Hi, my name is AJ Sanchez (twitch.tv/flexpointlol) and I am a Diamond V Top main [FlexpointLoL]. This is my 3rd guide. I got placed in Gold V and feel that Irelia was a main part in my climbing to Diamond V. She has superior sustain to most top laners, hard CC, and great burst early. I hope that I can shed some light in her mechanics and how to use her so that she can carry you to higher tiers as well.

Irelia's early game isn't too bad. She is squishy, but if you correctly brawl with your opponent around level's 2-4, your opponent will think twice before doing it again, and respect your early game. She starts to get going levels 4-9 (depending on matchup), and specifically, her level 5, 7, and 9 are, in my opinion, the best in the game.

Even if you go even in lane, Irelia's power spike at level's 7 and 9 are insane.

As Irelia, post-9, you'll be wanted to find some roams because Irelia is the Queen of mid-game. Mid game, once you finish tri-force, is the time where you can start 2v1 champions. Even if you're just 1-0 or 2-0, you dominate the mid game.

Irelia isn't much of a split pusher, so after you take tower, you really want to start getting a roam going and helping out with objectives.


In the waaaaaaaaay late game Irelia will start to fall off, so it is imperative you take advantage of your dominance early.

Pros:

Superior Sustain
High Burst at Sheen
Hard CC
Has Gap-closer
Hard Snowball
Amazing Tenacity with her Passive
Can take Jungle Camp level 1

Cons:

Must dive into teams to deal damage
Taunt (People don't like Irelia and you will be focused)
Frozen Heart (Yeah, if this item is built, it hurts you)
Squishy
Needs items for Powerspike

YOU WALK INTO LANE LEVEL 1. DO NOT TAKE A JUNGLE CAMP. IT IS NOT WORTH IT ANYMORE!
Play Video

This is standard against AD top laner. If against an AP top laner, you'll switch out your Armor Quints for Health Quints, and use flat Magic Resist instead of scaling and swap your seals from health to Scaling Armor.

You'll notice that I go all Attack damage now because of the recent buffs to Irelia's Q Bladesurge. I now value that extra AD much higher than the extra attack speed.

For AP top laners, chances are that they will be squishy, so the added health will be a CLEAR advantage in lane and will be supplemented well by the Mercury's Treads

Flash and Teleport

Teleport has been nerfed, but I still feel that it's essential for establishing lane dominance. Add that to the ability to affect other laners, I believe teleport outclasses ignite.

Armor

If you manage to get a kill vs a Riven, Renekton, Darius and play extremely defensive, I would suggest buying a Warden's Mail on your FIRST recall then proceed to buy your Trinity Force. An early WM is DEVASTATING vs those champions. They will deal minimized damage to you.

Magic Resist

If against AP champs, Spirit Visage as a second item can be very strong and make it hard to deal with you. Banshee's is more towards safety from Spellcasters as are Merc Treads. Another option, due to its recent buffs, is Mercurial Scimitar

Health

I've recently grown fond of Sterak's Gage due to it allowing you to be VERY FORGIVING when diving carries in the back line and you get into a tight spot where you are tanking a lot. If you are against champions with quick strong burst like Darius, Riven, Veigar who has grown popular, Viktor, Yasuo, etc etc, Sterak's can be invaluable in tanking damage for you teammates.

Damage

I added Wit's End here because I consider that item more on the offensive scale rather defensive due to its combat stats and how valuable they are to Irelia's kit. Mercurial Scimitar IS NOT an essential item, but it is still very strong to get on Irelia due to the combat stats it provides.

Max Hiten Style against tanks and bruisers like Renekton, Sion, Gnar, etc etc.
Max Equilibrium Strike against bursty/assassin type champions such as Yasuo, Rengar, Tryndamere, Riven, etc etc.


Play Video

Farming with Irelia is extremely simple. If you are not comfortable with Auto-Attacking a minion from fear of harass from your enemy, simply use your Q to last hit. Beware, it costs mana, and if you are not smart, you won't have enough mana to all-in level 6. If you want more help, activate your W and use the bonus true damage, although I suggest you only use that to sustain back.

Always use your E to stun. It's completely wasted if it's used to slow [IN LANE].

