Patch 14.21

For this patch Blade of the Ruined King was nerfed but still is the best option to a pure damage item post Eclipse in the bruiser build.

Who am i?

Hello and welcome to my guide! I'm a brazilian Shaco main and enthusiast that loves to theorycraft builds and strategies. Here is my OP.GG if someone wants to analyze my games or give me some tips. Note: I'm trying to play more games this season but i'm kinda busy with college and work so sometimes this guide can stay outdated for a bit.

Ranked and Mastery stuff

First of all the main reason that i wanted to create and maintain this guide is to discuss about my favorite champion for the average Shaco main, so the question is: Who is the average Shaco main? Well, i will not go through statistics here so i will just assume that the average Shaco is ranked around Platinum and Emerald.

I play Shaco for almost 3 years now and the highest rank i ever achieved was Platinum in Solo and Emerald in Flex Queue. I'm not here to say whats the 100% best and worst decisions you can make as Shaco, my objective is to create a guide to help someone trying to learn more about the clown without rank shaming.

Why i like clowning around?

My passion for Shaco started after playing some Urf with him, playing AP Shaco was the most fun experience i ever had in league so i was hooked since then. When i tried to learn him on Summoner's Rift i was simply shocked on how different the game fells with him and, after a month trying, i finally started to scratch the surface of what i could do with the Jester. Since then i'm learning and having fun playing as Shaco.

First things First

So, if you are trying to learn Shaco i will have to be honest with you, he isn't a meta champion and never will be (Maybe when Riot reworks him in the year of 2036 *inhales copium*) so just don't expect to carry all your games with him, also this guide isn't the only way to play as Shaco, i greatly advice you to try new builds with him and see other guides too. With that said let's go through some Pros and Cons:

Pros

• Adaptability: The greatest thing about Shaco in my opinion is how he can adapt to every situation if you are prepared. A lot of items, runes and playstyles can be used in your favor to adapt to the enemy team and the meta.
  
• Utility: Even though he "is a assassin" (More on that later) our clown has a lot of utility options in 3 of 4 skills. With a smart use of Jack In The Box you can even peel your teammates.
  
• Anti-Carry: Shaco has a great potential to shutdown carries through the match, negating their impact in the game.
  
• Vision and Map Control: Using his Jack In The Box wisely you can control choke points around the map and Hallucinate can be used for face checking bushes.
  
• High Skill Celling: As Shaco doesn't have normal assassination tools to work with you need to be creative with his kit but that isn't a big problem as your skills provide you with a lot of tools to create favorable situations.
  
• Fun: This is quite subjetive but Shaco can be one of the most fun champions in the game with his outplay and mindgames potential.
  

Cons

• Heavily Hated: Being a Shaco main means that everyone in both teams probably despise your whole existence so you have to be prepared for a lot of flame and having him banned in +20% of your games.
  Pro tip: Use /muteall or disable the chat in the settings.
  
• Off-Meta: As stated before Shaco isn't a meta champion so you have to identify and adapt to meta changes frequently, also don't expect any direct buffs with time you will learn that bugfixes are the real buffs.
  
• Somewhat High Skill Floor: Leaning how to play Shaco can be really difficult if you don't get your expectatives low as you will have to deal with a lot of things that other champions don't.
  Examples: Learning different Jack In The Box jungle setups, optimizing your Backstab procs, controlling (and sometimes failing to do so) your Hallucinate clone and understanding when/how to invade.
  
• Frustrating when behind in gold: Shaco has a identity crisis as he at the same time is strong in the early game and weak without his items power spikes. There's some matches that you can't actually do much as Shaco when behind.
  
• Doesn't have a clear identity: Even though he is considered a assassin, Shaco doesn't have a kit focused on assassination and escaping like a Kha'Zix or Evelynn for example. He has a lot of utility uses for his skills but his kit is designed to be annoying rather than efficient (This is why the AP playstyle also make sense with him).

Is Shaco Team dependent?

Well, yes and no, to win games efficiently? Absolutely! League is a team game after all. But to contribute for the victory with your own gameplan you don't need to depend on your team at all.

