Permaban, Mordekaiser counters you in every way possible. If you face him, try to dodge his pull and you should be fine until level 6. However, trading against him is really hard and you can mostly just poke him because his passive, shield heal and damage is just too much to handle. Ask for gank, you can't solo win him, even with Ignite. From level 6 onwards you can't fight him when he has his ult up as he will just kill you. Camp under turret and farm smartly, freeze the wave and push when he recalls. Ask for gank and hope for the best.
Aatrox
Aatrox is a champion with a really high 1v1 potential, even in the early game. However, his abilities are hard to hit if you keep your distance use Q to get out of his W because if you stay in it, he will make you suffer. Buy Bramble Vest after first item (or before if you are losing hard) to prevent him from healing and buy boots early to make dodging his Qs easier. Ask for a gank as Aatrox is nearly immobile champion and is very vulnerable to ganks. You can trade against him, but only go in after he has two of your E stacks on him. Get out of the fight after you stun him and auto attack/W him to proc your passive.
Cho'Gath
Wins you in the early game, wins you also in the late game. He can heal all your damage back with his passive. Try to play safe and build tank if possible. Aftershock is the best build option against Cho in my opinion.
Jax
Let's be real, there isn't a lot you can do against Jax. If you try to all in him, he will use his E to stun you and block your attacks. If you try to play passively, he will jump on you and stun you (you can Q away if you see him charging E). Your only way of winning the lane is poking Jax and farming. You will probably be a bit behind in farm, but it's better than dying to him. Take Teleport so you don't miss any farm if you need to recall and ask for ganks from your jungler. Only go for a 1v1 all in if he is low health, doesn't have his E up and has two of your E stacks on him. The laning will be boring but you probably won't die to him, so play safe and farm.
K'Sante
K'Sante and Sejuani are somewhat alike (tanks, lots of cc, great in teamfights). The problem is that K'Sante's kit can easily counter Sejuani's Kit. The biggest counter is his his W, as it makes him unstoppable for up to 1.5 seconds. Because of this, you can't stun him with your Q or R, which eats up most of your damage in all ins. A good K'Sante will utilize this and using E on him in the early game is pretty much impossible. Try to bait out his E by not using E immediately when you get full stacks on him. You can still poke him with your W, which is actually really impactful on him. Only go in if he has low health and at least two of your E stacks on you. After level 6, when he gets his ultimate, the tables turn. Now he will win pretty much every fight you get in with (talking about 1v1s). Your only way to win now is to poke him and farm, he can't kill you if you don't play a bit too aggressively. If you don't die, the lane will be even which is a good thing because you have a better middle game than K'Sante.
Olaf
Olaf is a real lane bully (not like Teemo, this one is for real) which makes it impossible for you to win against him in the early game. If you try to poke him, he will just rush to you and make you lose half of your health. I would have put him in the 5/5 threat category, but it is saved for my personal favourite and permaban, Mordekaiser. Farm safely with your W and don't play aggressively, just farm. After level 6 you probably can't even 2v1 him with your jungler. Olaf is good in the early and middle game, but falls off hard into the late game.
Yasuo
Yone
You really can't poke yone, as he will just dash on you and get a long trade favoring him. You also can't take long trades, as he will always win them. Playing safe is your best option, as Yone can fall off in late game if not fed. Freezing the lane so your jungler can gank is optimal, as you won't win him in a 1v1.
Ambessa
Ambessa is a very strong duelist, especially in longer trades. If you want to counter her early, you need to poke her with your W and respect her all-ins by staying away from her abilities' range. She doesn't have any spectacular potential at any point of the game, and isn't as good as Sejuani in team fights.
Darius
Even though Darius is a really strong early game champion, it is really hard for him to deal any damage to you since his Q and E have shorter range than your W and you won't go near him (won't you?). Just poke him from far and maybe time the uses of your W so the first sweep can kill a minion that is near Darius (because you can't go close to him to kill the minions). Preferably take Arcane Comet and poke him with your W from far so he can't deal damage to you, go all in only if he has like a third of his health left, otherwise he will win you anyways. Get Plated Steelcaps early so he can't E you easily. When he reaches level 6, he gets an enormous power spike, but your playstyle won't change at all, just keep poking him.
Dr. Mundo
Mundo loses hard against you in the early game, but is a late game monster. Most of his damage in the early game comes from his Q, so stay behind minions when you are not trading and you should always be winning. Poke him as much as you can, try to deny his farm and go in when he has lost more than half of his health. His passive is a spellshield, so every time you go in you need to use your Q to shatter his shield. Even though Mundo has very high healing with his ultimate, you don't need to buy Bramble Vest before your first item, because his healing won't be that good without his ultimate, and when he uses his ultimate, you can't trade against him anyways. Just get Boots early and you should be able to escape from him when he uses his ultimate. Liandry's Torment is the go-to first item against Mundo as it is great against tankier enemies.
Fiora
Fiora has a great poke, but so do you. Make sure Fiora isn't on the same side as her vital is on you, otherwise she can poke you easily. When using Q and E, keep in mind that she can return the stun and the damage to you with her W. If she manages to use this uno reverse card on you, you basically lose the trade. Try to bait her W out before using any of your crowd control abilities by using them a bit late or in surprising moments. Use ignite on her when she uses her ultimate so you minimize her healing, use your own ulti on her so she can't get all the vitals down. Overall laning against Fiora is about poking her with W, predicting her W and going in for quick trades.
Gangplank
His poke with barrels and his Q is very annoying, and can deal some very serious damage in the early game. However, when you gain some armor and have bought your first item, he is not such a strong enemy anymore. It is also worth noting that GP doesn't have a high max health, so your poke can pose a threat to him, too. At level 6 your trading power becomes much higher than his, as his ultimate can be quite useless in quick all-ins. You can utilize this to get him out of the lane or even kill him.
