An in-depth top lane Swain guide

Introduction

Hi, I'm Catalci (it is not my summoner name). I am a platinum elo player started playing at the end of season 3 and i mainly play in the top lane thus this is my first guide on Mobafire. In this guide i will try to explain the basics and advanced knowledge about and how to utilizing it in top lane. And of course, i mained :)

I want to make sure of that, this is not like the common "ok guys the champion is X, your abilities are Q, W, E, R. Just build a Y and Z and thats it" type guide. Sadly, in mobafire there are alot of guides just fits this simple formula. I detailed "over 50" match-ups (52 at the moment and i'm constantly updating), different build styles (building a on ) and detailed ability combos.

Feel free to left any comment, your opinions and ideas in the comments section. I will constantly uptade this guide and i'll glad if you guys contribute :)

Also, don't just stick to this guide only. I believe it will help you for learning and improving your playstyle but watch streams and videos too. For example Quas from Team Liquid is a main top laner and you can watch his videos for a visual lesson also. Although he is using in mid lane (normally), scarra is also a very good player and his videos are very helpful for learning.

What is Swain ?

is an ap based champion mainly used in mid lane. He excells at locking down his targets with his 2 cc's and extended duels with his and

In top lane, you can build as a pure ap caster, a tanky ap caster or even a full tank and everyone of them works. I will explain item builds later on.

Why do i play Swain in the top lane ?

Before learning , I used to play bruisers and tanks mainly and honestly tanks didn't helped me neither carrying games nor gaining elo. Even i get fed with a tank, i was still a "tank" and wasn't dealed enough damage for securing teamfights. Then i told myself "don't play tanks if you want to carry, play carries for it". No matter how good you are with tanks, if your other lanes are not good, the opposite laner will deal more damage and carry their team. Your chance for carry a game with a 6-0 renekton against a 5-0 syndra is significantly lower than syndra's chance for carry. This was why i quitted tanks but it isn't our story. The Swain part is in the next paragraph.

With the changes in the season 4, top had became quite popular in solo quenue, teamrank and professional play. Ryze has a safe laning phase against typical bruisers and a monstrous late game. This left me with two choices: Banning Ryze every single match i play or...

...find a counterpick

I chosed the latter and with a couple games i noticed that although it doesn't fit the meta or mainly used in top lane, Swain is also a strong and safepick for top lane.

Pros

Pros (basic)

-Very good lane sustain after lvl 6
-Ranged
-A safepick for top lane, counterpicking him is hard
-Very good duelist after lvl 6
-Good harassment against bruisers
-Passive is very good for laning
-Very good at locking down caught targets.
-Very versatile in item choices
-No standart skill sequence. Every skill has it's own advantages. Generally, you will want maxing your at lvl 9 but maxing or at lvl 9 won't put you a disadvantage compared to other champions. (I will explain them later)
-Good ap ratios
-Very good teamfighting
-If your lane opponent doesn't have any kind of healing reduction, your chance of winning your lane is very high and with a large mana pool you can even secure a double kill from an enemy gank.
-Excellent peeler.
-Very good kiter.

's 500 autoatack range gives him an edge over the typical bruisers, your range grants you safely harass them from a distance, closer distance to your tower for ganks and giving your lane opponent a hard time for catching and damaging you if it is a melee champion.
His high health sustain from will often make you win trades and even securing kills if it is an extended fight. In teamfights, due to the nature of leeching life from 3 targets, you will be extremely hard to kill and wreak havoc massively. And if you manage his passive with s your health and mana problems are done.

Pros (advanced, i will explain everyone of them)

1) If you picked before your mid laner picked his champion, the enemy team probably think you will go to mid lane.

*By picking before your mid laner picks his champion, the enemy "mid laner" will try to counterpick , but you are a "top lane ". This will give your mid laner an advantage in picking phase. Also the enemy top laner probably pick a champion which won't give you a hard time. 2 birds, 1 stone. How many times, the enemy team thought i will go to mid and picked for top lane and got a fed enemy ? I lost count :D

2) Very strong blue side pick.

*Most of 's counters are extremely dependant on getting a blue buff (for example: ). But in the purple side, the enemy top laner is closer to his red buff. It makes impossible to get a blue buff for them easily. (going to their blue buff, returning to top lane... meh...) Even in your team are on the purple side and the enemy team decides to give their blue to their top lane, it denies their mid lane the blue buff. This situation narrowes their picks. And one of this situations will occur:

-Their mid laner will play without a blue buff (a clear disadvantage)
-Their mid laner will forced to pick a less blue buff depended champion
-Their mid laner will get the blue buff and enemy top laner will forced to play without a blue buff. (he will mana starved, and counterpicking will become meaningless)

3) By picking , you will force the enemy team to get minimum 1 kind of healing reduction.

* has a "massive" sustain in teamfights thanks to his . If the enemy team doesn't cripple your healing, your effective health will ramp up. (if is damaging 3 champions with his , he will be healed 270 + 60% his ap per second without reduction and it is "huge") Even with a healing reduction your healing will keep you up a fair amount time unless they bursted you down. That means your adc may not be ignited in teamfights because they will save their one for you, or you may disrupt the enemy top laner's build (if its an ap, mana resourced champion) by forcing him buy (although rushing morello for ap champions is current meta) as his first item. Even with , you must below 40% health for 's passive to working.

Cons

Cons (basic)

-Although has 2 kinds of ccs, he hasn't got any kind of escape mechanism.
-His waveclearing is poor before 6, and medicore after 6
- and pushes the lane.
-Struggles against early game stompers, heavy pushers, dashes/blinks and long range champions.
-The mana cost to sustain increases every second.
- needs practice to land.
- needs proper management. If kept too long it depletes mana quickly.
-As , you must buy at least one item for granting yourself a large mana pool.

Although has many advantages in top lane, it also has disadvantages too (well, otherwise would be op as every oher champion). 2 of your skills pushes the lane. This may lure the enemy jungler to your lane and even puts you a further disadvantage if your laning opponent is good at last hitting under his turret (like for example). As a lane bully, if your opponent is a heavy pusher, you will hate 's waveclear and your laning phase will probably goes like: opponent pushes you in, you will try not to miss any minion, opponent pushes you back, you will cry "yo jungler! why u no gank !" ...meh... And also your kit makes you a duelist. If your opponent is a bursty champ and can 100-0 you, your laning phase is done. Seriously.

Cons (advanced)

1) lacks initiation and hard cc. At least one member of your team should be a tf initiator type and your team needs champs which has hard cc or ccs.

* is good at locking down "caught" enemies, not catching them. Your team needs a good initiator and hard ccs for to dive into enemy team and pin down the caught enemy. If your team hasn't got any, your team's tf starting ability is crippled down. Also channeling abilities ( etc) will become a problem. 's tf is briefly "someone dives and disrupts the enemy team, opens his ult and dives in, locks some one down..."

2) doesn't benefit from compared to other bruisers in top lane.

*In current meta, top laners usually pick as their summoner spell. As , you are a lane bully. Your aim is killing, denying or zoning your opponent (ofc in soloq). 's late game is good but he is not one of the "farm up and carry late game" type champions like ,, etc.

3) Some champions you counter in mid lane, won't give you an easy laning in top lane.

*In mid lane, you will often get your blue buff. But in top lane, you should adapt playing without blue buff. Some champions like and don't benefit much from blue buff as you do. Without it 's usage will be limited. As they are manaless champions unlike you, this kind of match-ups will be tougher in top lane rather than played in mid lane. If the laning goes too long without you securing a clear advantage (a kill or making your opponent b), or your mid-jung intervention, mana starvation may become a problem and your lane opponent may get the control of the lane.

Runes

Sorcery

Phase Rush

Hybrid penetration runes increases our magic damage, grants us easier last hits and better auto atack trade for an ap champ.

Runes

Sorcery

Phase Rush

You will probably lane against an ad champion and an ad jungler. Armor runes will help you for reducing damage from your lane opponent, enemy jungler and enemy minions.

[http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/rune-page-planner#&rune=304:9]

Against ap opponents, runes are less effective. Instead of these, use runes.

Runes

Sorcery

Phase Rush

and

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Simple. More ap = more damage.

Why do i use hybrid penetration marks over magic penetration marks ?

Runes

Sorcery

Phase Rush

With these you will get 8.1 armor penetration and 5.58 magic penetration over flat 7.83 magic penetration. By sacrificing 2.25 magic penetration, you will easier last hit and better harass with autoatacks.

's common lvl 1 laning skill is his and his main harass in lvl 1 is + AA .

With 8% damage amplification from + 8.1 armor penetration from runes, your AA will hit harder.

Makes sense right now, isn't it ?

Masteries

As like every other champion, will also need different masteries on different lanes. We will use 3 mastery pages on .

but weaker mid and late game. This mastery page will help you for not giving them any advantage in early game that may cripples your mid game.

Mastery Explanations

I won't explain all of the masteries i adviced you above. Instead, i will detail the key ones in them because we give some points to some masteries just because unlock the key ones.

Offense Tree

, , and : , and increases our damage, also they have a good synergy with our . penetrates enemy armor and magic resistance for increasing our damage further more. If you chip down your opponent enough increases our damage more.

, and : Simple. They grant us ap.

: Our basic attacks deals 5% of our ability power as magic damage and also have one extra bonus. If you buy , it's also trigger with your basic attacks.

Defense Tree

and : Gives us hp. Helps us early game.

: Has a great synergy with our

: Reduces cc effects. Also stacks with if you buy it. They grant us 45% reduced cc effects.

, and : Gives us armor against ad opponents and reduces minion damage when we draw agro. Last one also gives magic resistance.

: Gives us magic resistance.

: Reduces enemy aoe spells' magic damage. It won't work on single target spells.

Utility Tree

I personally don't like and prefer utility masteries. is a battle oriented champion and benefits offensive and defensive stats and bonusses more than utility masteries. If you like the utility masteries, you can use them. Its your choice.

Summoner spells

I will advice you to use one of these 3 duos i will explain below.

1) + : Your main set. for offensive power and for instant repositioning. Helps securing kills in lane, reducing opponent's healing and also has a funny side effect. Throw your and to an ulted and start counting :)

Taking also gives this message to your opponent: "i came here to drink milk and look for kills. And i've just finished my milk."

2) + : In some lanes you will need to use this to survive or get kills. (i will explain which lanes with detail in the match-ups section.) Some examples are below:

-: When she activates her and starts her combo or if you have enough reaction time use it at the start of 's animation starts.

-: Needs quick reflexes. Use it just before

-: When he ults you (most s don't notice they are exhausted when they ult even good ones make this mistake sometimes)

-: When he ulted. is kinda easy lane for and you may get more kills with . But in the long run, is better than for its teamfighting utility.

-: This one needs monstrous reaction time. 's tf combo is > > and you must exhaust him right before he hits his . Take if the enemy team has a no matter he is jungler, middlesticks or top laner. Don't trust your support. If s/he misses his/her during , a fully executed will devastate even most stomping teams.

-: During . is hard to catch thanks to her . She will wait to use it when you placed your . Thanks to you will cripple her ult damage and also you will have a chance to pin her down.

-: When he throws his . Needs good reaction time. (They need to change ult's desctiption. It's more like this: F*cks every ap champion instantly and every non-tank champion probably if they don't have a )

3) + : Although had became standard in top lane, i personally don't like it on . I only take against hard match-ups in soloq and in 5 vs 5 ranked matches.

Abilities

It is 's passive and it has two parts.

1) Each time kills an enemy unit (minion, netural monster, champion etc) restores 9+'s level mana.

Its a lane sustain passive rather than a battle oriented one. 's abilities cost a hefty amount of mana and this passive kinda balances 's mana issues if you can last hit "above average". This passive also has a good synergy with (s).

2)On a champion kill or assist, he regains an additional 9% of his maximum mana

Its rather simple but i'll give a couple of tricks which make you understand what it means and how to use it on your benefit.

Spoiler: Click to view

(your Q)

is a targeted ability which damages its target and slows it by a percentage (depending on how many points you invested in ) over 3 seconds.

Usage and Tips

-Altough also deals good amount of damage, consider it as a soft cc in laning.

-With even 1 point invested, slows the target by 20%. It makes it easier to land your in lane, ganks and teamfights.

-Dont solely rely on 's damage. Your opponent can get out of 's range (625 cast range and 900 tether range) and 2 out of 3 times won't deal its full damage because your opponent will try to break the tether.

- is very good in kiting. Against a melee opponent, + can easily turn the tide.

-You can also use for getting cs you will miss otherwise. If the minion barely survives from your AA, you can cast on that minion for get that cs.

- has a "very" brief casting time. You will notice it when you try + AA harass. will delay your AA's execution time.

-'s cooldown is 8 seconds in all levels. My advise is max it last since is your main harassment and putting points in significantly reduces it's cooldown.

(your W)

is an of effect skillshot ability. After a short delay, enemies inside of the are will be damaged and rooted for 2 seconds. Its 's hard cc and this is what makes good at locking down caught targets.

Usage and Tips

- + is a very strong pinning down combo. Its even stronger against targets without dashes and blinks. Use this combo when setting up ganks, escaping from enemy and/or catching escaping enemies.

-Burning enemy dash and (if able) before using , will ensure that it will land.

- has 900 cast and 125 radius = 1025 effective range. It is your longest ranged ability. You can use it for farming (but not advised) in desperate situations. (for example a heavily lost lane.)

- is your only waveclear before level 6. If you have a lane opponent who has a lvl-2 all-in (, for example) and you want to get lvl 2 before him/her, you can start . With proper landing you can hit an entire wave with it.

-Don't use recklessly especially before level 6. has a long cooldown. It starts with 18 seconds cooldown and every invested point drops it by 2. Your lane opponent can punish you heavily for a missed .

-You may want to max first instead of versus long ranged, heavy pusher opponents (, etc.). is your only answer to a safely pusher opponent before level 6.

-When pushing a lane try to gather all minions into one place for . With some practice you will get used to land your to all minions. + are your main waveclear abilities.

-You can use for bush checking. When catches a target, it makes a distinctive sound. For safety, check suspicious bushes with instead of face checking.

-Since has a delay, try to anticipate your target's movement. In some situations, you won't need to land for getting a kill. Throw your to your target's escape rotue. Your opponent will be forced to rotate around 's area. This will keep him/her in your 's range a bit more.

-You can use for denying farm (especially siege minions) against melee champions in lane. When the minion is about to die, cast on it, if he wants to farm it badly, he will take a full combo. You can fully apply against a rooted opponent easily.

(your E)

is a single targeted damage over time ability. It also amplifies all kinds of damage except dealt by by a percentage

Usage and Tips

- is your main harassment ability. In most lanes you will prefer to max it first.

- also amplifies its own damage.

- has a cast range of 625. Its more than your AA range. At earlier levels, try to poke your opponent with autoattacks as much as you can without putting yourself in danger. With 's damage amplification + your hybrid penetration runes, even withouth much ad, your autoattacks will chip down your opponent.

-Your typical level 1 harassment is + AA. With some practice, you will do it easier. Its important to execcute this harassment fluidly in order to lane with effectively.

- draws minion and tower aggro for its duration. Enemy towers warn you when you draw aggro but minions don't and minions deal significant amount of damage at earlier levels. Always make sure the enemy minions are not targeting you for too long.

-In lane, try to bait out your lane opponent's shield if your opponent has one (, etc) if you maxed first. Shields nullify most (for some champions all) of 's damage.

-Since amplifies your damage, always try to use it first in your trades and all-ins.

(your ultimate)

is your ultimate and its a toggled ability. When you activate it, you transform into your raven form and damage 3 enemies in 625 range prioritizing champions. You also healed 75% damage to champions and 25% damage to minions.

Usage and Tips

-Always by saying always i really mean always watch your mana bar when you toggled on your . It's mana cost to sustain increases with every second. As like every mana resourced AP champion, a manaless = a dead

-When you toggled on , it sends 3 lesser ravens to enemies. The ravens are purely cosmetical. It doesn't damage when a raven reaches to its enemy nor you dont get healed when a raven returns to you. The damage and healing are calculated every second.

