Hello, This is my first guide on Mobafire so please be kind if I make any mistakes. In this guide, I will be going in depth on how to play Yorick, The gravedigger. Yorick, In my opinion, Is the best Solo-top Champion in League of Legends due to the fact his sustain is amazing along with his harassment. He is fun, unique, and deadly. Even though Yorick is not a carry, He can turn even the worst of games in your teams favor. Before you look at the build, read the entire guide before making your final decision on what you think of the guide. Let's begin shall we.

Pros

Has GREAT in lane sustain
Scares most top lane opponents out of lane
Can clone himself or an ally with ult
Has great harass/poke
Very unique champ
Not often played
Could carry games
Looks badass
Beats people to death with shovel


Cons

Not one of the tankiest bruisers
Mana starved til tear
Doesn't have any escape mechanisms (Except a Slow)
Late game isn't the greatest
Ult must be used wisely or else could be easily wasted

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Omen of War (Yorick's Q) - This ability scales better late game over early/mid game. It will do more damage late game since you'll have more AD compared to early game, plus it not the best ability to max out during the laning phase because you will be harassed if you try to run up to a minion and last hit it with this.

Omen of Pestilence (Yorick's W) - This ability is my 2nd priority to max out (Excluding his Yorick's ult). It helps you Chase and/or Escape from ganks + If an enemy catches you by there turret with your pants down the slow will give you enough time to escape.

Omen of Famine (Yorick's E) - It is obvious why I max this ability out 1st (Excluding his ult) . It provides excellent sustain and damage. With manamune, you can spam this to harass your opponent and eventually run in for the kill.

Omen of Death (Yorick's R) - Like all champs, you always max out your ult when you can (Level 6, 11, and 18)

Here I will explain Yorick's Unique skill set on how to use them properly.

Unholy Covenant - Yorick's takes 5% reduced damage and his basic attacks deal 5% more damage for each summon that is active. Meanwhile, Yorick's ghouls have 35% of Yorick's Attack Damage and Health.

I Probably wouldn't ask for any other passive on Yorick. This makes is extremely tanky and deadly in team fights and in those tough 1v1's, 2v1's, and even tricky 3v'1's. With all your ghouls up including your ult this will reduce damage you take and deal by 20%.

Omen of War - Yorick's next attack will deal bonus physical damage and summon a Spectral Ghoul that deals additional damage and moves faster than Yorick's other ghouls. While the Spectral Ghoul is alive, Yorick moves faster as well.
Yorick's next attack will deal 30/60/90/120/150 (+1.2) physical damage and summon a Spectral Ghoul for up to 5 seconds.

The Spectral Ghoul deals 8/16/24/32/40 additional damage per hit and moves 15/20/25/30/35% faster. While the ghoul is active, Yorick moves 15/20/25/30/35% faster as well.

Cost
40 Mana
Range
0

This ability is great for chasing and pretty decent for escaping. Use this on your opponent when you think/know they're going run so you can keep up and so you can keep slowing with your Q and damaging with you E. As long as they're not near their turret, Using this skill rotation will eventually lead to a Guaranteed kill.

Omen of Pestilence - Yorick summons a Decaying Ghoul that arrives with a violent explosion, dealing damage and slowing nearby enemies. While the Decaying Ghoul remains alive, nearby enemies continue to be slowed.
Yorick summons a Decaying Ghoul that arrives with a violent explosion, dealing 60/95/130/165/200 (+1) magic damage and slowing nearby enemies by 20/25/30/35/40% for 1.5 seconds. While the Decaying Ghoul remains alive, nearby enemies continue to be slowed by 10/12.5/15/17.5/20% for up to 5 seconds.

Cost
40/45/50/55/60 Mana
Range
600

This is Yoricks only form of CC. However because it is not a single target ability and is an AoE ability, it's all the CC Yorick needs. As I explaned before is makes a great escape and chasing mechanism, However it can be used for other purposes as well. This ability is a great ability to increase Yorick's farm. Why? 1. It's and AoE Ability. 2. You can slow enemy minion waves near your turret but not to close so you can farm them without your turret stealing you minions, and without them damaging your turret.

Omen of Famine - Yorick steals life from his target and summons a Ravenous Ghoul that heals Yorick for the damage it deals.
Yorick deals 55/85/115/145/175 (+1.0) magic damage and heals for up to 40% of the damage dealt. A Ravenous Ghoul is summoned behind his target for up to 5 seconds, healing Yorick for the damage it deals. The healing effect is halved against minions.

Cost
55/60/65/70/75 Mana
Range
550

There is a reason why I make this ability my first priority on Yorick, It's sustain. With around 150+ AD and a Manamune, You could lane til the end of time. Not only does it have great sustain, is also has great damage and range for harassing. I do not recommend using this ability on farming unless you are getting that minion that is all the way behind the enemy minion wave and you know you will not be alive by the time you reach it. The reason is because this ability really drains the hell out of Yoricks mana. Try to keep this ability up to harass your doe and keep them away from you so you can continue farming.

