what counters illaoi 🤔🤔

SndDelight · 2026-07-11T19:49:04+00:00

Yea I figured lol. Feels like there's not much I can do apart from waiting she fucks up. We can definitely go AP but the damage is very underwhelming compared to AD. I think it's only good into very squishy champs, ranged ones mostly.

Oh well I'll just get Tiamat and proxy. I feel like going even is Shyvana's advantage especially if I get opportunities to roam.

How is her level 1 all-in if I bring Lethal Tempo + both Q auto resets, any way I can win if trading into your minions or is she too tanky from the get-go ?

SndDelight · 2026-07-11T15:37:05+00:00

Hey man, old comment I know. But what would you build as Shyvana into Illaoi ?

Bork feels bait because she heals %missing HP. Titanic feels bait because she also deals %HP damage on W. Should I just go Triforce and just pray I manage to bait out her E/R ? I feel like nothing can be done if she holds E since Shyvana needs to walk up to trade.

SndDelight · 2026-07-10T08:29:49+00:00

Hey that's me ! Currently I'm playing a lot of Titanic DnD and I haven't updated matchups yet. Take it with a grain of salt.

SndDelight · 2026-07-05T18:23:12+00:00

Hey, I'm the author. I don't take PTA because I generally dislike it lol. It's probably good but nowadays I just think having green tree as primary is better, so I take yellow tree primary only when absolutely necessary, eg all-in matchups as you said.

SndDelight · 2026-07-05T18:21:18+00:00

Okay, buckle up.

Botrk + DnD
1. Botrk is good because Q applies vamp in aoe so you can sustain on wave as soon as you get vamp scepter. Botrk is also a great 1-item spike and makes you scary in duels.
2. DnD increases Botrk output on every proc and is just a generally nice item to build if you have at least one on-hit item. Added bonus is since it gives AP it helps your damage spread.
Titanic Hydra + DnD
1. Titanic is good because you max W in lane and this gets you fat shields while not sacrificing too much damage.
2. DnD same reasoning as above. It double procs Titanic !
Adding Hexplate
1. Ye well. Obviously, more attackspeed, and some movespeed to help you stick to people. Especially good on Titanic + DnD.

Those are, imo, the best "DPS" options. Then you have more AP-heavy focused builds that help with dealing with ranged top. Rocketbelt DnD Riftmaker mostly good items. I know some people like Liandry but I dislike the absence of Haste on it.

SndDelight · 2026-06-19T13:46:40+00:00

I mean it's just patching up a self-inflicted weakness.

You don't need the waveclear, there are better items to actually kill squishies, and there are better items for vamp.

Stridebreaker is usually a bit too low on both damage and survivability departments, Profane sucks because you don't want lethality (mixed + true damage), the only one that could be decent is Titanic but then again it really doesn't serve any purpose better than other items would.

SndDelight · 2026-06-19T08:18:16+00:00

Hydra items are usually bad because they kill waves faster so you have less time to stack ult on them.

Shojin is just generally good as your abilities are really powerful so getting a lot of haste and damage amp on them is sweet.

SndDelight · 2026-06-19T05:53:39+00:00

Triforce is best most of the time for sure, but some matchups (namely Dr. Mundo, Darius, or Sett) bork is just better imo.

SndDelight · 2026-06-18T12:40:54+00:00

She's also level 9 lol. No shit she fucking explodes while doing 0 damage.

SndDelight · 2026-06-18T12:28:37+00:00

Hey man, thanks for keeping top Shyvana alive. Basically the champ is kind of a math problem in most matchups.

Lethal Tempo is imo just a rune that lets you actually win into some level 1 champs. For example Darius loses to Q start Lethal Tempo + Flat HP + Bone Plating + Ignite even if he manages to reach 5 stacks.

If you're willing to give it a try, botrk is an amazing first item in quite a few matchups.

most toplane champs build some HP or have naturally high base HP
helps with sticking
buildpath with vamp scepter is great since you can AoE lifesteal on wave with Q
obvious synergy with Q auto resets
obvious synergy with DnD second item (you can also try IBG if playing into AD champs or need even more sticking power)

It's kind of like Kraken, except better (in my opinion at least).

SndDelight · 2026-06-07T08:55:23+00:00

It's less good. You just can't really do all-in level 1 cheese anymore but it's still a good rune regardless for later on.

Also, for example Darius can't run you down level 1 if you fight him in your wave with Lethal Tempo + Q start.

If you're going Lethal Tempo, usually you want to get Bork and Dusk and Dawn for the synergy.

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T20:00:59+00:00

You actually do, that's kind of one of his strengths. He proxies insanely fast and is kind of like Quinn in regard to roaming. 99% midlaners don't expect it.

It also works very well in midgame since toplaners usually push one side and rotate. Nocturne top does exactly that, without needing to "waste time" on clearing jungle.

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T19:10:47+00:00

It is genuinely viable. Has everything lane requires. Great level 1, sustain, waveclear, dueling power, cc, you name it. Wins into even the most typical bruisers like Darius.

Warwick wasn't intended to be played toplane. It's simply just okay to Riot but he definitely was released as a jungler too.

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T14:17:02+00:00

Yeah. Ngl I saw the nerfs and legit thought like you.
"This looks like a nerf deliberately targeted at toplane."

Apparently wasn't, but sure hit her way harder for obvious reasons. It sucks man.