-If there aren't any champions within 's range, randomly choses it's targets.

-When csing under your turret, you can use your for last hitting.

For melee minions: 2 turret shots + 1 AA

For caster minions: 1 turret shot + toggle on your and wait for 1 damage tick then quickly toogle off + 1 AA.

Just wait for there are only caster minions left. Activating while there are melee minions may make you miss melee minions thanks to 's auto targeting. After some practice you will get it.

-As heals you for 25% damage dealt to minions, do not think that "healing from minions are more than enough". Always try to leech health from an enemy champion without putting yourself in risk. Heal from minions only in desperate situations.

-What differs between "good swain players" and "bad ones" is good ones know or feel when toggle off the . It has a cooldown of 8 seconds and your lane opponent may retaliate when you toggled of . You are vulnerable while is on cd.

-If you are a beginner in and don't know when to toggle off your use it like this:

Throw your and activate . After 4 seconds ('s duration), reactivate . After a couple of games with you will get the feeling.

-When running away from your opponents, toggle of your . It will massively help your survival. In some situations it will also turn the tide of the battle. Especially against melee champions you will suprise how many kills you will get while escaping. An escaping in his raven form is not less dangerous than a :D

- needs sight of enemies for damage. It damage stealthed enemies or enemies in bushes. Throw a ward if you can when your enemy run into a bush while your ult was active.

- is not a channeled ability. Silences and stuns won't deactivate it.

Ability Combos

+ AA

As you'll start 9 out of 10 lanes with . Thanks to 's damage amplification you are one of the best autoattack trader AP champions. Against an ranged champion just throw one AA and wait for 's cd. Against a melee one you can throw 2 or even 3 AAs with one .

> + AA

If you are against a melee opponent without dashes (, etc) You can take instead of . Since its a melee opponent, it will be hard for him/her to break the tether and because of 's slow you can throw AAs freely.

>

Its your "locking down" combo. 's slow make nevermore land easier. Use this combo when setting up ganks. If your team has a carry or snowball type jungler (, etc) you can take at level 3 for securing the kill in a gank attempt.

> > + AA

Its your typical damage combo between level 3 and 6. For it's damage amplification, cast first. Since you cast last, your opponent will be rooted for 2 seconds and you can throw 2-3 AAs.

> (after it lands move to your opponent a little) > + AA

It is more advanced version of previous combo. This is your max damage combo before level 6. The aim is fully apply 's damage. It is harder than previous one because this time you need to land nevermore without 's slow.

> > > + AA

Its a safe combo. While your opponent is rooted, you can use and throw AAs while keeping your distance.

> > > > AAs +

As you can see, its an all-in combo. But you will notice that we toggled on first and you may ask "why we didn't start with for maximum damage". The answer is has a brief casting time but while we casting , we are also damaging our opponent with . Yes its only one tick and not much but think like this: That one tick is the difference between an escaped opponent with 20 hp and a dead one

One last thing: Watch your mana bar

As you can see has different combos for different purposes. You don't have to strictly follow these combos. You can create your own ones as well.

Items

Oppening Items

: It has become a standard for ap champions as opening. I personally prefer buying 2 of them at early game. Together they will grant us 120 hp, 30 ap, 6 mana regen per 5 seconds and 8 mana per kill. The last one is also synergising extremely well with our . With this we will get 17 + our level mana per kill. You may like lane with only one ring for completing your earlier. Its a personal choice.

+ 3x : A safe start againts a heavy pusher and harasser champion ( for example). hasn't got his monstrous health sustain before he gets his . This start gives you less offensive power but a safer laning phase before lvl 6. also refills each time you based.

+ 5x : A safe start against a heavy early game ad harasser like . The aim is same as the start but that kind of lane needs more defense and sustain before lvl 6. is also part of your (one of your core items). So no money will be wasted.

Core Items

: An invaluable item for . It gives 450 health, 450 mana and 60 ability power at beginning and on leveling up, restores 150 health and 200 mana over 8 seconds (who doesn't want more sustain in lane ? ). After 10 minutes it's stats will become 650 health, 650 mana and 80 ability power. The health makes us more beefy for fights, the mana will make us keep open more, cast more spells and the ability power will increase our damage and healing. It ramps up our effective health and dueling power. is also 170.5% gold effective at max stacks. You'll probably complete it around minute 15.

: There are few other champions who benefits more than . It gives 120 ability power and 50 armor (more damage+healing and tankyness). But the crucial power lies within is it's active. Champion becomes invulnerable and untargetable for 2.5 seconds, but is unable to move, attack, cast spells, or use items during this time . Basically you can safely dive in the enemy team and with this active drop the enemy focus from you in teamfights, save yourself from fatal enemy skills (, , and so much more), make plays and so on.

But what makes one of the most benefiting champion from ?

heals during the statis of as long as you can sustain it's mana cost. Basically:

dive into enemy team > open your ulti > damage them > they will damage you > use 's active > after 2.5 seconds get into the fight again with full health. (do i need to mention that the enemies will still get damaged from if they waited within your range during zhonya's statis ? )

Possible Choices

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: I'm not used to build this on but after couple of games i tried it i've noticed that this is an extremely effective item on . Nowadays i build as my third item. Also when the enemy team has 2 or more tanks (more is extremely rare) this item's passive will shine. 50 ability power, 300 health and 15 magic penetration could be seem not enough for an item that costs 2.9 k gold but its passive will make you a tank-melter. For it's full effect, the enemy's movement must be impaired and 2 of your skills fits in this description. Also your resets it's duration every tick. As you want to stick your target and with 's passive, you will do monstrous damage to your target.

Why do i used the word "extremely effective" ? The answer is this: 's damage tick resets whenever you dealt magic damage to enemies and you got 2 dps type abilities and one dot. That means, with just a single , 's passive will burn enemies for "7" seconds (4 from 's dot and other 3 is its own) and 7 seconds means "14% of current hp + 's amplified 20% = around 16-18% hp damage".

Also, 2 of your basic abilities impairs enemy movement for doubling the effect of 's passive and with a good positioning (hitting with to 3 targets) will skyrocket 's teamfight impact. Say welcome to the best peeler ever.

: At first sight, this item sounds weird on isn't it ? But believe me it is not. Against an enemy team consists heavy ad, a overly-fed adc and/or aa based champion (i also count in this category despite that she is an ap based champion. Because reducing her atack speed by 15%, also reduces her dps by nearly 15% and it is cheaper way of doing it. Compare this two and you will understand. A team stacks mr or one member gets a , see ? ) That member is you. You will benefit every stat gives you. More armor ? You are diving into enemy team in tfs. More mana ? More . 20% cdr ? Hell yeaaa.

When i'm against a full ad team, i built this item as my 3rd item choice and sometimes 2nd. Lets detail the stats it gives.

100 Armor: 100 armor is exactly same with the green mushroom in Super Mario. Example: You have 2000 hp and 0 armor. That means the enemy team needs deal 2000 physical damage to kill you.

2000 hp 100 armor: They'll need 4000 physical damage to kill you.

2000 hp 200 armor: They'll need 6000 physical damage to kill you.

I suppose you get the thing, for every 100 resist, you multiply your max health against that kind of damage. And one of your core items is . Combined with a , you'll get around 220 armor at level 18. Also will make you beefy. That means the enemy team needs to deal around "7000" physical damage to kill you even without zhonya's statis and constant hp sucking from . You'll became nearly unduelable against physical damage with it.

400 mana: More mana= More spells + more = more damage. Thats it. No need to add more i suppose.

20% cdr: Typical builds lack cdr. gives you 20% and it's "huge". More spells + less intervals between s.

Overall, is invaluable against heavy/full ad team comps.

Standard Ap Caster Items

: Every mage's dream. 120 ability power and increases your total ability power by 30%. Huge damage (and healing) steroid on . If you are doing good or ok, and there aren't any heavy mr stacker yet consider buying it.

: 70 ability power and bypasses enemy magic resistance by 35%. And also cheaper than . If the enemy team starts stacking magic resistance, penetrating it becomes a priority. A good late game item. 9 out of 10 games you will build it as the game goes on.

: 70 ability power, 45 magic resistance and reduces the mr of nearby enemy champions (not minions, monsters, dragon nor baron) by 20. A good mid game item and also easy to buy. If you are against an ap opponent and you aren't doing bad its a very good item. Increasing your damage + reducing enemy damage. Win win situation. The 2 downsides of this item are:

1) It works well against sustained damage mages like and but not effective against burst damage champs like and . For saving your hide against this kind of champions, consider an item that gives you also health besides magic resistance.

2) Flat magic resistance reduction falls of late game if the enemy team stacks magic resistance. 20 magic resistance reduction won't make any difference against a with 3.5 k hp and 150 mr. Percentage penetration works better against that kind of opponents.

Optional Items

: This is not a laning item. If the enemy team has strong and game changing ccs (, , ) and/or heavy ap burst damage, blocking a key skill at right time, this item's passive could save the game.

: If the game goes to late-late game, you will probably see this item on everyone. It's stats is kinda low for its cost but it revives it's owner. also has a great synergy with it. will still leech life when reviving himself like

Situational Items

: I personally don't like this item on but as the title says, this is a "situational item". needs a large mana pool rather than mana sustain. If your last hitting is above average, your passive and s will keep you enough for lane. I build this item (actually i usually left it as and complete it later on) only in two occasions.

1) My lane opponent is a heavy pusher ap champion which trades often (, ) the ap, cooldown reduction, magic resist and mana regen passive are welcomed.

2) Too long teamfights: has a unique passive which is an upgraded version of our 's second part. With two of them combined, we will restore minimum 24% of our maximum mana on champion kills or assists. I said "minimum 24%" because although 's 2 passives won't stack with itselves, it's mana regen amplification stack with . If you scored a kill or got an assist in a fight with 0 mana , it will restore 15% (from athene) + 2x9% from = 33% of our maximum mana.

More mana restored = more

In season 5, has nerfed drastically. Rush an instead.

: If the enemy team consists of slippery champions and your team is constantly kited, even without you'll never get it's full effect this item's passive will help you and your team to catching them up. 100 ap and 400 health also nice and if your enemy had burnt their escapes, when you aproach them and activate your the constant 15% slow will make it impossible to escape from you. It's hp and slow also makes you a very strong frontliner.

: When the enemy team is heavy ap but sustained damage rather than burst, i love this item on . The hp and magic resist makes you more tanky, cooldown reduction allows us throw spells more often, reactivate with less intervals and "20% increased healing" will make you nearly impossible to kill without healing reduction (Remember, you are still "hard" to kill even without it).

: You will need this in 1 out of 100 games with . Heavy ad, slippery champions or your team is dumb enough for not picking any champions can lock someone down. (yes i played a "ranked" game fits this category perfectly thanks to our mid , support and jungle . The interesting part was we won clearly. Dumb team vs dumber team story)

Update: After a couple games i was experimenting different builds on and i noticed that and are actually very viable on him, if your team hasn't got any tanks and opposing team is full ad. I generally build as my 3rd item (after and ). If the opposing team consist heavily of ad caster type champions build a , if they are dps types build a instead. The results are better than i imagined. And moreover, in some matchups (like , you may even consider building one of the items i mentioned just above as your 2nd item.)

: Not much to say. It is a must if one of them is in the enemy team: , , .

: Fun item but has its own place. This item will turn you from "a good duelist" to "best duelist ever". But again its a fun item. Please don't build this in ranked games :)

: If you build this on , that means the enemy team has a "monstrously fed adc" and even you forced to build this. Well not much to say, even your chances are low on wining that game is low, hope is hope. Try your best.

: This item has became a core item for nearly every AP champion with mana. The stats this item grants are 80 ap, 20 cdr, +100% base mana regeneration and an unique passive. Reduces healing of enemy champions to half if they are below 40% health. Lets find some champions which we must cripple their healing at "all times" i will give you some examples: , , , , , and more.

An interesting part or this item is your basic attacks also trigger passive if you put a point in mastery (21-9-0 tree).

Teamfighting

As a top lane , you will be either a "peeler " or "diver " in teamfights.

Peeler : If one or more situations in below occurs, you will use as a peeler.

-Your carries had scaled better into late game than enemy carries.
-If the enemy has assassins which can burst down your carries easily without protection.

With his 2 cc and tankish nature can be a good peeler as well. As a peeler your role is simple: Protect your carries. If your team got a fed or well scaled adc and/or apc (, , a well stacked etc) just protect them and they will win teamfights for you. Also thanks to damages 3 enemies and is an aoe ability, you will be damaging not only your focussed target but also another 2 enemies as well.

Diver :

-You are fed and/or one of the main sources of damage
-Enemy carries are fed or scaled into late game
-Your team has assasins

As you allready noticed, diver is complete opposite of peeler . With proper positioning, can wreak havoc in teamfights and the enemy team may try to burst you down since chipping you is not easy thanks to your healing from . By diving into the enemy team, you may create enough distraction for your assasins to burst down their carries. Also with and you can lock several targets down so your team can focus the key targets. When you get focussed, you can activate if you have and lose the focus. I will repeat it again because its a key factor while playing : Watch your mana bar :)

Against Jungle camp + Teleport at level 1

Unfortunately cannot clear a jungle camp at level 1 unlike most top laners. This puts a great disadvantage like:

-Your opponent will have an experience advantage over you. That means s/he will get level 3 first and ofc lvl 6 first unless a gank occurs.

-Your opponent will come to the lane with more potions and maybe a . With more potions, you may get yourself outlaned.

-Since you'll be in lane unlike your opponent when the first wave comes, you will push the lane against an opponent who has more potions and more experience than yours.

So what to do against it ?

The most viable tactic i use is asking a level 2 gank. If i'm sure that my lane opponent will jungle camp + and our team has a jungler with strong early game and/or cc (, etc) ı ask a gank after the first buff or camp. If we managed to get a kill, i get a "huge" advantage over him/her since s/he just died after s/he ed back into the lane. The exp, potion advantage is gone. The summoner spell i choose for that kind of lane is typically .

Also, you can change your skill order for securing that kill in gank. Against a + (or ) lane opponent like or , i often get my at level 3. Since my opponent lacks a viable escape mechanism, the gank will result with a kill 95%.

Lane Match-ups (easy)

I didn't write a "laning section" because every lane needs a different approach. Instead of it, in this section i will detail some match-ups. The difficulty ratings are my personal opinion and i graded them based on my personal experience. You may find some opponents easier and some opponents harder thus, since and it's upgraded version are nerfed heavily in season 5, you will have an easier time versus some ap champions. Some champions are not detailed in here (for example a vs lane) because i haven't played against these champions yet and i don't want to misguide you. I will update here as soon as i've played missing match-ups.

I graded this match-ups as "easy" because:

-Against most of them, you'll get complete lane dominance starting from level 1.
-Your kit makes your opponent to make a move near impossible or very hard. (for example
-Even your opponent gets some kills early or jungler aid, you'll outscale them etc.

When you are unsure about picks and counterpicks or new into this, i can give you a basic trick. Think the picking phase as a math equation. The first and main component of this equation is "champion's nature". Basically, there are 3 types of natures in this point of wiew and these are: Poke, Burst and Sustain and this three works exactly like rock-paper-scisor as this:

Poke >> Burst >> Sustain >> Poke

For example: is a sustain type champion with his passive. is a burst type. is considered very good against because of her heavy burst won't let susan to sustain enough for laning. So basically >> . On the other hand, is a poke type champion. With his range and spammable abilities, he chips down and kites her all day. Result 2: >> . How about vs ? will poke in the entire laning phase but due to ' tankyness and natural sustain, will just lifesteal 's damage and eventually scale to the late game. Of course these are just basic assumptions and player skills are ignored.

But some champions have "2" types (sometimes even all of them) in their kits and is one of them. He got "sustain" and "poke". Let's lane it against whose got "poke" and "burst". In this case individual skills and champion kits comes into the equation as variables. In theory, can burst you down before you can sustain yourself or you can sustain his poke and counter-poke him all day. The result depends on how you both answered the other's tools.

