Irelia has everything to counter you with her insane mobility and damage negation and thus remains the most formidable counterpick against Aatrox. Against her you need to be extremely careful not to overextend. Most Irelias prepare their engages with quite clear signs such as getting a few minions low next to you. You can try to predict her Q and land your own Q but other than that it comes down to whether or not you can dodge her E. After BORK she becomes way too powerful to reliably kill, so trust your team enough that they can deal with her.
Fiora
Fiora is a very common counterpick against Aatrox as her W parry is a very reliable ability against our Q. Early on try to focus on not letting her get free Vital hits on you especially if she has Grasp. You will take heavy damage and be forced to play so that she can set up a tower dive. The most important thing is to keep note of her W cooldown. Try to dodge it by using E sideways while using Q. Mastering it makes this lane so much easier. Grievous Wounds are good against her.
Vayne
Go Edge of Night first as it will make her stun useless. Arcane Comet is good here since Conqueror offers zero value. Don't get poked down early and punish her if she uses her dash to catch you. Don't play next to a wall as she can stun you and possibly kill you.
Yone
Yone is quite weak early game but scales really well into mid and late game. Early game focus on baiting his W as it can block an entire Q worth of damage from you. If you land your W on him he will most likely use E to dodge it. Keep in mind that his R makes him unstoppable so he can use it to negate your Q knockup. You win him level 6 if you're both even.
Gwen
She is quite squishy but has a lot of damage so don't take extended trades. Her R gives her insane burst so try to dodge it at all costs. Hexdrinker early is very good but build Eclipse before finishing Maw: Eclipse allows you to trade better while Maw becomes more useful later due to the shield. She outscales you quite hard in late game so avoid fighting her alone.
Riven
Respect her early game as she can confidently burst you with Ignite. She has many different dashes in her kit, thus the key is baiting her into your Q sweet spot. Baiting her W out is really the only way you'll ever win her unless she makes an obvious mistake. Respect her at all points in the game and shut her down in teamfights using your Q stun.
Kled
You can use your E to dodge his Q but learn to sidestep it without using E as this will allow you to trade with him more efficiently. His Q has Grievous Wounds in it so you won't heal as much as you normally would. Don't fight him early and respect him when his mount runs away as he can get it back almost instantly if you let him hit you for free.
Olaf
The key in this matchup is dodging his axe, as it slows you and reduces your armor. He gets stronger the less health he has so be careful. His ult makes your stuns useless so don't fight him when he uses R if possible. Grievous Wounds early are not a bad choice.
Kennen
Arcane Comet is a must here as Conqueror offers zero value in lane. Hexdrinker early is a good option. If you let him push you should focus on punishing him always when he goes for minions but don't get too low. Poke him with Q whenever possible and look for an all in when he is low. Keep in mind that his E gives him an enormous mobility boost so don't waste abilities on him if he uses it.
Pantheon
An extremely oppressive lane early. His Q outranges you hard and deals insane damage. Try to dodge it if possible, otherwise just farm under tower. Your goal here is to stay relatively even up until mid game where you can win him. Most Pantheons also go Ignite so respect his first few levels. He is much weaker in mid game than you but gets a powerspike in late game. Bait his E and you can possibly fight him
K'Sante
One of the tankiest champions in the game. Early armor penetration is good here. Walk sideways to dodge his Q3 and respect his short trades as they are quite oppressive wth Grasp. His R gives him huge damage but he becomes quite squishy. Don't waste your cooldowns on his W and remember that he can recast it instantly after he uses R.
Akali
Hexdrinker trivializes this matchup. Learn to sidestep her E and her damage becomes much lower. Don't fight her when she uses her W. While she is quite slippery, she will HAVE to come close to you to trade so punish her if she does so. Respect her first three levels as you'll lose an all-in.
Ornn
Ornn is one of the strongest toplaners all around, since he has damage as well as tankiness. Ornn will always want to hit his knockup on you, so if you dodge it you should win the trade. Respect his W damage, he also gets unstoppable while using it, meaning your Q won't CC him. While Mercs help with his AP damage, they don't help with CC as they're all knockups.
