Watch out for Aatrox's E+Q combos; he can reposition himself to hit you when his E is up, however it has a very long cooldown early. You can consider an early Oblivion Orb into this matchup because of his overall sustain from his Passive and his Ult's healing if he's able to get ontop of you. If you ever get hit by his W, you need to walk to the left or right or you have to W E Q or E Q out or you will take massive damage or have to blow flash. At level 6, you can just Ult him away when he Ults, or just E Q back to your tower.
Ahri
You outrange Ahri, so abuse your range advantage and harass her with Q AAs as often as possible. Do your best to dodge her Q poke, especially the 2nd part (it's true damage), and especially her charm or you will take massive damage; you can stand behind minions to help avoid it. Watch out for her W early; it does a lot of damage, many Ahris take this level 1 and try to trade with you. You can take Cleanse in this matchup, especially if they have more hard CC on their team. At level 6, she has a bit more kill pressure on you because of her dashes. She can also kite around your soldiers with her Ult, too. If she ever dashes close to you, you can just Ult her into your tower as there is a small delay before she can Ult again.
Akali
You outrange Akali, so abuse your range advantage and harass her with Q AAs as often as possible. Don't bother trying to fight her when she uses her Shroud; back off and just wait for it to disappear and then fight her, it has a long cooldown. At level 6, she has a lot more kill pressure on you; if you ever use Q or E incorrectly, you will probably die so be mindful of your own cooldowns. You can always Ult her out of her shroud into your tower if needed. It's very hard to do, but you can interrupt Akali's R2 with a perfectly timed Ult.
Akshan
Never trade AAs with Akshan in his range. His double AA will out-damage your trades early game. Make sure to dodge his Q so he can't proc his Passive shield. In this matchup, just farm until Lost Chapter. With the extra mana pool and damage, I poke him down with Hail of Blades or Comet and stay out of his range. Spam ping MIA if you don't know where he is; his W stealths him and he can roam or try to cheese you if your minion wave is pushed near his tower. When he Ults, stand behind your minions or active turrets since those can block his Ult's bullets. If your tier 1 tower is alive, the tier 2 won't be considered active and cannot block Akshan's Ult.
Anivia
All you really have to do in this matchup is dodge her Q. If you dodge her Q, she has no kill pressure on you at all. I like Lethal Tempo into this matchup sometimes so I can kill her after I proc her Passive. Comet is also great for poking her at max range. A good Anivia will use her W to keep the wave on her side of the lane so she can freeze or farm it safely, requiring you to walk up and be vulnerable to ganks. Be aware that her W can also cancel your Drift if she uses it on you.
Annie
You outrange Annie, so abuse your range advantage and harass her with Q AAs as often as possible. Don't bother trying to trade with her when her Passive is at 4 stacks; she will stun you and you will take massive damage or blow cleanse if you have it. Pick up an early Null-Magic Mantle after Lost Chapter so you don't get one shot by her combo. You can take Cleanse into this matchup if you're not confident in your spacing OR if they have more hard CC on their team.
Aurelion Sol
You will probably never play against this champ unless they're a one-trick. Kite his W and do your best to dodge his Q (side-step or E out of it). Poke him down before you all-in him. Push him in so he can't roam. When he does roam, spam ping your team he's MIA so they don't die.
Brand
You outrange him. Try to side-step his W. If he Ws the wave, make sure you don't stand near it because he can E and it will spread to you. It's hard to all-in him because his Ult can bounce off of him and then he can stun you. Just poke him down, then all-in him when he's low enough for the kill.
Camille
Versus Camille, I like to perma-freeze near my turret until I have a sizeable advantage in lane because, if you're pushed up, she will be looking to use her E to get on top of you; this allows you to poke her safely every time she goes for farm. Make sure to dodge her W because it will give her a heal and slow you. You should save your Ult until after she uses hers because she can use hers to dodge yours since it makes her briefly untargetable. Ulting afterwards guarantees you an escape from her Ult since it doesn't allow you to leave her zone until she steps out or gets pushed out of it. Be aware she can also E off of your wall.
Cassiopeia
You outrange her. Abuse your range advantage and poke her down. Be mindful of her W; it can stop your E Q drift. If you dodge her Qs, she has no kill pressure on you. You can bait her Ult by standing still and autoing; when her Ult animation starts, just right click backwards so you don't get stunned.
Cho'Gath
You HAVE to dodge his Qs or you will get chunked. Stay out of his W range and just poke him down. Once he's 6 and has Everfrost, if you EVER get hit by his Q, you will die.
Corki
This matchup is very easy. The only way for him to survive lane is Fleet Footwork + Doran's Shield + Second Wind. Whenever he walks up for a cs, just Q+AA him. Dodge his Qs as best you can. He can't really play the game or farm until level 6 without getting chunked. When he has package, he has potential to kill you, but you should still rarely ever die in this matchup. Make sure to drift away from, Flash, or Zhonya's Hourglass his package.
Darius
This matchup is very easy. He has no way to get on you unless he Flash+Es you or uses ghost but you can just drift away and wait it out. His sustain (Doran's Shield + Second Wind) is rather annoying, but you can still poke him down and abuse him every time he goes for CS. Look to freeze the wave outside of your turret range. Once you have a sizable lead, if you're ever about to get hit by his Q, you can drift on top of him for soldier charge and so he doesn't heal or you can drift out of it. If he ever manages to pull you with his E, put a soldier to whatever side he isn't on and E Q backwards so he can't block your pathing. All you really have to do in this lane is not die and he's useless for the rest of the game, so just look to scale.
Diana
Do your best to dodge her Q. She can't do much if you dodge her Q. After you dodge her Q, harass her and poke her down. When she all-ins you, Ult her away as soon as she Ults you; you will push her away and not get hit by the 2nd part of her Ult. At level 6, after she lands her Q on minions, be careful and know that she can E to a minion, E to you, and Ult to set up a gank for her jungler.
Dr. Mundo
Do your best to dodge his Qs. Be mindful of your minions' health bars; his E will push them into you and you will take damage. As long as you dodge his Qs, this lane isn't much of a hassle. If they have a lot of healing on their team, consider buying an early Oblivion Orb to mitigate his Ult healing. His passive makes your Ult useless, so if he ever gets on you, you either have to Flash or E away. He's pretty much unkillable until you get an item or two, so just focus on farming.
Ekko
Abuse your range because he's melee. Do your best to dodge his Q so he can't proc his passive; it does a LOT of damage and the slow is very annoying. He's very vulnerable after he uses his Q or E to farm so use that time to harass and zone him off cs. Ekko players will hide in the bush and try to W you in lane; just watch out for it or you will take a lot of damage, have to flash, or die. At level 6, Ekko will look to all-in you and you can just Ult him under your tower to trade Ults.
Fiora
This matchup is annoying and I ban her often for my top laners or occasionally when I'm top. This matchup requires very good spacing. She can sit in the bushes closest to your tower level 1 and just all-in you with her Q+Passive, so you might have to miss out on the XP/Gold from the first minion wave. If you move far enough away when she has a front vital, you can replace it with a back vital; use this to your advantage so she can't proc vitals easily. You can also hug walls to avoid a vital getting proc'd. Her parry slow is strong and it will also lower your attack speed by a lot, so try your best to dodge it. At level 6, you have to be even more careful because she can get enough movement speed from her Ult and close the gap with her Q's to get on you; look to drift away and wait it out. You must be careful not to Ult her when her Parry is up because, if she reacts, she can stun you with it; I usually try to get her low enough to where she's forced to use it and I Ult her after it finishes.
