I've been looking for a tank to play, as I've been normally playing AD and AP ranged carries. I've started to move more into the melee aspect when I played Irelia during her free week (and Riot, if you're reading this, when you do change her just keep her a bruiser/fighter, she really isn't an assassin at her core as of now). I've never really played a support character like Janna or Zilean, but I am interested in getting to know a tank.

Now, Shen has a reputation for being one of, if not the most, amazing tank in the game. He also has a reputation for being banned a lot, and this last patch saw some substantial nerfs to his early game burst potential.

So, I ask the League of Legends community, and more specifically Shen players, how does Shen fare post-patch? Is he worth the IP, or should I look elsewhere? And if he is still good, what advice would you give to a new Shen player?

lol his nerfs are nothing compared to what makes him OP.
1-His ult makes ur carry ****in hard to kill with a bonus 700 hp end game + its global
2- His taunt is ****in AoE
3- He's a ninja

You should learn him, because you gotta play him whenever he is available.

he just cant dominate lanes as hard as he could before nerf. hes still a good tank

he is still probably one of the best tanks.

One of my fav champs in the game
And one of, if not the best tank in the game. The damage nerf didn't really hit him that hard from what I've played since. But if you're tanking, the damage comes as a bonus anyways since what you're doing is, essentially tanking. Taunting and shielding is your main goal first and foremost.

One of the tips I would say is to conserve and manage your energy. Sure it may seem good to spam your vorpal blades for the damage when in skirmishes, but your taunt costs a whopping 120 energy, and when you don't have it, it can mean a death or a kill. It just takes some practice and judgement on when and how you use your energy.

Plus frozen shen skin is on sale! :3

Shen's damage is as good as a 9mm now: It sucks. But hey, he still does his job as a tank.
And here's why his damage sucks: You're not supposed to be stacking health because it doesn't synergize so well with his Feint. The most health should probably be from an Aegis and Rylai's, so 8% of that is not even 100 damage from Ki Strike. 3.5% of your total max health would result in a little more than 100. But only after you get those two items is his Ki Strike decent. Then the nerf on Vorpal Blade is just plain obvious.

ps: I want my Sturgeon Shen.

Oops, didn't really help.
You need some serious map awareness to actually be a "good Shen" and be sure not to waste your ultimate on people who would die regardless. But that life tap really helps both yourself and your partner when your lane is in a crummy situation. Other have already stated a lot of other tips. But weigh the tradeoff between using the dash to escape or to taunt and save an ally or two, remembering that when you successfully taunt the dash's cost is only half. He's definitely worth the IP.

if u wanna play ranked, dont bother learning shen or rammus. both get banned pretty often until u hit the higher elo's

if u stick to normal, shen's a great champ.

Yes Shen is still worth it. You just can't be as aggressive early on anymore. Which makes me very sad.

Hes a great tank and most likely always will be thanks to his design (outlined by Flexic earlier in this thread):
-Ninja
-aoe taunt
-global ult/carry protection
-dmg absorbing shield

Check out this Shen Guide for tips on how to play him at his best.

I'm a really bad Shen player so I play Amumu instead.