Garen
Garen loses hard against you before level 6, poke him as much as you can and go in with Q once he has about half of his max health left. You also win him after level 6, but you have to keep in mind that you can easily get killed by his ultimate if you go on too low health. Garen will fall of in the late game.
Malphite
Malphite and Sejuani are surprisingly alike, because they both have great poke, are in their prime in the middle game and they both shine in teamfights. However, Malphite is very weak in the early game as he doesn't have any items and also doesn't have his ultimate up. You should try to poke him as much as you can with your W (literally use it every time it is up so he can't gain his passive shield). His Q is normally very strong poking ability in the early game with the slow it provides, but against Sejuani it doesn't do as much damage and also doesn't apply the slow (because of your passive). Don't be afraid to go all in on levels 3-6 because his abilities don't deal as much as yours and you can kinda easily get him killed. On level 6, he gets his ultimate, which can totally turn the tables for his favor. You pretty much can't trade all in him at anymore when he has his ultimate up because his abilities now deal more damage than yours if you aren't 2 kills or more ahead (20 cs lead counts as one kill). Always have a ward in the river and keep a close eye on the minimap because if the enemy jungler gives you a surprise visit, you are pretty much dead as Malphite's ultimate is one of the best gank setups in the game. For the most part playing against Malphite is easy, just don't get ganked.
Olaf
Olaf is a very scary enemy in the early levels, as his dueling power is unmatched in longer fights. Don't let him come near to you, don't go in with your Q and don't waste your Q. Your best bet is to play safe and poke him with your W. When you get your first item (preferably Dusk & Dawn), he can't do that much against you anymore. Just play safe early, and you will win him every time.
Ornn
Ornn is similar to Sejuani with his playstyle and kit, but a bit worse than Seju in early game. You can poke him kinda freely and if you manage to dodge his fire breath, you should win the trades too. Sejuani has stronger middle game than Ornn, which is great for getting a lead.
Renekton
Renekton is an absolute bully in the laning phase, and will win you in any trade you take. Don't fight him early, as it will only result in you losing the lane. Try to freeze the wave whenever you can and ask for ganks. Renekton falls off badly later in the game, so surviving the laning phase is actually winning for you.
Rumble
Rumble can be a very annoying opponent to you, especially if you build tank. His abilities deal a lot of damage and he can secure a kill with his ultimate surprisingly effortlessly. However, Rumble is about as good early as Sejuani, making the laning even. Stay behind minions in order to not get hit by his skillshots and mind his heat levels when going for a trade.
Sett
Sett is a really good champion in the early game, which makes it hard for you to kill him or even poke him when he has his E up. However, he falls off quite hard in the middle game if he hasn't got fed at all in the early game, so play for the middle game and stay safe. He isn't really a threat to you, but it is really hard to win him in early game. Ask for gank and stay safe.
Teemo
Teemo is the biggest fear of melee auto attack based top champions as he can blind their auto attacks, put mines everywhere they walk and poke them unconscious. Luckily you aren't one of them, but he can do all of these to you anyways. He is very squishy, which makes it easier for you to poke him down in the early game, but from level 6 onwards he will make your laning hell as he now has his mines and is starting to get some damage to his poke. Try to poke him a lot in the early levels and go all in if he doesn't have his Q, is somewhat low and has two of your E stacks on him. With Grasp his sustain is a lot better, so poking him becomes harder. If he can't freeze the lane, you will probably win in the long run.
Yorick
Yorick isn't the best champion in the early game (before level 6), so you should try to poke him as much as you can with your W and go in more frequently than normally to get yourself an advantage of him before he gets his ultimate. After he gets his ultimate, he will probably summon his wife nearly immediately. If he does, start to poke his wife instead of him as he isn't that strong without her. Don't waste your Q when he has his wife up as he will cage you and get you really low or even kill you. Preferably choose Arcane Comet over Grasp to have better poke and buy Boots as your first component to dodge his E more easily.
Akali
Akali is mostly a mid champion, but when played in top, she is still kinda mid (I'm funny I know). She is very squishy especially in the early levels, which makes her very vulnerable to your poke. Don't be afraid of her Q, if you manage to hit your W on her twice (which is easy) you will be the winner. Stay behind minions so she can't hit you with her E, and when there are no minions between you two, try to predict her E as it deals a lot of damage. Poke her as much as you can and crash the wave when she recalls. Kinda free laning phase.
Cassiopeia
Really easy matchup from level 2 ahead. She has no mobility and can't buy boots, which makes her really vulnerable to your all ins. She is also squishy, which makes it really easy for you to push her out of lane.
Kayle
Kayle is infamous for her bad early game, which makes it really hard for her to do any damage to you. You can poke her pretty freely, so take Arcane Comet for more damage and a better early game. You can start your combos with Q against Kayle as she can't do anything to you when you are close to her. At level 6 she becomes a ranged champion which is a great powerspike for her but you should still win her in 1v1s. Remember that it is really hard to run from her after level 6.
Rammus
Rammus is really not a threat to you, as his passive is and abilities are not great against ability power champions. He can't do anything to you in laning phase, take Arcane Comet and try to poke him out of lane. If he tries to permafreeze the wave, crash the wave to the turret to reset the wave position.
Riven
Riven has a good early game as her abilities can deal a lot of damage with all the recasts and somewhat low cooldowns. However, your passive helps you block some of that damage and she won't be able to hit her abilities on you as you just poke her with your W from far. Preferably take Arcane comet against her as she is kinda squishy and you can get her low really easily with your poke. Go in when she is on low health, just make sure that she already has two stacks of your E on her. After level 6 she is a bit stronger, but you are a lot more stronger with your own ultimate. Riven doesn't scale any better than you do, and you are a lot stronger than her in the middle game.
