Jungle Philosophy (LoL)

Recently, I have been assigned as the official jungler of our League of Legends competitive team. I have always tried to be good at every aspect of the game, but specializing in the jungle has been a lot of fun lately too. I thought I’d write a little bit about how I like to jungle, so here it goes.

I’m no pro player. In fact, I’m not actually that great in solo queue. I just work well with the right team mates and can usually win in that environment, so this article will revolve mostly around organized team play. Nothing I’m writing here should be taken as anything more than my personal feelings about the jungle.

This is meant to be a good resource for information about the jungle. This might even be more helpful for non-junglers than it would be for experienced junglers that may find a lot of this stuff obvious. I’m often surprised at how often even the most experienced players don’t know the things I always took for granted as a jungler. I hope everyone reading this takes something useful away from it.

Jungling Styles

Every champion you jungle with has its own style. The strengths and weaknesses of each should dictate your goals for them and how you choose which one you want to use before the match even starts. The jungle is not a place where you should just shove whoever you feel like playing. It is a great place to counter-pick their stronger lane choices or their jungler.

Ganking Junglers

Effective gankers generally have at least 3 of the following traits: Fast-Farming, Burst Damage, CC, Good Gap-Closer/Pursuit, Sustainable Farming. Some of the best at these things are Nocturne, Lee Sin, and Shaco.

Playing junglers in this way relies on your ability to close the deal on ganks early and often. You will often have to sacrifice efficient farming for the sake of taking advantage of opportunities in the lanes. This means that not closing the deal will put you behind. Dying during a gank will effectively ruin your game, as you’ve lost xp/gold, you’ve fed an enemy lane, and you may have even given away a buff. Ganking junglers are high-risk, high-reward in most cases, so do your best to make the right choices and communicate well with your lanes to minimize the risk.

Junglers that gank well have a fantastic psychological effect on your enemies as well. Even if they don’t get killed by that level 2 Lee Sin gank, you can count on them spending a ton of gold on constantly warding the Tri-Brush from then on. Seeing a Rammus or Shaco get a first blood scares the shit out of anyone facing him and forces passive play in every lane.

Strong Against: Passive Junglers, Laners without good escapes.
Weak Against: Counter-Junglers, Laners with good escapes.

If you can’t successfully gank, you’re going to get behind quickly. If your jungle is countered badly while you’re ganking a lane, their jungler will pull ahead of you.

Control Junglers

These junglers generally excel at soloing dragon, map vision, buff control, and sustainability. Some of the best control junglers are: Udyr, Warwick, and Trundle.

The best way to Control your jungle is with a Wriggle’s Lantern. Nothing really comes close to the utility this baby has. The best way to control dragon is to establish reliable vision, but the ability to solo it at an opportune moment — Ex: their jungler and mid gank top — also goes a long way. Against opponents with strong vision, an Oracle Elixir on a tanky jungler like Rammus can turn the tides very quickly.

Controlling the jungle aids your team in other ways too. Ganks are much easier for you, and harder for them when you counter their warding. Counter-jungling is way easier when you can see where their whole team is. Controlling Dragon can push your team into an advantage with an even early game.

Strong Against: Warding Supports, Ganking Junglers/Mids, Counter-Junglers.
Weak Against: Teammates needing ganks, Counter-warding.

Your own support will have more cash for themselves if you help them maintain vision. If your vision is contested, it is very difficult to control objectives in the jungle. If your team mates can’t win their lanes without your help, you will not be where you need to be when respawns happen and you will lose control of the jungle to countering or enemy control junglers.

Counter Junglers

The best counter junglers are sustainable duelists that have strong mobility. Having burst abilities to steal buffs with is another boon for these junglers. Some of the best counter junglers are: Shaco, Lee Sin, and Nunu.

An effective counter-jungler functions by giving himself a large advantage over the enemy jungler. He delays or stops the enemy jungler from ganking, farming, and supporting his team. During mid-game, he essentially makes team fights 5v4 because of your team’s advantage.