The other variables are cc's, team comps, ganks, objectives etc etc and these are what makes League of Legends. I cannot explain all of these in here guys, sorry :D

In conclution, analyze champion kits and summarise them as like "poke + burst" or "pure burst" then think a counterpick and use it for yourself ;)

Against these champions, you can pick without second thought.

RYZE

is an ap caster scales with his maximum mana. In season 4, top with was quite popular in both soloq and pro-matches. (It was the reason why i started to play as i mentioned) can scale monstrously into late game if not prevented.

-As his passive and gives him cooldown reduction, don't do extended trades with at earlier levels. He will probably take and max it first. 's typical start is + 3x. And he will rush a + a . At level 1 + AA outdamages 's + AA. At level 2 will probably take his . Try to get level 2 before him and take . Here is the trick:

- will want to throw an after a . Cast directly under him when he throws his at level 2. You will outdamage him.

-The only level can outtrade you is at level 4 since will reduce your magic resistance.

After level 6, play completely aggressive. If both sides have full hp and mana, wins the all-in easily. That means when you get your ultimate, do your lockdown combo ( > ) and all-in him. If you can get the kill your lane is done. You will snowball out of control. After every landed all-in him again.

- can spam his skills but you can't. Do short trades with him before lvl 6.

-His late game is monstrous but you have better early and mid game. Use your advantage in that stages.

-Your waveclear is better than his. Push him under his turret. is extremely item dependent. Make him miss cs.

- has no escapes before level 6. After 6 he gets a small movespeed bonus from his ultimate. Its an easy champion to gank.

AKALI

shadow danced

is an ap based (actually hybrid but more ap than ad) assassin. She is usually played in mid lane but you may encounter her in top lane also. She is manaless (energy resourced). Thanks to her passive she has some sustain and her favourite first major item will enhance it remarkably.

's main harassment is her . It damages its target and leaves a mark for 4 seconds. Her burst and main damage source is detonating that mark with autoatacks. (she could detonate it with also before 5.2 update.) Since you are a ranged champion never ever let her come close to her AA range. Harass her with and AAs whenever you can. She can do nothing but throw a non-damaging kama before level 6. After level 6 she will get a dash but since you want her to come closer after 6, you can say "come at me bruh" :D. When she dashes to you, just activate your and all-in her. You win lvl 6 all-in.

-Your early game is stronger than hers. After 6, you will get stronger even more. ( is usually counterpicked against

-All-in her whenever she dashes to you.

-Stay bach while your is on cd. She may retalliate.

-She will have good sustain after she gets her . Don't let her restore her health freely.

-Carry a whenever you can. It is 's most fearsome counter. Also you need to "see" her in order to damage her with .

-Always call mia whenever she is not in lane. She is an assassin and she will looking for free kills whenever she can.

FIORA

is an ad based champion which has characteristics of both assassin and fighter type. She has 2 gapclosers , natural sustain from , ad and attack speed steroids from and and an ult which makes her untargetable . But she hasn't got any cc nor escape mechanisms.

When the lane starts check her ad first. If it is more than usual (more than 85) she has taken (her ad steroid and an AA blocker). You will win this lane by "listening" the lane. has a distinctive noise, when she activates it you will hear it's sound. Don't AA her while its active (1.5 seconds). If she has in level 1, take . Bait it with your 's projectile is similar to your AA's. If you baited it, harass her with your AA's as much as you can.

If she hasn't got unusual amount of ad, she probably started with . Start with . Throw your whenever she used her . Without AAs, she cannot outtrade you and you can lock down her easily. In order to have a chance against you, must max her first instead of

Either way have in level 2.

The lane is simple before level 6. Harass her with and use defensively. After level 6, you will get complete lane dominance and you can (and you should) start playing aggressively. And here is one more vital thing you must know when playing against a :

damages her (also heals you) while she is ulting you. While she is ulting she is untargetable but not "invulnerable".

-She cannot outtrade you if she cannot AA you. Always kite her. Even she dodges your with her second part of , you still have

-After level 6, toggle on whenever she dashes to you. Even with her ult, it won't make any difference for her.

-She hasn't got any escapes besides . If it is on cd, nearly every gank and roam will be resulted with a dead since she hasn't got escapes but you got 2 cc.

-Your jungler and mid laner will love ganking her and that will put her even behind. An underfarmed = a nearly useless

-She has no cc. That means she is bad at setting up ganks.

- completely screws up her ultimate. Completing it will make her impossible to duel you.

- is a targeted dash. If there aren't any minions, will become more predictable.

GAREN

is an ad based tank. He has sustain from , a movementspeed boots and silence from , a defense steroid from , an aoe from and an execution move . He is rarely played thanks to his horrible scaling into late game, low damage from basic abilities, he is kiteable and there are more than enough tanks who does his job better but anyway, lets detail this matchup.

's will start healing him if he is not damaged from a champion, natural monster (until he is level 11) or an epic monster (dragon and baron) for a time. Poke him periodicaly for preventing his healing. After poked down to low hp, will probably turret-hug anyways.

will remove slows (your and give him a movespeed boost. Bait it before you use .

's typical combo is > . You can easily counter that by your pinning down combo.

has a base damage + a percentage of target's missing hp. The lower hp you got, more damage it will deal. Always careful for a > > > > combo when you are low on hp.

And also never facecheck bushes, there might be an angry inside.

TRUNDLE

You'll gonna love this guy: No dashes, no ranged damage abilities, no waveclear, completely AA based, ugly, easily zoned tank.

- will heal him by percentage of nearby enemies whenever they die if is within approximately 1000 range. It is his build in sustain before level 6.

- hasn't got any direct gapclosers besides flash and he is very predictable. He will throw his behind you for cripple your movement and cast for getting a movement + attack speed boost. Just throw your and when he does that.

-Never let him AA you. Especially when is on the field. As you have enough tools for kite him.

- will steal a percentage of your hp and stats. He will forced to use it on you as a last resort to sustain if you can chip down him enough.

-Rest is simple. Literally him before level 6. Harass him everytime you can and try to zone him. Since he hasn't got any ranged damage abilities, he will be heavily underfarmed. His late game is above average. Delaying it will be benefitical to your team. It is a very easy matchup and he can do nothing to you alone. But know that he is a good peeler. He will probably try to protect his carries.

VOLIBEAR

In terms of kit, he is similar to . Again, no dashes, no ranged abilities, very predictable tank. Also you got complete lane dominance from level 1. I will detail things only you should know about him.

-'s typical engage is > > after a couple of AAs > .

-When he activates his he will get a ms bonus. Just use your . is probably enough but don't hesitate to use just in case.

- is famous for baiting with his passive . Calculate extremely carefully before tower-diving him.

- is an execute move (it means it damages more to low hp targets). Also it's damage scales with 's max hp.

- is extremely kiteable, his late game is above average and his waveclear is poor. You are one of the hardest counters to him. If you know what you doing he won't give you a hard time in lane.

- will cripple his passive.

- bounces to nearby targets within 300 range and it doesn't prioritize champions like your . He will probably peel for his carries and if your team don't clump into a narrow place, your backline won't be harmed from him.

HECARIM

In season 5, top with + had became quite popular in soloq and professional play. With is good initiating, split pushing power, mobility and good kit versus melee bruisers made quite famous. But... but... Let's screw the meta and pick against him because literally demolishes him.

- scales with movement speed due to his passive . This is also his one of key weaknesses. is extremely weak against slows and ranged champions with slows are nightmares for him. And yes, you got that ******* .

-His only advantage against you is he can clear a jungle camp at level 1 and back to top lane with more potions.

- has a strong level 2 with and . Sadly for him, you are a ranged champion with a slow and a root. He has a hard time to get in to the melee range before 6.

- is a spammable ability and it makes a very good procker. But in lane, he will forced to use it for farming if you aren't zoned him. is a pure melee champion. If you managed to zone him, he'll be underfarmed and is extremely item dependant.

- has a distinctive noise. Save your for it. It completely foils in lane. Also know that it is very deceptive for aiming . It increases 's AA range to 325 and it will knock back you. In lane, especially after 6, just let him knockback you before aiming

- is an aoe damaging ability and it also heals . In teamfights, its a strong ability but in lane it's healing is just average.

- is very good at clearing waves and he is a very good tower destroyer with constant procs if left alone. He is also very effective roamer. Always keep an eye on and make sure your team knows when he is missing.

- is his jail free card in lane against ganks. Think of it like an with fear instead of knockback. Even without or , is hard to catch with his and . He can use his ult to escape ganks.

-Before level 6, even with wolfs + , cannot sustain himself against constant s (plus s if he tryies to return some damage). After level 6, you get complete lane dominance over him. When he tries to come into the melee range, just activate and say "come at me horsie". Play extremely aggressive in this lane. hasn't got any chance against you in lane.

ALISTAR

was used mainly as a support champion with a well scaling ad carry as his lane partner thanks to his kit is very good for babysitting his carry. But he became quite popular in top lane also and he has the highest pick/ban ratio (100%) of the Season 4 World Championship (5 times picked, 61 times banned and 80% win rate).

is famous for his + combo and an ultimate which gives him 70% damage reduction and massive ad boost (). If the player has good mechanics, can throw a ultimate in every 13 seconds without cooldown reduction. He is used as an initiator or peeler for his adc.

has 2 viable builds in current meta.

1- + build: Very offensive build. With ad steroid from , proc from , can burst down a squishy target with his + combo + a couple of AAs (may crit). And thanks to , he is extremely hard to kill even without any defensive items.

2- Full tank build including a : This will rely on his cc. He still gets a proc from and he is "impossible to kill".

-He has a rather poor waveclear and mana issues. If he is not building mana sustain, push him hard under his turret. He will get mana starved.

-Harass him a lot. This will make him spam for healing and deplete his mana bar. also slowly pushes the lane by healing his minions.

-His ultimate will make him near-unkillable. Don't expect to snowball on him. He won't die easily after level 6.

-Force trades. You outpush him, outtrade him, outscale him.

-He is medicore at setting up ganks but if he messes up his combo, you can escape that gank by just walking.

-His cooldowns are very long. Punish him whenever he uses . He cannot escape from you without that.

- removes all ccs applied on him.

Spoiler: Click to view

MAOKAI

arcane smash

was primarily used as a jungler prior to season 4. In season 4 and 5, he is considered as a tier 1 tank and a strong top laner. He has a built in sustain (), his all basic abilities are also have cc effects ([arcane smash]] and slows the enemies on hit and is a 525 range targeted dash which roots it's target and he is untargetable while travelling), high base damages and finally he becames extremely tanky while his ultimate () is toggled on. So, he is a very popular pick in professional arena and 5v5 ranked matches.

- gives him natural sustain but it is better versus short cd spamming champions (, etc). Your long cooldowns will make his passive less effective against you.

- usually takes his at level 1 and maxes it first. It is his main ranged csing ability, waveclear and poke. It damages when it lands and also when explodes. It is a rather slow projetcile so try do dodge it all times.

-His usual engage is + > AA + arcane smash > (past 6). This combo will ensure that will damage you twice. Your full combo outdamages and outsustains his. Don't hesitate to retaliate. Just toggle on your while he is mid-air and kite him.

-He is better than you when it comes to setting up ganks. But you are better at escaping them due to 's aoe root.

-If timed right, can be used for dodging your if an available target is presented nearby.

-You outdamage him if you are not eating es into the face all times. After level 6, you will outdamage and outsustain him further more.

-After he finishes his , the lane will probably turn into a farm lane. He will turrethug and just throw all day. 2 of them can clear an entire wave easily. You can do nothing about it but try to zone him.

-You will outscale him in terms of damage. But he is better at initiating and sticking to his target. Thanks to your aoe abilities, you have a bigger impact in teamfights than him.

-He will probably take as a summoner spell. disrupts it. Try to not give him a free tp to another place if possible.

UDYR

is primarily used as a jungler but you may encounter top lane s also (thanks to Trick2g, he made quite popular.). He is good against some champions in lane (not , dont worry) but his main purpose is splitpushing. He is extremely good at this. This lane should be very easy. Treat him like a less tanky .

-His main trick is level 1 double tiger. When starting, he will take his and activate it immediately. After that he will hide in the bush which closest to your turret. When the minions and you come to the lane, he will try to AA you for applying 's dot (damage over time) and he will immetidately activate again and AA you once more. This is called level 1 double tiger. If you fall for it, it will deal s**tloads of damage and you'll lost your lane dominance. Also can easily get a lvl 2 kill with it. Know that trick when playing against an .

- and gives him ms boost. He is a rather mobile champion which makes him a safe splitpusher. Don't expect to catch him with without 's slow easily.

- will nullify 's damage. Try to throw it while is on cd.

- has mana issues. He may build a (and will upgrade it into ). Before it, harass him a lot. This way he will spam his and will get mana starved.

-Typically he will max his . is very inferior compared to it's ad version.

-Since you are ranged and have 2 cc, will have a hard time to catch you with . But take care of + when the enemy jungler is nearby. Always have a ward coverage (it is a vital rule also)

-Don't use and devensively at the same time. Always keep one while the other is on cd for safety. has a low cd. may punish you for that if both of these skills are on cd before level 6. will soak up and will damage you heavily with his spammable .

- has no ranged abilities. If you got an advantage, you can easily zone him from minions.

-Sooner or later, he will start to splitpush and if your team cannot organize properly, a good [[udyr] can stall the game no matter how far your team leads the game. Try to find an answer for that.

-Since grants him a shield and it has a rather short cooldown, he will probably survive with 10 hp from an all-in if you took as a summoner spell. My advice is take instead of . With that you'll get an extra cc in your sleeve and with it's 2,5 seconds slow, you can damage him with more. Thus, is better than in the long run due to it's utility in teamfights.

JAX

If you are playing mainly in top lane, i assume you are familiar with . He is a "pure" fighter and anti ad-carry. He had a godly lategame and he is an extremely good splitpusher.

The main problem against is he outscales nearly everything in the game and in lane even you make get him behind, he somehow starts to scale and wreck havoc in the field. But good news for you. After some games i played against , i start to believe that is an extremely effective counterpick against a . Details are below.

-'s only advantage over you in lane is, like other bruisers, he can start with clearing a jungle camp then return to top lane with . But in order to win this lane or go to toe to toe with you, he "must" play aggressively with an offensive start, as a summoner and maxing first. with completely loses his kill potential against you in lane.

-No matter what he takes at level 1, he will have his at level 2 and ' main engage and burst in lane is > > AA. There are 3 things you should know about other than it dodges AAs and it is a stun.

First one: deals 20% more damage (capped at 100% more damage) with each AA dodges. ' typical level 1 burst against melee opponents is, when he comes in lane he immediately AAs his lane opponent and activates . Minion aggro will charge 's damage, stun his lane opponent "and" minions and will chunk his lane opponent quite a good amount. Also, due to minions will focus you (but deal no damage), and stunned + damaged from , will get level 2 first. Know this when playing against a with a melee champion as a general rule.

Second one: makes take reduced damage from aoe abilities for it's duration. It means, you'll deal less damage to with your and when he activates .

Third one: Like a and , can also bushcamp in the tribush at level 1 if you are on the purple side. Walk to the lane from lane route for just safety.

-As i said, need to play extremely aggressive for getting an advantave over you in lane. So, he'll need to to you at level 1 immediately, trade some AA's with you, then get level 2 first. Don't take any skill at level 1. If tries to be "smart" with a start, just immediately take and slow him in the middle of your minions. Let the creeps + demolishes him. Congrulations, you haven't noticed it yet but you've allready win the early game.

-At level 2 take and spam it whenever he wants to farm. has no built-in sustain and he cannot deal with constant harassment from + AAs. Use your whenever he jumps to you. After 1-2 levels, just harass him with > + AAs.

-Rest is easy. After level 6, will try to AA minions twice then to you for procking 's passive. Just activate and kite him. He cannot duel with you.

