Riven, The Exile (Jungle)

1. Champion Overview: Riven for Jungle

In this guide, we will be discussing the exiled champion, Riven.

Pros:

1. Riven scales incredibly well by simply just building cool down reduction items and Attack Damage items.

2. Having high cool down reduction allows her shield (which scales with AD) to come up and be available incredibly fast. (This also gives her a decent gap closer and also could be used to help her escape from enemy champions).

3. By level 3, Riven will have one of each skill except her ultimate, which makes it extremely easy for her to gank other lanes

4. Riven’s abilities allow her to clear jungles extremely fast.

5. Riven is really easy to snowball with.

Cons:

1. Building Riven as a tank is extremely ineffective because every one of her skills scales directly with Attack Damage.

2. She can possibly be countered hard by armor and health.

2. Suggested Masteries & Runes

Masteries: For Riven jungle, it is always recommended to go 21/9/0.

Runes:

Running 4% lifesteal will give you sustain in the jungle. Running flat armor and flat mr runes will give you a decent amount of tankiness so that you can withstand jungle monsters. Running attack damage and armor pen runes will allow you to clear jungles faster.

3. Summoner Spells:

Choice 1: Flash. 

This is bread and butter for riven. This allows her to pull amazing ganks combined with her q and w.

Choice 2: Smite. 

This is a must for all junglers.

4. Skill Order:

Explanation: Putting your first skill as Q will allow you to clear the jungle faster.

Suggested Build: Riven scales really hard off AD items and works really well around Cooldown Reduction.

1. Ancient Golem (Gives tenacity to reduce CC durations.)

2. Black Cleaver (Armor pen. is really good on Riven.)

3. Hydra (Really speeds up your jungle clear time.)

4. Last Whisper (Again, Armor pen. is really really good on Riven.)

5. Boots of Lucidity (Cool down is really important on Riven.)

6. Guardian Angel (Gives tanky stats and allows you to stay in fights for a long period of time.)

Starting: Machete, 5 pots

Mid: Ancient Golem, Brutalizer, Hydra. Boots of Lucidity.

End: Black Cleaver, Last Whisper, Guardian Angel.

6. Commentaries and Thoughts

As of right now, Riven is almost always banned in ranked games. She is a high priority for being chosen as first pick because of the amount of gap closers she has and how easily she can snowball. Riven also has a decent amount of CC. Also, because shes dishes out so much damage, she is almost always able to instagib the carries during the late gaming phase. My name is TabIo and I am currently a Plat 4 player in the preseason of season 4 and this is my analysis on Riven.

7. Riven Montage (NOT UPLOADED YET)

Featuring: _______

Nasus, the Curator of the Sands

1. Champion Overview: Nasus for Top Lane

In this guide, we will be looking at one of the hardest scaling champion, Nasus the Curator of the Sands.

Pros:

1. Nasus scales infinitely. This means that the longer the game goes, the stronger nasus gets. Thus, there is no limit to how strong he can become.

2. His W (Wither) generally causes Auto Attack reliant AD Carries to become useless for 5 seconds.

3. His ultimate gives him increased health and does percentage damage which gives him more survivability and allows him to control objectives better.  

4. Nasus’s passive although heavily nerfed, still is one of the best passives in the game because it allows him to stay in lane for long periods of time due to the high amount of sustain it gives him.

Cons:

1. Nasus however has one of the weakest early laning phases in the game.

2. Nasus is incredibly easy to kite and with proper CC he can actually be rendered useless.

3. With great peel, Nasus will never be able to reach the backlines of the team.

4. Nasus requires to stay in lane for a long time to farm up his Q and has trouble doing so against ranged champions who constantly harass him.

2. Suggested Masteries & Runes

Masteries: 

After the season 4 changes to masteries, it hurts Nasus to run 9/21 because it does not give him the % armor penetration anymore. Instead, it is much more beneficial to run 21/9 because of the % armor penetration it gives him. He is still innately tanky with the 3% maximum health increase. Generally, Nasus eventually builds mainly tanky items so lacking tanky masteries is not a problem.