Omen of DEATH - Yorick conjures a revenant in the image of one of his allies. If his ally dies while its revenant is alive, the revenant sacrifices itself to reanimate them and give them time to enact vengeance.
Yorick conjures a revenant in the image of a target allied champion. Revenants deal 45/60/75% of target ally's Attack Damage. If his ally dies while its revenant is alive, the revenant sacrifices itself to reanimate them for up to 10 seconds.

The revenant can be controlled by holding the alt key and using the right mouse button or by reactivating this ability.

Cost
100 Mana
Range
850

This is probably my favorite ult in the game. I will explain some smart ways to use it, for it can be wasted easily if used unwisely. 1. If your team is trying to rush baron, ult your AD carry to speed things up. 2. Use it if you want to push a turret and there is no allied minions nearby. 3. Try to ult your AD carry in team fights after your tank initiates the fight or you AP carry if they're about to die. These are just a few ways to use it wisely. NEVER, and I mean N-E-V-E-R use this to farm and empty lane. It would be senseless knowing the fact yorick is already an amzaing farmer with his ghouls. once maxed at level 16 with at least 20% CDR, don't be afraid to pop this ability if caught off guard by a gank or if you know you cannot escape a tough fight and you know you can win with your ult up. If you are in a tough fight, try not to use this at the very beginning of the fight, because the cloned ghoul only lst for 10 secs and if you die you're going to regret it. Try using about halfway through the fight.

Here I will explain a productive way to farm as Yorick. Even though your Omen of famine will be your highest damaging ability early game, try not to spam this ability to last hit as you will find your self constantly mana starved. Before you get focused into farming, be prepared to harass your opponent with Omen of famine instead. Try to auto attack a few minions, 1 by 1, but don't kill them just yet. Right before your minions take out the minions you've damaged finish them off all at once with Omen of Pestilence and finish off any remaining minions with Omen of War. After all this, repeat.

Marks: Greater Mark of Strength
Flat AD marks are pretty much the way to go on Yorick. Take these over armor penetration marks on yorick. Why? Yoricks ghouls only scale off of flat AD, Not armor penetration.

Seals: Greater Seal of Resilience
You really can't go wrong with these. The early game defense is always a plus. These seals are also necessary due to the fact Most Solo-top champions are AD.

Glyphs: Greater Glyph of Shielding
Because you will be Solo-top, You will be leveling quite fast so these glyphs are chosen over Flat MR glyphs. At level 10 the bonus from these glyphs will surpass the bonus you get from Greater Glyph of Warding.

Greater glyph of clarity - Take these glyphs over the magic resist glyphs if you find your self recalling often due to mana starvation. I've chosen the mana regen per level due to the fact you will be solo top and will be leveling faster than others.

Quintessence: Greater Quintessence of Strength
Same as your marks, These are pretty much a must on Yorick, Flat AD early game will chase your enemy out of lane due to the high damage they are receiving from Yoricks ghouls.

These masteries will bring out Yoricks full potential as a bruiser while doing as much damage as possible.

Offense: (Reduces targets Armor and Magic Resist and Armor by 10 when Exhausted.)
+3 AD (Flat AD is always nice Early Game)
4% CDR (So you can harass you enemy more often with your ghouls)
0.5% Increased damage (Why not?)

Defense: +6 Armor (Can't go wrong with early game defense)
+2 Magic Resist (More early game defense)
+6 HP per level, 108 at level 18 (Added Survivability)
+20 HP (More Survivability)
3% Reduced AE Damage (Really helps in team fights)
3% MS When above 70% HP (So you can dodge those annoying skill shots + Escape/Chase)
0.45% CDR per Level, 8.1% CDR at Level 18 (Some more CDR for spamming ghouls)
1% Damage Reduction (More Tankiness)
3% HP Increase + 10% Tenacity (This is a must, The HP Increase helps alot early game, plus the tenacity will ensure you survive ganks + Rough battles)

Since you have come this far I would like to present you with this amazing song made by my brother
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Here I will explain why I chose these item's and why I chose this Item purchase order.

Regrowth Pendant - Early game HP regeneration is necessary due to harassment early game)

Philosopher's Stone Philosopher's Stone - Some more HP regen and Mana regen so you're not recalling for mana every minute, This should hold you over til you get your manamune + the G/P Really Helps out!

Mercury's Treads - +25 Magic Resist, Movement Speed 2, and +35 Tenacity, These boots are just amazing, But pricy.

Manamune - This item is required on Yorick due to the fact he is mana starved just about all the time. With all the harassing and last hitting you'll be doing with your ghouls, you WILL need this item. Also provides great AD when stacked around +500 mana

Maw of Malmortius - This item is a must on Yorick. Overall its great. +55 AD and 36 MR. It's shield can also be a lifesaver in those rough 2v1's and even 3v1's. Perfect combination of tank and carry.