- is kinda good at setting up ganks with his + combo. has 700 range.

-You outdamage him, outsustain him and you can easily kite him. Play aggressive in this lane and see with your own eyes that is an unknown demolisher.

OLAF

In the past seasons, was quite popular in both top lane and jungler, nowadays he is an underplayed tank/off-tank but don't make this misguide you. has a very strong early game, very good dueling abilities, sticking power and (un-ccable for 6 seconds).

-Despite this abilities, this lane is suprisingly easy. In order to win or go toe to toe with you, should max his first. But believe me players literally "never" maxes this first. The main cause is is allready a rare pick. is even more rare.

-Your main goal should be making max his first and using it just for farming. has mana problems and if you force him to use it for farming, he will get manastarved easily. maxed s are the most dangerous ones but luckily, you are a ranged champion with 2 ccs. If he makes that mistake, he'll punished for it heavily.

-Your kit is very strong against him. After couple of s, he'll hug his turret and farm with only

- has a 7 seconds cooldown drops by 4.5 if he picks up the axe. If he lands the axe to you and comes for a trade, lock him down with your . You'll outdamage him heavily if you can kite him for avoiding a in the face.

-After level 6, the lane dominance will shift to you even more. Both of you got built-in sustain but yours is much more stronger. After level 6, play much more aggressive. ıf you can drop him to half hp, he'll burn his for avoiding . No = no all-in chance for .

-Although i rated this as an easy lane, don't fight in an open area straight head on. As i said earlier, is a very good duelist and has good sticking power also thanks to , you cannot kite him while it is active. Your lane strategy should be typical harass ---> retreat and wait for cds ---> harass ---> wait --->all-in.

- will pobably build full tank and in teamfights, he will just activate and dive to your carries. Don't burn your and while is active.

Spoiler: Click to view

DR. MUNDO

is a late game hypertank and also a strong safepick for top lane thanks to lets him sit back and farm with it in lane an entire game. He has no dashes but extremely hard to kill due to his ultimate restores most of his health.

-'s early game is weak. Harass him often with and AAs.

-Push him to his turret. is rather good at csing under turret but his skills cost health. This way he will chunked down to low hp if he spams his abilities for csing.

-Always take as your summoner spell. After level 6 becomes frustratingly hard to kill because of . will cripple his ultimate.

- has a built in tenacity with his . Aim your carefully when is active.

-You outpush him, outsustain him, outdamage him and outscale him. Press your advantage.

-He will rush a . After that the lane will turn into a farm fest. He will sit at his turret and farm only with s. Try to block these without chunked down too much for starving him cs even more.

KASSADIN

was a permabanned champion before his rework. If he was't banned, 99 out of 100 games he would be picked and terorised the other team thanks to . After rework, lost his impact greatly. But still, he has a very good late game.

-'s typical start is + 3x . will play extremely safe before level 6 and probably farm with his often.

- makes takes 15% less magic damage and gives him a shield which absorbs magic damage. He is designed as an anti-ap assassin.

-His level 1 is stronger than yours. + will make nearly useless against him. Harass with AAs a lot.

-Even your combo outdamages his after level 2, he'll have more sustain than you before level 6 because of his starting items, play the lane rather passive until level 6. 's damage may suprise you.

-Ask for ganks before gets his . After that, will become nearly impossible to gank.

-You will get the lane dominance after you get . Even has defensive tools against ap champions, he cannot match your dps and healing.

- has a cooldown of 6 seconds at first level. Whenever uses that, punish him for it. You can even all-in him. You win the all-ins.

- restores a percentage of his missing mana. With that isn't a must for anymore. Amount of mana restored quadruples against champions. Don't let him AA you freely. If you can, punish him when he wants to sustain mana with it.

-[force pulse]] needs 6 spells cast before it to charge. After that he can use it and since you are not a spammy type champion, he cannot use it often.

-His typical engage is > > AA + > > (away)

-After level 6, push him, harass him and trade with him often. Even is not as terorising as it's past version, don't let him freely roam.

- scales very good into late game. Use your strong mid game to delay that.

SHEN

He was an irreplaceable pick in season 2 world championship as you can notice that he has a TPA Skin (Taipei Assassins won the Season 2 World Championship). In season 3 WC, was still quite popular (94% pick/ban ratio).

After a brief history, lets detail this match-up. is primarily used as a tank. Usually he takes as his summoner spell and with + , can apply very good global pressure. With his 2 globals, can also used as a splitpusher, but his waveclearing is extremely poor without items.

- has natural sustain with his . Prevent him attacking the marked minion or target for cutting off his healing.

- is a shield and it will soak up your . Bait it before using your E.

- has a range of 475. It is even shorter than your AA range. Use this as an advantage. It's 's only ranged damage ability.

-Be wary of his . can set up ganks well with it. Although it is a slow dash, carefull approach will be benefitical.

-A good can suprise the enemy team with his + . Reverse version of this combo is very predictable and your team can react it but + is very risky but fast and unpredictable combo. Followed with a [[randuin's omen] active, your teammates may get themselves crippled for quite a time.

- is one of the few melee champions which don't get magic resist per level.

- does not deactivate your . will probably use it for escaping from . It has a very high energy cost (100). Combo him when he is low on energy so he cannot escape from your .

- is horrible at csing under his turret. Push him all times but be wary of his taunt. Taking free turret shots isn't a nice thing in lane but since you are a ranged champion, it won't be easy for him to do it. Also pushing him will prevent him to help his team with since he will forced to defend his turret.

- disrupts his . Always keep an eye on him in lane. A well timed can easily change the tide of a battle in another lane.

-'s damage and late game scaling is "bad". He is used for solely his utility. It is a very easy lane for you.

SHYVANA

In the beginning of season 4 she and were the most popular picks in the top lane in professional arena. Like , was also primarily used as jungler but shifted to top lane. She has natural tankyness with , very good base damages, no resource dependency and an ultimate which grants her a 1000 range dash (). She also scales very good into late game and with items, she can become a problem for your backline.

- will probably max his against you. It is a pass-through linear skillshot with a good base damage and it marks the enemies it hits. 's autoattacks will do extra magic damage 2.5% of their maximum hp. Since you are ranged and have a very good kit for countering , she will play passively and farm + poke you with .

-Don't stand near to low hp minions. If you do otherwise, will get the cs and poke you at the same time.

-Harass her often with . has no built in sustain and cannot trade with you with just 1 ranged ability.

- has no dashes before level 6. gives her a movement speed boost but your and will prevent her to damage you with 2 of her skills. Always kite her.

-After level 6, if tries an all-in with , just lock her down with and . After that followed with will secure your lane dominance.

-Ask for a gank (or ganks) before gets her . is not a hard champion to gank before level 6 as you can easily lock her down just by yourself but after 6, she can dash away and foil gank attempts.

- players have a tendency to proxy minions. If she is doing it before level 6, punish her with your jungler and/or your mid laner if they are available.

- hasn't got a single cc in her kit but 's small knockback. She is bad at setting up ganks before she gets some items.

- has a very good late game. Harass her often for delaying her late game.

TRYNDAMERE

is a high risk-high reward champion and he is very good in soloq. He is a melee fighter with a kit based on critical strikes. He may crit early or he may not but sooner or later, he will crit. He is also one of the best splitpushers in the game.

-In lane your main goal should be burning his fury. If you harass him alot, will be forced to waste his fury for healing by . A furyless is a harmless .

-Never, ever underestimate , especially in early game. 2 lucky crits and you are done. This is not an impossible scenario.

-Start with or if you want a safe level 1. If you have confidence in yourself, then start with .

-Never let attack minions freely. If he can gather enough fury, he will start to play more aggressively. Harass him with + AAs often.

- reduces your ad and if your back turned to him, you will also slowed.

- usually takes his at level 1, good s will slow you first. They use their after you use your escape mechanism. If gapcloses you with first, immetiately cast your under yourself. After that kite him with your . You'll win the trade.

- makes immune to death for 5 seconds. It has a distinctive sound (a cry). When he activates it, count to 2 then throw count 1-1.5 more then throw + AA. 90% you will get the kill.

- is very good against an ulted but for safety (especially if you are new into ) is also a viable choice.

- can use offensively as well. also grants fury depending on how many points he invested in it. He may activate it for instant fury gain but it's a very rare occasion.

- has a monstrous scaling into the late game. Deny him farm at all costs. A well farmed will be an unstopable splitpusher. He is also one of the best (probably best) late game duelists in the game thanks to .

-He can activate while cced. Know this.

-Force teamfights and tell your team to focus first. You may burst down before he can activate . Even he activates it, he will have doubts in engaging further for surviving.

WARWICK

Another champion which primarily used in jungle. But since is rarely used in top lane, a top lane shouldn't sound strange either. He is primarily used as a tank and famous for his . It is a ******* blink which suppresses and damages it's target for 1.8 seconds. And there is more... After 5.1 patch, suppression is no longer affected by tenacity. (Man i hate that ult)

- has a good sustain with his and but he has mana issues. After 2-3 , he will go out of mana.

- usually starts with his and maxes it first. It is his main sustain and damage ability.

- has no mobility and escape mechanisms. can only be used on champions. Ask for ganks. is one of the easiest champions to gank especially in top lane.

- cannot trade with you. Before level 6, his only damaging ability () has a range of 400. Your shortest ranged damage source has (your autoattacks, 500 range) 100 more range than . He should be a punchbag for you.

-After level 6, becomes one of the best champions when it comes to setting up ganks. The enemy jungler and/or mid laner will love to gank you whenever is available. Get used to ganked often. (sad but true)

- is very good at late game. Deny him farm at all costs.

-You can still damage him with while suppressed. But you cannot activate or deactivate it while he is ulting you.

YASUO

is often used in mid lane. He is an ad assassin + fighter and his kit is based around critical strikes.

- gives a passive shield. You can break it with AAs. Always break his shield with AAs whenever you can.

- doubles 's crit chance but reduces his crit damage by 10%. Because of that, has a great late game. Denying him is extremely important.

-'s third charge creates a distinctive sound when it is available. He will throw a tornado when it uses it. Try to dodge.

-'s typical harassment is (to a minion for gap closing) > > (to a minion for backing off). His skills have riddiculously low cooldowns.

- blocks your AAs, your and your but not your and . Use this for an advantage when he uses .

-(My personal opinion) Take instead of . When ults you, immediately throw . This will turn the tide to your favor. cannot continue the fight while exhausted.

- doesn't need 's tornado only for knocking you up. He can also use + (3rd charge) for getting a knock-up.

-After level 6, you will get the lane dominance if you didn't give an advantage before. His damage cannot match yours and your healing. Just fight with him with your after level 6. is a squishy champion and you can easily chunk him down.

-Never escape straigt through a lane. Creeps come as a line and can easily use multiple s for gapclosing. Use jungle routes or river instead.

- will give an armor penetration buff (50%, bonus armor only) for 15 seconds. He will penetrate armor of not only who he ulted, everything he hit. (Yea, he does damage)

DARIUS

The infamous dunker... is famous with his ultimate as known as dunk. He is a fighter/tank and he is a lane bully. He excells at extended duels with his passive , his AA + ms slow and of course his "dunk". But believe me this is an easy lane.

-The only thing you should know in this lane is ' ability ranges. 's range is 425 and 's is 550. You clearly outrange him.

- naturally pushes the lane whenever he uses . As i mentioned, it has 425 range. Its even shorter than your AA range. Never let him you easily in lane.

- will (and should) take his at level 2. This ability is which you should avoid most. has 550 range. Its 50 longer than your AAs but and have 625 range. Don't try to poke him with AAs after level 2 for preventing him to pull you. Its a common mistake when playing against a with a ranged champion.
-In lane, the only thing you should do before level 6 is, just poke him with (and if you want) constantly. He cannot answer that with his short ranged abilities and if somehow he manages to pull you, just cast and retreat. Be careful, may start the lane with + 4 s for a movement speed advantage. If he does so, just give 2 points in before level 6 and farm safely.

-Also, has a 24 seconds cooldown. It is way longer than your 's. Just save for and you are ok.

-After level 6, this lane gets even more easier for you. has 700 range. When he pulls you, just activate and retreat. Yes both of you will damaged but you'll heal some of it with your sustain. Other than , constantly poke him with and save for .

- struggles against bulky opponents and is very effective against his dunk. Hp counters burst damage ;) He cannot kill you alone in lane if you don't do a big mistake.

-Also, has no escapes. He is one of the easiest champions to gank. Only gives him 5% ms bonus for each stacked champion.

- falls in late game. He needs to snowball in lane to be effective. His roams are below average, his mobility is zero so he is not effective in teamfights compared to other tanks and bruisers. You outdamage, outsustain and outscale him. He is also bad at setting up ganks :D.

NASUS

This guy loves late game with his infinite scaling . is quite a problem in soloq because he can just max cdr, stack his (2.6 seconds cd with max cdr), build full tank and wreck late game. Yes you heard it right. In late game, This guy will have over 4k hp, very high resistances and unlike other tanks, this guy hits hard if not kept under control.

-As like the other late game gods, also has a "horrible" early game. Just harass him with whenever you can. In lane your first priority should be denying his farm. If you can poke him well, he'll forced to farm with and its a very good thing for you.

- is an aoe damage ability and it reduces the enemies armor standing in it. It pushes the lane by a good amount. It's a win-win situation for you. is not farming his and he is pushing the lane at the same time. Just continue to force him to do so.

-... I hate that slow when playing against a . Its one of the most powerful slows in the game and its a targeted ability. It also reduces attack speed. Attack speed slows are not a problem for you but its a "huge" problem for your adc. If he manages to your adc in teamfights, your adc is literally "done". No dps, immensely slowed and just waiting for slaughter. I also recommend a for removing in teamfights.

- has a good and scaling sustain (), his also benefits from lifesteal and naturally, he will rush a . After that will become hard to kill alone. If he feels he is in danger against you, he will just you and gtfo. As a player also (i mained him for quite a long time), my advice against is, organize 3 men dives against . He has no escape and players always take . Poke him, push the lane and call your mid laner and your jungler for diving him. Ofc, you'll be the one who is tanking the turret because of your sustain.

- cannot duel you without well stacked. If he just activates and all-ins you, don't panic. Just answer him with your and kite him. Soon he'll understand that he cannot fight against you alone.

-Take as your summoner and try to play very aggressively in this lane. You can kill with enough poke and good landed s. If your team can snowball early, there will be no late game for . Its a general rule. If the enemy team relies of their late game, try to pick early game stompers and finish the game as soon as you can. is an easy lane for . But i cannot say that you'll outscale him in late game. Unfortunately, nobody can outscale a stacked in late game.

TEEMO

Camouflage

Yes this is the most annoying champion in league of legends. He is primarily used as an annoyer to frustrate the opposing laner thanks to his heavy harassment with and empowered autoattacks. He is a rare pick and even his team will probably flame to him for just picking . Anyway, lets get started.

has 2 viable builds in the current meta

1) DPS : Primarily damages with his autoattacks. Core items are and . It is a teamfight oriented build and it's main damage source is .

2) AP : His DPS is not as much as DPS , but this build also has considerable damage since has a 80% AP scaling and has 70%. But the main purpose is utilizing (450 base + 50% scaling). With enough AP and supported with a , that mushrooms will hurt. A squishy target without magic resist will be forced to go to base with one mushroom only.

Fortunately, either way you are the favourite side of this match-up.

-If started with his , + AA will slightly outdamage your + AA (will miss). It is the only interval which outtrades you.

-Started at level 2, you will outtrade . Force trades.

- is hard to gank because of s. He'll place them in every bush and river for safety. Ask your jungle to smite crimson raptor before ganking for the true sight buff if possible.

-DPS or AP , no matter what he builds, it will be impossible for him to trade with you after level 6. After level 6, force all-ins. You'll win.

-'s scaling is above-average but there won't be a late game if you play this lane right.

