Pretty easy matchup but the only reason it has a medium rating is bc aatrox's damage is a bit overturned atm so even if you do dodge all of his qs he could still kill you if you do not kite through minions well enough. Basically this matchup consists of weaving in and out and dodging the sweet spot of every Aatrox Q and obviously Yasuo can do this a lot easier than most other champions.Besides dodging his qs, you want to pay attention to his passive and avoid fighting until he is forced to use it to cs, he can possibly all in you without landing his sweet spot qs if he chunks you with his passive auto and ignites you so be very wary of that. You can also windwall his w which will block some damage but even if you get hit by it, it really isn’t a huge deal bc you can easily dash out of the zone before it pulls you in. Another thing you should look for is when he uses his dashes. His E actually has a fairly long cd early on and can only hold 2 charges, keep that in mind while laning against him to know how mobile he can be at the given time. Lastly, if you are going for an all in and he ults you should kill him as fast as possible so he doesnt get a huge heal from his passive pool, you can also ignite him before downing him to even further reduce the healing from his pool.
Ahri
Yasuo does fairly well into Ahri since you can windwall all of her abilities but the lane can get a bit hard against a good Ahri. Ahri has to use her Q if she wants to push the lane which is your queue to go on her. If she used Q on the wave all you have to use windwall on is her charm. A good Ahri will try to charm you during dash but if you Q during your E you can use windwall during the dash to block the charm anyway. The only real way you die in this lane is if you get hit by a charm and take a couple tower shots. Wait till lvl 3 to go on her so you have windwall to block the charm.
Akali
This matchup is actually a lot easier top lane than it is midlane just because Akali wants to only fight you when her shroud is up. Since the lane is a lot longer, she can’t really hide under tower during her shrouds downtime which is the only time you can try to fight her at all. You can try to poke her with Q level 1 but you should never take a prolonged fight. Akalis level 1 is probably one of the best in the game and she will most likely be too mobile to fight and she can spam Q up to 3 times which can easily all in you if she has ignite. Level 2 you do have a chance to fight her but first you have to bait out her shroud without taking too much damage while she's in it. As soon as it runs out you have about 15 seconds to take a fight with her while your conqueror is up, this gets even easier at level 3 when you can windwall one of her q’s or e’s while she trys to get away from you. I know a lot of people hate Akali and think she’s the most broken champion in the game but if you play the matchup smart and just never fight when her shroud is up you have a huge advantage over her and actually isn’t too hard of a matchup 1v1. At level 6 it’s a very good idea to ult her when her shroud is on cd and force her to ult, her ult is way more important than yours in all ins. Hex or Wits is a must in this matchup.
Annie
The lane itself really isn't that bad, you just rush hex and she can never kill you, although her pt and click cc for jungle ganks can be very annoying. You can take Cleanse in this matchup if the rest of their team has high cc too. Bait out her shield and all in when her stun is at 0 stacks. If they have hard CC other than Annie I would actually not rush zerkers and get early mercs instead.
Anivia
Fairly easy lane since you can windwall the stun and after that she really doesnt have much she can do against you. You can also cancel her ult if you knock her up when its on. Only way you die is if you just sit in her ult and melt so just make sure to E out when she puts it down.
Aurelion Sol
He's been nerfed so hard his base hp is as bad as Yasuos. Similar to Anivia just windwall his q and he really doesn't have much he can do to you except for scream at you to get away. Hard push him in so he can't get his roams off.
Azir
Azir has always been an annoying matchup for Yasuo, although it's a bit easier than past seasons since he has been nerfed quite a bit since then. Try not to get poked too hard early and opt into some MR if you struggle very hard against this lane. When you go for the all in make sure you windwall his ult and you should win the all ins as long as he doesn't have 3 soldiers out.
Brand
Easy lane, windwall his stun and he can never hit you with W. Can get some MR if you don't trust yourself with windwalling the stun. When ulting him, its best to E through him right away to get a better angle so the stun is a lot easier to windwall.
Cassiopeia
One of the more fun lanes. It's a pretty even lane but maybe slightly Cass favored if both players are really good. The lane is basically just nonstop dodging her Q and backing out while windwalling her E's if a Q hits you. The main thing you have to look out for is anytime you E forward through the wave she can ult you and it will always stun you since you are locked in the animation and can't look behind you. Throwing nado also forces you to face the direction you throw it for a second or two. Try to angle your E's so you aren't dashing straight into her. Try going from the side of the wave or dashing at her when you knock her up. Cleanse can also be used in this matchup if you struggle with dodging her stun.
Camille
The biggest thing about vsing Camille is not chasing her near a wall. If you chase her near a wall it will 100% guarantee you get stunned and basically always lose the all in. The best place to fight Camille is in the middle of the lane so if she tries to go for a stun on you, you can easily dash away from her. Also when Camille is charging up her 2nd Q get away and kite back untill it runs out, if you can dodge her stun and 2nd Q, you should always win the all in against her. Also, you can windwall Camilles E before it hits a wall which can come in handy if you are closer to the wall than her. Lastly,
Cho'Gath
Ever since conqueror, tank lanes are relatively easy. All you have to avoid when facing Cho is his Q and wait out his E. This lane is pretty free if the Cho goes tank, but if he goes pure ap it can be a lot harder. Try to abuse him before he gets lvl 6, that is the only time he can ever win an all in against you. Make sure to fight him when you have shield so he can't one shot you. Very easily gankable champion which is why you do not see him too often unless built pure tank.
Corki
Probably easiest matchup midlane. You can windwall his whole kit and the champion has been nerfed so much he hardly does anything until 3 items. Don't EQ him when his W is up, instead bait out his W and Q after you E.
Darius
Top 3 hardest matchups in toplane. They have buffed Daruis so much in recent patches that even if you dodge all of his Qs he will still out damage you with just autos and ignite if he has it. The best thing you can do is take short trades and never let him get max 5 stacks of his passive on you or you will always lose the fight. Build double D blade and cloth armor early to have a chance. On the plus side, he is very easy to gank chained with Yasuos cc.
Diana
Pretty easy matchup since Diana really isn't a champion untill lvl 6. Windwall the Q so she can't resit her ult. Can get an early hexdrinker or at least a magic mantle if you really struggle with this matchup.
Dr. Mundo
Hard win against him pre 6, can take ignite in this matchup to negate his healing on his ult. Probably one of the easiest tanks to play against bc he has 0 cc.
Ekko
Windwall his Q so it can never hit you twice and you can easily get out of his stun by e'ing out and if not you are lagging or something. Don't chase directly into his ult bc it does massive burst damage.
Fiora
Fiora is def one of the harder matchups in toplane just bc she outstats you and has a shit ton of healing. Try to stay away from her when she has an easy to proc vital on you and take short trades. When she ults you try to either disengage or if you cant just stand next to a wall so she cant proc all 4 vitals and get her ulti healing off. I like to go Bramble after pd in this matchup, actually helps a ton to negate her healing since you don't really want to buy Excutioner's Calling.
Fizz
Poke him with Q everytime he goes for cs. Everytime he Q's onto you fight him bc you win the auto battle until he uses his E then quickly dash away to get out of the damage. Buy an early hex and he shouldn't be able to kill you as long as you windwall his shark.
Galio
Although Galio is supposed to be a mage counter he actually doesn't do TOO bad into Yasuo. Galio has a lot of cc combined with aftershock he can actually chunk you pretty hard with his combo. Also, since he has so much cc his gank setup is pretty strong so be wary of that. Bait out his W and go in when its down or else he will hit his whole combo on you. Can go Cleanse if their jungler has a lot of cc also if you struggle.
Gangplank
Try to not take too many free Q's to the face, try to build up your shield before his next Q is up, he can't spam too much without running oom. I like taking ignite in this matchup to reduce his healing when I go for an all in. Try to E to his barrels and quickly destroy them before he has a chance to blow them up on you. You can even windwall his Q shooting at a barrel. Lastly, his W can cleanse your ult so watch out for that.
Garen
Easy lane, he basically will never out damage you as long as you stay in the wave since his E does a lot less damage that way. Only reason this gets a 2 is bc he is so tanky that it's pretty difficult to ever kill him if he plays back. Bait out his w then go for an all in when it's down.
Gnar
Pretty easy matchup since he has been nerfed so much over the years. Windwall his autos and just go for an all in when he is tiny since his defensive stats are terrible in that form. Only way you die in this matchup is getting ulted into the wall and chained cc by his w so watch out for that.
Gragas
Don't think you are going to see lane Gragas too much but if you do, it's a fairly easy lane. If he goes tank you should win every all in against him, just windwall his q and back out if he is charging up his W since he has a lot of damage reduction in that form for a couple seconds, If he goes pure ap, get an early hex so he can't one shot you and its' free.
