Tryndamere

Overview

Like many top laners, Tryndamere mains wouldn’t ever be near their teammates if they could help it. He’s one of the premier split pushers in the game, and once he scales up he’s a tough task for anyone to take down one-on-one. He’s a great pick if you feel like your team is going to be unable to win team fights as his side lane pressure is extremely annoying to deal with in Solo Queue. Click here for the latest data on his best builds, including Runes, Items, Summoner Spells, and more. 

Keys to Remember About Tryndamere

1. He's a split pusher first and foremost, even if you harbor dreams about a 1v5 dive into the enemy team. This isn't to say you can't do that, but teams with a lot of CC will lock you down and kill you. Teams lacking in CC, though? Go forth, my son.

2. He's really great at healing back up on neutral objectives, so even if you get chased away from your lane, that doesn't mean you need to go all the way back to the fountain. Your main role as Tryndamere is to draw pressure.

Strengths

Between Spinning Slash [E] and Undying Rage [R], Tryndamere is an extremely slippery top laner who can feel almost impossible to kill if he so chooses. This means he can push up into otherwise dangerous situations with relative comfort -- many Tryndamere players will take the opportunity to beat on a tower or proxy farm enemy waves to try to draw more pressure to them. As you do this, you’ll become a lightning rod for the other team, and if you’re able to consistently escape with your life, it’ll pile up small advantages for your team. 

Weaknesses

If your team falls behind and needs you to group with them to help out, Tryndamere isn’t going to bring that much to a team fight -- especially if he’s playing into enemies with high mobility. You also do have to press R to gain the immortality, and sometimes you end up using it too early and lose out on its potential value. Even worse is when you use it too late and just die -- it’s not a super complicated ability but the timing is crucial.  

Game Plan 

1. Early Game: You can bully enemy top laners thanks to your Bloodlust [Q], which allows you trade with stronger auto-attacks and then back off and heal. You are vulnerable to ganks, though, so try to keep track of where the enemy jungler might be at all times. 

2. Mid Game: Look to split side lanes as much as possible -- generally you want to be on the opposite side of objectives and then use your teleport to join a fight if needed.

3. Late Game: At this point you want to split as much as possible -- even if the enemy is pressuring elsewhere, as long as your team is able to absorb it without everyone dying, it only takes a few seconds for you to take down a tower.