What compositions Shaco is good/bad against?

There's no such thing as a bad composition to go against as Shaco, with the right playstyle and setup you can adapt to any situation. Just remember your main objective when playing as Shaco: Create and incite chaos in the match so you can profit in the enemy mistakes.

Threats and Synergies

All specific relevant Threats and Synergies are listed in the appropriate section for both Jungle and Support roles, here are some sugested bans:

• Lee Sin: Very difficult to play around, he can chase you easily as he can reveal you while invisible and kill you anytime in the match.
• Rammus: Very tanky, can lock you down and prevent your engage. You can use the AP build to play against him but his ult Soaring Slam make him ignore your boxes.
• Udyr: Very tanky, high damage and can ignore your boxes.
• Honorable mentions: Rengar, Zac and Skarner for jungle matchups. For support Morgana, Karma and Nami.

Passive: Backstab | Deals AD and AP damage | Scales with bonus AD and AP damage

This is one of the main characteristics of Shaco kit, your Auto-Attacks deal more damage when it hits the back of the enemy, additionally both Deceive and Two-Shiv Poison are affected too (more on that later).
Tip: Always try to use Backstab while farming to accelerate your clear, this can differentiate a good Shaco to a bad Shaco. Also, keep in mind that the Auto-Attack bonus damage can also crit.

Q: Deceive | Deals AD damage | Scales with bonus AD

One of the best utility skills in the game, this is basically a Flash with a low cooldown that also makes you invisible. You can use it in many ways like engaging, escaping and for pure mobility. Always try to use it creatively around the map. As a bonus it interacts with Backstab giving you a guaranteed mini-crit.
Tips:

• Always look for hitting the Backstab after using Deceive as it's you main burst tool. Also the mini-crit can do more damage if you have Infinity Edge and if the Auto-Attack that triggers Backstab is a "true crit" the critical damage will be calculated normally overriding the mini-crit.
• You can use recall to end the invisibility early to start the cooldown timer.

W: Jack In The Box | Deals AP damage | Scales with AP damage

This is the main identity of AP Shaco as it's a invisible trap that when activated fears and do damage around it. This is you main jungle clearing tool as it deals bonus damage to monsters.
Tip: When placed Jack In The Box stays visible for a brief time before turning invisible so you can use it to block some skill shots when needed.

E: Two-Shiv Poison | Deals AP damage | Scales with bonus AD and AP

Even though it's Shaco only pure damage skill it has utility in it with it's passive as while Two-Shiv Poison is off cooldown your Auto-Attacks slows enemies helping to stick to your targets. The active part of this skill is a target projectile that deals more damage when the enemy have low HP (-30%) and interacts with Backstab dealing bonus damage.
Tip: Don't use this skill in enemies that have more than 30% of their HP as you will get more value out of the passive.

Ultimate: Hallucinate | Deals AD and AP damage | Scales with total AD and AP

Another great characteristic of Shaco is his clone, he isn't a 1:1 version of the original Shaco but has some useful uses for it. When he dies or expires he explodes and spawns 3 linked Jack In The Box already activated.
Tips:

• Always control your clone on purpose as his automatic mode can be kinda dumb.
• Use him to tank Epic Monsters so you can Backstab them.
• You disappear for about 0.5s after casting so you can use it to dodge some skills like Karthus Requiem.
• When your clone spawns he copies your current stats so you can have some interesting interactions with Hail of Blades, Wither or Ardent Censer for example.

Which runes i usually take?

I have 4 different setups for Shaco contemplating his AD and AP playstyles in both Jungle and Support roles. These being:

• AD Jungle:
  