Hecarim
Very annoying matchup if you play against a good hec, thankfully you will almost never see this champion laning. Would recommend going resolve in this matchup and Boneplating bc winning all ins against him is going to be tough. Only go for an all in when he has 0 stacks of his Q, if he has full stacks from the start, you will never win. Go two d blades and early cloth armor. Your best bet is to knock him up while hes charging E so he can't land a fully charged E on you. Also, you can windwall his spectral ghosts in his ulti but doesn't help too much.
Heimerdinger
Relatively easy lane. Wait till lvl 3 to go in so you have windwall to block the grenade. Can easily e auto q his tower to one shot them and if Heimer gets pushed in he has a very hard time last hitting. Only way you die is if you don't windwall the grenade and take his RW to the face.
Illaoi
This matchup is rather annoying since Yasuo has to play it basically perfectly to win. You can abuse her lvl 1-2 since she isn't really strong untill she has every ability lvled. After lvl 3 make sure to windwall E or you are going to get massively chunked. If you fail in blocking the E, disengage immediately untill her E passive runs out. Make sure to dodge all of her tentacles too and kill them when they spawn. When she gets lvl 6, try to get her to ult then disengage then finish her when it runs out.
Irelia
Skill matchup. Irelia has been nerfed enough where i would say the matchup is Yasuo favored unless both players are masters at the champions. Abuse her lvl 1 and try to get a trade on her when you get lvl 2 before her. Always windwall her E if you cant dash out of it in time bc if she hits you with even one of them, she can easily full to zero you. You should win all ins as long as you windwall E. This matchup is very snowbally so whoever gets the edge first will usually take over the lane. When she gets 6 try to wind wall her ult or E through her to dodge it, although if you do happen to get hit by it make sure to not disarm yourself or else you will 100% die. Also, something to note is her stun cd is a lot shorter than your windwall so watch out for that and make sure to dash our of some of her stuns bc your windwall won't be up for all of them.
Jarvan IV
Not sure why more people don't play solo lane Jarvan bc it is actually very strong. He out stats you early on in the game but after you get PD you can take over the matchup. Never sit still and let him EQ you or else you will 100% lose the all in. If he starts W don't bother taking extended trades against him, wait till lvl 2 when he doesn't have all of his abilities, that is your best chance to chunk him and go for an all in. Save flash for when he ults, if you are fast enough you can flash the damage. Get 2 doran blades and an early cloth armor to survive his burst.
Jax
Actual degenerate champion. His kit actually counters you fairly hard imo. The best way to beat this lane is to get an advantage before he hits 6. Poke him with Q lvl 1 but don't get too close since Jax lvl 1 is one of the best in the game due to his counterstrike making him unable to take damage from autos and it stuns you, bait out his E then chunk him at lvl 2. if he jumps to you and then starts channeling E, E away and dodge it and go back on him, although a good jax will always charge up his stun before jumping on you so you can't dodge it. If you don't build up a lead pre 6, this lane can snowball on you immensly and you will never be able to fight him. Jax at 3 items is one of the strongest champions in the game 1v1 if not the strongest so try to force teamfights away from him.
Jayce
Skill matchup, is a lot harder mid than it is top due to shorter lane. Try not to get poked down lvl 1 and you can go on him lvl 2 when he is in ranged form, try to get in his face so he can't EQ for massive damage on you. Try to evade his melee Q by dashing out at the right time. Snowbally matchup so if you get a lead on him you can steamroll the lane fairly easily. Build double dorans into early cloth.
Karma
Fairly easy lane, she can never kill you but she is pretty hard to kill due to her healing and shields. Only way you really die in this lane is if your windwall is down and you get snared into RQ which should never happen. Dash out when she casts her E to get out of the tether range then go back in on her. Save ignite when going for an all in and before she heals with her RE. If she plays super safe you can just push her into tower and look for roams instead.
Karthus
He has no hard CC or escape so it's pretty easy lane. Start E in this lane so you can dodge his Qs lvl 1. Not much else to say other then dodge his Qs and don't sit in his E for too long. Make sure you at least get some MR since you can not dodge his ult and it will do half your hp with 0 MR.
Kassadin
Save your windwall for his Q only if your shield is down so you can avoid the max possible damage from his poke. Don't spam your E too much for no reason since that charges up his E which you can not windwall. Get a freeze going pre 6 since he is very vulnerable to ganks before his ulti.
Katarina
Hard push her in lvl 1 and poke her if she walks up at all, Kat has a very hard time csing under tower so it's a good way to get an early cs lead. Windwall her Q so she loses a dagger to jump too. Build Hex if you find yourself dying in this lane or at least get a magic mantle. Save Windwall for her ulti post 6.
Kayle
Don't think ive seen a Kayle in about 1000 games but if you do see who don't worry it's a pretty easy lane. Go hard on her lvl 2 when her E runs out, early game with no CDR her E has 8 sec downtime which is insane bc she is basically useless during the downtime. Post 6, if she ults when you knock her up, do not ult unless the fight isn't even close and you are just looking to gapclose with it.
Kayn
Only time you are going to see Kayn mid/top is if you are Challenger and Metaphor/Karasmai got autofilled. Champ is terrible before it gets it's form. Only real advice id give in this matchup is do not take unnecessary fights unless it'll push him out of lane bc giving him free orbs and getting early form is the only way this matchup could possibly be hard.
Kennen
Insane poke, all in, tankiness, this champ has it all. Try not to get poked down too much early and look to trade lvl 2 and when his passive W is 0 stacks. MR is a must in this lane, one of the rare times rushing mercs is very effective due to kennen being able to stun you multiple times. If they are heavy AP you can also get a hex to avoid getting bursted by him. Predict his Qs with windwall when going for an all in. His very small hitbox makes it very hard to hit tornados on him so it's usually better to get your knock on him by just EQing on to him.
Kha'Zix
Can't really comment too much on this matchup but have seen some people play lane Kha recently. Should win all fights against him as long as you aren't isolated and are in your minion wave. Get an early cloth if you really struggle with his damage.
Kled
Have heard a lot of people have trouble with this matchup but i think its slightly Yasuo favored 60/40. Poke him with Q lvl 1 and you can continue the trade if he wastes/misses his Q. Can go on him lvl 2 but make sure his W is not active bc that's where all his damage is. Windwall his Q and make sure his W is down and you will win every duel against him. Lastly, When you dismount him back off and get your 3rd nado to finish him off to make sure he doesn't remount in time.
Kog'Maw
Have not seen this champion mid since season 5? Very easy lane, windwall his E and dodge all his ultis with your E. He has no CC or escape so you can just freeze the lane on your side and when he comes up to try to cs you can easily all in him.
LeBlanc
Leblanc is annoying bc she has insane mobility and hard CC which can set up free kills for her jungler by getting hit by even ONE of her chains. Start E in this lane and try to time your E for when she Ws at you lvl one to avoid the damage and get a good chunk on her. Windwall her Es so you don't get CCed and aren't in danger of getting ganked. Try to sit on her W point she she can't go back to it without you getting good damage on her. Build early MR since she does massive burst damage. You can go cleanse in this lane if their jungler has hard CC too but you probably can never kill her in lane unless you take ignite since she is so slippery.
Lee Sin
Have not seen a lane Lee Sin in ages but he does have massive base damage so it probably isn't the easiest lane because he can just Ult into Q with jungle assistance and most likely one shot you. Try to stay in minion wave so he can't Q you, as long as you dodge the Q you should always win 1v1 against him. Also, if you expect Lee Sin is going to ult and then Q you, windwall behind your back so when he ults you, your windwall will block his Q.
Lissandra
The go to autofill/insecure player pick. I put this as 4 not bc of her 1v1 but her gank setup and survivability is insane. I would honestly take Cleanse in this matchup just bc if you don't you will almost always die to a jungler gank if you go anywhere near her. windwall her Q when you got for trades and if you go for an all in, windwall before she throws out her E so you can block off her escape route. Sit on tower if your cleanse is down and you have no idea where their jungler could be.
Lucian
Have not seen a Lucian solo lane in a very long time but when it was meta the lane could be slightly annoying. He can hard bully you early levels and chunk you out so play safe untill you are lvl 3 and that's your time to trade/all in. Try to keep dashing to dodge his Q and save your nado for when after he uses his dash. This lane is def a lot harder mid than it is top for the obvious reason that the lane is much shorter and he can get to tower faster. Matchup gets a lot easier once you are both 6.
Lulu
Fairly easy lane as long as you don't get poked down the first couple levels. Can all in her lvl 2-3 as long as shes not near her tower. She doesn't do too much damage and is rather squishy. As long as you windwall her polymorph you will kill her 100%.
