Hello! I'm Kocykek and welcome to my guide!
What you will find here are the best viable items, runes, summoner spells and combos for Poppy on Top Lane. About the guide, the entire text code was written by me and I took some inspirations from other guides. I will link them in credits.

About me, I'm from Poland and I'm peaking Master 128 LP player who mains Poppy with over 500k mastery points on her since the beginning of Season 10. My in-game name is now "Kocykek" and I play on EUW. Poppy Top Lane is the reason why I hit Master 2 times on both EUNE and EUW.
If you will have any questions about my guide, feel free to leave a comment. Anyway let's get into the guide!

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Iron Ambassador

Poppy periodically throws her buckler as her next basic attack, gaining 350 bonus range and dealing 20 − 180 (based on level) bonus magic damage. The buckler then falls near her target, where it remains for up to 4 seconds.

When Poppy picks up the buckler, she shields herself for 13 / 15.5 / 18% (based on level) of her maximum health for 3 seconds. If the buckler kills its target, it bounces back to Poppy automatically. Enemy champions can step on the buckler to destroy it.

Additional info:
Range: 475
Cooldown: 13 / 10 / 7

Teleport Classic spell to take on Top Lane. Lets you pressure enemy, catch wave and help your teammates which definitely will help you a lot!

Flash Flash is a classic spell. Helps with mobility and overall combos and plays.

Ignite Ignite is a really good spell. Poppy's early damage is great and it's even better with a bit of True Damage. Ignite lets you snowball enemies and it works great. It even reduces healing so it's great against healing champions. With its low cooldown it's a great spell to take.

Combos are part of League of Legends of every champion so let's see possible combos of Poppy.

Basic combo on Poppy is...

AA

AA

...and in this one combo you can add more abilities and damage sources.

Basically you use combo based on situation you got in and how much damage you can put out.

Combos for examples:



This one here is:

I hope you understand "Combos" section! If you don't, feel free to ask me questions.

In Laning Phase your task is to win it. Depending on the matchup it can be hard but not always. Starting Level 1 with Hammer Shock you can take first 3 melee minions with one proc and then farm and start trading with enemy laner. Level 1 Poppy isn't that bad but not good either. Wait until next level or Level 3 to effectively trade.

If against melee you can Hammer Shock enemy either by going up to him or blocking a dash and then using it. You also should have Corrupting Potion. Use it on trades in order to stack Grasp of the Undying. Damage ticks are important because they are key factor of Poppy's Iron Ambassador. You can throw the passive just before the number on Grasp of the Undying goes to 4 to proc it instantly and let another one stack. It works even better later with Sheen bought. You can also Hammer Shock minions if it's needed for Grasp of the Undying proc. If the enemy has no dash you can just Q him and run away. It's the best if you can proc Hammer Shock 2 times because it'll do a lot of damage. And if enemy is near a wall then you can easily stun him. Remember also to pick up your shield from Iron Ambassador!


If against ranged you should save up mana and slowly farm. You can't really proc Iron Ambassador that often unless they are short ranged but it's possible sometimes. They can be annoying but with Second Wind and Doran's Shield not so much. Try to scale instead of trading.

Later on when you'll get a bit tankier you can pretty much trade under enemies tower.

In Mid Game you should either try to help your teammates as your Teleport is now Unleashed Teleport or keep pressuring enemy on lane. Either way you're helping your teammates so much.


Mid Game focuses on objectives so it's very important to go bot as drake is here. Bonuses that are coming from drakes are key factor to victory. Eventually you and your bot can change lanes depending on the situation.

Taking drakes isn't that hard but you've to think because you're a Top Laner. You're not a Jungler. You're Top Laner.
So in this case you have 2 choices: Either join a fight on drake or pressure enemy on one specific lane.


You can use Control Ward or Oracle Lens to clear wards so the enemy doesn't have vision on you. If you have prio your team can easily take down the drake but if not then you have to either wait for engage, engage or even use ult. Focusing jungler and killing him makes taking objectives a lot easier. As Top Laner as said a moment ago you can use Keeper's Verdict to knockout the enemies away or knockout the specific enemy away (jungler). This will make a better situation for a minute.


You can also stop enemies from blastconing either into dragon pit or in the jungle.



