Talk:Shen/@comment-3165723-20110103072501/@comment-1973463-20110103095436

As with all tanks, your build is highly dependent on your opponents. Anyway, I like to get.. merc treads and then abyssal scepter if the enemy has more magic damage, and I get only 1 level of shadow dash, and put priority in vorpal blade and feint. Those two skills are strong early in the game. I get Abyssal Scepter over something more tankish like Force of Nature because it not only makes him and any magic-using allies do more damage with the AP and MPen aura, but it also powers up his Feint (and his ult!), so he can still tank just as well anyway. Ki Strike + Vorpal Blade is surprisingly decent damage early on, especially with Abyssal Scepter. After that, judgment call. Get some health, more MR, or some armor if the enemy has physical damage too. Aegis, Spirit Visage, Sunfire, and Force of Nature are some good ones. Feel free to even throw in a negation cloak or two with no intention of upgrading them any time soon. The MR is very cost efficient. Rylai's is good too once you have a good amount of MR/armor. If the enemy has mostly physical damage, consider getting a Ninja Tabi instead of Mercs, if they don't have a lot of CC. My favorite armor item is Thornmail, which is quite cost effective for armor and especially good on anyone with Taunt, so that's one I'll always get. Aside from that, Sunfire is good, as is Randuin's if you can make use of that active, and again Abyssal Scepter and/or Aegis if they have any notable magic damage. Don't stack health until after you have armor/MR because Feint works very well with damage reduction. It's better to take 300 damage and block 250 of it with Feint than to have twice as much health but take 600 damage, since you still only block 250 of it with Feint. This has nothing to do with build, but another thing to watch out for, especially if you have some CDR, is to not spam his skills too much or you won't have energy to use them when you need them. Shen can run out of energy very quickly.