Lane Match-ups (medium)

I've called it medium because of this match-ups will need some knowledge, patience and key-timing. Against easy match-ups, even your opponent gets some early kills your kit and scaling makes up for it, but in this match-ups, if you missplay or your opponent gets help alot, you may have a horrible lane. Against some champions, you'll need to be at certain level to start trading. Against some of them, you'll gonna need jungler assistance and some of them are just farm fest. You may disagree at difficulty of a couple champions and you may ask questions like "why and are classed as medium difficulty ? counters them". Yes it is true to a some degree but counters them easily in mid lane where he can get a blue buff. In top lane, you won't gonna get it probably.

And again, these are my "personal" opinions. You may find them easier or harder based on your experience and calculations. I respect that.

FIZZ

Prior to 5.2 patch, was a quite popular assassin in mid lane but he is kinda crippled at this role. Instead of it, he is used as a jungler or in top lane with ad builds. It used to be a little bit harder match-up for because of 's bursty nature and grievous wounds effect on . Now, with his arguable weak early game and reduced base damages, this lane had become easier for you.

-When starting in lane, just throw a to . In order to survive, should start with his for avoiding . If he didn't, punish him as much as you can with your .

-Unfortunately, allows to take reduced damage from AAs. Its also included minion aggro. Since you'll start around 52 AD, even with , your AA harassment won't do significant amount of damage.

- will probably start with a and 3 s for lane sustain. Eventhough, you'll outdamage him, he can outsustain you before level 6.

- can use his for avoiding and for engaging you. 's typical engage is:

> enhanced AA > to safety. But can change his combo to whatever he likes depending on the situation.

-Always be the one who starts trades. If you do that, will be forced to use his for defense.

- will be good for applying lane pressure but is a better choice in my opinion. Since he is an assassin, if he can't burst you down in one combo, he'll probably either die or barely survive. Denying kills from an assassin in lane will cripple his impact in teamfights.

- has a different mechanic after 5.2 patch. It enhances 's damage to whoever it stickes like your . You can use your if he lands it to you. If he puts it into risk and throws his ultimate from a distance, you can either dodge it by moving or using your . cannot do much damage without landing his .

- can (and should) also throw his ultimate while he is gapclosing to you with and/or + . is a great item for all-ining a .

-After level 6, you'll outsustain and since you'll rush a which makes you beefier, probably cannot burst you down in one combo.

- is great at harassing opponents under turret. followed by a auto then he will dodge a tower shot and retreat with his + . You can outpush him in lane especially with your .

Pick versus a Yes. is a slippery opponent and recent patches nerfed him. Also you are considered a counterpick against him.

AHRI

is a ranged ap based assassin, she used to be very popular prior to removal of (she were also a permaban in season 3 along with and )

- probably max her first in lane. It deals magic damage when it goes and true damage when it returns. Try to dodge that in lane.

- gives a little sustain in lane. After level 6, you'll win the sustain fight.

-'s skills have less cooldowns and mana costs than yours. She will force trades before level 6. 2 of her skills are skillshots. If both sides hits their skillshots, outtrades .

- and are auto target abilities. Eventhough, for maximum damage output, needs to land her . has a rather slow projectile and can be avoided by standing behind your minions.

-Assassins need to burst down their target in one combo. If they can't, their target will probably win the all-in. Since your first major item () and will make you tanky, will have a hard time to burst you down.

- don't have an escape besides . Ask for ganks before she gets her . After that, if it is available, becomes very hard to gank.

-Even if your jungler or mid laner couldn't ganked before level 6, has a whopping 110 seconds cooldown at level 1. Make sure that your jungler knows it when it is on cd. is extremely vulnerable to ganks without that.

-Activate your when uses her and try to dodge her . You'll win the all-in.

-Probably won't get a blue buff. If rushes a mana sustain item (like ), she will lower her chances to burst you down. If she rushes ap for damage, she will get mana starved in the laning phase if you can sustain yourself with and .

- has a brief casting time and will probably reposition herself for hitting you with ,by using these two as distractions, you can land a .

-As an assassin, if cannot get kills from either lane or roams, she will fall in late game drastically. You have enough tools to prevent that.

pick vs ? Yes, you will stall her before 6 and with a couple of good plays, you'll win your lane easily.

KENNEN

is a ranged ap based hypercarry. He harasses his lane opponent alot (especially if it is a melee one) with his ranged AAs and +

-Take instead of in this lane. In lane and moreover in teamfights, exhausting will cripple his and help your team secure the teamfights.

-Listen in lane like listening a . 's passive gives bonus magic damage and a in every 5th AA. It has a distinctive sound. Back off when you hear that. Charged AA > is an easy harassment method of . His AA range is also longer than yours by 50. With an extra landed , can easily stun you and land you one extra AA.

- gives a massive ms bonus, but probably you won't have a hard time locking him down with your + .

-In teamfights, as soon as he activates his and starts to move towards your team. > > > may devastate your team if he engages properly.

- struggles hard while farming under turret. Push the lane as much as you can in early stages of game for denying his farm.

-In lane, activate your and throw a to if he tries all-in. You will win the all-in with your sustain and beefiness.

Pick against ? Yes, you can manage this lane well and deny his late game.

MALPHITE

is a tank. There were used to be AP s also (prior to 's removal. (Yes, with a and full AP build, this kind of s were one-shotting anyone but tanks).

If your opponent is a tank , play the lane like you are playing against a regular tank. This part is about playing against an AP .

-This lane may probably annoy you because of the . Whenever it breaks, he will back off and won't return to lane until his shield is restored.

-Treat like 's . Harass him often for preventing him restoring his shield. If he can renegrade his shield without problem, he will chip you down eventually.

- is 's main poke. It is a targeted ability and it steals movespeed from you (you'll get slowed and he'll get hasted). Unlucky for , costs a hefty amount of mana and 's mana scaling is under average (+40 mana per level).

-'s typical harassment is: (then gapcloses) > + > AAs. Use your (and if necessary) when he tries to fight you in melee range.

- is kinda bad at csing under turret. Push the lane as much as you can. Make him spend mana on minions. He will get mana starved. But be careful, is also very good when it comes to setting up ganks.

-If he rushes huge AP steroids (like ), always make sure that you have atleast 2/3 of your max hp. Full combo of an AP may burst you down especially with .

-'s missile speed is 1500 + 's movement speed at the moment he casts . may throw a for make near impossible to react.

- makes one of the best initiators in the game. Don't clump together when he is near. Wide your team's positioning for preventing him to knock-up more than one key target.

- scales with armor. Picking an Ap based champion (like ) against him will disrupt his core build.

Pick against him ? It is a rather comfortable lane. If you play properly, he won't cause you any problems but even an underfarmed can contribute teamfights greatly.

NIDALEE

After her rework (4.2 patch), bruiser builds became extremely popular (of course they nerfed her after some time). Even though she lost her popularity after nerfs, is still a strong laner. The winner of lane will be decided from how you managed her passive () (against ad ). No matter what she builds, both junglers will hate ganking your lane because is extremely hard to gank and her gank contribution is also near zero (sorry nid, you got no built in cc)

AD NIDALEE

There are two kinds of them:

-First one takes at level 1, instead of helping her jungler (she probably asked her jungler to start with opposite side buff), she will rush to the lane with and trap everywhere. The aim is reducing your maneuverability but the cost of that move is losing the level-2 rushing contest. You'll probably get lvl 2 first.

-Second one is regular . Takes at level 1 and as you've probably guessed it right, first type is harder to deal with.

- will try to land her or wait for you to set on one of her traps. If one of these two conditions are met, you will marked with .

If you get yourself marked with , will get the following bonusses (bonusses you must know):

-Her cooldown of will immediately reset.

-'s range will be doubled (375 to 750. man...) and it will became a targeted dash.

- will deal 33% more damage.

These are why will try to mark you with

And of course, dodging es and s are your main priority while playing this lane especially before level 6.

- is 's main ability. It has a massive ad scaling and an extra missing health damage. Eating s over and over can easily make a snowball effect thanks to it's execcute part.

-Her typical engage is > > > > . That combo hits hard. Don't get yourself marked at all costs.

-She will rush a and also thanks to converts her AA's damage to magic damage, she can proc as magic damage or physical damage. She is very hard to resist against.

If her opponent gets armor, she will proc with , if her opponent gets magic resist, she will proc it with (or ) + AA.

- gives an attack speed boost for 7 seconds. This makes a very good tower pusher.

-Since you are a ranged opponent, will have a harder time with marking you rather than against a melee one. She will probably try to push the wave and batter your turret down with procs and . Maxing first is a good idea for counterpushing.

-If you survive through the first 6 levels, will lost much of her lane pressure. With your 2 aoe abilities, you can counterpush her easier and trade with her. If spams her abilities (especially , she will get herself mana starved. The lane control will shift to you.

-She is also a very good splitpusher. If unanswered for too long, can easily break through an entire lane to it's inhibitor in a very short time. Add an average teamfighting into that and guess what ? She will splitpush all day.

AP NIDALEE

-Not much to say, if she lands her es often, she wins. If not, you win but know that both of you can stay in lane for extended periods of time.

Pick against ? It is a manageable lane. Just play with extra care before level 6. You have better teamfighting abilities.

LEE SIN

Very popular jungler in both soloq (everyone wants to be insec) and professional play (holds the hightest pick rate in season 4 world championship amongst junglers) and also have a place in top lane.

is a snowball type champion. He will seek early kills for it. He has a very strong early game and very good ad ratios but even though with that early game power and ad ratios, he falls heavily in late game. Also tank is very ineffective as a bruiser. Denying him early kills will shut him down and you have a very good tool for it:

range...

- will probably rush level 2 for an all-in. Harass him often with and AAs in level 1. If you manage to pressure him enough in lane, he will use his for csing and use for soaking up 's damage over time. Without these two abilities, losts his mobility entirely.

-As i mentioned, range is your most important asset for preventing him getting kills. His typical engage against melee champions is:

(to a minion near his opponent) > > + AA (for restoring 15 energy) > + AA > (has a missing hp damage also)

Since you are a ranged champion, he cannot do the first part of the combo i explained above. So instead of it, he must to that combo:

> > + AA > (back)

This combo deals less damage than the first one and moreover, you can safely cs from behind your minions. He needs to get a clear angle for landing his .

-Around level 5, watch him carefully when he uses his . If he regains hp fast, he is maxing his instead of . If so, 's kill potential is done.

-Never let him gap close into melee range without . If he comes, his combo will evolve into this:

> > + AA + > + AA > >

This combo can easily give what he wants. Don't let him come close to you.

-With quick reflexes, you can throw under yourself, when 's animation starts. When you root him, use your for kiting.

-After level 6, you will get complete lane dominance but since is primarily used as a jungler, he is very good at contributing ganks. He can ward your behind > to that ward (or use for easier positioning) > to kick you out of your turret. Also make sure your team knows when is missing. He can easily gank other lanes.

-You will outtrade him (after 6), outsustain him (after 6 ofc) and outscale him (everyone outscales )

pick against ? Yes, play safe before 6 and get lane dominance after that.

RENGAR

Another jungler in top lane. top was played sometimes but Ryan Choi increased it's popularity a lot with his 4x build.

is using an unique resource: ferocity. When he uses an ability, gains 1 ferocity and generates 5 ferocity in 5 seconds when he exits stealth from . With 5 ferocity, can enhance his next ability.

: Attack speed buff + 10% AD bonus for 5 seconds.
: Heals him. (increases with his missing health)
: Roots the target for 1.5 seconds.

Also, when charges 5 ferocity, his abilities will reset their cooldown.

- has a level 2 all-in, but first he needs to gain 5 ferrocity for it. After that:

> + > AA > aaannnddd unhappy ending if you were unprepared.

So your first goal in lane is forcing him to burn his ferocity for healing himself.

-For effectively using his passive , will be in bushes most of the time in lane. For securing the bush control, push the lane to his tower. He will lost his main gapclosing ability. It is easier said than done i know and you may think like "how can i supposed to push the lane when there is a mad kitty waiting in the bush to jump on me ?". The answer is, hit creeps at all times at level 1 and harass him with + AA whenever he gets out from bushes.

-'s combo hurts as hell, play the lane river sided. Staying away from bushes will give a hard time to catching you directly but do not think you are completely safe from him by doing that. can easily jump to a minion and throw you a and/or . Always be careful playing against a , especially versus a good one.

-With quick reaction, you can throw under yourself whenever he jumps on you for kiting. But know that, he will return to the bush and gapclose you when you get yourself in range.

-If you managed to push the lane early and secure bush control, is less mobile than a . Harass him as much has you can with your , and AAs. He will burn his ferocity for sustaining himself.

-If you survive the first 6 levels, won't give you a hard time but never let your guard down. He may still try an all in with 5 ferrocity and use as a gapcloser. His ultimate will warn enemies when he is near (1250 range). In lane, if you see a warning symbol on top of your head, expect an angry will jump on you.

-He can also use for devensive purposes. Like escaping from a gank. With enough harassment, may escape with his ultimate for survival.

-Carry a all times when the laning phase is over. + build is very popular for . Combine the movement speed with and yes... he-runs-fast !. Throw that whenever activates his ultimate so your carries can react him.

-Call mias and make sure your team gets that. A roaming Rengo is extremely dangerous. He can easily burst a squishy target with his combo. He will seek free kills whenever is available.

-Tank Rengo loses impact in later stages of the game. By pressuring him enough, you can deny him items and force him to build tank. This will cripple his damage. (full ad Rengo is one of the most fearsome assassins in the game. Especially, late game)

Pick against Rengo ? The lane is manageable. If you can survive the first 6 levels, you will get the lane dominance.

SINGED

This is , one of the most annoying champions to play against in top lane. You may think like this should be a very easy match-up but believe me it is not. I classified as easy-medium difficulty because this guy pushes hard, he is one of the best proxy farmers and he runs. Seriously... runs.

- is his main damaging and farming ability. probably bushcamp in the early laning phase. He will come for poisoning minions and return to bush and will go out only last hit. You'll be amased with 's pushing power.

-He will probably start with a and 3 s. Before level 6, potions are his only sustain. Harass him with and AAs as much as you can.

- has no ranged ability besides and it is a slow (actually very powerful slow). You can harass him from a distance with > + AAs. Saving for safety is beneficial.

-If tries to proxy before he gets his , try to punish him with your jungler and/or and midlaner. Under 6 is easy to gank.

Spoiler: Click to view

-Never let get close to you without using and/or . If he can manage to you into , you'll get rooted for 1 second.

-Before level 6, he slightly outpushes you. After 6,he will probably proxy farm/splitpush all day. Collapse on him every chamce you get.

- has no gapclosers. Only gives him a movement speed boost but expect that he will probably using 3x movement speed quints. is extremely effective against movement speed boosters.

-Never, ever chase a Singed if you are not sure about you will kill him. Good players can bait his opponents very well.

-In terms of damage, scales average. If he builds full tank, he will fall off but know that is very good when it comes to applying map pressure and teamfight disruption.

Pick against a ? Yes but know that he will annoy you with his proxy farming.

XIN ZHAO

Yes, another jungler. Also he was quite popular in jungle prior to removal of . is a fighter. He has an armor reduction debuff (), A knock-up (), built-in sustain and attack speed steroid (), a gapcloser which also slows it's target () and finally an aoe knockback ()

- has a very strong early game, with armor penetration runes, his early game damage goes even further.

-He has a level-2 all-in and he will try to get a cheesy kill if he gets his level 2 before you do(second wave's first minion if none of the sides cleared or leashed exp from a jungle camp). Calculate well which side will get their level first and play accordingly to that.

-Although has a very strong early game, he is also a very predictable champion.

- > (he may not use it) > is his engage.

-When he engages on you with , throw your just under yourself then kite him.

-'s waveclear is below average and he is extremely bad at harassing opponents under turret but he is a very good tower destroyer. If you are under your turret, you are completely safe in lane. He cannot harass you.

- reduces your armor and will enhance his AAs. Do not let him execcute his full combo to you. As i mentioned, a well timed will help you disengage.

