Welcome to my guide, Irelia has been my main champion since I started playing LoL (like almost 1 year), also I'm not a pro player so you may give me any advices you want.

Irelia is a stong dueler one vs one, who can build tanky while still doing pretty much damage, has very strong chasing potential and late game she is a Goddess that can kill most champions with very little items.

The reason why I don't play ranked is 'cause I've no much time or chances to play so I'm often not in mood of playing serious games, but most likely it won't work my build as it grants lil'survavibility in early and in late we are not so tanks as others Irelias.

Irelia has no natural escapes and the plays you can do with this is by far superior than Ghost.

Killing potential, secure kills or shut down healers.

GOOD ALTERNATIVES

If we are facing a Shen, Singed or we are in a pre made team so we can coordinate to make Teleport Ganks, if you want is good option too.

This spells hurts DPS champions( like Tryndamere) so hard that you could take it if you want, it mitigates AP burst a lot I love to use it on Katarina's Death Lotus and watch her lose her full Team Fight damage, also is another CC if they have very high mobility(like Singed).

If our opponent has a fearsome early game this skill may help you to survive, you lost a lot of killing potential anyway.

- Almost every other choice is not viable on Irelia.

PROS: -True Damage. -In-build sustain. -High Mobility. -Good Farmer under Tower. -Low CD's. -Crowd Control. -Tenacity -Can Blow any Squishy from 100% to 0 in 3 seconds Burst 1 vs 1. -Outscaled only by very, and I mean it, very phew champions. -Late Game can dive the entrire enemy team and kill someone and Live to count it (only if your team cooperates with you and don't retreat leavin you alone).

CONS: -Poor Early Game. -Can and MUST be denied hard early. -Late Game is not the best one. -Situational CC. -Ultimate kinda useless if not used well. -Useless without items. -If you don't mess up you most likely'll be camped. -If you are the only tank of your team most of times you will end separated from you teammattes and alone in a 3 vs 1 match, also sometimes your team will got erased when you are not with them. -With this build you will have 3 Actives in late game, making easy to mess up

2 Greater Quintessence of Life Steal

I Sacrifce 5 AD for 3 LS%, its a mid-late game invest, and've proven worthy, and after BotRK nerf, its good.

1 Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage

Helps early AD, nothing more to add.

9 Greater Mark of Attack Damage

Lately i've taking Offensive Masteries, so flat Ad've proven to be a lil Better for most cases.

9 Greater Seal of Armor

Standard Seals, flat Armor helps to survive you early game.

9 Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist

AP damagae is a major threat in mid-late game, so unless you are facing an AP top (like Rumble) scaling runes are best than flat Glyphs.

Now let's talk about the most important thing in this guide: ITEMS.

¤》 Mercury's Treads Pretty much standard item on Irelia, MS, MR and Tenacity, all-in-one item.

◆ Why to build it: Tenacity make us hard to CC-lock, MS is always handy and MR mitigates a lot AP damage.

▶ When NO to build it: when the enemy laner has NO AP damage and NO CC.

♣ Alternative Items: Ninja Tabi.

¤》 Trinity Force BEST item for Irelia regardless other offensive items.

◆ Why to build it: Irelia burst after this item is not only insane but offensive, all of this using a SINGLE item slot.

▶ When NO to build: When you are using another guide but mine own.

♣ Alternative items: None.

¤》 Blade of the Ruined King Irelia deals TRUE DAMAGE, the only way to mitigate this is by stacking health.

◆ Why to build it: Blade grants LS, AS and MAGIC bonus damage based on courrent HP, the active is also nice.

▶ When NO to build it: When you are using another guide not mine.

♣ Alternative choices: None.

¤》 Youmuu's Ghostblade CDR, AD, ArPen, and a nice Active.

◆ Why to build it: I've lately have been building ArPen items, and I've found that this item works well, the Crit Chance is not your main goal but EVERYTHING else works wonders on Irelia, the active grants us even more chasing potential, also its active can let's us run without need to hit minions to active our Trinity Force's Passive.

◆ When NOT to build this: This item actually is our 6th slot item so this item is our Jocker to change for especific times, most of the times regardless situations I build this as often as I can.

♣ Alternative choices: Wit's End, Maw of Malmortius, Frozen Mallet, Executioner's Calling, Ravenous Hydra, etc.

¤》 Spirit Visage This item synergizes a lot with brusiers/tanks and Irelia is no different.

◆ Why to build it: This is item grants a lot of deffensive benefits and its cost is no very high.

▶ When NOT to build it: Opponents mid and jungler are not AP, has no AP damage.

♣ Alternative Items: Guardian Angel (yikes), Warmog's Armor, Wit's End, etc.

¤》 Randuin's Omen This is the core of our defense.

