THE BEST SHYVANA GUIDE FOR S13 - AP, AD, AND TANK! (PICK YOUR POISON, THEY ALL WORK!)






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Recommended Items
Runes: AP Shyvana Runes
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+15-140 HP (lvls 1-18)
Spells:
Flash
Gustwalker Smite
Items
Threats & Synergies
Nunu & Willump
If they are good they will put a TON of pressure on the map while you are stuck farming. You need to be extremely efficient on getting to lvl 6 ASAP, because a good Nunu will make sure your team is ready to FF by the time you hit your powerspikes. Late game if you get ahead you can shred him, but if you're behind he will eat your E damage and walk it off like nothing. DO NOT TEAM FIGHT HIM IN PHYSICAL RANGE, you will get perma CC'd and die. Make sure you kite around the chaos of the fight and keep a safe distance.
Malphite
Great top laner to play with, they usually allow their laner to overextend making ganks easy. Their ult is an amazing tool for you to hit a free dragon from E on the enemy team. In my opinion Shyvana plays best with tanks who can CC and distract the enemy. You Do NOT want to be the tankiest member of your team.
Malphite
Great top laner to play with, they usually allow their laner to overextend making ganks easy. Their ult is an amazing tool for you to hit a free dragon from E on the enemy team. In my opinion Shyvana plays best with tanks who can CC and distract the enemy. You Do NOT want to be the tankiest member of your team.
Champion Build Guide

How it all started…
I started as a mid lane

However, in the process I also realized something: Playing tanks was fun but very frustrating. It began to take its toll on my mental when I was sure I was making the "correct" macro play, but not having my team follow up correctly was discouraging.
To combat this frustration, I made the switch to learning "carry junglers". One of the junglers I've been focusing on is

Welcome to The Best Shyvana Guide for S11 - AP, AD, and Tank!
Why play ![]() ![]() |
Currently, Shyvana is in a weird spot. Because of this, I’ve become more flexible with my playstyle and have revised this guide to include a variety of ways you can build Shyvana in season 11. The AP build doesn’t feel as strong as it used to be since Runic Echoes has been removed from the game, removing a crucial power spike that made the AP playstyle very viable. To be honest I feel like she could use some buffs & a small rework.
That being said, you shouldn’t feel discouraged if you like the champ, Shyvana is still a viable pick this season! Shyvana is kind of a mix of many champions put into one. Because there is no single way to build her, this champion is very versatile. You can choose to build her full damage AP, bruiser AP, full tank, or AD Tank depending on your team comp / the enemy team comp.
Shyvana Pros & Cons
+ Scales very well + Has the ability to solo dragons early + Can be built according to team comp/enemy comp + One of the best power farming junglers + She has easy mechanics + No mana! Yay! + Can split push & waveclear quickly in dragon form + Low pick & ban rate, so you’ll get to choose her almost anytime you want |
- NEEDS to farm to get strong - Weak pre-6, meaning unreliable ganks early & prone to invasions - Can be kited easily - Shyvana has no utility whatsoever - Ult-reliant to be useful in teamfights - Can be frustrating when your teammates don’t understand how your fury mechanic works |
How to max your abilities when playing the AP playstyle




