Items & Runes:
Grasp:
Grasp is receiving a later scaling nerf that will make scaling a bit slower due to how popular it's becoming on champions like Ahri, Yasuo/Yone [Hate that their Q3 counts as melee for grasp], and other champions. It's still the most viable on tanks but might take a bit more time to get built up

Thornmail:
Thornmail is taking a nerf [oddly] but is still very viable on Rell. The armor is going down but the thorn damage flat damage is going up by 5 scaling with 10% bonus armor instead of 15%

Rell Related Buffs/Nerfs:
N/A

Buffed Matchups:
Pantheon:
Pantheon will be getting more max health damage on his W by 1% in every level. It'll be noticable early but in the later game it's hard telling depending on how good the Pantheon is and if he uses Empowered W or not on you

Riven:
The main thing she's gaining is more Q damage which is actually insanely big when you look at it since most Rivens level 1 who know their champion can easily just all-in level 1 and kill basically anyone they jump on making her much more terrifying even if you get resistances later on

Tryndamere:
Nothing too major. His AS ratio is higher which won't be too big of a deal in the Rell top playstyle, and his armor growth is higher but considering you remove resistances it won't be a major issue unless you let him get out of hand

Yasuo:
As expected, his community threw a fit and so he got a buff. His Q crit damage has gone up to 90% on his Q and his Ults armor pen on crit has gone up to 60% meaning he'll definitely hit harder than before

Yone:
Unsurprisingly with him being played in pro play and how many times I've seen his mains cry how weak he feels now, he is also getting the same buff to his Q crit damage at 90%

Nerfed Matchups:
Mundo:
Not really a massive deal for you but his E max health damage is going down by a little bit. It won't affect much for you but it might give your team a survival chance

Mordekaiser:
is Q is having a nerf to it making it less effective when he hits just you. This is actually a god sent seeing as how he usually just needs wand or a component for his Q to take half your health in one shot but he's still super dangerous

Poppy:
A great counter to you and still is, Poppy is taking some nerfs due to her support power. It's meant to make her jungle wise stronger but lane wise weaker. She will be taking a longer time for her passive to come up at all stages, and her E flat damage will be nerfed by 10 at every level. Still be careful of her Qs max health damage

Singed:
Nothing fancy, just an armor growth reduction which moves him not at all where he sits against you

Udyr:
It's mostly jungle focused so he isn't moving in terms of threat. The only real massive change is the MS to his E meaning he will be slightly slower so hopefully he doesn't make a Ghosted Hecarim get a run for their money anymore

Rell is not the most dangerous champion in the game to play in the toplane, but she can easily be one of the most annoying and hard to fight champions in the right hands

You're taking on the role of the engage tank that can not only hard CC the enemy team for a good while, you also have one of the best engages in the game, and also help make tanks squishier by removing their resistances and even better, add them to your own to make you bulkier

Between her stronger than average trade potential once shes sitting on boots and a component, her impressive CC and hard engage potential, her tank power to withstand it all and the impact she can have on any team, Rell is definitely one of the most underrated champions you'll see and playing her top can make her shine much more than in the jungle or supporting an ADC

Trust me when I tell you that this is far from a troll choice. Rell may not be a traditional toplane champion, but she is easily one of the best tanks to play in the toplane for yourself and your team

Rell is meant to do a bit of everything here, so i'll break it down as best as I can here

As Rell, you can roam if you see an opening but I recommend that only once you hit Level 6 and your TP is up. Otherwise, here's what you should try to do during lane phase

• Balance Roaming and Sitting Under Tower:
  It's a hard balance sometimes, especially because Rells waveclear isn't amazing earl, but you'll wanna get the hang of this as soon as possible.
  You won't be taking much if any turret plating, so you have to balance out the secondary way to get your gold: Roaming or getting assists off ganks.
  
