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Spells:
Teleport
Flash
Ability Order
Ki Barrier (PASSIVE)
Shen Passive Ability
Introduction
***Note***
Some editing needed since recent Shen buffs, but most of the guide is still very valid
What is a tank? A tank is a champion who absorbs damage in place of more fragile and harder hitting champions. There are several ways to accomplish this task.
1. Through the use of abilities such as
Shadow Dash which forces an opponent to target you.
2. Pose enough of a threat to warrant attention and therefore focus fire.
3. So weak without mitigation that it is really easy to kill you. (Don't ever choose this option)
There comes a time when it is possible that as a tank, you become too tough to kill. So why bother? When a champion is too tough to kill, he/she gets ignored and is killed last. In drawn out fights, this is usually the case. At this point, the tank must acquire more DPS to maximize all the durability he has accumulated. This build addresses these issues of how to become a perfect tank. Shen embodies all aspects of a perfect tank. He is one of the few champions that possesses the durability, the damage, and the abilities to be a true, perfect tank.
In this guide, you will find the answers to these issues and create the perfect balance of items.
Air cuts through steel,
1. Through the use of abilities such as

2. Pose enough of a threat to warrant attention and therefore focus fire.
3. So weak without mitigation that it is really easy to kill you. (Don't ever choose this option)
There comes a time when it is possible that as a tank, you become too tough to kill. So why bother? When a champion is too tough to kill, he/she gets ignored and is killed last. In drawn out fights, this is usually the case. At this point, the tank must acquire more DPS to maximize all the durability he has accumulated. This build addresses these issues of how to become a perfect tank. Shen embodies all aspects of a perfect tank. He is one of the few champions that possesses the durability, the damage, and the abilities to be a true, perfect tank.
In this guide, you will find the answers to these issues and create the perfect balance of items.

Air cuts through steel,
the blade stops;
from silent stone.
Death is preordained.
-Fudo

Teleport
A highly versatile skill that will get you more gold, experience, and map control than picking up another summoner skill. When I speak of Gold and Experience, I am referring to the time spent traveling around the map, whether it is simply back to the pool to heal and buy items or to change lanes. This may not seem significant, but the small amount of time you save from traveling adds up in both a level and farm advantage in your favor. To accomplish this, map control is essential. Simply taking
Practical Uses of

1) Being able to go buy and buy item and return to the lane quickly. This gives you a marginal advantage of items over the opposing lane. As your small advantages start to accumulate, Shen will truly be a force to be reckoned.
2)


3) You have Sight Wards placed in strategic locations (Golem/Lizard/Dragon/Baron). You see an enemy attempt to take it the Dragon (just 1 example), you are too far away to run and your Stand United is on cooldown when you have a teammate close enough to respond. You use

4) Your team is pushing, but the enemy decides it would be better to not engage and has someone solo push and attempt to kill one of your towers. Use



Ghost
Ghost makes it so nothing can get away from Shen. It also makes it so he can get away from anything he chooses. The combination of


The whole idea of these summoner skills it to enhance a major strong point of Shen. Map Control. This leads to more gold and exp for you and your teammates. Your enemies will farm in fear because you are nowhere and everywhere at the same time. They will be more timid in their farming and grant your team the mobility to successfully setup ambushes when the opposition thinks itself safe.

Flash
Sometimes there just isn't time to run up on a person or not enough space to run them down. This is where





Exhaust
This is not a I personally like to use, but I have seen it used to great effect by other players. This skill is a great skill to use both offensively and defensively. It can be used to weaken and hamper dangerous champions. It can also be used to help champions escape or to prevent one from escaping. I feel that this is worth mentioning since some Shen players don't care for the

Rune Summary
The ideology behind my rune selection is to provide as much of an advantage to Shen as possible that is not readily available through other means such as items or champion abilities.
Marks
9 Attack Speed Marks
Ki Strike + Auto attack is essential to this build. With the new changes to Shen's


Seals
9 Flat Armor Yellow Seals
Standard rune set. It helps greatly when harassing and reducing minion damage.
Glyphs
9 Magic Resist / Level Blue Glyphs
Shen has decent base Magic Resist but more never hurts. Many AP mid champions now run a full flat magic resist page for middle lane now. Eventually, the enemy mid will come top to try and gank the Shen. This will not usually happen until post 6, so by then the MR per level glyphs should be at or past the breakeven point of efficiency.
Quintessences
3 Flat Health Quintessences
Shen's early game is very strong. The combination of a starting