Counter-Jungling also allows you to gank enemy lanes from unexpected angles. Most laners don’t ward the tri-brushes and ramps behind them as often as they do the river.

Strong Against: Junglers/Laners that need their buffs, Ganking Junglers.
Weak Against: Control Junglers, Poor Vision.

A counter-jungler has a lot on his plate. He needs to maintain awareness over the entire map at all times and always be in the right place at the right time. Being denied an enemy camp he extends for or being pulled away to gank can make that difficult.

Farming Junglers

Farming junglers spend most of their time in the jungle or covering lanes when their assigned champion leaves/dies. Some of the best farming junglers include: Tryndamere, Gangplank, and Master Yi.

A farming jungler isn’t very useful in the early game. They often build GP10 items and rarely show their faces in the lanes. The idea behind using one is to farm up hard and carry late game. The inherent problem with these junglers is they leave their team mates to essentially fight a 4v5 lane phase against an aggressive ganker. Only use this style of jungler with a team that can reliably win all their lanes without your help.

I generally consider these to be the weakest junglers for team games, but that depends entirely on how good your carries are. Sometimes a level 9 Tryndamere with red buff tower diving you successfully the very first time you ever see him is effective enough to make up for his early game absence.

Strong Against: Unsuccessful Ganking Junglers.
Weak Against: Teammates needing ganks, Counter-Junglers.

Farming junglers do best with lanes they can rely on to win without any outside help. They are easily disrupted and rarely contribute much to the team until mad or late game.

Support Junglers

Putting the needs of your team mates above your own is the name of the game here. Some of the best supportive junglers are: Warwick, Maokai, and Amumu.

Support junglers are generally very survivable, sustainable, and resilient. They don’t need buffs to function. They don’t collapse if they are countered. They are reliable and adaptable. They will not carry your team, but they will make your carries look goooooood. If your team needs a gank, they can do it decently well. If they need lane coverage, you’re there. If they need you to grab an Oracle and counter-ward, you can do that. Supportive junglers are amazing in the right team composition.

Strong Against: Unsupported enemy lanes, Early team fights.
Weak Against: Counter-Junglers, Over-stretch.

Support junglers will do their best to support every lane with buffs, ganks, and vision. But they can’t always be everywhere and can get far behind if they can’t pick up farm in between.

Rammus : Fear the Powerball

My Preferred Method: (none on Solomid, might write one)
Rammus is an auto-ban/pick champion right now. It’s hard for me to remember a legitimate game since the “new jungle” came out where the team with a Rammus didn’t win. His ganks are arguably scarier than anyone else’s including Shaco and Lee Sin. Any player that can capitalize on the ridiculous CC he brings to the table will get fed by Rammus ganks.

Rammus is really simple and straightforward as a jungler. You farm, you gank, you do your best to never die and build up a ton of assists. Build Heart of Gold and Philo Stone, then counter your prominent enemies with tank items. Piece of cake.

When You Play On His Team:

• Steal his kills if you’re a carry. Finish the close ones if you’re support. Rammus wants assists. Kills are kind of wasted on him, but he can definitely get them with his deceptively powerful auto attacks.
• Leave his jungle alone with the exception of MAYBE small golems when he’s across the map. He only really gets farm from creeps.
• Counter-ward with Pinks or Oracle if you want ganks.
• Always help Rammus kill dragon. He can solo it eventually, but it takes forever.
• If you’re getting anti-carried really hard by one particular enemy, tell Rammus who to taunt. Sometimes there is more than one dangerous enemy of course, so do your best to keep yourself alive and fighting.