Swain
Swain top really isn't a threat to you if he doesn't have his ultimate as your poke wins his poke, he is somewhat squishy and you can use your Q to both dodge his abilities and to go all in. Levels 3-5 are fully in your control as you have a great damage without him having his ultimate. Remember to get Bramble Vest at some point to counter his heal.
Tahm Kench
Tahm Kench doesn't have a really good early game, which makes it possible for you to bully him out of lane even on the early levels. Most of his damage comes from his Q, so stay behind your minions and he won't be able to do anything to you. Poke him with your W and go in when he is on low health. When you go in, make sure that he already has two of your E stacks on him. After level 6 you can't go all-in against him near his turret as he will devour you with his ultimate and spit you to his turret, which usually means a death for you.
Volibear
Volibear is at his strongest in the early game, but that doesn't mean he is by any means stronger than you. He doesn't have that much health/tankiness so your W poke actually deals a great damage to him, he can't run to you with his Q because you can use your own Q to get away from him. His passive attacks proc your passive, so don't expect to get any value out of it in the laning phase. Listen carefully, because he lets out a roar before casting his E (it's very easy to hear) so you don't get hit by it as it deals a lot of damage and also shields him if you are in a melee fight. Poke him as hard as you can and only go in if he doesn't have his E up. After level 6 you basically can't 1v1 him if he has his ultimate up, so try to get level 6 before he does and kill him when you still can. From level 6 onwards you should just ask for gank and play passively (but you still can and should poke him hard to get him out of lane).
Nasus
This matchup has two totally different scenarios. First one: you destroy Nasus early, get ganks and start to zone him so he can't get Q stacks or even xp. He will end up feeding and can't do anything for the rest of the game.
Second one: you don't stomp him early, he gets a good amount of Q stacks, manages to get you down with his jungler once and starts stomping you instead. He becomes really fed and you can't do anything but watch him kill your team while you are getting flamed and reported. It is pretty obvious that you don't want to end up in the second scenario, so you must take Arcane Comet runepage, Teleport and Ignite in order to stomp him properly in the early game. CS isn't your first goal, it is to prevent Nasus from getting farm/Q stacks so just try to poke him as much as you can. In this matchup it is ok to go in nearly every time you get your both W hits on him (from level 3 onwards). Only go back to base if you run out of mana and immediately Teleport back to top lane so Nasus doesn't get any stacks to his Q. Don't go after cs, only play around Nasus' Q stacks. Zone him out from the minions so he can't get even xp. When zoning, only poke him, don't go in so you get all the xp. Minimize your damage to minions so the lane doesn't get pushed.
Singed
Even though Singed is generallyconsidered a very annoying opponent, Sejuani's kit counters him fully. He can't really get near to you without you poking him with your w and can't farm in peace because your poke is too much for him in early game. His proxy farming skill is also not as good against you as it is against many other champions because Sejuani has a very good wave clear.
Hello everyone, I am Lategamer, a league of legends player for many years and currently a Sejuani top one trick. I found this off-meta build and playstyle in late 2023, and haven't stopped using it since. I noticed that there was no guide or vast source of information about Sejuani top, so I try my best to create one. I have been working on this guide on-off for a couple of years now, and it is still not even near to being completed. However, I think that it is already more than enough for newcomers and veterans alike to learn about Sejuani top and the game overall.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
✔ Great early game ✔ Easy to play ✔ Good poke with Winter's Wrath ✔ Great crowd control ✔ Fun to play ✔ Good trades with Fury of the North ✔ Very low ban rate ✔ Good in teamfights ✔ Very tanky with tank build
✘ Relatively weaker in the late game ✘ Loses against disengage ✘ Weak duels with tank build ✘ Immobile without Arctic Assault ✘ Low skill ceiling ✘ Can be counterpicked ✘ Can be kited ✘ Somewhat squishy early without passive
Explanation
Sejuani's greatest strength as a top laner is by far her laning phase. Even though she has some big counters like Mordekaiser, most matchups are completely winnable. Her poke with Winter's Wrath is too much for most champions, making laning a lot easier. Sejuani also has a ton of crowd control with 3 abilities out of 4 having a stun. This can be utilized later in the game to take down enemy team's carries in team fights. In late game Sejuani tends to fall off slightly, but can still be very useful for the team. Dueling is not advisable later on in the game (especially with tank Sejuani build), as most champions do better than Sejuani in long fights. She is very fun to play and is also relatively easy to play, and the key mechanisms in her kit are easy to learn.
