Everyone knows the lol expression- better nerf irelia. I have irelia and I did like 2 pentas in ranked with her so my question is- riot employes nerfed her, the abilities have no dmg and her W almost no heal. SO WHY THE HELL IS SHE SO STRONG?
I think it's a combination of the big power spike she gets from Trinity Force, her passive, and her stun. That meme is so old and no longer applies now. She's been the queen of solo queue for a while now.
Bad play isn't punished as harshly as with other top laners. For the majority of them, if they lose the lane or trades, they pay for it for the rest of the game. When she purchases Trinity Force, she can get a double kill easily. It's surprising to see her come out of the blue and clean up, so you always need to watch for when she's done building that item. Around 15 mins of the game until late game she's pretty much invincible, and can duel or outduel another fed carry. An Irelia will not want the enemy team to make it to late game, so always expect her to play offensively and know she can clean up a team fight easily around this time.
Nobody on the team facing Irelia should be surprised that she's in their lane, and they need to prepare for it. Irelias will always roam at around level 7. Her late game fall off isn't as dramatic as I believe it should be, but you won't see her charging into the middle of fights anymore. It definitely doesn't mirror the insane mid game power she has.
For these reasons she's a pretty safe pick in ranked because she's very reliable, and not many ranked games make it to late game. I have a few friends who main Irelia, and they win a lot of their ranked games because she's perfect for that environment. She also has an easy time with a lot of the popular top lane picks except for Darius. Then again there aren't many who aren't having a problem against the new Darius.
thx
