Introduction

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Irelia is a champion, nearly always played in the top lane, that excels at a number of roles and can be played in different ways. Her combination of mobility, CC, and front line presence makes her a competitive pick in a number of comps. When you master Irelia you can become the carrying force in all the games you play in. Irelia is an extremely fun champion to play and she has been my main top laner for about a year. In lower rating games she is hardly ever seen, and often means that your opponents are unfamiliar with you skillset. I hope that this guide will be informative and help you win lots of games in SoloQ :)

Pros and Cons

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Pro's + Has mobility and CC + Can have the most tenacity in the game + Works well with trinity force + Deals true damage with Hiten Style + Excellent Farming

Cons - True Damage falls off a bit late game - Is weak lvl 1-6 - Situational CC and mobility - Heavily dependent on AAs - Better nerf Irelia

Runes

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Greater Mark of Attack Damage provides Irelia with very good last hitting potential, and helps her early game trades, which are generally weak against other top laners. For these reasons you should choose these over Greater Mark of Attack Speed and Greater Mark of Scaling Attack Damage.

Greater Seal of Armor are the best seals to be taking. They provide great early game armour and help reduce AA harass in the lane. Alternatively these could be swapped with Greater Seal of Scaling Armor if you are against an ap top laner. I wouldn't normally take Greater Seal of Magic Resist because you will be diving on the ad carry a lot and therefore take a lot of physical damage.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist often kick into effect when you want to start taking down their mid laner. Greater Glyph of Magic Resist could be taken if you were facing a heavy ap damage top e.g. Vladimir.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage does pretty much the same thing and I get it for the same reason as Greater Mark of Attack Damage. You could opt for Greater Quintessence of Health Regeneration, or Greater Quintessence of Life Steal if you needed sustain against annoying lanes.

Masteries

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So starting with offence, Double-Edged Sword is a great pickup. Some extra damage and the extra damage taken synergies with your Equilibrium Strike and your Second Wind, as you thrive being on low health. The bonus attack damage and attack speed is self explanatory.

So, now on defence, I focus on picking up hp regen and armor + magic resist, and not so much health. This is becuase Irelia benefits on being at low hp, so she can proc her stun with Equilibrium Strike. This makes it essential to have sustain on Irelia. I take Veteran Scars , as this health falls of late game, and Second Wind is also really usefull for the reasons I just explained. Because you are a front line fighter and therefore will be focused down by their back line, magic resist and armour is essential.

Abilities

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This is one of the strongest passives that can give Irelia the most tenacity in the game. This is also useful as it makes Irelia hard to gank, and makes her very hard to lock down in a teamfight.

This is a skill that gives Irelia mobility, farming potential and a great gap closer. One of the best facts about Bladesurge is that it will instantly become off cooldown, if it kills the unit that it is targeted on. As this also refunds mana it can be used to farm to a certain extent. Although it is usefull, you max this last because you get more use from maxing Hiten Style and Equilibrium Strike.

This skill is what makes Irelia -> Irelia. The sustain is very useful, and the true damage can dish out tons of damage mid game. Although though the true damage falls of slightly late game, it is still very powerful. You max this first because of the sustain and damage it gives you.

This is Irelia's cc ability and should be taken at level 1. You should be aiming to get the stun at all times. This skill makes it very hard to dive Irelia and can be used to stop engages from people like Fiora etc. Max this second because the increased stun duration is really useful

Transcendent Blades is a very versatile ability that can be used to finish of someone at range, clear out a wave quickly or to heal you when being dived on. This ability does not interrupt movement which is useful, and every blade counts as a spell cast. Like all ultimates, take points in it at 6-11-16.

Summoner Spells

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Items

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I like to always have Mercury's Treads by the 20 minuite mark, even if I am against an ad top, and need to replace Ninja Tabi. This is because the tenacity it gives you is exceptionally useful, and you will start to be roaming at this point, maybe a bit later.

Trinity force is an exceptionally strong item. It increases the damage on your Bladesurge a lot, essentially increases the ad scaling to 200%, instead of 100%, and the rage passive allows you to stick to your enemies.

I really like Wit's End on Irelia. It provides great attack speed that can help her deal more damage with Hiten Style. It gives good magic resist and deals bonus magic damage which will help damage armour tanks e.g. Malphite.

I normally go for Wit's End instead of this, but it could be useful if the enemy team is quite tanky, and/or if they have very strong kiters that you need to catch up to, like Singed. This also is good for the extra sustainability that it gives you.

Randuin's Omen should be your first defensive choice 75% of the games you play. The passive is really good at stopping marksmen focusing you, and to stop people like Yasuo from destroying you. Use the active when you dive in or are running away.

Spirit Visage is great for increasing your sustain, and decreasing magic damage dealt to you. You should get it as a first defensive item if their team is composed of AP champions like Maokai and Kennen.

I would recommend Warmog's Armor when the enemy has a ton of mixed or true damage. Becuase of the passive, i advise taking this with either Randuin's Omen or Spirit Visage.

I try and finish with Guardian Angel every game. It provides very good stats, is relatively cheap for a main item and has an awesome passive. As you often die going into the team-fight, this passive will prove valuable to you.

I get this item when defending against heavy magic poke e.g Nidalee and Dr. Mundo. Only get this if you are getting sieged upon, as other items with magic resist ( Spirit Visage) will suit Irelia better.

Tips and Tricks

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If you asked me what defined a decent Irelia player from a GREAT Irelia player I would say how the player manipulated Irelia's combos and abilities. So building on that, here are some combos you can use, and some tricks you can use to be a GREAT Irelia player.

• When trading as Irelia one of you main goals is to get Equilibrium Strike to stun. This can be achieved by not directly using Bladesurge on you main target. This means using your Q to the nearest low health creep, as you will need your ability off cooldown to maximise your trade potential.
  
• When you get Trinity Force, it is often a good idea to time your abilities, and Transcendent Blades to maximise the damage output from your spellblade passive. Remember that when you Bladesurge to a creep and kill it, you will get more bonus movement speed from your rage passive.
  
• In teamfight's you should be zoning out, or killing their carries. If you're the only champion on your team with the capability to initiate then you should be looking for the opportunity to catch their adc out of position. If they have nearby allies, you could Bladesurge to them, therefore most likely proc'ing your stun Equilibrium Strike, as this will allow your team to follow up easier especially with people like Lucian.
  
• As Irelia does not have a very good innate escape tool, try to ward and not overextend in the laning phase. If the dive you, kite them around the tower with you Equilibrium Strike and your Hiten Style. If you have chosen Teleport you should just be focused on farming early game.

Summary

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Thank you for taking the time to read my  Irelia guide. I would much appreciate if you left some feedback, and constructive criticism is welcome. Good luck in solo Q and I hope you have a nice day.