Lux
Easy lane but only reason I didn't put her at 1 is because she actually has some kill pressure on you if you build 0 MR against her. Make sure to windwall her Q and you can easily dodge the rest of her kit. If she lands a single Q on you when she is 6 and you have no shield or MR she can full to zero you or get really close to it so be careful of that. Lux is not very good bc she has high mana costs and never has lane priority so abuse that.
Malphite
One of if not the hardest tank to play against as Yasuo. Early game you hard win obviously since tanks are very weak esp since Malphite can't abuse Aftershock early like most tanks. The reason I put him as a 3 is bc if you do not build up a big enough lead early, he sets up ganks so easily against you post 6. Only counter play to his ulti is to try to flash it but your flash has a massive CD compared to his ulti. Try to predict his E and dash away from him when he tries to lower your attack speed. Use your windwall on his Q only when your shield is down to take the least damage from his harass as possible.
Malzahar
Very easy lane, it is legit impossible to die to him 1v1 pre 6 and he just feeds you gold with his minions. Dash to dodge his Q and kill his minions as soon as he casts them. Only reason he is not a 1 is bc he forces you to build QSS or everytime he ults you when his jungler is there you die. Get QSS after tier 2 boots.
Maokai
Impossible to lose 1v1 to him since conqueror makes it so you always win early against tanks. E away when his aftershock is about to proc on you to avoid extra damage he does with it. Windwall his Es and stay away from the bushes so his saplings don't chunk you. Post 6 save windwall for his ulti. Only dangerous thing in this matchup is his gank setup due to his pt click hard cc. Make sure you know where jungler is before you go on him and the matchup is free.
Mordekaiser
Ever since preseason, Morde has massively rose in popularity mostly due to shield bash and honestly he was pretty sleeper for a long time imo. The biggest strength Morde has is his ability to 1v1 almost anyone who comes into melee range of him. He is one of the easiest champions to gank so try to call your jungler to camp him since Yasuo has really good gank setup. When fighting him 1v1, never keep fighting him when he has his W on, it will do massive damage to you and if he hits champions with it, it heals for a lot more than minions. Go for an all in on him when his W is down and ignite early so he doesn't get healing from his Ulti. Buy an early magic mantle if you think he is doing way too much damage to you.
Morgana
Very similar to the lux matchup but would say its a tiny bit harder due to Morgana having a shield that negates your ulti and has longer CC. Obviouslly your goal this matchup is just to use windwall on every Q and to dash out of her ulti, but if she catches you with even ONE snare while her jungler is nearby, you will always die. Also if you have no minions to dash out of her ulti she could possibly solo you if the stun applies into a QW. You can honestly go cleanse in this matchup if you aren't confident in dodging or if they have more hard CC like Elise as their jungler.
Nasus
Only reason im putting Nasus at a 3 is bc if he gets left alone at all and gets 250-300 stacks and 2 items, you are never 1v1ing him ever again. This matchup can snowball against you if you don't have good lane management. Basically you don't want to just afk push and let Nasus stack for free bc that's exactly what he wants, instead you should get a freeze going on your side of the lane so he is very vulnerable to getting ganked. Also it's good to freeze early bc Nasus can not fight you at all early bc he is a scaling champion and doesn't have enough damage to duel you until he has a good amount of stacks on his Q and he has ult. Get in his face when he tries to break the freeze so he has to fight you instead of getting stacks off the wave.
Nautilus
Don't really see solo lane Naut at all anymore, very easy lane. Windwall his Q and burst him down when he uses his shield bc thats where all of his damage come from. You can't really lose 1v1 to him but his gank setup at 6 is on par with Malphite due to having around 2.5-3 sec pt click hard CC so be careful all inning him if you have no idea where their jungler is.
Neeko
Thought this matchup was going to be a lot easier than it was but if she lands one snare on you, say goodbye to 60% of your hp. Another reason she is very annoying is any time you go for a knockup on her she just goes stealth and you can't ult her or she just ults and if you ult you take massive damage and get stunned. Best way to deal with her is to just push on her and look for roams since her wave clear isn't the best compared to most mages. Windwall her snare and dash away from her while she is ulting. Lastly, she has a 3 auto passive on her W so try to not be in range of her early to not get poked down by her.
Nidalee
Won't see lane Nid very often but if you do, it will usually be top ad Nid which is very easy for Yasuo to handle. Don't let her poke you down lvl 1 and after lvl 2 you will win every trade and all in against her as long as your conqueror is up. Windwall her spears and don't walk on an obvious trap and she will never kill you.
Nocturne
Can't say I've laned against lane Noct in a very long time but from what I can tell, I think Noct can actually kill you fairly easily if you don't respect him. Windwall his Q if he aims it at you and take short trades against him, if he catches you and gets his fear off while on his Q, he can most likely full to 0 you with ignite. Dash away so he can't fear you and when you go for a knock up on him with 3rd Q, bait out his spell shield by Eing onto him but save your Q so he doesn't block it with his spell shield. Can buy an early cloth armor if you have trouble with his damage.
Olaf
Your main goal against Olaf is basically don't give him free kills or any window to snowball on you bc if you don't, the champion falls off drastically. Do not try to fight him at all lvl 1, his all in potential is insane especially if he took ignite. Wait for the lane to push to you and you can start taking trades with him lvl 3. Take very short trades with Olaf and constantly kite away from him bc if you sit in his face, you will 100% lose the all in. Windwall his Qs to block even more damage and run him out of mana. Your best window to fight him is lvl 3-5 since at lvl 6 if he catches you with an Axe and ults at you, you will be killed in seconds. Dash away as soon as he ults and go back onto him for the kill once it runs out so you can actually get your ult off. Matchup gets a lot easier after you finish your PD so hold out before then.
Orianna
Probably one of the most even matchups Yasuo has. Let the wave push to you early and don't let her poke you down since her Q autos hurt a lot for a mage. Go on her when she uses her Q on the wave bc it has a decent cd early on. Use windwall in between her and where her ball is so you can block her E and deny her the shield and you should always win the trade. Dodging her ulti is pretty easy as long as you don't stand in the same spot and keep dashing around or dash into her when the ball is on her.
Ornn
Easiest tank to vs as Yasuo and even used as a counter against Ornn. After lvl 2 you win all trades against him as long as you E through him and dodge the 2nd part of his W which is his main damage, you should never get hit by this. Don't stand next to walls or his Q and he will never be able to knock you up. The main reason yasuo is a counter is bc you can windwall his ult which is massive in duels and teamfights.
Pantheon
Very annoying champion due to his constant auto attack blocking from his passive. Try to get lvl 2 before him by pushing the lane hard and Qing him if he walks up to the wave. Take advantage of your lvl 2 if he doesn't back up. Don't sit in his E and always make sure to dash away from it . The reason why this lane is very annoying is bc he can block so many of your autos and cancel your Qs with his stun and his gank setup is very good especially when diving since he can block tower shots. If you can't get a good chunk on him lvl 1-3 then just sit back and wait till lvl 6 and your first back to fight him. If you are even in gold, you actually have the advantage lvl 6 since you have an ulti and he doesn't since his is just for roaming. Build 2 doran blades and an early cloth armor and don't fall behind early and you should be able to 1v1 him quite easily post 6.
Poppy
Although Malphite is more annoying late game due to his attack speed debuff, I think Poppy's laning is really brutal to vs. Early on try to not be in range of her untill she uses her passive shield and try to step on it if she does end up using it on you as it will deny a pretty big shield. Do not stand near any walls unless you want to be cced and lose about 3/4 of your hp. When she uses her Q quickly walk sideways out of it but do not E if her W is on bc you will be briefly cced and take even more damage. Another annoying thing about Poppy, is her hitbox being so small for a tank, it makes it hard to land Qs on her if she dodges well. Go for an all in when her W is down so your dashes do not get interrupted. Lastly, you can windwall her ulti but try not be directly ontop of her when she does because sometimes it will still hit you away.
Pyke
Used to be annoying but not even sure if he can be played mid after nerfs. Can Windwall the phantom of his E to avoid the stun and his Q if he charges it up, easy lane just annoying bc killing him is near impossible if he is playing safe.
Quinn
Don't let Quinn poke you down first couple lvls. Let the wave push into you and as soon as you get 3 you should be able to win every fight against her since you can windwall her E auto damage. If Quinn ever uses E to harras, that is your chance to all in her since she has no escape after that. Save windwall for her Q when you all in her because getting hit by that could potentially get you killed.