  If your laner has no real way to clear waves and you know it'll take them a while to push back, especially when you have TP, get a roam done so that you can help your team and yourself
  
  If you're not sure you can leave but your junglers willing, then keep the wave near your tower so you can either throw them under it for a kill or have your jungler gank for possibly a free kill depending on who you're against
  
  
• Help Your Jungler With 1st Scuttle and Grubs:
  I get it that you might want to sit near your wave and soak up the exp because you wanna get ahead, but you're still a more supportive tank above all else. Plus, it'll hopefully get your jungler to wanna gank top more
  
  While Rells jungle damage was unfortunately removed, you can still help at least keep scuttle secured by helping attack the enemy jungler if they show up. The only time this will fail is if the enemy midlaner shows up with your toplaner but overall at least it keeps pressure and by the time their team realizes what you're doing, you usually already have the scuttle.
  
  As for grubs if you can afford it, try to help them out especially make it seem like you're backing first to draw less suspicion. Again, your jungle damage was removed but it still helps to at least show up.
  
  
• Short Trades:
  Take only short trades if you can afford to. Usually it's best to do them either when you're early in, or after getting a few components to make yourself too beefy to fight back against properly especially because they have to get through a shield to even consider damaging you

Mid & Late Game Objectives:
The main objective in the mid/late game is simple: Engage for your team and be the one who starts the fights. Sometimes you'll have other melee who will do the same but overall your kit is the big fight starter so it's best to make sure you're there to peel for your team, provide support, and most importantly, make the enemy be CC'ed super hard


Things To Do:

• Peel For Your Team
• Start The Fights [Within Reason]
• Assist your team in any way by roams, making ganks easy, or anything in-between
• Keep your laner from snowballing or being useful

Things To NOT Do:

• Do Not Splitpush [unless you're farming or no major objectives
• No solo fighting the hard carry
• Do not stray away from your team for too long [You can't 1v1 everyone]
• Never allow your laner to get fed off you

Components:
Components are a more vital part of building as Rell than most people give credit for, and overall alot of people in general see it as a good thing on tanks

That's why it's best to in my opinion to always build at least 1 Armor/MR component like Chain or Negatron towards the item you're building, so that you're able to get the tanky stats you need while also having to spend less later

My Source:
Some people might ask me:
"What rational thing made you realize that you shouldn't just focus on one specific item all game and instead buy components throughout the early-mid"

Simple: An Ornn main named Makkro
I had a bit of trouble with getting items on Rell properly and felt like despite showing up alot, I wasn't making an impact the first time around doing this entire playstyle

So, I did a little searching and found out that alot of tank players do this to spread stats and be able to get items at a better timing

What mainly made me do this was the Ornn player Makkro, whos videos I watched to get a better grasp and understanding on just how components should be built and spread out in the early game as a tank so that you can still be useful but also be ready to build a full item at a moments notice

Let's go over Rells abilities, and teach you stuff you probably forgot or didn't even know about what Rell can do with these:

Passive: Break The Mold

Break The Mold is what helps Rell become a bit tankier. Her basic attacks and abilities reduce and steal targets Armor and MR up to 5 stacks for a total of 0.8%-2% based on level. During fights you're not only gaining resistances, you're taking them away from enemies too, making your team do more damage while also making it harder to damage you in the process

Q Ability: Shattering Strike

Shattering Strike is a pretty simple ability to think about: You thrust your lance forward and stun enemies for 0.75 seconds. What people forget about however is that it actually Shatters, not lowers, SHATTERS enemies shields. So lets say you're against a Mordekaiser. He's taking damage from you and your jungler in a gank, he uses W, so you use Q and instantly, his shield is gone and he can't heal. That leaves him to either flash, ult [if he hasn't] or die. Enemies [and sometimes me] forget that her Q shatters shields so enemy comps that rely on shields like Sion, Shen, Morgana, etc. are not gonna have a fun time

W Ability: Feromancy: Crash Down/Mount Up

Crash Down/Mount Up [Remount] is Rells main engage tool. It has two parts and 2 "forms"

Mounted: While you are mounted, your auto attacks are slower but your movement speed is faster. It's good for chasing to start an engage, activates your E passive, and lets you use Crash Down in your W

Crash Down: You become Dismounted, leap into the air, and after a short cast time, land and slide forward in an AOE knocking enemies up for 1 second and granting you a shield. This is Rells main tool of engage in every scenario as it helps get your CC setup for yourself or your team for a trade/engage, and can also use it with your ult for easier landing. Just remember: You're technically considered casting in this, so if you're hit with certain CC like knockup or stun, it will stop you mid-animation