  • Hail of Blades is the best AD Shaco Keystone as his damage comes from auto-attacks.
    Pro tip: You can use Hallucinate while Hail of Blades is active to make your clone have 2.5 Attack Speed for his whole duration.
  • Sudden Impact gives you more damage when engaging with Deceive and sometimes when using Hallucinate too.
  • Eyeball Collection gets you more damage and snowball potential.
  • Relentless Hunter helps with your mobility through the map and when used with Gustwalker Hatchling gives you a ton of movement speed. Treasure Hunter can be used for a more snowball oriented playstyle.
  • Magical Footwear is used to save 300g early on to focus on your core build.
  • Approach Velocity makes more easy to stick to mobile targets as every auto attack slows when Two-Shiv Poison is off cooldown.
• AP Jungle:
  • Dark Harvest helps with getting kills and makes you scale pretty well.
  • Cheap Shot gives you damage without having to commit to a engage using Deceive.
  • Eyeball Collection gets you more damage and snowball potential.
  • Ultimate Hunter help you have Hallucinate more times per match.
  • Transcendence gives more AH as is always good for AP Shaco and the reset after a takedown can make the difference sometimes.
  • Gathering Storm makes you scale harder during the game even when behind.
• AD Support:
  • Hail of Blades is the best AD Shaco Keystone as his damage comes from auto-attacks.
    Pro tip: You can use Hallucinate while Hail of Blades is active to make your clone have 2.5 Attack Speed for his whole duration.
  • Sudden Impact gives you more damage when engaging with Deceive and sometimes when using Hallucinate too.
  • Zombie Ward is a lot useful for vision control and OP when combined with Umbral Glaive.
  • Relentless Hunter helps with your mobility through the map.
  • Manaflow Band is a must for laning as Shaco because you got a lot of mana issues early on.
  • Transcendence gives more AH and the cooldown reset can be useful sometimes.
• AP Support:
  • Arcane Comet is a good option because you can use it consistently in lane. Also, a single Jack In The Box can proc Arcane Comet two times depending if the enemy don't respect the box. Dark Harvest can be used but is less consistent.
  • Manaflow Band is a must for laning as Shaco because you got a lot of mana issues early on.
  • Transcendence gives more AH as is always good for AP Shaco and the reset after a takedown can make the difference sometimes.
  • Scorch is a great option for poking in lane. Gathering Storm can be used for scaling too.
  • Zombie Ward is a lot useful for vision control.
  • Ultimate Hunter help you have Hallucinate more times per match.

Useful spells for the clown:

• Great|Situational|Cheesy

Jungle:

• Smite is a obvious choice as is a must for playing jungle.
• Ignite is he standard for Shaco as he lacks the damage to solo kill someone in the early game, this is really useful for his firsts ganks or invades.
• Flash can also be used as a alternative if you want extra mobility and want more margin for error. I personally recommend using it when learning how to play as Shaco but have in mind that Deceive is basically a Flash with lower cooldown that can make you invisible.
• Ghost can be used if you personally feels like the movement speed will be necessary, this spell is great for clearing distances while in Deceive.
• Teleport can be used for cheesy invades and plays, i don't recommend it though.

Support:

• Ignite is really useful as you add a lot of kill pressure to lane.
• Exhaust is also a great option as you can guarantee that a all-win or a trade will be successful.
• Flash the same as mentioned before, more mobility, great for new players.
• Teleport can be used for cheesy invades and plays, i don't recommend it though.
• Smite used for the cheesy playstyle of being a 24/7 counter jungler rather than a support.
  

What do i build?

This section will also be divided for Jungle and Support roles with their AD and AP variants in buy order. To decide what is best normally i test the damage of a Deceive + 2 auto-attacks + Two-Shiv Poison all using Backstabs. After the test is done in three targets (one with no resistances, one with 50 and one with 100) i take the average damage divided per gold spended to compare the items.
Note: Even though lethality seems like a good idea keep in mind that Shaco only uses this stat in his Auto-Attacks and Deceive

