Shaco/Strategy

Skill usage

 * is most effective after using . A guaranteed critical strike with a bonus 20% damage (not a true critical), then quickly followed by a 120% damage will deal a reasonable amount of damage to any champion's health.
 * can be used to go through walls in a similar way to the summoner spell, so it can help you make a clean escape.
 * Unlike, allows Shaco to enter stealth right away but it has a shorter duration.
 * Be aware that both and  generate a puff of orange smoke when used, which is visible to the enemy even if used in a bush or in the fog of war.
 * Having at least 1 rank of is important for team fights as it can be used to disable many enemies.
 * Stacking multiple in one spot can rack up significant damage with an AP build.
 * Warding the Jungle and surrounding area with can allow  to see a gank coming and escape before the other team initiates. Placing them in the brush will prevent enemies from hiding there.
 * Multiple strategically placed can slow or trap an enemy.
 * The clone can be, like most secondary units, controlled by pressing Alt + doing the order with right-click. It does not use any abilities or activated items, however. Use it to push turrets or farm minion waves once the duel/teamfight is over.
 * A well-timed can save  from getting hit by projectiles. This works, for example, against turret shots and certain spells such as  or even.
 * Using will immediately break and cancel any "leashed" abilities such as, , or.
 * Casting will not break stealth.
 * Sometimes is best played tactically. Start off with a point in . If you can, sneak into your lane without being seen by enemies and get to your bush. When in your bush have your lane partner keep the enemies away from the bush. Once you've placed a lot of  walk out of the bush and bait your enemies into a bush. Between levels 1-4 this should be an easy kill.
 * Keep in mind that experienced players will be wary of in bushes, so this will probably not work. A better tactic may be to plant them in an enemy's jungle or just strictly as wards, or to place them near your turret to make defending easier.
 * Though over all Shaco is best played in the jungle due to his squishiness and his ganking and his objective control
 * has a number of differences from his clone that reduce its effectiveness against observant players. He can be distinguished from his clone in the following ways: his clone never shows a neutral buff graphic, pinging Shaco before he uses  will cause the ping to follow the real, and the clone won’t have any items so if you click him you'll know if it’s the real one or not, at last if he with ,  or  you are able to tell which one is the real according to purple/red glow.
 * and can remove slows.
 * will not increase bonus damage applied by a, or  proc.
 * When laning, having a teammate with can be very useful. Placing a  in a bush and having a teammate teleport to it can provide a fantastic surprise attack that the other team wouldn't be able to call MIA quickly enough. Having a mid-laner do this can be even more advantageous due to the level difference.
 * is often a prime target in team fights. You should be using this to your advantage. Coming in behind the enemies and posing yourself as a threat will cause them to attack you. When they start to turn to you, use your to fear or provide another target. You can  once they start to pursue you, and while you deceive send in your clone for additional distraction. All this will allow your team to attack with less counterattack since enemies will be focusing on you.
 * A will help you do this by resisting a stun or silence and allow you to  out safely.
 * If your team is defending a turret from attack, can push another lane (split-pushing).  team should be able 4-man defend a turret because of the offensive capability of the turret filling in for Shaco, and an AD  can take turrets down very quickly with his . If the enemy team sends a few champions to defend the turret and chase you down, your team would have an advantage in attacking the others. If the entire team decides to target you, that leaves their other turrets open for attack by your team.
 * can be used as an anti-initiation tool against champions like . If you fear that they may initiate on you, stand on top of a and wait for them to. The moment they do, they will be feared, allowing you to avoid most initial damage and possibly turn the fight around.
 * can also be used to turret dive on low health enemy targets hiding under their turret.
 * When recalling (and have enough mana):  Go into a bush, place a jack in the box, stand on top of it, THEN recall.  This way, if people are looking for you, they won't interrupt the recall (unless the bush is warded and they have a poke)

Build usage

 * is primarily built with attack damage and attack speed, due to his assassin style gameplay.
 * Alternatively, an AP-centered build is also possible, but relies immensely on placement of.
 * For an AP build, you should aim for quick cooldown reduction and magic penetration build; Items such as Frost Queen's Claim, Athene's Unholy Grail and Void Staff come to mind. Mana regen and cooldown reduction will let you use your E way more often in order to bully your enemies out of lane/teamfight, or even go in for a kill.
 * On-Hit Items such as and  will increase your damage greatly as your  clone will trigger their passives with its own attacks. (Stacking effects from an item will not go beyond their associated cap.)
 * While does give bonus damage for  be aware that 's clone will not gain the particle from the unique passive of, making it easier for the enemy team to identify the real.
 * Cooldown reduction gives a significant boost, allowing you to plant  faster, create clones more often, and use  more over the course of a team fight.
 * The bonus critical strike damage from will apply on critical hits from, in addition to the bonus damage the ability gives.
 * Getting an early can greatly increase your damage output due to the increased damage from  and.
 * is good item to get early - mid game as the armor penetration is effective against squishy champions.
 * , which builds out of the, is an ideal early-mid game item for , affording the highest flat armor penetration in the game (at a point when enemies have yet to stack a lot of armor, particularly the squishies most in need of being shut down) on top of every other offensive stat an AA-dependent champion like Shaco could desire when the active is included. Later, it can be swapped out for or  if additional armor penetration is required.
 * has a unique synergy with, as allows him to get a guaranteed crit with the lightning passive at the beginning of an engagement, affording him an extra 140-220 magic damage (depending on the rank of  and excluding bonuses from crit damage sources like ) at the beginning of his burst, as well as giving him attack speed and crit chance, which he likes, and building out of the , improving its affordability. For these reasons, it is often rushed in a lot of  builds.
 * Although are probably the best offensive boot choice on  due to his dependence on auto-attacks, do not overlook the fact that, as a melee assassin, he is exceptionally vulnerable to crowd control.  may often prove the more pragmatic choice.  are also viable for better roaming, though bear in mind that  has better base movement speed than a lot of champions and thus may not need them as much.

Countering

 * can be a frustrating champion to kill due to the quick and easy escapes with, bringing him down with a disable or a fast burst will make him a much easier prey
 * Champions that can detect during his, like , ,  or  will make him very easy to kill, as 's blink is pretty short ranged
 * Be careful when is nowhere to be seen, he might surprise you with his.
 * To counter this, quickly run away when you see his particle.
 * particle can be seen through the fog of war and in bushes. If you think he is nearby for ganking, be on the lookout for it.
 * If you are unsure about a bush be very careful about face-checking as he might have filled it with.
 * is a champion who stands very strong early game and is known for his deadly ganks, but severely falls off late game, apart from supports almost any champion with a similar total gold  will be able to defeat him without suffering too much damage.
 * is a jungler without any sustain, as such, hurting him if encountered in the jungle can force him back to base, as well as a bad gank can do the same.
 * If you see initiate a fight with his, quickly focus him down while the spell is still on cooldown.
 * When fighting alone, be aware that he might use his  to turn the fight to his favor.
 * Also, be aware that he can dodge any projectile or casting effect when he casts his.
 * To easily distinguish the clone and, his clone will not get particles from any actives, buffs or passive item particles such as or.
 * clone can not use abilities. Keep this in mind when you are trying to distinguish between the real one and the clone.
 * When he casts, his clone will always spawn on the right side his original spot and face backwards while the real one spawns on the front-right of his original spot facing forward.
 * will only apply to the clone ( she will not dash to it, only to the champ ) and  will only apply the fear on the clone while the real  will be slowed.
 * increases any of his damage to you whenever you turn your back from him. Be careful when running away from him.