◆ Why to build it: Health, Armor and a nice Active, it has been recently nerfed but is pretty much a nice choice, by personal preference I still love Frozen Heart over Randuin's Omen but most of the times I build it, it proven worthy.

▶ When NOT to build it: You are facing a heavy AP team .

♣ Alternative Items: Thornmail, Frozen Heart, Guardian Angel, Sunfire Aegis, Atma's Impaler.

Lately, as I've played a lot of ARAM's I've found myself that every time I got Irelia, I'm the only "tank" therefore I've been forced to take a more tanky build, while I still preffer Frozen Heart and Black Cleaver, I've been buying Randuin's Omen and Sunfire Aegis, thus making my ArPen runes almost useless, still I've found that "Tank" Irelia is bad in late game (specialy if you are the only tank), 'cause you are not good peeling for your carry and you've not enough damage to dive the enemy team and kill an enemy in 3 vs 1 build, that's why I choose to build Ravenous Hydra instead of Sunfire Aegis, but the Hydra is ONLY available if you are not the only tank in your team.

Doran's Items have a special part on my guide.

If you start Doran's Shield, you can rush a Doran's Blade so you can have a lot of early Gold Efficience.

If you Start Doran's Blade, getting a second one will grant a lot of early power, if your enemy laner you will have a nice edge over him.

The Doran Items fall behind very quickly, so is a full waste of money buy more of 2.

Good items if you are behind, but still buy 3 is bad idea, also you must get an edge over your enemy if you are building this if not you will ending about 500G, or 25 or 30 CS once you sold them.

• This is our passive, and is a very nice passive, this is one of the thing that makes Irelia so strong; for every close enemy (up to 3 champs) we got a 10/25/40% of in-build Tenacity.
  
  I love this passive, our mastery of Legendary Guardian plus Mercury's Treads or Zephyr makes us to have 60% of CC-Reduction in 1 vs 1 battles, strong in Teamfights as it scales up to 66.85% turning strong CC in to a waste if used on us.
  
• Our farming tool, it deals 20/50/80/110/140 + 1 total AD, so at level 1 it grants a flat 20 AD to our early farming, also if it kill the target the cooldown is refreshed and 35 mana is refunded.
  
  This skill is quite broken when mastered, only 1 point is required 'cause the mana cost grows higher the higher the ranks it gets also de CD goes smaller so if you are being pushed to your tower hard taking a second point at early levels may be good.
  
  This is the skill that grants Irelia her high chasing potential.
  
• The Skill that makes Irelia quite broken at mid game, once we learn it Irelia will passively regain 5/7/9/11/13 HP on hit.
  
  Then when we turn it on the healt regen is doubled and we start to deal TRUE DAMAGE (15/30/45/60/75) this skill let us build tanky while dealing nice damage, we want to max it first as the cost is not increased.
  
  This is the skill that make us a tank slayer and is Irelia's signature move.
  
• This is our single target CC, it has a nice base damage so don't undertimate the damae it can do on its own, it slows the target by 60, but if the enemy has higher heal % than Irelia's it will stun it instead.
  
  This skill has a very short CD and maxed out (Level 13) it has 2 seconds of CC on a single target, letting us turning the tides in to our favor.
  
  This is the skill that make us a Carry Slayer.
  
• Finally our only ranged Skill, relative low CD for an ultimate and pretty nice damage, it heals 25% of the damage done to champions and 10% to minions.
  
  It can be casted 3 more times within 15 seconds, never undertestimate the power of this skill, it can help you to survive every time you engage also in TF it will heal you a decent amount of health.
  
  Best used this skill is when you have at least you Sheen, cast one Transcendent Blades every 2 seconds to do a lot of damage as we proc 4 times our Sheen, max this skill every time you can.
  
  

  EXPLANATION OF SKILL SEQUENCE

  
  
  Now, let's talk about why I pick up E over Q and take W until level 3, first of all, E is our only CC, and Irelia early game is pretty weak, only take Q as first level if the enemy jungler has low first clearing jungle time, or weak ganks at low levels other than that E is better than Q at first level.
  
  Now, second level take Q, why? our W is pretty weak until it has at least 3 points on it so better is have our farming tool to farm faster, as Q and E are utility skills over damage skill once we got both of them we can focus on getting our main skill.
  
  You can Max Bladesurge before Equilibrium Strike, you will increase your damage but you'll lose you main disruptor, is up to you, 2 seconds of CC is a lot, but if you need to farm under turret it may suit you better.

Simple the game part that makes Irelia either a late game monster o a useless champion: FARMING.