I won't bore you with skill statistics or skill orders because you can see them above. I will however go into detail about special uses and tricks for these skills.
Vorpal Blade is the ultimate harass skill when used in conjunction with quick-cast hotkeys. It makes last hitting a breeze. If you have a
Sheen, the
Vorpal Blade will be your main ability used to proc it during a fight.
Vorpal Blade on a minion when it is killable. This is a very important distinction that goes unnoticed even to high level players. A minion should only be killed when it is about to be killed by another minion. Killing it beforehand pushes the lane closer to the enemy tower. This makes you vulnerable to ganks from the jungle or other lanes. This concept is easily understood by most players.
However, there is something else which is often overlooked. It is only visible when Shen lanes with another champion. Shen has no problem last hitting when laning, but when he relies on his
Vorpal Blade and
Ki Strike damage to last hit a minion from half HP, he makes it extremely hard for his lane partner to get minion kills. The end result is both players competing for minion kills with abilities instead of using those abilities to harass the enemy. It is perfectly acceptable to use
Vorpal Blade to get a minion kill that is too far away to safely hit with an auto attack.
Feint is important since the only option for healing comes from
Vorpal Blade. The prevention of damage help to further the illusion that you are an unstoppable beast. To use Feint efficiently, it is important to know your enemies' abilities. Correct timing will mitigate damage and force enemies to waste resources in their pursuit of harassing Shen.
Shadow Dash is pretty self-explanatory. Learn the terrain and know which walls can be Dashed through. All jungle monster spawns have at least 1 wall in which it is possible to dash through. Learn these locations. There have been many times where I have saved teammates by turning around during a retreat to attract attention from an ally. The enemy will cease pursuit of a possible kill to what seems like a sure kill. By using these dash locations, it is very likely that Shen will escape as well.
Please see the map below in the Permeable Walls Section as a reference to dash locations.
Ki Strike is what will make Shen emerge victorious. Ideally, hit and run works best with
Ki Strike. An opponent who is chasing only gets a few isolated auto attack off on Shen. This helps to charge up
Ki Strike without taking too much damage. This is the most efficient way to fight with Shen. To run away and pretend being scared, but immediately turn around when Ki Strike is up to unleash death and destruction. Many times greedy opponents who chase a low HP Shen will be met with swift death because they underestimate
Ki Strike and
Feint to allow Shen to simply turn around and deal a killing blow.

Vorpal Blade



***An important note for consideration***
During the laning phase, it is important to not use
However, there is something else which is often overlooked. It is only visible when Shen lanes with another champion. Shen has no problem last hitting when laning, but when he relies on his




Feint
Feint is an underestimated skill but is very important to this build.


Shadow Dash

Please see the map below in the Permeable Walls Section as a reference to dash locations.

Stand United
Stand United is seen as a defensive save your teammate skill. With good coordination, it can be used to gank offensively rather than routing an opponent during their gank.
Ki Strike
Some opponents really underestimate Shen's passive, Ki Strike. In a direct fight against non-carry champions,




I have created a map of Summoner's Rift which showcases the walls that can be dashed through with
Shadow Dash. This may be used for other champion skills and even the Summoner Skill
Flash. Please note, with the latest changes to
Flash (namely the reduction is flashing distance), many walls cannot be traversed. The moderately hard walls almost all inaccessible to
Flash now after the changes.
Color Key:
Yellow - Easy to execute.
Orange - Moderately difficult to execute.
Red - Very Hard to execute. Very little room for error.




Color Key:
Yellow - Easy to execute.
Orange - Moderately difficult to execute.
Red - Very Hard to execute. Very little room for error.

