Yorick Is Strong (long read)

Stephenizgod·Aug 18, 2018·5 votes·5,186 views

If you have come here expecting a "YORICK OP" post, you are going to be disappointed. Yorick is my shit, and I don't want him to get nerfed because people don't understand why he is strong. I want what is making him oppressive to be nerfed, not Yorick himself. So I am trying to figure out what happened. Yorick is my highest Mastery Champion. I don't know why he is suddenly being called OP, but I think I have an idea of where his strength is coming from. At the end of the post I will go over some counterplay to Yorick for those not interested in my opinion on why he is strong. :)

TL;DR: I think Yorick is "OP" right now because of the meta and his E's synergy with and the rune Approach Velocity giving him ridiculous MS allowing him to run down majority of champions (...Jhin excluded...).

Yorick's core items are . He uses every single stat on both these items. His Q's synergy with both these items is very high and its part of what makes him a successful dueler. However I think his current spike in strength lies elsewhere.

I have always enjoyed Grasp of the Undying on Yorick, the synergy with his Q is insane amounts of healing. I have not had much success with Conqueror but I know others have, I think my thing is I got so used to the cooldown and healing from Grasp that it has affected my playstyle with Yorick. However, if we look at Yorick's most successful rune paths, Grasp of the Undying is highest winrate. The highest winrate for secondary path is actually Inspiration, particularly Approach Velocity (which gives 15% bonus MS towards enemies you impair).

Why does this make Yorick so strong? Well I already explained that Yorick is a very strong dueler thanks to TriForce and Steraks, his main issue? The same as all Juggernauts, he has to run at you. Without being able to get to the opponent, Juggernauts can't do anything. But what happens when they are able to get to their opponents reliably and without being able to do anything about it? Dead opponent.

So back to the problem with Yorick, his E has a 30% slow for 2 seconds and an additional effect that give him 20% bonus MS for 4 seconds towards the target marked by his E. Add Approach Velocity and now Yorick is moving at the 20% slowed target with 35% bonus MS. Furthermore add the Phage effect 20 MS after AAing or 60 MS after a kill.

Yorick has a base MS of 340, if he has tier 1 boots its +25 MS, so 365. Now we add Triforce 5% bonus and its around 380 (I am unsure of how Riot rounds numbers because I have read differing opinions on it). So lets say he kills a minion and lands his E on an opponent, proccing Approach Velocity. He now has around 595 MS for 2 seconds which is reduced to 513 MS for 2 more seconds, plus the opponent is slowed by 30% for the first 2 seconds. At this speed he is guaranteed 1 of 2 things: The opponents Flash or he traps them with W. Once he traps with the W he gets to beat them to death with his ghouls and Maiden. And this is just Triforce Steraks and tier 1 boots. Tier 2 boots plus Deadmans.... Good luck trying to duel him unless you are like Renekton.

However! Not everyone takes Approach Velocity, most people take Conqueror and Resolve secondary. Well his winrate with these runes are actually around 50% which would make them balanced, but still his oppressiveness once he has Tri and Steraks remains, he is still moving at 530 MS for 2 seconds and 455 for another 2 seconds, plus the 30% slow. Same deal, he gets to trap with his W and put the beat down on most people or gets their Flash.

Ultimately I would say his dominance is more based on how he fits into this current Top lane Meta. He happens to be very strong against most of the Top lane roster you see frequently. Plus with Top lane basically being you are either camped relentlessly or ignored completely, both can potentially be in Yoricks favor (depending on how you handle him).

Counterplay:

TL;DR: AA his Mist Walkers they die in 1 hit, do not AoE them. Dodge his Mourning Mist its his strongest ability and his entire kit. Kill his W, Dark Procession, or save your Mobility until after he uses it. Kite his Maiden of the Mist away from Yorick and do not fight him while it is up, drag it away under a turret and kill it while its alone. Once Yorick gets TriForce and Steraks, he becomes a top-tier duelist, try not to 1v1 him unless you are fed or are a ranged champion with CC or mobility. Skip to bottom for Champions that are good against Yorick.

Let's start with the Mist Walkers (i will call them Ghouls): Yorick relies on Ghouls for damage until he gets his 2 core items, and . His Ghouls normally just run down the lane and basically are uncontrollable. Once they venture a certain distance from Yorick they will no longer follow him (their AI is often buggy and they don't always follow the rules). They also deal less damage when not near him, and will be 1-shot by a single AA or single target ability. The real danger comes from Yorick's E, Mourning Mist, which causes them to jump at you from 1400 range and they will also get bonus MS just like Yorick. Yorick will summon Ghouls when he has 3 or 4 Graves, which he will gain by killing a target with his Q or after a certain number of minions die.