Fizz
You bully him very hard pre-6. Just stay out of his Q range and he doesn't have much threat to you before he has his Ult. Hold your Ult until AFTER he uses his E or he will just dodge it. You can put a soldier behind you and walk at him; he will Ult you, so just E Q behind you and he will waste Ult. The average Fizz player will just Ult you off cooldown, so just watch out for that.
Galio
You pretty much scale for free in this matchup. You can't really kill him early unless he messes up and vice-versa. Push him in so he can't roam; either match his roams if your wave is fine or ping your team away and focus on getting tower plates.
Gangplank
He will never be able to barrel you because of your range advantage + your attack speed advantage. If you have 2 soldiers, you will hit 2 health bars of his barrels. Just farm his barrels and poke him down. Stay away from bushes; that's the only way he should ever be able to hit you with a barrel. When he tries to Q you, drop a soldier in his face and AA him with Hail of Blades or avoid it completely but playing at max range with Q + AA + Arcane Comet.
Garen
This matchup is probably one of the easiest in top lane. The only time he will ever get onto you is if he Flashes on or Ghosts at you. If he Qs towards you, just walk or drift away. If he's able to get in range with a Flash Q, you can Ult him away right before you get silenced. Perma harass him and make him give up CS by freezing near your turret. There's not much more to say really; this matchup is incredibly easy despite his sustain being incredibly annoying. Just farm and scale, then group with your team in fights.
Gnar
This matchup is relatively easy. Do your best to dodge his Q; the slow is annoying and will allow him to follow up with more damage. Don't try to fight or harass him when he's Mega; if he jumps on you or you try to all-in him, he can just stun you and walk away. At level 6, same thing: don't engage on him when his rage bar is full or almost full; you will die. If he ever Es onto you, just Ult him away and drift away if needed.
Gragas
Do your best to dodge his Q poke. It's hard to poke him out because of his Passive sustain. Hide behind your minions so he can't E you. Wait out his damage reduction from his W before using your poke. If you try to do long trades with him, he'll try to Ult you into his turret or his barrels.
Graves
You outrange him and his E passive is useless. Try to sidestep his Qs (walk out of the line). You can either Flash out of his Ult or W+E away of his Ult. When he Ws you, just walk out of it or E away. You can hide behind and use minions, teammates, and turrets to block his auto attacks.
Gwen
This matchup massively favors Azir due to his range advantage. Watch out level 1 since she can sit in the bush closest to your tower level 1 and start E; you will get chunked and be forced to miss the first wave so don't trade autos with her. Don't try to fight her whenever she uses her W or is in her W; while inside of it, she gets extra resistances. If you are outside of her W, you can't AA her with your soliders, damage her with Q, or Ult her away, so wait for her W to be on cooldown, then fight her. Do your best to farm and scale. When Azir gets level 6 in this matchup, he can freeze near his turret and look to shuffle Gwen under her turret, Gwens will often run Teleport/Ignite so they won't be able to escape. If Gwen takes Ghost, she will use it to chase you if your wave is pushed near her turret so just drift away if she uses it.
Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger will set up his turrets in lane level 1; use your soldiers to take them out so he can't shove you under turret. Try to side-step his W or hide behind minions. You MUST side-step his E or you will get stunned and chunked, have to flash, or die. This allows him to land his W and his turrets will auto shoot a laser at you if he lands an ability. You can farm his turrets just by dropping a soldier on them and AAing them. Only go for all-ins when his E is down or he will kill you.
Illaoi
This matchup is easy, provided you can dodge her Qs and her E. You HAVE TO dodge her E or you will get forced out of lane and/or die. If you get hit by her Qs, she will heal and your poke is pointless. When she's level 6, she can Ult your Ult and she won't be pushed away because she is unstoppable. She can't ever get on Azir so just use your range advantage because Illaoi only excels when champions all-in her.
Irelia
This lane is very volatile. You need to communicate with your jungler and support that she will always play aggressive so you can just kill her over and over. Watch out for your minions' health bars; if they're low, she will Q onto them and onto you and trade heavily with you. If her passive is stacked, do NOT try to trade with her. She will try to freeze the wave near her tower so she can run you down. You want to freeze the wave on your side of the lane. You have to dodge her E or you die. You have to flash or drift away from her Ult or you die. Try to Ult her during her Q so she can't get the reset. Be aware she will use her W to chunk the wave so that she can execute minions and close the gap with her Q.
Jax
Similar to Fiora and Gwen, Jax could be in the brush closest to your tower and start E; he will all-in you level 1, stun you, or start Q and jump on you and try to make you miss the first few minions of XP/Gold. He can just perma jump on you, but if you use your range advantage wisely, you can just poke him down without worry. If he ever jumps on you after level 6, you can just Ult him away or towards your turret. Void Staff 2nd or 3rd is advisable versus Jax since his Ult gives him a lot of resistances.
Jayce
This lane can be a bit rough if the Jayce is good; they will just stand off screen and try to hit you with QEs. You'll want to hide behind minions as use them as a shield, but don't stand too close to them since the QE's AoE can hit you. Try not to stand near your caster minions while he's in Hammer Form; he will try to Q onto the minions. His Hammer Q is an AoE ability, so it will hit you in addition to the minions he targeted. Do your best to dodge his QEs; these are his main source of damage. Try to abuse your longer range early before he gets items; you don't want to play against a fed Jayce. After level 6, if he ever tries to Hammer Form Q you, you can just Ult him into your tower.
Kalista
It's a rare matchup but it can be very difficult, especially in the top lane where the lane is longer. Kalista has a very strong early game, but she falls off incredibly hard so just focus on scaling. When Kalista AAs, she is able to hop foward and close the gap very easily; she'll constantly be trying to get close to you and trade during the laning phase. Her Q has strong poke if she chooses to put a few points into it early, and, if it last hits a minion, it will continue to travel so be ready to dodge this. Her Rend allows her to win long trades so I prefer to play this matchup from afar and hitting her with a Q+AA then backing off to avoid her being able to trade back. You need to freeze the minion wave near your turret in this matchup as much as possible until you get an item or two. When facing solo lane Kalista, know that she will likely bind her Black Spear to her jungler. At level 6, she will be able to set up ganks and throw her jungler into you, be ready to drift away when you see it. If shes hopping into you, you can Ult her away rather easily.
Karma
You get to scale for free in this lane; she doesn't have much kill pressure on you. Dodge her Mantra Qs and just farm until Lost Chapter; her shields will nullify your early game poke. If she Mantra Ws you, E out of the range so she doesn't root you and heal for a lot.
Karthus
If he takes Exhaust, it will be hard to all-in him unless he's very low HP already. Karthus Q has similiar range to Azir so if you trade with him stand in your minions so you take less damage from his Q or be prepared to dodge it. The only way for him to get fed is by Ulting when your teammates are low. You can build a Zhonya's Hourglass or a Banshee's Veil to negate his Ult. If he summons his wall on you, try to disengage since it lowers your magic resistance and gives him the advantage. While fighting him, stay out of his E to avoid more of his DPS.
Kassadin
Pre-6, he can't farm vs you; your poke is way too annoying for him to deal with. Time your poke when his Q is down since he has to use it to farm early or if you're standing max range of him. If he ever gets a single kill, from roaming or solo kills, this matchup becomes very volatile for you. Post-6, you can just E away from him if he Ults at you or if he's close to your tower you can Ult him into it. This matchup is only hard if he gets kills early. I ban this champ if my team has low amounts of CC to contain him or if there are any other AP champions on the team since his Passive makes him take 15% reduced magic damage.
