-Hello guys, and welcome. This is my 2nd guide (1st one was on Nocturne)and i'll be trying to explain my way of playing Shen. Please be easy on me, forgive me for my grammar mistakes because english isn't my native language and if you think that i should change something in this guide, please write it in comments or simply P.M me.
Enjoy ;)

Okay, lets start with the guide. I dont think that writing a story is that important so i will skip some stuff. Shen is extremely "durable" champion, one of the best tanks in whole League. He is able to..well, to practically secure a free kill sometimes. Shen is also one of the best initiators in whole game, with his Shadow Dash. Before even starting to play him, remember those things:
- Do not take kills with Shen-focus on taking assists
- Do not expose your carry
- Buy wards*
- Always watch over Minimap
- Play smartly

Shen has skills that are really suitable for a tanky initiating champion. Every of them has it's own purpose.
Ki Strike - This is Shen's passive power. After 8 seconds, his basic attack will be empowered for 5 + (5 x level) + 8% of his bonus health. Personally, i never understood the purpose of Shen's passive but anyway...
Vorpal Blade - This is Shen's Q power. On activation, he will throw his sword at the target and he will deal a certain amount of damage(70 / 115 / 140 / 175 / 210 (+0.75 per ability power). When he throws his blade at the selected unit, that unit will become life tapped for a small amount of time. Any friendly champion or Shen attacking the marked unit will heal a small amount of health for next 5 seconds.
Feint - This is Shen's W. On activation, he will enter a defensive stance, blocking the incoming damage for 50 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 (+0.75 per ability power). Do not waste Shen's energy by spamming this ability. Use it when you really need to.
Shadow Dash - This is Shen's third ability. Now, in this power sleeps Shen's real tanking potential. Shen rapidly dashes to a target location, Taunting enemies he collides with. Restores 50 Energy if you hit a champion. This is one of the best CC effects in whole game. I mentioned that Shen can secure a free kill for his team. Well, i actually thought of this ability. Taunt will last up to 2 seconds. Its worth mentioning that you can pass through thin walls by using this ability.
Stand United - Places a shield on a target allied champion, which will absorb damage for 7.5 seconds. After channeling for 2.5 seconds, Shen teleports to the target's location. For God's sake, this is one of the best abilities i ever saw. In the whole game!
The benefits:

- Awesome for ganking. Secretly.
- Life saver.
- When combined with Teleport, you will have ultimative mobility.

Pro's:
- One of the best tanks in whole game
- Life saver
- Great initiator
- Mobile
- Durable
- He is a badass looking Ninja!

Con's

- He wont get any kills
- Low damage
- Spends a lot of Energy
- Bad as a support in some cases

In this part of my guide, i will explain the skill upgrading path.
I usually master my Vorpal Blade first so the target can be Life Tapped for longer amount of time. It mostly happens that i lane with a carry, so i preffer to master this skill 1st.
Next, i master my Shadow Dash. I actually master this skill really soon after Vorpal Blade, maybe even before it if i don't lane with a carry etc. I master it 2nd because it enables me to CC my targets for a longer amount of time.
Then i master my ultimate, and honestly i do it because i want to. I can't say that there's some special reason for which i do it, but i simply feel that i should master this skill before my Feint

My primar Summoner Spells are Teleport and Exhaust.

I take Teleport because when combining with Stand United i'll have ultimate mobility on whole map. Ex. i can ulti to save someone's life and then Teleport right back to my turret or minion.


And my 2nd choice is Exhaust. This is the spell that, i believe, most tanks should take. It will help you catch up a fleeing enemy support or carry. Or anything. When combining with Rylai's Crystal Scepter's passive, NOTHING can escape your team.

- POSSIBLE PICKS

Ghost will make you ultimately mobile while roaming or going for a gank. Also lets you catch off a running carry and taunt him with your Shadow Dash.Free Kill? Hell yeah. I take this spell depending on my mood honestly..


If you are jungling.


Ermm, picking this spell is explained by itself. When combining with Shadow Dash, you can duo-overwall.


Every other spell...Well, someone else should take it...

As on most tanks, i spent my Mastery Points on Defense.
9-21-0, and nine points spent on offense for some ArPen. bonus when farming etc.
I placed 21 points on defense for reduced damage dealt, incread health and bonus gold from kills/assists.(You are not going to earn big amounts of gold :\..)

You can go 0-21-9 if you want to but i found this combination more usefull.

My runes are consisting of:

- Greater Marks of Fortitude: I was thinking between those and ArPen but i realized that Shen's purpose isnt Armour Pierceing and dealing "Tons of Damage". So i took health marks.


- Armour Seals: I took those because i dont wanna waste money on Dodging ones, as you'll get enough Dodge from Ninja Tabi. Taking those is obvious. Really.


- Magic Resist Glyphs: Tank. He needs to take damage instead of carry. He needs to survive that damage. Its pretty clear then, MR will let u just ignore that Pillar of Flame or Incinerate.