So how to handle them: First off, take note of when and where Yorick kills a minion with his Q, his shovel will light up and he will slam it down with an overhead animation. It will also make an audible clunk noise. Once he has 3, he will most likely raise them and try to hit you with his E. Problem solved immediately if you dodge the E, then you can just walk up and AA each one for a lil gold. If you don't dodge the E, back off! Back away from Yorick so he can't land his W, and AA the ghouls one at a time. Do not try to fight the Yorick AND deal with his Ghouls unless you are way stronger than him (even then...). If you successfully evade this combo, it cost Yorick a lot of Mana (he does have issues) and he loses a ton of pressure. Also Mist Walkers are effected by things like Counter-strike and Pantheons Passive.

Now onto his W, Dark Procession: He creates a circular ring around target which lasts 4 seconds. Enemies can't walk through it but allies, including Yorick obviously, can. It has a 1 second delay.

How to handle it: If you have mobility, save it for when he uses this ability. This goes for Junglers too, this is one of the main reasons he is able to 2v1 so well. If you use mobility to engage on him, he can W and make a 2v1 into a 1v1 for around 4 seconds which is plenty of time for him and Maiden to deal some serious damage. If you have an auto-attack reset, it takes 2 hits to kill it for the first 2 levels, 3 hits for the third and fourth, and 4 hits for the 5th level. He maxes this ability LAST, which means for laning phase you will be dealing with the 2 HP version. So if you can't escape, just kill it. Under turret, it will die in 1 shot from a turret.

His E, Mourning Mist: I've already touched on this but I'll go over it again. Lobs a blob that slows target by 30% and gives him 20% bonus MS towards that target, his Mist Walkers get the same bonus plus they get a 1400 range leap towards that target. His Maiden will also focus targets marked by Mourning Mist. It deals current hp % MAGIC damage.

How to deal: Basically dodge it. If you dodge it or he misses, his engage or chase or escape is done. Other than that, once you are marked just back off and deal with the Ghouls before trying to engage.

His R, Eulogy of the Isles: Summons Maiden, she summons ghouls, she deals Magic Damage. She also deals less damage when too far away from Yorick. Every 2 seconds she will mark a target causing Yorick's next basic attack deal max hp% damage. She also benefits from Mourning Mists MS bonus.

How to deal: Well in a 1v1, it really depends on how strong you are compared to the Yorick. If you can 1v1 him, just focus him down and kill him. This will cause her to disappear. However if you are not strong or unsure, just back off, she will push endlessly to your turret and if you are hit by E she will even walk under a turret and take aggro. This is the best way to handle her, as it will basically be Yorick wasting his ult. In a 2v1 where your jungler is there, it is better for one of you to drag Maiden away before re-engaging. Maiden has 4000 +30% of his max HP at max rank, thats a lot of HP to try and burn through although it is possible. I would say the best strategy is to draw Maiden away from Yorick so he can't get the max HP% bonus damage and she loses her damage from being too far. Most likely Yorick will try to engage recklessly in order to capitalize on his ult, this is a good time for a jungler to come in. Otherwise he will back off and the very long Cool down of his ult will make him an easy target for a gank. In a teamfight, try and CC him and let Maiden come at you, just keep CCing him and separating them further.

General info: Yorick isn't great at Teamfights, but he isn't entirely useless either, so don't be surprised if he out-duels your frontline and then walks into the back. He wants to split push though, its what he is best at. So you can pressure a teamfight and stop him from splitting successfully for fear of his team losing a 4v5 and then he gets dove 5v1. You can also try and 2v1 him, but when someone split pushes, they generally have the area sufficiently warded to give them time to back off. I think when I play Yorick my biggest issue is my teammates don't know how to deal with me split-pushing and often get into 4v5 fights then rage at me. At low elo, this is going to be the case for 90% of games where the team isn't doing so great. The last thing you want to do though is fight a fed Yorick without your whole team behind you. When I dominate its because they send 2 people at me when I am fed, who get obliterated, then they come at me 1 or 2 at a time and I end up wiping the entire team. Yes, when Yorick is fed and has his core items, he is a Raid Boss. All Juggernauts are! It doesn't make him OP or unstoppable though!

Champions that do well against Yorick in lane: