Hey guys, Shaco is one of the rarer champs found/played in League of Legends, and can be played in a variety of ways; my way to play him is just pure harassment and endgame, as a 'nuke'. I play Shaco as a complete offensive champion that relies on his skills for coming in for the kill, or retreating from a lost cause, which is why I do not usually build many (if any) survivability items. Some of my decisions regarding items, spells, and my use of the many ways that Shaco can be played, may not be the best, but as the title says, it works for me, and may or may not for you.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome. Play Video

Pros:
Great ganker
Many ways to play
Incredible lane pusher late game
Not very common
You are a freaking clown... and everyone is scared of clowns
Cool Theme Song Play Video
Cons:
Very squishy
Difficult to play and master
Oracles are annoying

In general, the offensive runes masteries that I reccomend are not very radical or innovative, they just are (or should be) fairly commonly used among the Shaco community. The utility masteries I chose are for mana regen, exp increase, and the neutral monster buffs, as blue buff and red buff are fairly useful depending on your play style.

In general, nothing out of the ordinary (or so I think) in this section.

The runes I chose are based around several concepts that are either strong suits or weaknesses of Shaco.

Greater Mark of Desolation Marks: I chose some Greater Mark of Desolation and Greater Mark of Critical Chance marks, for the armor pen may serve in place of a Last Whisper or The Brutalizer, however if you are facing one or several tanks and a Madred's Bloodrazor isn't helping enough, a Last Whisper would be a great addition to the build instead of Black Cleaver. The crit chance runes are based around getting the Phantom Dancer, and Infinity Edge, and with the IE's unique ability, you will want the greatest crit chance you can get.

Greater Seal of DefenseSeals: I went strait armor runes here, as they are Primary Seals, and Greater Seal of Defense will be a main source of defense towards your survivability from powerful attacks if you build a full offensive Shaco like I do.

Glyphs: I chose Greater Glyph of Ability Power ability power glyphs (the instant ones, not per level) because early game, your Two-Shiv Poison does a great deal of damage, and is prime for harassing, and weakening the opponents. The sooner you can get your opponent to low health, the sooner you can deceive and finish them off right off the bat, maybe even for a First Blood bonus.

Greater Quintessence of DesolationQuints: Much like the reason I picked the Greater Mark of Desolation marks, they can be used in place of armor pen items late in the game, if you are doing alright without it.

The summoner spells that I use are Heal and Clarity. Both may seem like outside the box choices for spells, but I have found both very helpful.

Heal helps you stay in a fight, and also helps ur ally at the beginning of the game, and remains helpful throughout the game even after having lifesteal. Heal coupled with a few health potions at the beginning of the game keep you in the lane fights.

Clarity on Shaco might seem like a cardinal sin, but the reason I use it is because early game the Two-Shiv Poison and Deceive moves are what keep you agressive in the lane and in lowering the opponents hp. Instead of getting a Mana Potion, a mana regen equip, or just waiting, Clarity is a nice option to keep using mana, while still keeping the build on track.

If these are not to your liking, then several other spells could come in handy instead:
Definately Consider -
Exhaust comes in handy in case your opponent is retreating, you can use this and get the backstab bonus damage, possibly earning a kill depending on the situation. It also works if your Deceive is on cooldown.
Shaco's biggest weakness is crowd control such as stuns and snares. Instead of getting Mercury Treads, Cleanse is a good alternative for getting out of bad situations, or to keep up ur pursuit of an enemy champion.
Too many times early game a champion will escape with low health after gank, so if this happens to you, think aobut having Ignite to finish anyone running back to turret with only a small amount of health left.
The greatest thing about having teleport is that you can teleport to your own Jack In The Boxes, so if you put them in strategic locations, such as to ready for a gank, or to finish off an open inhibitor, you can get there in no time.

Do not use these spells:
Deceive is a better form of Flash that has a roughly ten second cooldown.
Your movement speed will be fairly good early game, and Deceive will help you catch up to other champs, and retreat better than ghost anyway.
The Jack In The Boxes are like wards anyway. If they aren't helping you prevent ganks, or reveal key areas of the jungle, then you are placing them in the wrong spots.
If you are scared of being ksed in the jungle and need Smite, then you should not be jungling. Look up a Shaco jungling guide
Shaco is not a tank nor a support, not a good idea.
Really? Come on now...

