Starter Guide: Bruiser Cyclone Wukong (Top) Top

Bruiser Cyclone Wukong opens with a Crushing Blow (Q) armor shred, leaves a Warrior Trickster (W) clone where he used to be, and knocks the whole team up with Cyclone (R).

Wukong starts fights and is hard to remove from them. Stoneskin gives up to +40 bonus Armor and Magic Resist in a 5v5. Crushing Blow (Q) strips 30% of a target's armor for 3 seconds. Cyclone (R) spins for 4 seconds, dealing physical damage and knocking up everyone it catches.

• Starting Items: Doran's Shield and Health Potion.
• Core Build Rush: Ninja Tabi (reduces physical damage taken during top lane trades), The Black Cleaver (Cyclone R spins for 4 seconds; every spin tick applies a stack of Black Cleaver armor reduction to all surrounding enemies, shredding their armor by 25%), Last Whisper (Crushing Blow Q reduces target armor by 30% for 3 seconds; stacking Q armor shred with Last Whisper and Black Cleaver reduces enemy tanks to 0 armor), and Sunfire Cape (Nimbus Strike E gapclose grants attack speed while Sunfire Cape adds physical armor and immolate magic burn during Cyclone spins).
• Situational Options: Warrior Trickster (W) + Randuin's Omen (decoy stealth lets Wukong sneak into enemy teams before launching Cyclone knockups while Randuin's active slows survivors), Ravenous Hydra, Maw of Malmortius, and Guardian Angel.

• Flash and Teleport (or Ignite).
• Max E (Nimbus Strike) first for attack speed % and target gapclose damage. Max Q (Crushing Blow) second for 30% armor reduction scaling. Max W (Warrior Trickster) third for decoy stealth.

Combos worth drilling

• Decoy Cyclone Initiate: Press W (Warrior Trickster) stealth -> decoy into enemy team -> E (Nimbus Strike) gapclose -> Q (Crushing Blow) -30% armor shred -> R (Cyclone) 4-man knockup.
• Trade Reset: E into target -> auto -> Q auto-reset -> W decoy away to take zero retaliatory damage.

Mistakes to avoid

• Don't activate R Cyclone without Q armor shred: Press Q first so target loses 30% armor before your physical Cyclone spins start.
• Don't stop R Cyclone early unless target is dead: R grants increasing movement speed over 4 seconds while applying 5 Black Cleaver stacks.

• Early Game (Levels 1-5): E Nimbus Strike into the enemy top laner, auto-attack, reset with Q Crushing Blow (-30% armor), and clone away with W Warrior Trickster to take zero damage in return.
• Mid Game (Levels 6-11): Look for 2v2 skirmishes. Open with E -> Q -> Cyclone (R) to knock up enemy champions while gaining movement speed.
• Late Game (Levels 12+): Activate W Warrior Trickster stealth, decoy into the middle of the enemy team, Flash + Cyclone (R) knockup 5 enemies, and apply 5-stack Black Cleaver armor shred for your team.