Welcome to my Yorick guide! I'm A Drunk Carry, a NA Yorick player. I was silver trash before Yorick. I hit Plat 2 on my main account (StarCraft) with Yorick back in season 9 once I embraced him. I actually started playing Yorick randomly one day because Nasus kept getting banned in normal games. After 2-3 games I had the general idea of him, and fell in love. My peak rank is #9 Yorick in NA, and I'm going all in on this champ this season!

I stream 4x a week @ twitch.tv/a_drunk_carry and feel free to come by and ask any questions you may have there!

So why embrace Yorick into your life?

Much like you, I was getting tilted by my teammates in solo queue. Why can't I carry them? Am I that bad? (yes) How do I resolve this?

Then everything changed. I found a man with a shovel and a Maiden. He took me in like one of his own ghouls. I used to be a Nasus main prior to this. Yorick > Nasus. Trust. Hit the towers. Gain LP.

Yorick takes advantage of the chaos of solo queue. With proper wards and an ounce of macro, you can apply a considerable amount of pressure onto the map. Yorick takes advantage of almost every tank and immobile champ in the game, of which there are a fair bit of in the top lane. Refer to my matchups section above this.

Pros:
-Great split push
-Very straightforward champ (low mechanics needed)
-Learn macro
-Solo objectives
-A monster at 1v1s (and 2v1s if they ignore Maiden)
-Ghouls can split push multiple lanes at a time (more about this later)

Cons:
-No guaranteed CC
-No dashes (wtf Riot everyone else has one)
-Fairly bad at teamfights compared to most top laners
-Teammates will flame you for never grouping (/mute all)
-Immobile
-Loses to a fair bit of meta solo Q tops early (Fiora, Trynd, Irelia, Jax, Renek, Sett)

Passive: Shepherd of Souls Yorick makes a grave for every enemy champ, large monster, and 12th/6th/2nd (based on lvl) non-champ enemy that dies near him.

This is how Yorick spawns his ghouls. His passive is what creates his kit. Note that you can only have 4 graves at a time, as well as 4 mist walkers in the same proximity of eachother. (NOTE: You can have 4 in each lane,though. EX: Spawn 4 top, and let them aggro the creeps. Then walk to mid and create 4 more, etc.)

Q: Last Rites Yorick empowers his shovel, making his next basic attack making it unstoppable, granting an additional 50 attack range, dealing bonus physical damage, and healing Yorick for 12-82 (based on LVL) hp. This is doubled if Yorick is below half hp.

What you'll be using for 90% of the game when fighting. Unstoppable means that your damage can't be stopped or interrupted during the animation by things such as Flash. Dmg will go through prior to Zhonya's as well if you're in windup. Your Q is your sustain tool for laning and fights. Note that last hitting with your Q creates graves as well for your ghouls.

Q: Awakening Yorick summons Mist Walkers from each nearby grave (max of 4)

The second part of your Q. This will create an area in the UI around you when there are enough graves (minimum 3, max of 4) for you to summon ghouls. If your last hit would create a 3rd ghoul then the 2nd part will be available after that.

W: Dark Procession After a 1-second delay Yorick summons a circular wall that lasts for up to 4 seconds. The wall will have 2-4 HP based on level.

Your one form of trap/CC as Yorick. If someone is on the edge of your wall they will be displaced. This is valuable for stopping Shen ult, recalls, or even removing the armor from scuttle crab.

E: Mourning Mist Yorick hurls a coned projectile that deals 15% of the target's current HP as magic dmg to all enemies hit. Enemy champs and large monsters hit by Mourning Mist are slowed by 30%, and marked for 4 seconds. During this duration your Mist Walkers and Maiden will gain 20% bonus mvmt speed and target them. Mist walkers will leap to marked enemies.

This is your sticking device. Hitting an enemy with your E will slow them, and make your ghouls jump right on them.