Renekton
One of the hardest matchups in the game for Yasuo. Not only does Renekton hard win 1v1 but his gank setup is insane due to his point and click 1.5sec stun. The only time you are really stronger than him early on is lvl 1-2. Renekton isn't too strong until he has all of his abilities unless he has 100 fury built up. Look to chunk him lvl 1 when conqueror is up if he doesn't respect you and then when you get lvl 2 before him try to go in for the kill or get his flash. Even if you get an early kill on him, the matchup is still insanely hard. Do not go near him if he has 100 fury built up because you will actually die full to 0 if he has PTA + ignite. Only go for trades against him when your shield is up and he has no fury. Try your best to farm until first back. This is the only matchup in the game where I rush tabis due to his W counting as 3 auto attacks. Once you get double dorans into tabi into PD and you aren't behind you should be able to win fights against him.
Rengar
Actually see this champion played quite often in the toplane recently. Try to stay away from bushes so he can't get the jump on you, if he tries to go on you lvl one, you can chase him into the bush once your conqueror is up. If you don't chunk him early lvl 1-2 the matchup can become really difficult due to him camping bushes and chocking you out of farm. Call your jungler up if you can't build a lead first two lvls or the matchup is pretty doomed. Can build early tabis and just try to farm up until you can buy PD which is when you can easily fight Rengar.
Riven
This matchup throughout League history has always favored Riven and I feel like it favors her even more recently due to shield bash. The only time you really shit on Riven is lvl 1-2 due to her not having all of her abilities yet. If you haven't gotten a good trade against her first 2 lvls she pretty much just controls the lane past that point. Try to kite to minions when she starts Qing on you and going back onto her when her Q is down. Post 6 try to windwall before she stuns you to try to not get hit by the 2nd part of her ulti, although a good Riven will always hit you with it by chain ccing you. Don't E directly onto riven or else she will just stun you and turn on you pretty easily, instead try to nado from afar to force her to use her E to dodge then you can go on her when her shield is down. You can also get early tabi in this lane and farm till you get PD which will help you a lot with dueling her.
Rumble
This matchup used to be a lot harder in previous seasons due to his Q having no cd and him being able to nonstop spam it on your face. It now has a 10 sec cd at lvl 1 so use this time to go on him and get a good trade on him. Your best time to go for an all in on him is when he is overheated but AFTER his Q runs out since he will only be able to auto attack you which you obviously will out damage him. Don't sit in his ulti and get some early MR if you struggle with his damage.
Ryze
Annoying champion due to his 2 sec hard CC gank setup. He is basically a more mobile Lissandra with more damage but less CC. Windwall when he snares you to avoid his EQ damage chunk. Very hard champion to kill so you probably will just farm the lane out so cull wouldn't be too bad in this lane. If jungle has CC too then Mercs are a very good buy into this matchup. Don't stand in the wave when hes wave clearing or else you will get hit by a free EQ so make him chose to either harass you or push the wave.
Shen
One of the better tanks into Yasuo due to his good base damage and his anti auto attack zone. Try to fake out your movements to bait out his stun because if you do get hit by one he can get a pretty good chunk on you. Kite away from him when he puts down his W and go back onto him when it runs out. Post 6 the lane gets a lot easier due to him not having an ulti for lane while you do. Don't position yourself between him and his Q or else you will make his Q do a lot more damage than usual. Lastly, his E has a pretty big CD of 18sec lvl so use that time when its down to really abuse him since he won't really have much damage once it's down.
Singed
Probably as hated as Teemo tbh. Very annoying lane due to his W grounding making it very hard to E. His gank setup really has no counter play, you just get flung into the ground and you will almost always die if the jungler is there. You can beat him pre 6 but when he gets ulti, stay away from him because the stats he gets are insane. Wits end is very good into singed so if you have trouble with him, I would recommend it. Lastly, always get Frozen Mallet either 3rd/4th item or you will never be able to kill him due to his movement speed.
Sion
All of his abilities are very linear which makes high moiblity champs like Riven and Yasuo very effective against him. Can either cancel his Q with your 3rd Q or just E to a minion or Sion himself. Burst him when he turns on his shield to avoid that damage too. Only way to die in this lane is by getting ulted into his Q into a jungle gank.
Swain
Go on him when he uses his Q to push the wave and try not to be point blank infront of him so you don't tank the full Q damage. Save windwall and use it behind you when the E comes back into him to avoid the snare and you can easily all in him. As long as you have fingers, you can't really get hit by his W either so this should be a very easy matchup as long as he doesn't get 5 stacks in his ulti. Use your ignite when he starts his ulti to reduce the healing.
Syndra
Start E in this matchup to dodge her lvl 1 Qs and to get a good chunk on her lvl 1. If you get llvl 2 at the same time as her, do not go on her. If you go on her without windwall she can easily stun you and proc electrocute and just walk away. Wait till level 3 in this matchup to windwall the stun and you will easily out trade her. Save windwall for her ulti post 6 or she can end up killing you if you have no MR. Grab an early magic mantle if you really struggle with her damage.
Tahm Kench
Haven't vsed this champion in a very long time so this rating might be outdated but from what I remember, he has massive tankiness and base damage. Take short trades against him and constantly poke him and weave through the wave. Windwall his Q to deny damage when going on him and denying the stun. When going for an all in, do not ult him if he pops his shield, instead wait for it to time out and go back onto him to finish him off. Frozen Mallet 3rd is really good into Tahm to easily Kite him and not be able to stick to you at all.
Taliyah
Have not seen this midlaner anymore after she got gutted so I assume if you do see it, it'll probably pretty easy. Only thing you have to look out for is dashing into her E, if you do this you will lose a big chunk of you health so watch out for that. When her E is down you can easily fight her or just push her under tower since her wave clear is so bad since the nerfs. Also if she ever tries to trap you or cut off your escape with her ult, don't forget you can windwall to stop it too.
Talon
Imo one of the easiest if not the easiest assassin to vs as Yasuo. The only real way you lose this matchup is if you get cheesed and first blooded lvl 2 which is when talon gets 90% of his first bloods. You can play up on him and fight him lvl 1, if he tries to fight you, you can chunk him massively and maybe even kill him when you get lvl 2 before him. If you can't chunk him when you both get lvl 2, be very careful because this is the time he can kill you pretty easily so stay back. As soon as you get past lvl 2 the matchup swings back in your favor as long as you windwall his W, you hard win the fight due to him not being able to proc his passive on you. Get an early cloth armor if you struggle with this lane or they have ad jungle as well.
Teemo
One of the most hated champions in the game but as top laners go, Yasuo is one of the better champions into Teemo. Let him push into you and don't let him poke you down because his poison plus Q can chunk you really hard. Wait till lvl 3 to go on him and make sure you windwall his Q or else you will for sure lose out on the trade since you cant auto him, so if you fail in doing so just kite back and wait for windwall to be up again. The only matchup where it's good to first back and swap your yellow trinket for a red trinket just to get ready to clear his shrooms post 6. Can get a magic mantle and even rush wits end if the enemy jungler is AP and if you struggle in this matchup. He is a lot more vulnerable when his W is down so make sure to keep note of that too.
Tryndamere
This matchup is annoying because unlike other matchups where you learn how much damage the champion can do at each level, Tryn is just RNG. Sometimes he can crit you 3 times and you just automatically lose the all in lvl 2 or sometimes he can crit 0 times and you just hard win it. Basically you want yo play the matchup like its going to be the worst case scenario and expect him to crit more than hes supposed to or else you will die a lot in this matchup. Kiting is key in this matchup especially the lower hp he gets because the lower hp = the more damage he does to you.when he W then Es on you that is when you kite through minions and poke him with Q while he chases you. Post 6, as soon as you get his ulti out, again kite away to minions until it runs out then try to get in range to finish him. This is the only other lane I would get Tabis in just because all his damage is auto attacks.
Twisted Fate
Very one sided matchup. Basically what TF wants to do is push the wave in and look to ulti whenever he can. Due to Yasuos insane wave pushing, he is a super good champ into TF. Not only can you push him into tower all game and deny his roams but you can windwall his stun card which is his only way to survive matchups mid. I actually wait for him to use his card then go on him lvl 1 with E since he has no way of fighting me back except with autos. Just watch out with going near him when your windwall is down because if he catches you with a stun while his jungler is there, you could potentially die.
Udyr
Don't see this champion very often top but he is a pretty known counter to Yasuo at least when he jungles. Not much counter play to this champion when he gets on you due to him having point click hard CC and massive damage in tiger form. Your best bet in this matchup is to just poke him with Q and kite him as best you can until he is low enough for an all in. Be careful though because if you sit in his face for even 2-3 seconds, you can actually die full to 0 just from tiger form and ignite. You don't see udyr top much due to him being very easily ganked so you should definitely call your jungler up and get some easy kills on him before he gets levels.
