Your Win Condition
Your primary goal is to secure extended trades. You absolutely need to gain an early game advantage by either killing Aatrox or forcing him to base at a suboptimal time. You are favored in 1-v-1 scenarios from levels one through four, but Aatrox begins to take over the lane from levels five through nine.
General Strategy
You should be running Doran's Blade with Ghost and Flash, using the standard Conqueror setup. I highly recommend initiating a massive, volatile trade at level one, chasing him down the lane immediately. Look to exploit Approach Velocity, especially after your first reset when you return with an item advantage (Long Sword/Refill Potion) and full resources.
Trading Patterns
Aatrox wants short trades; you must pursue long trades. The key is abusing Approach Velocity: if you hit your Q, run at him immediately to close the gap. Do not dodge backwards for his Q1; instead, try to close the distance toward him. Time your Q so that you hit him before he hits his Q, ensuring you gain the movement speed advantage. Aim to get hit by Q1 and the inner part of Q2, then use your movement speed to dodge the center part of Q3. If he lands W and you can take a long trade, activate Ghost and run right through the chain to maintain the fight.
Wave Management
Due to the level one trade, the wave will likely anchor or be bothered; therefore, look for a two-wave crash as quickly as possible, ensuring you get your level two advantage along the way. After the crash, let the wave bounce back towards your side. Since you lose the war of attrition due to mana costs and inferior sustain, look to crash wave four or wave five for an early recall.
Their Win Condition
Aatrox wins by maintaining short trades and using good spacing. He is strongest from level five to nine, so if you haven't gained an advantage by then, he will start to dominate.
!["](https://lolmatchups.net/Olaf".png)
!["](https://lolmatchups.net/Aatrox".png)
