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Thresh - The soul stealer Ranged, DPS, Tanky, Support Synergy: All team compositions Jungler ganking potential: Strong Speciality: Infinite scaling armor, and damage Explanation: AD Thresh revolves around Damnation and Flay. AD thresh is very similar to Nasus and his Siphoning Strike. Your goal is to collect as many souls as possible. This is because more souls = more free armor, and for every soul you have, your auto attacks do 1 extra damage. This is why attack speed Thresh is so powerful, as you can build attack speed without needing to buy as much damage as you get that most of it for free. This guide is focusing on attack speed Thresh as stacking AD on him is very niche. ~DISCLAIMER~ I advise not to go Thresh top lane in solo queue, as even though he IS a viable pick, your teammates may rage at you for "trolling" and not focus entirely on the game.

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Pros + Ranged Top Laner + Tons of damage + Tons of crowd control + Infinite scaling + Good peel/disengage + Very strong vs AD heavy team comps. + Good zoning if ahead

Cons - Weak against magic damage - Falls behind easily - Weak against high mobility - Squishy early game - Need items to be useful - Weak against gap closers SPACE

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/// Attack damage Thresh is extremely niche, and has a much harder time in the laning phase than attack speed Thresh. This build works best against a team of 5 squishy enemies. Thats because late game, you should be able to one-hit them every ten seconds. The reason this doesn't work on tankier champions, is that they tend to have more resistences than squishes. As you do mixed damage you would have to buy armor AND magic penetration to do significant damage to them. BUT to do that you'll need to replace TWO items in your build, forsaking a lot of AD, making the whole idea of stacking AD redundant. Also attack speed Thresh is very anti-tank so would be much better in this situation anyway.

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greater mark of hybrid penetration These runes are the most effective for Thresh, as with this build he does MIXED damage and would lose damage overall if you chose just Greater Mark of Armor Penetration or Greater Mark of Magic Penetration, both of which are acceptable replacements.

I take Greater Seal of Armor as 90% of the damage you will receive top lane is physical (minions, champions, towers etc.). I find that flat armor is better than Greater Seal of Scaling Armor as Damnation more than makes up for the lack of armor late game. SPACE

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist I find most appropriate as there is no need for early magic resist, unless you are facing an AP top lanes e.g. Rumble or Elise. Then Greater Glyph of Magic Resist is a better option. SPACE SPACE

All of Thresh's damage scales with AD, and nobody buys Greater Quintessence of Attack Speed, let alone have a rune page just for them. SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE

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Offence Tree Tier 1 // - 5% CDR is much better than 5% AS, and this Thresh is here to KILL, not tank so we take the point in Double-Edged Sword . Lastly I take a point into Butcher as farming is a very high priority, and as Thresh has a low-ish base damage it can never hurt to help. Tier 2 // - More AD = More damage, nice and simple Tier 3 // - I take all 3 points in Executioner as it increase our damage to half health and below champions, which is great for finishing off those pesky tanks who never seem to die. Martial Mastery is meh, but we need to put a point in here somewhere so might as well get +4 AD for it Tier 4 // - I like to put one point into Dangerous Game as it might just save your life when you tower dive, and it also really helps in team fights too. As with the previous tier these left over points need to go somewhere, so 3 points into Warlord is the best option in my opinion. Tier 5 // - 6% armor and magic penetration is GOD LIKE, the best part is that on champions who don't do large amounts of mixed damage, half of this mastery is wasted, but not on Thresh. Tier 6 // - Lastly the point into Havoc , 3% increased damage is AMAZING. any sort of % damage increase is extremely powerful especially on carries.

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Defence Tree Tier 1 // - Enchanted Armor is much more effective on thresh, than other carries. Thats because of Damnation, meaning he only has 12 base armor! The rest of this tier is self explanatory and can be replaced with anything else on this tree. Tier 2 // - Veteran Scars are the best choice here +36 health isn't great but better than others and need to progress upwards. Tier 3 // - Same issue with the Greater Seal of Armor, we will most likely be facing AD opponents therefore the more armor the better.

runic shield

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Thresh needs movement speed, and attack speed, as much as he can get. Berserker's Greaves give both, also they are very easy and cheap to buy.

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With this build you will be buying LOTS of attack speed and Blade of the Ruined King's passive synergies amazingly. Also the Active effect is great for kiting; and with Thresh's kit you will become a kiting monster.