Frozen Mallet - Every bruiser should have this item. Has Great HP and decent AD, plus the slow really helps secure the kills on those annoying runners.

Frozen Heart - What's better than +99 Armor, +500 Mana, 20% CDR, and slows the attack speed of nearby enemies by 20%? I'll tell you.... NOTHING! This item is perfect for yorick, Great Defense, + CDR and Mana so you can spam your ghouls til the end of time.

- Force of Nature - This item will top off this amazing bruiser build, Kinda like a cherry on top of a sundae hehe. gives you great Magic Resist, Movement speed, and Health regeneration. This item is also a must have.

Here I will be explaining situational item choices and why to choose them.

Ninja Tabi- Take this item over Mercury's Treads if the enemy team has heavy AD or if their AD Carry is ahead of the game. The 10% damage reduction from auto attacks +25 armor is very helpful when/if being focused by their carry in team fight's.

Guardian Angel - If your team is behind and you need the extra survivability take this item over Maw of Malmortius. Provides great armor(68) and magic resist(38) plus on death revives you with +750 hp and +375 mana which is enough to escape or finish off an enemy or 2 in team fights ect.

Trinity Force - If you're crushing your lane and feel you have the potential to crush the competition, take this over Frozen Mallet. It provides +30 AD and AP, 30% Attack speed, 15% Critical Strike, and 12% MS. Also UNIQUE Passive: Your basic attacks have a 25% chance to slow your target's Movement Speed by 35% for 2.5 seconds. UNIQUE Passive: After using an ability, your next basic attack deals bonus physical damage equal to 150% of your base Attack Damage (2 second cooldown). Does not stack with Sheen or Lich Bane. Overall, this item will greatly increase the damage you deal. However it is the most expensive item in the game, It's totally worth it.

Randuin's Omen - I suggest this item ONLY if you have your Manamune is stacked over +500 due to the fact you will be taking this over frozen heart. This is only if the enemy team is fed/has great damage, However you will be sacrificing some armor, 20% CDR, and +500 mana (Which is why I only recommend you take this item if your Manamune is stacked over +500 mana) but the survivability (imo) is greater than FH.

The Bloodthirster - If you want +100 AD and 12% Lifesteal (Fully stacked) to increase your auto attack and ghoul damage + your sustain, take this item. Replace with this only If you haven't already replaced Maw with Guardian Angel.

Warmog's Armor - This item provides AMAZING hp. If armor/magic resist just isnt enough or if the enemy team is building armor pen/magic pen, take this item. Do NOT regret replacing Frozen Mallet with this item.

Last Whisper - If the enemy team starts to stack armor due to you or your AD carry, Take this item. Combined With The Bloodthirster, you will be doing TONS OF DAMAGE with your ghouls and auto attack plus have GREAT sustain. Replace with this item if you choose to take it.

Here is why I Chose these Summoner Spells and other Summoner Spells that are viable on Solotop Yorick.

- This summoner spell is great especially for the laning phase. Gets you back to your lane quickly, encase you need to buy items to keep up with your lane opponent or if you happen to be "OOM".

- Flash (AKA The best summoner spell in the game). Great for chasing and escaping. A Must have.

Exhaust - If you have taken Greater Glyph of Clarity glyphs, Then you could replace Teleport with this summoner spell, due to the fact you will not be recalling every minute for mana before Manamune.

Most mid/late game team fights decide if you make or break the game depending on how you do. How would one initiate a team fight as Yorick one might ask. Let me explain. If you've built Tanky bruiser Yorick over deadly bruiser Yorick, Don't be afraid to initiate the fight as long as you have your tank by your side. On the other hand if you've built deadly bruiser Yorick over tanky, Just let your tank initiate but don't dive in just yet because your enemy team will most likely have common sense and ignore your tank(Not completely of course). Just stand back a bit and spam Omen of Pestilence as this will slow the enemy team down and give you team a slight advantage at the beginning of the fight. If you start to take damage from enemy ranged champions, Throw your Omen of Famine to sustain yourself so you have enough HP to survive the fight and possibly finish off the fight. As I explained earlier in the guide, be prepared to use your Omen of death on either your AD Carry after your tank has initiated the fight or AP carry if they are being focused and you know they will not make it out alive. Also, Don't forget to use Omen of War to catch/keep up with any running champs at the end of the fight and then eventually throwing your Omen of Pestilence to secure the kill and finish them off with either your auto attack or Omen of Famine.

Overall, Yorick is a very fun, and deadly champ to play. He's also pretty unique from all other champs. Thank you for reading my guide, Don't forgot to vote! If you down voted the guide, Please leave a comment in the guide discussion on why you down voted so I can fix any issue that there may be. Also if you have any questions that you want to be answered immediately, Add me in game (Itolic) and Message me. Again Thank you :)

~Itolic~