Today I'm going to educate you on playing Shenpai.
This is an attempt to help expand the Shenish inquisition. Every Shen I've ever played with has not been that great, so I feel a need to do this.
First, this is both a guide and a Q&A thread. Second, I don't play ranked, so if I get comments about my lack of ranked elo Shenpai's not going to notice you. And the goal is to get Shenpai to notice you. Here we go.
#When to Pick Shen
Shen is a bit of an odd champion, but then again that's why he's so good. Shen excels at many things, especially protecting allies and dueling champions that aren't stupidly annoying in melee 1v1. Here's a list to save some time:
- When your ADC does very well when peeled for.
- When you need a front line to soak damage.
- Against champions whose damage patterns can be interrupted easily with CC.
- Against top lane champions that rely on autos, are melee, and lack heavy sustain.
- When you're dealing with heavy empowered autos like Rengar, Leona, and Yasuo.
Top lane matchups Shen excels in: 
#When Not to Pick Shen
Now, unless you're me, you have some top laners (or junglers) that do things that Shen cannot. Shen also fails to bring a lot that a team needs, like damage, reliable lockdown, burst, heavy kill pressure, or long-range pick potential. Here's a list of when not to pick Shen:
- When your team has 2 tanks already.
- When the enemy team is mostly magic damage.
- When the enemy laner is a juggernaut or a melee steamroller.
- When your team needs strong engage.
- When your team falls off late game.
Top lane matchups where Shen is a no-no: 
#Laning Phase #Levels 1-5 I've seen people start E on Shen, but to be honest you lose so much power level 1 if you don't start Q. A good strategy is to go to the far bush closest to your enemy's turret, pull your sword into there, and walk under your turret. This is a great strategy for pressuring opponents while farming and potentially catching them off-guard for a good early trade. Unless the enemy laner's name is Olaf, you will most likely win the trade.
During this period try to use normal autos to farm. If you want to reach a dangerously placed minion, Q to proc your passive shield to shrug off enemy harass. Keep in mind, however, that this means your shield is down. If the enemy goes for a trade, just use an empowered auto and back off for the shield refresh. During this period of laning, ward well and don't push too fast if the enemy jungler is missing. Shen naturally pushes slow, so it's easy to keep an even tempo once you get the hang of it. If you can afford to be aggressive, place your sword in places that cut off minions to be farmed for your opponent, as you can force them to give up CS or potentially trade/blow a defensive ability. Just don't use E unless your jungler is ganking or you are relatively safe from the enemy jungler, such as being near your turret.
Speaking of which, your enemy should fear diving you. If you stay healthy during laning phase, you will be a force to be reckoned with under your turret. If the jungler and laner dive you, aim your E at the squishier, more damage-dealing target and wail on him. Early game this is an almost guaranteed death. The enemy laner usually will go for the kill or back out. Watch for key autos and abilities, and utilize your shield and W for this. You can shrug off 1v3 dives easily if you play your cards right.
##Level 6 onward This is when you join the game for real. Continue laning. However, watch the map carefully, and if you feel a fight brewing, back away from your laner and watch like a hawk. Be wary that you must know when to ult, as sometimes ulting while your ally is taking damage may be too late, but ulting before the enemy goes in only discourages them and they'll back off. Your role here is to use an ally as an achor point to join the fray.
Don't ult an ally that will most certainly die, don't ult your ADC if the support is absorbing the aggro, and for goodness' sake don't ult if the fight is already won. Here's a list of conditions for ulting:
- The ally will make good use of the shield.
- You know that you will complete the teleportation to them, and be positioned well in the fight.
- Your presence there will be more valuable to the team than your top lane turret.
- Your laner can't reach you or see you when you're ulting/has no hard CC or channel disruption.
You may continue to defend top since it will be pushed in, but be wary that this is mid game and they most likely will need you, ult or not. Make sure top is pushed, even if it means getting Zz'rot portal.
#Late Game This is when things get spicy. Or boring. Depends on whether there's a siege comp. Regardless, this is when you can shine. Shen works great in numbers, but there are times when peeling for your carry can win a nasty 2v5.
Unless you know your target is vulnerable, don't E for them. Shen's E is slow enough for someone to sidestep it or just dodge it by walking out of its range. If the enemy team has a diver or an assassin, do your best to be the Warden and thwart their schemes. Your W is great against the likes of Xin Zhao, Rengar, and Nocturne. Position yourself near your team and if you can encourage them to huddle near your sword if they're squishy.
Once a fight breaks out, find the diving champion and stop them. If there is none, be the front line or dive their carries, especially their ADC. Your goal is to be annoying and potentially lethal. Locking down the damage sources grants your team a window to steamroll the enemy team into a salty pancake.
#What to Build and When?
#Armor
Armor items are Shen's lifeblood. But there's a purpose for each one. Here's the list:
When dealing with crit and attack speed, this item is a godsend. Get it against Yasuo, Vayne, and Tryndamere especially.
This item's waveclear makes it a must-buy almost every game since Shen's dueling patterns let him utilize it.
Against auto attacking carries with few other forms of damage, get this. But be warned that unless the enemy team has at least 2 auto attack reliant champs, this item is hardly worth the HP you give up. (Remember that this item also reflects AP auto attack procs, too!)
Great against heavy auto attacks. Jhin, Yasuo, and many ADCs hate seeing this item.
When against an only-AD team, this item comes in handy. Otherwise, it leaves a lot to be desired on a champion like Shen who already has mobility. The momentum is nice for chasing and fleeing, though.
#Magic Resist
When you REALLY need to deflect heavy magic damage. Brand, Veigar, and Ryze come to mind.
Your typical MR item. Great HP, decent MR, and some CDR for your abilities. It also amplifies your already high HP regen, and it gives more HP than Banshee's, so you'll pick this up more often.
Against CC, you get this. Or when the enemy team is heavy magic and the ADC isn't too much of a threat.
I've never bought this item, but it is theoretically really good on Shen if you don't mind the lack of HP.
#Misc. Buys
When you need to farm from halfway across the map, because you needed to be more global. Keep in mind it does require you to sacrifice HP.
This item is beauty incarnate. The CDR, HP regen, and huge slab of HP make it wonderful on Shen. It also helps you shrug off spell casts when you run out of MR options.
This item was made for Shen. Waveclear, HP, dueling power, kill pressure, AoE damage... you always build this item unless you're the only tank and are dying too fast.
When the enemy team is full of burst mofos.
On the rare occasion your team gets kited hard and juggernauts on your team need oomph.
Laugh all you want, you'll find a use for it someday.
#Notes You max your abilities Q-E-W, prioritizing R as usual.
There is a cool trick to catching out mobile carries like Lucian or Vayne. You may know it as the E-flash. Basically you E and when you are still traveling you flash on top of the target. You can chain multiple enemies with crazy angles with this trick, so get creative. But remember to only use it when you absolutely need to, because you're using your emergency mobility spell for it.
The drive-by W is nearly impossible to pull off, but if you W then pull your Q through an ally, you can block an auto or a few with proper timing for a split second. Udyr stun, Leona Q, and braum passive can be deflected with this trick, but don't rely on it.
Try to let your allies know how you prefer they react when they're ulted so your Jinx doesn't flash away from the fight and you have to walk back to the action.
#Final Thoughts
Shen is a great tank for top lane, decent for the jungle too. He can duel, he can splitpush and join fights on a whim, he can peel, he can engage, and he can absorb damage like a god damned sponge. I now open the floor for any questions for any curious souls who actually care about this post.