Stopping blast cones and dashes on objectives with Steadfast Presence:
On drake it works the best against enemy on blue side.
On baron it works the best against enemy on red side.


Well pressuring enemy is just being on your own on whether opposite lane or any lane. While it's kinda egoistic from many point of views it brings a lot of pros. Let's take an example. You are on Bot Lane and you're fighting LeBlanc, her team is coming down there but your team is doing dragon. You kill LeBlanc and not only that... You're distracting them from doing objective. They kill you but they lose dragon and LeBlanc. At least that's what happened in my game.


Splitpushing is just for the good of your team. One thing you'll need available on splitpush is Unleashed Teleport. If your team is just weak or they need to farm and not you then they need to deal with you or either you'll win the game by taking all the turrets on the lane you are. And if you're that fed then one enemy won't be enough...

Remember that you can't really decide whether to Splitpush or Join a drake fight. It depends on the situation you're in. You can splitpush if you have Unleashed Teleport available so you can Teleport to a dragon fight if you don't really pressure enemy and you can join a drake fight if your lane is in good state and everything's alright. It really depends on the situation.

And then there is Late Game...

Late Game is just crazy phase of the game. At this moment Inhibitor is probably taken from one of the teams. Either a Teamfight or just killing someone can change the game. Winning a Teamfight in Late Game can basically mean ending the game but killing somebody can mean taking objective or towers or inhibitors. Late Game also relies on minions state. For example if someone's base is being pushed by superminions then somebody has to back. It's even worse if someone is pushing with superminions. Either someone defends the base or just leaves it and open nexus. And it's very important to track these key things. It often happens when the lane with superminions is pushed to opposite site when Baron, Soul or Elder Drake is spawning. If you're on winning site then you can easily take objectives and fight enemies since it's win-win situation. If not then you're supposed to defend the base and push the minions as far as possible. Remember that destroying inhibitor allows opposite site to gain more Gold and XP if you're struggling to end. It just depends on the situation.

In Late Game just focus on objectives. If you're planning to start a teamfight then either focus the most fed person on their team or protect your carry. It can also depend how fed are you. And remember that in teamfights you can block blast cones and knock someone with Keeper's Verdict.

Garen is an easy matchup on lane. He will try to snowball and he doesn't have any gap closers so you can just trade with him and deny it. If he charges at you you can just Steadfast Presence and run away. After Divine Sunderer you outdamage him easily anytime... ...to the moment he has 4 items. Then he just comes back in the game like that. Try to end the game after you have Divine Sunderer because Garen won't be a champion to you then. If you won't end that fast then well, Garen just comes back as tanky huge damage dealing juggernaut.

Gnar is ranged-melee champion that is easy to beat. On lane he can outrange you early on when he has ranged form but most importantly he's also squishy in this form. You have to poke him with Iron Ambassador in ranged using Sheen and Grasp of the Undying. It will literally melt his HP away. So don't get too much poked early and you're good to go. You can also block his Hop whether it's one casted or two casted. In melee range you can definitely trade with him easily with Hammer Shock. After Divine Sunderer you easily one shot him anytime.

Gragas is easy matchup. He's melee range and has long cooldowns early on. Trade with him early with Hammer Shock and poke him too. He has built-in sustain Happy Hour so it's not gonna be that easy killing him anytime. If Gragas is AP then he can deal a lot of damage if he knows how to play but if he goes tank then it's no problem. You can block his Body Slam. Play aggresive during laning phase.

Graves is kinda not an easy matchup. His laning phase is insane and the damage is crazy. Go Warden's Mail or Bramble Vest or even both because the damage and healing he has is too much for you to handle without them. After you bought items you should outdamage him but don't understimate him. Try not to get hit too often by his End of the Line. You can block his Quickdraw and Collateral Damage. Beware of his early damage, play smart, scale.

Gwen is an easy matchup but you should be careful at any point. Early on don't get cheesed by her and avoid any trades. With Steadfast Presence you block her Skip 'n Slash. You can trade her then because you will outdamage her easily. After level 6 be aware of her Needlework damage. And at anytime be careful about Hallowed Mist resistances and immunity. Poking or finishing her can be hard because of it.