Runes:

The attack damage and armor pen. synchronizes well with the 6% armor penetration you obtain from the masteries. After the Nasus nerfs, it is crucial to run life steal runes to keep up his sustain during the laning phase. Running flat mr and armor runes will also give him that edge of tankiness to survive the laning harassment.

3. Summoner Spells: Flash, Ghost & Ignite, Teleport

Choice 1:Ghost/Flash

-Generally, people who play Nasus runs ghost because it allows him to reach the back lines faster and because he is so easily kited down. 

-Flash. (Flash is actually better in some cases because sometimes, ghost will not get you completely towards the carries you want to destroy. This is where flash comes in handy because it allows you to instantly teleport to a location you want to reach.)

Choice 2: Teleport/Ignite

-Generally, Nasus players will always run teleport because it allows them to reach the lane faster and not miss out on any opportunities of stacking Q. Teleport also allows Nasus to have more global objective control than his lane opponent. 

-Ignite can sometimes be the better choice against certain champs like Mundo, Swain, as it reduces the amount of healing they receive. Running ignite will also give you a stronger 1 v 1 and helps much more than running teleport.

4. Skill Order: 

Explanation: 

Maxing Q is a must because it increases the damage of your Q and makes last hitting much easier. You then want to max W for the maximum amount of slow on enemy AD Carries and also to prevent ganks from being successful. However, you can also choose to max E for more wave clearing potential.

Suggested Build:

Nasus’s primary damage comes from his Q, so as long as your Q is stacked you aren't really in the need for building damage items. However, Trinity force is extremely helpful because activating Q procs sheen, dealing more damage and allows you to stick on the enemy ADC easier.

1. Spirit Visage

2. Mercury Treads

3. Frozen Heart

4.Trinity Force

5. Randuins Omen

6. Banshees Veil (If Heavy AP) or Warmogs (If Heavy AD)

Starting: Dorans shield + 1 pot gives you the maximum sustain at the early laning phase.

Mid: By mid game, you will probably have a decent amount of Q farm along with a tanky item and halfway through completing trinity force.

End: By the late game, you should have all these 6 items and you will become the unstoppable beast!

Main Counters:

1. Teemo
-Teemo is one of the most annoying champions to play against as a Nasus because he will constantly harass you every time you come in to last hit a minion. His blind dart actually blocks the damage from your q so try to avoid engaging in long fights with Teemo. Eventually, once you finish your spirit visage, you will be able to ignore some of Teemo’s partial damage, however the amount of poke he will do will always remain the same.
2. Riven
-Riven is an incredibly hard match-up for Nasus because not only does she have incredibly strong early game damage, which Nasus lacks, but she also scales really well into the late game just as Nasus does. Nasus will have trouble farming his Q early on because of the amount of harass Riven will be dishing out. Rushing Sunfire or Ninja Tabi will alleviate some of the pressure, but avoid fighting long skirmishes unless your Q is heavily stacked.

6. Commentaries and Thoughts

Nasus is one of the best late game champions in the game because he is able to scale infinitely. As long as Nasus is able to stack his Q, he will eventually be able to three shot the carries and win every single team fight. Nasus is one of the few champions in the game that is able to successfully win a 1 v 5 in the late gaming phase. However, his early game is incredibly weak. Playing as a Nasus, you need to play really safe early on and simply farm your Q. My name is TabIo (Capital i) and I am currently ranked Platinum 4 in the preseason of season 4 and this is my guide for running Nasus in the top lane. Good luck on Summoners Rift!

7. Nasus Montage

Featuring: casperleexd

Jarvan lV, Demacia’s Exemplar

1. Champion Overview: Jarvan IV for Top Lane

In this guide, we will be discussing Demacia’s Exemplar, Jarvan IV.

