Gems in the Top Lane

By reworking his Q, Taric has become a GREAT counter to Urgot in the top lane:

Because of his passive changes to his Q, he can constantly churn out damage while staying healthy, his mana providing:

Go 12/0/18 and get Courage of the Collosus. I prefer CDR tunes to help with early trades. You might want to bring movespeed quints if you don't feel as comfortable with landing your E.

Start dorans shield and 1 health pot, and get E. for early trades, all you do is E, then two autos. Then at lvl 2, get W if you want to play more passively, or Q if you want to play more aggressively. Then get the last ability.

Max R, then E, then Q, then W

For Pre-6 trades, use E to initiate. If the E misses, disengage and wait till it gets off cooldown. Make sure to use your bravado attacks to make it available more readily. Then after getting a stub on the enemy, auto twice then W, blocking some of the enemy damage. Then auto twice and use Q. Afterwards, wail on the enemy with your autos, spamming Q, and E. Dont waste your mana on W, as it is only strong at the beginning of fights. You will win all trades. Post 6, only use your ult when the enemy laner commits to a fight.

On your first back get two mana crystals and a cloth armor (and boots if you have enough gold). Build that into an ice born guantlet. Then get spirit visage. Optionally you can get righteous glory if the enemy laner is making it tough for you, as it provides armor (more damage) and mana (more access to that damage). Upgrade your boots to Merc Treads.

If team fighting is breaking out, get Lockt of the Iron Solari. If it is being more delayed, get Deadmans, Sunfire, Adaptive, or another health increasing defensive item.

Finish off with Titanic Hydra for more damage and auto resets or Warmogs for more survivability.