Shaco Build Guide by AresGod

Introduction

This is my first guide, and I will be showing you my build for Shaco the Demon Jester, who has earned me a huge amount of kills and few deaths over the time I have played him.

Please try the build before commenting or voting.

Here is a link to one of my games that i recorded. My K/D was 8/0/3 at the end.
http://www.leaguereplays.com/replays/match/62853/

Items

Meki Pendant
I start with Meki Pendant because I find that in early game, Shaco's mana gets used up quite quickly, this helps me to retain my mana for a longer period of time, and stops me recalling too early on and losing out on valuable xp.

Zeal
I then move on to the Zeal for its movement speed, attack speed, and critical strike chance.

Phantom Dancer
This I build up to the Phantom Dancer, for improved stats on the movement speed, attack speed, and critical strike chance.

Infinity Edge
I then start building the Infinity Edge, which depends on the game, to which items you buy 1st to build it. This item is very useful because of the critical damage becoming 250%, and also the attack damage and critical chance.

The Bloodthirster
I like to get The Bloodthirster by this stage, as Shaco has become less squishy, and also Shaco needs lifesteal to be able to become a better champion in this stage of the game.

Frozen Mallet
At this point the game should be well evolved, and Frozen Mallet comes in handy to slow down any champions you hit, so that Shaco can easily chase them down or run away if needed, and finish them off in a few simple hits.

Madred's Bloodrazor
Usually the game would end soon after buying frozen mallet, however if the game is one of the rare epicly long ones, then it's always best to sell your Meki Pendant and then buy a better item. I suggest buying Madred's Bloodrazor once you have enough gold to sell the Meki Pendant and buy the Madred's Bloodrazor at the same time. This item will help Shaco to deal alot more damage to enemies, thus helping you to get more kills.

Runes

Quint's (choice of 2 - or you could mix)
For my runes, I always like a fast champion, because this allows me to catch enemys faster and also get back into battle quicker after having needed to recall, or run away. This is why i have a choice of the quints between desolation and swiftness.

Marks
Armour menetration is important for Shaco, because when playing him AD, his hits will deal fast & strong blows to the enemy. This therefore means you don't want them defending against him, and making your hits useless.

Seals
The greater your critcal chance, the better. This is because you will have a very fast attack in late game, and you want to make the most of this by having a high critical chance aswell, so that you critical hit the enemy many times in a short space of time.

Glyphs
Reducing cool downs is also important for Shaco, as Deceive is often needed to cross terrain fast. Either it be to catch champions or escape a gank. Therefore reducing the cool downs helps to make Shaco a much better champion, as often having an ability on cool down is what will cost you that death which could have easily been avoided.

Summoner Spells

This a very useful summoner spell for slowing down enemies either to run away, or to catch them.


This summoner spell if useful with every champion, however the best part of having this is that you can use it and then immediately afterwards use Deceive, which gives you a huge advantage when escaping a gank or chasing down a champion.
Flash + Deceive = OMFG


Other Summoner Spells That Are Useful

• Ignite
• Teleport
• Heal
• Ghost
• Clarity (good explanation for using this)

- Often people don't like this summoner spell - however this is my personal preference, as i will explain below.
More often than not, when ever playing a champion that uses mana, I choose clarity, for the reason that it allows you to stay in battle longer, therefore gaining more xp, especially necessary in early-mid game.
Also Shaco's mana is used up reasonably fast during fighting, so I find it always best to have Clarity especially when if you have no mana, yet you think you will lose a battle and die, you can use your clarity and then instantly Deceive away, which helps alot.
I also sometimes like to Deceive away, whilst in sight of enemies, so that i can add another box to my trap, without the enemy knowing where it is, therefore alot of mana is used up because you have to Deceive as well as use Jack In The Box. I then also run out of a different entrance, so the enemy don't suspect a certain place for my trap. It works every time, as long as the trap is tended to and the boxes aren't left to dissapear over time.

Skill Sequence

I like to get my Jack In The Box to lev 5 as quick as possible. This is because stacking 5 in 1 spot and luring an enemy champion towards them, will fately wound an enemy if not kill him, giving you an easy kill. They are also useful when escaping, since if you leave a trail of them when pushing lanes, you can run back if enemies come for you, and they will be feared whenever they try to chase after you.


My next priority is to get the Two-Shiv Poison, as this is very useful in chasing down an enemy or running away, since it slows the champion it hits. It also deals a good amount of damage.


Deceive I always get at level 2, but after that I make it my last priority as the other abilities are better to level. Deceive is a very useful ability as it helps you to escape ganks, jump terrain, and also chase enemy champions. The stealth time doesn't change when you level it, only the bonus damage dealt, therefore I prefer to only use it as an escape tool or ganking tool, rather than level it to lev 5 early-mid game, as the bonus damage isn't as good as having the Jack In The Box or the Two-Shiv Poison leveled.


As usual, you must always level your ultimate whenever you get the chance - level 6, level 11, and level 16.

TIPS for ULTIMATE
Shaco's ultimate is very useful to cast in a bush, and then only make the clone walk out of the bush, take alot of damage, and then make him run towards a bush filled with Jack In The Box aswell as the real Shaco. This technique is very useful as the enemy won't stand a chance especially when the clone explodes on him, and he is feared by the boxes aswell as taking heavy damage from the clone, the boxes, and yourself.
You can also use this when fighting 1v1, and you are losing health faster than the enemy, because they won't know which to attack. To make more sure that the enemy will attack the clone, try moving him around the enemy alot while you stand still, as the enemy will think that a real player will move around while attack, where as a clone will stand and attack.
Finally, this ultimate can also be cast when targeted by Caitlyn's Ultimate Ace in the Hole, or Karthus's Ultimate Requiem, and their ultimate will fail on Shaco. This is very useful when running on low health. Sometimes if you stay in a bush, and let your clone run out, enemy champions will waste their ultimates on it, because they think it's the real you. This is especially useful for OP ultimates like Malzahar's Nether Grasp.

Summary

I know this guide doesn't contain as much information as other guides you may read, but the important information is here, and I hope that you enjoy playing Shaco as much as I do.
Please use this guide to learn and improve your gameplay and I hope this was useful to you.

Any comments are welcome, also critics.