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Choose Champion Build:
Spells:
Smite
Exhaust
Ability Order
Fury of the Dragonborn (PASSIVE)
Shyvana Passive Ability
Chapter 1
Introduction
Hello everyone, I'm Emphatixx and welcome to my guide on





This is my first guide that I have written, so helpful comments would be appreciated. I will go into some depth explaning my choices. Please don't downvote me just for one thing that you didn't agree with, obviously there are other ways to build her. Also don't downvote for length. And try it before voting one way or the other. Unless you just want to upvote ;)



Credit to jhoijhoi for her excellent guide to making guides.
Credits to jhoijhoi for the template, which you can find here.
Lore

There are those few dragons in Runeterra who have mastered the intense magical energies that course through their unique anatomies, evolving into an elusive Celestial Dragon. These powerful and enigmatic creatures spend most of their time hidden away from the lands of men. However, there are those who find themselves drawn to civilization and who take on human forms to immerse themselves in the world of humans. Occasionally, one finds itself drawn to the spirit of a human and they have relations. Sometimes, in the slimmest of odds, the union will bear fruit and that offspring will be one of the few half-dragons to have graced Runeterra. Shyvana is one such creature, born to a simple Demacian farm-girl and her Celestial Dragon father. Left to be raised by her mother, her oddities were something that couldn't be hidden from her community, though she was protected by her family. Once her family had perished in disaster, she was left alone for the first time - truly alone. Shyvana quickly became an outsider and it wasn't long before the community's fear began to put her in danger. Facing mortal danger at the business end of an angry mob, she was rescued by the traveling noble, Jarvan Lightshield. The noble was a man who strangely knew exactly what she was and took her under his wing. It wasn't long before she was offered a chance to use her natural skills in the service of Demacia, as Jarvan initiated her as one of the elite guard. Following Jarvan into the League of Legends was only natural.
Shyvana is a fierce warrior, with the blood of one of the most powerful magical predators in all creation flowing through her veins. Unlike some of her fellows, she is a subdued personality - somber, cool, and collected. However, when the moment strikes, her draconian heritage manifests and there are few that can stare her in the eyes and not feel the primal urge to flee.
''By the blood of my father, I will end you!''
- Shyvana
Pros / Cons

spaaaaaaace |
Pros
+ One of the fastest champions + Very quick clear times + Maybe the best counter jungler + No mana so spam skills + High damage output + Can turn into a freaking Dragon + Amazing 1v1 fighter + Darkflame ![]() |
space |
space |
Cons
- No CC - Not the best ganker (But still good) - Relies on ![]() - Hard to master (like most champions) - Can be countered with CC (who isn't?) - Maybe the least attractive female champ :( - Sometimes banned, but not often |
Masteries
I run a 20/1/9 mastery tree to take advantage of




Runes
Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed: I take AS over ArPen to get more out of my
Twin Bite but feel free to substitue ArPen Quints and Marks.
Greater Mark of Attack Speed: Nothing wrong with more AS.
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist: Minion camps don't deal magic damage, so use scaling MR.
Greater Seal of Armor: Early game jungling
Summoner Spells
If you jungle, always take ![]() ![]() |
space |
Hands down I always take ![]() |
space |
Secondary Options
Take it if you want some security, but you have a built in flash with ![]() ![]() ![]() |
space Again, this will probably save you in some situations and synergizes nicely with ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Ability Explanation
Fury of the Dragonborn: Pretty outstanding passive ability. This is the reason I get AS to refresh
Twin Bite faster to proc more from
Sheen. Passive to
Burnout is nice as well with the extra duration of the spell if you are hitting something with it. After using
Dragon's Descent sweep through your jungle and it will be back up in no time.
Twin Bite (Q): Really good spell, max it second. Makes
Shyvana's next attack hit twice. This really starts doing serious damage so use it whenever it comes off CD (like all your skills). It makes jungling much faster.
Dragon form does the same thing except damages every enemy in front of it.