During team fights, slowing the carry is effective, so that's the only exception.

If you need to, stun your opponent after you cs so that he can't harass you, but if you stun then, you'll want to auto-attack him 1-2 times with your W active.

A tip to gap-close:
Sometimes, I'll auto a minion in the back of the wave and inteantionally leave it alive with 100 health so that if the enemy walks near it, I can Q to the minion and brawl.

NEVER JUST Q ONTO A ENEMY CHAMPION unless YOU ARE FINISHING YOUR HARASS COMBO.


Your Combo
E-W-AA-AA-AA-Q


Combo with ult
R-E-W-AA-AA-AA-R-AA-R-AA-Q

I firmly believe that as a laner [Carry], you should have AT LEAST 50 Jungle Creeps per game. Once Irelia has Tri-Force, she melts jungle camps. Just stun the big Monster and proc your Tri-Force.

Remember,
50 Jungle Creeps

Similar to Lee Sin, Maokai, Master Yi, Xin Zhao, and others, Irelia has a form of dash with her Q, meaning, with vision, she can dash to minions or enemy's OVER WALLS.

Knowing that, always remember that and keep a ward handy. If you happen to get ganked or jumped in/near the jungle, pop a ward on a camp and Q onto it. You don't necessarily have to kill it, but as long as you escape, you're good.

A nice tip to remember,
If you have Tri-Force, you can WQ a small Raptor and kill it giving you the reset.


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Play Video

Here you can see how I use my Q (Dash) to avoid Yasuo knockup and keep him from ulting me.

Irelia having a reset on kill Dash ability is very useful not only for chasing or executing, but for engaging as well. If both teams are staring down in the mid lane ready to fight and you're bored of waiting, as a enemy minion wave approach you, you can use your ultimate to lower the health of the minions in the back, Dash and Kill that minion, and dash to the enemy ADC to engage. You have to get creative with your abilities, and that's one way to do so.

A tip:
If you have Tri-Force and maxed your W, you'll be able to dash to a backline minion and kill it without having to attack it before-hand. So just WQ the backline minion and then Dash onto the carry. You're goal is to kill any carries on sight. Leave the peeling to the support. Once you get your Randuin's Omen, Guardian Angel, and Spirit Visage, you're secondary goal is to soak damage, but always remember to kill the carries.

In ranked always stand in riven to watch for the invade. Taking a camp level 1 is no longer viable.

In conclusion, Irelia is a FORCE for over 50% of a total average match time which is arguably the best out of all the champions. You get power spikes at Sheen, and Tri-force. In almost every scenario, I'll say to rush Sheen, but if you feel that you can outdamage your lane going defensive, such as rushing Ninja Tabi or Giant's Belt, by all means, do it. Just remember, don't stay top lane too long, and make sure your team follows up with you.

Irelia has carried me to where I am now, and I am positive she'll help you :)

Good luck on the Rift, everyone.

Thank you very much for taking the time to see my guide.

-AJ Sanchez (Flexpoint)
2/24/2015

6/19/2015 - After talking to multiple high elo top lane players [Quas, Dyrus, Calitrololz8) I've edited that Frozen Heart becomes a situational item rather than ESSENTIAL. Previously, I stated that it's essential.

6/22/2015 - After ~10 [Recent] games of Irelia vs Magic Damage champs, I have concluded that Tri-Force IS NOT a must buy, and that it is effective to go BTRK into Wit's End to start. (IRELIA BUILD VS HEAVY MAGIC DAMAGE)

7/05/2015 - Changed the "Assassin Irelia" to "Snowballing" and edited the build path.
321k views, HYPE!

190k views! Thank you for the support! <3
236k views: Again, Thank you!

9/4/2015 - Added Dead Man's Plate to the build path
733k views, wow, thank you all for the support.

10/07/2015 - Added Sterak's Gage into the build orders.
Almost 900k views! Let's get there!

11/16/2015 - Edited for Preseason 6 | Patch 5.22. ENJOY
Let's get to 1 million views
-AJ

4/12/2016 - Edited for Patch 6.7. Irelia got buffed!! :D We hit 1 million views by the way, thank you guys!