Katarina
Abuse your range early and stay away from her daggers and this matchup is pretty easy. She has to go Doran's Shield and Second Wind or she will get poked out easily in laning phase. If she tries to all-in you, just Ult her away or into your turret. You should try to save your Ult to cancel hers. Try to push her under tower so she can't roam. When she does roam or is MIA, you have to spam ping your laners or this matchup will snowball. Similar to the Kassadin matchup, this matchup is only hard if she gets kills early.
Kayle
This matchup is free. She has no kill pressure and she is basically melee minion pre-6. It's impossible for her to play the game unless her team spoon-feeds her. Harass her every time she goes for a cs. Abuse your range advantage and try to freeze and zone her from the wave if possible. If she Ults, just push her away to avoid its damage.
Kennen
You outrange him. Do your best to dodge his Qs or hide behind minions. If he Ults you, you can just Ult him away, use Zhonya's Hourglass if you have it, or drift away. In teamfights try to Ult him off of your team when he Ults. Poke him down and all-in him when he's low.
Kled
I would personally take Cut Down in this matchup because of how much HP he has at level 1 and throughout the game. All you really have to do in this matchup is dodge his Q. He will try to hide it with his E animation, so just watch out for that. He can only use E twice if he uses it on a minion or champion. You can just poke him relentlessly and once he's dismounted, he will have a hard time getting remounted because of your harass. At level 6, just be careful of his Ult. Wait until AFTER he hits you with it, then Ult him away or towards a turret because he is unstoppable.
Kog'Maw
Kog'Maw is a decent pick into Azir because of his long range when he builds AP. In this matchup, you'll be focused on dodging his skillshots and trading with a Q+AA in between his cooldowns and when he walks up to last hit a minion. His E slightly outranges you and has strong wave clear; it's a wide ability, so do your best to dodge it. The slow from it will allow Kog'Maw to land his other abilities such has his Q and Ult. His Q will shred your resistances, and his Ult will do more damage the lower you are and execute you. When his W is activated, he will get bonus % max health magic damage on his autos and extended attack range for 8 seconds, you will ideally want to wait this out if possible since his autos can match your dps in the early game. Since Kog'Maw is immobile, try to coordinate with your jungler to gank mid and get his flash early. This will allow you to Shurima Shuffle him for a free kill if you're able to poke him down or get anymore ganks.
LeBlanc
Level 1 she will try to AA + W + AA to proc Electrocute. This matchup is all about spacing. I take Arcane Comet in this matchup to poke her with Q+AA whenever it's up; it slightly out ranges her W so I'm able to poke her and walk away without her being able to trade back. Don't let her Q+W+AA you for free. Q+AA her while she's last-hitting. You HAVE to dodge her E or you will take a lot of damage or die to a gank. You can Ult her away during her W and it won't do damage to you. This matchup is heavily dependent on whether her jungler farms or ganks more. If her jungler farms more, you can play aggressive. If her jungler ganks more, you have to be very careful; if she gets a kill in this matchup, it becomes a lot harder. Try to freeze the wave at your tower to avoid ganks or getting all-in'd. Spam ping MIA when she roams so your team doesn't die.
Lissandra
Try to dodge her Q harass, it has more range when it hits a target so be ready to dodge when she gets close to your minions. She's very predictable (if she Es at you she's going in, likely to set up a gank for her jungler). Poke her down with Q+AA. You can take Cleanse if you're not that confident OR if they have more hard CC on their team.
Lucian
You outrange him. Be careful level 1 because he will start E to dash past your soldier and proc Press the Attack on you and chunk you. Let him push you in early and try to freeze near your turret. Once you get Lost Chapter, this matchup is a lot easier; you can poke him down without running out of mana. He will try to trade with you after you use Q, so watch out for that. He does a lot of damage early, so if he walks at you, just walk back. E out of his Ult unless you can all-in him and interrupt it with your Ult. He can kite you easily with his E+Galeforce, so it's hard to all-in him sometimes as he will use these to dodge your Ult. Get through the early game and you'll outscale him. You can run Exhaust if you're not too confident, too.
Lux
Do your best to dodge her E poke. You HAVE to dodge her Qs or you will get chunked, have to blow flash, or die. You can take Cleanse in this matchup if you're not too confident. Farm until Lost Chapter then you can poke her down over and over. You can all-in her once you're level 6 when she wastes Q if shes around 50% HP. Banshee's Veil makes it easier to all-in her to negate her snare so it's a great buy. If the enemy team has other strong Ults, you can go Zhonya's Hourglass to go into stasis to dodge them or Lux Ult if you get snared.
Malphite
His Q poke hurts so use your range advantage. Do your best to constantly harass him so he can't use his Passive's shield. Once he is level 6, he will look to Ult you and all-in you with his jungler so always be ready to Flash it. He is unstoppable during his Ult so don't use yours until after he lands at his destination. Know that if you all-in him and get hit by his E your attack speed will be slowed.
Malzahar
This matchup is pretty easy. You outrange him so just harass him with Q+AA. He doesn't have kill pressure on you until level 6, but even then he needs the help of his jungler and/or support. Sidestep his Q so you don't get silenced. If you get hit by his Q or R when his E is on you, the E will reset and do more damage to you. His Q will interrupt your E Q dash, so watch out for that. Poke him down and just all-in him with E+Q+R. Your regular auto's will 1 shot his voidlings, take them out to lower his waveclear.
Mordekaiser
This matchup is easy. Just dodge his E and Q and he has no kill pressure on you. I pretend to walk up to farm a minion to bait out his E and then walk back. He has long cooldowns in the early game so poke him and abuse him hard with your range advantage. He will only ever kill you post 6 if he Flashes on you and Ults, but even then you can just Ult him away, and EQ away; this will buy you enough time to out-last his Ult duration and escape. When he Ults, any placed soldiers or the wall from your Ult will disappear and not be taken into the Death Realm.
Nasus
If he goes Doran's Shield and Second Wind, he will just shrug off your poke regardless of your items. His passive gives him lifesteal, so his Passive + Fleet Footwork + Doran's Shield + Second Wind will make your early poke pretty useless. His Wither also counters you. At level 6, you have to be very careful because he will just Ghost + Wither and try to kill you, so just disengage with your EQ. Farm as best as you can because you will need an item or two before he is killable. Freeze the wave near your tower and try to get your jungler to come punish him early.
Neeko
You have to dodge her Q and especially her E or you will get poked out of lane, have to blow Flash, or die. Her E range gets extended when she Es a minion so watch out for that. If she hits her Q, run out of it as fast as possible because it pops again for more damage if it last hits a minion or hits you/a champion up to three times. If she Ults you, you can just Ult her away or drift out of it.
Olaf
Olaf is very strong early game so you don't want to trade AAs with him. Freeze near your turret and focus on farming and poking him when he last hits minions. Try to side step his Q or drift away from him if you get hit by one far up the lane since it has a strong slow. Know that he has more DPS and lifesteal the lower HP he is so be careful if you all-in him while he still has his W up. If he casts Ult he will be unstoppable and gain movement speed and you will not be able to Ult him away. If Olaf doesn't have Flash and I need to escape I sometimes use my Ult backwards to block off an area since he isn't able to walk through it.
Orianna
This matchup is pretty much free. Her early game is insanely weak so you can just abuse her for free. You slightly outrange her, so just poke her with Q+AA. At level 6, just avoid her ball so she can't Ult you. Poke her down and just kill her. You can stand on her ball, and if you're quick enough you can actually just drift out of the Ult or Flash out of it.
Ornn
This matchup is annoying because of how tanky he is. Dodge his Qs or you will take a full combo. That's really all there is to this lane. Poke him and abuse your range advantage, similar to other melee matchups. I personally like First Strike into this matchup because he has no way to actually hit me unless I walk into his Qs. If he Ults you after level 6, just do your best to EQ out of his Ult or Flash it and you should be fine. Know that he is unstoppable during his W and his knockups can cancel your drift. You can try to Ult him before he can cast his R2 to interrupt it. Know that his E can knock you up on your own wall and break it.