R: Eulogy of the Isles Yorick summons the Maiden of the Mist, as well as Mist Walkers in the selected location. (2/3/4) Recasting your ult sends the Maiden straight down the current lane you are in, and cannot be stopped.

Your love and joy, the Maiden. This is your source of damage, and she will stay alive as long as her HP is above 0. Note that she regens hp in the fountain much like a champion. Note that any minions/jungle creeps/champions that die within range of the Maiden will INSTANTLY be turned into a ghoul. This is a big part of your split push potential.

The Maiden is an interesting pet/companion. Unlike other pets like Daisy for Ivern, Tibbers for Annie, recasting your ult does not take control of her. She will stay within range of you, and retreat when you begin to as well. As stated earlier recasting your ult will send the Maiden straight down the lane that you're in.

Most of the time you should avoid this at all costs, as your Maiden will often be killed by a champion, a tower, etc. If there is a major objective like Dragon spawning though late game you can find success sending the Maiden top. The maiden will continue to spawn ghouls from creeps that are killed. I've taken 2 towers and an inhib just by sending my Maiden bot as we teamfight over a Baron before.

Tower Aggro Priority This is VERY important, as the Maiden's AI is not very responsive and will only begin retreating from a tower after you walk a certain distance away from it. The exact range is 600 units before she retreats.

Tower aggro priority is ALWAYS in this order: Cannon minion, regular minions, ghouls, then the Maiden. This is very important, as you can keep track of when the tower will start hitting your Maiden, and utilize the most tower dmg possible without losing her. Note that ghouls spawned AFTER the Maiden begins taking aggro will not swap priority. However say you have 2 mist walkers. One dies then you kill another creep to spawn more. As long as there is 1 mist walker it will keep aggro.

IMPORTANT: If you E an enemy under tower the Maiden will INSTANTLY start taking priority tower aggro. This is a change put in with the Yorick-mini rework as of June 2021. And I hate it. But it's Riot, so whatcha gonna do? I highly reccomend to never E the enemy under turret unless you're about to leave lane and want to chunk them down. This is a very easy way to get your Maiden killed very quickly if you're not paying attention.

It sounds tricky, but it's fairly straightforward.

Your Maiden does INSANE dmg to objectives like Baron and Dragon as well. I've been able to solo Baron while both teams are fighting bot very easily, with adequate vision.

This is the toughest part for Yorick tbh. As stated in the matchup guide above many meta champions beat up on Yorick fairly easily early.

Yorick is nearly defenseless level 1, as he does not have ghouls yet. Try to farm as safely as you can, last hitting with Q when possible. Keep note of your Grasp procs too, and don't be afraid to use Q to auto the enemy champ if you can get free ones off. In lanes that will push you in (Quinn, Darius, Shen, etc) I usually don't even bother getting graves set up until I'm under tower.

I tend to back when I have 1k gold or so, or only 700 if I'm losing lane badly. Grab a Phage, and we'll be turning this into a Hullbreaker eventually. Survival is key here. Use your Teleport to get back to lane quickly. Don't worry about using it for an early Drake, fight bot, etc. If the enemy uses their TP to help the team then you'll take 2-3 plates top and end up ahead. (Note that tower plates disappear @ 14 mins)

Even getting one or two Demolish procs off will result in easy $$$ for you.

Follow the levelling guide stated above. Q level 1, E at 2, W at 3, then max out Q. At 6 I tend to spawn the Maiden the first time I can successfully trap the enemy champ. The combo you're looking for is an easy W, then E and R. However, if they are in E range and can easily be hit this is a very simple way to set up your wall as well, and ult shortly after. All-in them in hopes of a kill, or a recall. Even a recall is winning, as you'll take plates.

Generally this will be after about 15 minutes. Though this could be rushed if one team gets Rift and forces first tower. This is when Yorick begins to shine.

