Hi, my name is SteepSlope123 and I've been playing league since about the time that Aatrox was released. I've been a top lane main for most of that time, and though I've swapped more over to support recently, I still have lots of experience at top lane, and especially with Aatrox. In this guide you should find adequate help in learning and hopefully mastering Aatrox, The Darkin Blade.

I like these runes because attack damage and attack speed are obviously essential towards an auto-attack reliant champ like Aatrox. Some people make the argument for Damage quints and marks, and that's fine too, I just prefer AS quints so that you can proc your W more.

Starting Items #1 Health Potion Doran's Blade

if you don't think the other laner is gonna burst you down with single target spells or outdamage you with their autos
Starting Items #2 Health Potion Doran's Shield

if you do think the other laner is gonna burst you down with single target spells or outdamage you with their autos
When you recal with around 1200 gold Pickaxe Boots

gives you damage and speed to chase/run away
Eventually you wanna end with something like Ravenous Hydra into Randuin's Omen if they have cc get Mercury's Treads or if they do mostly auto damage get Ninja Tabi then buy a Blade of the Ruined King into your Spirit Visage ending with a Sunfire Aegis

This is against an AD team and AD top laner. Buy the ravenous asap, it gives you great sustain by synergizing with your W and passice AS speed. After that buy a randuins for tank reasons and to win trades by slowing their AS speed. Finish boots, depending on if they can cc lock or are auto reliant get tabi or treads. follow up with BotRK, it's a good item on aatrox for many reasons, since it synergizes with his whole kit. Get a spirit to increase life steal and get tanky and end with sunfire.

This is against a primarily Magic team and AP top laner Ravenous Hydra into Spirit Visage to nullify their magic damage. if they have cc get Mercury's Treads or if they do mostly auto damage get Ninja Tabi then get Blade of the Ruined King into Randuin's Omen ending with a Banshee's Veil

Pretty similar, just swapping randuins for visage sooner andd buying banshee's

Flash
Teleport
standard top lane shizzlewizzle

If you're against Mundo or just feel like killing then go Ignite instead of Teleport but i think teleport is better

Aatrox is an Off-Tank Dueler, or what most people call a bruiser. he can take a hit and pack a punch at the same time. This is amplified due to the fact that he gains even more health in fights from his W. In addition to all that, he's also great at pushing and taking towers. his E helps him clear minions quick and natural attack speed from Blood Well helps pick up turrets, especially if you can ult for them to take them even quicker if need be. on top of that if someone comes to stop his push, he has choices to fight them one-on-one or just Q away. Also it's worth mentioning he can snowball very well.

For some reason we really only see Aatrox being played in EU LCS, specifically with players like Freddy for SK Gaming and Darien for Gambit (when he was on the team) and some others, these are just some more well known ones. However, even though Quas doesn't play him in LCS, he has played him in solo queue and is my favorite Aatrox player. Here is some breakdown play of what happens when he is chosen for LCS. Play Video

Pros
-Has great sustain
-Has a great initiate to fights
-Good sustained damage with items
-Good waveclear with E
-Great split-pusher
-Free revive
-Many AoE abilities
Cons
-Poor base defensive stats
-Not very strong when behind
-Many bad matchups
-Not tanky without items
-Abilities cost HP to use
-Vulnerable without passive
-If zoned off the wave, he loses all his sustain

Farming as Aatrox is pretty easy to do. Your base damage is high and you get extra attack speed with Blood Well so killing minions with auto attacks is easy, and also your main way to cs. On top of that, if you still have trouble, feel free to use Blood Price to get cannon minions or other minions you think you need the extra damage to kill.
On top of auto attacks, you can also use your Blades of Torment to get last hits when the enemy laner is either pushing the minion wave, or zoning you away from melee range. Be careful when doing this though, because if you hit more than 1 or 2 minions with it, you're likely to push the wave to their tower, leaving you exposed for a gank or in position for them to jump on you and get some damage off.

There is two niches Aatrox is adept at filling; split pushing to relieve pressure and starting teamfights with CC and AoE damage, followed up by tanking for your backline.

Split-pushing can be really bad for your team if you do it at the wrong time. If you think your team can't win a 4v5 fight while they push up, or if you have no vision of your enemy or their jungle, you're gonna have a bad time. So, to counter this, try to buy lots of wards, upgrade your trinket, and tell your teammates to avoid fights until they send someone top, so that you can teleport into the fight when they do and turn it into a 5v4.

Don't be afraid to split to divert some pressure to the enemies while they try pushing mid either. If they enemy is 5 manning mid and your team is wave-clearing by inner tower, you can try to set up a wave at top to get towers, gold, and even to stop their push all together. However, if they keep pushing into base, you may need to give up this strategy, as they will win the base race.

First of all, make sure that your revive passive isn't on cooldown. Secondly, make sure that everyone on your team is ready to fight and not farming botlane or blue buff. Then, look for an opportunity to hit as many knock-ups with Dark Flight as possible. Follow up with a Massacre and Blades of Torment if you think that you need it to slow the other team down and get more damage. After that turn on Blood Price until you fall to half-health. Then, turn on Blood Thirst to stay alive for as long as possible with the bonus to life steal. If you do die, don't worry! You still have your passive to stasis you while you get back health from Blood Well. After that, judge whether you're still needed in the fight, or if you need to escape as you are drastically weaker after reviving.

There are a bunch of tips for Aatrox that are crucial.

First of all, make sure to try to keep Blood Well full at all times. If you can, toggle on Blood Price when you're at full health to gain blood to your passive, then heal the damage back with Blood Thirst. This is important to maximize the attack speed with your passive.

Another important reminder is to use Dark Flight for interrupting channeled abilities like Requiem or Crowstorm as well as hopping over walls. Don't forget that Dark Flight isn't interrupted by stuns, and you can completely take advantage of those with animation times. For example, if a Pantheon tries to gank your lane, don't use Dark Flight until you see him use Aegis of Zeonia. This will make the stun register, but only during the animation for Dark Flight, so it really doesn't stun you at all. However, be careful in case of abilities with knock backs such as Body Slam, since that will cancel your Dark Flight.

Goodluck guys! Hopefully this guide will have helped you get some GG's on the rift as everyone's favorite Darkin Blade. Also, feel free to add me on League if you feel like it, like I said before, my summoner name is SteepSlope123. Have fun!