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Recommended Items
Spells:
Ignite
Smite
Items
Ability Order
Backstab (PASSIVE)
Shaco Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Lee Sin
You need to play smart, but there are many techniques to counter him. I buy tank items very early in the matchup, once you get a lead on him, he is no longer an issue.
The Author




Pros
- Insanely strong ganks
- Clears camps quickly and without taking much damage
- He is the best counter-jungler in the game
- High burst damage
- Has 2 abilities that can let him jump walls, hilarity ensues
- Can effectively duel any champion when played correctly
- High-risk high-reward playstyle
- One of the most versatile champions in the game
- Very fun to play, with a unique play style unlike any other champion
- High potential to outplay the opponent
- Is a clown
Cons




Mastery Option 1 [Recomended]





Mastery Option 2

Runes
Recommended
TAB Very straightforward, Shaco makes use of these throughout the game and they scale with your abilities along with assisting clear time.Greater Mark of Attack Damage
greater mark of hybrid penetration
TAB These are actually very nice on Shaco, and are the only other option you should consider for marks. They will increase your damage overall as you approach the midgame, but your playmaking potential getting towards that point is reduced, along with your clear speed. Consider these if you take the 2nd mastery page option, as you will get loads of hybrid penetration that will lead to #tonsofdamage.
TAB This, in tangent withGreater Seal of Scaling Health
Strength of the Ages , gives Shaco lots of base health that helps him survive in fights, absorbing damage for the team and allowing him to deal more damage. We almost always buy armor to make up for the missing armor here.
TAB You may begin to notice a theme here. The main priority with this build is to stay alive while being extremely aggressive. These help that goal the most. Don't take these if the enemy team doesn't have any magic damage besides their support. Instead, takeGreater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist
Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction.
TAB When jungling, attack speed is pretty much the most important stat for clear speed. We also do not always buy much attack speed, and this is a huge boost to Shaco's damage overall. The quicker we can kill camps, the more time we can spend being obnoxious in the enemy jungle and helping our teammates in lane.Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed
Not Recommended:
greater mark of armor penetration
TAB These are significantly worse than hybrid penetration marks. Shaco does a lot of magic damage, especially if you buyStatikk Shiv, and if you check your damage dealt to champions at the end of games, you will often find that your magic damage to champions is about even or even more than your physical damage to champions. As such,
Greater Mark of Magic Penetration would probably be a better choice than these, and that just sounds ridiculous.
TAB Taking AD marks and AS quints provides a more efficient clear than AS marks and AD quints.Greater Mark of Attack Speed
TAB No. (if you like being cheeky and taking 1 of these, you can if you really want to.)Greater Mark of Critical Chance
TAB We prefer taking scaling health as they give Shaco more survivability overall. We supplement the lack of armor by buyingGreater Seal of Scaling Armor
Ninja Tabi or
Dead Man's Plate, and sometimes both. These are not a bad choice though. If you don't have
Greater Seal of Scaling Healths, this is your next best choice. Try to adjust your item build to be more health-centric in that case (think
Sterak's Gage).
TAB Shaco leaves the jungle very healthy due to the damage thatGreater Seal of Armor
Jack In The Box absorbs. Scaling armor would typically be the better choice.
TAB These are simply outclassed by scaling health. Shaco is rarely in a position where he is dying because of having low health early. If you die, it's usually because you got caught. Scaling Health seals are equivalent as early as level 6 and better for the rest of the game, when you need the stat the most.Greater Seal of Health
TAB These may be a good option as they are better than the scaling equivalent until level 8, and by then a very critical stage of the game has passed. I typically prefer scaling magic resist though, as the bulk of the magic damage we take happens in the midgame when the scaling version is already superior. Especially consider these if you are up against a team with very high magic damage early, such as aGreater Glyph of Magic Resist
LeBlanc and
Evelynn.
Skills



- killing the enemy jungler while he's texting his girlfriend
- killing any enemy champion while they text their girlfriend
- closing gaps
- opening gaps
- juking
- escaping
- trolling
- feeding






- Dodging targeted or normal abilities in midair by going untargetable (hello Veigar ult, tower shot,
Enchanted Crystal Arrow, etc. :S)
- Dropping tower aggro
- Jumping thin walls (read [this] part of the guide to find out more.)
- Amplifying our DPS by ~75% while the clone lives
- Absorbing damage
- Eating skillshots
- Suiciding for huge splash damage to execute opponents
- Zoning an enemy out of the fight by sending the clone to chase and attack them
TAB There is some debate on whether you should max W or Q second. While maxing W second gives stronger CC (fear scales from .5 to 1.5 in duration with points) and amplified damage, it also increases the mana cost, going from 50 to 70 with points.