Runes
Arcane Comet is the best keystone option for Sejuani top in my opinion because it provides great poke damage combined with Winter's Wrath and sorcery is overall a better rune tree for her
Manaflow Band provides you a great amount of bonus mana during laning
Demolish helps you with splitpushing and destroying turrets as Sejuani has a great wave clear
Second Wind is a great extra healing but you can also take Bone Plating against champions with no poke
Grasp of the Undying is the tankier keystone option for Sejuani top. It deals less damage than Arcane Comet in the early game but also heals and is better in the long run as both it and Overgrowth stack health infinitely
Demolish is great for splitpushing, which is less unusual when you are building tank as Sejuani top
Second Wind is a great healing rune and the better option overall, but you can also take Bone Plating against matchups with no poke
Overgrowth is another infinitely stacking rune, meaning it is better in the late game, but pretty useless in the early game. The bonus health is great if you are building the tank build
Scorch is a great damage add in the early game. You can also take Cosmic Insight, it is great as you get your item passives to proc more often and have Flash and Teleport up more often
Summoner Spells
Flash is mandatory in most matches as Sejuani top as you are somewhat vulnerable to ganks and fully immobile without Arctic Assault. You don't need it in every matchup, like against Nasus, but usually it's the best option
Ignite is the best option when you take the Arcane Comet runepage as it fits its playstyle better than Teleport as it gives you kill potential and damage in the early game and can also work as antiheal against champions like Aatrox
Teleport is the best option when you take the Grasp of the Undying runepage as it fits its playstyle better than Ignite as it gives you split push potential and map control. It is also better in the late game than Ignite
Items
Starter Item
Pick One
Doran's Ring
Doran's Ring is not the most popular first item choice for Sejuani top, but it should be as it is the best option with the ability power, health and mana restore passive. Only buy something else against high poke champions like Vayne because otherwise Doran's Ring is the best option
Doran's Shield
Doran's Shield is the other starter item option for Sejuani top. Even though it is the most popular starter, only buy it against high poke champions like Vayne or Teemo. If you buy it, you should also buy Tear of the Goddess on your first back for bonus mana
Boots
Pick One
Plated Steelcaps
Plated Steelcaps are the boots choice against hard physical damage, only buy against hard physical damage
Mercury's Treads
Mercury's Treads are the boots choice against hard magic damage, only buy against hard magic damage
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Ionian Boots of Lucidity are the only non-situational boots for Sejuani but they are also the least built ones, and for a good reason. They do provide a lot of ability haste, but they don't have any defensive stats which makes them a lot worse option than Plated Steelcaps or Mercury's Treads as they always work as long as you pick the right one depending on the enemy team
First Item
Pick One
Liandry's Torment
Liandry's Torment is the best first item for Sejuani top (hybrid and full AP builds) as it provides a lot of damage with the ability power stat and the burn passive, but also gives you health. All this is good as Sejuani's abilities scale with both. The burn is especially good against champions like Dr. Mundo that have a lot of health as it deals max health damage.
Heartsteel
Heartsteel is the most bought first item for Sejuani top, and for a good reason. The stats are really good and also scale, and the passive makes your trading a lot easier in the early game. However, it does not work in more ap-reliant hybrid builds. In lane you want to keep an eye out on the passive, as you can go win trades with Arctic Assault when you can proc the passive on your enemy.
Dusk and Dawn
Dusk & Dawn is the best thing to happen to Sejuani in terms of itemization in a long time. With its passive you can perform a full combo without auto attack as its passive makes Arctic Assault's auto attack proc Permafrost twice. This has pretty much no counter play at all, making it really hard for your enemies to trade against you. Yet, if you are playing against a tank or the enemy team has a lot of tanky champions, it is still best to take Liandry's Torment.
Core Items
Pick two
Sunfire Aegis
If you didn't take Sunfire Aegis as your first item, you can consider buying it afterwards as it is a great item for Sejuani with the defensive stats and the damage dealing passive. However, it has a great armor stat, which makes it great against enemies/enemy team comps that deal a lot of physical damage.
Hollow Radiance
Hollow Radiance has a passive that is really similar to Sunfire Aegis but is just deals less damage. The item is basically Sunfire Aegis against magic damage as it provides you magic resistance instead of armor. It also gives more health and 100% base health regain which makes about as good as Sunfire Aegis.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
Rylai's Crystal Scepter is the second best ability power item for Sejuani top as it provides ability power, crowd control and health which all work really well with your kit. You don't need to build full ability power to buy Rylai's Crystal Scepter as it provides health which places it in the hybrid item category (not a real item category, my own term)
Winter's Approach
Winter's Approach is a great item for Sejuani as it provides you a really good amount of bonus mana and a great passive after you manage to turn it into Fimbulwinter. When you build it, remember to get Tear of the Goddess first and even before you start to build it to turn it into Fimbulwinter faster.
Thornmail
Thornmail is the main antiheal item for Sejuani top (and pretty much the only option). It provides you a great armor stat, health and a passive that takes 40% of healing away from enemies that hit you. Only take it against high healing champions like Aatrox and red Kayn
Frozen Heart
Frozen Heart is one of the most built tank items for Sejuani top and for a good reason. It provides an incredible amount of armor and a passive that reduces the damage you take (small decrease, but matters). It is best when built against champions with high attack damage like Jhin
Mejai's Soulstealer
Mejai's Soulstealer is the strongest snowballing item in the game as it provides you more and more ability power for takedowns. You can't die tho, otherwise you lose 10 stacks (50 ability power). When playing Sejuani top the item is only any good when you are far ahead and you think you are not going to die anytime soon. Remember that you shouldn't buy it if you aren't building the full ability power build
Luxury Items
Pick two
Force of Nature
Force of Nature is one of the two best items against magic damage as it provides you 55 magic resist and after taking a couple hits from magic damage dealing abilities you get 70 more. This is the most a single item gives, but I suggest you to only buy it against a team with many magic damage champions (or champions like Kayle) so you actually get the stacks quickly, because otherwise the item is pretty useless compared to Kaenic Rookern
Kaenic Rookern