Pro-Tip: I have never tried it but I have heard thatTiamat works very well with
Twin Bite in Dragon form. With
Tiamat's splash damage passive, it applies this to every unit hit with
Twin Bite, effectively multiplying the damage per unit hit. So for example, if you hit four units with this, each unit will take full damage plus splash damage, so each unit will take quadruple damage.
Burnout (W): Awesome skill. Makes her faster and deals tons of AoE damage to surrounding enemies. At all times in the game,
Shyvana will be faster than almost anyone (except
)
Dragon form leaves a trail of fire that burns behind you and damages enemies that pass through it.
Pro-Tip: When clearing Wraiths or Wolves don't completely kill the units. Alternate between each of then and the camp will be killed quicker because burnout will finish them off. Of course this only saves a couple seconds, but worth mentioning for early game jungling.
Flame Breath (E): Weakest ability, but has some range on it. I use it when jungling just for more damage but have had some snipes with it.
Dragon form it is much improved, dealing AoE damage in a cone in front of her.
Pro-Tip: Throw this over the back of the enemy teams Red Buff. It will make a distinct sound if you hit the lizard with it and you can sit in the grass behind Red Buff and wait for the lizard to come to you to steal. Do this on your own Red Buff to get a faster pull and clear time as well.
Dragon's Descent (R): The most awesome of spells because you are now a flaming dragon!! It passivly boosts magic and armor resist, doubling it in dragon form, while giving all abilites AoE damage. There is a slight knockback on
Dragon's Descent so ult them back into a teammate for a gank or away from a fleeing teammate.
Pro-Tip: You can decide how far you wantShyvana to fly with
Dragon's Descent. It is possible to fly over them, negating the knockback aspect of the spell. It does damage when you hit them with it, but sometimes I like to lead it out in front during ganks to cut off their route to the tower. Will talk more about
Dragon's Descent in the Ganking/Teamfight sections.
Ability Sequence Order
Obviously take




Ult in followed by



Items
-
: Most common item I have seen people use with
Shyvana with five
Health Potion. With no sustain you will be chugging pots on your first trip through the jungle.
I have seen people takeBoots and three pots. Take Boots 3 if you are looking for an early gank on that pre-6
Darius.
-
: Get Madred's on your first trip back. PLEASE!!! Make sure that you have 700 gold before you return to pick these up. You won't jungle as fast and will just need to B again right away.
-
: Great boots, I always get Merc Treads. Even though you build offtank, you will oftentimes be the tankiest member of your team, and
Mercury's Treads are necessary in this role. And I just hate CC, I get these always unless I am a mage or AD carry.
The next three items can go in any order, but I usually go in the order that I have listed.
-
: Great boost to AS and synergizes perfectly with my runes.
- Page: Massive health boost, will give you tanking power and the ability to turret dive in the right situations plus that nice passive so it's even harder for them to get away.
-
: What a beast of a passive, and works wonders with your spammable skills. Makes
Twin Bite hit twice as hard, helps to knock down turrets and melt those squishies.
DISCLAIMER!!!: Before I go on, yes I build parts of three items before I complete them. Again, this is just my preference. You can complete each item before starting the next but I find this to be the most balanced and efficient way to build myShyvana to maximum potential, getting damage and health simultaneously.
-
: Offtank item must-have. Gives magic resist, big AS boost, and a nice passive along with it.
-
: Become the offtank you were meant to be with this flaming cape. Big armor and health boost, the passive synergizes perfectly with your already beastly AoE, and looks awesome on her.
-
: Even more health you are now as tanky as you need to be. Over 3k health it's time to boost your already impressive damage.
Look at your build. If their mid is getting wrecked and they have no AP, don't worry about a Wit's End and go straight forSunfire Aegis, or even a
Thornmail.
-
: Replace your
Wriggle's Lantern with
Madred's Bloodrazor late game. So much damage, attack speed, plus more armor, and a tank shredding passive to clean up team fights. Games usually don't last this long however.
-
: Hardly ever get this far into the build, which is why I started to get
Sheen earlier into the build. I know I am doubling up on the
Phage passive, but like I said, games almost never last this long and what else would I build my
Sheen into. As far as the Tri Force goes, unbelievable item. Health, AS, MS, Crit, AD, AP.