Summoner Spells
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TAB In 99% of your games, you will take ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |





Starting Items:
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![]() The best value for your money, effective while invading. |
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![]() Take this instead of ![]() ![]() |
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This is the only trinket you should consider for level 1. Helpful for obvious reasons while invading. Do I really need to say this? |
First Back/Early Core
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![]() I used to get this jungle item almost every game. Recently, I've got a soft spot in my heart for Skirmisher's Sabre. This item is great for him though. |
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![]() I buy this jungle item all the time now, it really works well with Shaco. |
TAB When you first back, you should note how much gold you have while you are backing and be deciding in your head what you want to buy. By memorizing the cost of the 3 main items we will be considering -









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![]() This is a huge early powerspike to our damage, and the CDR is very helpful. |
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![]() For heavy tank comps. |
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![]() Buy if you are vs. triple/quad AD comp. |
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![]() One of the two early damage items you should be considering. Sometimes you may decide you want both. |
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![]() This is a really unusual buy, but the item is so stat efficient for our goals that I've started buying it almost every game. |
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![]() These are the best choice of boots for Shaco in most of our games. If the enemy team does not have a lot of physical damage, consider getting ![]() |
Mid Game/Rounding out the Build
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![]() One of the best damage items for Shaco, but usually not bought if we are going for ![]() |
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![]() Sustain, tons of damage, overall fantastic item for Shaco. Pretty much the only raw damage item you should consider. |
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![]() Buy this if you need early MR and you want to continue amassing damage. |
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![]() Consider this if you want to be speedy-quick. |
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![]() If they have a fed champion that has crit, opt for this over ![]() |
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![]() The least bought of the armor items on Shaco. The damage is nice, but is typically more teamfight oriented. If we are going for that, we will usually just get Cinderhulk instead. |
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![]() Buy this vs. heavy AD comps with low magic damage. |
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![]() Very situational item, but still powerful. |
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![]() If you want to replace your jungle item with raw damage/pushing power at the end game. |
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![]() Strong way to round off a tank build. |
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![]() If you are a heavy AD comp/they are stacking armor, this is your best item for armor pen. |
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![]() Armor pen. |
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![]() When you need more MR after a Hexdrinker/Maw, this is usually your next best choice. |
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![]() Stronger than Banshee's as far as slot efficiency goes. If you have lifesteal, choose this as an extra MR item. |
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![]() Good for split pushing and applying pressure. With the recent importance added to the dragons, the additional pressure can prove very useful. |
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![]() If you are hyper-fed, this can be a good choice. It's usually overkill though. |
Condemned Items
TAB As far as this build goes, there are many items that you SHOULD NOT consider. If you want to go full glass cannon assassin Shaco, this guide is probably not for you. These items do not meet our goals sufficiently, or are not worth it for the cost.
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![]() I rarely buy this item, but it could be viable. It is a very large investment early though, and is probably best paired with another crit item. You end up too squishy for my liking. |
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![]() This item give ridiculous single target burst damage, but is also very expensive, and is usually not worth the investment. |
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![]() The active on this item was just nerfed, and I rarely bought this item anyway. It's almost always outclassed by Ravenous Hydra. |
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![]() We don't buy this item for much of the same reason that we don't buy Infinity Edge. |
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![]() With the new rework, this item is nearly useless on Shaco. It is now way too expensive, and we usually don't have any on-hit damage for it to multiply anyway. |
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![]() Just no. |
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![]() No. No. NO! |
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![]() Click the spoiler for information on why you should consider this item. |
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![]() Outclassed by ![]() |
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![]() Outclassed by Black Cleaver, Sterak's Gage, or Warmog's Armor. |
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![]() We don't need mana. |
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![]() Outclassed by Randuin's Omen. |
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![]() Leave this for your supports. Outclassed by Iceborne Gauntlet. |
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![]() Outclassed by Statikk Shiv/Stinger. |
Basic Example Build/Flowchart















TAB The above build is just a cookie cutter example of how you might build vs. a balanced composition. To truly build correctly, you should always analyze the enemy team composition and your own, and decide what items out of the suggested situational items you want to get to round out your build. Try to avoid selling the

Early Game
TAB In the early game, there are 3 main choices I consider for how to start. If you decide you want to apply lots of early pressure to the enemy jungler, you will want to start at the opposite buff that you think they will start at (if they will be starting at Gromp -> Blue, you will start at your own Red), place boxes at the camp, and rush to their Blue and intercept them while they're doing it.
Red -> Enemy Blue
TAB Start at your own Red buff. Place boxes as soon as they come off cooldown starting at 0:40 where the


Blue -> Enemy Red
TAB For this start, you follow nearly the same procedure as the Red -> Enemy Blue invade. Place boxes at your Blue starting at 0:40, and kill it without smiting. Run to the baron pit, and Q over the wall to approach their Red. Again, you may want to wait in the bush if you are undetected, as this allows the camp to get lower so that you can smite it, and the enemy gets lower as well.
Q juking
Q baiting
Q turning around
Q tower gank top/bottom
Early Rift Herald solos
Early Dragon solos
Jumping walls with R
Using Move Pet Click
Using Champion Only to reposition the clone or yourself
Q'ing in from just out of vision
Tab to check on who has true vision on enemy team (sweepers, pink wards, frost queens claim)
Listening to Insane Clown Posse
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