When You Play Against Him:

• Rammus always starts at Blue.
• Ward vigilantly. Bottom lane will usually need at least two wards at all times (tri-brush & dragon choke) because you need ADVANCE notice if he’s coming to gank you. Even with these wards, he can still brush gank you from underneath if you aren’t careful. Top and Mid will need to be equally vigilant, especially if their lane opponents have good burst.
• Don’t push your lane at all if you can help it. Even with advanced notice, Rammus can catch you extended extremely fast. Rammus ganks are GOING TO HAPPEN, all you can do is minimize risk and pay attention to your map.
• Don’t sit under your turret with low health unless you’re consciously baiting and have a plan to counter the dive. Rammus eats tower hits like they don’t even tickle.
• Counter-jungle him, especially if you can steal an early blue. Wraiths are his favorite camp to clear, so leave one red one up whenever you take them. If you get caught, don’t fight him. You probably can’t kill him, and you’ll get yourself killed by his allies if they’re paying attention.
• You have to decide by mid-game or so how you’re going to deal with Rammus. If you have a Kog’Maw/Trundle/Vayne/[shred] champion, you can consider making them anti-tank with Madred’s Bloodrazers, Last Whispers, etc. If you don’t, kiting or anti-carrying are probably your best options. Just make sure to have a plan before the team fights start.
• Take advantage of Rammus’s poor dragon control by having your jungler solo it when Rammus is elsewhere.
• If you’re noticing that Rammus is taunting you in most of the team fights, delay your attack a few seconds so that Rammus has to either taunt someone else, or delay his initiation by chasing you while your allies go straight for his carries.
• It is generally a bad idea to try to run away from a Rammus unless you can jump a wall, snare him, or somehow get minions between you and his powerball. If you can’t get to your nearest turret fast enough without those things, then do the best you can to die honorably. Make them chase you away from your team mates, try to get executed by a tower, or try to take one of them with you.

Strong Versus: Ashe, Master Yi, Tryndamere, [heavy physical damage], [squishy carries], [anti-carries]
Weak Versus: Morgana, Kog’Maw, Vayne, Trundle, Kassadin, [mobile anti-carries], [AoE stuns], [long-range], [armor/health shred]
Synergy With: Graves, LeBlanc, Akali, [aoe casters], [chain cc], [single-target burst]

Skarner : Disruption King

My Preferred Method: TheOddOne
Spammable AoE slows on a tanky body that does good damage with a Trinity Force. His ult is his big gimmick obviously, but his sustained damage from Sheen/Trinity procs and his Crystal Slash is where his value really is. Any team comp that can kite well will love a purple scorpion.

Skarner is for people who like bruisers. If you like Irelia, you’ll like Skarner. You basically sit in the middle of a team fight (that you probably initiated) and autoattack. You spam your basic abilities and anti-carry while they all beat on you. They usually can’t hit hard enough to break your shield and out damage your sustain. All the while, they’re all slowed and your carries poop on them.

When You Play On His Team:

• Stay in the fight. *CAREFULLY* kite enemies and throw in whatever damage you can if you’re low.
• If Skarner chases someone, follow him. He’s very good at catching people.
• If he grabs a squishy, FOCUS THEM. If he grabs a tank, get some distance on him, because aside from slowing them that is his only way to peel them off you.
• Skarner only really ganks well if your enemies extend in lane. Farm passively (last hits only) if you want a gank.
• Finish kills. Don’t worry about KS’ing Skarner. He’ll get farmed off assists and creeps.
• Let him have the first 2 blue buffs before putting it on your mid. He spams like mad and can’t really sustain without it until he gets a Philo Stone or Sheen.
• If Skarner is lower than level 8-9, help him with dragon. He’s not that safe soloing it at that stage.

When You Play Against Him:

