Irelia Build Guide by RoMz

Introduction

Sup mangs! My name is RoMz or AKA my IGN BoD CloseCombat. I've recently picked up Irelia in S3 (my first season playing ranked, was level 29 at the end of S2 :/) She's a lot of fun and I really like her. Just a note about my build I generally prefer a more offensive Irelia build while others will probably lean to a defensive build. It's all preference with Irelia, thats the great thing about her she has so many different builds and item combonations.

About Me

I'm a 16 year old Mid/Top main and Irelia is one of my main top laners along with Singed and Jayce. I've recently earned Platinum with her as well.





My stream if you would like to check me out, I don't really have a regular streaming scheduled since I have school and what not.
http://www.twitch.tv/theprestigenetwork

Pros / Cons

[+] Can be built in so many different ways
[+] Great Duelist, with true damage and stun
[+] Builds to counter enemy laner
[+] Scales well into late game, tanky with tons of damage
[+] Amazing CSing under tower with Hiten Style and Bladesurge
[+] Very nice butt

[-] Kind of weak early till about level 6-9ish
[-] Mana hungry, she loves dat mana
[-] Reliant on Hiten Style
[-] I think she kinda needs a VU she got that spaghetti hair :P

Runes

Reds: 9 Attack Speed
I've been going full 9x attack speed reds as its just better for Irelia her Hiten Style doesn't scale off of AD like Olaf Reckless Swing does. So the more attacks of true damage she can get off the better.
Consider:
9x Attack Speed Marks
9x Attack Damage Marks
A mix of AD and Attack Speed.

Yellows: 9 Flat Armor
No other choice to be honest, Top lane is full of AD champs its the best Seal and nothing comes close in my opinion.

Blues: 9 Flat Magic Resistance or 9 Scaling Magic Resistance Glyphs
Scaling against an AD laner such as Jayce. Flat against Elise or Darius because he does a good bit of magic dmg with his passive. I just use flat MR because I don't have enough rune pages to put one with scaling :P

Quints: 3 Flat AD
Same thing as AD marks better damage on auto attacks.
Quints on Irelia is mostly on preference.
Consider:
3x Lifesteal Quints are viable
3x Health Regen Quints is AMAZING with Doran's Shield, great against harder matchups
3x Armor Quints
3x MR Quints, against a
3x Movement Speed Quints

Masteries

With the Pre-S4 change I've been going 5/25/0 you don't get the armor pen with 9 points in offensive anymore so I don't feel the need to go any further than 5 points. I grab Fury since Attack Speed on Irelia is always good. I get Butcher as well as it helps with CSing really good with HP regen quints since you don't have the extra AD. I also grab 1 point in Double-Edged Sword for the good trade off. You want to kill the enemy carry so dealing an extra 2% while taken an extra 1% is worth it I think.

Matchups

Aatrox
Difficulty:5 This guy is annoying as hell. With his sustain and revive passive nonsense. You should be able to duel him post 6-9. Consider Ninja Tabi Save Ignite till after he revives to ensure a kill.

Akali
Difficulty:4 Shes weak early consider some aggressive play, at level 5. Try to hit 6 before her. Be very careful of her 6 & don't underestimate her. Hexdrinker is always nice. Wit's End is nice aswell you shouldn't lose to her post 9. IMPORTANT: Don't forget to call MIAs a fed Akali is hell on Earth. Vision Ward will counter her Twilight Shroud

Cho'Gath
Difficulty:3 So easy but boring, farm lane. Be careful of his 6 though.

Darius
Difficulty:6 He's got a lot of damage early and a lot of killing penitential at 6. Consider Heath Regen quints for this matchup. Not the hardest after his nerfs but annoying never the less. The key is to dodge his Decimate also try to not get pulled but if you do Equilibrium Strike and Bladesurge away. Try to get a jungle gank early on him he pushes pretty often with Decimate. After building some HP & armor you should be able to duel him post level 9.