Shen's starting item should be a
Ruby Crystal. The
Ruby Crystal does not give Shen long term sustainability in the lane. It is a riskier start because a Doran's Shield gives both armor and extra health regen. The
Ruby Crystal allows Shen to do slightly more damage with his
Ki Strike[ and have a higher base HP value. It also allows him to be more gold efficient. Gold efficiency is very important because the complete Shen build is VERY EXPENSIVE to fully complete and in 95% of your games, never will be completed. The drawbacks to taking a
Ruby Crystal are offset by taking
Teleport as a Summoner Spell.
Your first trip back needs to be at either at 500 gold (if you are really being harassed in a tough lane), 925(500+350+75) for a
Heart of Gold,
Boots, and a Sight Ward or some combination of these items. The ward is absolutely necessary to continue to lane without being ganked. I wouldn't stay in the lane much longer unless you are absolutely dominating and farming great. But don't stay too long. You want the gold generation from the
Heart of Gold as soon as you can get it. 10 minutes should be the latest. The longer you stay in a lane and win, the more likely the enemy team will see you as a threat and come gank you. This is why you go back too the pool quickly, buy your items, teleport back to the lane, and place the ward. You'll miss probably 1 to 3 minions from the wave of minions at most.
The only boots Shen should ever get are
Mercury's Treads. They are a requirement on Shen. Why only
Mercury's Treads? Simple. Because there is no such thing as a game with no crowd control or magic damage. Eventually, someone gets a
Phage or
Frozen Mallet. Currently, the really strong early lanes have mostly magic damage based harassment. Examples of this are
Vladimir and
Malphite. Shen can potentially solo these champions. It is important to finish the boots early when faced with early magic damage. The combination of the
Heart of Gold and
Mercury's Treads gives Shen much needed early game damage mitigation.
The next item Shen should buy is either a
Sheen or a
Giant's Belt. Both have similar costs with the
Sheen being only slightly more expensive. The rationale on which item to get depends on how well the game is progressing. If the enemy has at least 2 fragile champions, a
Sheen would be ideal help eliminate them from a fight early. Getting a
Sheen first usually occurs more often when a Shen is solo. Alternatively, when the enemy has a high amount of burst damage or just damage in general, survivability takes priority over damage and a
Giant's Belt should be purchased after the
Mercury's Treads. If the
Giant's Belt is purchased first, it is sometimes prudent to purchase some more mitigation like a [Chain Vest or a
Negatron Cloak before a Sheen can be purchased. The alternative to these damage mitigation items would be another
Giant's Belt. Economically speaking, it is sometimes better to grab two Giant's Belts rather than completing one into either a
Sunfire Aegis or
Warmog's Armor. This is because HP on Shen allows him to both increase his durability, by simple virtue of having more heath, and the mechanics of his passive,
Ki Strike.
At this point in the game, an analysis of the game's champion composition and incoming damage type must be conducted. By Mid-Game, Shen should have completed his
Heart of Gold,
Mercury's Treads, a
Giant's Belt, and either a
Sheen or damage mitigation item such as a
Chain Vest or
Negatron Cloak. This is the most crucial point in Shen's build. Choosing the right set of gear at this point in the game will mean the difference between being a poor tank or an awesome tank. Consideration about how well you have been farming will weigh into your decision on when to pick up a
Sheen. Good farm means a
Sheen is easily affordable, but a difficult lane will mean the
Sheen will come after the
Giant's Belt and damage mitigation item. I understand what I am saying is repetitive, but it's so important that I needed to say it multiple times. There is no set build order for this build. Every game is different. Farming, gold income, damage types, incoming burst damage, and team composition all factor into which item will maximize Shen's durability and damage output.
The rest items should fall into place quite easily. It is most item efficient for Shen to fill all his item slots with a major item component with each of the items that he intends to complete. This lets Shen stay on the field for long durations without having to return to the pool until he has about 1900 gold to finish up an item.
A
Warmog's Armor usually comes before or after a
Trinity Force depending on whether or not Shen needs more survivability or damage output. The very last item that I purchase on Shen is usually a
Randuin's Omen. The reason why this great item is last is because this particular Shen build is so expensive (and rarely completed), that every scrap of gold that Shen can scrounge must be saved. It is sometimes justifiable to get an earlier
Randuin's Omen depending on the needs of the game.
This particular way to itemize Shen allows him to be balanced with the option to adapt quickly to the needs of the battlefield. Whether Shen needs more armor, magic resist, or team fight debuffs, this build allows for flexibility to choose the path towards victory.






Your first trip back needs to be at either at 500 gold (if you are really being harassed in a tough lane), 925(500+350+75) for a



The only boots Shen should ever get are








The next item Shen should buy is either a













At this point in the game, an analysis of the game's champion composition and incoming damage type must be conducted. By Mid-Game, Shen should have completed his










The rest items should fall into place quite easily. It is most item efficient for Shen to fill all his item slots with a major item component with each of the items that he intends to complete. This lets Shen stay on the field for long durations without having to return to the pool until he has about 1900 gold to finish up an item.
A




This particular way to itemize Shen allows him to be balanced with the option to adapt quickly to the needs of the battlefield. Whether Shen needs more armor, magic resist, or team fight debuffs, this build allows for flexibility to choose the path towards victory.
The
Heart of Gold is a placeholder item. When an alternative item that is not normally apart of this build is required, the
Heart of Gold can be sold early to open up a slot as all the other items are required on Shen. An example of an alternative item on Shen is the
Thornmail. It is a great item when the enemy team composition is heavily favored toward physical auto attack damage.
Another alternative item is the
Guardian Angel. The
Guardian Angel is only really useful when Shen is the only initiator for team fights and is consistently getting killed in major fights. Once again, the Guardian Angel will replace the Heart of Gold.