Heimerdinger is very hard matchup. You can't really gap close him because he will just one shot you. His turrets will prevent you from farming. However calling your jungler can make this lane possible to win. Play as safe as possible and wait for your jungler. You can't proc Grasp of the Undying as much so probably Fleet Footwork is the best option here. You can try to roam as well.

Illaoi is one of the easiest matchups in my opinion. You can easily see her skillshots and dodge everything so easily. Her Test of Spirit is literally the only source of damage. You dodge it easily and she has nothing to damage you. You also block her Harsh Lesson. You also outtrade her easily. You will win the matchup and make Illaoi useless easily if you will dodge Test of Spirit.

Irelia is hard to kill early on. Level 1 she will stack passive and cheese you. You can't fight her without Steadfast Presence. You can block her Bladesurge then. Try to deny her dash so she can't stack Ionian Fervor. If she knows how to play then she will definitely wait for you to use Steadfast Presence incorrectly. She can stun you with Flawless Duet so try to dodge it. Bramble Vest is a must because her healing is huge. Try to play smart and don't understimate Irelia.

Jax is an easier Irelia to beat. Early on try not to get cheesed by him. You can block his Leap Strike using Steadfast Presence. Knowning Jax he will leap to you whenever he has it available so you can block it easily. Don't understimate his damage because if you somehow mess your abilities up then Jax can make you pay for it. Trade with him using Hammer Shock. Keep in mind that he can deny your poke damage using Counter Strike. After 6 be careful but if you play smart enough it isn't a problem.

Jayce is an easy matchup. Try not to get poked by him too much and short trade with him. You block his To The Skies! which denies his entire combo if he aims for it. You will outdamage him anytime on lane and outside of lane but keep in mind his late game potential. His damage is huge if he is scaled enough.

Kayle is an easy matchup. Be careful of her early damage with Lethal Tempo. After you get Sheen you can snowball hard. Poke her and trade a lot. You outdamage her anytime, even if she will transform to ranged form. Keep in mind that she can scale hard.

Kennen is an annoying very hard matchup. He will poke you, he will CC you and he will most likely outdamage you too. Try to play as safe as possible and scale. You can't proc Grasp of the Undying as much so grab Fleet Footwork. Same situation as Heimerdinger. Try to call your jungler for help or roam around the map.

Kled is a very easy matchup. Be careful of his first 2 levels and then you outdamage him easily. If he engages onto you, you just Steadfast Presence and block his dash. Your %max HP damage from Hammer Shock melts him. You outtrade him everytime and after Divine Sunderer it's over for him.

K'Sante is not a hard matchup. Early on try to take short trades and poke him. When you grab any component try to play more aggressive, it will pay out. You block his Footwork. If he has ultimate be careful. He can drag you onto his turret. You don't want that. Also he gets bonus stats and he deals more, much more. Don't understimate him. You can outdamage him easily.

Malphite is an easy matchup if you have any AP damage in your team. You can easily outtrade and outdamage him. After Divine Sunderer you can easily kill him anytime. The worst that can happen is that your team is full AD. Then you will lose any trade and any fight. The less AD you have on your team the better the matchup for you.

Maokai is very easy to beat. You outtrade him, outdamage him anytime. Don't go into bushes that often because his saplings will most likely be there. Also beware of his sustain from Sap Magic. He's only useful at providing CC so Mercury's Treads or Unflinching is a must. Divine Sunderer melts him.

Mordekaiser is a very skill matchup. His early damage is hurtful. You have to buy Sheen and poke him a lot and trade him when it's possible. Dodge his Death's Grasp because if not then he will outtrade you anytime. His Indestructible allows him to heal himself or get a shield while in fight. Beware of that. After Divine Sunderer you definitely have a chance. Grab some Magic Resists if needed. Play smart.

Nasus is an easy matchup. You outtrade him easily because he lacks damage early on and he has to come close to stack. You will outdamage him anytime. Divine Sunderer melts him. Your kit makes Nasus unable to do anything to you. Play aggresive.

Olaf is a difficult matchup after his rework. He can deal a lot of damage early on, cheesing with his Undertow. Don't understimate him anytime. You can short trade with him if he positions himself near a wall or he doesn't has Undertow available. If he reaches level 6, you can't be very close to him. He can just run you down with Ragnarok and you can't do nothing if you let him autoattack you. I usually Heroic Charge into the minion wave to let his Ragnarok disappear. Antiheal against him is a must. Try to not feed him too much.