Pantheon
This matchup is free. He will never be able to engage unless he Flashes because of your range advantage so make sure you're always spacing him (if he clicks forward at you, you click backward). Stand behind minions so his Q will do less damage (if he throws it). Don't bother using cooldowns to trade with him when he uses his E; he is invulnerable if he's facing you. You outscale him very hard, so just get Lost Chapter and then start poking and you're chilling. Spam ping MIA when he tries to roam or he's just missing in general since he wants to make plays with his Ult. You can cancel his W with your Ult if you're quick enough.
Poppy
Similar to Ornn, this matchup is incredibly annoying because she's tanky, BUT she can also just perma engage on you with her E; she E's a minion and Qs you. Her W also stops your E, so try not to use it until AFTER her W is gone. Whenever she has her Passive, it will be a ranged AA; just walk away and make her use it on the wave to farm. Whenever she has the shield, don't bother poking her because you will waste mana and damage. At level 6, you can just Ult her away or towards your turret and kill her if she E's on you. Try to dodge her Ult in teamfights because it will launch you very far away. You can get hit by it if you want to escape.
Qiyana
This matchup is very annoying. You outrange her because she's melee. It can be a bit harder if she's good, but it's still winnable. You can take Exhaust if you're not confident. Poke her hard early. She has no way to get on you or poke you level 1 since she starts W, or, if she starts Q, the range is extremely short. Dodge her Qs later or you will get forced out of lane. She will use her E on minions to get near you to use her abilities. Avoid going near walls or your own turret so she can't Ult you into them for the stun. She can Ult your Ult as soon as you cast it and it will stun you, so watch out for that. You can take Inspiration second for Perfect Timing. You definitely want to build Zhonya's Hourglass 2nd in this matchup. She will try to avoid your AAs by going into stealth if she's near any bushes. Avoid fighting her in chokes because of her AoE, she is also very strong in the river since shes able to grab stuns from it. Her Ult hitbox is very BS so make sure you are far from any walls.
Quinn
Watch out for her early powerspike (where she runs at you level 1 and takes half your HP). Just avoid taking damage early and farm for Lost Chapter and this lane is easy since you have range advantage with W Q AA. Some Quinns will roam at level 6, so just spam ping that she's MIA and hopefully your team doesn't die to her roams. Avoid her Q so you wont be blinded. She can E you if you drift at her and cancel it so hold it until she uses it if you want to all-in her.
Renekton
This matchup is annoying because of his sustain + his E double dash. If he ever has more than 50% Fury, don't bother walking up to the wave because he'll E+Fury W you and you'll lose a lot of HP. After level 6, you can just Ult him away. Similar to the Darius matchup, all you really have to do in this matchup is not die and he's pretty useless later on. Do your best to farm and scale, then group with your team. Spacing is really important in this matchup especially if he goes Prowler's Claw since it will allow him to 1 shot you before you become unstunned.
Rengar
This matchup is very hard. You need to perma-freeze near your turret; if you're pushing, he will constantly jump on you from the bushes so you need to stay away from them. If he has full stacks he can heal up a ton of your harass with his empowered W so save cooldowns until he uses it. Make sure to dodge his E to avoid getting slowed or snared. If he Ults onto you, with perfect timing, you can Ult him away and not take damage or Ult him towards a tower for a free kill. You can also time Zhonya's Hourglass while he's leaping at you to completely avoid his Ult.
Riven
Same as Fiora, Gwen, and Jax: she may look to hide in the bush closest to your tower and all-in you level 1 with her Qs+AAs combo and you're forced to miss the first few minions. Do your best to stay out of her range. If she moves forward, you move backward. She has a lot of kill pressure at level 6, especially with Flash, so just Ult her away if she gets on you somehow. Worst case scenario, you can just EQ away from her or Flash away. You'll want to time your poke for when her Q is on cooldown in laning phase.
Rumble
You do outrange him, but he can easily one shot you around level 3 if you're not spacing him correctly. You can take Exhaust in this matchup if you're not confident. He pretty much ignores your poke early game with his W shield + sustain from Doran's Shield + Second Wind. Do your best to dodge his Es. Try not to fight him when his Heat bar is above 50%; he will do a lot more damage. Do not trade AAs with him when he is overheated because he does a ton of onhit magic damage and more attack speed as if he had a Nashor's Tooth. You can Ult him into your tower if he overextends. Drift out of his Ult. Spam ping him MIA because they love to roam. You outscale him at 2 items, so just try your best to farm, scale, and not die early.
Ryze
He's not really a champion right now (like low 40% w/r or something lol). You outrange him early, so just poke him down. His waveclear is annoying after he gets Tear and Lost Chapter, but that's about it. Don't stand near the wave when he Es it or it will spread to you and he'll Q you and the wave. Watch out for his jungler because Ryze has great gank setup with Flash E W.
Seraphine
She has good range on her abilities so she's decent at matching Azir. Do your best to dodge her Q poke, especially her Double Q. Her Double E can set up her Ult to hit you. Azir has the edge in the matchup, though. Once you have Lost Chapter and Luden's Tempest, she will stand no chance against your poke in lane. Her Ult will travel farther and farther whenever it passes through any champion in the game so in front to back fights make sure to be ready for that and position yourself to not get hit or be ready to Flash it.
Sett
Same as Fiora, Gwen, and Jax: he will hide in the bush closest to your tower and start E; he will E you and chunk you and zone you from the first wave's XP/Gold. Outside of the level 1 cheese, he should never be able to get on you, unless he Flashes, as long as your spacing well. If he walks forward, just walk backward. His Q gives him a burst of movement speed, so just kite back and wait for it to expire. His sustain is incredibly annoying, so just do your best to farm and scale for your mythic item; the matchup becomes a lot easier once you have it. If he Ults you after level 6, time your Ult AFTER you hit the ground, not before; he is unstoppable during his Ult. Make sure to side step the center of his W because it does true damage. Make sure his E doesn't interrupt your Drift by waiting it out.
Shen
This matchup is pretty free. You outrange him because he's melee, so he will never get on you unless he Flashes or you walk into his taunt. If he walks forward, just walk backwards. Ping him when he's level 6 so your team knows to pay attention during their fights. His W cannot block soldier AAs but you still want to respect his taunt all-in in the early game; use your range advantage and poke him. Be careful when you're near his turret because he will try to taunt you and make you take tower shots. If you see him Ulting, try to cancel him by drifting onto him and Ulting him to interrupt it.
Singed
This matchup is easy since since you have a range advantage, and he has no dashes. He's pretty much always pushing the wave with his posion so you're able to freeze the wave and make him extend for CS. Guard your jungle level 1 so he can't proxy between your turrets; if he's successful, you'll be stuck farming under your turret if you're in top lane. In mid lane, he will try to perma-push every wave and roam to your sidelanes; communicate to your team that this is what he will do. This will force him into bad roams, and you will be able to freeze and get massive XP advantages. His W will make you grounded so you wont be able to Drift until you walk out of it. If you're Ulting him, the timing is very important and it needs to knock him up max range otherwise you will get flipped by his E anyway. If he Ults at you, just disengage and wait it out since it gives him movement speed and extra resistances.
