Hi! My name is Strider and I am a Master Yi main on the EUW and NA servers. This is the first guide I have ever made and I decided to make it because I thought I could produce a better guide than what is already available on Mobafire. This guide will primarily focus on the funnel strategy but I will also include a section for soloq Yi as well. If you are interested in seeing the funnel strategy executed you can follow my stream here, I stream about three times a week and only play funnel when I am playing ranked. Feel free to drop by anytime and say hi.

What is the funnel Strategy?
The funnel strategy involves 'funneling' a bunch of gold into one player which is usually the jungler. The jungler will farm the jungle camps but will also be able to farm the creeps in mid lane. Instead of having a traditional mid laner, the mid laner will be replaced by a support champion, typically Taric or Lulu; And instead of a traditional jungler like Lee Sin or Rek'Sai you will have a hard-carry like Master Yi or Kai'Sa. Since this hard-carry champion has access to another entire income pool this allows them to scale and reach their power spikes much sooner than what is usually expected. This is what allows the funnel duo to take over games.

PROS + Playing a super fun hard-carry champion like Master Yi and getting crazy fed early into the game! + Not relying on your teammates for anything. It doesn't matter if they int their lane, you can out-carry it. + Make cool highlight plays as you and your duo literally 2v5 late game. + Win every game!

CONS - Master Yi is banned a lot in low elo. - Your opponents will dodge more and more often the higher elo you are as they know its pointless to try and win against funnel.

#1. Alpha Strike 1 / 4 / 5 / 7 / 9 #2. Wuju Style 2 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 13 #3. Highlander 6/ 11 / 16 #4. Meditate 3 / 14 / 15 / 17 / 18

> > > Previously in this guide I stated that the best skill order for funnel Master Yi was 3 points in Q followed by maxing E first but this has no changed. Since the nerfs to Master Yi's Q cooldown on patch 11.1 increasing its CD by 2 seconds late game we now have to switch back to maxing Alpha Strike first. This is so we can get it on the same CD as it was on 3 points previously. Having a low enough cooldown on Alpha Strike is important so that you are able to stick to targets and dodge incoming abilities and cc. This nerf does make things harder overall as you will notice late game u cant instantly Q a new target after killing the last one but you will have to adjust to it and hope Yi gets compensation buffs in the future.

SUMMONER SPELLS - FLASH: Flash is one of the most fundamental summoner spells in the entire game. There is a reason every player takes this spell no matter who they're playing as save for a few exceptions like Yuumi. The ultility provided by it and its capability to be used offensively and defensively make it an invaluable summoner spell. I take this spell in most of my games however I sometimes switch it out with Ignite if I feel its not needed to dodge enemy cc, or if I need the grievous wounds Ignite offers. SMITE: Smite is self-explanatory. If you are playing jungle Smite is a must to keep you healthy in your jungle clear, to secure objectives and most importantly, to be able to buy a jungle item which are incredible good gold-efficient items. IGNITE: Ignite is a good alternative to Flash in the right situation. I take Ignite when going against a heavy healing composition, for example if they have Aatrox top and Vladimir mid, this is so I can use the grievous wounds to cut down their healing. I also take Ignite in games I feel like there will be a lot of early game skirmishes. If they have an early-game based top and jungler it can be useful to have ignite to secure a kill if they catch you out in the river or something like that. But having Flash to run away is good as well to its up to you if you prefer the fight or flight response.