Pro-Tip: Buy an Oracle's Elixer afterand
or even before. Helps with Dragon and counter jungling, as well as overall map control and those tough bot lane ganks.
Viable/Situational Items
Rarely do I deviate from my build very much, but there are several other options that are available to us.
Offensive
-
This is an option if you are super fed, damage will shoot through the roof. I have gotten IE if an am 6/0 or something, or else if my AD Carry is failing hard. Only drawback is that there are no defensive stats on it. Replace
Madred's Bloodrazor
-
Great anti-caster item. This is an option if they have an extreme burst mage like a
and of course that dreaded
. A life saving passive. Replace
Madred's Bloodrazor
-
Some crazy attack speed, crit and movement speed. Take this if they enemy team is lacking in AP or if their AP Carry is failing. Replace
Wit's End
-
Amazing item. Crazy attack speed and helps shred those armor stacking champs. Take this is they have a
or of course Mr. Armor
. Replace
Sunfire Aegis
-
Another "If your fed" item. The life steal is great but the lack of defense makes me stay away just like
. Replace
Madred's Bloodrazor
- zeke's herald I am a HUGE zeke's herald fan. Someone on your team should have a zeke's herald every game. Tremendous team benefits. Replace
Sunfire Aegis
-
Great ArPen, combine this with
Black Cleaver to melt armor stackers. Replace
Madred's Bloodrazor
-
Really good team item, but your support should be getting this item.
-
If they have 3 AP Champions, or 2 heavy hitting AP Champs, for example a top
or a jungling
along with their AP Carry take FoN to negate their damage. I am a
Force of Nature supporter, it will give you great movement speed along with your
Trinity Force. Replace
Sunfire Aegis
-
Someone should have a
Frozen Heart on your team every game. If you are the tank, I strongly suggest it. Will help your team tremendously in team fights with its awesome passive. Not the best item for
Shyvana however because it gives us useless mana. Have your other tanky champion pick up
Frozen Heart. Replace
Sunfire Aegis
-
I'm just not a huge GA fan, but I know some people live by
Guardian Angel so take it if thats your style. Replace
Sunfire Aegis
-
Great active to shut down AD Carries and builds from
Heart of Gold so take that early if your looking to pick up
Randuin's Omen. I will take this in top lane just because I like to get gp5 items in top lane. BTW another item that should always be on the team. Replace
Sunfire Aegis
-
Probably my most used Situational Item. Take this if they enemy team has more than one very strong autoattacker. Example a bot lane
Vayne and top lane/jungle
Tryndamere. Replace
Wit's End
-
Not necessary on
Shyvana but if you swear by
Warmog's Armor I won't stop you. Replace
Frozen Mallet
Champion Selection
As I mentioned earlier,Shyvana has no CC except a small knockback on
Dragon's Descent and
Exhaust. So, in an ideal situation you would have each lane have some sort of CC. I try to communicate with my team to get CC so I can jungle
Shyvana. You can still do well if they don't but it definately helps. An example of a great team would be
and your AD Carry. There are of course many other options.
Jungling
Alrighty, this is the fun part. Head off the platform and head to Red Buff. Make sure your team is guarding for you. At 1:40 take the Wraith Camp with your teammates putting damage on them but make sure you kill them, and then have a teammate leash Red Buff. The stronger the leash the better.
Now there is a decision to make. Never rule out the possiblity of a level 2 gank, but don't force one. I like to level 2 gank top lane because I think it is easiest. I am actually a pretty big fan of a level 2 gank, it will almost always at least force a flash, and over half the time I get First Blood] which helps so so much early game. And a failed gank won't put you that far behind (unless you die somehow), just make sure they don't steal your Blue Buff.
I will for go early ganks on champs likeDarius,
Kassadin,
Ahri, or
Tryndamere. All champs with great (OP) escape ultimates or
Darius's insta-kill
Noxian Guillotine. Their isn't really a set path as long as you get 700g. If you are close to 1050g clear one more camp so you can pick up
Boots as well. Of course if their top laner has yours pushed to the turret by all means go get that all-important First Blood.