Kaenic Rookern is the other of the two best items against magic damage in the whole game. Unlike Force of Nature, the enemy team doesn't have to have a lot of AP champions for you to build this as the passive doesn't require any amount of hits as it just heals you. It also has the best magic resist stat, 25 higher than Force of Nature. It can be built in any game where the enemy team has good magic damage, it will block most of it. Against really high magic damage build Force of Nature first
Abyssal mask
Abyssal Mask is another great item against magic damage, but it has one thing that sets it apart from Force of Nature and Kaenic Rookern: it's not as good. Its stats aren't as good as theirs, and even with the passive it isn't as useful as Kaenic Rookern and not even close to Force of Nature. Only buy it against team comps with 4 or 5 magic damage champions because otherwise you don't need it. Exception is when your team has high magic damage too, because then the passive is better as it lowers enemies' magic resistance
Randuin's Omen
Randuin's Omen is statistically the best item against physical damage as it has the highest armor stat. This makes it the best item against champions with high attack damage, especially as Sejuani can easily utilize its active ability (slowing nearby enemies) as she is a frontliner and Arctic Assault makes it even easier to get near enemy champions. It also has a passive ability (crit strikes deal less damage), which is great against champions like Jhin and other adc's as all their attacks critically strike in the late game
Jak'Sho
Jak'Sho, The Protean generally a great item for Sejuani as it provides a good amount of both armor and magic resist and also a passive that provides you more stats, so it is a good item in every situation, as long as you don't build the full abilty power build. Don't buy it as a core item because then the passive doesn't give you the same value
Rabadon's Deathcap
Rabadon's Deathcap is the holy grail of ability power champions with the biggest ability power stat in the game and also a passive that provides you even more ability power. It is also a good item for Sejuani top, but only when you build full ability power. Otherwise it is completely useless as it is far from an item to build in with the hybrid build
Warmog's Armor
Warmog's Armor is the item with the biggest health stat in the whole game. This makes it a great item for champions like Sejuani that are tanky and need the health to survive. It mostly good when built with the full tank build, but it is also good in the hybrid build if you need the health more than the defensive stats. It also provides a healing passive that heals you very quickly when out of combat which is great for Sejuani's playstyle
Rod of Ages
Even though Rod of Ages provides you both ability power and health, it doesn't belong to the hybrid build in my opinion as it doesn't work with Sejuani's kit and isn't great for ability power nor health. I suggest you to only build it in the full ability power build, because otherwise it won't reach its full potential and so won't you. It gives a great amount of base stats but that is basically everything it does, so it isn't good enough for the hybrid Sejuani build
Choose Your Build
Tank Build
Tank build is the most usual build for Sejuani and also for Sejuani top even though it isn't statistically the best one. It is a great pick if your team doesn't have a lot of tankiness.
Full AP Build
The full ability power build is my least used build on Sejuani and for a reason. It is only good if your team already has 2 or more tanks. It is really good if you want to solo carry, but your team won't appreciate your choice.
Hybrid Build
Now onto the last build, hybrid Sejuani. This is the best build in my opinion as it is the perfect mix of damage and tankiness for splitpushing, solokilling and teamfighting. Hybrid Sejuani is a solid pick for every game and team comp.
Trinkets And Warding
Trinkets
Stealth Ward
Stealth Ward is the basic trinket for nearly any top champion, and Sejuani is one of them. When you place a Stealth Ward, it reveals the area around it for 90-120 seconds. It is a good all-rounder and your trinket choice in most games and also fits well for Sejuani's playstyle.
Oracle Lens
Oracle Lens is the secondary trinket option and the less taken one. When used, it reveals wards, traps and unvisible enemies around you for 6 seconds, disabling wards. It is mostly built against champions like Teemo that place traps, and is not adviced to be taken otherwise.
Control Ward
Control Wards are the only trinkets you can buy from the store and isn't using the trinket slot in your inventory. It costs 75 gold, but is totally worth the price. They reveal the area around them like Stealth Wards, reveal traps and disable wards around them like Oracle Lens and also last infinitely if not destroyed. You should place them in important areas that also have a high risk of having enemy wards in them (river bush etc). I suggest you to buy one Control Ward every time you go to back to base.
Ward Map
River Ward
Push Ward
Anti-dive Ward
Control Wards
Abilities
Passive: Fury Of The North
After being out of combat, Sejuani gains frost armor which grants armor, magic resist and immunity to slows. Frost armor persists for a short time after she takes damage. Sejuani can damage a stunned enemy to shatter it, dealing massive magic damage.
Notes:
Gaining frost armor doesn't remove pre-existing slows. Stunned enemies will not take the bonus damage from Fury of the North if the auto attack is blocked
Q: Arctic Assault
Sejuani charges forward, knocking enemies into the air and dealing magic damage. The charge stops after hitting an enemy champion.
Notes:
Champions hit will be slightly knocked back. Using Flash during Arctic Assault will end the dash and knock up enemies in the new location. Upon hitting an enemy champion, Sejuani will attack them
W: Winter's Wrath
Sejuani swings her mace twice, dealing damage, slowing enemies and applying Permafrost stacks.
Notes:
Spell shields only block one of the swings. Winter's Wrath will be cast from where the caster is at the end of the cast time. Both swings from Winter's Wrath will strike in the cast direction
E: Permafrost
Passive: nearby melee allied champions attacks apply a Permafrost stack to champions and jungle monsters, up to 4.
Active: Sejuani freezes and stuns an enemy champion that has max Permafrost stacks.
Notes:
Permafrost's targeting prioritizes champions within 50 of cursor, then non-champions within 50 of cursor, then champions within 350 of cursor, then closest unit to cursor within 2500 if there is no target under the cursor
R: Glacial Prison
Sejuani throws her bola that freezes, stuns and deals magic damage to the first champion hit and creates an ice storm that slows and damages other enemies.
Notes:
If Glacial Prison doesn't travel at least 400 units, it doesn't form an ice storm, deals less damage and the stun doesn't last as long
Ability order
The One And Only
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
W
Q
E
W
W
R
W
Q
W
Q
R
Q
Q
E
E
R
E
E
L
e
v
e
l
s
1
-
3
Winter's Wrath is the best ability for level 1 as before level 3 basically all your damage comes from it. However, if your team decides to invade for some reason, you may as well take Arctic Assault.
Arctic Assault is far better than Permafrost at level 2 as you become much more mobile and it can work as a gapcloser when you try to proc Grasp of the Undying. Moreover, Permafrost is quite useless before level 3 as it is really hard for you to hit two autoattacks at the enemy without losing a significant amount of health in the process.
