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Master Yi Build Guide by

Master Yi - Ionia's 2nd most nerfed champion (Mid/Top lane)

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Master Yi Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (7) More Master Yi Guides

Choose Champion Build:

Fighter/Top-Lane
Assasin/Mid-Lane
How I play Master Yi
Mobility OP

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Items

Starting Items #1

Core Build

Offensive Items

Defensive Items

Alternate Starting Items

Ability Order

Master Yi Passive Ability

Introduction

Hello and welcome to one of another of my guides. This time we will be focusing on Master Yi, a very agile and high dmg dealing champion. I will give you two builds(Now four builds), a mid-lane build a top-lane build both tested and viable. Now lets get started

// INTRODUCTION

// SPECIAL THANKS: Credits to jhoijhoi for the template, which you can find here. Also this guide help me a lot on other stuff as well.

Other Guides
My Rengar Guide .

Soon to be Xin Zhao and Jayce Guide

Always make sure to vote up this guide. It really helps

Insipirations

Update log

10-25-2013- Added Update log
10-25-2013- Added Matchup section A-Z

10-27-2013- Removed and added
10-27-2013- Added My Personal Build (Recommended)

11-21-2013- Revamped Master Tree for preseason / Season 4.Later on I will add trinkets, new items etc.

11-24-2013- Added new items and trinkets to the guide. Will experiment on more new items for Master Yi

11-25-2013- I have experimented with new items and new builds and figured out some new ways to play Master Yi. Will add builds to the guide somewhere next week.

11-26-2013- Added one of the new build to the guide will work on the rest of the builds later on.

11-27-2013- Added the brand new team fight section. The section explains what effects can have in team fight if used correctly.

11-28-2013- This guide has hit almost 10,000 views. I know it might mean anything for you the reader. But for me this is a big accomplishment hopefully we can reach 10,000 views and possibly even higher. Remember to vote up this guide and make sure to leave some constructive criticism.

12-15-2013- Added Early game,Mid game, and Late game section
12-15-2013- This guide has reached past 11,000 views. I know it doesn't seem like such big accomplishment. Thank you to all the fellow summoners who decided to click on this guide and give a try.

11-16-2013- Replaced and for and for the fighter/top-lane. This will be explained in the items section.

11-17-2013- Updated most of the top-lane matchup section (A-Z)
11-17-2013- Announcing a new matchup section for the mid-lane (A-Z)

12-22-2013- Replaced and for and . This will be explained in the mid-lane item section.

12-30-2013- Removed points in and and put the remaining points into and one point into .

1-3-2014- Updated the late-game section and the offensive items choices. Also Happy New Years.

1-8-2014 Reworking the "personal opinion on Master Yi"

Pros / Cons

Pros
-Excellent all-round champion
-Can get easily fed
-Very good dmg output and somewhat burst
-Decent sustain
Cons
-Squishy early-game
-Mana issues early-game
-CC will destroy Master Yi

Items(Top-lane)

This build really just focuses on doing tremendous amount of damage and moderate survivalbility an absolutely awesome split pusher

- An overall great item for Master Yi. The Ad and attack speed are great for making burst more dmg and get the Double Strike procs.

- This item combined with will result you doing s*** tons of damage with the passive and the crescent passive

- Great amount of Attack Damage and Lifesteal for . The passive on Ravenous Hydra helps with AOE damage and will help do tons of singular damage.

- Randuins omen serves as a great defensive item for . The slows help him catch up or get away from sticky situations. The health also helps with sustain and survivabalilty

- Great boots for . The tenacity serves great for since he is very vulnerable to CC.

Items(Mid-Lane)

This build focuses on being an assassin rather than a fighter. Your main goal will be killing the ADC and other Crtical targets

- An overall great item for Master Yi. The Ad and attack speed are great for more overall dmg and get the Double Strike procs.

- Great item for an Ad character considering the armor pen and the nice amount of Ad.

- The health bonus give you some survivalbility and the cdr and armor pen helps with the ultimate and tanky champions

- When the previous build I had for it has no critical strike at all. But over the past couple of days I have realized that necessitates critical strike. But with out making this build overwhelming with critical strike, I have put in that pretty much makes you critical strike ridiclously hard. Also the 70 Attack Damage also helps put out more damage.

- Very good item for Master Yi due to him being so squishy and the passive really is a lifesaver(no pun intended)

- I realized that is absolute **** compared to these boots. The tenacity and MR end up helping you save your own life . Still are very good for roaming around the map from your lane . Even though you'll probably fall behind in CS its still good boots for helping your team,

Abilities

Alpha Strike- Really good ability, provides disengage and engage and the damage that comes from it is substantial

Meditate- Good ability for sustain and provides awesome play for the player

Wuju Style - Awesome ability overall. good for engagements and 1v1s and really helpful when jungling. Also there is no mana cost

Highlander- Nice ability when it comes to chasing down enemies and nice for escapes and ganking lanes.

Matchups A-Z(Top-lane)

= Difficulty 3/5

is a generally hard lane with most champions in my opinions. His passive is really a bummer and his life steal is something the most fed ADC cant even beat. Just play safe and attack when the opportunity arises.

= Difficulty 5/5

is one your main counters in top-lane. His passive will outmatch your sustain and if low enough with ignite will kill you. His ultimate pretty much just makes more useless than Kog'Maw. Like play safe and don't try and poke.

= Difficulty 4/5

I've finally got too play against a . To be honest this lane can be very scary for in many situations. His ultimate is REALLY OP. His ultimate can heal him for 50% of his health overtime and takes away 20% of his current health. But this 20% can barely have an effect on he is very tanky and he has great synergy with his and . Most 's build so the healing from his passive combined with can just make him unstoppable. His does fair enough damage for a skillshot but can easily screw you over. So deal with always keep your on reserve to reduce the heal from his and tell the jungler to come and help you out to kill the . Finally be careful early-game for his E does devastating damage.

= Difficulty 5/5

is the most annoying top-lane ever for me. Her early game damage is just unbearable for the fragile structure of Master Yi. I would avoid this lane at all cost if you don't want to go ape****

= Difficulty 3/5

is fairly even lane against Master Yi if you just get at least you'll fare well against him. Then you should wait for him to drain his mana then engage and just destroy him.

= Difficulty 4/5

is a not a nice lane to be in. His silence will absolutely leave you worthless. Just wait for him to misuse his silence or a gank from the jungler and go ahead and engage. You should win the initial trade-off if you completely avoid his . If your low enough do what ever you can to get out of the range of his ultimate (flash, ultimate, etc.)

= Difficulty 3/5

is a champion I rarely see myself but by looking at recent gameplay of her. She could provide a challenge for Master Yi.

= Difficulty 3/5

Like Irelia could provide a challenge for Master Yi. I recommend to build defensively and farm for the rest of the laning phase. If an opportunity arose for you to kill him than take it. Try your best to kill him when your jungler ganks. Otherwise just farm for late-game and try to avoid engagements that you know you'll lose.

= Difficulty 3/5
against as of now figured out is a fairly even lane. Even though his combined with his seems unfair but before he can start to poke you can choose to him and dodge his and start bringing his health down before he can start or finish his combo, also possibly killing him in his combo. To dodge his often just buy some or upgrade too some tier boots

= Difficulty 4/5

is a hard matchup if the lee sin your going against is a good one. What I would do is take advantage of him missing his skillshots and ask the jungler to gank as much as possible without other lanes not getting ganked. Even though his early game is absolutely awesome for lee sin he falls badly late game so he shouldn't then if you don't feed him.

= Difficulty 4/5

is luckily a rare champion to be seen in lane rather then the jungle. But when he is in lane hes a challenge. The best thing to ask for ganks from the jungler to try and regulate his farm if he farm and get more than 100 stacks with he will out damage you in lane and become tankier than you can handle. As always play safe and if hes builds DPS than luckily he wont as tanky as tank nasus.

= Difficulty 3/5

since was buffed he is a way more formidable lane for . His passive will start to trouble you if you both get low in a duel. So if you do get low be careful for his for that can easily finish you off if your not careful. His is not something to really worry about if you have your ultimate. If you don't have your ultimate than can be used as something to slow and/or used as poke. But overall this should not be a hard lane for as long as you make nice plays and don't make stupid decisions.

= Difficulty 3.5/5

is not an easy won lane for Master Yi. He has CC and some nice poke so its a not a nice lane to be in and even worst if fed he gets more tanky over time. The best thing to do is to sustain and let him waste mana on his then go in if you want to or just wait for a gank from the jungler.

= Difficulty 5/5

is lane that I would just completely avoid. His will absolutely destroy you. If you are stuck with as always ask the jungler for help against . But early in the laning phase you have a signifcantly better chance of killing due to the fact that he is somewhat squishy.

= Difficulty 5/5

is one of the hardest lanes with that I have ever experienced. She has that scales more Attack Damage than her . Also she has a shield that scales with her Attack Damage. Than theirs her passive that after every ability she can melt with you with just a couple AA's. I recommend to avoid this lane and if you cant avoid it and your not in ranked than just dodge if you want to avoid rage and flaming on other people.

= Difficulty 3/5

is an even lane overall. Your both squishy and do tons of damage. You both have ultimate's that help you significantly in single fights and teamfights. But the problem for Master Yi is that Tryndamere has an ultimate where he can't die for 5 seconds. By now you and Tryndamere have bars of health left and with a full rage bar he will kill and crit you easily. So the best thing to is juke the hell out of him and then ignite to make sure you get the kill on him when his ultimate is over.

= Difficulty 3/5

is fortunately for Master Yi is not a tank with good CC without wasting her ultimate. But unfortunately she does a fair amount of damage. So always for a gank from the jungler and always take the opportunity to kill her when you want to.

= Difficulty 5/5
is a similar lane with . He will become very tanky and end up almost out damaging you. Just ask for assistance from the jungler and don't hesitate to engage with the jungler is ganking and trying to make plays. If the jungler does not gank, completely avoid .

= Difficulty 3/5
is an easy and equal lane if you don't underestimate his . His is basically CC and tons of damage combined into one ability. Also his is another ability to be weary about.

Early Game

Early game is good if your above lvl 3 or 4. I would recommend that you farm until you get your ultimate. Than you have more potential to get kills in the Early Game and more survivability to run from champions that would destroy before lvl 6.

The items you should get Early Game should be an , and finally a

Mid game

's Mid-Game can be were he shines. You should have at least two parts of your build already in your item slot and ready to use. But this is not 's full potential(if your not fed). Until Late-Game still make safe plays and don' go in to teamfights by yourself you'll be slaughtered if your not fed. Also Mid-Game is almost were most games end so if your lucky you can get into your full potential before the game ends.

Late Game

's Late game is when your full potential finally surfaces. With your AD in the high 300's are low 400's you should be able to wreck any champion you come across. But thats not all. With your build finished you can literally destroy turrets with ease making you a superb spilt pusher. Also with your in teamfights could provide you with a very easy penta kill. Lastly if are doing very good you will become an MVP to your team and they end up protecting if they wish to win the game.

Teamfights

Team fights are a part of the match that win you the game. The more team fights your team wins the better chance your team has a chance of winning. So without further a due I'am going introduce the many things that 's abilities can bring to the table in a team fight if played well.
Alpha Strike
's is one of the best AOE's in a team fight in league of legends. Since scales better late game than early game the is just the thing to boost your team's chances of winning the match. also serves as a great initiator to jump on the ADC or APC and absolutely destroy them with ease. Also can critically strike so this can boost the damage of tremendously.

Meditate
's does not affect a team fight all that much except for just buying for your team to get into the fight. See, can be used to help you survive in a team fight or just help your team mate by time to get into the fight. For example
and get caught by the enemy team. The dies and pops . With popping meditate hes buying time for , and to get into the team fight and clean up the rest of the team. They ended up acing the other team and having only one death on theirs. Even though is not effective as it seems if played it can make a 2v5 turn into a 4v5 and win the team fight.

Wuju Style
's is a good combo with . can make a tremendous difference when combined with . Its boost the damage that comes from . really makes more effective against really tanky champions like and . Also .

Highlander
's is his ultimate that helps him initiate with his . Its also helps him escape rough situation in the team fight. Finally it can make your team decisively win a team fight from the fact that he can through any champion and get to the ADC or APC and kill them.

My personal opinion on Master Yi

I'm renewing the argument if is overpowered or if he is not.

A lot of people complain if Master Yi ridiculously overpowered in other words OP or if he just snowball very , very easily mid-game and late-game. Well I'am going to present to you my arguement if Master Yi is truly overpowered or if he snowball wells.

ALL READERS OF THIS SECTION KNOW THAT THIS SECTION OF THE GUIDE IS COMPLETELY IRELEVANT AND NOT RELATED TO THE REST OF THE GUIDE. THIS IS ONLY A DEBATE SECTION SO. YOU MAY SKIP THIS PART OF THE GUIDE IF YOU WISH.

Now here's the current facts for and his abilities and passive.
is 's in my opinion is 's damage ability out of the rest.

Master Yi leaps across the battlefield with blinding speed, dealing physical damage to multiple units in his path. Alpha strike can critically strike and deals bonus physical damage to minions and monsters. Basic attacks reduce Alpha Strike's cooldown.