Now, i was wondering if i should take Armour ones, but i actually realized that i have enough of Armour from items. And the bonus health u got from those runes is just perfect for early game harassing.

Finally, my favourite part! In this section, gonna list my core build an explain some stuff.

- Core Build:

EXPLANATION:

- Ninja Tabi Okay, those cheap boots are perfect choice for any tanky champion. Armour and Dodge, plus they cost 850g! Why not Mercury's Treads? Ok, they cost 1200g, they will give u SOME tenacity(No1 focuses you, why would u want tenacity for God's Sake?!) and some Magic Resistance. But trust Me, Ninja Tabi is a lot better item for Shen

- Aegis of the Legion This is one relatively cheap item, suitable for every tank/support champion. It gives some sweet Health, Armour and Magic Resistance bonus(Dont forget the aura).
In any case, buy this item.

- Sunfire Aegis This item is not that cheap, but it is probably one of the best items you could buy for Shen. 450 health, 45 armour plus that passive. Sustaining is important, and this makes u sustainable.

Force of Nature OMG, i love this item! 76 Magic Resistance, 8% MS and For LoL's sake, 40 HP/5! And the passive is just sweet! The more health u are missing, the more you will regenerate! So, you are the initiator right? And the 1st nuke will land on you, and lets say that you will lose a fair amount of health..But stay outta battle for a while and there u go, Shen's health is back in a minute.

Randuin's Omen Ok, this will add some more Health and Health Regen, and the passive will reduce your spells' cooldown. Your Vorpal Blade's cooldown is short anyway..So literally u can spam Q every 2-3 seconds. But the main reason i buy this item is its Active A.K.A slow surrounding enemies and lower their attack speed. Now i figured a nice combo here. Taunt in with Shadow Dash and when all of the enemy champions are attacking YOU, activate this lil' thingie. And then all u want to do is to let Brand or Annie burst down everything inside.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter I finish my build with this, honestly expensive item. Now, you may wonder why would i buy this on Shen. Here is why.
Vorpal Blade has extremely low CD. And Rylai's passive is slow when you cast a spell on some unit. The primar reason i picked this item is that i want to combine my Q with the slow. So, with this combination its hardly that ANYONE can escape you. I love this item. Bonus health too and 80 AP for increased shield on ulti. Nice Vorpal Blade's damage bonus.

- Possible Builds:

If the enemy team has a lot of AP champions:

If the enemy team has a lot of AD champions:

Early Game

Start off with Cloth Armor and a few pots. I would suggest you to tower hug with your carry and let him farm. I wait for a good opportunity to counter the enemy and pick up a kill. Don't let your lanemate die by any mean, so the enemy will be forced to towah'dive or whatever. Stay in lane till u have enough gold for Ninja Tabi.
Then start buying Aegis of the Legion.It should be about 17 minutes when you should have those items.

Mid Game

At this point, keep supporting in teamfights for assists. You need gold. And you earn it from assists. When u collect enough, buy Sunfire Aegis and at about 25th minute go for a Nashor' buff. Keep your eye on the map all the time, to see when to use ulti.
A bit later, you should have enough cash for Force of Nature. I buy this item relatively fast, and so should you i guess.

Late Game

At this point of game, the gold is just falling into my wallet! Endless assists and teamfights. Can't say anything else but to keep playing offensively and when u finally collect enough gold, buy those 2 last ending items...
Then it depends on you/your team what to do.

I was exploring other support champion guides, like Soraka and Janna and i noticed some stuff thats important to put in my guide.

- Good Things to do as a Support:

- Buy and place sight wards and vision wards on key places all over the map
- Do not let your teammates down, especially carries and AP casters
- Buy supportive items that will benefit to you and at same time to your team
- Do not even think of taking kills with a supportive champion
- Do everything to let your key teammate alive, even if you must die
- Have a good defensive item good for getting teamfights like Randuin's Omen ETC.
- Buy items with Aura's if your team lacks of some stats
- Initiate 2nd(You go behind the tank)

There are many Tanks in League of Legends, but a tank needs certain...lets say aptitude, like Taunting abilities or stuning - shortly said CC abilities(CC=Crowd Control).
Good tank should also meet a certain number of conditions.

- Things to do as a tank

- Tanks always charge 1st
- If your team needs a rush, you lead it
- You are the one who is facechecking
- Use your CC abilities to secure a free kill
- Ward the map
- Buy Armor and Magic Resistance. You need those for a good sustaining throughout whole match
- Initiate 1st and Initiate with skills like Shadow Dash or Rammus' Q

Shen is one of funniest champions to jungle with. He is for me though. When i jungle, i follow this build:

As a jungle Shen, i follow a certain path:

Mini Golems->Wraiths->Wolves->Mini Golems->Wraiths->Wolves->Gank->Base->Mini Golems->Blue Buff->Red Buff
Though i often start at Lizard camp and then i follow the path above.

Well guys, i hope that this short Shen build helped you play him better. Remember, he is extremely good to have in team. Use him smartly.

Good Luck lad's (: