Master Yi is a hyperscaling melee carry. Farm fast, avoid early fights, hit your item spikes, and then become an unstoppable killing machine. Every kill resets Q and extends R — once you start, you don't stop.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Double Strike
Passive
Every few consecutive basic attack, Master Yi strikes twice.
Double Strike: every 4th auto hits twice. The second hit applies on-hit effects. Track your passive counter.
Q
Alpha Strike
Dash · Untargetable · AoE
Master Yi teleports across the battlefield with blinding speed, dealing physical damage to multiple units in his path, while simultaneously becoming untargetable. Alpha Strike can critically strike and deals bonus physical damage to monsters. Basic attacks reduce Alpha Strike's cooldown.
CD: 20/19.5/19/18.5/18 · Cost: 50/55/60/65/70
Alpha Strike makes you untargetable. Use it to dodge abilities (tower shots, CC, burst). Resets on kill/assist.
W
Meditate
Channel · Heal · Damage Reduction
Master Yi rejuvenates his body by focus of mind, restoring Health and taking reduced damage for a short time. In addition, Master Yi will gain stacks of Double Strike and pause the remaining duration on Wuju Style and Highlander for each second he channels.
CD: 10 · Cost: 40
Meditate heals and gives 90% damage reduction at max rank. Use it to tank tower shots or survive burst between Q resets.
E
Wuju Style
On-Hit · True Damage
Grants bonus true damage on basic attacks.
CD: 14 · Cost: 0
Wuju Style adds true damage to autos. Activate before fighting — it lasts 5 seconds. True damage ignores armor.
R
Highlander
Buff · MS · AS · Immune to Slow
Master Yi moves with unparalleled agility, temporarily increasing his Move Speed and Attack Speed as well as making him immune to all slowing effects. While active, Champion kills or assists extend Highlander's duration. Passively reduces cooldown for his other abilities on a kill or assist.
CD: 85 · Cost: 100
Highlander: immune to slows, massive AS + MS. Extends duration on kills/assists. Pop it BEFORE the fight, not after.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then E, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q — gap close + AoE | ||||
| 2 | Take E — true damage | ||||
| 3 | Take W — meditate heal | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Highlander | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter Items
Gustwalker Smite
MS for sticking to targets.
450g
Long Sword
AD for clear.
350g
Refillable Potion
Sustain.
150g
Core Build
Kraken Slayer
True damage every 3rd hit. Double Strike makes this proc extremely fast.
3100g
Berserker's Greaves
Attack speed.
1100g
Guinsoo's Rageblade
Converts crit to on-hit. Double Strike + Guinsoo's = quadruple on-hit procs.
2600g
Blade of the Ruined King
%HP on-hit shreds tanks and squishies alike.
3200g
Situational
Wit's End
MR + on-hit magic damage. Great vs AP threats.
3100g
Death's Dance
Bleed passive + heal on kill. Survive burst between Q resets.
3300g
Guardian Angel
Second life. Die, revive, Q-reset chain continues.
3200g
Kraken → Guinsoo's → BotRK. On-hit Yi deals the most consistent DPS of any melee champion.
Runes
Precision Primary
Lethal Tempo
Stacking attack speed. With R + Lethal Tempo, you hit 3-4 times per second.
Triumph
Heal on takedown. Essential for chain-killing in teamfights.
Legend: Alacrity
More attack speed = more on-hit procs.
Coup de Grace
Execute damage on low HP targets.
Domination Secondary
Eyeball Collection
Free AD per takedown.
Treasure Hunter
Gold on unique kills accelerates build.
Shards
Attack Speed · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Master Yi
01
Early Game
Power Farm, Avoid Fights
- Start Red → Raptors → Krugs → Wolves → Blue → Gromp. Q AoE clears camps fast.
- Do NOT gank pre-6 unless it's completely free. You're a farming champion, not a ganker.
- Avoid the enemy jungler at all costs. You lose most 1v1s early.
- Q resets its cooldown when you auto-attack. Auto between Q casts on camps for faster clear.
- Track the enemy jungler and farm the opposite side. Don't contest anything early.