- and create distict sounds when he activates them. He may try to attack a minion with for 1-2 AAs, then he may charge you with for getting the knock-up. He may use for sustain but fall back immediately when he activates his . He will try to knock you up.

- is very good at setting up ganks (as he is mainly used as a jungler).

- heals him on every third AA. If you can harass him well, you can also zone him from the minions for further denying his sustain. Pushing the lane also reduces her sustain. If can freely AA minions, he will get a lot of hp back. If pushed to his turret, he will only last hit but unfortunately, he is good at csing under turret.

- marks the target which attacked or used . knock backs unmarked enemies.

-After level 6, you can (and you should) use your abilities with a more offensive playstyle. With , you'll outsustain him. Get the lane dominance.

-Don't clump together in teamfights. gives 25 armor for every chamnpion it hits. Don't give him tons of free armor.

- has a very good early game and above average mid game but he falls of heavily in late game. You'll outscale him. If he is not fed and not full ad, tank is no more than an initiator.

Pick against him ? A typical "play safe before 6, dominate after it" lane. And as you noticed, most of 's kit is built on his AAs. You can lane with quite well against but there are better choices.

Spoiler: Click to view

SION

After reworked found himself as a high tier tank and was also a priority pick in professional arena before his nerfed a bit. Still he is a solid top laner.

-The first thing you'll notice in lane is, has a very good wave clear with + . Assume that he will do the jungle camp > , he will have upper hand in experience and wave clearing.

-'s main trade in lane is (activates) ---> (to a minion or you) ---> (channels easier while you are slowed) ---> (detonates). has high base damages and this combo hurts. Luckily, you are a ranged champion and it will be hard to channel for a good amount and damaging you with is even harder. Try to avoid in lane by flanking your minions.

- cannot move while channeling . This means a free . If he still tries to trade after that, just kite him with for preventing him to detonate near you.

- is a scaling shield. It's base amount is quite low but after gets some hp, this shield will annoy you. Its cooldown is a bit longer than . At earlier levels, you can chunk it down with + AA but will get cdr and hp. After some items, will completely soak up .

- is quite good at setting up ganks with . He is also good at starting teamfights and plays. Even though has a quite good burst, he cannot match your sustain + dps in lane after 6. So the lane is play a bit passive before 6 and chunk him down after 6.

-Think twice about diving . is a very strong passive against towerdives and 2 vs 2 fights. Try to kite him.

-'s , 's , 's and 's are the only ways to stop .

Pick against ? Yes, its a manageable lane and if you can get early kills, you can snowball on him. And since you are good against diving comps, teamfight potential will shift to your side.

Spoiler: Click to view

KAYLE

Somehow a very underplayed champion. In my opinion is a very strong and solid top laner (I think it is caused by "ok she is nerfed so don't play her anymore because she is thrash now" approach). She is an excellent pusher and very good duelist. Also has a literally "monstrous" late game especially with popular + build.

-Start with your and force a trade in level 1. players usually take at level 1. If you don't take too much AAs, you'll win the level 1 trade.

-Do not let intimidate you with her > enhanced AAs. Your combo outtrades her combo. But also don't be too reckless. Force trades with her and try to deplete her mana bar. is your best bet before level 6.

-Without cooldown reduction ( will max cdr unfortunately), has 16 seconds cooldown. Deduct it's duration from it. Kayle is very vulnerable at that 6 seconds interval you need to wait and strike. A lot of players lost (and still loosing) match-ups just because they don't attack when is on cd.

-Ask for ganks if possible. is a squishy champion with no dashes. gives her a ms boost but you can lock her down with + . If you can get a big advantage over her, as a lane bully, you can keep underfarmed for a very long time. Probably, her only mana sustain will be from s. If you can zone her out, you can easily outlane her especially after level 6.

-After level 6, your lane will get tense. She has also a built in sustain and if she manages to land much AAs to you, she will win the trades. But overall, the laner which depletes other's mana pool will win the lane. and are your main weapons.

-Taking over is a good choice. She can block 's damage with her and can survive with , but will cut her dps "immensely" by crippling her damage and attack speed. She is kinda AA based champion. is also a very unpredictable skill, you can use this on your advantage.

- can bait you to towerdive her when she is oom (out of mana). Know that has no mana cost.

- will start to outscale you once he completes her two core items ( + ), before that, you'll win the all ins.

-If not focussed, will deal "monstrous" damage in teamfights and has a massive impact in tfs. Try to burst her down first if she hasn't complete a for at least burning her ultimate. Like , will also has serious doubts about engaging without her ult.

Pick against ? Although early game stompers can shut down easier, you can also manage this lane quite well if you know what you doing.

KHA'ZIX

One more jungler but he is quite good at top lane and he was used as a mid lane assassin in the past especially by Alex Ich but lost his popularity with nerfs to his (There was an extra missing hp damage).

- is one of the few champions which has a "level 1 all-in". Opportunist players will bushcamp in tribush (if you are on the red side). With his passive gives him extra damage and slowing effect to his AAs and has a very short cooldown, can easily secure a kill in level 1. Go to the lane without passing the tribush.

-' main mechanic is "isolation". will deal more damage to isolated targets. Never panic and try to run away from your minions or allies (if presented) in this lane. This will make ' job easier.

- generally takes his at level 1 and maxes plus evolves it first. Unfortunately for him, he will struggle against ranged and bulky (post 6 counts) opponents. has a very low mana cost (25) but if you can harass him enough, he'll forced to max his to sustain himself and for last hitting. is his only ranged ability and has a way much mana cost than , he'll get mana starved if he spams that.

- will save his for avoiding your . When is on cooldown, is extremely vulnerable to ranged harassment. Harass him often with your + AAs >

-If tries to use his leap for engaging to you in lane, a well placed followed by your other abilities will be a good answer. cannot duel with you post 6 and you have enough tools for surviving early.

- may rush a and max his for turning the lane into a farm fest. If he does that, he will lost his offensive power by a great amount. Play the lane extremely aggressive. Force trades and all-ins without getting isolated. cannot do much with his base damages only.

-Call mias whenever he is not in lane. is extremely dangerous especially to your jungler due to his isolation mechanic. An unchecked can snowball out of control. Deny him free kills.

- has a different visual effect depending on which ability has evolved. If you are unsure about which ability he'd evolved, click on him. You'll see it on buffs part.

- makes a very good towerdiver when evolved since it resets it's cooldown whenever the bug gets a kill or assist.

- scales good into the late game as an assassin but since you can (and you should) bully him, his game will probably be all around searching for free kills. An assassin without enough items is an useless assassin.

pick against ? Yes. You are very good for dealing the pest problem.

LULU

is mainly used as support but she was also used in mid lane in pro matches. She has a place in top lane also as an ap harasser and fighter.

-'s main harassment is . She can go deep with followed by + AAs and actually, it hurts ! Try to dodge that annoying s.

- players usually try to outpush their lane opponents and harass them under their turret. Unfortunately, can outpush you before level 6. Try to counterpush her with your . Putting 2 points in at level 4 is a good idea.

-Think twice when investing too many points in in early game. gives a shield that lasts 6 seconds. It outlasts and can punish you whenever is on cd.

-This is a standard poke vs sustain lane but don't let your guard down. is a durable fighter with multiple shields ( and ) and enhanced AAs (). If you underestimate her, you'll get suprised by ap 's damage. Play with care before level 6.

-After level 6, lane dominance will shift to your side. In the long run, sustain overlasts poke. Force trades but don't get into to melee range. A well used can turn the tide.

-Never towerdive a . + will make suprisingly tanky and will cost you a couple of towershots.

- is very good at setting up and contributing ganks especially if her jungler has a gapcloser. But her escaping skills are not that good. gives her a movement speed boost but if he uses it as a ms booster, she cannot polymorph an enemy and is very effective against ms boosters. She will forced to burn her and/or for escaping if is not enough.

-If you are struggling against constant harassment from , you can get an as your second item.

-Both sides are very good in teamfights. You can provide damage and she can provide utility and defence and she can nullify your attempts. In terms of damage, you outscale her way more.

Pick against ? Yes but she will annoy you especially early stages of the game.

RIVEN

runic

Aaaahhh... , the infamous snowballer... A lot of top laners agree that having good mechanics is an easy way of gaining elo. And also they are arguing about whether she is broken or not. I haven't figured it out why this guy is manaless.

Remember what i said in the "cons" section ? Struggles against early game stompers, heavy pushers, dashes/blinks and long range champions.. has "4" mini dashes, a bursty nature and of course she is an early game stomper. But there is one vital tool she lacks and you have.

Range...

You are a ranged champion. She is a melee one so has to burn some of her precious dashes for just gapclosing. always keep your distance. The less dashes used as damage dealers, the less damage you recieve.

We can summarise this lane as "don't give her kills and win the lane". Although she has a rather good late game, she need to snowball. Denying her kills will shut her mid game down.

Also if you want to learn some mechanics either for playing her or wanna learn playing against her, Wingsofdeath and Boxbox are very good players. Also Faker popularised mid and he is one of the few players who actually picks her in pro matches.

- has a level 2 all-in. And before some nerfs, starting with wolfs (on blue side) combined with an , can reward with a cheesy kill. Although it is harder now, if she'll get level 2 first (her waveclear is better than yours), fall back.

-Taking first is a good idea for waveclearing and defense. Also you may want to invest more points in it. I generally win the level 1 trades with just rooting in the middle of my minion wave when she uses ' third dash (knock up one).

- is a very slippery champion thanks to her dashes. Don't use recklessly.

-Don't invest too many points in early. Maxing it second is a good idea since grants her a shield which lasts 1.5 seconds and scales with ad (rito, nurf !). But if you can harass her with AAs easily, maxing first will also make sense. First decide if you are against a good or not, then decide which skill you'll max first.

-I take (and advise) in this lane. Throwing when she activates her and starts engage completely foils her. Probably, she will get level 6 first and try to all-in while you are level 5 90%. Turrethugging is a good approach but if she catches you somehow, will save you. Also ing in teamfights is a way better approach than taking for getting kills in lane. Even underfarmed, can dish out a quite amount of damage.

-In early game, she outtrades you but around level 8, you'll start to outtrade and outsustain her. Also building a or as your second item will make her give away her hopes for getting a solo kill from you.

-After level 11, you'll get complete dominance over her. Force trades and all-ins. You'll also outscale her.

-In teamfights, always have an eye on her. likes to flank.

Pick against ? Yes, if you are trusting your mechanics but i'll advice you a better champion against her.

Spoiler: Click to view

VAYNE

Here comes , a tier 1 adc in terms of late game scaling and she is also one of the few adcs who can also lane in top lane. Although it is a very rare match-up, you can encounter either smarta**es who just thinks like "lets pick an adc, opponent team will get a bruiser thinking like i'll gonna bot and suprise!" or good top lane s (Quas is a good example).

is based on AAs and she is one of the most mobile adcs. resets AA timer and modifies damage, adds extra damage with consecutive attacks and is an ad steroid.

- will try to proc her . She has different combos for applying third mark.

First one is standard. Just 3 AAs. If you are just letting her AA you freely, ummm work on your laning a bit more.

Second one is AA > + AA > . This is safest one but if does this whenever is available, well you are against a "bad" . has a little mana pool and this combo depletes a quite amount of it.

Third one is AA > AA > + AA. This is her regular and most used combo. Versus a regular melee bruiser, can execcute this combo often but you are ranged. Don't let her to apply 2 marks on you with AAs. That marks last 3 seconds if she don't attack to a different target.

- has a short cd (starting with 6 seconds and every invested point reduces it by 1). She may save it for avoiding or use it for attacking you. Either way, punish her with + .

-Keeping distance is key factor for winning this lane. 's AA and range is 550. This is shorter than your abilities' range. Play safe until level 6. After 6, start to bruise her with your (700 range) and (625 range). Save your and for . She may try to punish you when is on cd.

-Eventhough you'll win trades and chip her down, don't fight head on straight with both of sides are full hp especially on an open area. is an excellent duelist and a great kiter. needs sight and makes invisible for 1 seconds whenever she uses (2 seconds cd when maxed). If you haven't got an advantage over her, she'll win the all-in. Carry a . If she is a bit more bruiser type ( + and as her second item) you cannot escape from her.

JAYCE

was probably one of the best lane bullies especially before season 5 and he was also quite popular and strong mid lane pick in Season 4 WC (Pawn had played great games with ), but since nearly all mana reneneration items converted to enhance base mana regeneration instead of flat mana regeneration, has lost a bit of his mana sustain from . It is a medium match-up for but know that he can snowball hard if you give him a reasonable advantage in lane.

- has one of the strongest level 1 engages in game. He can bushcamp in river bush (or tribush depending of his starting position) instead of helping his jungler for chunking you. His level 1 engage is:

enhanced AA (in cannon form)> > > AA > > AA

and if you are chunked enough, > AA > > AA > + AA will follow that. Disgusting isn't it ? You just gave a kill to him or burned your and barely survived and he will get level 3 while you based. So how can you prevent that ? The answer is rather simple. Go to the lane with normal way sacrificing one minion's gold (not exp, exp is vital).

-'s typical harassment is + and he can go further with > + AA > . So dodging these 's are your main goal in lane. These are like 's es but they are faster and wider. Fortunately, you are a ranged champion and you'll have an easier time to dodging these compared to a melee champion.

- will outpush you. Since he is ad, his AAs will hit harder and he can clear waves easier than you especially before 6. Also he has a level 2 all-in (if you are level 1 when he is 2). Fall back when second wave comes if is closer to level 2 than you.

- has 6 basic abilities (4 of them are damaging) but hasn't got an "actual" ultimate like . Your level 6 will give you a better powerspike than his.

-Whenever changes his form, his first AA will have an enhanced effect (bonus magic damage in hammer, armor & mr reduction for 5 seconds in cannon form) players have a tendency to throw an AA to their lane opponents when they come in lane. Usually they'll come in hammer form then immedietaly change to cannon form and attack. Avoid that.

-Take instead of in this lane. After level 6, throw your when he is using to you and all-in him. You will win the all-in. will probably rush a which won't give him any combat stats. Yes you'll rush a catalyst the protector also but "mana" is a combat stat for .

-After level 6, try to counterpush the lane. is a very good pusher and tower destroyer. Force trades and harass him with often. He may outpush you but cannot outsustain you in lane.

- is bad at setting up ganks. ing behind you and you back (mini insec) is his maximum contribution. You are better at setting up ganks and contributing them.

-Building a or after is a good approach. If you want to play a bit defensive, build a also. This will make it impossible for to either get a solo kill or win a trade. Either way, try to not eat free s.

- is a very solid champion for siege team compositions. Have atleast one champion (like ) for breaking sieges and force fights. He is better than you in poking but you are "far" better than him in direct combat.

Pick against him ? You can stall the lane and even snowball on him with good s but an assassin type champion can shut him down easier than you.

MORDEKAISER

Although he is underplayed, he is a very strong pick in top lane. is a extremely good pusher and his typical playstyle is by pushing the lane hard, he will charge his passive and harass his lane opponent under tower both and eventually choking them. is considered a counterpick against , but in top lane he'll have an easier time because you won't get a blue buff. I will detail his kit below because is a rare pick and a lot of people don't know what is and what he actually does.

lanes are all about managing one thing: . Its simple. If he can charge it freely, he will win nearly every trade.

-Good s push the lane. Bad s push the lane too. Summary, this guy will push the lane. Unfortunately, you cannot counterpush him before 6 and its still hard to do it after 6. But lacks 2 vital tools: Escape mechanism and cc. is the only champion which has'nt got neither mobility or crowd control. Now think about this: There is a champion which has no cc and no escapes. He pushes the lane hard and he is laning against a champion which has 2 ccs. What to do ? (Here is a tip: The first letter is "jungler"). is extremely vulnerable to ganks. Ask for help before 6 since if he falls behind bad in early, he cannot survive in the lane after level 6. Its just a "yo jungler, help me before 6 and i will do the rest after that" lane.

-Generally takes at level 1 and maxes it first. Its his main harassment tool. It has a very quick cast time. You cannot react it in time. He will push the lane and spam his . This is how a lanes.

- is his most damaging basic ability. Its like a . If loses trades in lane or he is laning against a dangerous opponent for him, he will invest more points in it and he'll just throw it to a minion for wave clearing and charging up . Since 5.4 patch got an extra bonus. When he throws it to a minion, "and" the minion will "both" get the damaging aura and the resists. If and the minion are in the melee range while is active, it will deal massive amounts of damage. Never let comes into melee range. Always kite him. And when he uses for waveclearing, burst that minion down immediately.

- is an aa modifier. It damages the target attacks and it arches to 3 nearby enemy targets. Also if the target is isolated, it deals 33% more damage. Since is melee and this is an aa modifier, he should't be able to hit you with directly. If you let him to do so in lane, you should work on your kiting. As you noticed, all of 's basic abilities are aoe.

-All of health resourced champions has built in sustain in their kits and is 's. Fortunately for him that ability has 100% spell vamp even withouht a . And that ability allows to fight 1 vs 2 in lane in some cases (Don't worry. Not against you.).

-Now that you have the basic knowledge about 's abilities, lets talk about how to lane against him. Your deadliest enemies are actually not , not enemy jungler or mid laner. Your mana and waveclearing before 6. will push the lane for his shield and making you farm under turret. Whenever is full, he will force trades. Since his shield will block the damage you deal, you'll get chipped down bit by bit before level 6. My advice is don't trade with when is charged. When the shield is empty force trades whenever you can. Unlike you, 's abilities costs health and with the 5.4 patch, 's health regeneratin is lowered to 2.9/5 seconds from 8.4/5 seconds. He cannot sustain himself without pots before level 6. If you managed to get him low, he will forced to use his ultimate for sustain instead of all-in.

-Invest some points in in early game. You'll need some way to counterpush the lane.

- players tend to rush a . Unlike , actually just compensate the hp cost of spells instead of sustaining him. After level 6, the lane will turn to a sustain battle. is your best bet in this stage of the game. should't hit you with and in lane. So you'll outtrade him but you "must" outsustain him in order to win this lane. Force short trades. By short trades i mean throw your , activate , after damaging him for 3-4 seconds just back of and sustain your mana with s and .

-Do not think like this: "If i do short trades and back of, this gut will charge his shield. I should all-in him whenever i got my ult and landed my skillshots". No. If you play this lane with that approach, after 1-2 tries, you'll get yourself oom and forced to back. Just do short trades, chip his "health" down, back of and get your mana back and repeat this process. You both are sturdy champions in lane but you are mana dependent. cannot regain his health with just a unlike a or .

- is awful at setting up ganks and escaping from them but he is excellent at setting up dives thanks to . If you are low on hp or oom and pushed to your tower, expect a towerdive.

Pick versus ? Yes but know that manastarving and waveclearing will bother you. Otherwise this is a manageable lane. Also jungler ganks will help you much.

PANTHEON

In season 4, was popular in the jungle. In top lane he is known for his early game damage and strong poke. In soloq, a quarter of games i blindpicked , the enemy team picked to top lane and although i rated this lane as a medium difficulty lane, i even don't know why are they picking against .

In top lane, has 2 main counters: sustain and tankyness and you got the first one after level 6 so the main thing is surviving the first 6 levels.

-The first advice i give you for this lane is take . I'll explain it later.

-Start with + 3 . does a way more damage than you in early game and you'll need sustain in that stage. If you start with s, you cannot sustain yourself against constant s.

-When you come in lane, examine that in level 1. If he starts his spam in level 1, congratulatinons... You are against a "bad" and you'll wreck him after level 6. Good players know that harasment do work with at least 2 points invested in it (min level 3) for good damage/mana ratio.

-Give points in and equal amount. In early game, don't trade with too much. 1-2 creeps isn't worth half of your hp bar. Use for caster minions if tries to zone you.

-It is a simple "stay safe until 6" lane. The hard part is surviving early. is a very strong harasser. ( only costs 45 mana and it has a 4 second cd) You'll farm with your a couple of times in early game. Despite his early game harassment, has a rather small mana pool and low mana regen. Manastarving is a typical problem for a top lane .

- has a level 4 all-in with 2 points in and one point in . If you are at half hp, don't stay in lane around that level. is actually a bad pusher and tower destroyer and getting level 6 first is not a problem since he cannot use in lane. Just back, refill your hp bar and return to lane.

-After level 6, you'll start to trade with . Thanks to your sustain, you'll outtrade him and eventually outsustain him.

-Now this is the part why i advised you to take . Around lvl 7-8, if you got a good reaction time, activate and exhaust when he uses then all-in him. While exhausted, he cannot fight with you and you'll win the all-in since doesn't have an excape and with you actually hace 3 ccs. Chain them for maximum impact.

-As used in jungle, is good at setting up ganks, he is a very good towerdiver thanks to his and he is an excellent roamer with his (aka mandrop). Unfortunately, this guy has no excape mechanisms.

- falls of late game unlike you. He relies on snowballing in lane. If you didn't give him an advantage in lane, you'll be fine later on unlike him.

Pick against a ? If you are sure about surviving early yes.

RENEKTON

Although he fell from the meta and replaced by , is still a strong top laner. In season 4, he and were the most popular picks in top lane.

Except range, has troublesome tools against you in his kit. He is manaless, he got dash(es), built-in sustain, tankyness and early game damage.

-In early game, outpushes you, outsustains you and outdamages you especially with fury. You'll probably play the early game under your tower. It's natural. You'll start to outdamage him around lvl 9-10.

-Use your wisely. Good players save their for avoiding and while one of your abilities is missed, he will punish you for that.

- is an extremely good bruiser and as a bruiser, he literally "bruises" his opponents with his typical > AA + > > dice (away). When he does that combo, return some damage to him. While his skills are on cd, is very vulnerable.

-In lane, your main goal should be outscaling not killing him. He is good at escaping ganks with his dashes and natural tankyness. Getting a solokill is even harder. Don't waste too much mana for trying to get him low. He will sustain himself with . You'll outscale him in late game.

-After level 6, you will get the lane dominance. If you have survived the early game, the rest is simple as that: activate when he uses . He will combo you but while you are stunned, he will still be in range of . When he dices away, use your and for returning some damage. You'll outtrade and outsustain him.

- has a kinda bad late game. Just do short trades with him since you'll outscale him. Don't overcommit. Getting yourself oom is what you should avoid.

picking vs ? Although there are better picks against him, is also ok. So, yes.

VLADIMIR

You are famous for your very good lane sustain but is the definition of lane sustain. You are considered a very good counterpick against but in mid lane with blue buff. Its kinda like a match-up. Damagewise, you outdamage him. After 6, you outsustain him but the problem is same with : mana. is a manaless champion with very good sustain. You need to manage your mana very well in lane.

-First advice (it is vital): Take versus a all times. has a monstrous late game but a rather bad early game. You'll need to snowball on him and for that, you'll need every bit of damage and healing reduction of .

- is 's main sustain and harassment tool. Unlike your , it's healing isn't dependent on the damage it deals without spellvamp. It starts with a 10 seconds cooldown and reduces with every point invested in with a final cooldown of 4 seconds. Also give a second point to at level 3. Around level 5, every free will cost a healing potion. If you can manage to hit with constant s, you can secure a solokill from at level 4 with one landed + . 's early game is veak. Try to abuse that.

-As start with your and force trades with whenever is available. Even with 's healing, you'll outdamage him. But keep an eye on 's starting items. Vlad players tend to start with 4 or 5 s in lane for suriving early game. If started with too much pots, play more cautious. He can chip you down bit by bit with his potions and natural sustain from .

- can use for avoiding but costs 20% of 's current health. Another tip you should know about is "you can still damage with , and . Also will still be slowed by while pooling."

- is 's waveclear tool. It has a stacking mechanic also. With every stack (max 4), 's healing and damage of increases (25% damage, 8% healing). Care for it's stacks. With 4 stacks of , combined with , can dish out suprising amount of burst with 32% more healing. The best way to trading with is waiting for an unstacked

- can outpush you especially in early game with . My advice is investing 2 points in for counterpush.

-If you have full hp and mana, with , your lvl 6 all-in is much stronger than . Just care for stacks.

-After level 9, this lane gets tense. 's cooldown is 4 second when maxed and probably will complete his . Now your lane becomes a sustain battle with a handicap for you: mana. Try to burst down. is very good at prolonged lanes with his massive sustain. Manastarving will become your major problem. But if you managed to get a kill or kills in early phase, this lane will entirely go one sided.

-Unlike you is bad at setting up ganks with no cc but he is very good at diving an enemy with and (drops tower aggro). If you are low on mana and pushed to your tower with for example half hp, ask for help or base. They will set up a towerdive probably.

-Getting an after is a good idea in this lane. Think like a mini . Beefines is good against burst damage.

- is an excellent farmer and scales very good to late game. In terms of damage his scaling is better than yours. With proper playing and/or 1-2 good gank, you can snowball easily. 's only escaping tool is and kinda nullifies that. Try to delay his late game as much as you can.

Pick vs ? If this match up was in mid lane, i'll definetely say "yes, you are one of his hardest counters". In top lane, you are still good against him and you can win this lane easily. If you are not sure about your , pick a champion with heavy burst. If you trust your mechanics, yes pick against him.

GRAGAS

Back in early season 4, this fatboy and his counterpart were irreplaceable mid lane picks in pro matches and disrupting enemy positioning was main meta. After a rework on , he shifted to top lane as an ap bruiser for a brief time. Nowadays, he is considered as a top tier jungler with full tank build. His ultimate is very good at disrupting enemy positioning but it is a very tricky skillshot. He can be either "man of the match" or "the one who throwed the game" with just 1 ultimate.

- takes at level 1 and maxes it first. It is his main poke and farming ability. will try to burst you down in lane if the lane goes even and if he can't, he will just sit at his turret and just farm with this. Unfortunately, is very good at farming from distance.

-His starting items will decide what is his strategy in early game. If it is + 3 s start, he will try to outsustain you. gives him sustain in lane. You get your sustain at level 6. If he starts with these, just farm.

If he starts with + 2x , then he will seek for brawls. You outtrade him in lane. Harass him whenever you can. With start, he cannot outsustain you.

- is an AA modifier and it also gives damage reduction. He can use it defensive also. It's cooldown is short and fatboy can spam it for sustain himself with .

-His typical engage before level 6 is:

> + + AA then he pops the . Or a easier version of this is:

> + AA > . First combo damages more but harder to execcute.

- will hit the first enemy he collides. Staying behind minions is a good way to avoid that. If you can do it, only s will be a nuisance but needs to charge them a little for doing a considerable damage.

-He will probably save his for avoiding . It has a shorter cd than . Unfortunately, you'll have a hard time to lock him down.

- will try to all in you around level 9. Around that levels, keep an eye on him. Whenever he charges , stay back. Full combo of can easily burst you down. If he fails that, he will just farm with . Sorry guys, it has a very long range (850) and you don't have much options for aggressive playstyle. You lane just turned into a farm fest.

- is good at setting up ganks and escaping from them. He got 1 slow , 1 stun and one knockback .

-Ask for ganks especially before 6. will be very hard to gank after 6.

-In terms of scaling, with his bursty nature and disrupting enemy positioning, he outscales you.

Pick against ? Not advised. is hard to snowball against. He can safely farm against you with and sustain himself with . My advices against are or . You can outpush with and harass him under turret (watch out for ganks). Or, you can pick against him for turning this lane into a farmfest. And you know, wins every farmfest. naturally pushes the lane but can farm under turret wery well and sustain ' damage.

IRELIA

A very popular pick in top lane. is an assassin/tank hybrid (yes it is a rare combination but eh, she is like that) with a very good scaling. Just a and is done for good.

-'s typical start is + 3 s. 's early laning phase is like '. Nearly everyone outtrades and outpushes her. She will try to sustain herself with potions and 's passive for the entire laning phase. Your early game is much stronger than hers. Try to abuse this as much as you can but know that is very good at farming under turret.

-Against melee matchups, takes at level 1. But against you, she will mostly take (for sustain) or (for easier farming). has a distinctive sound when leveled up or activate. Listen to this lane.

-In early game, has no chance against you. If she tries to engage, just throw a under yourself and kite her. You can distinguish a good by usage of . Good players wait for a low hp minion near you for gapclosing.

-'s typical engage in lane is (to a minion) > > empowered AAs > (to back, or to you depends on position). Without , you outdamage her. Preventing this engage is simple. Stay away from low hp minions. She will forced to use her only gapcloser to you and you have enough tools to kite her.

- will max for damage output and with a her fighting capacity increases exponentially. She is one of the best proc champions in the League of Legends.

-She will play very agressively after level 6 or 9 depending on the lane. And her all-in becomes like:

(to a minion) > + AA > + AA > repeating this + AA 3 more times > empowered AAs >

Imagine how many times she will proc the ? The answer is: more than you can handle if she succesfully execcutes + AA procs more than 2 times. has suprisingly high burst with and her ultimate.

- has no escapes but gives her tenacity (against a gank, 25%). Ask for a gank for cripple her allready weak early game a bit more.

Pick against ? Not advised. If you cannot manage to snowball, she will outscale you and probably burst you down in lane. And a fed is a nightmare for squishy targets. Try other champions against her.

For snowballing:

- is a nightmare for her with his spammable true damage. (fight true damage with more true damage)
- is also very good against her. He also got a monstrous true damage burst and lowers the enemy's attack speed. No attack speed = Useless

For countering her kit:

-Attack speed slows work wonders against her. is my second favourite pick against her after . With a built-in and scaling sustain, natural tankyness and attack speed slow, can nullify all of 's kit. Also nobody scale better into the late game than a well farmed .

RUMBLE

A popular pick in professional play. is an effective lane bully and he can devastate teamfights with a well placed .

- is not resource dependent and he has a unique mechanic called "heat". Over 50 heat (danger zone, yellow), all of his abilities will have an empowered effect. At 100 heat, he will silenced but his AAs will do massive amounts of damage.

- generally takes at level 1 for safe csing but maxes it last. has a terrible level 1. If he started with , try to punish him as much as you can with .

- has no natural sustain but that annoying yordle has a shield and he will probably invest more than one point in for nullifying . Try to bait out his shield before trading with him. is kinda weak compared to for example of but a shield is a shield.

- is his main harassment tool and this is what makes a lane bully. He will try to land at least one for slowing you and dish out big amounts of damage with . If he is on danger zone, hurts. Really.

-A good way to avoid 's early game damage is, (even you get hit by ) when he is chasing you with , just throw a between you and ('s chasing route). Save . If you managed to root him, then use your and for chunk him down.

- naturally pushes the lane with and he loves to harass his lane opponents with it. is average at escaping from ganks and he struggles heavily when he is behind in lane. (yes, i also know that every champion struggles when behind but struggles "more")

- is literally "terrible" at farming under turret. Especially after 6, try to push the lane. (actually he is bad at farming in lane either thanks to .

-'s level 6 (and later) all-in is will result with depending on how long you sit on . deals "massive" amounts of damage. And with it, is very good at setting up ganks. Also he will rush an against you. And unfortunately, snowballs hard.

-After level 6, play passive. can easily all-in you with + danger zone . Your dps + healing cannot match his in an all-in. Play pasive and wait for ganks.

Pick vs ? Not advised. I've also played against and this lane is favored. If you want to pick a more effective champion against him, try . No special stragegy. Just be .

ZED

is primarily known as a very strong assassin with high mobility and very high burst damage. He generally used in mid lane but he is also viable in top lane. (fun fact: he is designed as a "jungler")

-'s main mechanic is using his shadows. This is what makes extremely mobile.

- is 's main harassment tool and ranged farming ability. It deals it's full damage to the first enemy it hits and 60% of it's damage to the enemies thereafter. So stand back your minions. Even you cannot manage to dodge it, at least receive reduced damage.