Yasuo
Yasuo's laning phase is entirely dependant on his ability to use E. He is quite difficult for Aatrox to reliably hit because he can just dash around so try to fight him when there's no minions around. His windwall can block your W so beware of that. Tabis are extremely useful here because all of his damage apart from his E and R are counted as auto attacks.
Urgot
Urgot is a terrific duelist and a strong splitpusher, but as with other champs in this caliber, he suffers from low mobility and a predictable kit. You basically always win him as long as you don't get hit by his E. Skew his HP away by taking short trades and you should win this lane.
Volibear
Volibear's kit is very predictable, but he is also a very powerful duelist. Volibear players love to spam Q and E engage on you, so anticipate it by using E backwards and using Q to mitigate damage. You win once you get Sundered Sky, but respect his dueling, in long fights he will win.
Vladimir
Vlad is a rare pick in top but he is quite annoying to lane against nonetheless. While you have an easy time poking him, his W makes all ins quite difficult since if he plays close to his tower he can always disengage in a moments notice. He scales very hard but is very weak early. Look to take trades at level 4 since you can burst him down quickly. Hexdrinker is a good option early since he does full AP.
Illaoi
In terms of laning, Illaoi is one of the more easier ones, so long as you dodge her E. If she misses it, she basically loses all the source of her damage, allowing you to take the trade in your favor. After level 6 she becomes much stronger. If she ults, just run away. You will NEVER outheal her if she has E and R on you.
Malphite
You win early and mid with good enough spacing and poke. Eclipse is very good against him since it blocks his short trade damage. He kinda outscales you as you'll not really be able to kill him after he has enough items. Focus on killing his team and he becomes obsolete.
Jax
Very skill based matchup. With proper spacing you should be able to punish him should he decide to engage on you. When comboing him you should keep note of his E as it reduces your Q damage. Learn to time your Q3 so that when he recasts E you damage him in return. He outscales Aatrox hard so avoid taking duels after he gains three items.
Darius
Darius is a feast of famine champion, and this is reflected by his strength throughout the game. Early he wins you just by statchecking your champ, but midgame you should win just as long as you don't get caught in his E. You can dodge his pull by simply using E backwards, and you can Q at the same time. When laning, try to take his HP down little by little until you can just ult combo him to death. Late game he is a monster, so try to shut him down in teamfights by stunning him with Q.
Garen
You should pretty much never lose this lane as long as you space well enough. Garen has zero gap closers excluding his Q which only gives him a speed boost, so if you play away enough he can't never kill you without burning Flash and Ignite. Punish his farming by using Q on him and slowly poke him down until you can just kill him.
Kayle
Kayle is a really weird champion to scale, because she can go 0/10 and still carry once she hits level 16. The laning phase itself, however, is completely under your control. Level 4 you can just full combo her and she won't be able to do anything. After level 6 she wins you if you take extended fights, but if she doesn't have her R its a free kill. This remains the same until she hits level 16, during when she will completely obliterate you. Watch out for her W move speed, she can outrun your W slow.
Tryndamere
Quite an easy lane as his engages are very easy to predict. If he uses E to engage you should always kite towards your own turret and punish him once he tries to disengage. His R makes it so that you won't heal from it so don't waste cooldowns on it.
Cho'Gath
Cho'Gath is pretty weak early game, and you are much stronger from level 4 to level 6. Try to deny him CS early game and build up a small lead, after level 6 the lane becomes much more volatile with his R. Don't fight him if you're too low, and you should end up even or ahead. His Qs are relatively easy to dodge, but beware of his W, since it makes you unable to use your abilities.
Gragas
Gragas has a lot of sustain and can quite easily poke you so respect his laning strength. Try to get him to use his E before you use W as he can just dash away from you. Gragas has good insec so beware if you're low under your turret. Eclipse is very good as the shield offers good protection against his burst.
Jayce
Jayce is a really strong poker and also has good all in, so try not to get hit by his empowered Q. Jayce's engage is very predictable, and he also lacks mobility, so he is susceptible to ganks. He is a strong scaler, but you should win him in a 1v1 as the game goes on. His strong suit remains his poke and burst, so buying things like Death's Dance and Sterak's hinders his damage output.
Singed
Singed isn't usually played in a lane, and is instead proxied with. This is due to him being a weak laner with no real all in. A usual trade with him should be Q -> W -> Q2, and once he uses E on you, time your Q3 by firing it behind you, so that it lands on top of Singed. He is a strong late game champion that excels in grouped up teamfights, so try to take his team out before him.
