Shyvana Overview
Hey Friends,
Shyvana update is upon us. She’s currently quite mediocre in the toplane and quite strong in the jungle (she even got hotfix nerfed as I was writing this post). All of her abilities are similiar to old Shyvana, though every single ability is updated according to the 2026 standards, meaning plenty of power creep.
Let’s cover the basics first. Optimal runes are going to be PTA, Conqueror or Fleet combined with Inspiration or Resolve. Currently, good items on Shyvana are: Kraken/Hexplate 1st (in jungle) – Dusk and Dawn – Sundered Sky. Other good items are Hullbreaker, Shojin, Sterrak, Riftmaker, Death’s Dance and so on. In toplane, the optimal first item is currently between Hexplate and Dusk and Dawn similarly to Varus. The best skill order is Q>E>W, but you have some flexibility of putting 2-3 points into E depending on the matchup if you intend to play Shyvana toplane.
As it stands, every ability is an improved version of the old Shyvana, but you do stack the passive fury, a bit slower now. New abilities are very nuanced and there is a lot of micro skill expressions in her kit now. I expect her winrate to only increase as people master the champion further.
Passive – Scalemail is kind of identical to the old passive, yet improved (a trend you will notice a lot today). Now you can get bonus magic resist and armor each time you last hit large minions/monsters (1 stack) and epic monsters / champions (3 stacks). She can infinitely stack the Scalemail with each one worth around 12 gold.
Q – Emberstrike now has the passive on hit (% max hp) component of the old E. Additionally, Shyvana’s basic attacks has the “mystic punch from aram mayhem” which reduces her Q cd by 1 seconds. Now you don’t rely on E landing to deal extra damage. Q can now be recast for the second time and for the third time in the dragon form. Let’s go over each Q cast. First Q is a small cone (approximaterly 1/3 the range of the titanic hydra) strike that grants extra auto attack range (Shyvana empowers her next auto for 6 seconds, and Q2 can be recast within 4 seconds – very similar to Zaahen Q). Since Q procs on hits, it works really well with sundered sky and it will proc the passive damage mentioned above to the primary target (like Zaahen Q). Q2 can be cast after an extra auto (basically you would do aa-Q1-aa-Q2 or Q1-aa-Q2). It can also be recast after a small delay if you have nothing to auto attack in the mean time. Q2 has the same properties as Q1 (extra range, can crit…) but instead of a cone it blasts in a small circle around the target. Q3 is the dragon form exclusive. Once you are in the dragon form you can repeat each cast similarly to the normal form, but now you can recast Q for the 3rd time to “bite” the target (single target) that deals true damage but can’t crit.
W – Inferno Aegis is perhaps the most changed/improved ability and for a good reason. Old W was pure garbage, realistically speaking. New W maintains the useful property such as granting movement speed when cast + increased when facing a visible enemy champion. On top of that, on cast – Shyvana will shield herself for 2.5 seconds increasing further for each nearby enemy champion. After 1 second, W can be recast if the shield is maintained or automatically recasts if it expires/breaks. If you manually recast the W – it will consume the shield to deal aoe damage. Dragon form W is the same, but if the explosion (recast) hits an enemy champion, Shyvana will heal for a flat amount + a % of her missing hp.
E – Molten Burst is still the iconic fireball ability, but once again improved. Basic E will now cast a fireball, similarly to before (though it won’t pass through units anymore). Now the ability will “explode” on 1st contact or at the terminus (animation ending at max range) and slow all hit targets in a small AOE. Dragon form E is obviously stronger, deals more damage and slows a bit more, but on top of that it is also wider, pierces (passes through units) and the explosions can stack. For example, if you hit 2 champions with the dragon form E -> it will hit the first champion and pierce it (explosion 1) and then it will hit the second champion creating another explosion. If the champions are closely stacked or in a line, there is a high chance for a multi-hit E. Interestingly, you can still combine both forms of E with Flash for a surprise factor (E-flash and flash-E) if you input buffer the cast. Notably, you can no longer cast dragon form E in melee range unless it hits an enemy champion, therefore making it a bit more annoying to push a wave (eg if you were playing toplane)
R – Dragon’s Descent is still the iconic ultimate she used to have. Upon cast you will gain bonus attack range, size increase and flat health. Notably, you do gain less fury with the updated Shyvana than you would previously. As mentioned before, once R is cast all your other abilities will be empowered making it really important to maximize this gameplay window whenever it occurs. “New” R will now also fear struck enemies while still granting the displacement immunity. The implication is clear: when convenient, you want to cast R to avoid CC.
Finally, I wanted to touch upon a bit on the playstyle differences that might occur in the toplane. Old Shyvana was very weak before level 6. Once R unlocked though, You could utilise that powerspike by aggressively casting R (depending on the matchup) into the wave and poke the enemy with the dragon form E. My first impression of the new Shyvana is that she is not very good at this playstyle and instead, much better at the sustained damage playstyle revolving around auto attacks and her Q. Similarly, new Shyvana has a few more tools under her belt when it comes to clearing waves in the early game now that both Q and E have a bit of splash damage. New Shyvana seems like a blast to play, with smooth animations and much improved abilities. Though, her weaknesses, as a champ with almost no utility/CC and the mobility being heavily dependent on the R are still present. Keep in mind that all of her abilities got a bit more skill expressive now and it will take some time for people to fully master the champion (eg solving being kiteable problem by spacing W movement speed buffs and E slows more efficiently or timing R casts better).
Until next time o7.