League of Legends Irelia Guide: Best Build, Runes & Combos

Irelia is a high-skill, high-reward top lane duelist in League of Legends, known for her flashy outplays, insane mobility, and powerful all-in potential. With her blade dancing abilities, she can quickly turn trades in her favor and snowball leads if played right. Whether you’re diving into the backline or styling on your lane opponent, Irelia thrives in the hands of mechanically confident players. In this guide, we’ll break down the best build, runes, items, and combos you need to master Irelia and dominate the Rift with smooth, calculated aggression.

Irelia Abilities Overview in League of Legends

Passive – Ionian Fervor
Irelia gains bonus attack speed and bonus on-hit magic damage after using abilities, stacking up to five times. At full stacks, she becomes incredibly strong in extended trades, making this key to her damage output.

Q – Bladesurge
A dash that deals damage, heals Irelia slightly, and resets if it kills the target or marks them. This is her main mobility tool, waveclear ability, and part of nearly every combo.

W – Defiant Dance
Irelia charges up a defensive stance, reducing incoming physical damage. Upon release, she deals damage in a cone based on charge time. It’s great for both surviving burst and returning poke damage.

E – Flawless Duet
Irelia sends out two blades that converge on a target location, stunning all enemies hit. It’s her main crowd control ability and also marks enemies for her Q reset, making it essential for setting up fights.

R – Vanguard’s Edge
Irelia throws a large blade that spreads into a wall of blades on hit. It deals initial damage, marks enemies, and forms a zone that damages and disarms anyone trying to walk through it. It’s perfect for teamfight disruption and burst combo setups.

Mastering Irelia’s kit means weaving Q resets, landing E stuns, and knowing when to go all-in with your ultimate for devastating effect.

Best Summoner Spells For Irelia

The best summoner spells for Irelia are Flash and Teleport. Flash is crucial for closing gaps, escaping danger, or repositioning during combos and fights. Teleport helps with lane control, map pressure, and late-game macro play. If you’re going for an aggressive, snowball-heavy playstyle, you can take Ignite instead of Teleport to secure early kills—but for most matchups, Flash + Teleport gives you the most flexibility and scaling.

Best Runes For Irelia

The best runes for Irelia are found in the Precision tree, focused on sustained damage and extended trades. Take Conqueror as your keystone to stack bonus AD and healing in fights. Follow it with Triumph for extra sustain on takedowns, Legend: Alacrity to boost attack speed for smoother Q resets, and Last Stand for bonus damage when low on health. For the secondary tree, go with Resolve, picking up Bone Plating to absorb burst damage and Unflinching for tenacity and slow resistance. Use shards for Attack Speed, Adaptive Force, and either Armor or Magic Resist depending on your matchup. This rune setup helps Irelia dominate lane trades and scale hard into mid and late-game duels.

Best Build For Irelia

The best build for Irelia in League of Legends focuses on damage, sustain, and survivability to maximize her duel and teamfight potential. Start with Blade of the Ruined King for its on-hit damage, lifesteal, and synergy with her Q resets. Follow with Plated Steelcaps or Mercury’s Treads, depending on the enemy team’s damage type. Next, rush Trinity Force for bonus attack speed, health, and damage, making Irelia much harder to kill while enhancing her burst. After that, build Death’s Dance for damage mitigation and healing, then go for Wit’s End if facing heavy AP, or Guardian Angel for survivability. Round out the build with Maw of Malmortius or Sterak’s Gage depending on whether you need more magic resist or a shield for burst protection. This setup gives Irelia the tools to dive backlines, win 1v1s, and carry teamfights.

Best Combos To Learn For Irelia

The best combos to learn for Irelia involve resetting her Q (Bladesurge) and landing E (Flawless Duet) to control fights. A basic poke combo is E → Q → auto → W to land crowd control and trade safely. For all-ins, use E (first blade) → R → E (second blade to stun) → Q to marked target → auto → Q reset to clean up. In teamfights or ganks, a powerful engage is R → Q to marked target → E stun → Q reset → W. Always use your Passive stacks to your advantage—fully stacked Ionian Fervor turns every combo into a deadly burst. The key to mastering Irelia is weaving autos between Q resets and landing E consistently to outplay opponents.

Conclusion

Irelia is a deadly top lane duelist that rewards precision, quick reactions, and confident engages. With the right runes, build, and mastery of her combos, she can dominate lanes, outplay ganks, and carry teamfights with style. Learning to time her Q resets, land flawless E stuns, and make the most of her ultimate will turn you into a real threat on the Rift. If you’re looking to master a high-skill, high-reward champion, Irelia is one of the most rewarding picks in League of Legends.