KEYSTONE With the nerfs to Conqueror at the start of preseason 11 in November 2020 I believe Lethal Tempo is now the best keystone for Master Yi. The main reason we ran Conqueror before was for the healing it provided but that healing has been nerfed from 15% to 9%. We also stack Conqueror slower this season because the first item we buy ( Kraken Slayer) only provides 25% attack speed, whereas as last season we would rush bloodrazor which gave us 50% attack speed. These two nerfs combined make this rune not very viable in my opinion and Lethal Tempo synergize with out items better than Conqueror does. With Lethal Tempo we will be able to get off more auto-attacks in a shorter space of time meaning we get more procs of Kraken Slayer's passive which will allow us to melt enemies. HEROISM RUNE For the Heroism rune we always take Triumph. Triumph restores 12% of your missing health one second after getting a kill. This rune gives you back much needed HP so you can continue fighting. The bonus 20 gold you get on kill is helpful too to get your items faster. LEGEND RUNE Legend: Tenacity is the strongest rune here at the moment. I recommend you always take the tenacity rune because the number one thing that will stop Master Yi from getting kills is hard cc; And since Legend: Tenacity reduces the duration of cc this will allow you to keep swinging your sword more and pick up more kills. Legend: Alacrity is also viable here if the enemy team has very little hard cc. I do not recommend Legend: Bloodline as you do not really get anything level 1 from this rune, as opposed to the other runes, and it takes a while to scale before you actually start feeling the effects of it.

COMBAT RUNE All three of the combat runes are viable on Master Yi, however I believe Coup de Grace is the best rune for Master Yi. This is because with funnel it is absolutely critical that you secure resets for your ultimate so that you can continue fighting and that is exactly what this rune does. It gives you the little bit of extra damage you need so you can finish someone off then you get your ult reset, the healing from triumph as well so you can continue fighting. You can take Cut Down when against at least two or three tanks or when facing champions with taunts like Rammus or Shen. TRACKING RUNE Eyeball Collection is a very good scaling rune to take. It grants you 1.2 per champion takedown, capping at 10 stacks. At max stacks this grants you 18 bonus attack damage. This AD will feed into Wuju Style increasing the true damage on hit. Sudden Impact can also be a good alternative here if you prefer to play for a very aggressive early game. HUNTER RUNE Ravenous Hunter is arguably the most important and powerful rune in this rune page after Lethal Tempo. This is truly a rune that will serve you well no matter where you find yourself. The healing provided by this rune is insane and its also great to regen some health in the jungle if you took some poke damage. You can stack it quickly since you're playing funnel so will definitely get kills, always take this rune.

For your Rune Shards the first two are always going to remain unchanged. You always want and as they allow you to clear the jungle easier on your first clear. The third rune shard is the one that will be require frequent adjustment. You want to take either or depending on who the enemy mid laner is. Since you are going to be mid a lot it is expected that the enemy mid laner will try to harass you while you are trying to farm, so take whatever resistance will counter them to give yourself an easier time.

Kraken Slayer

Guinsoo's Rageblade

Kraken Slayer, Guinsoo's Rageblade are going to be the two major items you are building every single game. The synergy of these two items give you so much power. Kraken Slayer gives you the stats you need to slice through tanks as well as duel any player on the enemy team with Challenging Smite. Guinsoo's Rageblade gives you damage and the phantom hit passive which applies all your on-hit effects twice every third auto attack.

-OR-

Plated Steelcaps > ARMOR Most games I go Plated Steelcaps. This is because in soloq the most common team comps have 3 AD based champions and 1 AP based. This is what usually what happens because of how riot has designed the game with ADC's bot and the majority of top laners and junglers being AD based as well. So yeah most games I go these because I know I am going to get MR from Wit's End most likely and I already have tenacity from my rune Legend: Tenacity. Mercury's Treads > MAGIC RESIST + TENACITY I go Mercury's Treads when against heavy AP based enemy teams or if the enemy team has a **** ton of cc on them and Legend: Tenacity isnt cutting it. You shouldnt find this to be the case as if they have that much cc you should probably dodge or you can get Sterak's Gage instead to survive the burst while you are cc'd. Mainly go for these when vs Heavy AP.

BLADE OF THE RUINED KING Blade of the Ruined King is a good purchase only when you dont need Wit's End and/or the enemy team has a lot of bruisers/tanks on their team. I like to buy it when I'm vs full AD teams because I will buy Death's Dance third and since I dont need Wit's End and would like some more attack speed I buy it 4th item. This item is one of the best sustain items still accessible to Master Yi in Season 11 so if you dont need Wit's End I really recommend picking this up.