Pro-Tip: Don't try to gank a champ withBoots when you dont have any. They will just outdistance you, even with
Burnout unless they are super pushed.
AfterMadred's Razors, jungling will be very fast. I reclear jungle, Red Buff may be up again by now, so take it then get ready to gank. Look for the lane that is the most pushed, and gank that lane.
Whenever you gank, check out who you are ganking. The most important is their Summoner Spells. If you are ganking mid and they haveFlash (most likely they do), you may not be able to get the kill. Don't burn an unneccesary
Exhaust. But always keep in mind forcing a
Flash is a successful gank, so scaring their mid laner into burning one is a win.
Sometimes I will go for a lvl 2 'gank' at mid lane just to make themFlash. It will give your mid a huge advantage if they know what they are doing.
Now, if their mid or top lane has no escape spells () gank over and over. Punish them for being so idiotic. (Even though I don't when I top
Shyvana. We got
Burnout for that though. And Sight Wards).
Keep your jungle clear. It is very easy withShyvana to clear your jungle in about one minute. This helps with preventing counter-jungling, map control, and your CS. Shoot for about 100 CS by 18:00. Add 15 CS for every kill you have. I have had games where I have 200 CS by 23:00, which is a ton for a jungler.
Shyvana will level very quickly due to her fast clear times. You should be hitting level 6 right along with top and mid lane. After this her ganking potential really goes up, not like a
Warwick but
Shyvana owns Warwick (usually).
Dragon
Don't gank like ordinary junglers, because you arn't, and they will need great ward coverage to see you coming if you follow these instructions.
When ganking top lane and you are on Blue Team (The bottom side of your mini map), go up the ramp by Wraiths, behind Baron, through Tri-Bush, and line up behind the mountain. This way their River ward won't pick you up, and you won't be seen coming unless they have a ward in Tri-Bush. Have your top laner start the attack andDragon's Descent over the mountain and kill him, using
Exhaust if necessary.
The same thing can be done in bottom lane if your team is Purple Side. Behind Dragon and ult in over the mountain so you are undetected. This strategy makes for excellent ganks and I am almost always get the kill/assist using theis strategy.
Ganking mid lane is the hardest forShyvana, as it is for most junglers. However, a
Dragon's Descent can cut off their route to the tower and pick up a kill with good coordination.
If your team is on the other side however, just gank like you normally would. Since you are very fast, come flying up (or down) river and immediatelyDragon's Descent into them and use Exhasut if necessary. They may not have enough time to respond and get back to tower. Always remember you can get away with a pretty good dive with your tankiness.
Another strategy that I often use if the enemy champion is half health or less is to have my laner push the lane up to the turret so minions are taking aggro, and come around the other side so they are trapped. With a 2v1 and them at half health, it will be cake to clean them up. Make sure you attack first to take the aggro from the tower instead of your teammate. Better that you B instead of the laner.
DragonDragon is extremely important and can turn games around. As the jungler, it is your responsiblity to ward Dragon if you support fails to do so. If you can get a gank on their AD carry and kill them, go for Dragon. Have bot lane come help, and it wouldn't hurt to have mid lane there as well, or at least have them be ready. If you are on the side across from Dragon, pull Dragon out into the river to kill it. Know how muchSmite damage is, click on Dragon to see how much health it has and use
Smite to seal the kill.
TimingTiming Dragon and Buffs will turn you from a average jungler into a great jungler. Timing will allow you to get the most out of your jungle.
- Baron Nashor spawns at the 15:00 min mark in the game. The most important buff in the game, Baron spawns every seven minutes. Starting at 20:00, have a ward on Baron at all times!!! With your oracles, clear out wards the enemy team places on Baron.
Don't just randomly Baron. If the other team is competant at all they will know you are Baroning. If their are two dead and one is their AD carry or their most fed champ, go for Baron. If three or more are dead you should have a free Baron.
Get good ward coverage around Baron regardless. Three wards should do. One in Tribush, one in the grass behind Red Buff and one on the ramp into River. Or if you are on the other side I ward [Blue Buff], and a couple in thegrass so you can see them coming.