Sett
Sett is a very feast or famine champion, and is one of the strongest early game champions. Avoid openly taking trades and fighting him until level 4. Don't also stand in between him and your own minions, since his E can stun you. Try to avoid his W center, as it deals true damage.
Quinn
Quinn isn't that difficult to play against once she engages with her E. When she vaults on you, she is very susceptible to your full combo, and since she is squishy, you can almost always skew the trade in your favor. Fighting her in your side of the lane is much more important than you might realize. If she can't follow you after your combo, she can't punish you. After level 6 try to warn your team as her roaming power is where her power mainly resides in.
Renekton
Renekton has a strong all in, but once he uses his E, you can poke him down as much as you like. Try to bait out his E recast by holding onto your Q, and then engage when his mobility is down. His R wins against you in an all in, so don't fight him in it.
Gnar
You can't really ever fully combo him as he can always jump away from your W. Try to dodge his Q as often as possible and poke him with your Q. If he uses his jump you are mostly free to engage, but keep an eye on whenever he turns into Mega Gnar. Never fight his mega version next to a wall as he can chain stun you for an eternity. His skillshots in mega form are quite easy to just sidestep so learn to do that and you shouldn't have much problems at all.
Tahm Kench
Tahm Kench relies heavily on getting his Q off, so standing behind minions hinders his CC output by a lot. He also lacks mobility, and you can cancel his W with CC. Once he buys Thornmail, he gets much stronger, and you will probably never kill him in late game, so focus on killing his team.
Trundle
Laning phase is basically free as long as you space around him well enough. He has no way to catch you off-guard since you can just E through his ice pillar and without Lethal Tempo his melee range is much less oppressive. You should always win trades before he gains R. After he has it you shouldn't commit into a long fight unless you're clearly ahead as he is stronger in those situations. Kite well and save E for escape.
Yorick
Yorick gets overestimated a lot, but in reality his only damage output lies in his minions and in his R. Dodging his E will make him much less oppressive, and his gameplay is much splitpush favored. That being said, he is still a strong duelist, and will wreck you if you go in without a plan. Because he lacks mobility, Aatrox can very easily all in him, but try to save your E in the case he uses his cage on you.
Teemo
A complete joke of a laner, Teemo is one of the worst possible picks against Aatrox. Your damage comes mainly from abilities, which Teemo's blind is useless against. He also lacks movement speed apart from his W, so abuse his lack of mobility. Teemo becomes much more dangerous late game. He can also limit your freedom to engage with his traps, so post-level 6 take Oracle Lens.
Gangplank
Gangplank is the one of the best scaling champs in the entire League, and therefore should be denied as much gold and experience as possible. Luckily for us, he is very easily counterable and usually loses all trades he takes against you, unless he catches you off guard with his E. The only reason GP isn't even lower is because he scales too hard. Late game he just one-shots you and also does too much true damage.
Mordekaiser
The gigachad of toplane, and quite possibly the only respectable toplaner. For me, Mordekaiser is kinda the AP version of Aatrox, since he also has a lot of healing and is a great duelist, while commanding shitty splitpush. During laning phase, you can dodge his Q and E quite easily and try to take trades. If he uses R on you, just R away as well. The movement speed can be the difference between living and dying. If the jungle is also AP, I'd consider going Kaenic Rookern as first.
Maokai
Maokai relies on short trades and doesn't want to take long fights. He lacks mobility, so you can basically always full combo him. After level 6, you become much stronger than him.
Shen
Shen is an easy laner to play against. His kit doesn't offer much defense against you, since your damage comes off of mainly your abilities. He can still dodge your empowered passive by using his W, and his potential to shift the tides of a teamfight with his R is huge. While you can't dispose of his R shield, you can make him unable to teleport by CCing him with Q. Don't stand in between his spirit blade and him, as he can call it to himself and empower his auto attacks.
Dr. Mundo
This matchup is ridiculously easy. Your Q is CC, and therefore cancels Mundo's passive. He also has a lot of HP by nature, so you always win extended fights, since you heal so much. Mundo becomes much more dangerous in late game when he has resistances as well as Thornmail, so don't underestimate him.