The order in which you should get your skills is based on early game harassment: get points into Two-Shiv Poison and Deceive as fast as possible. Only put one point into your Jack In The Box for a chance at first blood, ganking out of the bushes.

However, in chaining together your skills into a crazy sequence, here is the order of attacks:

First is Hallucinate, start out in a bush if possible, and immediately rush out with your clone. This first of all makes it more difficult for the opponent to target you if you can control your clone right using alt + click.

Then you have your choice: Deceive or Two-Shiv Poison. Either would make sense here, as you could either Deceive behind your target and backstab crit him before Two-Shiv Poisoning to slow their retreat. The other option is to reverse the order and shiv your target to slow him, then deceive behind him when he knows your pursuit, and still get to deceive backstab. Also, be sure to place a few Jack In The Box at key escape points such at bushes or forks in the lane. This will fear and give you time to get back to the target.

This is the section that is probably the most unique part of my Shaco build. I promise though that each item has a specific purpose and reason that I buy it in an ideal game. There is flexibility of course within the item build, which I will talk about later.

Berserker's Greaves: I personally find these a very helpful first item, as you get some attack speed, and movement speed right off the bat, thus helping you catch up to enemies without boots, or run away if you are low health. The attack speed here is also helpful for farming minions, or in meelee combat early game. These are the most common shoes worn by Shaco, but one could use boots of mobility or switfness as well, for added speed in closing in on enemies with the backstab bonus.

Hextech Gunblade: Not considered to be a staple of a normal Shaco build, I still buy this one in parts, starting with the AP side ( Amplifying Tome's to make the Hextech Revolver) for a more effective Two-Shiv Poison for harassing. Previously I would build a Bloodthirster for damage and lifesteal, but the Hextech Gunblade has the same attack as an un-stacked Bloodthirster, and 75 AP, which is perfect for taking down an opponents health early game with Two-Shiv Poison. Late game, if the AP is not helping you, you can sell the Hextech Gunblade for more AD or speed instead.

Phantom Dancer: This is where you begin to really increase Shaco's attack speed, and now that he has some lifesteal, it will be even more devastating. I get the Phantom Dancer here, as I have already built some damage and AP, so now why not attack more often, have some added crit chance, and a bit more movement speed. I used to get a Sword of the Divine for a little more attack speed, and it being cheaper, however, the added crit chance and movement speed is a small price to pay for more gold and a little less attack speed.

Infinity Edge: This item is to not only to once again increase attack damage and crit chance, but its Unique ability makes your critical hits do 250% damage. If you have crit damage runes , then try and build this as soon as possible, however if you are using other runes, it is alright to build this after you get some attack speed. Coupled with the crit chance from your Phantom Dancer, and some runes, roughly every other attack will be a critical hit, and possibly doing close to 300% damage, depending on your rune and masteries build.

Madred's Bloodrazor: I specifically build this item for taking down tanks, or if jungling early game is necesary. Often times, the game will not even progress far enough to build this, but when facing opponents with a hefty amount of hp and armor, this and the Last Whisper could be used to bring them down.

The Black Cleaver: This is just another overall good item to have, as it gives decent attack damage and speed. If you need another item with more damage, speed. or lifesteal, this one is fairly easily replaced. If you even want to stack more Phantom Dancers or Hextech Gunblades in place of Black Cleaver and Madred's Bloodrazor, go ahead, it all depends on who you are facing.

Other items: Since you can only hold six items at a time, the six i reccomend will change depending on the game you are playing. Here are a few more items/options if the items being bought are not working in your favor and you have other needs:
The Bloodthirster: Good lifesteal and attack damage, could replace the Hextech Gunblade, Madred's Bloodrazor, or Black Cleaver, if you are looking for a powerful stacked item.
Last Whisper: Its armor pen, stacked with Madred's Bloodrazor can take down a tank fairly efficiently. Use it if you are having trouble with the opponents tanky lineup.
Sword of the Divine: If you are low on money, and just want attack speed quick, buy this, or if you are facing a Teemo Blinding Dart, or Jax Relentless ***ult. Your attacks will automatically land if the item's skill is activated.

During different times in the game Shaco's role differs, this segment will tell what you are to do in each different part of the game.