Pros:

1. Jarvan IV fits very well in creating a perfect team composition with many other champs.

2. Jarvan IV provides decent Crowd Control that allows for ganks to result in more success and his E+Q combo allows him to gap closer in order to hunt down enemies.

3. Jarvan IV’s ultimate causes opponents to be trapped inside a small radius for a decent amount of time. (Do note that some champions can come out of this; Vayne, Riven, etc.) This allows Jarvan’s teammates to catch up and execute the enemy champions that are stuck in his ultimate.

4. Jarvan’s shield is able to absorb more damage as the shield’s amount increases according to the number of enemies nearby.

Cons:

1. Jarvan IV unfortunately is able be kited down really easily if he misses his E+Q combo. He is a high risk but also a high reward champion.

2. Jarvan IV’s E+Q can be intercepted in certain situations. (Syndra’s knock back, Lee sin’s kick, Vayne’s condemn, etc.)

3. Jarvan IV’s ultimate is also a high reward and high risk ability because sometimes it can actually hurt your team by using it. (For example, it can actually zone out one of your carries, resulting into a death that may cause the team fight to be turned heavily into the opponents favor.)

2. Suggested Masteries & Runes

Masteries:

Runes:

The small amount of armor pen. and damage helps you come out on top of small trades because your Q will also shred through their armor. Running 4% lifesteal will give you sustain in the laning phase. Running flat armor and flat mr runes will give you decent tankiness for you to win trades during the laning phase.

3. Summoner Spells:

Choice 1:Flash.

Flash is a must for Jarvan IV because it allows him to create plays; (For example, Flash+ EQ combo, or Flash + Ult.) Flash also allows him to escape ganks and gap close.

Choice 2: Ignite or Teleport.

Ignite is usually recommended because it allows for stronger 1 v 1 fights in which Jarvan usually comes out on the top. Teleport can actually be used against certain champs like Shen and Singed. Teleporting at level 6 to gank another lane is incredibly strong and will usually end up in secured kills, which in result could lead to a free dragon to increase your team’s gold lead.

4. Skill Order: 

Explanation: 

Starting E at level 1 is extremely crucial. Your flag will act as a ward that lasts for a long time and may even catch out some invades to prevent your team from facing death. After your initial E, you want to max Q to help in laning. Maxing Q will allow you to trade with your opponent and will also shred through more armor the higher the level.

Suggested Build:

Jarvan has high base damage, so after building one damage item, he can build straight into a tank and still be a big threat.

1. Hydra

2. Sunfire

3. Spirit Visage

4. Randuins

5. Mercury Treads ( or Ninja Tabi if they have no CC).

6. Banshees Veil (Against heavy AP Team) or Warmogs(Against heavy AD Team).

Starting: 

-Dorans Shield + 1 pot:

Dorans shield will give you incredible sustain along with the 4% lifesteal runes, and will allow you to come out on top from small trades.

Mid: 

At this point you want to have a Hydra and a Sunfire Cape (or Spirit Visage), depending on the enemy’s team composition.

End: 

By the late game phase, you want to have these 6 items listed above. You will truly be a threat to the enemy team.

Main Counters:

1. Yorick- One of Jarvan’s main counters is Yorick. Why? Because Yorick has the ability to out sustain Jarvan during the laning phase and will continually harass you everytime you come to last hit a creep. Try to avoid creating long engages with Yorick because eventually you will lose due to his amazing sustain. Everytime he sends his ghouls, walk into a brush because the ghouls will lose aggro on you. Abuse the fact that Yorick is extremely mana hungry and only go in for trades when he is nearly out of mana. Also, be smart about the creeps you last hit because taking lots of damage for a single creep is never worth it.

2. Shen- Shen is simply just an annoying match up to play against as Jarvan. His cooldowns are lower than Jarvan’s and his shield and his Q sustain allows him to stay in lane longer than Jarvan possibly can. Eventually you will run out of mana and will need to back, allowing him to further gain a lead during the laning phase. When fighting a Shen, consider taking teleport to follow his ultimate ganks. Remember to play safe and avoid engaging in long fights.

