Irelia viability?

Tarellion·Jul 11, 2017·1 votes·766 views

Posted this a couple weeks ago but didn't pay attention to what thread I posted in. It as suggested that I bring the post here. Before it was closed in the other thread, I didn't get enough responses to lead to me actually buying her and playing her more. Since then I've mostly just been having fun in ARAMs and Poro King farming easy IP to unlock Riven, Galio and Urgot.

So, is Irelia a viable champion to carry with right now?

First of all, this is norms (draft pick), yes; but this was my first time actually playing her in over a year other than an ARAM game, and when it comes down to it, more often than not, I face Gold-Diamond in my norms but only Silvers and Golds in my ranked games.

Second, in what situation is Irelia a viable pick? Was I truly just lucky no one counter picked me? Is she a champ that can overcome some counter picks (like good Rivens and Fioras)? Or is she barely played because she's in need of some updating?

It felt like she scales pretty well into late game and snowballs pretty easy if you get a couple early kills. But again, I haven't played her any more since this match as I don't actually own her.

Either way, norms or ranked, it felt good to solo carry a game on my first attempt practicing a champ. Primarily because I'm a support main, and also because I was able to 1v1 Kassadin and Yi at any point. Kassadin backed before I could get the penta on him. :(

8 Comments

undesirable teamJul 11, 20171 votes

you went full damage if they cc u you would die she falls off due to easy kiting and her stun being extremely situational

TarellionJul 13, 20171 votes

Against their specific comp, I only seemed to get stronger as the game went on. I do believe most anyone dies when they get CC'd.

That being said, I know there would be different build paths in different situations that I certainly need to learn about; but for this one, my build worked out and I ultimately solo carried the game. Even the Kass that was almost more fed than I couldn't 1v1 me. It's why the video cuts off after the quadra - he just backed instead of risking me getting the penta - though he was surrounded by a baron buffed minion wave.

FrightningJul 11, 20171 votes

She's quite viable, there are few champions that aren't. The real question is: do you want to learn/play her?

FrightningJul 11, 20171 votes

To address your more specific considerations: She is a diver, a good split-pusher (not too many people can actually 1v1 her and very few can do it through all of post-laning gameplay). She can be quite tanky while still doing decent damage if you itemize right, and since quite a bit of her DPS comes from Hiten Style's true damage, you don't really need to worry about enemy defenses too much. She's viable against most top laners, can jungle reasonably well, and can even mid and support (yes sup Irelia works, played it myself a few times).

TarellionJul 12, 20171 votes

Thank you for an insightful response. I'm definitely interested in spending more time learning her and what to build in different situations and match ups.

Do you know if she does well against the likes of Akali? My elo has a ton of Akali mains that are generally rough to deal with.

FrightningJul 13, 20171 votes

I don't know where the current Akali stands as well I knew how old one stood, but I think it's a fairly even matchup, you just need to itemize MR and health early so her burst isn't too much to deal with, the rest is just playing smart v her W (never fight her near it), and her Q CD (best time to trade is right when she Q's you, because she prefers to wait for about 4 seconds so she can AA+Q+AA for double-mark combo (collect 2 marks in short timespan for maximum burst). The #1 counter to Akali is Lee Sin because he has 2 ways to reveal her in her W (Q and E).

NLGG3R BEATERJul 13, 20171 votes

Irelia is decent but problem is she doesn't do particularly well compared to some of the meta top lane picks. Bruisers will hard engage and more tankiness like Gnar Kled JarvanIV will prove more useful in teamfights an you'll feel outclassed if the game reaches the 30 min mark.

She's a decent duelist, yes, bot others like Fiora (not sure post nerf), Jax Tryndamere are simply flat out better as they scale into the lategame way harder, even this dickhead Nasus could prove troublesome if his changes go live.

One more issue is that she belongs to the diver subclass, and said role is terrible in the current meta with support items being overloaded. For instance, take a look at Rengar Olaf Hecarim .

Lategame Irelia's damage falls off as you're forced to build tanky as trust me, you don' want to go full dmg against a team with any bit of hard cc, especially if the game reached the point where everyone build 5-6 items. The Yi in the vid would have demolished you lategame with a proper offtank build but he went full dmg as well so it was easy for you.

Though irelia can be extremely OP if you managed to snowball your lane and close out a game by 25-ish minute mark.

Akali is SO HOTJul 13, 20171 votes

She's pretty decent atm. The problem is that the meta top laners right now are much better than her late game even if she beats them early game. If you get a lead early on as Irelia and are good with her where you can abuse that lead really hard, then she's a really good champ to carry with.