Sion
This matchup is pretty similar to the Ornn matchup. Avoid his E and walk out of his Q and you're fine. Watch out for the bushes early because some Sion players love to cheese with a fully charged Q. I would personally take Cut Down in this matchup if I go Precision since he can infinitely stack HP from his W Passive. First Strike is also good because you can just proc it for free, provided you dodge his E. If he has his W active, either poke it off or just walk away if he walks towards you or you will take some damage. You can just E or EQ out of his Ult or make him Ult into your Ult, so it's not much of a threat.
Swain
This matchup is very easy. His main damage (Q) is incredibly short range. Don't walk up far enough to where he can Q you for free. You have to sidestep his E and W or you will lose trades and give him free HP. Just poke him down and all-in him when he's low enough. You can just E away, Ult him away, or into your tower after level 6 if he Ults. His Ult will expire fast if hes not around any enemy champions. You can go Ignite in this matchup (because of his Ult healing) if you want to all-in him after you poke him down or for during teamfights when he's able to hit multiple targets with it. You can also just go Teleport for macro and sit on an Oblivion Orb.
Sylas
Most Sylas players will trade aggressively level 1 with E or they'll start Q to last hit the first 3 minions. You HAVE to dodge the E or you will get chunked by his full combo. You can Ult him away, but as his E2 hits you. If you do it before his E2 hits you, he will E through your Ult and be pulled toward you. Freeze the wave at your tower and abuse your range advantage. I like Ignite in this matchup because of his Ws insane healing (it's higher the lower HP he is), but you can go Teleport/Oblivion Orb instead as well.
Syndra
This matchup is pretty much just dodging simulator. You have to dodge her Qs or you will lose the lane. Sometimes I like to walk forward at her; a lot of Syndras will predict me to walk backwards to dodge the Q. Keep track of her orbs and her position because she will try to use her E to stun you so be ready to dodge or bait it out. Pick up an early Null-Magic Mantle so she can't one shot you after level 6. If you're not confident in this matchup, you can rush Mercury's Treads to lower her burst and stun duration. Banshee's Veil is also great into her if you're not snowballing the matchup hard. Wait to all-in her after she uses her E or she'll just push you away during your E and cancel you. Look to poke her down when her Q is on cooldown or when she is last hitting a minion, Azir has a slight range advantage.
Tahm Kench
This matchup is rare, but it's incredibly annoying. You HAVE to dodge his Qs or you will get hit by his knockup; the slow is incredibly oppressive. Your E cooldown is lower than his W, so you can just E out of his W whenever he uses it, react fast so your drift doesn't get canceled. First Strike is good into him because he's melee and very short ranged outside of his Q. After level 6, if he ever Ws onto you, you can just Ult him away.
Taliyah
Her early game is a bit weaker since the rework, but don't let her Q you for free; you can dodge it by moving in one direction. Poke her down with Q+AA and Arcane Comet. You can never E away or into her while her E is up; you will get stunned and have to tank her full combo. Your full focus in this matchup should be on dodging her W knockback because that sets up her combo. She will look to roam a lot especially at level 6, so spam ping MIA when she's not in mid lane or your team will hate you.
Talon
He can only ever kill you if he lands both parts of his W. It's hard to dodge the first part, but the second part is easier. As long as you dodge the 2nd part of his W, he will never be able to proc his passive and kill you. You can get Seeker's Armguard if you're not confident or if he picked up some early kills. He can E over your Ult. Look to poke him down and push him in so he can't roam.
Teemo
This matchup is very easy, however becareful level 1 because Teemo can sit outside of your turret range in stealth and wait for you to walk up to the wave and chunk you. Just don't get poked out early by using your range advantage and space him and you'll be able to bully him super hard. His Q blind doesn't affect your soldiers. Farm until Lost Chapter and this lane is cake. After level 6, just be careful of his shrooms.
Tristana
Play super safe early because she will jump on you at level 1 if she starts W. She will never be able to freeze becasue of her E passive, so do your best to freeze the wave near your tower. You out-range her AAs so look to poke her down with Q + Hail of Blades or Arcane Comet. If she jumps on you, you can AA her with Hail of Blades then Q E away; the shield will help negate some damage from her E. You can start consistently poking her out of lane after you have the mana from Lost Chapter. Ult her into your tower after level 6, especially if she uses her W aggressively.
Tryndamere
His sustain is incredibly annoying like Nasus. Q Heal + Doran's Shield + Second Wind = he will never get poked out of lane. Don't walk up level 1 because he will try to RNG all-in you with his crits. Pay close attention to his fury bar. He will try to W you when you face away from him, so pretend you're running away then turn around when you think he will W. If he tries to all-in you before level 6, just E away. Try to Ult him away after level 6 IF he's diving you and is getting ready to Ult, you'll want to create space and buy time for his Ult to expire. I always left click on him to see his HUD in the top left corner of the screen so I can watch when the 5 seconds are up on his Ult and this allows me to finish him off with perfect timing. If he's losing, anticipate that he will E away and you can have your soldiers chase after him with a Q or drift on him if you have it.
Twisted Fate
You outrange him. His Q is pretty easy to dodge. When he uses a red card on the wave, don't stand close or it will damage you, too. Once you have Lost Chapter, push him in 24/7 so he can't roam with his Ult or freeze. Stand in front of the wave and harass him. If he does roam or is MIA, spam ping him and remind your teammates his Ult is up. Be careful of his jungler because his gold card has great gank set up. You can take Cleanse into this matchup if you're not confident or if the enemy team has a lot of hard CC.
Urgot
He may try to cheese you with E start and hiding in a bush, so just be aware of that. You outrange him, just try to dodge his Qs. If he ever walks forward like he wants to E you, just walk backwards or you can Ult him away. You can Flash, E, or EQ out of his Ult if you're quick enough. Otherwise, if you're low HP, just recall instead of staying. Don't die and just try to farm since you outscale him and can poke him down.
Vayne
Similar to other ranged matchups, dont trade AAs with them and freeze the wave near your turret so you can make them overextend and safely farm. Farm until Lost Chapter and, after that, you'll easily win the lane with your range advantage and poke. Walk backwards when she Q's and wait it out or if she uses the empowered auto on a minion. Trading autos with Vayne early without an item advantage is not ideal because she does slightly more damage, gets an empowered AA and AA reset with her Q, and does true damage every three hits, so spacing and using your range advantage in this matchup is very important. If she Ults at you to chase you down you can Ult her away or drift away from her and wait for it to expire. Make sure to stay away from walls so you don't get condemned and stunned. Be aware she can buffer her condemn and then reposition with Flash to stun you into a wall if you're near one.
Veigar
You outrange him, so harass him with Q+AA+Arcane Comet; don't let him get stacks for free. Freeze the wave near your tower; he's very susceptible to ganks without his E. Dodge his Q and W poke so he doesn't get free stacks. After you poke him down to around half HP, you can look to all-in him with your Ult. If you want to engage on him or on his team in teamfights, wait for him to use his E or while hes occupied (like in the middle of casting a different ability) so you dont drift into it and get stunned. If Veigar takes Predator, warn your team of his roams. If he uses it at you, just walk or drift away and wait it out; it's one of the only ways he can get on you. His ideal combo on you is to Predator to close the gap and Everfrost you to set up his all his abilities.
Vel'Koz
Similar to Syndra, this matchup is just dodging simulator; dodge his abilites and this matchup is easy. He'll try to hit you with his Q2, so just try to walk out of its range or run forward (they don't expect this). Poke him down with Q+AA+Arcane Comet and all-in him when he's low. If he misses his E, you can go for a much more aggressive trade. You can E out of his Ult.
Vex
You outrange her. Her abilities are pretty slow, so they are easier to dodge. Poke her down with Q+AA+Arcane Comet. When her Passive bar is full, don't get hit by an ability or you will get feared. Her Passive will affect you when you Flash or use your E. You can just Ult her away when she Ults you. You can get an early Null-Magic Mantle so she can't oneshot you with her full combo.