02
Mid Game
First Item Spike — Start Fighting
- Kraken Slayer is your first big spike. You can now duel most champions.
- R before engaging. Highlander makes you immune to slows — they can't kite you.
- Q is untargetable. Use it to dodge tower shots when diving, or dodge CC mid-fight.
- E true damage ignores armor. Activate it before fighting — it lasts 5 seconds.
- Focus the squishiest target first. One kill = Q reset = jump to next target.
03
Late Game
Pentakill Machine
- With 3 items you're a Pentakill machine. Each kill resets Q and extends R. Chain through the entire team.
- W between Q resets to heal and tank damage. Q → autos → W → Q → autos → repeat.
- You can solo Baron at 3 items. Do it when enemies are busy elsewhere.
- In teamfights, WAIT for CC to be used. If you Q into 5 people and get stunned, you die instantly.
- Meditate (W) gives 90% damage reduction. Use it to survive burst, then Q when the burst ends.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Master Yi
Master Yi wins teamfights through resets. Kill one target → Q resets → kill next → chain through the entire team. But one CC = death.
1
Wait — Let CC Fly First
Before engaging
01
NEVER be the first one in. Wait for your team to engage.
02
Count enemy CC abilities. When stuns are used, your window opens.
03
Activate R before going in for immune-to-slow + AS + MS.
One stun = death. If the enemy has point-and-click CC (Malzahar R, Annie stun), wait until they use it before entering.
2
Chain — Q Reset Rampage
Kill chain
01
Q the squishiest target. Kill them fast.
02
Q resets on kill/assist. Immediately Q the next target.
03
E for true damage between Q casts.
3
Survive — W Between Resets
Sustain
01
W between kills to heal and tank incoming damage.
02
Q makes you untargetable. Time it to dodge abilities.
03
Triumph heals on each kill. You get healthier as you chain kills.
Q + W auto-cancel: Q onto a target, immediately W for 0.5 seconds (damage reduction), then cancel W with auto-attack. This tanks burst between Q resets.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Master Yi.
Basic
Q Untargetable
Q makes you untargetable for its duration. Use it to dodge tower shots, key abilities (Karthus R), or CC skillshots.
Intermediate
W Auto-Cancel
Tap W for 0.5s, then auto. The 90% damage reduction tanks a burst ability, then you cancel into an auto-attack reset. Practice the timing.
Basic
R Before Fighting
Always activate R BEFORE engaging. It gives MS + AS and makes you immune to slows. Don't save it as an escape — it's an engage tool.
Advanced
Wait for CC
Your biggest weakness is hard CC. In teamfights, wait on the edge until the enemy uses their stuns/roots. Then Q in when it's safe.
Basic
E True Damage
E adds true damage to autos for 5 seconds. True damage ignores armor. Activate it right before you start fighting.
Intermediate
Double Strike Tracking
Every 4th auto hits twice (passive). Track the counter — start fights with passive ready for an instant double-hit.
Advanced
Solo Baron
With Kraken + Guinsoo's + BotRK, you can solo Baron at 25 min. W to tank Baron's attacks, Q for damage, E for true damage. Ward it and take it when safe.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Master Yi struggles against hard CC and tanky champions who survive his burst. He excels against immobile teams with no CC.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Rammus taunts you and thornmail reflects all your auto-attack damage. The more you hit him, the faster you die.
NEVER auto Rammus during his W. Wait for taunt to end, then Q away. Focus literally anyone else.
Lee Sin invades you early and prevents your scaling. His kick disrupts your engage.
Avoid him until 2 items. Farm safely and don't contest anything early.
Elise's cocoon stun locks you down, and her early burst kills you before you can Q.
Q her cocoon. Time Alpha Strike to dodge the stun projectile.
Wins Against
Karthus has no CC to stop you. You run him down and Q dodges his abilities.
Invade post-6. He dies to R + Q + E every time. Q his R in death passive to dodge it.
Evelynn can't charm you fast enough. Q dodges her burst and you outdamage her.
Invade her jungle. She can't fight you at 2 items. Q to dodge her R execute.
Shyvana has no CC and you out-DPS her at every stage with on-hit builds.
Fight her freely. E true damage shreds her. She can't stop your autos.