank a lane or help someone hold a lane. If you don't gank go kill the wolves and go back to base for the Madred's Razors.

Here is a few screen caps for the first build. As you can see in two I have carried my team to victory with very little deaths. The other one is one when I helped the carry as a support. Yorick can be very effective when used correctly, and this build helps you do it.

Special thanks to:
uberpwnsmack
Vebbebabarl
Mushra
SplodyTehLawlrus
Zombiepill
Mrovik