- Dragon spawns every six minutes. Know when Dragon spawns!! Down to the exact second! When you kill [colore=red]Dragon, simply type out the time in the game plus six minutes. So your first Dragon is a 12:34 (I like to get first Dragon between 10:00 and 15:00), just type out "18 34 Dragon". Let your team know one minute before it spawns to get ready to Dragon, and take it right away so the enemy team won't have a chance.
Pro-Tip: It is now easier for the enemy to time Dragon because it says the exact time when Dragon is killed if you have vision of it. Keep this in mind as the enemy team may be there right when it spawns. - Blue and Red Buff spawn every 5 minutes. So, your Red Buff will respawn around 7:15. Many times the other jungler won't be as in tune to timing as me, so I go steal their Blue Buff (if they start there), at 7:15. It is important to time Blue Buff so your mid-laner can get the most out of laning. After you get first Blue Buff ALWAYS GIVE TO YOUR AP CARRY. You have no need of Blue Buff so only take it if you steal the enemies, and even then, try to give to your teammate who should come with you whenever you are stealing a buff.
Warding
Credits go to Apotheosis for the image.
Baron/Dragon Wards: Allows you to see River movement and if they are going for Dragon or Baron.
Buff Wards: Place them in the grass so you can see their buffs to steal. Buffs on your wards are not completely necessary if you have timing down.
Defensive Wards: You need vision in your jungle, especially if they are on the offensive. Late game never face-check bushes if they are MIA!!!
Offensive Wards: Same thing as defensive wards except if your team is pushing hard. Bad vision in their jungle can lead to your team getting ACED and losing a winnable game.
River Brush Wards: Helpful all through the game, you can never have to much vision, helps keep tabs on their jungler allowing you to counter-jungle.
Lane Wards: Your teammates are the ones who should be placing these wards, but Mid and Top Laners love if when you throw them a ward. 100% necessary for early game protection, and allows you to counter-gank them.
Teamfights
UsuallyShyvana's role is to initiate a fight. One of my favorite techniques is to ult over a wall into their team (but make sure your team is ready to follow you up.) Wait until their team becomes a little disorganized and
Dragon's Descent into their AD or AP carry. I focus whoever is doing better, or else their squishest carry champ. Always make sure to throw
Exhaust on their AD carry. Organize your team to they know who you are going to focus in what order.
Counter-Jungling
Timing will turn you into a great jungler, but successful counter-jungling will turn you into an Amazing jungler. But bad counter-jungling will ruin you and your team.
Warding and map awareness are the keys to counter-jungling. If they have good ward placement, they will see you head up to Wraiths or Small Golems and collapse on you. This is why Oracle's Elixer is so powerful.
Obviously the easiest counter jungling technique is to pop in and steal the Wraith camp. Just smite the big wraith, kill one or two small ones making sure to leave one or two, and go about your business.
Warding their buffs helps a ton with counter-jungling. You will see when buffs spawn, and you can wait to let them start it and either attack or justSmite steal and get out of there.
Another thing I like to do is just go to their Red and Blue Buff so on your mini map it shows that the minion camp is cleared. When it respawns you will see it on your mini map.
Counter-Jungling is a TEAM EFFORT!!!Let your team know your intentions. Have someone come with you just to be safe and to have the upper hand in small jungle skirmishes. Yes you could probably take them 1v1 but then their mid laner will just come clean you up, leaving you buff-less.
The best example I can think of with team counter-jungling is Moscow 5. (don't hate) Watch any of their games on YouTube, it's simply incredible how well they play together to shut down the other teams jungler.
If you see the enemy jungler bot lane, their top jungle is yours for the taking and vice versa. The key to counter-jungling is quickness, and that's whyShyvana is such a good counter-jungler.
If I am stealing their Red Buff I usually just clear the whole camp and get a time on the respawn so I can retake it.
Remember what I said aboutFlame Breath to check for the presence of minion camps. It is a safe and effective way to steal buffs. (Especially Red Buff).
When counter-jungling, try to have yourDragon's Descent ready to use. I can't count how many times I have gotten saved by ult'ing over a wall and running back to safety.