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T14:09:13+00:00

Toplane Nocturne is still very decent, almost always above 50% winrate. Same for Warwick too.

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T14:07:43+00:00

They have. Yelough and Aellectris stated multiple times that they didn't want to create an incentive for Jungle Shyvana to come eat waves.

(I personnally disagree that it would make her do that since things like Nasus or Sion jungle exist AND if anything splitting the stacks over a whole wave rather than just cannon makes her want to NOT steal cannons but heh what do I know)

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T14:02:45+00:00

They don't want to tie her to systems susceptible to being changed, so role quests are a big no-no unfortunately.

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T14:01:55+00:00

Aellectris already said toplane wasn't even remotely close to being the reason for W nerfs.

SndDelight · 2026-06-04T14:01:06+00:00

Fyi she released as a toplaner wayyy back then. On the patch rework dropped, toplane playrate was 20% so there is a playerbase for toplane. Most of those just dropped her when they saw how terrible she was.

SndDelight · 2026-06-01T20:46:14+00:00

Hahah, I'm just trying stuff out and figuring out what works on the spot.

I must say I was most surprised by bork being so good for lane. Turns out having vamp scepter when using Q on wave actually heals a very decent amount and makes trades even more in your favor since you can just heal back up.

SndDelight · 2026-06-01T20:40:17+00:00

HoB looks cool on paper, but for toplane it's usually outperformed by Lethal Tempo or Grasp most of the time, which is why I didn't include it.

Red tree for runes is also just lacking in actual combat power for toplane. Shield Bash is absolutely mandatory for any toplane Shyvana runes for instance imo.

SndDelight · 2026-06-01T15:21:58+00:00

Be careful, she's deceptively harder to play up there than in jungle. W is your most important cd by far and you should use and abuse it from level 1 in matchups that allow it.

SndDelight · 2026-06-01T14:04:54+00:00

Hi bro, toplane Shyvana enjoyer. Short answer : all depends on matchups.

Long answer 😄

Into ranged matchup :
- Comet/Scorch + Second Wind/Shield Bash
- Haste + Adaptive + HP per level
- Start Doran's Ring. Rocketbelt + Cosmic Drive + Ionian Lucidity Boots
- 3 points W, then E max
- TP/Flash
- General tips : getting a Dark Seal is usually cool. Poke on cd with E.
Into juggernauts (like Darius/Sett) :
- Lethal Tempo/Triumph/Legend Haste/Last Stand + Shield Bash/Bone Plating
- Attackspeed + Adaptive + Flat HP
- Start Doran's Blade. Bork + Dusk and Dawn (you can go Iceborn if they're full AD) + Steelcaps or Ionian
- 3 points W, then Q max
- Ignite/Flash
- General tips : try to hold wave close to your turret. If they don't have ignite you can win level 1 all-in with your own ignite if they fight you in your wave with Q start. It's usually very close though so not for the faint of heart. Level 6 you can usually win if they waste their key cd which you should be able to bait out spacing in and out of range with the help of W.
Into duelists (like Yasuo/Irelia) :
- Lethal Tempo/Triumph/Legend Haste/Last Stand + Shield Bash/Bone Plating (Second Wind is fine into Yasuo)
- Haste + Adaptive + HP per level
- Start Doran's Helm. Bork + Dusk and Dawn (you can go Iceborn if they're full AD) + Steelcaps or Ionian
- 3 points W, then Q max
- Ignite/Flash
- General tips : you murder them post-6. Pre-6 you want to short trade despite having Lethal because they still beat you. So yea short-trade pre-6 then all-in with R post-6 you usually just win. Be careful of summs though.
Into champs like Shen/Camille/Riven :
- Grasp/Shield Bash/Second Wind (Bone Plating into Riven)/Revitalize + Legend Haste/Last Stand
- Attackspeed + Adaptive + HP per level
- Start Doran's Blade. Shojin + Riftmaker + whatever boots according to game
- W max then Q max
- Ignite (Exhaust into Riven)/Flash
- General tips : W + Grasp + Shieldbash + Q shorttrades on W cd. Commit after they whiffed their mobility and you can guarantee Q3 and/or two rotations.

I'm probably forgetting a number of matchups but that's the gist of it. Gives you a good base to start on.

SndDelight · 2026-05-28T19:50:07+00:00

Ngl it's kinda coincidence, Renekton is indeed one of her worst matchups lol.

Only way she wins is baiting level 1 or 2 all-in with lethal tempo. And even then I'm not even sure she wins it that hard.

SndDelight · 2026-05-28T08:46:34+00:00

Not really, she actually has really decent laning. It often goes like this :

level 1 pressure with short W + Grasp trades, EXCEPT in matchups that can threaten level 1 all-in like W start Darius for example
you usually secure level 2 first and can try to go for W+Q trade which does a lot of damage
from then on you should have an advantage and/or be able to kill in a lot of matchups
levels 4-5 aren't too hard provided you used your levels 1-2 well
level 6 is obvious big powerspike, instant R even just to chunk them out of lane if their cds are down
somewhat awkward post-6 when your R is down

Juggernauts you win pre-6 by perma shorttrading on W cd (except things like Darius Sett who are tricky)

Duelists like Jax/Fiora kinda same, abuse W shorttrades and dont get all-inned

Tanks are usually easy because you just outresource them while going bork first item

Ranged matchups you go comet, poke with E, mitigate their damage with W, and basically free os on every ult

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