Dismounted: While you are dismounted, you gain 12% bonus Armor/MR, 30% attack speed, a shield and 75 bonus attack range BUT have 10% reduced movement speed. In this form, you're obviously tankier and it's easier to auto minions if you decide you wanna try to CS a bit. You do gain a shield while dismounted, but only AFTER you use Crash Down. The shield does not decay either, so it will be there until it is drained from attacks or you remount

Mount Up: Rell becomes Mounted and gains 30% bonus movement speed that decays 2 seconds, and empowers her next basic attack to be basically instant, gain 100 bonus range. When colliding with an enemy, she flings them over herself and stuns for 1 second. This ability is not only good for single target chase CC, but also just overall making yourself a bodyblock wall for enemies trying to run away. You shouldn't be afraid to remount if you know you can catch the enemy. Also, Remounts toss counts as an auto attack, so it can proc Grasp and Heartsteel

E Ability: Full Tilt

Full Tilt passively gives Rell in Mounted form 5-50 bonus movement speed based on level, but is reduced by 50% while in combat. When Rell activates this, she powers herself and a nearby chosen teammate, gainging movement speed that ramps up over 2 seconds from 50% of initial value.
When within an empowered ally or enemy, the movement speed is increased. This is an insanely good chase or escape tool. Rells next Q or basic attack in the next 5 seconds also deals bonus magic damage based on the targets max health. Overall, this ability is decent for bonus poke and chase/disengage that can benefit a teammate greatly if used properly, and also makes your heartsteel/grasp proc stronger

R Ability/Ultimate: Magnet Storm

Magnet Storm is Rells ult that causes her to erupt in an AOE pulling enemies in range inward toward her, creating a gravity field that pulls enemies toward her, and deals magic damage every 0.25 seconds. This is not only one of her better abilities to create openings for your team to start fights, but also a good stalling tool for your team to rush over.
This ability can be paired with your W Crashdown. So the best way to use your ult is to use Crash Down then ult while mid-air. What happens is that you'll drag enemies in range toward where you're standing, then they will be knocked up almost instantly by your W making it near impossible to avoid.
This may sound hard to pull off, but really it's easy. If you're concerned you'll screw up, just go to the practice tool and use W then Ult, and you'll see it's not that hard

There are a few Rell combos that some people may not know about and some all of you know about. I'll try to explain the ones I've found, use and what scenarios they work best in

W Dismount+R CC Combo
Lets just get the obvious one out of the way: W Dismount into Ult is one of Rells most well known combos.
It's a great way to hard engage the enemy for your team, get your passive stacked up to gain/steal resistances, pull them in so they can't dodge your W and overall just a great way to keep them still while your team bashes them to death while they can't move [unless they're an ulted Olaf]

Q+Flash Combo
Not everyone knows you can wind up Rells Q and flash while it's charging up to thrust forward. It isn't the most practical of uses for it, but it can be done in two ways:
You can either use it to flash forward and Q them, stunning them in place for that split second for your team to get in or secure a very low health kill, or you can Q then flash backwards so that you can get a stun off while flashing away, or even better, if you predicted they'd flash after you, you can use that combo to flash backwards as they flash toward you, get a stun off and possibly escape

I will recommend the Q+Backward flash be practiced in the practice tool because it can be weird to get used to. At max auto range both mounted and dismounted, it's not possible to max flash distance away and land the Q unless they flash after you, so if you want that backwards combo to hit, you'll willingly have to avoid flashing max distance unless you're 100% certain they will flash after you instantly

W Remount+Flash Combo
This is definitely one of the better ways to secure a chase target so that they have to flash or die if you have a teammate helping you chase them down
The premise of this one is pretty easy to understand: W Remount, and as you're remounting flash on top of them so that your auto hits and you toss them behind you for your team

I will disclose that Remounting then flashing, or flashing then remounting can work, but Remounting then flashing is an easier way to secure a grab on them since you won't have to wait for your remount right when you get on top of them. That split second you're waiting for remount could easily determine if they get away or not.

Not to mention from my testing Flash into W Remount seems to be slightly delayed depending on if you hit the buttons fast enough so that's up to you how you do the combo