How to max your abilities when playing the AD Tank playstyle
Ability Overview
Passive: Dragonborn
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Q: Twin Bite
Using ![]() ![]() In Dragon Form, ![]() ![]() |
W: Burnout
Activating ![]() ![]() Dragon Form increases the range of ![]() |
E: Flame Breath
![]() In dragon form, ![]() |
R: Dragon's Descent
Passive: At level 6, ![]() Active: When activated, ![]() ![]() |
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VS
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1. If your team is in dire need of magic damage, then you should go AP Shyvana. Her AP scaling is pretty insane & the ![]() 2. The enemy team is really squishy? These are fun games for AP Shyvana, especially when she gets ahead. Like I said, her AP damage scales really hard. A squishy team will have an extremely hard time not getting 1-shot by your ![]() 3. If the enemy team has 2 or more tanks and you still want to go with AP Shyvana, then you should consider going for a more AP bruiser build with ![]() ![]() 4. AP Shyvana is best when her team has a reliable frontline, crowd control, & engagement. This gives you guaranteed ![]() 5. High-priority Mid and/or Bot lanes. Ideally as AP Shyvana you have priority in both Mid & bot-lane so you can secure drakes with ease. |
1. If your team already has 2 champs who deal primarily magic damage, then the AD Tank playstyle will help give your team a more balanced composition. 2. When your team is squishy and has no frontline, it’s much better to go with AD Tank over AP Shyvana. Without a frontline, your team will get destroyed in teamfights as long as the other team has an established frontline. Having no frontline is pretty troll. (This is why we tend to dislike ![]() |
AP Shyvana Runes
Primary Path:
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Always go ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Secondary Path:
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AD Tank Shyvana Runes
Primary Path:
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OR
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The basic combo for ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
If you want, you can run ![]() |
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There is so much crowd control in the game that you should definitely take ![]() |
As AD Tank Shyvana, you're always getting deep into the fights. ![]() |
Secondary Path:
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Which Mythic?
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Night Harvester is the mythic I build on Shyvana most often. Out of all the AP Mythic options for Shyvana, it offers the most pop on ![]() ![]() |
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Hextech Rocketbelt is a great option if you’re looking for more mobility. It gives you a dash (could be useful if you took ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Riftmaker is the way to go if you’re going for a more AP Bruiser build. While ![]() ![]() ![]() |
AP Shyvana Core Items
No matter what, make sure to rush ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Boot Options
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Sorcerer's Shoes When playing AP Shyvana, you're pretty much always going to want to pick up ![]() |
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Ionian Boots of Lucidity I've been hypothesizing about cooldown boots for a while, so I'll leave them here as an option for AP Shyvana. Since ability haste has no limit in season 11, Ionian Boots can help you get off more ![]() |
Situational Items
Which Mythic?
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In most of my AD Tank Shyvana games I build ![]() |
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If you’re going into an AD heavy team comp, then you may want to consider building ![]() ![]() |
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While I don’t build ![]() |
AD Tank Shyvana Core Items
You’re almost always going to build ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Boot Options
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Mercury’s Treads Go for Merc Treads if the enemies has tons of crowd control or fed mages. 25 magic resistance is already more resistance than the penetration ![]() |
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Red Buff > Krugs > Raptors > Wolves > Blue Buff > Gromp > Scuttle

If you're looking to secure the scuttle and you haven't gotten to Gromp by the time it spawns (3:15), then don't hesitate to put it off until after you get scuttle. However, if the enemy jungler has a strong early game and can destroy you in a 1v1, you'll want to make sure you either:
2. Choose the side that has more priority & ping for assistance when you're on your way to scuttle. Your laner or support should help you secure the scuttle & help you 2v1 the jungler if they try to contest it.
3. It's never a bad option to completely ignore the first scuttles if you're at a real risk of dying. Obviously this is not ideal, but you definitely don't want to fall behind on Shyvana.
Pre-Level 6



2. Get whatever farm you can without dying. Like I've mentioned a million times, Shyvana's early game isn't the best. Most games you'll be able to do a first full clear without too many problems. But if you find yourself being invaded at your second buff and your laners being pushed under turret, it's not the worst idea to avoid fighting & retreat safely. It really depends on the matchup, what runes & summoner spells you have, and whether your teammates are roatating to your aid. Also, don't be afraid to punish the enemy jungler for showing themselves on the map by invading their jungle. Just make sure you know where they & their teammates are before entering their jungle.
3. Sneak the first





4. IF POSSIBLE try to help your team and gank when the opportunity arises. While early game Shyvana is pretty weak, it doesn't mean you should completely ignore your team. Is the enemy bot lane extremely pushed up with low health? You may want to consider dropping by for a gank. Your mid lane mage has hard CC and can help set up a gank? Go for it! Early game Shyvana is still capable of getting kills! And even if you don't get a kill, you can get some early stacks on

Early Human Form

FARM UNTIL YOU GET 100% RAGE
That's it! If you farm every time you don't have rage then look for a gank when you do, you will be extremely efficient. You should almost never gank without 100% rage because Shyvana is only 1/2 a champ without her dragon form.
Obviously think about the current situation, but that concept should be the main thing on your mind. You are not useless in human form at this point of the game, but you are not strong either. You are "below average". The way you fight as human form Shyv at this point in the game will depend on whether you're building AP or AD Tank & the matchup.
Early Dragon Form

How to Dominate With Early Dragon Form


2. Like I said, you are tankier than you think during this period, especially if you use my build. Beat them up, make them fear you, steal their farm, and take every objective you can.

2. Always have your



3. Farm, farm, farm! Shyvana is one of the fastest power farming junglers! You should basically NEVER fall behind in farm. In fact, you should bascially ALWAYS be ahead in farm if the game hasn't completely fallen apart! Take all your camps when they're up, catch some lane minions wherever you can, & invade the enemy jungler when you know you can do it safely or you are with your team.

(jungle camps, minions, & even champs IF you must)
How to Play AP Shyvana in Teamfights


You can launch





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How to Play AD Tank Shyvana in Teamfights




As AD Tank Shyvana, you can protect your carries by chasing enemies away with




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