Viktor
Viktor E is hard to to sidestep, but it doesn't do too damage much early game. You can bait it out and expect him to use it if you act like you're going for a cs. If he starts Q, don't let him get in range to AA+Q+AA you. Poke him down with Q+AA+Arcane Comet and all-in him when he's low. He has no waveclear until 100 stacks on his Passive; it's harder for him to farm because your poke is oppressive. He's very immobile, so communicate with your jungler and you can farm him for free when you have Ult or if he's low. Once you get Lost Chapter, you can bully him even harder. If he Ults you, try to make as much distance as possible; it does a ton of DPS and it moves slower the further away from him it is. Be careful when you all-in him because after you use your E Q and can place his W on you and Ult you.
Vladimir
You out-range him early, but he's very annoying because of his sustain. Don't walk up to him when he has his empowered Q. You'll know when his Q is up if you pay attention to his bar under his HP. Stay behind minions so he can't hit you with his E. I like E+Qing into him when he is low HP and igniting him to force him to use pool, which does 20% of his current HP so he pretty much kills himself. If he Ults you, just drift away; you can't Ult him away if he has W up. Once you get Lost Chapter, this matchup becomes a lot easier.
Volibear
This matchup is pretty easy. You out-range him so just harass him with Q+AA. If he ever Qs towards you, just walk away or E/EQ away if you're caught off guard. Do your best to dodge his E; it does a lot of damage and it will slow you and set up a possible engage if you don't have E. He doesn't have kill pressure on you until level 6, when he can disable your tower, but even then, you can just Ult him away after he hits the ground. Farm and scale, then group with your team. First Strike is good because he's such short range with no way to stop you from proc'ing it.
Warwick
This matchup is annoying because of his sustain. I recommend Ignite or an early Obilivion Orb. Don't bother trying to poke him out of lane before Lost Chapter; you'll run oom. The lower HP he is the more he will heal so be careful when you all-in him; they are likely trying to bait you, especially if they have Barrier. They will look to turn on you when they're low HP and heal a ton. If you time your Ult right, you can actually push him away when he lands his Ult on you because when Azir casts his Ult, it starts from behind him.
Wukong
Do your best to space him and stay out of his E range in this matchup. Be careful when Ulting him since his W now has a dash on it; it can allow him to jump out of your Ult in time. Freeze near your turret to make him overextend for ganks so you can farm safely and harass him when he last hits minions. You can cancel his E if you anticipate him using with your Ult. If he Ults at you just Ult him or E away.
Xerath
Same thing as Syndra and Vel'Koz, dodging simulator. This matchup is easy if you can dodge his abilities, if you can't, then it's very hard. You can buy and upgrade boots early to give you enough movement speed to dodge his abilities. If you struggle with dodging, you can consider Taste of Blood or Biscuit Delivery for extra sustain. Never let him AA you because he will get more mana back from his Passive if he hits a champion. Make sure to sidestep his E so you can't get hit by his full combo. Make sure his E is down and you've gotten him to low HP before you engage on him. He's very immobile, so communicate with your jungler and you can farm him. You can click back and forth in a couple directions to make your movement harder to predict to help you dodge his abilities.
Yasuo
This matchup is Azir favored imo. You out-range him. Let him push into you; try to freeze the wave near your tower so you can farm safely and harass him when he farms. If you push up too far or let him freeze, he'll just E through your minions and run you down. You can dodge his Q3 tornado with W+E. Don't walk up to him early; his level 1/2 is very strong with Lethal Tempo. Experienced Yasuo players in higher elos will know that they can Windwall your Q and your Ult, so be aware of that if you all-in him. His Windwall spawns from under him and pushes out in a direction so if timed perfectly he can negate being hit by Azir ult. If you're about to get knocked up by his EQ, you can also Ult him so you're both knocked up at the same time so he isn't able to Ult you.
Yone
This champ is very annoying. If he takes Doran's Shield + Second Wind, you can't poke him out of lane. He's going to stack up is Q3 tornado, so just back up and wait for it to expire. You can sidestep or E out of it, although it is expensive mana costs to do it every time. Same goes with his E; if he Es at you, usually with Q3 ready, do your best to run away/Q+E or E+Q away from of it. You can Ult him away after he Ults, but you have to time it so it will hit after he blinks to you; if you do it before, he will just blink through your Ult and it's wasted. Do your best to kite him and use your range advantage. His E cooldown is very long, so try to take advantage of it after he uses it and poke him. You can try to side step his Ult if casted from long range or Zhonya's Hourglass it to counter him.
Yorick
Do your best to dodge his Es, or you will get chunked or die. You can E out of his W, but only after it's already up; it will interrupt it like Anivia W or Trundle E. After level 6, his Maiden will spawn ghouls when a minion dies, so he won't need to stack Q as much. You can use multiple soldiers to kill his cage faster if stuck inside it if your mobility is on cooldown. His ghouls take reduced damage from AoE abilties like Azir soldiers, so use regular AAs to take them out faster. Kill his ghouls and maiden for free gold.
Zed
Dodge his Qs or you will get poked down and be in his all-in kill range. His W cooldown is very long, so similar to Yone's E, wait until after it's down to try and punish him. Try to freeze your wave at your tower; if you do, his W is a bit less effective in all-ins because your tower is near you. You can poke him whenever his Q is down, he will use it often to farm minions. At level 6 on when he Ults you, you can buffer your Ult and knock him away from you or into your tower as soon as he lands behind you. Practice this with a friend if you have some trouble. You can go Seeker's Armguard early if you're not confident or if they have a lot of AD champions or have picked up kills from roams. I like Inspiration sometimes for the free Stopwatch. Zhonya's Hourglass counters his ult pretty hard.
Ziggs
Do your best to dodge his Qs; it's a bit slow and sometimes it even just goes over you. It's advisable to not roam without massive lane priority in this matchup. Ziggs can do alot of damage to your tower with his Passive and execute it with his W. Do your best to not let him push you in 24/7; if you lose mid tower, you will lose a lot of pressure on the map. Be aware his W, if timed perfectly, can cancel your drift (WEQ) while engaging or going for an escape.
Zoe
This champ is still kinda bullshit even after all the changes. You HAVE to dodge her Q and E or you will get poked out. Most Zoe players will hide their Q in fog of war and try to Q you from that angle so watch out for that. You will want to hug the opposite side of the lane that she is standing on to help avoid it. Don't get close to your minions because her Q AoE is large upon impacting a target. She'll most likely Ult over your minion wave and then E you to sleep you; you can take Cleanse if you're not that confident or if they have a lot of hard CC. If you have her poked down a bit and she over extends, after she Ults you'll know exactly where she is teleporting back to so you can drift to that spot and Ult her. If the Zoe player is very experienced, they will try to use her Ult to dodge Azir ult. You can click back and forth in a couple directions to make your movement harder to predict to help you dodge her abilities.
I'm Austin or BodyThoseFools. I'm rank 1 Azir world. I have almost 9 Million mastery points total on Azir and have played him since his release in 2014. I'm a Grandmaster mid laner, but I peaked Challenger in Seasons 9 and 10. I solo-killed Faker multiple times since he came to NA.
Why Learn Azir?
Azir, the Emperor of the Sands
Azir is one of the most fun and interesting champions in the game, albeit incredibly hard to learn and play properly. His damage is insane and his carry/1v9 potential is incredible. He's very unique in the sense that you can't level any of his abilities at level 1, rather W is leveled for you.
Azir doesn't have any horrible matchups, which makes him a solid pick for any team comp. Learning him, however, is a different story. With the help of this guide, I will teach you everything you need to know about Azir!
Pros and Cons
PROS
+ Insane solo carry potential + Safe/strong/oppressive laning phase + Strong mid and late game + Flexible to Top, Mid, and even ADC + Amazing damage output + Excels in teamfights + Extremely fun + Not many bad matchups + Can make flashy, montage plays
Azir is the most fun and fulfilling champ in the game (at least for me). He has so much outplay potential in every single situation. With Azir, there are no limits. There is always a higher level of play you can obtain because of how complicated he is fundamentally.
Azir, the Emperor of the Sands
CONS
- Low damage early game - Hard to play to his fullest potential - Susceptible to ganks early game - Hard to last hit with - Even harder to last hit under tower - Requires good positioning - Very squishy - Did I mention hard to play?
The biggest issue with Azir is that he is extremely hard to play and master. It will take you many, many games to learn how to play him properly as well as learn all of his mechanics. However, with the help of this guide, you will learn everything you possibly can about Azir!
Abilities
Shurima's Legacy (P) RANGE: 400 COST: 0 mana COOLDOWN: 180
Azir can resurrect a turret every 180 seconds. The turret deals an additional 15% ability power as physical damage, but disintegrates over 60 seconds.
This ability is probably the coolest in the entire game. You get to make your own turret. You can be dead and still get gold/xp from minions/kills. It's apperance changes with each of Azir's different skins, too.
Azir orders all Sand Soldiers to dash toward the target location, dealing magic damage to all enemies they pass through and slowing them by 25% for 1 second. Enemies hit by subsequent soldiers are instead slowed by an additional 25% per soldier.
This ability is Azir's main harass tool. The slow is good for setting up ganks. Coupled with Arcane Comet and Scorch, Azir's early game poke can be oppressive.
Passive: Azir gains scaling attack speed. Upon having 3 or more Sand Soldiers, he gains additional scailng attack speed for 5 seconds.
Active: Azir summons a Sand Soldier for 10 seconds. When Azir attacks an enemy near a Sand Soldier, he instead orders the soldiers to stab, dealing magic damage in their direction (depending on level).
This ability has 2 charges and cannot attack structures, wards, and traps.
This ability is Azir's main ability. Just like Shurima's Legacy, I think this ability is one of the coolest in the game. Summoning and ordering a soldier to do stuff for you? Badass! It's a bit hard to get used to at first, but the more you practice, the easier it will become. There's a tether for his soldiers. You must be in range of said tether to use his soldiers or they will do nothing. If you wander off too far, the soldier will disappear. If you use Arise! within the range of an enemy tower, it will only last for 5 seconds instead.
Azir grants himself a shield for 1.5 seconds and dashes to one of his Sand Soldiers, dealing magic damage to enemies he passes through.
If Azir hits an enemy champion, he stops and gains a Sand Soldier charge.
This ability is Azir's main escape and engage tool. When used with Conquering Sands, Shifting Sands can set up some insane plays in teamfights or be used to reposition, escape ganks, or traverse the map faster. The shield will help with poke as well.
Azir summons a wall of armored soldiers that charges forward, knocking back enemies and dealing magic damage. The soldiers remain, blocking enemy paths for 5 seconds.
This ability is what Azir is known for: the Shurima Shuffle, the Revenant Shuffle, etc. This ability does insane damage and can single-handedly win you teamfights if used properly. However, you don't need to make the flashy plays. It is just as good to be used for peeling your team.
This spreadsheet has all the advice from the Threats section in this guide. It also includes all viable runes for each matchup, recommended summoner spells, all enemy cooldowns, an example build, and links to all VODs where I've played each matchup.
Runes
Azir is very diverse with his rune choices. He is versatile with many keystones. A lot of people have different pages they prefer; I will be sharing which runes I prefer and why. Refer to the example pages at the top of the guide for full example pages.
SORCERY
EXPLANATIONS
Arcane Comet is one of the keystones I take on Azir. It is better for poke and into mages / long range champs. It's good into immobile squishy champs. It feels really good vs Zed and LeBlanc, too. I trade slightly outside their range with Q+AA and back off before they can use their combo. Summon Aery is decent into shorter ranged matchups, but I'd much rather use either Hail of Blades or Lethal Tempo into those matchups. Phase Rush is bad on Azir so never take it.
Transcendence is the best 3rd rune in Sorcery for Azir. The free ability haste helps Azir a lot. The level 11 part of Transcendence makes Azir's mid game even stronger with the takedown cooldown reduction. Celerity is pretty useless on Azir, as he doesn't benefit from move speed bonuses in any way. Absolute Focus is rarely ever my choice here because the free stats from Transcendence are just too good to give up.
Gathering Storm is the best 4th rune in Sorcery for Azir. Waterwalking is useless, so never take it. Scorch used to be good for early game poke, but since the Durability Update on 12.10, playing for lane isn't relevant anymore; play for scaling. Gathering Storm is the best option by far.
OR
Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.
DOMINATION
EXPLANATIONS
Hail of Blades is one of the keystones I take on Azir. It is better into shorter range champs as well as ADCs and Assassins. It's good into immobile squishy champs, too. I prefer Hail of Blades over Electrocute because it has a shorter cooldown and gives Azir more DPS. Predator is very bad and Dark Harvest doesn't synergize with Azir that well, so never take either.
Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.
PRECISION
EXPLANATIONS
Lethal Tempo is one of the keystones I take on Azir. It is better into melee champs, usually bruisers and tanks OR when you want to play for a max scaling build. I prefer Lethal Tempo over Conqueror because the attack speed and extra range is better than a small amount of damage and healing. Press the Attack and Fleet Footwork should never be taken on Azir; they are very bad.
Presence of Mind is the best 2nd rune in Precision for Azir. Azir can proc Presence of Mind rather easily because he's ranged. The extra mana regen will help him with his horrible early game mana costs and mana regen. The mana you get from takedowns can be insanely helpful in skirmishes and teamfights. Overheal is useless, but Triumph is okay. If I'm ever going Precision, however, I'm almost always going to take Presence of Mind just because of how well it synergizes with Azir's kit.
Legend: Alacrity is the best 3rd rune in Precision for Azir. Attack speed synergizes so well with Azir's kit. More attack speed means more soldier attacks, which means more damage. Legend: Tenacity isn't very good on Azir because if you get CC'd, you're probably already dead. Legend: Bloodline does nothing for Azir, so never take it.
Coup de Grace and Cut Down are the best 4th runes in Precision for Azir. Take Cut Down when the your laner and/or the enemy team has a lot of HP stacking champs / frontline. Otherwise, you should take Coup de Grace. Last Stand doesn't really do much for Azir; he's already very squishy, so being low HP will just mean he's easily susceptible to dying.
OR
Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.
Always take the Attack Speed shard and one Adaptive Force shard. The last shard just depends on your matchup. If the enemy laner is AD, take the Armor shard. If the enemy laner is AP, take the Magic Resist shard.
Summoner Spells
Flash is a must-have on Azir in my opinion. You can use it to escape, last hit kills, or set up a shuffle. Take this every game.
Teleport is a solid choice to pair with Flash. If you have no kill pressure, or if you just prefer to play safer and with/for your team, Teleport is better.
Ignite is my favorite spell to take on Azir. I usually play to win lane, so having Ignite will help me have more kill pressure. Poke enemies down with Arcane Comet, Scorch, and Cheap Shot, then all-in and finish them off with Ignite.
Dark Seal is good if you have to reset early or if you get first blood. It will help you snowball your games. You can eventually build it into Mejai's Soulstealer to help you snowball even harder.