Even though not needed at level 2, one level later Permafrost is a dream come true for you. At this point you are stronger in poking and trades than most toplaners, and procing Permafrost is quite easy as of level 3 as you only need one auto attack on top of Winter's Wrath and Arctic Assault.
S
e
q
u
e
n
c
e
Like most champions, Sejuani benefits from her ultimate a lot, which is why Glacial Prison should be upgraded every chance you get. Unlocking the ability at level 6 is one of the biggest powerspikes for Sejuani.
Winter's Wrath is the first ability you need to max out as Sejuani. The damage increase and the cooldown decrease make your combos a lot more effective and also smoother (as you now can get full Permafrost stacks from only using Winter's Wrath).
Being Sejuani's only source of mobility, Arctic Assault is the best option for the second ability to max out. As the game goes on, the ability to dash and stun enemies often becomes highly convenient in both fights and laning.
However useful an ability Permafrost is for Sejuani, upgrading it is of no importance at all. The only change is a small increase in damage, making it naturally the last ability to be upgraded.
Combos
W + Q + E (Early Game)
This combo is only for the early levels when you can't hit two Winter's Wraths in one combo. Start with Winter's Wrath, close distance with Arctic Assault and do two auto attacks, then use Permafrost, proc your passive with auto attack and back off.
W + Q + E + W
You can't perform this combo in the early levels as Winter's Wrath's cooldown is too high for using it two times. First hit the enemy with Winter's Wrath, wait a few seconds (for W cooldown) before you use Arctic Assault. Then auto attack the enemy twice, Permafrost them and use one auto attack. Use Winter's Wrath again when you are running away from the enemy.
Q + W + E (Pressure)
This combo isn't as safe as the others, but it is really good at pressuring the enemy to use Flash and/or recall. Only use it when you are winning the lane. Use Arctic Assault to the enemy, auto attack once, use Winter's Wrath, auto attack once, Permafrost the enemy and auto attack once.
W + Q + E (Fast)
This is another version of the basic combo, W + Q + E. It is a bit faster but also harder as the timing needs some practise. Cast Winter's Wrath, but before the other swing hits the enemy, knock them with Arctic Assault, auto attack them once, Permafrost them and attack them again. Because Arctic Assault automatically attacks the enemy after cast, this combo is faster than the normal one.
Q + W + E (Melee)
This is the basic combo for when the opponent jumps on you. It is great as most players will be caught off guard by your damage and CC. First you need to use Arctic Assault on the enemy so they can't hit you. Next hit them with Winter's Wrath, auto attack them once, Permafrost them and use one more auto attack.
All-In
Ah yes, the all-in. Many top players don't know that Sejuani has great all-ins with pretty much any build, so they often underestimate its power. You start with the W + Q + E combo (or W + Q + E + W) and then use Glacial Prison on the enemy and attack them once.
All-In (Melee)
This is basically the same as the normal all-in, but you are in melee range from the enemy. To prevent extra damage, use Arctic Assault first, then hit the enemy with Winter's Wrath, auto attack, Permafrost them and auto attack them once more. Then use Glacial Prison and auto attack the enemy.
Securing The Kill
This combo is amazing because there is pretty much nothing the enemy can do as you use Glacial Prison on them in the beginning, which is very hard to dodge if you use while farming (it's so surprising). After ult you use Arctic Assault, then Winter's Wrath, auto attack once and then Ignite the enemy.
Ability Tips
Q Over The Walls
This is a really basic tip most of you already know, but if you have played champions like Bel'Veth you also know that not every dash ability can go over the walls. Luckily Arctic Assault is not one of them. This can be very useful in a lot of situations including catching enemies and escaping.
Q From Base
This is another basic tip which many lower elo players don't know, but using Arctic Assault from base when you recall or respawn will save you more than a second, which isn't a lot but can save your turret platings often. You also won't lose mana as you regenerate most of the cost while still in fountain.
R Wastes E Stacks
Even though Glacial Prison is a great ability and deals a lot of damage, it isn't always a good time to use it during a fight. This is because using Glacial Prison cleanses all Permafrost stacks from the enemy. They also can't get more Permafrost stacks for a few seconds. Mistimed ultimate can reduce your combo damage big time.
Passive Removes Slows
This is a surprisingly unknown thing about Sejuani's kit. While you have Fury of the North on, you can't be slowed. This is great against abilities like Seismic Shard and Wither. It can make your laning phase a lot easier against champions with slows and save you from ganks.
Ult From Different Distances
When using Glacial Prison, you don't only have to decide when to use it. You also have to know where to use it from. When you use Glacial Prison from under 400 range from the opponent, it doesn't for an ice storm, the stun doesn't last as long and it deals less damage than when used from over 400 range. This can be very important in teamfights.
Q + Flash
Most Sejuani players already know this, but if you are new to the champion, here it comes. When you use Flash during Arctic Assault, it ends the dash, but you still knock up enemies in your new location. This can be very useful in catching kills
W + Flash
This is another basic interaction with Flash as Sejuani. It is really good for finishing escaping enemies and can easily catch the enemies off guard. Just use Winter's Wrath and use Flash before the other swing is cast.
Wave management
About Wave Management
Wave management is the bread and butter of Sejuani top and top lane overall. Even though the minion wave may look more like a liability than something useful, it is crucial that you learn wave management, as the whole laning phase and its tempo and positioning come down to it. To learn it well, I advice you to perfect freezing and slow pushing before trying any fancier strategies like proxy farming. If you manage to learn these two thoroughly, your laning will become a lot more comfortable and harder matchups will become easier to win. Wave management strategies are essentially like tools that help you control the lane without risking yourself. To best hone these skills, go to a draft pick and try to play with a single strategy ( freezing for example) for multiple waves before switching to another strategy.