Ornn is not a hard matchup. He can deal a lot of magic damage while being tanky. Don't understimate him. You can short trade with him a lot. He's kinda immobile so most likely you will hit a lot of Hammer Shocks. You can block his Searing Charge using Steadfast Presence which allows you to deal a lot of damage during trade. You can also block his Call of the Forge God recast. With Divine Sunderer you can easily melt him. Play aggresive.

Pantheon is not a hard matchup. He can deal a lot of damage early on but you outscale him easily. Just be beware of his early damage, short trade with him if possible. You can block his Shield Vault. After Level 6 he can roam around the map so try to ping it. Try to scale, play safe early and Pantheon won't be a problem. If he's dealing too much damage try building some armor.

Quinn can be annoying as she is ranged matchup. It's not that easy to win against her. In laning phase you will get outkited and poked a lot. Second Wind and Doran's Shield is a must. You can block her Vault with Steadfast Presence. After level 6 she can roam around the map and make huge impact on the map. Try to roam too if possible or just scale. Buy some armor items against Quinn. Play safe and smart.

Renekton is an easy matchup. Just be careful of his early damage. His enhanced abilities can be hurtful. Go for short trades. You can block his Slice and Dice easily with Steadfast Presence. You can also grab Sheen and poke him a lot. After Divine Sunderer you easily outdamage him anytime. Just play smart early and you're good to go. If you're having problems you can grab Bramble Vest.

Rengar is an easy matchup. Play safe first levels because of his leap and early power. Grab Bramble Vest as fast as possible because his healing from Battle Roar can be huge if you will deal a lot of damage in trade. You can block his leap whether it's from bush or ult using Steadfast Presence. Rengar gets outscaled quickly. Play safe early on and you outscale him easily.

Riven can be a tricky matchup. She has unpredictable combos that can one shot you anytime. Level 1 be careful. Try to Steadfast Presence her Q3 since it will knock you up. Grab some armor items and play smart. Trade with her and poke her as well. Her mobility is crazy but you can deny it easily.

Rumble is rarely seen nowadays but he's unpredictable too. He has huge damage that can melt anyone. Try to grab Sheen and poke him. Maybe grab some Magic Resist items too. His Electro-Harpoon reduces your Magic Resist. Try to not be hit by it because if hit then his entire combo will destroy you. His The Equalizer is huge in teamfights. Be careful and don't understimate Rumble.

Sejuani in this season is a easy matchup. She doesn't have that great mythics as in previous season. In Laning Phase watch out for her Arctic Assault. You block it with Steadfast Presence. She can deal a lot of damage early on but you will probably expect it and negate it. Black Cleaver or Divine Sunderer melts her.

Sett is a skill matchup. His early game is strong so be careful. His sustain is also insane. Grab Sheen and poke him a lot. Try to trade with him with Hammer Shock and run away with Steadfast Presence in order to not get hit by his Facebreaker. You can also dodge his Haymaker with mobility on Steadfast Presence. Rush Divine Sunderer to outdamage him most of the times. He still can deal a lot of damage if behind. Beware of that. Play safe early, poke him and scale.

Shen is not an easy matchup. His early damage can be hurtful because of Twilight Assault. Take short trades. You can block his Shadow Dash. His Spirit's Refuge blocks your Iron Ambassador and his Ki Barrier makes him hard to kill. From Level 6 he can grant a shield to any of his teammates on map. You can easily outdamage him when you get Divine Sunderer but his Stand United can make a game a lot harder. Try to play safe early levels and scale.

Singed is a very easy matchup since he lets you easily scale in Top Lane. If he comes close to you you just Hammer Shock him and run away with Steadfast Presence. You can trade with easily and poke him as well. He lets you easily buy Divine Sunderer and duel anyone.

Sion is a skill matchup. Short trade with him and interrupt his Decimating Smash with Heroic Charge. Try to annoy him as you can because Sion will stack a lot of HP then. His damage can be insane, especially from Sunfire Aegis later on. Play smart and try to not get hit by his abilities. Divine Sunderer helps here so much.