* There are phew tips I can grant on last hitting with Irelia.
* Don't Use your skills to get one CS if you can get it by using your Auto-Attack.
* Play with smartcast, Irelia has only 2 target skills, and her ultimate is already on smartcast, still you will notice how fast your reaction time it gets with time.
* If you are gona get one CS with your Bladesurge DO IT don't hesitate, if you do you most likely will miss the CS, burn mana and set your your skill in to CD.
* Also dont jump to get 1 CS you are gonna dive between 5 or more minions, you will take almost 100~150 HP by minions harrass and thats a health pot.
* Don't farm with W unless you are being EXTREMELY pushed and you need more damage to not lose too much CS, why? many champions only dont engage you 'cause your True Damage is ready when they try too engage to notice they are losing.
* For the godsake, NEVER, and I mean NEVER use your E to farm unless you've just killed the enemy toplaner, the jungler and You KNOW where is Mid, Support and ADC, its your only CC, and while it has low CD is better to have as and escape tool rather to burn it for one CS.
* Irelia may be a good roamer but she benefits largely more for CS than kills remember one kill is the same about 15 CS.
* Learn to freeze the lane, while I am not the best to do it is a key to deny farm, how you do it I'll dedicate a chapter to explain it later.
* If you pushed your lane to the enemy tower and there is no more farm clos you can:
A: Proxy farm, the most rewarding of all as you will take the entire wave to you, backdraw you will take many damage from minions and expose yourself to a 3 man-gank, if you're gonna do it you need A LOT of Vision, and you can only do it when you have a clear advantage on the enemy toplaner, by example yo have already your Trinity Force, Mercury's Treads and at least your Vampiric Scepter.
B: Steal Enemy jungler, Golemns or Wraith, nice, half damage as you remain outside of the enemy sight, its not as rewarding but you will deny EXP and money to the enemy jungle, still the 3 or even 2 man-gank is still present.
C: Farm your own jungle, only do it when your jungler is not near or has not the obvious intention to farm them for himself. Same gold as the other choice but you may be ending damaging your own teammate, remember LoL is not about being the super killing machine, is an Objective Team oriented game, you MUST help your Teammates not otherwiese.
* If you are roaming and you don't get a Kill or a Tower, while your enemy Toplaner is farming you are only losing the advantage you may have get, don't roam if you will let your enemy to recover from the advantage you got.
* About min 7 ~ 10 when Dragon first spawns there may be a chance to face the first teamfight in the game, remember if you can help your team GO to help, its better if you have Teleport to either get in to Dragon's Pit suddenly or to go back to your tower and keep the edge on you enemy,
* Finally, remember FARM as much as you can, never return to base if you are not FORCED TO, by example yo just get back from base with your Scepter or Phage, killed or droved away the enemy top laner, and your wave is extremly pushed go and farm anything you can, hide in the brushes but no go back for no reason, is a waste of time.

This is one of the best, if not the best way, to deny hardly your enemy laner, you achieve this, by not helping your minions against foe minions, only executing when they are about to die, also by doing this eventually your minions will die, then you must walk slowy towards your tower but not letting the minion wave reach your tower range, so you are gonna take damage, you must withstand it, util your own minion wave reaches again.

* With this your wave will push slowly to you, so your enemy will be far away of the safety of their tower.
* If your jungler has a scary early game, you will burn their flash in no time.
* Your enemy is not gonna have a safe source of minions, so they are not gonna be able to farm safely.
* If you are ahead you will be able to deny them HARD.
* If you are good at this you will not lose a single CS in a lot of waves.
* If you have Teleport you can wait to have gold enough to get a BIG item, the TP back, and keep the lane frozen.
* If the game is even you can set up deadly ganks.
* The only way to broke a frozen lane is by PUSHING HARD, therefore they will overextend.
* Irelia is not a good pusher, is a good control farm, so she excels at frozen the lane.

★ Matchups
★ Warding
★ Anything else I've fotgotten

Well thanks fot reading my guide, english is not my mother language so if y mispelled something I'm sorry, also a good part of this guide was writted in a celphone so I'll not update as much as I'd like to do it.

Don't forget to give me feedback and for any like you give thank you and if you dislike it don't forget to tell me why.

Hope to see you soon at the Fields of Justice!

→ Version 0.7.0 01/19/2014 Release of the guide.

→ Version 0.7.1 01/19/2014 Added the alternative build untested.
→ Changed the Seal of main build from AS to flat Armor.

→ Version 0.8.0 01/24/2014 Erased Hybrid Main Build and switched to Alternative Build to main.
→ General Rewrite of the Guide.
→ Added Skill Sequence.

→ Version 0.8.5 02/02/2014 Completed Skill Sequence.

→ Version 0.9.0 21/03/2014 Farming chapter was add, needs make-up.

→ Version 0.9.1 26/05/2014 Added Second Alternative Build.

→ Version 0.9.4 07/08/2014 Adder Freezing the Lane and Doran's Setup, minor details of alternative starts.