[8.1] Trinity Force into Sterak's Gage rush because games are really short currently and this provides the most damage because of these items' synergy and they have some tank stats that allow you to survive and win 2 vs 1 situations.

Hi everyone, I'm Jeff_Curry in Plat/Diamond Elo in NA and have really enjoyed doing theorycrafting builds for awhile and finding out what actually works. This is my second guide here now so still learning so be gentle ples. I main Top/Jg and Yorick was actually one of the first champs I learned back in S6. The weird pre-rework Yorick, which I loved, was fun playing in lane but felt lost after that. When he got reworked though, Yorick became a monstrous split pusher and with the new runes Demolish, The Ultimate Hat and Cosmic Insight allow for taking towers faster, more use of your ultimate to split push, and dropping more Zz'Rot Portal.

These changes are what have brought Yorick from sub 50% WR to almost 55% WR in one patch.

P.S. If you have never played Yorick or are lower elo, he is great for winning lane and is not that hard to play! You sustain with his Q Last Rites which makes it easy to last hit and can win trades with a simple AA and Q for the reset. Your level 2 is crazy strong too since you should have 3 or 4 mist walkers from your Q and with your E Mourning Mist it allows you to get tons of damage from your Mist Walkers, slows them, and hopefully combo with AA and Q. Also Corrupting Potion is applied by the mist walkers and adds tons of extra damage on your level 2 all in.

Generally, you will take Grasp of the Undying because that works best for his kit and the short trades he excels in. Demolish to split push and take down towers in one hit. Yorick takes Conditioning and Overgrowth for general tankiness and scaling into late game since he doesn't scale as hard as other carry champions.

For his secondary tree you can go either sorcery or inspiration. Sorcery allows for more ultimates and more splitpushing with The Ultimate Hat and for a stronger laning phase with Scorch. As for inspiration, it helps you get items faster and use Zz'Rot Portal more with Cosmic Insight.

Essentially you should just play test and find out what fits your playstyle most. Maybe you'll take domination to focus on carrying with damage instead of split push, its all up to you to decide!

For starting items, you almost always want Corrupting Potion for the early damage and mana sustain. If you are just farming with Last Rites it will not use too much mana, but Mourning Mist uses double that of his Q. You want to take Doran's Shield against ranged matchups like Teemo and Quinn because they will poke you down so you will need the extra sustain to survive. In those matchups farm with Q for the health sustain and save mana by not using Mourning Mist or Dark Procession.

Your first back is almost always Sheen because Yorick is all about short trades with AA and Q reset and Sheen makes that Q hurt a lot more! You keep just comboing and proccing Grasp of the Undying to win those short trades.

For the main build, you rush Trinity Force because it gives you crazy damage with your kit for skirmishing and for taking towers. Then either Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads depending on if you are against AD or AP matchup. Zz'Rot Portal allows you to drop your ultimate, Eulogy of the Isles, and Zz'Rot Portal to back door towers and inhibitors with ease. Along with Demolish back dooring towers is really easy in the preseason. Also Zz'Rot Portal gives good tanky stats and the unique passive to run away easier when you're split pushing. Yorick gets Sterak's Gage next since it buffs the Sheen proc off of Trinity Force for more damage and the unique passive for that shield. You rush more damage on Yorick first because his focus early-mid game is to split push and have enough damage to siege and 1 vs 2 possibly if he's ahead enough. Then we finish with Dead Man's Plate for the tank stats and the extra chase down. As well as getting Spirit Visage for your MR item and if you have a healer on your team. The bonus CDR helps as well!

For situational items, I prefer Titanic Hydra in most of my games as it gives much more wave clear as well as huge damage with AA, Q, AA, Titanic Hydra for the AA reset. It's a ton of damage and you probably can kill an ADC who is not expecting it. Death's Dance is also really good as it gives CDR, AD, and the unique passive to make you seem tankier while being able to lifesteal off of your abilities. Consider taking Frozen Heart if they have no AP and need to get 40% CDR. If they have lots of crit consider getting Randuin's Omen. Lastly, get Guardian Angel only if you are super far ahead and plan to carry that game. If you are raid boss level and already able to 1 vs 2, Guardian Angel will make you that much harder to deal with, especially in team fights where you can use a full combo after coming back alive.

Also, Turbo Chemtank is okay. I have just seen some Diamond/Master elo Yorick players try it with success since it does allow him to impact other lanes as Turbo Chemtank lets you just run up to them and slow them. Its good for split pushing as it can let you get out of sticky situations and it does give you good tank stats and CDR for cheap. Overall, just play test and figure out what build you like best and REMEMBER you do not have to buy MR or Armor if they don't have that threat. Build according to their team composition!

Yorick takes two points in Last Rites and one in Mourning Mist to start the game since Dark Procession costs 70 mana, which is almost worth Q casts. Its not really worth leveling at level 3 unless you are getting ganked or have someone coming to gank for you. In most situations though, just take an extra point in Last Rites for more damage and lower CD. Max Q, Last Rites, first to get as many mist walkers as you can to push more. Then E, Mourning Mist, for the higher damage and slow. Though you could take a few extra points in Dark Procession early so it takes 3 AAs to break the wall. Lastly, max W, Dark Procession since the only thing that increases with it is the wall's HP. Then talk your ultimate Eulogy of the Isles whenever you can.

Whenever you are in danger, use your ultimate. Can turn a 1 vs 2 into an even fight and you may be able to win it. Eulogy of the Isles summons the Maiden of the Mist who makes it so Yorick's next AA on her target will deal max health damage. Use Dark Procession when trying to escape since most people do not play against Yorick a lot and don't always know exactly what to do and may give up chasing Yorick or waste summoners chasing him.

For most games you want Flash and Teleport because Flash is possibly one of the best summoners and will probably be needed to secure some kills as people runaway from Yorick's crazy mist walkers and high damage. Teleport is generally good for top lane and especially split pushers as it allows to pressure multiple places on the map and can be used to return to lane early with item advantage without losing XP or go bot early at get them ahead and possibly take first tower.

Sometimes I'm in a lane I know I will dominate and want to snowball more so I will take Ignite or Exhaust for the extra lane pressure. Up to you if you want to try this but just be aware the enemy jungler will probably target you if you don't have Teleport!

Pros

Has a strong early-midgame with power spikes with

Trinity Force, Sterak's Gage and Zz'Rot Portal.
High sustain with Q, Last Rites, and easy to CS with.
Good at short trading with Q, AA, and Grasp of the Undying.
Great split pusher with Zz'Rot Portal and Eulogy of the Isles.
Can 1 vs 2 with Eulogy of the Isles and be a huge presence on the map if ahead, opening up the map for your team.
Wins most melee matchups at the moment if you play it right and trade around their CDs.
Good against tanks and other bruisers!


Cons

Can be kited around later in the game.
Drops off significantly in the late game.
Can be hard to come back in a losing lane.
Struggles in ranged matchups and some assassins who can poke him down and then all in.