Be sure to place adequate vision, and start pushing a side wave. Stick with the item guide, and go for either a Divine Sunderer or Trinity Force second depending on enemy comp and who you're against. I'd say Sunderer 90% of the time though. From there build according to the guide. I like Serylda's Grudge 3rd, and Sterak's Gage or a specific defensive item 4th. Matchup dependent, of course.

Why go Hullbreaker first instead of Mythic?
Hullbreaker is the new kid on the block, and provides a TON of utility for Yorick. It makes minions stronger while splitting (siege and supers get 60-135 bonus armor and magic resist and do 200% bonus dmg to towers), gives you 50 AD, hp regen, and 300 health. God bless. It's just so good. And so cost efficient for what it gives.

Few champions can contest with a 1 item Yorick. This will result in them sending their bot lane, or a solo laner + jungle, or a combination of that. This will result in mismatches around the map. Push as safely as possible, always with your Maiden out now. Even if you aren't taking additional towers at this point, any amount of time wasted is big. This will result in your team getting vision across the map, other towers and objectives, winning mismatches, etc.

What do I do if no one matches me? I'm often asked this by people who watch my stream. This is your dream scenario! Your team may be at Dragon fighting a 5v4 atm. They might be spam pinging you. Don't let that get to you. Keep your eyes on the prize. Push the lane and take 1-2 towers.

I guarantee that they won't make the same mistake again.

During mid-game it's important to save your Teleport for additional enemy towers, or for a TP into a crucial teamfight. Just because you're Yorick doesn't mean you can't join a fight. I know this may seem contradictory, but one of the few intricacies of Yorick is knowing WHEN to join in.

Let's go through an example scenario. The enemy team is preparing for their 2nd dragon. You've already taken the Tier 1 tower top, and are still pushing it. You have vision of all 5 enemies, and your Maiden is pushing. In this scenario I would press R a second time to release your Maiden top. I would also teleport to the dragon, aiding my team. Even if you end up losing the fight the Maiden + creeps + ghouls will do substantial tower damage. Best case scenario you win the fight, get the towers, and build a crushing lead over the enemy.

Late game is what I describe 25+ minutes into the game, when one big fight will decide the difference between a win or loss. This could revolve around Dragon (could be soul point or Elder) or Baron Nashor.

This is where Yorick becomes a terror again. Say the Baron is up, and the enemy is gesturing towards it. Your team has adequate vision, and sees that they are just posturing. This is when pushing bottom and forcing the issue creates huge issues for the enemy. They will either have to recall or send a Teleport your way to stop structures falling, or force Baron. While they're forcing you can take more towers, and keep an eye on the mini-map. If your team is fairly even, I would send the Maiden bottom and Teleport. If it's a lost cause (say someone was caught out, CC'd, etc) then I would push bot as hard as possible.

Pay close attention to spawn timers as well. If I know Dragon is spawning in a minute I will pre-push top. What I mean by that is I will shove with the Maiden, and ensure that 4 ghouls are shoving the top lane. Late game they are extremely powerful, and even ghouls can take an inhib on their own. Most enemies will not notice the additional ghouls on the map. As soon as I have 4 ghouls aggroing creeps (they will continue to push once this happens) I will recall and walk to the Dragon. If I have TP up and we lose the fight I can simply TP onto my ghoul across the map and destroy more objectives.

11.24b: The only thing that important to Yorick was a slight nerf of First Strike bonus dmg from 10% to 9%. I haven't been super crazy about this rune unless I'm against a tank anyway. Gwen saw her base hp buffed from 550 to 590 due to her issues in top and mid lane matchups, and Mundo saw his HP regen (thank you) and Q base dmg lowered due to how oppressive he is right now.

Objective bounties are BIG as well. Below are the gold amounts for each:

BARON & ELDER DRAGON 500 gold
DRAKES & RIFT HERALD 500 gold
OUTER TURRET 250 gold
INNER TURRET 400 gold
BASE TURRET 400 gold