Nasus
Nasus is one of the easiest toplanes to actually play against, and he is very easily killable pre level 6. You will always outtrade him, but beware of his R and his mid to late game. He will probably never directly be able to kill you, but the same can't be said to your teammates. Keep him low on stacks by zoning him off of minions and you'll win.
Sion
Sion is a very easy matchup. Your Q is easy to proc so that it cancels his Q charge, and his nature as a tank helps with you taking extended fights. You win against Sion in every point in the game.
As of Patch 14.19 (Split 3), basically all major bruiser items have been somehow adjusted (nerfed). Eclipse was also a part of these nerfs, and while it is good on Aatrox I think that other builds may still have more potential. I'm currently quite busy so it might take a while to cook something up but I'll be sure to update this guide once it is ready.
Introductions
Hello everyone! I'm forlid, and I'm the creator of this Aatrox guide.
I began my journey on League in EUNE almost three years ago and focused a lot on Draft Pick with my friends, playing a plethora of different champions and roles, really just trying everything out. I eventually climbed to low Emerald a bit over a year ago and, as the split changed, also switched to EUW. Here I climbed up to Diamond II quite quickly but also started to feel a bit bored and started to create guides for some of my most played champions, Aatrox included. Later on, while I didn't exactly one trick him, I thought of him as my most solid pick on top lane and started to play him more and more.
This guide was created as the result of my experiences with Aatrox in Diamond and is still a work in progress, but I'll keep updating it as time goes on.
About Aatrox
Aatrox is one of the most popular toplaners and his playstyle mainly revolves around his omnivamp and combos. While he is not the most difficult champion when taken at face value, the skill ceiling of Aatrox is comparable to the more difficult champions in League overall. Aatrox excels in duels as well as teamfights but struggles with weaker scaling and gets easily countered by armor and grievous wounds.
Periodically, Aatrox's next basic attack deals bonus physical damage and heals him, based on the target's max health.
Aatrox's passive is a very powerful tool as it increases his auto attack range and deals a lot of damage for a basic attack. The cooldown of this ability is based on how many times you're able to hit your The Darkin Blade's sweet spots as well as auto attacks, as they both lower the cooldown for Deathbringer Stance. The cooldown for this ability gets gradually lower the more levels you gain and is eventually active pretty much every other second. Keep in mind that enemies will notice when you gain your passive based on a certain sound as well as how Aatrox positons his blade in a horizontal line.
Aatrox slams his greatsword, dealing 10/25/40/55/70physical damage. If they are hit on the edge, they are briefly Knocked Up and they take 16/40/64/88/112 instead. This Ability can be Recast twice, each one changing shape and dealing 25% more damage than the previous one.
Easily Aatrox's most imporant ability, The Darkin Blade is where your damage resides and it is extremely important that you master this ability. Whereas the inside of this ability does quite bad damage, the sweet spots are where you should always aim. To ease this you're allowed to dash with Umbral Dash while casting The Darkin Blade in every direction. This is how you'll be catching all of your foes who try to escape. Keep in mind that this ability is quite bad until level 4 where your second point in Q becomes available. The Darkin Blade has an extremely long cooldown early but it's reduced as long as you don't recast it after poking with it. This ability has three forms: the first cast makes a straight line and is used mostly as an engage tool as it has the longest reach; the sweet spot resides at the very tip of the blade. The second cast makes a huge horizontal line with the longest reach in both of its corners; the sweet spot resides in the very end of the blade with the entire line being the sweet spot. The third cast has Aatrox slamming his greatsword down in a circle with the sweet spot in its center.
Aatrox fires a chain, Slowing the first enemy hit by 25/27,5/30/32,5/35% for 1.5 seconds and dealing 30/40/50/60/70magic damage. Champions and large jungle monsters have 1.5 seconds to leave the impact area or be Pulled back to the center and damaged again for the same amount.
Infernal Chains is a pivotal part of your kit although far from the most useful. The main usage of this ability comes from comboing it alongside The Darkin Blade for an easier combo. This ability is widely known to be extremely inconsistent as its CC is very unreliable on its own. You can combo Umbral Dash alongside this ability for an easier hit and you can also last hit minions with it as it deals double damage to them. Enemies will often try to run to the side of the CC area in order to escape, so try to hit your Q1 or Q2 while they're escaping. This usually ends up in a huge trade in your favour.
Passive: Aatroxheals for 18/19.5/21/22.5/24% of the damage he deals to Champions, increased to 20/24/28/32/36% during World Ender. Active: Aatrox dashes. He can use this Ability while winding up his other Abilities.
Aatrox's E is all of your mobility alongside World Ender's move speed boost, so use it effectively. You'll mostly be using this to catch opponents with The Darkin Blade or when you need to disengage. While the dash itself is pretty short ranged, it can pass through surprisingly tight walls such as raptors. Try to play around with it and learn where you can slip and where you can't. Umbral Dash pays another huge role in your kit as it's your main source of sustain. During your R it gets much higher and will allow you to outsustain basically every champion.
Aatrox reveals his true demonic form, Fearing nearby minions for 3 seconds and gaining 60/80/100% Move Speed decaying over 10 seconds. He also gains 20/32.5/45% Attack Damage and increases self-healing by 25/35/45% for the duration. Champion takedowns extend the duration of this effect by 5 seconds and refresh the Move Speed effect.
Aatrox's ultimate World Ender is where your damage gets boosted to the skies. It makes catching opponents much easier and makes your sustain one of the best in the game. Alongside giving you terrific AD it also gives you an insane disengage tool should the need arise for you to do so. Don't overlook the self-healing as it increases your regeneration as well as makes plants give you more HP. Don't always just insta ult when you see a target, rather try to observe and wait for the correct opportunity. In teamfights its also not always the call to instantly ult as you want to use it so that you're able to extend its duration. Now of course you'll use it if you're in a sticky situation, but IN GENERAL its not always best to just use all of your damage without a good reason. Enemies might just disengage as they recognize the danger you pose.
Simply the best keystone for Aatrox. Conqueror allows us to fight for extended durations and the damage increase serves as an extra source of sustain since more damage equals more healing. Conqueror should always be your choice of rune unless you're facing someone who's extremely difficult to catch and who's ranged, such as Vayne or Quinn.
This slot is moreso just too one-sided due to Triumph heavily outvaluing both Presence of Mind and Overheal. Triumph is very valuable in teamfights and especially in 1v2 situations as the heal from a takedown might let you live or even turn the tide of a fight. You should also consider Triumph as a tower dive rune as the heal can possibly leave you alive after a successful dive: Aatrox is one of the best divers in the game due to the sustain he gains from a kill.
This choice relies on whether or not you think you'll need the extra tenacity later on. I'm currently running Legend: Alacrity on most of my games as I think Sterak's Gage alone provides enough tenacity to render the rune itself mostly useless. Alacrity also helps with your passive Deathbringer Stance as more auto attacks lower the cooldown of your empowered attack. Consider going Alacrity into matchups where you can get more auto attacks off. These include low mobility champions such as Malphite, Sion, Nasus and Dr. Mundo.
Since you'll mostly be committing into a kill, more often than not you'll find yourself quite low as the fight goes on. Last Stand allows you to deal more damage the lower you are so it's perfect for extended fights.
A very solid rune best taken into melee matchups where the enemy is unable to poke you without fully engaging. Think about someone like Darius: he has nothing on you unless you walk into his Q Decimate. Be wary of some melee matchups as the rune can easily be poked down. These include champions such as Volibear who can poke it through his passive The Relentless Storm and Yone who can just use his W Spirit Cleave on you.
Serves as an excellent anti-poke rune due to its healing through taken damage. Pairing Second Wind alongside Doran's Shield makes up for some insane healing and makes ranged lanes somewhat playable. Second Wind is also an excellent rune even in some melee matchups where Bone Plating isn't as useful and where the enemy can constantly poke you.
An excellent rune choice for Aatrox as it allows for more healing. The shield part shouldn't also be ignored as it effectively increases Sterak's Gage shielding as well. If you're unsure what to go, Revitalize should always be your choice as it's really powerful with both bruiser and lethality.
The sole reason this rune page is even viable on Aatrox. The poke from Arcane Comet leaves most ranged champions in a negative trade should they try to poke with you as the damage is guaranteed should you hit your sweet spots from The Darkin Blade. Consider going this only if the enemy laner has a lot of mobility AND is ranged. Otherwise Conqueror is way superior.
