Irelia should leverage her high early agency and lane pressure to deny Tahm Kench a passive lane and prevent him from safely stacking his passive.
This is a snowball matchup where Irelia must use wave control and all-in windows to force Tahm Kench into inefficient trades and avoid letting him scale.
Trading pattern
Stack passive and use minion resets with (Q) to close distance and commit only when (E) or (R) marks Tahm Kench for reliable all-ins.
Punish Tahm Kench when he has fewer than three passive stacks to reduce his stun threat and durability.
Avoid using (Q) forward without a reset minion or mark to prevent being vulnerable to Tahm Kench’s crowd control and counter trades.
Danger windows
Respect Tahm Kench’s (Q) stun when he reaches three passive stacks, as it enables his strongest crowd control threat.
Be cautious when Tahm Kench has (R) available, as he can (R) to isolate or save, disrupting your all-in.
Avoid extended fights when Tahm Kench’s (E) gray health shield is active, as it reduces your burst effectiveness.
Early game
Use level 2 power spike by combining (Q) and (E) to stun and reset on minions, punishing Tahm Kench before he builds passive stacks.
Maintain wave states with low-health minions to enable (Q) resets and extended trades when Tahm Kench’s crowd control is on cooldown.
Avoid fighting without passive stacks or reset paths to prevent being punished by Tahm Kench’s (Q) stun and (E) durability.
Power spikes
Level 2: Use (Q) and (E) combo to stun and reset, forcing Tahm Kench into unfavorable trades.
Level 6: Use (R) to mark and slow Tahm Kench, enabling extended all-ins and reducing his ability to (R) or peel.
First fighter item: Pressure waves and skirmishes confidently, as increased damage and durability improve trade outcomes against Tahm Kench’s tankiness.
Win conditions
Use wave manipulation to create low-health minions for (Q) resets, enabling extended all-ins around (E) or (R) marks.
Deny Tahm Kench the ability to safely build passive stacks by forcing trades early and punishing cooldowns.
Convert early kills and pressure into side-lane dominance and skirmishes where your mobility and resets outmatch Tahm Kench’s tankiness.
Tip: For Irelia vs Tahm Kench, read overview, trading pattern, and danger windows first for a fast Top lane check.