Freezing
Freezing means controlling the wave to stay near your turret for long periods of time, leaving your enemy vulnerable to ganks and making laning safer for you. Setting up a freeze is easy with Sejuani, as your passive diminishes the damage taken from tanking minions greatly. To set up a freeze you must get the enemy minions to push towards your turret, so you can get the waves to meet near it. To maintain the freeze you must not hit the minions more than necessary, and avoid dealing damage to them with Winter's Wrath.
Slow Pushing
Slow pushing means slowly outnumbering the enemy wave, eventually leading to a bigger push to the enemy turret (if you want it to). Sejuani is not generally too great in creating slow pushes, as one sweep with Winter's Wrath can restart the progress. When slow pushing, your minion wave will grow by approximately 1-2 caster minions each waves, gradually pushing the wave forward. To create a slow push, you need to deal a little bit more damage to the minions than your enemy, so your minions survive. Slow pushing makes you harder to trade with and gank, and also leaves you with many other wave management options like crashing and wave denying, which is why you should generally pursue slow pushes as Sejuani.
Fast Pushing
Fast pushing is the exact opposite of slow pushing, and means exactly what it sounds like. While fast pushing, you need to clear the wave as fast as possible. Fast pushing is Sejuani's strength, as her wave clear is quite fast with Winter's Wrath and Arctic Assault. You should pursue a fast push if your enemy has recalled, you will recall, or you know the enemy will have hard time clearing the wave. Fast pushing usually results in your wave crashing to the enemy turret, losing your enemy gold and xp (if they are not present). However, fast pushing when the enemy is present and capable of handling the wave, a fast push can have catastrophical consequences, as you allow the enemy to freeze the wave. Only fast push if the enemy is absent, you are going to recall or the enemy won't be able to fight you.
Breaking a Freeze
First of all, you should never purposefully let your enemy freeze the wave. When the wave is frozen, you can't farm normally as you might get ganked, but you can't get the enemy out either, as they are safely farming under their turret. To break a freeze, you need to either wait for a while so the wave bounces back to you, or you can use Winter's Wrath to kill the enemy minions and crash the wave. Even then your opponent can hold the wave by tanking your minions, but you can counter this by proxy farming the next wave, forcing your enemy to break the freeze (note: don't do this if the enemy jungler is around).
Cheater Recall
Cheater recall means pushing the third wave (with cannon minion) to the enemy turret, giving you enough time to recall, buy your first component (like Amplifying Tome or Ruby Crystal) and get back to the lane without losing any cs. This gives you a great advantage, as your enemy has both health and item disadvantage. To perform a cheater recall, you should deal more damage to the wave than your enemy for the first 2 waver (without crashing the wave to the turret) and then crashing the wave on the third wave. This is quite easy to pull off as Sejuani as Winter's Wrath provides a good wave clear in the early game, while also poking the enemy. Note that cheater recalling is not a good idea against champions with a great early game wave clear ( Yasuo for example) as they can counter it quite easily.
Wave Denial
Wave denial means standing on the wave, while harassing your opponent with Winter's Wrath and threatening to go all in if they try to farm. This makes it impossible for the enemy to gain gold and experience, giving you a great advantage. Denying farm from your opponent is easy, and you can do it both in a freeze and in a normal wave state. However, you need to have a good lead beforehand so your opponent can't 1v1 you.
Proxy Farming
Proxy farming means farming the wave between the two enemy turrets. It can be useful in both breaking freezes and setting up a recall, as your enemy will have a hard time tanking the whole wave, and also can't crash their nonexistent wave. To set up a proxy you only need to walk through the enemy turret when your minions are taking the damage, or go to between the turrets from the enemy jungle. Sejuani can proxy farm quite easily for a wave or two, as Winter's Wrath provides her a really efficient wave clear. Do note that if the enemy jungler is around, there is a high risk that you will get caught in a very awkward position and even end up dying. Only proxy if it's really needed and the enemy jungler is not on the top side of the map.
Jungle tracking
Jungler Types
Ganking Junglers
Ganking junglers are junglers that focus on creating kill opportunities and lane pressure in the early phases of the game. This is very important to note, as these kind of junglers pose a much greater threat to you than more passive junglers like Master Yi. If the enemy team has a ganking jungler, it is very likely that you are under a threat whenever you don't know their whereabouts, so put extra attention to jungle tracking in those games. Usually ganking junglers like Jarvan IV fall off a bit into the late game.
Examples
Farming Junglers
Farming junglers are the exact opposite of ganking junglers, with their goals in good farm and safe early game rather than ganking. Junglers like Karthus are often quite invisible to the enemy team in the early game, but become late game monsters, often carrying their team in teamfights. Even though these junglers don't pose a threat as great as ganking junglers, it is important to make their game as hard as possible to prevent them from snowballing. This can mean both safe playing and stealing their jungle camps when possible.
Examples
Predicting Pathing
Blue start pathing
Red start pathing
First clear predicting
Predicting ganks and movements of the enemy jungler all comes down to their jungle pathing. Jungle pathing means the way junglers play around their jungle camp cooldowns, epic monsters, and river scuttlers.
Generally most junglers do a full clear on their first clear, starting from either red buff or blue buff, depending on the champion they are playing. If the enemy jungler starts from blue buff, they will be on their red buff jungle side by the end of their clear. Jungle clears are generally finished around 2:35-2:50, and after that the jungler usually goes for a level 4 gank or to take the rift scuttler. This means that you can expect a gank from the enemy jungler around 3 minutes in if they start their clear from their bottom side jungle.