PHANTOM DANCER Phantom Dancer can be a fun item to buy but I don't recommend building it all too often. It does give a ton of attack speed when fully stacked (80%) and does bring back the feeling of Season 10 [Master Yi]] but because it does not provide any survivability stats I do not recommend building it, only when you're very far ahead.

BLOODTHIRSTER Bloodthirster is a strong sustain item for Master Yi in Season 11 as it gives more lifesteal than any other lifesteal item in the game (20%). It gives more AD and critical strike chance which improve your on-hit damage through Guinsoo's Rageblade passive. I only recommend building it when super ahead though because similar to the reasons I listed above for Phantom Dancer, it doesnt give you any defensive stats.

CHEMPUNK CHAINSWORD I think Chempunk Chainsword can be a good alternative to Thornmail when against champions that you want to apply grievous wounds too but you know they wont auto-attack you that much. Sometimes instead of relying on them to auto you for grievous wounds to be applied like you do with Thornmail you need to take action yourself and apply them yourself. If you are going to build Executioner's Calling I strongly recommend Chempunk Chainsword over Mortal Reminder as Chempunk gives you a little bit of HP which can come in useful.

Armor

Magic Resistance

Health

DEATH'S DANCE The Season 11 Death's Dance is not as good as its season 10 predecessor but it is still pretty good. Riot has changed the item to be built specifically against AD team comps as it gives you a decent amount of Armor as well as AD and ability haste. Its also one of the few healing items that Master Yi is still able to access in Season 11 so I would definitely recommend picking this up whenever you can or whenever you think it may be needed.

RANDUIN'S OMEN Randuin's Omen is pretty much the best armor item in the game. I always recommend buying this when the enemy team has at least two champions who build critical strike chance. Most teams will always have at least one in the form of their ADC, and if they have a Yasuo mid or Tryndamere top you need this item. I sometimes just get this if the enemy team just has Caitlyn or Jhin because their crits are huge late game.

THORNMAIL Thornmail is a great buy when you need the grievous wounds to reduce the healing on the enemy team. If they have champions like Vladimir, Aatrox, Soraka or Yuumi you cant go wrong with this buy. When super ahead I suppose you can go Chempunk Chainsword but in most games Thornmail will be your best bet as you want the survivability it provides.

SPIRIT VISAGE Get Spirit Visage when against teams with at least 3 magic damage based champions. This combined with your Mercury's Treads and Wit's End will make you near unkillable on magic resistance alone, and then your gonna have the insane bonus healing that this item provides as well. The mage mains on the enemy team will definitely cry about how broken Master Yi is after you build this lol.

ADAPTIVE HELM Adaptive Helm is only good into teams with mages and in particular mages with short cooldowns or with spells that deal damage over time. I'm talking about champions like Cassiopeia, Anivia and Malzahar etc. I dont find myself building this item that often as generally Spirit Visage is better but this item can be good in those niche scenarios.

MEDRCURIAL SCIMITAR Mercurial Scimitar is a must buy against champions with hard cc that they can just point and click on you and it lasts for a long time. You always want to buy the Quicksilver Sash component of this item first so you can use its active. I always recommend buying this item when against Malzahar for example.

STERAK'S GAGE Similar to Death's Dance I would almost say Sterak's Gage is core on Master Yi as well. This item is just made for funneling because when team fighting if the enemy team has any brains at all they are going to try and focus you. This means you will face a huge burst of incoming damage from them as they all unload their abilities on you. This means that you will most likely always proc the passive shield from Sterak's Gage and this will keep you alive for longer. Its passive no longer gives you tenacity but rather gives you healing instead, something to keep in mind.

TITANIC HYDRA I only buy Titanic Hydra when I have a huge lead over everyone else in the game and I know there is no possibility of us losing. With this item you are going to be doing insane AoE damage in team fights, reducing the hp of players you arent even auto-attacking because of the cleave passive it gives you. Seeing their health bars drop before you even start attacking them is the best feeling in this game.

