*** I should first mention that this is a Shen build for 3v3 play ***

Shen is a very misunderstood champion. Most builds focus too heavily on defense, whereas others attempt to turn Shen into an AP damage-doer. While these elements are essential for any team, they are an inefficient use of Shen's potential.

Shen's role is one of hindrance. There's an ideal combination of endurance and disabling ability that Shen thrives with. You want to be Johnny-on-the-spot with critical Shadow Dash taunts, and make sure you're drawing all the attention to you as you dash in and out of combat. In that regard, I hope to justify my skill, rune, mastery, and item choices that branch off the traditional Shen build.

1. Forget Vorpal Blade - Make Shadow Dash your best early-game friend.
They both do nearly the same damage, but in the Nautilus Patch, Shadow Dash got immeasurably better. When you land a dash and taunt an enemy champion, Shen takes 50% reduced damage from that champion. This is huge for aggro. A Dash-basic-Vorpal-basic attack takes off a fair chunk of enemy health while dealing very little to yourself. This type of aggro, however, is best unleashed when your lane partner is being attacked. One combo blast like that, and your opponent will get the sense that he's outmatched, and will often retreat.

2. Ninja Tabi / Wit's End / vs. Mercury Treads / Nothing
There is a lull in most Shen builds that bugs me. For a while, I just accepted it and did my best while building Randuin's Omen - but then I discovered Wit's End. Attack speed does so much for Shen that I didn't realize. First, it enables Vorpal Blade's life tap to be actually useful. Shen is otherwise too slow to regain a significant amount of life in that way - you can kill dragon as soon as you get Wit's End (or even just the Recurve Bow for that matter). Second, it makes Phage much more useful when you have it. Third, your CS will pick up CONSIDERABLY, which was always a weak point in Shen's game. As well, Wit's End gives you a huge 42 Magic Damage bump to your regular attacks, so now you can actually do some damage. Ninja Tabi is an easy sell - it's cheap, it covers early-game Armor, and gives a 10% damage reduction (in my opinion, immensely undervalued).

3. The Warden's Mail / Frozen Mallet Combo
Most of the top Shen builds have Sunfire Cape. While it is a good item, I think the 1110 spent getting a Giant's Belt is put to much better use in upgrading Phage to Frozen Mallet. With Warden's Mail and Frozen Mallet, you've pretty much disabled any fast-running, fast-attacking opponent, and can continue to do so while your teammates take them down.