It is important to note that some junglers generally start always from the same side. For example mana hungry junglers like Karthus need to start from the blue buff, making their movements easy to predict. On the other hand, some junglers always start from the same side to clear as fast as possible. Shaco, for instance, always starts from the red side as his "automatic clear" on raptors makes him a lot faster. Also note that some junglers like Lee Sin sometimes gank before they finish their clear, making them a threat to you before the 3 minute mark.
Jungle timers
After their first clear the enemy jungler will play around the other objectives like dragons, voidgrubs, and rift herald. Dragon spawns 5 minutes into the game, making it the first epic objective for the jungler. This means that around 6-7 minutes enemy jungler is more often than not in the bottom side of the map and not such a threat in the toplane. However, depending on the jungler's first clear pathing, they might also be clearing their top side jungle. Dragons respawn every 5 minutes after the last one is slain, making it a constant objective of both junglers. This creates more of a pressure onto the bottom/mid lanes, making your laning a bit safer.
voidgrubs spawn to the top side pit at 8 minutes, making the camp the objective of both junglers. This means that the risk of river fights is greater, so getting your enemy out of the lane or crashing the wave can be beneficial. Also do note that if your jungler is not pathing towards top lane, you are in a great risk of getting ganked.
Rift herald spawns in the top side river pit at 15 minutes, creating more pressure to you and your enemy. At this point you have probably maxed out Winter's Wrath, making wave control (and pushing) a lot easier. If your jungler comes to take the herald, kill the minion wave and go help them. By doing this you create pressure on your enemy, leaving them at risk of losing xp and gold, but also making them leave the wave in case their jungler is also going for the objective.
Outside of epic monsters it is important to note that the enemy jungler will come to clear their jungle camps, too. This will happen every few minutes as their jungle camps respawn. Ganking junglers like Jarvan IV often try to gank either top or mid lane after the top side clear, so you need to be more cautious. Powerfarming junglers like Shyvana, on the other hand, usually don't go for such plays without a clear chance (you have pushed the wave or are low etc). It's good to remember that even though jungle camps and epic monsters dictate the enemy jungler's pathing a lot, the state of the game has an impact on it too. If you have a great lead, for example, the enemy jungler will probably try to help their toplaner to even things out in some way.
Warning Signals
Enemy jungler missing
If the enemy jungler is not visible, it means that they are either recalled or pathing somewhere. If they are pathing somewhere, it could very well be top side of the map, so you need to be aware. This isn't the greatest threat by itself, as by predicting the jungler's pathing you will probably know if you are in a real danger. However, combined with the other warning signals, the risk can be really high.
Top side epic monster is up
This is all about your knowledge of the jungle pathing. If you know for example that enemy Shaco started from the top side raptors and did a full clear, at 6 minutes or so Shaco will probably be back to top side, and can gank you if you are not careful enough.
Sudden aggro from opponent
If your opponent is behind in level and/or items, and generally does not initiate fights, this is a big warning signal, especially if you do not have a Stealth Ward or a Control Ward in the river. This is why you need to think quickly when joining the fight, because if you are caught in a 2v1, you will lose every time. Sejuani can never take down multiple enemies easily, even if one of them is significantly weaker than you. If the enemy suddenly tries to fight you without a visible reason, dont waste Arctic Assault as it can be invaluable when trying to escape from a gank.
No vision in the river
This is not mainly about the enemy jungler, but your own vision. When you are laning and not in a freeze, you must always have a Stealth Ward or a Control Ward in the river at all times. Even though you can read the enemy jungler's movements and predict the gank with the other warning signals, it is crucial that you have vision in the river, as sometimes something unexpected happens. If you don't have vision in the river and the enemy jungler has been missing for a while, initiating and participating fights can very well lead to your death, however winnable they might seen at first glance.
Wave States
Safe State
Safe state means that the wave is comfortably on your side of the lane. This makes it really hard for enemy junglers to gank you, with exception of divers like Volibear. If you are in this state, you will be safe from the enemy jungler's gank. However, remaining in this position while poking the enemy with Winter's Wrath can be quite challenging. Note that the pictures of the wave states are taken from the blue side, but the same principles apply to both sides.
Neutral State
This is the "normal" state of the wave, where the wave is in the middle of the lane. While this is not really a dangerous state as long as you can escape with Arctic Assault, some ganking junglers like Lee Sin can still pose a real threat to you. Usually the enemy jungler is not able to pull off successful ganks, as long as you don't use Arctic Assault without a good reason.
Risky State
If you find yourself in this position, you should take it as an instant warning signal. In this position you are a walking money bag to any enemy jungler, as you are very, very vulnerable to their ganks. If the enemy jungler comes, you might be able to escape with Arctic Assault and Flash, but do not take if for granted. If your enemy tries to freeze to get you in this position, try to break the freeze as fast as you can.
Conclusion
The End
Well, that's everything I had to say about Sejuani top. I am trying to make this guide even better, so all feedback about any part of the guide is welcome. Good luck, have fun!
People I want to thank
♥︎ Jhoijhoi for making the best source for guide creating, The Guide to Making a Guide ♥︎ Katasandra for her amazing guides about bbcode ♥︎ Fruxo for inspiration to the layout of the ability sequence chapter ♥︎ Xelikari for inspiration to the layout of the runes chapter ♥︎ Citric for inspiration to the general layout of the guide
What's coming next?
⌛Matchups section (full information on matchups, countering items etc.)
⌛Game plan chapter with a blueprint of the things you should wait for, pursue, or avoid
⌛Gameplay chapters (early game, middle game, late game) with in-depth information that goes (hopefully) deeper than guides normally do
⌛Table of contents
⌛Chapter on how to improve as a player
update log
✔ 2026-06-07 the guide was published ✔ 2026-06-11 added a few new matchups
The Sejuani Top Guide
Build Guide By Lategamer
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