Urgot
People might disagree and call this matchup harder than a 2 but in my opinion it's one of Yasuos best matchups toplane. Its fairly easy to dodge his Qs due to constant dashing which is a huge chunk of his damage. Take short trades early and disengage/windwall when he turns his W on. Since his E has a delay you can easily dash away and make him E forward which makes him pretty vulnerable and can set himself up to get all ined by you. Post 6 keep dashing around so he can't hit you with his ulti or just save windwall for it he can not execute you.
Veigar
Pretty impossible lane to die to solo as long as you can press your W key. Only reason I put this matchup as a 2 is because his E is one of the most annoying abilities in the game due to gank setup and basically getting rid of Yasuos mobility for a good amount of time. Don't give him free AP by getting hit by free Qs and save windwall for his ulti. Go for an all in after he uses his Cage on you to harass because without it, he is very vulnerable.
Vel'Koz
Similar lane to Xerath but a bit harder due to not being able to windwall his ulti. Don't go on him untill you are lvl 3 and have all of your abilities so you can windwall his E when you go on him. Another thing you need to keep in mind is his charges on W. His W has 2 charges with a 19 sec cd so try to keep track of those and go on him when at least one of them are on cd.
Viktor
One of Viktors best matchups but that isn't saying much because Viktor loses to just about everything atm. He can be a pain early game due to his constant unavoidable poke with q and e but after your first back it gets a lot easier. Let the wave push into you and don't get poke down too hard and start trading with him lvl 3. Its very very good to back early in this lane after pushing him in (800-850 gold). By doing this, it let's you get a decent back of dorans blade and dagger AND forces him to back without buying his hex core upgrade which hurts him massively. If he doesn't back and greeds for the hex core, you can take advantage of that with your item advantage and really choke him out or look for a kill. Lastly, don't go for the all in until you bait out his w first, if you don't then you will get stunned during your ulti and kited and possibly killed.
Vladimir
One of the harder matchups midlane but still not as bad as hard top matchups. Main thing you have to look out for is to not go near him when his empowered Q is up or it will do a massive chunk of damage to you and heal him for double the amount of a regular Q. When going for a duel, windwall his E while hes charging it and you should 100% win the trade. Lastly, when Eing on him with 3rd Q, hold it so you can bait out his W and land the nado when he comes out of it to go for the all in.
Warwick
Tbh im the only person I know who plays Warwick top and actually thinks its strong. Champ has massive healing on his abilities and can easily out sustain you. Try to poke him with Q and kite him when his E is on to avoid the fear or else he can possibly kill you or heavily chunk you. He is pretty useless when his E is on CD so that is your time to go for an all in against him. Ignite early to reduce all his healing before he lands a Q on you. Also either wait for him to use his Q or hit your 3rd Q from afar bc he can dodge the knock up if he Qs you while it hits him.
Wukong
Wukong has been nerfed so hard that this matchup isn't very challenging anymore. Doesn't really have enough damage to fight you and has no real escape except his W which is just a worse version of Neeko W. His ulti also doesn't do very much damage early on so just auto him and out damage him while he's in it. Build an early cloth armor if you really have trouble with his damage.
Xerath
Another lane similar to Lux, Zyra, etc. Don't stand in your minions so he has to choose to harass you with his Q or push the wave with his Q. Windwall his E only if its going to hit you from medium-long range but not point blank range because even if he hits you from point blank range it will only stun you for .5 sec which won't really matter too much. Dodge his skill shots by Eing through the wave and push him in to force him to run oom csing the wave.
Xin Zhao
Pretty cheesy champion that you won't see very often or ever. He can actually cheese kill you lvl 2-3 with PTA and ignite. Kite through minions when he jumps on you and never be caught without minions because he heavily out stats you. Wait for his Q to run out then go on him and keep moving to dodge the 2nd part of his W.
Yorick
Another champion that you don't see very often because he was gutted due to gold players not knowing how to right click and kill his minions. The most important part about this matchup is to dodge his E, if you dodge his E then his minions will never target you which is where most of Yoricks damage comes from. Dodging his E is pretty simple and especially easy for champions with high mobility like Riven and Yasuo by just dashing to a minion or him when he throws it out. Yoricks cage is also really bad against Yasuo because you can just E out of it if any minions are nearby rendering it pretty much useless unless he catches you with it without any minions, but even then you can get out of it by just Eing through him when he comes close to you. Kill his minions when they spawn and look for an all in after he misses his E.
Zac
Ever since they reworked Zac, you don't really see him played toplane anymore. Champ does next to no damage so his only hope in this lane to to get his jungler to gank you and use his CC to set up the kill. Windwall his Q if he tries to grab you and easily dash out of his ulti and E to dodge all of his CC. Step on his blobs to deny him Hp.
Zed
I actually don't think this matchup is as Yasuo favored as people claim it to be. Poke him and nonstop trade with him levels 1-2 because zed is a very weak champion until level 3. Save your windwall until he throws out his W so you can dodge at least one of his shurikens or else you will take a lot of damage. Abuse Zed when his W is done due to the massive 22 sec cd it has early game, he does very little damage without his W up. This is the only matchup in the game that I actually go exhaust against. After Zed ults you, wait .5 sec and dash away then exhaust so it ends up blocking the initial damage he throws at you and the pop of the ulti, this will negate so much damage and basically render his ult useless. Also if you have 3rd Q and and he ults you just Q behind you so you can 100% knock him up and ult him to delay his ult, although a good Zed will never ult you when your 3rd Q is up unless you fake him out by Eing on him while your 3rd Q is up but not using it and then saving it for when he ults to try to dodge the EQ.
Ziggs
Don't see ziggs much but he is pretty easy to deal with. Only way this lanes really an issue is if you get hit by all of the poke he throws at you which is pretty simple to dodge as long as you don't clump with the minions because his Q is a lot easier to dodge out of the wave. Don't dash into his mine field and dash out of the middle of his ulti to not get hit by the max damage of it. You can also windwall infront of him during an all in to try to deny him the satchel escape.
Zilean
Probably the easiest matchup for Yasuo in the game. Only way you die in this matchup is if your mouse legit disconnects for a whole 30 seconds. Zilean has 0 ways to hurt you besdies auto attacks due to his only damage ability being his Q which you can easily E out of the way of or just simply windwall it. My only tip is do not kill him when he ults, instead leave him super low so he has to either back or you can try to kill him once it runs out.
Zoe
Not sure how the creator of Yasuo made this abomination. Try not to get poked down too hard lvl 1 by her Q and and her empowered auto attacks from passive. Do not go on her until level 3 because you need windwall to block her E which she always gets level 2. You can take cleanse in this matchup if you aren't confident in dodging her sleep because if you get hit by even one, you could potentially die. Lastly, do not ult her when she is ulting because your ulti will not stop her from warping back which could put you in an awkward position, instead wait for her to warp back to kill her.
Zyra
Very similar to the Lux lane, only difference is she has less survivability and more aoe damage that is harder to dodge. Can farm her plants easily for bonus gold which is pretty nice. Only way you die is if you don't windwall her E and get ulted with plants next to you, so never go on her unless your E is up. Don't sit in her ult and dodge her Qs with your dashes.
Qiyana
You should abuse Qiyana really hard level 1 and 2 since she really is not a champion until she gets all her abilities at level 3. If she does not have her grass element and you see she has mountain or water, that is the time you can all in her as long as you windwall her snare because she can not avoid your ulti by going stealth. Triple dorans is very good in this matchup due to lane kingdoming her and not allowing her to roam without losing a lot of cs. Always windwall in her direction when she E's you bc her Q will track towards you. Your windwall can also block her ult so she should really never kill you.
Sett
This match up is pretty tough bc he outstats the shit out of you. I would rush bork first item against him to match his sustain and take very short trades against him. The longer the trade the stronger his W will be but you should always be able to E away and dodge out of his W damage. Survive until bork and you should be able to 1v1 him as long as you dodge his W.
