Continuous-duel bruiser build: Irelia does not win when her entry is merely flashy, but when she can stay in the brawl long enough to punish every reset, mark, and spacing mistake. The build must therefore support the post-contact phase as much as the initial access.
Three builds, one right answer per draft. The advisor reads the five enemies (and your allies) and names who triggers what — the same rule as the Draft MVP sheet and Ask Nexus.
Best Irelia build (Baron Lane): Divine Sunderer › Death's Dance › Guardian Angel › Spear of Shojin › Sterak's Gage, boots Gluttonous Greaves, keystone Conqueror. Three variants and when to pick each are below.
Standard build maximizing damage output. Use on neutral matchups or when ahead.
16,000 total cost
Nothing dominates on the other side: the standard build maximizes your damage.
Open this draft in the tool →Anti-resist build for tanky enemies. Choose when multiple enemies build armor/magic resist.
15,700 total cost -300gSustain build leaning on heal/omnivamp to win prolonged duels.
15,100 total cost -900g
Scores out of 10: where this champion sits against the whole roster, phase by phase. The strip shows its own power ramp level by level — it does not compare across champions.
Your hardest matchups in this role, and the item from your situational list that answers each one.
Jax
Maw of Malmortius
Physical damage
Poppy
Blade of the Ruined King
Very durable
Volibear
Chempunk Chainsword
Recurring healing
Akali
Stridebreaker
Highly mobile
Best Irelia build (Mid Lane): Divine Sunderer › Spear of Shojin › Sterak's Gage › Black Cleaver › Overlord's Bloodmail, boots Gluttonous Greaves, keystone Conqueror. Three variants and when to pick each are below.
Standard build maximizing damage output. Use on neutral matchups or when ahead.
15,900 total costNothing dominates on the other side: the standard build maximizes your damage.
Open this draft in the tool →Anti-resist build for tanky enemies. Choose when multiple enemies build armor/magic resist.
15,700 total cost -200gSustain build leaning on heal/omnivamp to win prolonged duels.
15,100 total cost -800gScores out of 10: where this champion sits against the whole roster, phase by phase. The strip shows its own power ramp level by level — it does not compare across champions.
Your hardest matchups in this role, and the item from your situational list that answers each one.
Malphite
Blade of the Ruined King
Very durable
Vex
Stridebreaker
Highly mobile
Lissandra
Chempunk Chainsword
Recurring healing
Gragas
Blade of the Ruined King
Very durable
Same advisor in the Draft (the MVP sheet applies it to your real draft) and in Ask Nexus, which explains the choice. On counters pages: the variant to take against each counter-pick.
Foundational item core, without recent situational additions — kept as a base for understanding the kit. For the up-to-date build, see the section above.
Irelia wants neither a full burst build that abandons her once the fight extends, nor an overly tanky build that removes all threat from her entries.
Long Sword
Proc Sheen on each dash Q Bladesurge, burst constant
%HP on-hit amplified by Q resets in combo
survival in extended fights, heal on kill after resets Q
Gluttonous Greaves
Mercurys Treads
Stasis
›
›
Each Q Bladesurge on minions or enemies stacks Conqueror toward the passive Ionian Fervor.
Your DPS comes from autos woven between Qs — the flat per-hit bonus feeds your exact pattern.
Q resets on low targets — the below-40% bonus makes sure the final blade finishes.
Attack speed multiplies your blade-passive procs — your all-in ramps with every stack.
Blunts the counter-hits while you stack your passive at the start of a trade.
Guardian Angel
Wit's End
Guardian Angel
Hullbreaker
Stasis
Quicksilver
Guardian Angel
Wit's End
Stasis
Quicksilver
Guardian Angel
Wit's End
Stasis
Quicksilver
Second Wind
Bone Plating
Overgrowth
Perseverance
Last Stand
Giant Slayer
Last Stand
Giant Slayer