Master Yi leaps to strike up to 4 enemies, dealing 25/60/95/130/165 (+100% Attack Damage) physical damage to each and an additional 75/100/125/150/175 damage to minions and monsters.Alpha Strike can critically strike, dealing an additional 0 physical damage. Basic attacks lower the cooldown of Alpha Strike by 1 second.

As it says above can critically strike unlike the previous patch of . So the provides a very large amount for alone. Also it can be used as a large gap closer, or ever something to dodge hard hitting skillshots. Finally can be used to escape duels that do not result to you winning. So this certainly in my opinion if played right can be overpowered/OP. But remember that the mana cost on his scales to 110 mana at 5 points this results with having mana issued which due get solved later in the game.

Now were going into 's famous heal

Master Yi rejuvenates his body by focus of mind, restoring Health and taking reduced damage for a short time.

Master Yi channels, restoring 30/50/70/90/110 (+30% Ability Power) Health per second for 4 seconds. This healing is increased by 1% for every 1% of Master Yi's missing Health.While channeling, Master Yi reduces incoming damage by 50/55/60/65/70%. This damage reduction is halved against turrets.

This obviously has been nerfed hard since the patch before 's rework. It only scales 30% of your ability power/AP and it also heals more the lower 's health is.
So to a certain degree scales of off 's current health. But this can be a lifesaver when you end being dived by some other enemy champion. So to a limit the can be deemed overpowered if used efficiently. But the stats say otherwise. Obviously this can obviously be seen as not overpowered/OP.

Than there's 's .

in my opinion is probably another ability that seems a little bit unfair.

Master Yi becomes skilled in the art of Wuju, passively increasing his Attack Damage. Activating Wuju Style grants bonus true damage on basic attacks, but the passive bonus is then lost while on cooldown.

Passive: Grants 10% (0) Attack Damage.
Active: Basic attacks deal bonus 10/15/20/25/30 (+0) true damage for 5 seconds. Afterwards the passive bonus is lost while Wuju Style is on cooldown.

This is another ability that if used correctly it is very overpowered/OP but it has been nerfed and buffed recently. In the rework for they buffed to where it did true damage and scale AD with the more points you point into the ability. But combined with can be really effective against squishies and even a certain amount of tanks. But has a short duration. But also has a short cooldown. So in my final opinion is overpowered if used correctly.

Than their's ultimate

Master Yi moves with unparalleled agility, temporarily increasing his Movement and Attack speeds as well as making him immune to all slowing effects. While active, Champion kills or assists extends Highlander's duration. Passively reduces cooldown for his other abilities on a kill or assist.

Passive: Champion kills and assists reduce the remaining cooldown of Master Yi's basic abilities by 70%.
Active: Increases Movement Speed by 25/35/45%, Attack Speed by 30/55/80%, and grants immunity to movement reduction effects for 10 seconds. While active, champion kills and assists extend the duration of Highlander by 4 seconds.

This obviously is VERY overpowered/OP but there are faults. The duration of the is some what short. Also since it has a short duration is not as a good as a split pusher than he used to be. But other than that. This can save a easily with just a press of a button. If they have low range CC for example. 's , 's , and 's . Other than a life saver , can be too initiate a teamfight that will obviously be in your favor and to kill the ADC without trouble.

Finally. Last but not least 's

Every few strikes, strikes twice.

So just be reading this description this passive sound just ******ed. But you would be mistaken. You see this passive count as an AA. So this passive can critically strike. So two very fast critical strikes almost instantly can chunk them very good. But as always it has faults 's second strike damage was reduced and doesn't do as much damage as it used too.

So from the evidence above you can see that is very overpowered/OP. You see can almost one shot every champion in this game if he gets snowballing. But thats the beauty of , why wouldn't you play a very easy and overpowered champion? Just because other people say he doesn't take skill at all. As always that absolutely wrong. You see this game takes skill if you want to get a high ranking at all. But thats not it , if you watch eSports do you see the pros playing underpowerd champs like or ? Absolutely not. You see them playing the champions that have a certain skill cap of level and champions that are either minorly overpowered or ridiculously overpowered to the point that champion has to get nerfed as hard as .

So thats it. Thats my changed opinion . He is OP. But please, please don't go saying that has a skill cap when he really doesn't. Ok that is all for this section remember to comment and vote in the discussion tab.

Conclusion

Well that's all I have for the Master Yi players out there. Please stay tuned for updates and make sure to checkout my other guides. See you guys later also make sure to up-vote if this build helped if not you can leave some of the negavtives of this build in the comment