Aatrox
Alistar
Anivia
Azir
Blitzcrank
Braum
Camille
Cho'Gath
Corki
Darius
Diana
Draven
Fizz
Galio
Gnar
Gragas
Hecarim
Ivern
Janna
Jarvan IV
Jayce
Kalista
Kayn
Kled
Lee Sin
Lulu
Malphite
Maokai
Nami
Nautilus
Nunu & Willump
Orianna
Ornn
Poppy
Pyke
Quinn
Rakan
Rammus
Rek'Sai
Riven
Sejuani
Shyvana
Singed
Sion
Swain
Syndra
Taliyah
Thresh
Tristana
Trundle
Urgot
Vayne
Vel'Koz
Vi
Volibear
Wukong
Xin Zhao
Zac
Ziggs
Zyra
Champion Build Guide
[Season 10.8 Yasuo Guide] WayOfTheTempest's Every Season Cha
Hello! For those who don't know of me, I am most known as WayOfTheTempest or just Tempest. I've been a North American Challenger Yasuo main ever since season 6 and Challenger seasons before that just not with Yasuo. My all time peak in Season 6 was rank 4 with basically only with Yasuo and then was rank 2 in Season 7 with mostly Yasuo and Zed. I have been maining Yasuo ever since Heimer was reworked and really have never gotten bored of him ever. Here is my current main OP.GG Unfortunately the only screenshot I have of my previous ranks is when I was top 10 in season 7:
Haven't played very often in preseason on my main because the queue times in the morning can go on for 20 minutes but have played a bit on it:
Yasuo is one of the most fun and interesting champions to play due to how many things you can pull off on the champion and how you can always do something better in a fight with him, kinda similar to Riven. Yasuo has one of, if not the highest skill ceiling in the game and has so many small tricks and mechanics that you will always find yourself in new scenarios and improving on something.
Yasuo is also a very unique champion in the sense of his resource bar and cool downs. He is the only champion in the game that has such low cds on his main abilities AND has 0 mana costs. Instead Yasuo has Flow which is his resource bar that gives him a mini shield for 1.5sec that passively goes up the more you move around. If you are all about hitting your buttons fast and having no downtime or waiting for cooldowns then you will love this champion.
If you like looking stylish, nonstop pulling off 2v1s, 3v1s, and love being the center of attention(good and bad) then Yasuo is definitely a champion for you, just watch out and try to ignore the negative comments some people may throw at you for playing one of the most hated champions in the game.
Pros & Cons
Pros
+Very high carry potential,can kill multiple people in a teamfight once he has his core items. +Synergizes amazingly with other knock up champs(Lee sin, Gragas, Etc.). +Can melt through squishies and tanks due to his armor pen ultimate and having constant damage. +Can be played Mid, Adc, and Top, although he's fairly weak in the toplane atm. +Has one of the best teamfighting abilities in the game (Windwall). +Highlight champion, flashy and makes you standout. +Next to no cooldowns on main abilities and uses Flow instead of Mana.
Cons
-Has the worst base stats out of any melee fighter in the game. -Champion is a lot weaker if you have no knockups on your team. -Weak against hard cc due to low base stats. -Weak when not near minions. -His W is useless and basically only has 3 abilities in a lot of matchups. -Prone to feeding and dying a lot due to not having much of an escape when no minions are nearby. -Feast or Famine champion.
Runes
Conqueror: This keystone is by far the strongest and only keystone you should ever take. This keystone pretty much revived Yasuo since PTA and Fleet weren't really the most ideal runes for him. The extra true damage is the biggest thing about Conqueror since it'll make armor stacking champions much easier to deal with which Yasuo used to have big problems with prior to level 6.
Triumph: Usually the standard rune to go in this row since the other 2 runes really do next to nothing for Yasuo. Can be a clutch rune that saves you in skirmishes and help you tower dive.
Coup de Grace: We take Coup de Grace because it's the most reliable damage out of all the options. The other two runes depend on things that won't happen 100% of the time so Coup de Grace is by far the best rune to take on 90% of champions including Yasuo.
Taste of Blood: This rune is vital to help you sustain in the early game against heavy poke lanes ( Azir, Viktor, Neeko) and just an all around good rune in every scenario. Sudden Impact could be taken in place of this rune in lanes that are very easy where the extra sustain really isn't needed, such as Twisted Fate, Corki, and Kog'Maw.
The major reason we go Domination 2nd is for this key rune right here. Out of any tree you can go on Yasuo, Domination scales the hardest due to the massive healing you get from Ravenous Hunter. It starts off granting little to no healing but once you get 3-5 stacks you will notice how much sustain this rune really gives you. Taking this rune makes it so you really aren't forced to get a lifesteal item at all which in a lot of cases can be really nice since you can priotize items like Guardian Angel or Sterak's Gage.
Although I personally take Domination 2nd 90% of the time, there are still times where Resolve 2nd can be a lot better but only in very few matchups. The main reason we would take Resolve 2nd would be for Bone Plating. Even though the rune was nerfed it can still be used effectively against champions that have no poke and go for all ins against you even when you are at full hp. Some champions Resolve is good into are Renekton, Riven, Darius, and Jax. These are the only champions I take Resolve into just because Bone Plating helps you live from their initial all in and the sustain from Domination isn't very useful against these champions. If you struggle with other matchups, feel free to go Resolve but make sure it's only against champions that don't have poke abilities like Pantheon or Urgot or else Bone Plating is very ineffective which is the whole point of taking Resolve in the first place. Either take Demolish for better split pushing or Overgrowth for 150-200 bonus hp late game as your secondary runes along with [Bone Plating]]
Summoner Spells
SUMMONER SPELLS -
FLASH:The most used summoner spell in the game. There's a reason you see 10 people take Flash almost everygame. This will help you secure kills, escape, pull off combos, and many more uses. Always take Flash every game no matter what.
IGNITE: I personally take Ignite in 90%+ of my games just because I love having the extra damage to secure kills in lane. It is very hard to get a solo kill especially in higher elos if you do not take it because people know when to back out but with Ignite you can usually finish them off with it even if they end up flashing away. Take Ignite as your standard summoner spell.
TELEPORT: Only take Teleport on toplane Yasuo. Although some people have started to take Ignite top, Teleport is still by far the most used summoner spell top due to the lane being heavily decided by lane management and is key for baron control later on in the game.
CLEANSE: One summoner spell you can substitute Ignite for in some mathcups is Cleanse. The only lanes i would ever take Cleanse against would be Lissandra and Zoe due to both of these champions relying heavily on their hard cc. Cleanse gets even more valuable the more enemy champions have hard cc so look out for that when deciding if it's really worth to give up the damage Ignite gives you.
EXHAUST:The last summoner spell you can replace Ignite with would be Exhaust. Exhaust is a very underrated anti burst tool that many people forgot exist. The major matchup I ALWAYS take Exhaust against is Zed due to how hard it counters his ulti. The other matchup you can take it against is Annie because if you time it well, you will negate so much of her burst which can save you a lot. Exhaust also scales super well and is the best teamfighting summoner in the game due to the damage you can negate with it.
Abilities
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Q
E
W
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W
R
W
W
Way of the Wanderer (Passive)
Passive shield Yasuo gets from being hit at 100% flow.
The reason Yasuo has such bad base stats is due to his passive giving him a shield every so often the more he walks around. Taking advantage of the shield is key to take good trades and make up for his bad stats. Try to go for trades before
it gets harassed off you and don't position yourself where they can easily get it off you without retaliation.
Yasuos bread and butter ability where all his damage is besides his auto attacks.
Another thing you have to keep in mind while playing Yasuo is the amount of stacks you have on your Steel Tempest. In a lot of matchups ( Zed Renekton, Etc), Yasuo is very vulnerable to an all in right after his tornado runs out due to him losing his only way of ulting and ccing his opponent so play safe to avoid an all in while your tornado is on cooldown. This is also why attack speed is so key on Yasuo due to this being the only ability in the game that has a scaling cd based off attack speed.
Wind Wall
RANGE: 400 COOLDOWN: 26 / 24 / 22 / 20 / 18
A wall that can block almost every auto attack and projectile in the game.
The only other ability besides your ultimate that has a massive cooldown compared to the rest of your kit. Due to the massive cooldown, make sure to use Wind Wall wisely and don't just use it to block any skillshot that's fired at you. Use Wind Wall to zone adcs in teamfights or vital ultimates.
Yasuos mobility ability to kite, gap close, and escape situations.
Only major thing you need to know about this ability is that it will only do its max damage to an enemy champion if you dash to 2 enemies before dashing to the champion. When going for an all in in a minion wave, use the minions first always before dashing to the enemy champion for max damage and the best chasing capability.
Last Breath
RANGE: 1400 COOLDOWN: 80 / 55 / 30
Yasuo extends any knockup and does bonus damage when he lands while gaining armor pen.
Yasuos ultimate varies in strength depending on team comp, the more knock ups you have the more scary Yasuo becomes. The most important thing to keep in mind before you ult is who else is around the knocked up champions. Just because you land a good tornado on a squishy doesn't mean you should always take it, think about who can damage and CC you before ulting in mindlessly no matter what key target you hit.
Items
Doran's Blade
This is the only starting item you will ever start on Yasuo. Doran's Shield used to be an option but in recent patches it's been nerfed to the point where it's really not worth picking up even in heavy poke lanes. Pick up 2 Dorans Blades against majority of matchups unless they are very easy lanes. ( Twisted Fate, Ornn, Corki
Cull Cull is another item you can get early on in easier lanes that I listed above, obviouslly that isn't all the lanes you can grab a Cull. Note you should only pick up this item if it's an easy lane and you back with less than 1100G first back.
Berserker's Greaves
A staple to Yasuo nowadays, it's the biggest powerspike by far and you should almost always buy it first back as long as you have 1100G. The movement speed paired with the massive attack speed boost really helps with early all ins to get your Steel Tempest up faster.
Ninja Tabi
Even though we usually want to rush Berserker's Greaves on Yasuo, there are some cases Ninja Tabi are vital. An example of this is if you are laning against a Zed and they have a Rengar jungle, Ninja Tabi is so important or else you will just get one shot so fast the extra attack speed from Berserker's Greaves wouldn't even matter. Also even if it isn't a case you have to get them early, you should almost always trade in your Berserker's Greaves late game for either Ninja Tabi or Mercury's Treads depending on teamcomp.
Phantom Dancer
Since 9.3, Phantom Dancer Is what I take on Yasuo everygame just bc of the early shield it provides which Yasuo needs to survive against all the burst in the game atm.
Statikk Shiv
Since Patch 9.3, Statikk Shiv has become the worse zeal item on Yasuo compared to Phantom Dancer Which is due to the fact that PD just lets Yasuo live a lot longer due to the shield and Statikk Shiv was nerfed by 100% late game.
Infinity edge
Another core item on Yasuo that you will end up either getting 2nd or 3rd item every single game. Infinity Edge has always been a staple on Yasuo ever since he came out for obvious reasons, increasing crit damage, and getting 100% crit. I would recommend getting this item 3rd unless you are super far ahead or really experienced with Yasuo due to it giving no defensive stats and making Yasuo very unforgiving to play.
Sterak's Gage Sterak's Gage was sleeper op for quite a long time and in this recent season has rose in popularity on almost every bruiser/fighter you can think of. Sterak's Gage has pretty much replaced Frozen Mallet recently and is the safest 2nd item you can go on Yasuo. The item gives great damage and survivability making it more forgiving than going Infinity Edge 2nd item.
Frozen Mallet
Although I said Sterak's Gage has replaced Frozen Mallet, I still think the item has it's uses and it isn't a dead item on Yasuo. You can buy this item 3rd against champions who heavily kite you or champions you want to kite, examples being Cassiopeia, Volibear, Udyr, and Kai'Sa. The item is also a good substitute for Sterak's Gage if the enemy team is super AP heavy and you want to pick up an early Hexdrinker.
Guardian Angel
A very strong item on almost every AD champion. Usually when it comes to teamfights late game, whoever has the most Guardian Angels win simply due to it basically granting you an extra life without losing out on much damage. I usually go Guardian Angel 4th item almost everygame and skip a lifesteal item due to having Ravenous Hunter.
BloodThirster Bloodthirster is still the main lifesteal option for Yasuo due to how inexpensive it is and it having a really good build path compared to Death's Dance. Bloodthirster is usually better against non-burst type champions so you can make use of the big shield it gives whereas Death's Dance is better against burst champions where you can't get the shield up on Bloodthirster or just to prevent the initial burst that assassins depend on. If you get this item, get it either 4th or 5th.
Death's Dance
Deathsdance is the standard 3rd item on Yasuo just due to how overbuffed it got during this season, it gives good damage, tankiness, lifesteal, and an insane passive which just outshines Bloodthirster too hard in terms of lifesteal items.
Blade of the ruined king
Another item that was super buffed and overtuned atm,I really like going this item first if they don't have much burst damage and they have a lot of health stackers, just a massive spike that is espeically good if you are not fighting early due to the delayed spike due to the cost compared to PD.
MERCURIAL SCIMITAR
Ever since they nerfed Mercurial Scimitar, I can't really rememeber the last time I went this item. The stats it gives you are abysmal compared to other lifesteal items like Bloodthirster or Death's Dance. If anything just sit on Quicksilver Sash if you are against champions with point click cc like Rammus or Malzahar and then finish Mercurial Scimitar if you get to max items.
Wit's End
Not really a fan of this item anymore due to the lack of burst damage it provides. The only time I would suggest building Wit's End is if at least 4 enemy champions are AP damage AND you have 2-3 AP champions on your team just so you can increase your teams damage as well.
MAW OF MALMORTIUS
You don't really see Maw of Malmortius much ever since Sterak's Gage has risen in popularity due to the passives stacking and you can only pick one or the other. Obviously Sterak's Gage is better a majority of the time but, if the enemy team has 3-4 burst AP champions I would actually reccomend not going Sterak's Gage and going Hexdrinker early and finishing Maw of Malmortius after your first two items.
Randuin's Omen
Personally I never really go pure tank items on Yasuo but they are always an option to go if your team needs more of a frontline than more damage. The only times I would go Randuin's Omen would be if they had a teamcomp of 3 heavy auto attacking champions, example being Tryndamere, Twitch, and Kindred.
Thornmail
The only other pure armor item I would go is Thornmail. I have only gotten this item against one champion and that would be against Fiora. The item is just a natural counter to her and is the only real way you stand a chance against her after 3 items. If you decide to pick this up, get an early bramble after Phantom Dancer and finish it 3rd item.
The Black Cleaver
Ever since Conqueror was created, Black Cleaver isn't really an item you take on Yasuo anymore. If they ever get rid of Conqueror, Black Cleaver can be a viable option 3rd item if the enemy team is hard stacking armor and no one else on your team can pick one up.
Trinity Force
I really love this item on Yasuo but other items sadly just outperform it. The only time I ever get Trinity Force is when I am 6 items and I sell boots for it which hardly happens due to games not lasting that long nowadays.
Early Game/Laning Phase
Yasuos Early game and Laning Phase can either be really easy or very difficult depending on what lane and what champion you are laning against. Since this guide is mostly centered around mid Yasuo, what I say in these sections will mostly be about his mid playstyle and will have sections dedicated to ADC and TOP Yasuo later on.
In the early game, Yasuo can be played as a massive lane bully that can always get the shove in the majority of his matchups. The hardest part about his early game isn't really beating your laner 1v1 but it's more not dying to ganks and falling super behind. The reason why a lot of Yasuo players either go 10/0 or 0/10 is simply bc of his lack of CDs which means he can fight the enemy laner anytime he wants to but just because you can go on your opponent doesn't mean its the right move. One of the most important things about the early game is drawing pressure to the point where the enemy jungler comes to your lane and not dying to his pressure. When you do this, you relieve pressure off both your other lanes and get your jungler a level advantage or let him get a successful gank off. This is easier said then done though and will take many games to learn the perfect balance of playing too aggressive and too passive.
The key thing in early laning with Yasuo is all about Conqueror. Yasuo is pretty much balanced around Conqueror at this point so whenever you are about to take a trade in lane ALWAYS make sure you get your Conqueror stacked up or you will do so much less damage and probably lose trades against even ranged matchups. Try to keep autoing minions even when you aren't going for a trade just in case they decide to trade with you so it's up every time.
Another key thing about the early game is deciding rather to roam and dive the enemy sidelanes or to just dumpster your lane and kill the enemy raptors and get that turret plating gold. Yasuo isn't really the best roamer compared to most midlaners due to his lack of cc and lack of mobility without minions, so I usually just focus on my own lane and play for turret plating and solo killing my lane. You can usually only dive sidelanes if you play with your jungler and 4 man botlane or you can dive top easily if he has a knockup.
Besides those things, the main thing about the early game for Yasuo and midlane in general is to just get priority and play for scuttle crab and getting your jungler ahead of the enemy jungler. Get priority and get good Control Ward down to control scuttle and you will have a huge edge in the early game.
Mid Game
Mid game generally starts when the first couple towers go down at about 12-15 minutes. Once Mid game starts, your job as Yasuo is to pick up as much gold as possible and will most likely want to be in a sidelane since you can duel a lot of mages in long lanes. Since you are not taking Teleport as Yasuo, you should ALWAYS be in the sidelane of the objective you are looking to secure and your toplaner should be in the opposite sidelane because he has the Teleport. So in short, if rift herald is up and no infernal is spawning then be in the toplane sidelane and if you are playing for dragon then be in the botlane sidelane.
Another thing thats super important in the Midgame, is expanding on the lead and getting even further ahead with the lead you build in the early laning phase. The best way to do this is after you push a wave into enemy tier 2 tower, always take the enemy jungle camps, whether it be gromp, rift scuttler, krugs, etc. you will build up an extremely huge level lead and is one of the most important things to do to win more games. Not only do you get extra experience from doing this, you also deny experiance from the enemy so this is a double positive win and is why you see high elo toplaners and split pushers get such a massive level lead.