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Why kill one person, when you can kill 3? The fact that Runaan's Hurricane also applies Flay, Blade of the Ruined King, Frozen Mallet, and life steal is incredible. Combine that with the crazy attack speed this item makes you a deadly force to be reckoned with in team fights and a life steal monster.

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Zephyr gives attack speed, and movement speed, both of which are taken for obvious reasons. BUT Zephyr also gives tenacity. Tenacity is important for thresh, more so than other ADC's. Thats because his auto attack range and abilities are all rather short, and that puts him in more danger of being CC'ed. Thresh is a DPS carry so he can't deal damage when stunned, so that is why I take zephyr.

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Bloodthirster give tons of raw attack damage and life steal, both stats are GOD LIKE on Thresh.

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Frozen Mallet synergies really well with Runaan's Hurricane, as well as giving 30 AD, and 700 health, the passive allows you to stick to enemies like glue. The health component is really important too as Thresh's short range makes him more susceptible to taking damage.

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Only take Guardian Angel if they have an extremely high burst mage e.g. Veigar or someone who on 100-0 you in a matter of seconds. If this is the case buy a Guardian Angel instead of the Frozen Mallet. Once the Guardian Angel's passive has been used, replace it with the Frozen Mallet if you have the spare gold.

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If the enemy team are very tanky or are stacking lots of armor, it would be a wise choice to buy a Last Whisper instead of Bloodthirster.

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Buy a Mercurial Scimitar instead of Bloodthirster if the enemy team has a crippling CC e.g. Warwick, Malzahar, and Nasus.

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I would take these 90% of the time. This is because they give flat movement speed, which synergies with the % movement speed of the Zephyr.

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Enchantment: Homeguard is really effective when your team is behind. This enchantment greatly increases your potential to defend, and can even save the game for you if your team is very late-game orientated.

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Enchantment: Furor is best when the enemy team has two or more "slippery" champions. Champions such as Nidalee, Ezreal and Riven, who can escape team fights easily.

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Together that is a total of... 125 attack damage 50% attack speed 18% life steal 10% movement speed 35% tenacity

Together that is a total of... 70 attack damage 50% attack speed 55% crit chance 5% movement speed +50% crit damage

I take Bloodthirster and Zephyr over Infinity Edge and Phantom Dancer. I believe that it is better for Thresh to be built more durable than most ADC's, because of his shorter ranges. Having that extra AD, life steal and tenacity benefit Thresh much more than Crit'ing in 1 of 2 hits, because you can't deal damage when dead. IF you have a good team that can peel for you, then Crit chance may be the better option. This is really unlikely, unless you are in a pre-made team. I would still prefer to buy Bloodthirster and Zephyr, but it is your choice.
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I came across these game settings, which helped me out in more ways than one. I found then in Cubby1313's Orianna guide : Make the ticking Stop. His guide is INCREDIBLE and you should really check it out, as Orianna is also an extremely fun champion to play.
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Simple Harass Combo -

AA > > AA

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This Combo can be used at any time in the landing phase, very versatile, and good for disengaging

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Small Trade Combo -

AA > > AA > > AA > > AA ...

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Very good if looking to get a kill level 2. Don't use this if your opponent is level 3+, until you have one of your core items.

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Receiving Gank Combo -

> > > AA > AA > > AA ...

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If you have The Box use it after death sentence, even if you do not kill them, they will have to go back to base and heal. Meaning you can deny them more gold and experience.

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Level 6 Kill Combo -

> > > AA > AA > > AA ...

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For exactly what is says, killing them once you hit level 6. If you manage to get to level 6 before your opponent, use this combo while they are still level 5. This gives you a much bigger advantage than before.

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Trading in Lane The key to making exchanges go in your favour, are minions. These little guys can be the difference between winning and losing your lane. Obviously you want to force trades in such a way that they take tons of damage from your minions and you take none from his. A long story short is fight when you have more minions nearby. Thresh has a really strong level two, much stronger than most top laners. Get your Flay charged up, and just unload every thing you have on him. A good way to do this is to try and get as close as possible to them as you can, this way they will be in your auto attack range for longer. A neat way to do this, without making them cautious, is to pretend to pick up a soul from a caster minion. With the nuke damage on Flay they should be too chunked to even consider fighting back. After level 4+ Thresh starts to fall off in terms of his ability to trade well. He is extremely soul and item dependent and the best thing you can do is farm farm farm. Once Thresh gets the Blade of the Ruined King and Runaan's Hurricane he can trade much much better. Also it is really important to remember to use the active of the Blade of the Ruined King/ Bilgewater Cutlass. It is best to use the active early as when combined with a fully charged Flay, it can provide some nice burst damage, which deters the enemy from retaliating.

