Shyvana is a farming jungler who transforms into a dragon at level 6. Her AP build revolves around one ability: Dragon form E fireball. Land it and enemies evaporate. Miss it and you're useless for 10 seconds.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Scalemail
Passive
Takedowns on enemy champions, large minions, and large monsters grant Shyvana Scalemail stacks, improving her defenses.
Passive gives bonus armor/MR for each dragon your team kills. Prioritize dragon stacking.
Q
Emberstrike
AA Reset · Double Hit
Shyvana's next attack strikes both the target and the surrounding area. This Ability can be recast. While in Dragon Form, it gains an additional recast, dealing massive damage to a single target.
CD: 10/9/8/7/6 · Cost: 0
Q is an auto-attack reset that hits twice. Auto → Q for triple hit. Dragon form: hits all nearby.
W
Inferno Aegis
AoE · MS Buff
Shyvana gains a shield, movement speed, and after a short delay, the area around her detonates. While in Dragon Form, the explosion will heal her if it strikes an enemy champion.
CD: 14/13.5/13/12.5/12 · Cost: 0
W gives MS and AoE fire trail. Use for clear speed and chasing.
E
Molten Burst
Skillshot · %HP (Dragon: AoE Explosion)
Shyvana launches a fireball that explodes upon striking a large target and slows them. In Dragon Form, it passes through and explodes upon striking large enemies, leaving behind a trail of fire.
CD: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 · Cost: 0
Human E: skillshot that marks target for %HP on-hit. Dragon E: massive AoE fireball explosion. This is your main damage.
R
Dragon's Descent
Dash · Transform
Shyvana transforms into a Dragon and leaps forward causing enemies along her path to flee. While in Dragon form she becomes larger and her basic abilities are empowered.
CD: 0 · Cost: 0
R transforms you into Dragon form. It dashes forward and empowers all abilities. Fury builds from auto-attacks.
Skill Leveling Order — Max E first, then W, then Q · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take W — AoE clear | ||||
| 2 | Take E — %HP mark | ||||
| 3 | Take Q — AA reset | ||||
| 4 | Level E | ||||
| 5 | Level E | ||||
| 6 | R — Dragon's Descent | ||||
| 7 | Level E | ||||
| 8 | Level W | ||||
| 9 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level W | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level W | ||||
| 13 | Level W | ||||
| 14 | W maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level Q | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level Q | ||||
| 18 | Q maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Core Build
Hextech Rocketbelt
Dash + magic pen. R → Rocketbelt → E fireball combo.
2600g
Sorcerer's Shoes
Magic pen for E damage.
1100g
Nashor's Tooth
AP + AS + on-hit. Q double-hits proc Nashor's twice.
3000g
Rabadon's Deathcap
Massive AP. Dragon E fireball one-shots.
3600g
Situational
Void Staff
40% magic pen vs MR.
2800g
Zhonya's Hourglass
Stasis after R dive.
3250g
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
E fireball slows. They can't escape the burn zone.
2600g
Rocketbelt → Nashor's → Deathcap. Dragon E fireball is your entire identity. Land it and win.
Runes
Domination Primary
Dark Harvest
Dragon E procs Dark Harvest on low targets in the AoE.
Cheap Shot
Bonus damage on E-slowed targets.
Eyeball Collection
Free AP.
Ultimate Hunter
Not applicable — Shyvana R uses fury, not cooldown. Take Treasure Hunter instead.
Sorcery Secondary
Absolute Focus
Bonus AP above 70% HP.
Gathering Storm
Free AP scaling.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Shyvana
01
Early Game
Power Farm to 6
- Start Red → Raptors → Krugs → Wolves → Blue → Gromp. W AoE makes clear fast.
- Do NOT gank pre-6. You have no CC and no gap-close. Just farm.
- Build fury by auto-attacking camps. Full fury = R transformation ready.
- Passive gives bonus stats per dragon killed. Prioritize dragon stacking.
- Avoid fights. You're weak without dragon form.
02
Mid Game
Dragon E Fireball Burst
- R → E is your entire combo. Transform, fireball, enemies die.
- Dragon E fireball deals massive AoE damage. Aim for grouped enemies.
- Force dragon fights. Your passive rewards dragon kills, and you contest well.
- Fury builds from autos. In between R uses, farm constantly to refill fury.
- Rocketbelt → E fireball extends your burst range.
03
Late Game
AoE Nuke Machine
- Full AP Shyvana E fireball one-shots squishies at 2+ items.
- R into grouped enemies → E fireball → half their team is dead.
- You can solo Baron with dragon form + Nashor's Tooth. Q double-hit procs Nashor's twice.
- W movement speed helps kite and chase in dragon form.
- If E misses, disengage. You're useless until E cooldown returns.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Shyvana
Shyvana R dives in and E fireballs the grouped enemy team. One ability wins the fight.
1
Engage — R Transform Dive
Gap close
01
R into the grouped enemy.
02
Knockback on impact.
03
Position for E fireball.
Don't R without fury. Check your fury bar before engaging.
2
Nuke — Dragon E Fireball
AoE burst
01
E fireball at grouped enemies.
02
The impact zone burns for %max HP.
03
Enemies standing in it melt.
3
Cleanup — Q + W
Extended fight
01
Q for double-hit auto resets.
02
W for AoE fire trail.
03
Chase with W movement speed.
E fireball leaves a burn zone on the ground. Enemies standing in it take massive %HP damage over time. Zone them into it with R knockback.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Shyvana.
Basic
Dragon E
Dragon form E is a massive AoE fireball. It's your ENTIRE damage source. If you miss it, you deal almost no damage.
Intermediate
Fury Management
R uses fury, not cooldown. Auto-attack constantly to build fury. Full fury = R ready.
Basic
Dragon Stacking
Passive gives bonus armor/MR per dragon killed. Always prioritize dragon.
Advanced
E Burn Zone
Dragon E leaves a burn zone that deals %max HP per second. Knock enemies into it with R for massive damage.
Basic
Q Double Hit
Q hits twice. With Nashor's, that's 2 on-hit procs. Use it between every 2 autos.
Intermediate
Farm to Transform
Pre-6, you're one of the weakest junglers. Just farm. Your power spike is dragon form at 6.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Shyvana struggles against invading junglers and champions who dodge her E. She excels against immobile teams she can fireball.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Lee Sin invades you pre-6. You can't fight back.
Avoid him. Farm safely and scale. You outscale massively.
Kindred kites you and her R negates your burst.
Don't use E when Kindred R is up. Wait for it to expire.
Elise rappels your E and invades you early.
Farm safely. You outscale. Don't contest early.
Wins Against
Amumu groups his team perfectly for your E fireball.
Let Amumu R group the enemy team, then Dragon E fireball the cluster.
Karthus can't escape your R dive and E burst.
R → E one-shots him. He has no mobility.
Sejuani can't stop your farming and you outscale her damage.
Out-farm her. Your dragon E deals more damage than her entire kit.