League of Legends Guide: Master Yi

Master Yi is one of my favourite heroes to field in the Fields of Justice in League of Legends; and not just for his flaming sword and cool goggles. With his ultimate skill ‘Highlander’, Yi offers a high attack speed at absolutely no cost, if timed correctly to land the kills or assists during a team fight, and when boosted with on-hit or damage items, Yi can cause a world of hurt to an opposing team. Master Yi is a good champion for both novices and experts alike; a good Master Yi can easily get a positive score at any game, but a GREAT Master Yi can cause a team-wipe all by himself! To master Yi (no pun intended), read on......

Double striking is no laughing matter, especially during late-game with high critical chance and damage! Build up Yi’s damage or attack speed, and watch the health bars wither and fall.

This is your main skill early game, and remains a staple constant mid-game to help chase down a champion on the run. This should always be your first skill; use it early game to harass champions, farm minions, and perhaps even as a skillshot for first blood. It is also exceptionally useful when chasing down a champion fleeing from a gank, and good as an initiate or finisher during team fights. Note however, that unless your intention is to finish off a hero at low health or in a gank, you should use alpha strike on a minion near the hero instead of the hero himself, to prevent the teleporting effect taking Yi into an ambush or at the tower when u reappear.

This skill, to me, is perhaps one of the most useless skills of Master Yi. It’s a utility skill, to be used outside ganks and fights to recover from the fracas. Use it copiously outside of fights to recover for the next chaotic team gank, or perhaps when you’re at low health with a champion chasing you and your teammates close behind to fool him into over-committing. Compared to the rest of his skills, however, meditate is not a very useful skill during a fight; advance it only at late-game, when the rest of your skills are maxed out.

Many people mistake this skill for a passive skill; they think it’s add, and forget. Read carefully though; by activation, you double the amount of attack damage added, and the negative impact of cooldown can easily be negated after killing with Highlander! There’s a lot of difference between +35 and +70 dmg! Synergize this skill with Yi’s ultimate; before jumping into the fracas of a team fight or ambush, activate BOTH this skill and Highlander simultaneously, for maximum damage and effect.

Highlander gives you an insane attack speed and movement speed, for absolutely no cost! (except a little bit of mana) Don’t hesitate to activate this skill during an engagement; when you see an enemy approaching or when you jump into a team gank, activate both highlander and wuju style at once; chances are, you’ll get assists and/or kills, and the cooldown is negated! Or if caught in an ambush, don’t hesitate to use highlander’s increased movement speed and slow negation to escape; 60 seconds recharge time is better than 60 seconds respawn time!

For Runes, go Critical Strike chance or damage; critical strikes will be more painful and come more often, and Yi’s attack speed and damage will cause a world of pain. Attack speed or armour penetration is also viable.

For Masteries, go 21/0/9. You’ve got an insane attack speed and damage coupled with lifesteal; going on the offensive simply makes Yi deadly and never short of hp.

Personally, Ignite and Flash work the best on Yi for me, ignite for damage and to prevent running heroes, and flash for both offensive and defensive uses. Exhaust and Teleport can be deadly when used correctly, but don’t bother with ghost run; the movement speed increase won’t be much.

Early Game:

Yi works well both when soloing and when laning; if soloing, pick up a Maki pendant and  be prepared to use Alpha Strike constantly to harass and farm; if laning, choose a partner who has a stun or skillshot like Blitz to get a quick first blood. Either way, Alpha Strike is your best friend; use it to harass and farm at the same time. However, for maximum effect, wait for an enemy champion to get near to one of their minions, and then alpha strike the MINION; this almost always ensures the champion gets hit, and puts you well out of harm’s way if the champion retreats. Use Alpha Strike and kill if their hp falls 100 above your alpha strike damage; you’re almost guaranteed a kill then, so alpha strike in, hit and ignite, and run or flash back. Build alternately between Alpha Strike and Wuju Style, and get your early game build as fast as possible; if you play right, you’re likely to get at least a kill or two before level 6 and midgame. If you’re soloing or it’s a 1v2 fight, then play defensively and just stay near the tower and keep using Alpha Strike when the minions get close to kill them.

Mid Game:

Now that you’ve got Highlander, it’s time to gank. Find an enemy champion on the map with half health or less, and get a team mate to help you. Hide in the bushes, and when the champion gets within range, use alpha strike to initiate. Activate Wuju Style and Highlander immediately, and you’re almost guaranteed a kill. Blue pill back to base if you’re low on mana, and rinse and repeat. Reuse this strategy through mid to end game; and during a team gank, hide in the bushes and Alpha Strike in. Amongst the fracas, it’s unlikely that anyone will notice you if you Alpha Strike in, until it’s too late and you’ve done your maximum damage. Note though; avoid stuns at all cost. That’s why Yi’s don’t initiate mid game; if you go in and they stun you, you’re pretty much screwed.

(optional) Maki Pendant

(1) Long Sword -> (3) Madred’s Razor

(2) Berserker’s Greaves

(4)Vampiric Scepter

Some scoff at Madred’s Razor; I just own them flat in games. The whole point of Madred’s Razor is it’s synergy with Vampiric Scepter; the 600 damage coupled with 12% lifesteal allows for easy health regeneration, and gives you staying power whilst laning. Maki Pendant is optional if you’re soloing, where you need Alpha Strike to harass and farm constantly; but if you’re laning with help from a partner, you’re not likely to need it, so don’t buy it. Either way, sell the pendant later on if you ever get enough money to finish an entire build; Yi isn’t exactly very mana reliant mid to end game.

Madred’s Razor -> (4) Madred’s Bloodrazor

Berserker’s Greaves

Vampiric Scepter -> (2) Bloodthirster

(1) Infinity’s Edge

(3) Phantom Dancer

(optional) Tiamat/Frozen Mallet

Infinity’s Edge and Bloodthirster are obvious choices for an attack damage Yi, for their damage potential. Phantom Dancer enhances Yi’s survivability and damage at the same time; coupled with damage items and lifesteal, this pretty much ensures Yi’s deadliness and a constant high health bar. Tiamat and Frozen Mallet are quite essential, but situational; buy them only if you have the need. Tiamat gives Yi a higher damage during team fights; buy it if you see that you’re doing well but your team needs health, or if they deploy a large amount of tanks. Frozen Mallet prevents escapes; buy it if you have an opposing team full of flash or with high movement speed characters like Ashe or Singed. Madred’s Bloodrazor is a luxury item; buy it end-game when you have nothing else to buy, and when your victory is assured.

Madred’s Razor ->(5) Madred’s Bloodrazor

Berserker’s Greaves

(1) Sword of the Divine

(3/4) Phantom Dancer

Vampiric Scepter -> (2) Stark’s Fervor

(3/4) Infinity’s Edge

Sword of the Divine makes Yi god-like mid-game, with it’s damage and armour penetration; it loses its potential late-game though, when the enemy’s champions all have relatively high health. Just remember to activate it though! Stark’s Fervor increases your survivability, and is a good team item too. Infinity’s Edge and Phantom Dancer is a toss-up; get Infinity’s Edge if you require damage in fights, and Phantom Dancer if you find yourself dying often for enhanced survivability. And again, Madred’s Bloodrazor is your luxury item, when you find yourself out of items to buy, and nearly godlike.

Yi can be a monster if played properly; his ultimate allows for a high attack speed and movement speed, which when combined with attack speed or damage enhancing items, can make for a killer on the prowl. Despite his noble demeanour, however, don’t be fooled; Yi is a ninja at heart. Strike from the bushes and put up a relentless attack; follow this mantra, and you’re well on your way to dominating entire games!