Liandry's Torment is one of the best mythics on Azir. Build Liandry's Torment when the enemy team has a lot of frontline, champs that stack HP, bruisers, and/or tanks.
In my opinion, Nashor's Tooth is the best 2nd item for Azir. It provides an insane 2 item spike; you get 100AP for more soldier damage and 50% attack speed, which synergizes so well with Azir's kit. I have 1v9d a lot of games by going this item 2nd.
Void Staff is the best 3rd item for Azir. Most HP-stacking champions will have some form of resistances with their items such as Spirit Visage, Maw of Malmortius, or Mercury's Treads. If you forgo Void Staff, you will have a very hard time doing any damage to them. If the enemy team is immediately building MR, you can actually build Void Staff 2nd to negate some of the MR, and then build Nashor's Tooth 3rd. But, ideally we're building it 3rd item just because of how strong Nashor's Tooth is as a 2nd item powerspike for Azir.
In my opinion, Nashor's Tooth is the best 2nd item for Azir. It provides an insane 2 item spike; you get 100AP for more soldier damage and 50% attack speed, which synergizes so well with Azir's kit. I have 1v9d a lot of games by going this item 2nd.
Void Staff is the best 3rd item for Azir. Most HP-stacking champions will have some form of resistances with their items such as Spirit Visage, Maw of Malmortius, or Mercury's Treads. If you forgo Void Staff, you will have a very hard time doing any damage to them. If the enemy team is immediately building MR, you can actually build Void Staff 2nd to negate some of the MR, and then build Nashor's Tooth 3rd. But, ideally we're building it 3rd item just because of how strong Nashor's Tooth is as a 2nd item powerspike for Azir.
Morellonomicon is a staple item in a lot of games in this season because there's so much healing. If you're against a laner with a lot of built in sustain such as Aatrox, Sylas, or Vladimir, OR if you're against a team comp that has a support such as Soraka or Yuumi, it is very beneficial to purchase an early Oblivion Orb and sit on it until your core items are finished. Azir can apply grevious wounds rather easily because of his range advantage, so this item is always a solid pick if your team needs anti-heal. Morellonomicon can replace your defensive item ( Zhonya's Hourglass or Banshee's Veil) or Nashor's Tooth.
Rabadon's Deathcap is really good on Azir as well as other mages; it provides the biggest possible damage spike, but it is the most expensive mage item in the game. I usually build this item either 4th or last. Late game Azir will always pack a punch, especially after you have this item.
Finally, we have Elixir of Sorcery. This item is usually only bought in late game, but it's the best potion for Azir when that time comes. You'll take turrets faster and the bonus AP and mana regen will benefit you as well.
Shadowflame isn't as good anymore on Azir since the Durability Update (12.10). If you need magic penetration, Void Staff is better 99% of situations; the only time I would build Shadowflame is if they had like 5 ranged champs with a lot of shields. If they have more than 60 Magic Resist, just go Void Staff because Shadowflame's magic pen is countered by magic resist items.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter is pretty niche on Azir. I would really only build it into teams with a lot of melee champs where I'd want to self-peel or peel for my team. If there's a lot of melee champs on the enemy team, ESPECIALLY with dive potential, like Ornn, Leona, or Hecarim for example, then Rylai's Crystal Scepter is a good purchase. If Azir is very fed with Rylai's Crystal Scepter, then the enemy team will have a very hard time running away.
Full Build Examples
Against heavy frontline, bruisers, etc.
This is the build I would go into teams with a lot of frontline and dive potential, or if they had a fed AD threat.
This is the build I would go into teams with a lot of frontline and pick potential, or if they had a fed AP threat.
Against squishies
This is the build I would go into teams with a lot of squishies, shielding, and a fed AD threat.
This is the build I would go into teams with a lot of squishies, shielding, and a fed AP threat.
Combos, Mechanics, Tips/Tricks
Coming soon!
This will feature the section from our Season 12 Ultimate Azir Guide video on YouTube! We don't have a release date yet, but we are working hard to get it done ASAP!
Laning Phase and Early Game
Azir has a pretty safe, strong, and oppressive laning phase.
Depending on your matchup, your laning will be a bit different. If you took Arcane Comet, wait for it to be active and use it whenever Manaflow Band is also active for maximum efficency.
The basic trade pattern for Azir is relatively simple: Q + AA. If you took Hail of Blades, then try to use as much of the procs as possible to maximize harass.
Azir's early game damage is rather low compared to other champs in the game, but his oppressive laning sorta makes up for it. Ideally, you'll have priority in most matchups. Not many laners can match your harass besides Xerath or Yone.
Tip: Try not to use Shifting Sands recklessly; it is your only escape ability. Without it, you are incredibly susceptible to ganks.
Tip: Use Arise! wisely; not having a solder for an escape with Shifting Sands will result in more deaths!
Mid Game
In mid-game, Azir's main objective is to side lane and take towers, then group with his team.
While pushing waves into turrets, make sure you have vision so you don't get collapsed on and picked with no vision; your team will lose a lot of pressure if you die.
Tip: While sieging towers, make sure to use Arise! behind you. This is for 2 main reasons: 1, Azir gets attack speed for every consecutive soldier after the 2nd with Arise! and 2, if you do get collapsed on or someone tries to engage on you, you can just use Shifting Sands to escape.
Tip: Be sure to use Shurima's Legacy either before or after sieging enemy side lanes and turrets; it will be a last line of defense for you.
Late Game and Teamfighting
Late Game
Late game is pretty much the same as mid-game, except there's a higher priority over grouping with your team because of objectives.
Ideally, you'll have Azir's core items built. Continue to side lane and push waves.
If you have Teleport, make sure you're in the side lane opposite of the next big objective. If Baron Nashor is the only objective on the map, your side lane will be Bot Lane. If Dragon is the only objective on the map, your side lane will be Top Lane. If you took Ignite, Exhaust, or Cleanse, make sure you're in the side lane closest to the next big objective: Baron Nashor? Top Lane. Dragon? Bot Lane.
Late game can be very stressful. Never go into any unwarded areas or you can cost your team the objective, an inhibitor, or even the game.
Utilize the same tips as discussed in the Mid Game section.
Skins
Warring Kingdoms Azir is my favorite skin.
Conclusion
If there's any mistakes or feedback, please do not hesitate to comment on the discussion page! I will try to resolve any issues as quickly as possible :)
If you want more content, I stream daily on my Twitch channel and I upload daily to my YouTube channel!
If my guide helps you, make sure you hit the upvote button and comment! Thank you for reading and for your time!
02/15/23 - Added embed for Azir video
07/10/22 - Added descriptions for Kalista and Kog'Maw.
07/09/22 - Matchup spreadsheet is available.
07/06/22 - Updated all matchups. Added Kalista, Kog'Maw, Olaf, and Rengar. Spreadsheet will be available soon.
06/20/22 - Small changes to the runes descriptions (Inspiration is viable); added Lucian matchup since it was forgotten, updated Akali matchup advice
06/19/22 - Fixed Camille's description (it was actually Brand's description)
06/18/22 - Added all mid lane matchups' descriptions; updated the difficulty/tier levels; top lane matchups will be updated after we finish the Top Lane tier List video on YouTube!
06/17/22 - Added Rylai's to items sections
06/16/22 - Added Crown to recommended mythics after further testing
06/14/22 - Small corrections to grammar/spelling/etc.; changed the default summoner spells to Flash, TP since it's more beginner friendly; added new rune page (Comet with Inspiration secondary)
06/13/22 - Added First Strike to Rune section. Updated Spreadsheet, Combos, and Conclusion sections.
06/12/22 - Guide finished; will add Matchup explanations at a later date
You must be logged in to comment. Please login or register.