Elise
Difficulty:5 After constant nerfs she is not as dominant as she once was but is still a potent Top Laner. She will poke you down in human form and execute you in spider form. My best tip hide in the brushes to take less damage from auto attacks and from Neurotoxin. Consider a Hexdrinker you can all in her at level 9+. Best thing to do against Elise is to dodge her Cocoon so she doesn't get free damage off on you. There is a bright point with all here poke. You will generally be lower on HP then her so you can get a nice stun off on her if your jugnler comes for a gank.

Fiora
Difficulty:3 Easy, don't underestimate her early game though. Punish her when her Lunge is on cool down. Stun her when she uses Burst of Speed. Try to waste a regular auto attack when she uses her Riposte then unload the true damage on that girl then she will be retreating like a true French person.

Gangplank
Difficulty:2 GP kinda sucks right now. Doran's Shield start is strong here. You two can't really kill each other. Just try to farm. His oranges have a bit of a long CD so try abusing that. Ignite is important here for his oranges.

Garen
Difficulty:7 This guy is annoying as ****. Tanky and tons of damage. He gets Sunfire Cape which owns Irelia. Try to get him to push early with his Judgment and try to get a gank on him.

Gragas
Difficulty:5 I recently experienced this and it was dead even. He couldn't kill me, I couldn't kill him. Consider Hexdrinker here. Careful of his 6 burst though, ***** crazy.

Jarvan IV
Difficulty:6 Not easy to say the least. He has A LOT of damage early. Just try to Bladesurge out of Cataclysm. If he misses his E-Q combo go in for a trade. Be careful of his passive though does a lot of damage.

Jax
Difficulty:8 One of the harder match ups but not impossible if you play it right. This is the most fun match up in my opinion since this gives you allows you to outplay him hard. The key is to NOT use Hiten Style on his Counter Strike. Try to bait it out and Bladesurge to a low hp minion preferably or a just a regular hp minion so you don't take punishment. If you get a reset on your Bladesurge, activate your Hiten Style and go in with Bladesurge go ham on him.

Jayce
Difficulty:4 Easy. Jayce generally builds all damage so your Hiten Style will wreck him. Try using Bladesurge to a low hp minion near Jayce and start auto attacking him. He will then Thundering Blow you away, with the reset on your Bladesurge activate your Hiten Style and go ham on him. Just be careful of early game.

Kennen
Difficulty:6 Starting Doran's Shield is a must here imo. His stuns wont mean much with Ionian Fervor and Mercury's Treads. Hexdrinker is good here. Try to stand in brush and last hit and last hit with Bladesurge if needed. Try to Bladesurge away when he pops Slicing Maelstrom Try to punish him if he wastes his Lightning Rush

Lee Sin
Difficulty:6.5 Careful of his cheese. He is really good early. Dodge his Sonic Wave and you should be good. Fight him 9+ with some armor.

Malphite
Difficulty:4 Farm lane. Don't waste your mana.

Nasus
Difficulty:5 You both can't really kill each other. The big problem is that you can't really deny him farm. Try to get your jungler to camp this guy if possible, preferably pre-6. A farmed Nasus is even more hell on Earth than Akali. To be honest I think this guy is kind of OP right now.

Olaf
Difficulty:8 Since his rework hes become really strong. I've recently picked him back up and I don't know why he isn't played more. Be very carful in this matchup he can snowball out of control. He can out-trade you with his Reckless Swing. In my opinion just try farming up. Best thing to do is to get some HP and dodge his Undertow he gets stronger as he gets lower. You stun wont work on him when he uses Ragnarok.

Renekton
Difficulty:7 This guy is annoying as hell. Does A LOT of damage early. Will be hard to kill because of Dominus. Pay attention to his fury bar try to trade with him when it is low, and try to hold back when he is high on fury. Heath Regen Quints are good here.

Riven
Difficulty:7 Much like Renekton she does A LOT of damage. Try trading with her post 9. Ninja Tabi recommended. Careful of getting low because of her Blade of the Exile. Shes all about snow balling so if you don't die you've done your job.

Rumble
Difficulty:4 Hexdrinker good here. Since his nerfs hes become easier. Try to Bladesurge out of his The Equalizer since it doesn't do much of a nuke anymore but does more damage over time.

Closing

Thanks for reading! Let me know any suggestions you have and I will try to reply to your comments as best I can.

Changelog

11/4/13: Created Guide