"That's an awful idea. Thresh is a Support, not a damage dealer, you dumb bronzie."

Thresh Top isn't for everyone, but it's a nice way to relieve some stress or stomp some kiddies. His passive on his Flay makes this all possible, and without it he'd be nothing. Thresh is a jack-of-all-trades. He can burst. He can sustain. He can poke. He can peel. He can tank. He may do each of these things differently, depending on how you build him, but they're all part of his kit. I like the state Thresh is currently in. He's not overpowered, because it takes skill to play him properly, and he's not useless. As a damage dealer though, he's more likely to run into issues.

If you team tells you not to play Thresh Top, please don't. It's not worth trying to prove to them how much you know. Just pick up a "real" Top Laner, and fill whatever it is they're missing (Skirmisher or Tank, AP or AD).
Thresh is not that good; I'll be honest, but he can still do things if you're more intelligent than your laner and you play it safe. That can be said for any character in the game, but Thresh keeps the lead stronger than most champs I find in the game.

Only play this if you're skilled with Thresh and know all of his ins-and-outs, if you know how he scales, if you know the wait time on his passive (not mentally, but innately), and if you REALLY want to have some fun.

League is about having fun. If you're not having fun playing Thresh Top, don't worry about it. Just drop it and pick it up again some other day when you're better. Not to say you're garbage, but it might just not be your day.

Practice your combos and learn your timings. It can be very hard to land Thresh's hook and flay, but they are insanely good if you put in the effort.
- Flash > Hooks
- Flash > Flays
- Hook > Flash Back > Lantern > Take Hook
Another good tip is to ALWAYS SAVE FLAY FOR DASH MOVES! There are countless times where I've just thrown out Flay to keep the CC chain going not thinking that, "Oh wait, Tryndamere has a spin move I should be considering" Anybody, such as Jax, Gnar, Aatrox, etc... can be gimped by you tugging them out of their escape option. This same rule applies to Support Thresh, but it is MUCH more important here because this is the only way you can secure your kills on these champs.

Pros:

• High burst potential
• Early/Mid game damage dealer
• Late game tank/peeler
• Almost always useful
• Infinitely scales

Cons:

• One of, if not, the lowest base stats for armor in the game
• Pretty low base stats in general
• Very difficult to play properly
• Susceptible to getting destroyed in lane if you fall behind
• Somewhat weak against players who are aware of the strats

Teleport - Just a generally good spell for a Top Laner. It helps you put pressure on the map and help secure an objective if a teamfight breaks out.

Flash - For obvious reasons, I put this here. Thresh's ability to save his teammates is increased with Flash, and his ability to catch opponents is increased, so it's pretty much a necessity. Do not just blow this Summoner for nothing. Make sure you're guaranteed to get something or else you will be very weak.

Ignite - Take this instead of Teleport if you really want to win the early all-in, or want to cheese your enemy with an unexpected kill. Distinctly good against Lifestealers and Squishies.

Farming as Thresh consists mostly of waiting for a bit of the damage on his Flay passive to stack up, so you can secure minions that are higher health without having to stay so close.

Be sure to learn some wave management, because it comes in handy a lot as a Thresh player. Forcing them under tower can be good if they aren't good at CSing, but forcing them to overextend with a freeze gives your jungler an extremely easy gank. If they back, shove the wave by using your Flay active and just attacking as fast as you can to get the lane pushed under their tower. After that, back. You'll have plenty of time to return to lane if you do that.

Core:
Statikk Shiv - Wave clear and amazing burst potential
Rapid Firecannon - Enhanced auto still applies, and you can damage towers. It also increases your range slightly when it's ready.

Don't take both.

Crit:
Infinity Edge - Nearly mandatory if you're building crit burst.
Essence Reaver - CDR and crit. Good if you need to be the tank/CC that game.
Runaan's Hurricane - If you took RFC, take this item for the waveclear it provides.
Phantom Dancer - This item helps with 1v1s. If you're going to be running into the same person a lot, just take this item. The speed is also useful.

Tank:
Dead Man's Plate - A generally good item on Thresh; Armor and movement speed.
Thornmail - Bramble Vest is good. Finish it when necessary.
Randuin's Omen - Fed ADC, Yasuo, or Tryndamere. Also kinda good for running away.
Frozen Heart - CDR, Armor, and less DPS from basic attackers ( Jax, Gnar, etc...).
Gargoyle Stoneplate - If you need to be a frontline tank, take this item after you've expended your enhanced auto. It should keep you alive.
Locket of the Iron Solari - Pairs really well with Stoneplate. Only take it if your Support didn't and you have the Gargoyle.
Zz'Rot Portal - Good for Split Pushing.
Abyssal Mask - Increased the damage your enhanced auto deals and increase the damage of other AP champs on your team. Also gives CDR.
Adaptive Helm - Generally a good item against casters-- comparable to Dead Man's Plate. Also gives CDR.
Spirit Visage - Good if you have lifesteal and they deal magic damage. Also gives CDR.

Hybrid:
Maw of Malmortius - Good against AP mages who keep bursting you down.
Guardian Angel - Gives a bit of Armor and Damage. Sell it when you lose the passive and don't think it'll come in handy later.
Death's Dance - Thresh's go to lifesteal item. He ends up being frontline a lot, so having the draining health is good.
Mercurial Scimitar - QSS. Use it against CC-- simple as that. Lifesteal, too.
Frozen Mallet - "Get back here, BOY!" Gives a lot of HP, helping you get swole.

Extra:
Duskblade of Draktharr - I can't believe I spelled that right. This item is just pure cheese and honestly isn't even that good on Thresh unless you camp in the jungle or they have no wards.
Void Staff - hehe xd bronzie took magic pen. with an AD build. You actually deal AP, so Void Staff works. Only take it if they are stacking MR.
Lord Dominik's Regards - Mainly an ADC item, but it's good for shredding tanks who are stacking Armor.
Hextech Gunblade - It heals you for your Flay auto damage, but not Shiv or RFC auto dmg. It's okay.

I'm keeping the guide simple. No need to overload you with information. I recommend making an item set to keep these all together in. I plan to make another kit in this same guide soon, so keep a look out and favourite this, maybe. It's going to be a Sustain Damage build with how/when to build it. After that, I'll most likely make one last build for Full Tank Top with just as much info.

GOOD LUCK SUMMONERS!