Ok now that we have gone over the all the basics you need to know we can start going into how you are going to execute the funnel strategy in your games. The first topic we should discuss is your initial jungle clear and what paths you should be taking.

At the very start of the game I strongly recommend only defending your red buff. Ping your team and especially your Taric to stack with you in the bush by the river on the red buff wall. As Master Yi you should place a ward right at the entrance toy your jungle so that you can see around the corner of the wall to the pixel bush in the river. Now you are perfectly set up to defend your red side from an invade. If the enemy team does invade Taric can land a 5 man Dazzle easily and you should have no problem winning the level one. make sure to focus the closest person or the squishiest person. but once you have gone on a target make sure to stick on them and not switch targets. Taric Should use Heal and Exhaust as well to keep you alive for a bit longer.

If the enemy team is not invading then recall at 0:52 and switch your trinket for oracle lens and return to your red buff. Make sure to start standing next to the bomb plant and hit the plant at 1:27. This is so you can get a stack of you passive so you will get your Double Strike up sooner and will allow you to kill red buff slightly faster.

Clear Route
For this clear you are also going to be starting at your Red buff, you always want to start at your red buff because this buff is so vital to Master Yi in the early game. Take your red buff then immediately path towards your blue buff. Take blue then carry on to gromp, try and drag the buffs together of you can to save a couple extra seconds in your clear. After Gromp clear wolves and by the time you have killed wolves you should be able to get to mid for the first cannon wave.

While farming mid the same things apply before that I mentioned in the first clear. Look for kill opportunities but remember the primary objective is to clear the wave so then you have prio for scuttle. What I like about this clear is how it gives you the strong possibility to deny both scuttles from the enemy jungler, setting them behind. After farming mid go towards the scuttle that you think the enemy jungler is closest to. Most of the time this will be the top side scuttle so for this example we will go top, take the the scuttle then immediately path bot side to take the bot side scuttle. After taking the second scuttle return to your jungle and farm any respawned camps.

I recommend this clear when you think it is likely that you will get invaded early. By going to our blue buff straight away we can ensure that we secure it for ourselves and it is not stolen away.

After you have cleared both [[scutlle] crabs you want to look for a gank opportunity in whatever side lane you are closest to. If you killed the bot side scuttle second, you want to try and look for something bot. If they are around 50%-70% hp you definitely want to gank, if more than 70% look at the lane state and decide if you think you can kill them or not, if not you just return to your jungle and continue farming. Try to be decisive so you are not wasting time and falling behind in farm.

With the funnel strategy, there are a few things you must be aware/keeping track of because if you don't it can result in inefficient use of your time or getting caught out and dying.

Monster Hunter Debuff
Try to notice when the debuff is applied to you as you don't want to be spending too much time mid when it is. Riot has been making this debuff stronger and stronger in season 10 causing it reduce the gold we get from lane minions significantly as well as reducing the experience gained by 50% when the debuff is applied. As soon as you see this pop up finish what you are doing mid asap then return to the jungle and farm some camps. When you see the debuff go away then you can return to mid.

Enemy Jungler
Do your best to track the enemy jungler if you can. This will help you when deciding where to make plays on the map and keep you from getting caught out by surprise.

Item Power Spikes
Master Yi has three main power spikes. Each one comes on the completion of Skirmisher's Sabre - Bloodrazor, Guinsoo's Rageblade and Wit's End. Once you have rageblade you will be able to win most 2v2s/2v3s no problem. Its when you complete Wit's End though that you will see a noticeable increase in your power. I've had games turn around in my favor that looked doomed as soon as I got Wit's End, you really need Wit's End to win 2v4s and 2v5s.

Thank You
Thank you for reading my guide on how to funnel with Master Yi. I hope you find some success with it. If you are new to funneling you may lose a few games as you adapt to this new playstyle stick it out and once you have mastered it I promise you will have found a fast and effective climbing strategy.

Please let me know what you think of the guide and if there is anything else you would like to me include/improve on. I love reading you guys' feedback. See you on the rift ;)