6. Commentaries and Thoughts

7. Jarvan lV Montage

Featuring: casperleexd

Vayne, The Night Hunter

1. Champion Overview:

Hey guys, today we are going to be discussing one of the oldest AD carries Riot has to offer. Vayne is one of the many champions that dishes out the most damage during the late game.

Pros:

-Vayne is an extremely mobile champion which allows her to not only dodge countless numbers of skill shots but also allows her to catch up to enemies who are on the run.

-Vayne also is unique in the fact that she deals % damage at every 3rd auto attack. This is extremely powerful as she is able to melt the tanks in the later stages of a game.

-Vayne’s move, condemn, also allows her to skillfully outplay certain champions that dive in on her. A couple of examples are Alistar, Leblanc, and Renekton.

makes up for the lack of damage inducing items.

-Vayne’s ultimate gives her a decent amount of bonus Attack Damage which allows her to build pure attack speed mixed in with critical strike %. In addition, her % damage also 5. Vayne also gains invisibility from her ultimate which allows you to reposition her properly during teamfights.

Cons:

-Vayne is notoriously known for her weak laning phase. Against other ad carry champions such as graves and quinn, she is very vulnerable to a first blood especially in the early laning phases.

-Almost always, Vayne will lose most trades in the early phases until she finally obtain items.

-Vayne requires one of the most mechanics in game play because she is always constantly tumbling in and out and needs to have key positioning for successful team fights.

2. Suggested Masteries and Runes

Masteries: For vayne, it is always recommended to go 21/9/0.

3. Summoner Spells

Choice 1:Flash

Explanation: Just as it is required on most champions, Flash allows for repositioning in team fights, allows you to escape, and helps in chasing down victims.

Choice 2: Cleanse/Barrier

Explanation: Barrier is useful against teams that have heavy burst damage and low CC. Cleanse is a must against teams that have high amounts of CC. As an ADC you always want to be CC free because you will be dishing out the most damage in the later stages of the game. Therefore, after looking at the enemy team, you will have to decide for yourself which summoner spell you will use.

4. Skill Order

Explanation:

I personally tend to max my Q(Tumble) because it allows me to trade a little bit better in small skirmishes. Some people tend to max W (Silver Bolts) because it does more % damage, but for the earlier stages, I think maxing Q is more beneficial.

Suggested Build:

1. Dorans Blade

2. Blade of the Ruined King

3. Berserker’s Greaves

4. Phantom Dancer

5. Last Whisper

6. Quick Silverslash

7. Trinity force (Sell Dorans Blade) or Guardians Angel

Starting:

I tend to start with a Dorans Blade and a potion, because of the sustain it gives in the early game.

Mid: 

You should try to have Blade of the Ruined King and Phantom Dancer, with Berserker’s Greaves by mid game.

End: 

By end game, you want to have as much attack speed as you can (QSS, and Trinity Force).

Main Counters:

Caitlyn 

is the hardest and strongest counter to Vayne. This is because of Caits immense range, 650, against Vayne’s 550. A good Caitlyn player will always go in to harass Vayne whenever Vayne attempts to last hit a minion. This eventually leads to Vayne having very little health and having to back early which leads to Caitlyn winning the lane. However, late game, Vayne almost always becomes stronger than Caitlyn.

Graves 

is one of Vayne’s few counters because of the insane amount of burst damage he does at the earlier stages of the game. Although Vayne is unable to trade properly against Graves in the early stages of the game, Vayne will surely be able to punish Graves late game.

5. Commentaries and Thoughts

Hello, my name is TabIo (Capital i) and currently ranked Platinum 4 in the preseason of season 4.  My most played and favorite champion is Vayne. In my opinion, Vayne requires one of the most amount of skills to play and I truly admire that because playing her allows me to grow as a skilled player. I am always looking to improve on my Vayne playing and would love to see other people’s opinion on Vayne as well! Cheers and good luck on Summoners Rift!