Yasuo, the Unforgiven, revealed

Yasuo dashes to solemn victory, harnessing the raw power of the wind to elevate his unmatched elemental swordsmanship. A former member of an Ionian martial school and the only student to have mastered a legendary wind technique, Yasuo now lives a tempestuous life, drifting through Runeterra as he hunts the true killer of the Ionian elder he was sworn to protect.

Passive: Way of the Wanderer

• Intent: Yasuo’s critical strike chance is doubled.
• Resolve: Yasuo gains Flow as he moves – the faster he moves, the faster his Flow meter fills. When full, Yasuo activates a brief shield after taking damage from enemy champions or monsters.

Q: Steel Tempest

Yasuo thrusts forward with his sword, damaging all enemies in a line. Successfully landing Steel Tempest grants Yasuo Gathering Storm stacks for a short period. The third stack of Gathering Storm causes Steel Tempest to send out a whirlwind that travels in a line and sends all enemies caught Airborne. If Yasuo casts Steel Tempest during Sweeping Blade, the ability strikes all enemies immediately around him.

W: Wind Wall

• Passive: Dashing replenishes Yasuo’s Flow faster.
• Active: Yasuo creates a wall of wind that slowly drifts forward for a few seconds. The wall blocks all enemy projectiles.

E: Sweeping Blade

Yasuo dashes a fixed distance through an enemy, dealing damage and marking them briefly. If Yasuo uses Sweeping Blade multiple times in succession, the ability deals extra damage up to a cap. Yasuo cannot use Sweeping Blade on an enemy that’s already been marked.

R: Last Breath

Yasuo teleports to a nearby Airborne enemy champion, briefly suspending them and all surrounding Airborne enemies mid-air as he damages them. Once he lands, Yasuo gains significant armor penetration against his enemy’s bonus armor for an extended period of time.

Yasuo’s a sustained damage fighter with high mobility, strong utility and damage output that ramps up the longer he survives in combat. The tradeoff here comes in the form of low damage during Yasuo’s early game.

Yasuo’s early game fragility makes him a champion best suited for the shortest lane on Summoner’s Rift: mid. He farms safest here, concentrating on building up his experience and gold as he itemizes his way to domination. But even though Yasuo is at his weakest in the early game, his strength and mobility still has the potential to surprise his enemies. Yasuo can use Steel Tempest to last-hit from a relatively safe distance, and if he needs to secure backline minion gold, quick consecutive casts of Sweeping Blade send him dashing to and from, with Way of the Wanderer’s shield absorbing some of the inevitable incoming damage. Yasuo can use Sweeping Blade as a handy escape during gank attempts, too: if he’s caught between the enemy melee and caster minions, using the ability to dash back towards his own turret should help dissuade all but the most stubborn of junglers from pursuing.

And when the winds change direction, careful timing turns Yasuo into a deadly accomplice in friendly gank attempts. Stacking Steel Tempest properly and using Gathering Storm to toss his enemy skywards means initiation from the jungle is a relatively simple matter, and once the enemy’s caught, Yasuo uses Sweeping Blade to dash in and get to work. Way of the Wanderer’s critical strike boost help Yasuo’s attacks sting, while if he’s unlocked Last Breath, the additional damage and crowd control makes kills all the more likely.

A melee monster with damage that increases the longer teamfights last, Yasuo’s first priority is to stack Gathering Storm while weathering the enemy team’s initial onslaught. This is where Wind Wall comes into its own. Carefully positioning the wall between the enemy front and back lines allows Yasuo to engage on the less threatening tanks and bruisers, generating Gathering Storm stacks with liberal use of Steel Tempest. Once the third cast is ready, Yasuo repeatedly uses Sweeping Blade to rush through the entire enemy line and position himself beside or behind the enemy squishies. A final Steel Tempest casts them skyward, opening up Last Breath, a lethal ability for anyone caught in the whirlwind. Enemies that manage to juke away from Yasuo’s whirlwind aren’t necessarily safe from Last Breath: any knock-up abilities can be chained with Yasuo’s ult, making him hugely synergistic with champions like Cho’Gath, Malphite and Zyra. Once he’s landed, Yasuo’s huge bonus armor penetration buff, combined with the critical strike bonus from Way of the Wanderer, makes short work of even the tankiest of tanks.