The jungle is a perilous place where surprises can lurk at every step of the way. You are off the duty of last hitting but you sure ain’t off the duty of roaming. I’ve seen lots of retards going on and off only farming the jungle, afraid of loosing time on lanes saying” That’s better for me, I’ll farm till the end of the game if it’s possible” .
The jungler in my opinion is the most important position in this game and should be taken serious cause dragon fights and baron fights are the one that change the whole course of the game.
Of course the ganks could change the course of the game as well but they are less important when it comes to team composition, and a decent player wouldn’t be surprised by a gank if they have a proper warding, making the jungler position the hardest to play in high-elo being vulnerable to counter-jungling and of course death.
The jungle in its form has been changed countless times making room for more and more jungling options and routes as well, my favorite being Frog-Wolves-Red-Wraits and gank if possible between those camps. If I see a Nunu again I swear I will kill him and stalk for its camps whenever I have the occasion. Useless ganker but one in a million thief.
Now let’s get to our top 6 which starts off with… Drumroll please…
6. Jax – The badass with a lamp-post
One of the best late-game champs in this game, capable to melt down an entire team and do solo Nashor, he is not a force with you’d wanna measure your force. Hard AoE cc, leaping in and out the fight, an ultimate that makes any tank look soft, he is the solution when your team lacks damage.
Veritable duelist when it comes to measuring forces with another champion, good engage, good ganks, good camp clearing, only that he is banned very often, so if you can lay your hands on him, do it without hesitation.
With a win rate of 49.2% and a ban rate over 27%, I think the figures don’t really express the reality, probably he is counter-jungled often like in soccer when you design 2-3 players for a forward player only to not see him do his job. Dealing mixed damage he is hard to conciliate with him when it comes to defense, being forced to build magic resist as well as armor.
His runes come in different shapes in function of what you expect of you champion to be good at, tanking, or damaging, the attack speed being mandatory in his case. Take 3 Quints of Attack Speed, 9 Marks of Hybrid Penetration or Attack Damage if you are retarded, 4 Seals of Health and 5 of Armor and 9 Glyphs of Scaling Magic Resist. They will do their job.
The masteries definitely 12/18/0 and the final build should be mostly based on hybrid damage. It should look like the following: Mercs, Stalker’s Blade- Devourer, Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Hextech Gunblade, The Blade of the Ruined King, but you should consider tankiness if you have trouble staying alive and you are behind taking a Banshee’s Veil or a Dead Man’s Plate.
Jax is particularly weak against Malphite or Renekton but succeeds in countering Yasuo or Fiora which are hard to deal with. Perfect synergy with Orianna.
5. Master Yi – The ninja with a console on his face
This particular jungle isn’t that good at ganking or even jungle clearing but it has a hell of a damage input, melting instantly anyone in a 1vs1, hardly stoppable. He has no problems when it comes to doing solo Dragon or Baron, and definitely an unstoppable force if the team does a kill or two.
The only problem with this guy is that it hasn’t any kind of cc and usually the opponent gets away if he hasn’t the ultimate activated, in rest, I usually run from this cheap guy, being worth only 480 IP, cheap-ass bastard.
With a win rate of 52.8% and a low ban rate of only 4.5%, I’d say this is the kind of jungler that carries out the team to victory easily. For me, this wasn’t a reliable champion like, ever, but some have found true love when it comes to sooper-dooper playing with the right-click, very good in mid-game, being able to fast do split pushes.
His proper runes are: 3 Quints of Movement Speed, 9 Marks of Attack Speed, 9 Seals of Scaling Health considering he must have something to restore when he Meditates and 9 Glyphs of Attack Speed, running that true damage throughout your veins.
The proper masteries are 18/12/0 and the final balanced build should be looking like the following: have a core Trinity Force that makes your Alpha Strike unbeatable, Infinity Edge, Yomumu’ Ghostblade in some cases, Death’s Dance, Guardian Angel to be moore annoying, and situational a Guinsoo’s Rageblade.
Master Yi is strong against any kind of slower but disablers can survive at least. Being countered by the previous Jax, Teemo or Rammus he excels at melting down Ashe, Lux or other carries.
4. Rengar – the one eyed can that makes you yell OH SHIT.
I’ve seen this little pussy instant killing carries making him extremely reliable when it comes to focusing and winning in the end. With a decent rooting and nice engages, this cat is awesome when it comes to ganking as well as camp clearing speed.
His ultimate resembles with Nocturne’s in terms of engaging, but less reliable being prone to being spotted with an Oracle Lens. Very good duelist, with tons of heal and bursts, his passive makes him mana-free, being able to deal damage whatever the state. This one is worth buying and playing, really.
With a win rate of 50.4% and a huuge ban rate of 39.5%, I seriously doubt the fact that you can get your hands on this fellow. Lotsa people hate him and you will rarely see one alive in the wild. His proper runes are 2 Quints of Attack Damage, 1 Quint of CD Reduction, 9 Marks of Armor Penetration, 9 Seals of Armor and 9 Glyphs of CD Reduction.