• Jungle:
  • Starter Items:
    • Gustwalker Hatchling: The better option currently for the AD build as gives you a lot of mobility through the map, making some pick-offs in the mid-late game possible.
    • Scorchclaw Pup: The damage option is good on AP build as the slow helps te box to deal more damage and more burn is always good for the AP gameplan.
  • AD Burst:
    These are builds focused on high DPS and killing squishes.
    • Lethality:
      • Opportunity: The currently best first item as it gives you up to 25 lethality for only 2700g and as a bonus helps ou to get alway after getting a kill. If ahead can be replaced with Voltaic Cyclosword.
      • Voltaic Cyclosword: This item provides you more burst damage for also a small ammount of 3000g. Even though the slow isn't something that Shaco needs the burst combined with the Ability Haste makes this a great item.
      • Berserker's Greaves: The best boots you can use in his build as you lack attack speed. Greatly accelerates your clear.
      • Infinity Edge: The ultimate power spike as it empowers your Deceive crit and makes your DPS go very high. Also from this point on this build transitions into crit as lethality falls off.
    • Critical Chance:
      • The Collector: Greatly buffed in 14.20 now is cheap enough to be worth it as it gives all stats that Shaco wants early on.
      • Yun Tal Wildarrows: Is your second item as it gives you a lot more damage. If ahead can be replaced with Infinity Edge.
      • Berserker's Greaves: As stated before the best option for builds without Attack Speed.
      • Infinity Edge: Giga power spike for more DPS.
    • Situational:
      • Serpent's Fang: Is a must vs. comps with a lot of shields, especially in the actual Barrier meta.
      • Youmuu's Ghostblade: Great option if you prefer mobility, can replace Voltaic Cyclosword.
      • Lord Dominik's Regards: Your physical penetration option.
  • AD Bruiser:
    This build is intended to work against enemy comps with 3+ tanks or bruisers, making ou deal damage while surviving.
    • Core Build:
      • Eclipse: Gives you burst damage that will be relevant through the match while having a shield that helps you to survive.
      • Stridebreaker: Great item that gives a lot of stats incluiding Attack Speed and HP. Also makes our clear faster because of tiamat and helps to stick to mobile targets.
      • Ionian Boots of Lucidity: The best boots option to play aggressively as you can get your spells and skills more quickly. You can also use Boots of Swiftness for more mobility, Mercury's Treads or Plated Steelcaps for more resistances.
      • Trinity Force: Best third item if you are looking for a balance between tankiness and DPS. It has a great synergy with Deceive.
    • Situational:
      • Blade of the Ruined King: Can replace Trinity Force if more DPS is needed.
  • AP:
    This build is focused in map control using Jack In The Box and Hallucinate. It focus in getting to around 66 Ability Haste (+/-40% cooldown reduction) as quickly as possible.
    • Core Build:
      • Blackfire Torch: The best first item for AP Shaco as it gives a lot of Ability Haste and burn damage for clearing the jungle faster.
      • Cosmic Drive:] Another item that gives a huge ammount of Ability Haste while also giving Movement Speed.
      • Sorcerer's Shoes: The best boots option to deal damage. You can use other options as Ionian Boots of Lucidity if the enemies are building MR.
      • Shadowflame: More damage, magic penetration and adding a execute damage.
    • Situational:
      • Liandry's Torment: Can replace Shadowflame if he enemies are building MR or have high max HP.
      • Void Staff: Your magic penetration option.
      • Morellonomicon: Your anti-heal option.
• Support:
  • Support item upgrades:
    • Bloodsong: The best option for AD Shaco as it synergizes with Deceive.
    • Zaz'Zak's Realmspike: The go-to for AP Shaco as give you more damage in your pokes.
  • AD:
    Same idea as the AD jungle build. The main difference is that it's adapted to the low income of the support role.
    • Core Build:
      • Ionian Boots of Lucidity: Your rush item as it helps you to spam your spells and skills.
      • Umbral Glaive: Cheap item that gives you damage and insane vision control.
      • Opportunity: Another cheap item that gives you a ton of lethality.
      • Youmuu's Ghostblade: Great mobility item that gives you a decent ammount of damage.
    • Situational:
      • Serpent's Fang: Is a must vs. comps with a lot of shields, especially in the actual Barrier meta.
      • Vigilant Wardstone: A good item for when more vision control is needed. Also can be used to counter some champs like Evelynn, Akshan and Twitch.
  • AP:
    Same idea as the AP jungle build. The main difference is that it's adapted to the low income of the support role.
    • Core Build:
      • Ionian Boots of Lucidity: Your rush item as it helps you to spam your spells and skills.
      • Imperial Mandate: Gives you more conditional damage and Ability Haste.
      • Hextech Rocketbelt: More Ability Haste, HP and a dash that can be useful for poke and finishing enemies.
      • Liandry's Torment: A somewhat cheap damage option.
    • Situational:
      • Morellonomicon: Your anti-heal option.
      • Vigilant Wardstone: A good item for when more vision control is needed. Also can be used to counter some champs like Evelynn, Akshan and Twitch.

Jungle:

• First Clear: One of Shaco main strenghts is that he doesn't need or want a leash so your sidelanes can start their pressure since level 1. For our first clear you want to level up Jack In The Box as is your main tool for farming, is worth mentioning that there's a lot of setups you can make for your first clear so i will mention some of them here starting with the i use the most:
  Box Setups: Great|Situational|Cheesy
  
  • Raptors > Krugs > Red: This setup consists in placing the first two boxes in the raptors camp starting in 0:50-0:51 and when the skill get off cooldown, next you go to the krugs camp and place the third box there. When the raptors spawn you want to focus on Backstab the bigger one, after leveling up you want to get Deceive and use it to hop through the wall to krugs camp placing another box there (This way the krugs will be feared twice), at last you can kill red buff for your level 3.
  • Wolf > Gromp > Blue: Alternatively you can also do the same strat on the blue buff side if you are being invaded or want to start in the other side (Its slower but can still be done). Its the same idea: Two boxes on wolf > One on gromp > Kill wolf > Double fear on gromp > Kill blue buff.
  • Only boxes raptors > Invade: This is a specific setup for a cheesy invade, you will place the two boxes on raptors the same way specified earlier but the third box will be placed between the raptors camp and the exit to the river, next you want to walk to the enemy blue buff and wait for you level 2 as the small raptors die to the first two boxes and the bigger to the third. Finally you will be level 2 while he enemy is level 1 still fighting his first camp, you can steal his blue buff and kill him.
• Level 3-6: Here is the time to put your crazy ideas to work as Shaco! Normally he gets his level 3 much faster than anyone, you have to make a choice based on the match as you can:
  • Gank: The most common way that people plays Shaco is forcing ganks since level 3 as you have a lot of advantage having one or two levels ahead and Ignite available.
  • Invade: The situational but highly effective choice as you can also kill the enemy jungler using the same advantage mentioned before, beware with some difficult matchups that this will be really tricky. Also you can focus on counter-jungling as you can escape really fast.
  • Full Clear: Yes you read that right, i'm talking about full clearing as Shaco, "but why?" It's simple, sometimes you can't really find a good opportunity to gank or invade so you need a plan for that too. For the full clear a highly recommend getting a second point on Jack In The Box at level 3.

Support:

• Level 1: As Shaco support you can start your cheesy strategies since the beggining of the match or play for your team:
  • Leashing: You can leash for your jungler at the same time you start the laning phase in the lane using a setup of two Jack In The Box on his red buff or blue buff. Use your recall after the setup as you will be using half of your mana.
  • Poking: You can also use Jack In The Box near the tri-bush to get early Manaflow Band procs and sometimes enemies will get in lane in half of their HP providing a lot of kill pressure for you level 2. Also you can start with Two-Shiv Poison but i personally don't recommend.
  • Invading: You can also try to cheese the enemy jungler to force him to Flash away or even kill him using Deceive. This is a scenario where you can use Smite as support and even get a jungler item to perma counter-jungle him.
• Level 2-3: This is where you can force a engage with Deceive or starting poking with Two-Shiv Poison. Keep in mind that you can't spam your skills early on as your mana costs are pretty high.
• Level 4-6: Here you can start roaming to help your jungler and midlaner, just don't abandon your carry.

Final Considerations:

Shaco is a versatile champion that have a lot of specific strategies and gameplans so if you don't like playing AP for example this isn't a problem as you have a lot of other options. Again i advice you to look for other guides, videos and the subreddit as every Shaco main plays a little different from eachother.

Thank you a lot for reading this guide if you have something to say about it feel free to comment here, i will try to answer everyone. This is my first guide and the first time i make such a big text using english so i hope it helps someone!