Top Lane
I takeTeleport and
Exhaust cuz I ain't scurred of ganks and I love
Teleport. Take
Flash or
Ghost if you arn't as confident.
Don't push the lane to hard, because it is super easy to push withShyvana. I wouldn't recommend using
Burnout because you will just melt creep waves and you will be at his tower in no time. But still level
Burnout first although a couple extra early points in
Twin Bite wouldn't hurt to help with last hits.
Just keep last hitting and try to avoid poke. Since you have no sustainHealth Potions are a must. Don't take solo top against a great harasser like
. Or at least be ready to jump back on them. You should be able to take any of those guys 1v1( usually). Except
Irelia because she is OP. So is dat
Dr. Mundo
Maximum Dosage. Or a lucky crit from
Parrrley. And don't fight
Olaf. Since I don't top lane as much I usually just farm under turret and wait for ganks.
Consider starting with aRegrowth Pendant for an early Philosopher's Stone for some good health regen although I would recommend a quick
Wriggle's Lantern for that free ward.
Now don't just useTeleport just because it is off cooldown. Yes you will get to lane faster but that is don't making the best use of it. Of course, if your tower is getting knocked down and you need to B, tele right back up there. But to really take advantage of it, be ready to
Teleport down to bot lane for a gank or counter-gank. They will not expect a facefull of Dragon and can lead to a quick tower, runing their bot lane.
Thats all I really have to say about solo top. Measure up your opponent. If you know your better than he is play aggressive and force him back. If not play passive, last hit withTwin Bite and
Flame Breath and wait for ganks.
Shyvana is a pretty good farmer under a tower.
If you do find yourself farming under tower remember let the turret hit melee minions TWICE then hit it and let the turret hit caster minions ONCE and hit it with yourTwin Bite.
Viewer Feedback
I am going to try to address some issues brought up in the discussion tab.
1. Masteries Suck
Already said that I use a unique mastery tree and clearly say you can go the typical 21/9 or 21/0/9 route I just wanted to show you want I prefer. The missed point inExecutioner does not bother me becuase I'm not supposed to be getting the kill anyways.
2. Not Tanky Enough
Uhh...Not sure if srs on this one. I have 3.5k life, 160 armor and 140 magic resist. This is before the extra 20 armor and magic resist fromDragon's Descent and additional 20 while in Dragon form. ~150 armor and magic resist is optimal because that is when the damage reduction really starts scaling poorly.
This is not a tank build,Shyvana is an OFF-tank. There is no point for
Shyvana to be on Summoner's Rift if she can't do damage so going full tank is suicide due to no CC.
3. Tri-Force is a bad item onShyvana
Guess thats what the viable items are for. Once again, I would say 1 out of every 50 games gets this far, so I don't know why I'm even bringing it up. But look at your damage when you haveSheen combined with
Twin Bite. It does SO much more. I don't know how this is a bad pick.
4. Madred's Sucks
This has more weight behind it. Yes I do agree that there is probably a better item than Madred's Bloodrazors to pick but it gives me armor, attack speed, and damage. Everything an off-tank would want. Replace this with some other item that deals damage, but once again, the game will most likely be over by this point.
Summary
If you made if this far, thanks for reading my guide :) You should have a pretty good idea on how to play Shyvana by now, but I highly recommend watching videos of top junglers like Diamondez, OddOne, SaintVicious, and HotShotGG. Watch their styles and builds, but keep in mind you are probably not nearly as good as they are nor have as good of teammates. But it's still fun to watch :D
Anyways, I had fun making my first guide on here and hope you enjoyed it as well!! Please leave comments on how I can improve!
I am going to try to add videos I just need to figure out how to upload videos from LolReplay, any help would be greatly appreciated I don't know very much about that stuff.
Good Luck, Have Fun and remember, Don't ChaseSinged!!! Or feed
Fiora...or
Vayne. Actually, don't feed at all. Peace.
Credits to jhoijhoi for the template, which you can find here.
- Baron Nashor spawns at the 15:00 min mark in the game. The most important buff in the game, Baron spawns every seven minutes. Starting at 20:00, have a ward on Baron at all times!!! With your oracles, clear out wards the enemy team places on Baron.
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