The newest champion to hit League of Legends is none other than the kraken priestess, Illaoi. You read that right, the huge octopus of lore, Nagakabouros, is on the rift and together they hit hard! Illaoi is the only League character to date whose lore actually helps you understand her play style better, so make sure to read up on her. With that said, here’s my how-to for a successful build and play style.
First off, runes. I like to use health per level quintessences on her because Illaoi is a tank at heart. This helps not only with sustain in the lane but with a late game tankiness which can rival the likes of champions such as Sion. The quintessences also help with trading in lane against a Darius or Garen. You can also put attack damage quintessences if you are looking to focus more squishy targets, though I prefer the health per level.
What you want to do next is add some hybrid penetration marks for some great damage. Not only are these marks invaluable early game due to the damage trading you’ll be doing, but they will synergize with your item build (which we’ll soon get to). For preference, you may also apply attack speed marks. Just know you’ll be sacrificing your damage output until late game. To add more tank stats,I use armor seals and magic resist glyphs on Illaoi. For me, it takes the unknown variable out of who your lane opponent will be. Here’s a picture of the full rune page for Illaoi.
Now let’s get to the masteries. Normally, you would want to build a combination of health and damage, but I actually prefer taking a more passive approach. I do a 0-12-18 masteries page taking Grasp Of The Undying keystone as it allows Illaoi to steal even more health from your opponent and adds sustain during the laning phase. Below you can see my masteries page for Illaoi.
Your starting items should be focused on attack damage, health and health regeneration. I suggest either rushing Trinity Force or the two Crystalline Bracers on your way to Warmog’s Armor. More often than not, I would build a Trinity Force first then Warmog’s. However, if you are falling behind, skip the Trinity Force and go straight to Warmog’s. After that, build a Titanic Hydra for more wave clear and damage.
When it comes to boots, you may go with either Mercury Treads or Ninja Tabi depending on their team comp. To finish your build out, I would suggest Serak’s Rage and Spirit Visage for health regeneration and outright tankiness. You will not only be able to absorb damage, but you will be doing a massive amount of damage in the process.
For matchups, Illaoi is especially dominant against melee champions who don’t rely on health regeneration such as Darius or Sion. However, champs who have some sort of health regeneration, such as Aatrox or Tryndamere, can be a problem in the top lane. Even ranged champs, such as Heimerdinger and Teemo, with their continual poke will be problematic against Illaoi. Pairing her with a hard CC champion, though, will prove beneficial as her tentacles will stomp out stunned or slowed champions. For best results, you could pair her with champions such as Amumu, Sejuani, Morgana or Lissandra and have them 5-man ult for devastating damage.
When playing Illaoi, remember that she is a solo, “sit in lane” type of champion and is most useful if she has at least one tentacle at her disposal. Otherwise, she is susceptible to a large amount of damage. During teamfights, look at soaking up as much damage as possible while using your ult which can affect their entire team in close quarters. If you use your E on a squishy ADC and then ult, the tentacles will keep hitting them, and they hit hard!
Illaoi is a lot of fun to play. With these tips, there will be tentacles everywhere, and you will be a monster of the rift. Have fun!