Early Game:
Early game Shaco has the role of harassing the enemys in your lane. By using Two-Shiv Poison and threatening to use Deceive when they are low health, they will not be able to farm past their turret limits without having to recall or risk death. Try to focus one champ (probably the more squishy champ) so that if they have to leave or die, the other champ is on their own and have to play even more defensively. Try not to turret dive for your foe, as you still do not have much hp, instead either let them recall and push turret, or get your lane partner to try and push them back a little further while you try to Deceive and attack them out of the bushes for the kill.

Mid Game:
Your Two-Shiv Poison will be doing less damage to some champs, but still harming others. Instead of relying on that for harassment, try and coax your opponents into overextending before ganking in meelee combat with your good attack speed, damage, and lifesteal. Depending on the situation your opponent may be forced to flee, and if the tide doesn't turn in your favor, you have a better chance to escape than they do. You are to gank and push lanes when possible, as you begin to become a carry with your damage and speed items.

End Game: You will be reliant on your critical strikes, attack speed, and lifesteal for taking down enemies. Low health enemies will break like a twig, and tanks depending on your items will be more of a challenge, but with you teamwork you should be able to do alright. You should be able to carry and take down towers and inhibitors very quickly and your ganks will be leithal.

To be honest, I do not know much about jungling with Shaco as I do not do it early game. Late game, nearly every champ can jungle, so you do not need a guide for that.

However, if you are looking for something on Shaco and the jungle, here is a video: Play Video

Just like every champion, Shaco is best laning with and without some champions, as well as against, and not going near some champions. I placed the champions in the following categories based on personal experience, each champ's skills, and their typical play styles.

Good to lane with: Crowd Control is Key...
Most people dont advise Shaco to lane with a tank, however I feel that if you both have a good communication (such as you are on Skype), then it is fine. Especially good are Amumu's two stuns: Bandage Toss and Curse of the Sad Mummy.
The reason Blitzcrank is a good choice is because the enemy champs always have to be wary of his Rocket Grab, and forces them to play defensively or risk getting killed from a Shaco and Blitzcrank '********.'
Fiddlesticks' Terrify and Bountiful Harvest combo already weakens the target significantly. While feared is the perfect time for Shaco to strike too. Double fear champions anyone?
Shaco benefits greatly from playing with support characters, as Morgana can be one. Her Dark Binding gives Shaco a good opporotunity to go in for the kill, and her Black Shield is a good defense in case of a gank, or bad decision.
The Shaco and Sona combo has always worked well for me, as Sona heals back most of the damage that I will take, and then her Crescendo stuns the enemy, giving Shaco a good chance to kill.
This combo of Shaco and Taric may be one of the most underrated of them all. Three of his abilities all benefit Shaco and his chance to draw blood. First of all, Imbue heals Taric and Shaco. Second, Shatter increases your armor, then can attack the opponent and decrease their armor, giving Shaco a better chance to do damage. Finally, the most important skill is probably Taric's Dazzle which stuns the enemy and leaves them open for the combo to harass and do as much damage as possible. Especially if all three skills are used in an ability combo sequence, the enemy champions will usually not fare well in that lane.
Finally, Teemo is a nice option to lane with Shaco not just because of the Jack In The Boxes and Noxious Traps that will be found in every bush, but Teemo's Blinding Dart gives Shaco a chance for some close combat without being harmed for a duration.

Champs to lane against: Low health champs.
If it is an option, always try and lane against a low health, low armor champion, as it will be much easier to harass them, and get some early game kills to feed your build.
A few examples are:








Champs to avoid laning against: Mostly tanks
Try to avoid laning against tanks and other stealth assasins (unless you feel comfortable buying an oracle and not dying with it). A few examples are:
He heals and beats you up literally :(
Same reasons to lane with him are reasons to not lane against him.
Rupture is annoying, and feast takes out a large chunk of ur hp
If she is fed enough in other lanes, or if you are squishy in general, she can take out a lot of ur hp in one shot.
Leaps at you, keeps dodging attacks
Saplings... very annoying
Two HP bars, not an easy kill
Tank who can get away, stun, taunt.
An AP champ with some hp and his skills lifesteal you, avoid your attacks, and just kill you in general.

In general I know that this guide is made for the completely offensive Shaco that needs no survivability equips and is ready to be 1-hit nuked if the situation calls for it, but his insane early and endgame damage with this build are special. This may not be the best Shaco build out there, but it is something fun to try out when finding your personal style of gameplay. Hope you enjoyed the guide and it helped you out. Play Video