Will nerfs come? Insane damage, low cds, 1k shield in late game, snowballing hard. Even if she's behind, she can farm a bit and became same machine as if she won lane. This is most annoying matchup on toplane, and after Ryze nerfs there is only Garen playable against her. And even if some picks winning her before 6, they all will fail after. In mid-late game she's just a monster...
Pick Rek'Sai/Any ranged champion and hard counter her.
Or learn to build armor and actually punish her when she tries to harass you.
Well, even mages can top lane just as well. I should know because I like doing mage top lanes from time to time xD I'm sure even a ADC can do top lane if they are careful.
But if you are indeed a close ranged AD, just tank out the damage. Wont do you any good to build AD if you just die constantly.
Pantheon wrecks Riven.
I'd say Riven's strongest point is that she can turn pretty much any matchup into a skill matchup. However, Riven can be pretty reliant on snowballing to actually be useful in the game so if you can avoid dying and keep up in CS and experience, you should come out ahead on most champions.
I typically just pick a tank with good innate damage and the ability to farm from ranged when necessary, such as Mundo or Shyvana, and rush Sunfire Cape. You are enough of a damage threat to actually fight her if you are intelligent about trading and you are tanky enough that you may be able to survive an all-in attempt.
I find Nasus is also a decent pick against her if you know how to farm under your tower early and avoid giving her chances to all-in you, but I wouldn't recommend him if you can't reliably do that.
Irelia is a skill matchup against Riven. IIRC, it's recommended to max E against Riven and get an early Sheen if you start snowballing. That lets you chunk her with E and the sheen proc and back away before the stun wears off. I'm not sure if I would recommend maxing W first in this matchup, since Rivens' Q3 and her W can both cancel your autoattack animations.
I would avoid choosing squishy champions since they are pretty much food for a good Riven if you make a mistake.
As most champions, I would recommend starting with Cloth5 and to focus on surviving the early laning phase. Know how Riven typically plays, where and when they want to engage, and Riven's power-spikes. Also, know her cooldowns; while they may be short after she gets some levels and buys CDR, early game are a decent duration and give you opportunities to make trades in her advantage.
Huehuehue...
Some will wreck her early game, others late, either way, Riven will suffer.