Another alternative item is the









Shen's harassment combo goes as followed:





Walk away unscathed.
At this point, be in a slightly aggressive position to solidify the damage and let the fear and awe soak into your opponent. Wait for your energy to refill, repeat until enemy is dead or gone. It is important to remember that


Should the game continue to become a really late game. The






Shen does well in terms of farming during the laning phase thanks to
Vorpal Blade and
Ki Strike. This allows him to easily last hit minions without the risk of ally minions killing them. The downside of this is that Shen's laning partner will suffer a lack of minion kills if Shen relies too heavily on these 2 skills to last hit. A truly good Shen will be able to last hit without resorting to
Ki Strike and
Vorpal Blade to burst down a minion.
Although these two skills alone are sufficient for the laning phase (early game), it's not enough for mid-game and late game. The addition of the
Sheen's unique ability acts as a pseudo
Ki Strike on a shorter cooldown. This single item increases Shen's farming speed by over 50%. A
Sunfire Aegis is another great addition to Shen's farming efficiency. All these tools are important for Shen to quickly push a lane while his team applies appropriate "pressure" elsewhere on the map.




Although these two skills alone are sufficient for the laning phase (early game), it's not enough for mid-game and late game. The addition of the



In this section, I will be highlight and explaining tactics to use against certain champions who are difficult or tricky to fight and how to most effectively combat them. All of these examples will primarily be focused in 1v1 situations to keep it simple. Application of this knowledge can be still be used in more complex situations and team fights. I will not be able to list all available champions but I will gladly add in champions upon request.
Mark of the Assassin has a longer range than Shen's
Vorpal Blade. Akali will generally win most combat exchanges with Shen. To lane well, Shen must play conservatively with properly time Feints to mitigate damage and last hit as much as possible while staying in experience range. During fights where Shen is not alone, Akali will tend to use her
Twilight Shroud to evade attacks. Shen must try and predict where she is likely located and use Shadow Dash on that location. Overshooting the location will mean that Akali is too far away to auto attack Shen and will not come out of stealth. Only attempt this when it would not be disadvantageous to spare the energy should the Shadow Dash miss its mark.
Headbutt and Pummel simultaneously. The Headbutt allows Alistar to close the distance quickly and the Pummel knocks Shen into the air for a small duration. The combination of the two techniques allow Alistar to essentially harass and walk away. As always, be wary of Alistar's
Flash + Pummel combo. It can be used to knock Shen or his allies out of position easily. A timely
Shadow Dash may save a teammate.
Feint as most Anivia will followup with an Icicle.
Bandage Toss will not strike directly. It is never a good idea to go toe-to-toe with an Amumu because of how the mechanics of his
Despair ability. Use the hit and run tactic to strike when Ki Strike and Feint are available.
Heart of Gold, it is imperative that you quickly finish your
Mercury's Treads as soon as possible. The magic resist and stun duration reduction are key to combating this champion. Because of the speed of Annie's Q ability, it should not be too difficult to have Feint ready to absorb some of the damage. Watch the cooldowns on Annie's ability to judge when to
Shadow Dash for some free burst damage. Follow the harassment techniques outlined in the
Sheen section to cripple Annie.
Shadow Dash to Ashe, she will most likely being to retreat. Be wary that she is not baiting you for a gank.
Rocket Grab. However, this does not mean other players may be so lucky. It is sometimes necessary for Shen to purposely move or
Shadow Dash in front of
Rocket Grab intercept and save a team mate. If Shen is lucky, he will be pulled into a low HP Blitzcrank who was hugging his tower while escaping your teammate. It's like giving a free kill to Shen.
Vorpal Blade harass is to utilize his passive,
Carnivore, and quickly kill the creeps in the lane. This makes Cho'Gath overextend in the lane and opens up opportunities for a gank.
Doran's Shield to the lane. These can be beaten by Shen. The more mana regen a Malphite has, the harder he is to fight as Shen. To beat a Malphite, it is important to Feint Malphite's
Seismic Shard and to throw Vorpal Blades whenever possible. Avoid auto attacking him direction unless he just used
Ground Slam to damage the minion wave. This is your opportunity to
Shadow Dash and hurt him. Be aware of your energy pool because you do not want to let his opportunity go to waste. Remember not to let Malphite get 8 seconds of no damage after his armor breaks. This is the best time to make him take damage.
Transfusion damage.

Akali
Akali can potentially be a difficult champion for Shen to fight. Akali's



Alistar
Generally, Shen has little problems dealing with an Alistar because Shen can easily stay out of range of Alistar's abilities. However, be aware of truly skilled Alistar players who are able to



Anivia
An important note about Anivia is that her Q ability is a skill shot but still does damage to all targets it passes through. It it essential to dodge perpendicular to the movement of the ice projectile to avoid being stunned. Be wary when caught in Anivia's Ultimate. If caught, immediately use

Amumu
Within the lane, Shen will have a clear advantage in terms of harass and the ability to kill minions. Most Amumu will jungle and will only show up in the lane for ganks and team fights. Be wary of changes in your opponents' movements. Aggressive posturing may signal an incoming gank. It may not be necessary to retreat, but position accordingly so that Amumu's


Annie
Shen should not have much trouble against an Annie. After completing the




Ashe
A skilled Ashe player will be able to stay mostly out of Shen's range when properly utilizing her Frost Arrows and Volley to slow Shen's approach. Ideal tactic include using minions as a shield to avoid taking damage from Volley. If Shen is able to

Blitzcrank
Through correct positioning, Shen can avoid being pulled by Blitzcrank's



Cho'Gath
Shen has superior early game harass over Cho'Gath due to his limited mana capacity. The only way Cho'Gath can mitigate


Malphite
Malphite can be a tough lane for Shen. Be aware, that Shen cannot be a Malphite that gets mana regen. Most Malphite that take a




Sion
Sion is another tough match-up for Shen. There are some important things to remember when facing a Sion. His shield is one of his most potent forms of damage. Many players simply run in fear when his shield is up. It is important to bring the fight to him early before he gets too many levels in his stun and shield. The more mana he wastes while levels 1-3, the better chance you actually have of beating him. Beware of bush usage. It is almost always better to let Sion's shield expire before reengaging him at this point. Another point worth mentioning is that part of Sion's minion wave control strategy revolves around obliterating a creep wave and backing out while letting Shen's tower kill the minions. This forces your wave of minions to push quickly towards his tower where he continues the cycle. Feint is an important skill to hold off the minion wave outside your tower's kill-zone. Try and keep the wave as neutral as possible, with a little push towards your tower. The better you hold the wave towards your tower, the more likely Sion will not be able to get farm safely.
Vladimir
Vlad is one of toughest match-ups for Shen that he can actually beat. It usually involves a gank, but a Sheen is a requirement to actually 1v1 a Vladamir. It is important to focus more points than usually into Feint to mitigate
This Shen build does not play the same as Support Tank Shen. There is a distinct difference in how these builds conduct a team fight. The build bobs and weaves with a team fight. A Support Tank Shen will enter a team fight and stay in the fight. My Shen build tends to enter a team fight burst damage and receive focus fire and run out of the fight when Shen gets low. A Support Shen is durable enough to stay in the fight and leave at his leisure.
It is important to know when to enter a fight and when to leave it. If you are doing well, the enemy will hate your guts and WILL focus you. This is desired because you are a tank. It is your job. Remember when exiting a fight, never completely remove yourself from the action. Only stay far enough away to stay safe but always ready to reenter the fray to assist your teammates at the next best opportunity. This is the main reason why Movement Speed Quintessences are very important.
It is important to know when to enter a fight and when to leave it. If you are doing well, the enemy will hate your guts and WILL focus you. This is desired because you are a tank. It is your job. Remember when exiting a fight, never completely remove yourself from the action. Only stay far enough away to stay safe but always ready to reenter the fray to assist your teammates at the next best opportunity. This is the main reason why Movement Speed Quintessences are very important.
Mid-game and late game require teamwork and most of all, participation. If a champion is not present, they are not participating. This is where Shen shines. A Shen is able to continue to farm and push a lane while teammates provide sufficient pressure down a lane to attract the enemies' attention. The meaning of "pressure" is to push the lane in a manner to pose a potential threat to a vital point, usually a tower, but refuse to engage in an actual fight. By occupying the enemies attention, Shen can safely push a lane and even take a tower. With the strategic placement of wards, Shen can observe the enemies' approach and withdraw to a safer location.
If your team is engaged while exerting pressure, Shen can use either
Teleport or his Ultimate,
Stand United, to quickly join the fight. A Shen who is pushing a lane while his team exerts pressure must be acutely aware of the enemies' movements. A misstep could result in an uneven fight against your team. Careful consideration must be taken into account of the enemies' strength before this map control strategy can be implemented.
Sight Wards are the main source of map control during gameplay. They play an important role in the unorthodox use of the
Teleport Summoner Skill. They allow Shen to use
Teleport to get to fights when
Stand United is on cooldown.
If your team is engaged while exerting pressure, Shen can use either


Sight Wards are the main source of map control during gameplay. They play an important role in the unorthodox use of the



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