A really good rune for poke as the burn damage is actually very viable. Another contender here would be Gathering Storm but seeing as Aatrox isn't the best scaling champion, the extra AD won't most likely make a huge difference.
Serves a very imporant role in your combos. Use it alongside The Darkin Blade to finish off low HP opponents. Keep in mind that your combo is very easily predicted so try to bait their movement out before committing. The obvious usage of Flash is of course also disengaging and dodging out important abilities.
Teleport is very useful in top where the walk to lane is extremely long. It also allows you to split later on and join teamfights should they break out. Currently I think Teleport heavily outvalues Ignite so you should always take it even against healing targets.
Not very strong in top and especially not for someone such as Aatrox. I'd only really take this if you're queuing for midlane and even then Teleport is equally as strong. There just isn't much use for it as there's a lot more potential with Teleport.
I don't really recommend picking any other Summoner Spells other than these three as they're not as valuable on Aatrox. Exhaust should never be taken on top and Cleanse is useless after Sterak's Gage.
Humble Beginnings
EARLY GAME:
Aatrox is notorious as one of the weakest early game champions and has next to no real pressure against most other top laners until level 4. Thus, you should focus on farming and keeping up with your laner rather than directly threatening them. Of course there are exceptions to this rule but IN GENERAL you would do well to respect your opponent unless you're sure that they can't mess up your laning.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
• Respect the strength of your opponent
• Focus on farming; don't engage if there's a chance you'll miss XP
• Learn to space well: champions such as Darius or Sett can and will punish you hard if you don't pay attention to their footing
WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO
• Avoid taking high-risk trades early, as you'll want to save your HP for your powerspikes (levels 4 and 6)
• Conserve your abilities; they have extremely long cooldowns, so don't throw them around like so
• Observe your jungler - if you're weaksided, you should always avoid pushing the wave: ward the river as well
Early game is the most important part of League, since in most cases it determines the rest of the game. Reaching level 4 should always be your priority as your second point in The Darkin Blade increases its damage by a lot. Moreover by that time grubs also become an option, so look to take them with your jungler if they're topside and you have prio on your lane.
This Is My Peak
MID GAME:
During mid game you'll see your biggest powerspike yet. Aatrox absolutely dominates in mid game and the correct play here would be to of course further your lead. If you're massively behind, then you should of course be farming, but otherwise your objectives remain the same: take whatever objectives are available and help your team if they require it. However, don't forget your own lane: some top laners can just keep split pushing even if they're massively behind, so keep track of your laner.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
• Push sidelanes, as this'll create pressure
• Concentrate on objectives and try to take them as often as possible
• At this point in the game vision becomes an extremely powerful tool, so ward key points in the Rift
WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO
• Avoid taking fights you're unsure about
• Never walk into enemy territory without certainty
• Don't give your enemies free towers, and avoid letting them pushing for free
During mid game you'll generally speaking not going to be laning and will rather join your team. Your most important role as Aatrox is, depending on your build, killing the enemy carry or being a draintank for your team. Either way, as a top laner, in most situations your team will expect you to engage, and so the shotcalling lies in your hands.
The Fall Off
LATE GAME:
At this point in the game you'll be fighting for two things: Baron Nashor and Elder Dragon, both of which are the deciding factors when ending a game. Your main objective as Aatrox in late game is to peel your carries and focus on deadlocking the enemy carry. Keep in mind that at this point Aatrox is really only useful with his R World Ender and that without it you will lose basically every single fight.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
• Prioritize Baron Nashor and Elder Dragon, as they will decide the outcome of the game
• Play with your team
• Take careful initiates, so that your team can follow up
WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO
• Fight without your R
• Split; contradictory, but your splitpush power is kinda weak and you are more useful elsewhere
• DIE! If you die in late game you are out of combat for around a minute or so, which lets your team down into a huge disadvantage
There's not much else to say about late game than to just focus on objectives and teamfights. Your strengths here are your insane sustain and ability to soak up huge amounts of damage, but keep in mind that you are not unkillable. Aatrox is not the worst top laner in late game but he is far from the strongest. Learning his limits here will make a huge difference in games to come and will let you max out your effectiveness. Good luck on the Rift!
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