So in short, get in a sidelane and push to enemy tier 2 tower, get control wards and clear their vision in the enemy jungle, and deny as many jungle camps as you can to build a massive lead and starve the enemy team. If you do these things and have already built a lead in the early game, you will find yourself winning so many more games as Yasuo.
Late game/Teamfighting
When late game comes around the main objective is to choke out even deeper vision if you are ahead and force a teamfight to get baron nashor and close out the game. At this phase of the game since you don't have Teleport, you should be grouping with your team 90% of the time to secure vision and choke out the enemy vision. Obliviously it depends if you are ahead or behind at this point of what to do but basically if you are behind when it gets to this point, you just have to try your best to kill their Control Ward and not let them baron nashor and win the game off a teamfight.
Yasuo has many different jobs when it comes to teamfighting and every scenario is different so I can't really give a cookie cutter answer on "how to teamfight with Yasuo" but, I will list roles that Yasuo can take in a teamfight.
Main Carry
If you are the most fed person on your team and the highest threat as Yasuo, you are the Main Carry.
Basically your job is to be the highest damage dealer in the fight and survive as long as possible taking as many people down as you can. You should play the fights slow and wait to go in once you see crucial CCs used on the rest of your team, examples being Kennen ult, Annie tibbers. Use windwall wisely to prevent getting bursted.
Engager
If you are the only engage and you have other high damage dealers on your team as Yasuo then you are the Engager.
Obviously we all know Yasuo isn't really the ideal engage champion and more of a follow up champion but in some teamcomps unfortunately you are the only start to a fight. Your job in thesee scenarios are to set up a decent size ultimate or an ultimate on a key enemy carry to start the fight so your other high damage threats can get their damage off even if it means you dying to start the fight. I'm not telling you to just charge in, hard int, then ping your team and leave the game but rather use your brain and only start the engage if your team is in range to follow up. You would want to have a somewhat tanky build if you are playing this role so Phantom Dancer into Infinity Edge would not be advised.
Peeler
If your ADC or APC is insanely fed and hyper carrying the game while you are even or a bit behind as Yasuo then you are the Peeler.
This job probably sounds foreign for a lot of Yasuo players since they always want to be the center of attention even when they are 0/10 but Yasuo is surprisingly not bad at peeling for a teammate. Basically if your teammate is 1v9ing the game, it is okay to take a backseat and just defend him and let him take over. Your job in these scenarios are to use ur windwall to block major damage from killing your carry and to knock up and ult anyone getting to close to them. Enabling your carry to win you the teamfight is a lot better than dying instantly trying to make a montage play.
Disruptor
If the enemy team has key ultimates you need to block with windwall or you went more of a tanky build and aren't the main damage dealer as Yasuo then you are the Disruptor.
This is the last role i'll list and it's basically just making sure you save your windwall for key ultimates and buying time for your carries since you probably went more of a tanky build if this is the role you are taking in fights. Since you are tankier you can save windwall and just tank damage upfront instead so you can save it to block really important abilities like Miss Fortune, Irelia, and Ornn Ultimates. Aside from that your job is to just be annoying and constantly be getting knock ups on important enemy champions while your heavy damage dealers win the fight.
This is the best I could describe Yasuo's roles in a teamfight as I could without seeing the individual teamfight myself. Obviouslly if you see opportunity's to win a teamfight another way like getting a 5 man ulti or getting a game changing windwall you should do that and not just only play Yasuo as that one role in a fight because your job can change in seconds depending on what is happening. Don't take these too literal and make actions that will win you the fight.
Toplane Yasuo
This section won't be too long since I already talked about the matchups at the top of the guide but there are some things to say about it since toplane playstyle differs pretty heavily from midlane and adc Yasuo playstyle.
Top Lane Yasuo needs to freeze the wave just before his turret right from the start of the game, you can do this by pretending to leash your jungler even if you do not leash, if the enemy hasn't pushed when you walk into vision in lane, let him attack you inbetween your minions, this will make the lane push to you. The reason for this is beacuase Yasuo is a champion who can be heavily abused by ganks due to him not having much of an escape except enemy minions which will not be behind you. Another reason we want to do this is because if the enemy is on our side of the lane you can potentially go for an all in level 3 due to the long lane and Yasuo being one of the strongest champions in the game at level 3.
There are many matchups in toplane where windwall is complelty useless against the enemy champion so if you do not need your windwall against your opponent, use it to block ranged minions basic attacks and freeze the wave this way. Examples of these champions are Renekton, Darius, and Tryndamere
Teleport is pretty much a staple for toplane due to having global pressure for baron nashor later on and to help your team secure dragon early game. Personally when I play Yasuo toplane I just take Ignite and play for lane. You can pick either option or even exhaust if you prefer it against burst matchups like Renekton but just know if you die overextended and you don't have Teleport you will be massively punished and could be out of the game since the enemy toplaner and jungler can choke you out with just one freeze.
Generally you want to build a bit tankier when playing toplane Yasuo because it's usually the toplaners job to be some sort of frontline for his team especially in this meta where you don't see tank jungler very much (except for Sejuani who is a pure tank assassin now I guess? idk.). If your team is doing well and already has other high damage dealing champions then it really wouldn't be bad doing a build like Phantom Dancer into Frozen Mallet into Randuin's Omen or something like that.
Lastly, I would like to add I think top Yasuo is pretty bad in all honestly. The only situation I think Yasuo is the best pick toplane is against an Ornn and that's about it. Other toplane champions just do his job better sadly. Riven and Jax outclass Yasuo at basically every phase of the game which is why I hardly every play this Yasuo top but if you really enjoy it, then just play what you want. Would suggest either banning Jax or Riven when playing him toplane.
ADC Yasuo
ADC Yasuo has actually risen in popularity recently due to other ADCS getting nerfed so people actually gave it a shot even though it has always been very very strong. I would honestly say Yasuo's best position is ADC just due to how well he does against ADCS and it will almost never make your team all AD which is a common problem with picking Yasuo Mid.
The early laning phase is played the same way the first 3 levels 99% of the time. You want to let the enemy push and DON'T GET POKED too hard before 3. It does not matter if you have to give up and be down 15+ cs early on, all that matters is to NOT GET POKED the early levels or the lane will be very hard to salvage. As soon as you hit level 3, get your Conqueror up and engage on them 2v2 and you should always win and either kill or force them to use summoners as long as your support follows up.
The only downside to Yasuo ADC is you have to rely that your support actually has fingers. If your support loses the lane for you it can be really hard to come back into the game as ADC Yasuo due to be even lower in level from duo laning and being starved out of gold. Also, sieging becomes very hard since you won't have any ranged AD champs on your team most likely since you are the ADC. Yasuo ADC really ranges in strength depending on what support champ you have. Below I will list, in my opinion, the best to worst supports to have as Yasuo ADC.
Note: I ban Lucian everygame when I play ADC Yasuo due to him being the best ADC into Yasuo
S TIER
These champions have it all, hard cc, great follow up, and healing to sustain in the early levels. At level 3 and beyond, if the enemy is extended at all and you engage on them they will die 99% of the time or at least use summoners to get away. These champions also have little to no room for error due to their combos being basically point and click.
A TIER
These champions are also very strong but they usually lack at least something compared to S tier champions. Examples being Nami has really good sustain and 2 knock ups but is very squishy and easily killed with 0 escapes and on the otherside of that which would be Leona who has insane engage and damage but 0 sustain.
B TIER
These champions are still fairly good but some are a little harder than A/S tier supports to play well ( Thresh, Pyke. Another thing is some of these champions are very weak early game ( Janna, Lulu) which is pretty important for ADC Yasuo since if you lose lane, it can be very hard to get back into the game.
C TIER
These champions are just okay but there are better engage supports and better enchanting supports in higher tiers. I also don't really like mage supports with Yasuo since they don't help too much out of lane but since they have high damage they can be okay, but would much rather have enchanting support or engage supports. Vel'Koz is different because I find that champs damage and range insane and actually has decent setup for Yasuo due to his E.
D TIER
These champions should 80% of the time get reported if they pick it with Yasuo, don't really synergies at all and are usually autofilled but you can still 2v1 the lane if they land a single spell probably.
Advanced Moves
Conclusion
And that wraps up my first Yasuo guide! I hope you guys can learn a good amount from this guide and if you have anymore questions you can ask me when I am streaming at Twitch.tv/wayofthetempest :)
Special thanks to everdepths and Ayurun for helping me throughout making this guide!
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