Team Synergy for Master Yi
Master Yi wants teams that buy him time, block the first layer of crowd control, and create the first low-health target. He is at his best when someone else starts the fight or forces defensive tools, then he enters late with Highlander pressure and chains kills through Alpha Strike windows. The most valuable team functions for him are reliable engage, anti-CC protection, shields or damage reduction, movement speed, target lockdown, and enough poke or waveclear to stop the enemy from freely holding the lane. If your comp has only damage and no way to force enemies to stand still, Yi becomes easy to kite and punish.
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Lulu - highest value enchanter for turning Yi into the reset threat
Synergy mechanism: Lulu gives Yi the two things he usually lacks: safe entry and protection after he becomes visible again. Her shields, speed, and emergency peel let him commit deeper without instantly losing to burst or a single hard crowd control chain.
Combo: Yi should not sprint in just because Lulu is nearby. Let the enemy spend a key stun, knockup, or silence on your frontline first. Lulu then buffs Yi as he enters, and Yi uses Alpha Strike to dodge the next dangerous hit or to stick to the marked carry. If the enemy turns on him, Lulu saves her biggest defensive tool for the moment Yi reappears, not before he disappears.
Best scenario: This pair is brutal into teams that rely on one peel spell to stop divers. Once that spell is used, Yi can run through the backline while Lulu keeps him fast enough to keep choosing targets.
Enemy answer: The enemy should hold Exhaust, polymorph-style effects, suppressions, or knockups until after Alpha Strike ends. They can also hit Lulu first, because Yi without his enchanter is much easier to isolate.
Failure risk and recovery: The biggest mistake is overbuffing Yi before he has a real angle. If Lulu spends everything while Yi is still walking through poke, he reaches the fight with no safety net. Recover by playing one slower wave, letting Yi clear or threaten front-to-back, then re-engage after Lulu has protection ready again.
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Taric - best dive partner when Yi needs to survive the all-in
Synergy mechanism: Taric gives Yi a way to fight through the enemy’s burst window instead of trying to dodge every answer perfectly. His linked protection and delayed teamfight safety are especially valuable when Yi must enter into multiple champions rather than clean up one isolated target.
Combo: Taric links with Yi before the fight, then your team forces a clump with Snowball, frontline pressure, or choke control. Yi waits until Taric commits, then enters as the enemy starts dumping damage into the dive. If Taric times his protection well, Yi can keep attacking instead of retreating after the first reset attempt.
Best scenario: Taric-Yi shines against burst-heavy teams that want one clean kill at the start of every fight. If they cannot kill Yi during their first rotation, they often run out of space while he keeps moving forward.
Enemy answer: The enemy should disengage when Taric commits, spread out, and re-hit after the protection window is gone. Hard displacement also works well because Yi hates being pushed away from targets while his team’s safety tools are active.
Failure risk and recovery: This combo fails when Yi starts too early and forces Taric to use everything before the real fight begins. If that happens, do not chase into their side of the bridge. Reset behind your frontline, clear the next wave, and make the enemy walk into Taric’s zone instead of letting them kite backward for free.
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Morgana - strongest anti-pick support when one crowd control spell would ruin Yi
Synergy mechanism: Morgana protects Yi from the exact kind of single hard catch that often deletes him before he can reset. Her binding also creates simple target selection: if someone is caught, Yi has a clear first victim instead of guessing which carry he can reach.
Combo: Morgana should not throw Black Shield randomly just because Yi is near the enemy. Hold it for his actual entry, especially when the opposing team has a hook, stun, root, or fear waiting for him. If Morgana lands a binding on a carry or exposed support, Yi can follow with Alpha Strike and autos while the rest of the team zones the peel.
Best scenario: This pairing is excellent into pick comps with one obvious “stop Yi” button. Morgana makes that button unreliable, and her long-range catch means Yi does not need to be the first champion seen.
Enemy answer: The enemy can break or bait the shield before committing real crowd control. Heavy magic damage makes this easier, and patient teams will poke Morgana’s shield target, wait it out, then lock Yi down after he reappears.
Failure risk and recovery: The danger is treating Black Shield like invincibility. Yi can still die to raw damage, slows after the shield is gone, or layered control. If the shield is removed early, Yi should stop forcing the dive and swap to hitting the nearest safe target until Morgana has another angle to bind someone.
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Amumu - best low-effort fight starter for Yi cleanup
Synergy mechanism: Amumu gives Yi what he cannot create alone: a reliable moment where multiple enemies are stuck in place and forced to take a fight. Yi loves enemies who have already used dashes, flashes, shields, or panic buttons before he arrives.
Combo: Amumu starts with Snowball, flank pressure, or a direct engage when the enemy group is packed near a wave or narrow section. Yi should wait half a beat. Let Amumu absorb the first counter-engage, then enter on the lowest or most important target caught in the crowd control. If Yi goes in at the same instant as Amumu, he may eat every defensive spell at once.
Best scenario: This duo is strongest against ranged comps that stand together behind minions. Amumu breaks the formation, and Yi punishes the panic movement afterward. Even if Amumu dies, one good engage can leave Yi with enough damaged targets to finish the fight.
Enemy answer: The enemy should spread before Amumu reaches them and save disengage for Yi, not only for Amumu. If they knock Yi away after Amumu’s engage ends, the combo loses most of its finishing power.
Failure risk and recovery: The failure point is the whiffed engage. If Amumu misses or lands too deep without follow-up, Yi must not chase to “save” him. Recover by backing to the wave, farming safely, and waiting for the next forced clump instead of turning one missed engage into two deaths.
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Orianna - best hybrid utility mage when Yi needs speed, shielding, and a delivery threat
Synergy mechanism: Orianna makes Yi’s approach harder to read and adds a second punishment layer to his dive. Her shield and speed help him enter, while the ball turns his movement into a threat that enemies must respect even before he commits.
Combo: Orianna places the ball on Yi or a frontline champion before the fight starts. If Yi has a clean angle, he carries the ball into the backline and Orianna uses her control as enemies group to peel him. If Yi cannot safely enter, Orianna can instead use the ball on the tank to force cooldowns, then Yi follows after the enemy spreads or burns disengage.
Best scenario: This is very strong against teams that kite in a tight pack. They have to choose between grouping and getting punished by Orianna, or spreading and giving Yi cleaner isolated targets.
Enemy answer: Smart enemies track the ball and back away from whoever carries it. They can also bait Yi into overextending, then disengage from Orianna’s range and turn once he is separated from the shield.
Failure risk and recovery: The combo fails when Yi sprints past Orianna’s effective follow-up and fights alone. If he outruns the ball or dives after Orianna has already used her main control, he becomes a normal melee carry in enemy territory. Recover by playing front-to-back for one exchange, letting Orianna poke and shield, then only committing when the ball and Yi are moving together again.
Draft rule: Yi does not need five champions built around him, but he does need at least two real enablers. One should start or lock the fight, and one should protect him from the first counterplay. When your team lacks both, play Yi as a late-entry cleaner, not a primary engager. Let someone else take the ugly cooldowns, then cut through the fight after the enemy’s answer is already gone.