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Last Hitting/Farming The ability to last hit is the most effective way to get gold. Not killing champions, but farming. If you can keep decent farm AND kill your opponent, then you should easily win your lane. Here are some important numbers to note 1st death = 300 gold = ~15 minions = 2 1/2 waves 2nd death = 261 gold = ~13 minions = 2 waves 3rd death = 208 gold = ~10 minions = 1 1/2 waves 4th death = 166 gold = ~8 minions = 1 1/4 waves 5th death = 133 gold = ~6 minions = 1 wave The reason I'm telling you this is that if you miss too many minions just to get a kill that may never happen, then you are losing out on a lot of money. How to actually last hit, I cannot tell you. You will just have to practice. Yep, thats right, PRACTICE! In an evenly matched lane you should be aiming to get 70-80 CS by 10 minutes. Last hitting his made easier for Thresh as he is ranged, when most other top laners aren't. Also I max Flay to help even more with lasting hitting, as the charge up time between attacks helps immensely. If you some how end up being forced to CS under your tower, use that to your advantage. Try to freeze your lane, and call for ganks. When last hitting under your tower it is a little more difficult, but still possible none the less. For meelee minions let the tower hit them twice, then kill it. For caster minions hit it once, then let the tower hit it, then kill it. This can be made more difficult by your own minions, but you will just have to work around it.

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Zoning The whole idea of zoning is forcing the enemy champion to choose between getting gold and experience from your minions, and keeping their health bar. Zoning is a great way to further increase your lead over someone, and while still being able to concentrate on last hitting. There is a downside to zoning although a very small one. Zoning causes your minions to push the lane ever so slowly, but it is still pushing. The longer you wait to last hit a minion, the slower the wave will push. This is bad, because eventually you will be at their tower, and allow them to farm again. Also this allows your opponent to potentially freeze the lane and leave you over-extented and vulnerable to ganks. This means it is even more necessary to ward and to keep an eye on the mini-map. If done successfully, zoning can cause your opponent to be under-leveled, under-farmed, and in some cases, dead. If they come too close to you, simply sack them with your hook, until they learn their lesson. Be wary of minion aggro if you do this, you should have a Vampiric Scepter by now, but it's best to try and lose the minion aggro by going in a bush or something.

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Ok so you died once, whether ganked or outplayed, it doesn't matter. Now you're officially behind. The worst possible thing you can do if think that you can still beat them, because you'll just end up dying again. The number of times I have lost games thanks to a 6/0 fed Riven is countless. There is absolutely no reason for you to die to someone more than twice, in the landing phase. What causes this is that people don't realise that they cannot win, get near, or in some cases gank them. If you do some how get behind and end up getting zoned, its best just to tower hug, and hope they are stupid enough to push. There is no point trying to farm and end up giving them a free kill and more gold.

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Wards are map hacks for 75 gold. They are so cheap and hardly anyone below gold uses them. Fact - WARDS SAVE LIVES. Wards can potentially stop any ganks as long as you have decent map awareness. Also if the enemy jungler is the bush that you warded, DO NOT say in /all chat "I see you warwick". You want to waste as much of their time as possible. I have my own rule that I always have to have a ward whenever I leave the base. When in top lane I always ward the banana bush, as close to the far edge when possible. TIP - when warding bushes the indicator will turn green when over a bush, and blue when not.
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When laning I prefer to take the Stealth Ward. When you combine the Stealth Ward with a Stealth Ward you have an effective 5 minutes of warding time. The best way to use them is to first use your Stealth Ward which lasts a minute. Next use your Stealth Ward that you bought. By the time your Stealth Ward runs out (after 3 minutes), your Stealth Ward will be back off cool down. Late game it is better to replace your Greater Totem with a Farsight Orb as you should be grouping as a team by this point. If they enemy team have a Teemo, then EVERYBODY on your team should have should have an Oracle's Lens.
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Did you actually read the whole guide? Wow I'm impressed. If you liked it please feel free to up-vote and +1, although not necessary, if you didn't like this guide please tell me why, as I'm open to improvements. If you send me some screen shots of your results playing Thresh top, I will add them down below.

Thanks Gillyson200.
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