- makes very unpredictable when used offensive. 's favourite combo in lane (before 6) is:

+ > . If you chunked down to below 50% then he will switch places with his shadow and try to proc + one more

- maxes his last and it has a 18 seconds cooldown without cdr. Whenever uses it, immediately return some damage to him ( + > )

- combos are hard to react and unfortunately despite you outdamage , he can outmaneuver you. Play the early game relatively safe. He can easily switch places with his shadow for avoiding and gapclosing to you. Win-win for .

-Think analytical in this lane. Positioning is always a key factor but in this lane think a little bit different. I suppose everyone learned atleast basic geometry eh ? If the answer is yes, the trick is below:

Position yourself as forming a triangle with 3 points of you, and . This way, even switch places, he will still be out of melee range. 's only ranged ability is his .

- makes one of the most efficient and deadly assassins in the league. will mark you that lasts 3 seconds. After 3 seconds it detonates and you'll receive percentage of damage he dealt to you while the mark was active. Also there will be an extra shadow where he cast and it has the same mechanic with . So, will try to chunk you down enough for finish you with one .

-Take in this lane and use him when he activates . Taking against is very popular nowadays. will try to bait out your before using . If you have good ward coverage, you'll have the lane control.

-Stay atleast 60% of your hp in this lane. will make you beefy and completely screws him. When you take free damage, atleast suck hp from minions. As you know, heavy burst >> sustain.

-Try to bait his before a gank and/or using . is very vulnerable to ganks without his

- has a very good late game and amazing splitpushing power. After 6, play this lane aggressive as much as you can for delaying his late game.

Pick vs ? Being untargetable, damage reduction and heavy cc are best tools against . Although you are lacking these tools, is a sturdy opponent against . If you are unsure about ßwain against and thinking about what is good against him in top lane, i'll give some examples:

Spoiler: Click to view

Lane Match-ups (hard)

Here we come to the "ugly" section of the guide. Sadly, like every other champion, has counters too. This time i won't write a "pick against X ?" question because as you've allready guessed, the answer is "no, never" for all of them. When you are against one of these champions, farm safely as much as you can and ask for help if possible.

If you guys've read "THREATS TO SWAIN WITH THIS BUILD" section in the begining of this guild, you can notice that except 2 of them, every counters are mid-lane champions. (exceptions are and ) As i mentioned in the "pros" section, has advantages over typical top lane bruisers.

Also, a very helpful advice i can give you against these champions is reverse your skill sequence. Instead of , max first for reducing its cooldown and increasing base damage. You have very low kill potential against these champions and farming + waveclearing should be your main goals. Also max second for increasing it's slow. won't save you against these champions but in a gank, a stronger will change alot.

Before i finish the introduction of this chapter, i wanna make sure that maybe has more counters (or champions which gives hard time) than these i mentioned. These are which i laned against with .

Lets get started. (from hard to nightmare)

JARVAN

was a very popular jungler starting from season 1. Even more, in the begining of season 5, he and were the most popular junglers in both soloq and competetive plays. Although is unpopular in top lane, is actually a very strong and solid top laner.

Struggles against early game stompers, heavy pushers, dashes/blinks and long range champions. Remember this in the "cons" section ? Because is exact definition of these combined.

-If you are against a know this: that guy will build "pure AD". Don't expect a tank in top lane. has a very good Ad scalings, a current hp damage passive () and armor reduction (). Tank falls of late game but ad can burst down a squishy target with just one combo.

-Even with all that gapclosers, burst damage and other stuff, has still got weak points against you in lane: He is melee and he hasn't got any built in sustain. In order to sustain himself early game, should start with a and s. Whenever you get a chance for dealing free damage, do it.

-'s famous combo is + > AA. Your main priority should be dodging this knock-up. While your armor is reduced, can chunk you down.

- has a 770 range. It is longer than all of your abilities except . It is 's main ability. It has a good base damage, good ad ratio and an extra armor reduction debuff.

- players typically start with and gives one more point to it in level 3. First 2 levels will be a farm fest but in level 3, will probably poke you with . He will start his + at level 4 with 1 point in . (yes this guy also have a shield which also slows you. Meh...)

-As mainly used in jungler, is excellent at setting up ganks with a knock-up, slow and lock down. Also he is a very good roamer.

-At level 6, can easily all-in you with + followed with especially if he got as a summoner. While your armor is reduced, and will burst you.

-I recomend getting a after . If you are not sure about surviving in lane, you can actually "rush" a . With extra 100 armor, 400 mana and 20% cdr, you can safely farm against .

-After level 9, farm with . One succesful knock-up may cost a lot.

What to pick against ? and are very effective tools against tanks. My advice is don't pick any tank against him. If your team insists for a tank, is the safest choice with his ranged farming ability. If not, and works well in this lane. is more "high risk high reward" of the two. Just play safe until level 9.

ORIANNA

She was quite popular in professional play in the beginning of season 4 along with and . Although she lost her popularity in competetive play, she is still one of the best champions in terms of providing utility. I think fits to nearly every team composition. She is good in siege comps, she is good in hard engage comps and she is good at disengage comps.

All of 's abilities are related to her ball. Also this his one of her weak points. She can only impact the area where the ball is.

- is one of the ap champions which has better AA trade than at level 1. is very strong passive (also scales) and players love to trade AAs with their lane opponents. Sadly she has 25 more AA range than you.

-If you check her skillset, you'll see that has a clear range advantage over you. is 's backbone and it has a 825 range. Also usage of this ability is the difference between good and a bad . Bad players just throws them and it has a rather slow projectile speed. But good 's use for zoning their lane opponents. She will throw her ball to near your caster minions in lane and left it in there. When you come close to the ball, she repositions the ball and chunks you. Thats how works. And one more bad news about is, it has a fixed 50 mana cost and when maxed it has a 3 seconds cooldown.

- is her main waveclear ability. It has a good base damage, it gives 's allies movement speed if used for utility, and slows it's targets if used offensively. can instaclear a wave with + with a little bit ap.

- this is defensive ability. It's duration is 4 seconds. (exact same amount of your ) It also deals damage to enemies it passes through.

-The problems against are her waveclearing and zoning potential. All of 's abilities are aoe and with , she can also farm with her AAs easier than other ap champions. Starting with is not advised in this lane. If you start with , will just shield herself (if she has saved her skill point at level 1) and trade AAs with you. Unfortunately she wins the AA trades. Just start with your and take at level 4.

-A vital thing you should now about is does not break the target ally's stealth. That means, if the enemy champion has an jungler with invisibility (, , etc) she can just throw the ball to her jungler and easily combo you. If enemy team has a jungler like that, after 6 don't play aggressively unless makes a mistake.

-One handicap for is mana. is extremely dependent to blue buff. You have built-in both mana and health sustain. hasn't got neither of these. If you can manage to dodge her abilities, you can manastarve her and start playing more aggressive.

-The enemy team probably want to utilize with a good diver champion (mostly a tank). Never clump together in teamfights. A well execcuted followed with may be the end of your team. can ult your team with several ways. She can + directly or (to an ally) + .

-Unfortunately, in terms of both damage and utility, outscales you.

-Play passive, farm with and wait for a gank. has a slow, a shield and a ms booster but no direct dash or blink. In a gank, you can lock down . Just don't stay too close with your jungler for avoiding .

What to pick against ? is most popular pick against her with her superior range and waveclear. She can also disrupt a team with a knockback and stun. Before the rework, was picked against her in every match for completely reversing 's utility. Other than these 2, pick champions which can safely farm from range and have good waveclear abilities (, etc)

LISSANDRA

An extremely popular pick in top lane in both soloq and competetive play. Since in season 5, the current meta shifted to ap utility based champions later than tanks, she had really shined in top lane and also became a perma ban in soloq. This grumpy frigid lady is a goddess in terms of cc and waveclearing.

- isn't actually a counterpick for . But the problem is you cannot bully her easily. Her waveclearing is immense and she has very good tools for kiting. Instead of bullying her, you will actually get bullied by her and forced to play most of your laning phase under your tower and dancing for avoiding spams.

- and are her main weapons in lane. Like you, also has a mana sustain passive (actually its a free spell passive but works the same way). isn't famous for her ap scaling. But spammable can clear a wave easily. With just one , she will clear an entire wave with 2 s and a

- has a 725 range but when it collides to an enemy, it widens and travels for 100 more units. You should position yourself at side of your minions for preventing her to both farm and poke with just one . More bad news: 's cooldown reduces to "3" seconds when maxed "without cdr". (rito ! nurf !)

- is her only ability you shouldn't worry about. It damages and roots targets around but this ability is ineffective against ranged opponents. (she will probably take it at level 4)

-... You should adapt this ability's projectile speed in lane. It has both defensive and offensive usage. But when used defensively it is a very effective escape tool. players tend to blink when reaches it's full range. A well timed can completely foil her escape attempt in a gank.

- is extremely good at setting up ganks with her 3 ccs. Chain cc is a very problematic thing when playing against a . If you have more hp than can burst you down but suddenly she throws her to you, just gtfo. You are about to get ganked.

-Despite 's superior waveclearing, she is kinda short-mid ranged and no sustain. If she mispositions or burns a key ability (), don't hesitate to do short trades with her. She cannot sustain her health herself other than pots.

-Never towerdive a . If used defensively, works like a with an aoe damage and slow. Even if is oom, she still got . A under turret and its done.

-When all-ining her, know that you'll still damage her with your when he uses on you.

What to pick against a ? and can outpush and outdamage her. If you want to pick and assassin, try .

ANIVIA

A very rare pick but believe me she is one of your nightmare matchups. Her damage potential is immense and her waveclear is also extremely good.

-The first thing you should know when playing against an is her passive: . I think it's name explains everything about it. Never get baited by it or you can find yourself swearing like "!#$%& THIS PASSIVE !". Also "always" note 's death times. has a static cooldown of 4 minutes.

-'s core damaging mechanic is "chilling effect". is her main ability and it double damages if the target is chilled. In order to chill her targets, must hit her opponents with either or . Try to avoid in lane all times because hits hard if you are chilled.

- will start with + s + a and s. Then she will rush a . is extremely blue buff dependent but in top lane, she rarely gets it.

-After level 6, you'll gonna hate this lane because of . She will instaclear minionwaves with it and also she has a serious combo:

+ (to your escape route) > (while you are slowed, she can stun you easier) > .

This combo seriously hurts like hell !

-My advice to you in this lane is before building catalyst the protector, buy a . And build a . Tenacity is very helpful in this lane. Don't think like "why should i build tankyness instead of damage ?" The answer is simple. The odds are not on your side in this match-up. Just build some magic resist, farm with your and wait for ganks. You have a very little chance against straight head on.

SYNDRA

Your nightmare match-ups number 2: . You may encounter a top against you 1 out of 100 games but when the enemy picks her against you eh, you are kinda doomed.

also works with "balls" like but that chick lefts too many balls on lane.

is considered a very safepick in top lane and she is one of the 's nightmare counters with her long range, kiting abilities, waveclear and most importantly very high burst damage.

(Fun fact: According to the lore, is omnipotent. She is "the" strongest champion of the game. If not, she just comes after in terms of power. 's true power is unknown at the moment.)

- is 's main ability. It's her main poke, her waveclear tool, her stun tool, her ultimate tool, shortly she uses that balls. You should position yourself carefully because stuns you instead of slowing you if she collides a to you.

-In early game, she will try to poke you with s. It has a short delay and tend to aim it slightly to your behind. Just move to a little when 's cast animation begins. If you can manage to do it you can dodge a and also while you are now closer to , you can return some damage to her with your combo.

-You'll gonna hate . She will grab and throw your minions to you. And it will also slows you.

- has 2 kinds of safe combos in lane before level 6. In the first one, she will try to stun you first. In the second one, she'll try to slow you first.

First one: + > >

Second one: > + > AA >

First one is a little bit harder because she needs to knockback a to you and you should position yourself for preventing it. But this combo deals way more damage and disables you more.

- is her main kiting ability. It has a very long cooldown. If misses it, immetiately return some damage to her. After level 6, if you are at full hp and enough mana, if she misses , just all in her. is very reliant to execcute proper combos and while she missed a key ability, she will panic.

- is her fearsome ultimate. She has a fixed 3 's orbiting her all times. is a targeted ability and it "unleashes" these 3 default s and the s on the field if presented to the target. If you are around 70-75% of your hp and she can stun you some how, she can easily burst you down with it and .

-As a general rule, resistances counters sustained damage and hp counters burst damage. Allways make sure that cannot burst you down with one combo. will provide you that hp but completing it safely against a is a major problem. will be your best friend in this lane. When farming with it try to land it atleast 3-4 minions. After , immediately rush an starting with . You cannot win easily against yourself. Just farm and wait for help. A fed can burst down any target with one combo.

-If you have good reaction time, you can use when 's animation starts.

What to pick against a ? is very effective against mages. So you should try an assassin. is a very popular pick against her and also works with his high mobility and ability to nullify with .

MORGANA

Before playing against in the top lane, i thought is the hardest champion to lane against. is a very versatile champion that can lane as mid, support or even top lane (she'd picked as anti- in professional arena).

- is extremely annoying to play against as . All she has to do is buy one mana regeneration item, use to minion wave, yourself whenever you try to engage and all-in you with when she gets bored. I hate that lane personally because her kit nearly makes your kit useless.

- is her natural sustain. It gives her spellvamp. And since will constantly spam and sometimes , it is hard to chip her down.

- is the first ability she will take and max. Its her farming ability. is a very good and safe lane pusher. She will spam it all day. My advice is max your to counterpush. It's damage also increases with the targets missing hp.

- is the strongest shield you'll encounter as . Its duration is 5 seconds (longer than ), it soaks up magic damage, it's base damage + scaling is very high and also it makes the target un-ccable for its duration. Briefly, this ability will make you lose every trade, foils every gank attempt. Summary, your abilities are useless thanks to this shield.

-'s all-in after level 6 is:

(herself for preventing and ) ---> ---> ---> .

-She can easily all-in you after 6. Since you don't have an escape mechanism, 90% chance, she can execute her combo well. Her combo does much more damage than yours, she can soak up a good portion of your damage with , if nothing, she can safely farm with and spam laugh while doing that. And also, in teamfights, her impact is way more than yours.

So how to lane against her ?

-Well, forget the agressive playstyle and try to build a just for this lane. Generally i don't like and build on but in this lane you'll gonna need the magic resist and mana regeneration against . Unless she plays rather poor, all you can do is farm with your and sustain yourself with .

What to pick against ? Try . He got much more lane sustain, he is manaless, he can counter her pushing with his and he has the ability of dodging with .

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this if not boring, over-long guide for top lane . I hope you guys enjoyed it and i'll glad if this guild encourages you to play in top lane. Feel free to feedback any of your opinions whether you liked it and agree or not. Also i'll be happy to discuss builds and playstyles for improving my mechanics and this guide.

An in-depth top lane Swain guide

An in-depth top lane Swain guide

Recommended Items

Spells:

Ignite

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Ravenous Flock (PASSIVE)

Death's Hand (Q)

Vision of Empire (W)

Nevermove (E)

Demonic Ascension (R)

Threats & Synergies

Ryze

Anivia

Alistar

Akali

Ahri

Dr. Mundo

Fiora

Fizz

Gragas

Irelia

Jarvan IV

Jayce

Kassadin

Kayle

Kennen

Kha'Zix

Malphite

Maokai

Mordekaiser

Garen

Lulu

Nidalee

Lee Sin

Lissandra

Pantheon

Renekton

Rengar

Riven

Rumble

Shen

Shyvana

Singed

Orianna

Syndra

Teemo

Trundle

Tryndamere

Udyr

Vayne

Volibear

Warwick

Xin Zhao

Yasuo

Zed

Vladimir

Jax

Darius

Hecarim

Nasus

Olaf

Sion

Morgana

Introduction

What is Swain ?

Why do i play Swain in the top lane ?

Pros

Cons

Runes

Runes

Runes

Runes

Runes

Why do i use hybrid penetration marks over magic penetration marks ?

Runes

Masteries

Mastery Explanations