That extra CD reduction is extremely necessary when it comes to dealing with your opponents proc’ing more and more during the fight. His masteries should be 12/18/0 and his final balanced build should be focused a lot on damage with Infinity Edge or Trinity Force, Yomumuu’s Ghost Blade, Ravenous Hydra, Mercurial Scimitar or Guardian Angel in case you have trouble escaping after that sure kill. Ah, don’t forget Boots of Mobility.
He is weak against Jax or Fiora but excels at countering his archenemy Kha’Zix or even the annoying Yorick. As well he has a great synergy with Orianna.
3. Elise – The spider that is safe everywhere
Particularly good when it comes to dueling, this spider doesn’t need her ultimate to mess your entire jungle. Very hard to catch due her 8 legs that run faster than yours and a reliable cc, she will always be near your camps in the jungle. Being able to win duels even with Lee Sin, she is a real threat when it comes to jungling.
With a win rate of 54.2% and a low ban rate or 2.2%, she really must be taken serious when you see her. Even she lacks AoE damage, she will surely dizzy you when she disappears up into the air and appear somewhere else.
I mained her in a period but she got booring after a while of non-stop playing. Fast camp clearing, probably one of the fastest, and as well infinite spiders at your disposal, leaving you free and full health when you are on the verge of initiating a gank.
Her proper runes are 3 Quints of Ability Power, 9 Marks of Attack Speed, 9 Seals of Armor and 9 Glyphs of Ability Power. The proper masteries are 12/18/0 and the balanced build should be looking like the following: Tracker’s Knife –Runic Echoes, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, Dead Man’s Plate, Banshee’s Veil, Randuin’s Omen and Boots of Swiftness. You can go of course in all damage but you will regret later on having no actual tank in your team, you being the base in the initiation phase.
Elise lacks options when it comes to facing Wu Kong or Kassadin but she can definitely manage it against Melle champs like Renekton and Garen. She has no actual synergies.
2. Graves – I have a big gun and I know how to use it
Being in the period where he actually has a shotgun and he reloads it, even if I talked soo many times about him, he is definitely the most over powered champion at the moment, being in my hands non-stop, during mid lanes, top lanes or even jungle, in jungle he excels due his new knock-back passive over minions with a very fast camp clearing.
My route is the following: Frog-Wolves-Red-Wraits and coming base to upgrade the potions and buy boots(the exact amount you will need to buy those) and gank the hell out of them. I usually make first bloods of my ganks so he is very good at that, bursting down in an instant fleeing opponents.
Afterwards I go after the Vampiric Scepter and never come back to base again, only if it’s necessary. His ultimate Collateral Damage will surely get any low-healths, being very easy to aim at and extremely powerful, scaling 1.5 from his attack damage. Having a dash and a smoke-screen really makes the jungle job an easy task.
With the second highest win rate of 54.3% and a low ban rate of 11.4%, he is definitely the most profitable option when it comes to multi-valence, being good even as a support. With his masteries good in any way 18/0/12 or 12/18/0 he is my hero, I won 4 games in 4 this day with him as a jungler.
My runes are based on 2 Quints of Movement Speed and 1 of Attack Damage, but better would be all Attack Damage, I’m obsessed with Movement Speed. 9 Marks of Armor Penetration, 9 Seals of Scaling Health or Armor and 9 Glyphs of Attack Speed.
His proper build should be based on The Blade of the Ruined King, Infinity Edge, Essence Reaver and probably some defences in the end if you have no trouble, you will, cause they will focus the hell outta you. Thornmail is my way to go when it comes to countering the opposite jungler, usually being based on ad, or even Guardian Angel.
His counters are mostly long-ranged marksmen like Caitlyn or Sivir and he counters all, trust me. Very good champ indeed .
1. Dr. Mundo – The crazy son of a bitch which goes wherever he pleases.
This fellow is a real nightmare in this recent patch so every time I see him banned and shouldn’t be really talking about him but I will in case you are up for some normals.
With a low-CD cleaver he really gets the ganking to a new level, being very good at dives, jungle clearing and all you could imagine.
Exceptional tank, decent damage nonetheless, based more on Health Points than others stats, running all across the map with no shame at all and exceptional at split pushes.
With a win rate of 52.6% and a ban rate of … wait for it… 82.2%, this champion particularly good in early game could be a really rare animal to be seen on the map. His runes should be 3 Quints of Movement Speed, 9 Marks of Hybrid Penetration, 9 Seals of Scaling Health and 9 Glyphs of Scaling Magic Resist. His Masteries are 12/0/18 the best but 12/18/0 works as well.
The final balanced build should be having tons of health having its Sadism scaling with. The build has the following: Ranger’s Trailblazer– Cinderhulk, Ninja Tabi or Mercs, Warmog’s Armor, Spirit Visage, Sterak’s Gage, Randuin’s Omen. You should consider taking Ghost on this fellow being able to catch everybody except Master Yi for instance.
He is weak against tank melters like Vayne and Kog’Maw or Riven but excels at countering Jax, Maokai or other junglers for that instance. He has no actual synergies.