Welcome to the guide that will ensure everlasting success with Ryze in the top lane. Now this may seem like an odd idea for some. But for others that do not fear danger, let us delve into the world of Top Lane Ryze.

The item building is a very key part when it comes to Ryze . You have to make sure that you are building the correct items at all time to ensure you are getting the most out of each back and trying to keep the minions from getting too pushed onto your turret. The mana crystal + 2 pot start is simply to keep you in lane enough time so that you can start getting CS and if for whatever reason you do begin to get poked you can easily pop your pots and continue to farm. Also if laning against a melee champion, poke them with auto attacks in levels 1 and 2 then once you hit 3 and have the second upgrade on your Q is when you should start poking them and actually begin to use your mana. The beginning mana crystal also gives you an early power spike it allows for an increase in damage with a utility item rather then something like a dorans ring. The early mana crystal also allows you to get a Tear of the Goddess on your first back, and if you are lucky enough you might also be able to pick up your catalyst the protector. The early catalyst will allow for more sustain especially in the early laning phases. Your boot selection is another that you must think about, for example if you want to be able to get from place to place quickly then the Mobility Boots will be for you but if you want more damage and the enemy team is building a lot of magic resist then you will grab the Sorcerer's Shoes to amplify the damage that is already going to come from your Void Staff . CDR is also a big thing for Ryze for when he is able to Q W E Q then his burst potential goes up a lot this is why we take the Frozen Heart and if any more CDR is needed we can always grab either a Spirit Visage or even an Athene's Unholy Grail

Now when it comes to playing Ryze in ranked plat it may seem a little weary. But do not fret for the if the correct champion choices are made then all will go smoothly. For example if a Shyvana is picked to go into the top lane for the other team then this would be a great chance for someone like Ryze to shine, especially in the early game. Unfortunately Ryze does have his downfalls as I will describe in the next section.

Pros: Good against melee early
Capable of poking without wasting much mana
Item build will allow for a good amount of sustain
Tanky AP carry if built correctly
Can easily snowball
Ganks can be setup very easily with Ryze

Cons: Weak against gap closers
Can be bursted down early game if not careful
All point and click abilities which cause a very limited range
Wave clearing is time consuming without ult
Other champions such as Renekton can outscale Ryze in tankiness
Ryze is very susceptible to CC so junglers with CC will give Ryze alot of trouble

Now when teamfights occur Ryze can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. An advantage would be that Ryze can lock up one person and then the team will jump on them and they will be dead. But on the other hand if Ryze gets locked up in any type of CC then he is most likely toast. As well as the fact that your scaling is less then those of other common top laners such as Shyvana and Renekton . This simply means that you need to have either a tanky jungle or a tanky support to put in for your missing front line. Sure Ryze can be tanky just simply not as tanky.