Swain is a weird matchup. You can kill him and at the same time he can kill you. Early on don't get poked too much. Grab Sheen as fast as possible and poke him too. After 6 if you can't escape from him while he's casting his ult Keeper's Verdict him. I always found it funny how you can't kill him in his ult but he's useless without it then. But well if you're fighting under his ult then good luck! Weird matchup...

Sylas is one of the easiest matchup on Top. You can easily trade with him as you have better early game. Hammer Shock him everytime he comes close and poke with Iron Ambassador. You outtrade him and outdamage him throughout the whole game. Divine Sunderer eliminates him from the game as he's useless to you then and he can't do anything against you. If he somehow gets fed a bit grab Magic Resist but it really shouldn't happen.

Teemo is very hard matchup. Just like Ryze, Kennen he outranges you and deals a lot of magic damage. Play safe and call your jungler to help you. Oracle Lens is a must for his mushrooms since you can destroy them then. Fleet Footwork, Doran's Shield and Second Wind are great here. If you're having problems buy some Magic Resist.

Trundle can be a tricky matchup. His early game is one of the strongest in the game. His passive King's Tribute can heal him a lot on lane. Only short trade with him, poke him and scale until Divine Sunderer. His Subjugate is insane as it removes your resistances. Meaning he will be tankier than you. With smart plays he definitely can be outplayed. Bramble Vest is a must to his healing.

Tryndamere is an easy matchup. He's only a problem for you on Level 1 and Level 6. Trade with him if you have Steadfast Presence and poke him a lot. Warden's Mail gets the job done with his autoattacks. Your abilities make his champion useless. After some minutes you outdamage him easily anytime.

Urgot is an easy matchup. Be careful of his Level 1. You can trade with him easily afterwards and poke him too but he can still deal a decent amount of damage. You can block his Disdain. After Divine Sunderer you can easily outdamage him anytime but be careful. If anything goes wrong you can go Warden's Mail.

Vayne is a new classic ranged champion on top and early on she will try to cheese you HARD. Literally. She will just put a mouse cursor on you. So play very safe. You can't really go tank here since she has max% hp true damage so try to build more AD rather than Defensive Items later on. First buy Steelplated Caps and then hope for the best, especially your jungler to gank you. You block her Tumble.

Volibear is an easy matchup. Short trade with early on. You can block his Thundering Smash. He's immobile but he's tanky. Dodge his Sky Splitter if possible. Try to not fight him that much until Divine Sunderer. He outdamages you in extended trades or fights so just focus on short trading and poking. Short trade with him, play safe and just scale.

Warwick is a very hard matchup. His early game is insane and his sustain even more. Try to get something to reduce his healing. And rush Divine Sunderer. Your trading won't really matter early game as he will outheal it and maybe even outtrade you. Be careful and just scale. He falls off hard.

Wukong is an easy matchup. You easily outtrade him early and outscale him. You can block his Warrior Trickster and Nimbus Strike. Only be careful of his Cyclone damage as it can hurt. Otherwise you should win as he is really vulnerable to poke and trades from you.

Yasuo is a very easy matchup. Just be careful early on since his early is much better than yours and you're good to go. Rush Bramble Vest. You outtrade him anytime when you have Steadfast Presence. Yasuo is squishy and you can literally one shot him. Dodge his Steel Tempest if possible but even if you can get hit by it then it shouldn't be a problem since you can outdamage him anytime.

Yone is even easier than Yasuo to beat and is probably the easiest matchup on Top Lane. His Mortal Steel is literally a mobility and you can easily block everytime. Bramble Vest just eliminates him from the game as he can't do any damage to you and you deny his healing. His damage is low and he's squishy just like Yasuo. Trade with him, poke him, you win everytime basically.

Yorick is a matchup like Illaoi but harder. He also relies on one ability to hit and that is Mourning Mist. He will Last Rites minions and if he has enough Mist Walkers he will throw Mourning Mist at you. If you dodge it then you can easily outdamage him and if not then you can block Mists dashes with Steadfast Presence. Most likely if you got hit by it then he will also trap you in his Dark Procession. His splitpushing potential can also be huge. Short trade with him, poke him and dodge his Mourning Mist.