• Skarner almost always starts at Blue.
• Skarner rarely ganks before level 3-4, so consider that before placing your wards too early.
• Do your best not to extend your lane too far. Skarner can’t gank if the lane is pushed, even after 6. Even Neutral-push lanes aren’t easy for him to gank if they see him coming via a ward. He will often need to burn his Flash to catch someone in that circumstance, and that leaves his allies in the lane a bit behind so they won’t be able to follow-up on his ult or slows as easily even if he does catch you.
• He is very dificult to get away from once he lands his Crystal Slash on you. Add to that a red buff and/or Phage and you are probably in big trouble. The best way to get away from a Skarner is to make sure he never gets in melee range of you at all. This is not easy, even before level 6.
• If Skarner comes toward you, watch for his Flash, and try to use yours right away if you see him use it to get to you. Nothing pisses a Skarner off more than screwing up an attempted Flash-Ult.
• In team fights, don’t bunch up near him if you can avoid it. Crystal Slash is more disruptive than you might expect and it does a very good amount of damage when spammed.
• Tanky DPS: Go straight for his squishies if he positions himself away from them and you have a good gap-closer. A skarner that has to walk backwards to try to peel you off his Ashe is not a happy one. He’s happiest when you’re running away, slowed, and getting hit in the back by his Sheen-powered claws. Making him save people will make it easier for you to stay un-slowed and focus his team mates.
• Never focus Skarner first. He is tankier than he looks. He, like Warwick, is a sustain tank as well, so the only way to REALLY focus him down is to stop him from attacking too.
• If Skarner has been focusing you in team fights, consider a Quicksilver Sash and/or Mercury Treads.
• Skarner does Hybrid damage. If you have to buy resistance to stop him, Health or dual resist items like Guardian Angel may be best.
• If your team has a really strong counter-initiation (like Fiddlesticks or Morgana ultimates), try to force the Skarner to initiate on a tanky target and then take advantage.

Strong Versus: Mordekaiser, Ahri, Akali, Xin Zhao, [squishy carries], [assassins], [melee], [mobile squishies]
Weak Versus: Fiddlesticks, Janna, Morgana, Vladimir, Riven, [strong sustaining fighters], [powerful aoe]
Synergy With: Ashe, Rumble, Mordekaiser, Xerath, [aoe casters], [kiting champions]

Warwick : Resilient, Supportive Jungling

My Preferred Method: TheOddOne / Freely
Warwick is a farming/support/control jungler. His ganks aren’t super strong until level 6, and then they’re far-between since he has to wait for his ult to cool off. That being said, coordinating with your targeted lane and ulting can almost guarantee a kill. Before 6, you pretty much rely on the lane’s CC because Red Buff isn’t enough.

NOTE: I’ve been playing Warwick a lot lately, but several people do it differently than I do. I play him defensively with items like Wits End and Madred’s Bloodrazer for damage. Others say they can carry hard with him, but my build isn’t really for that. I’m open to the idea that a differently built Warwick can carry.

In general, playing Warwick means you are relying on the rest of your team to carry the game. That being said, playing him supportively is really strong to the most basic ideas behind having a jungler on your team. Let your mid take your Wraiths whenever they’re pushed. Let your top/bottom take small Golems when they’re pushed. Give away your buffs to anyone who can use them (after the first clear). Warwick is so safe in the jungle, he will always find farm somewhere. Everything respawns fast. Stealing the enemy’s jungle is crazy easy for him if you’re smart. Do what you can to elevate your team mates to greatness.

Because of this, I would NOT recommend solo queuing with him. He is pretty much only for organized, coordinated teams with good communication.

When You Play On His Team:

• Finish kills. Warwick likes kills, but hates wasting his ult much more.
• Chain your stuns AFTER his suppression finishes.
• Warwick only really ganks well if your enemies extend in lane. Farm passively (last hits only) if you want a gank.
• Take his Wraiths (mid) and small golems (top/bottom) at will when your lane is pushed (unless he’s been screwed over by counter-jungling or bad ganks). Ask before taking red. Expect every blue buff after #2 to go to an AP carry.
• If Warwick goes for a solo dragon and doesn’t ask for help, don’t help him unless you are CERTAIN no one sees you go there.
• Ward/CV the enemy jungle. Warwick will generally avoid conflict, but take advantage of free enemy creep camps.

When You Play Against Him:

• Warwick almost always starts at Blue.
• In team fights, do your best to choose other targets. Warwick is mostly a distraction. Soaking up your damage and CC is what he wants. Once his ultimate is gone, he doesn’t really have anything substantial to peel you off of his carries with. Don’t get baited into attacking him just because he doesn’t stack health and is usually <50%.
• If you decide to kill him in a team fight, make sure you focus him. He can heal through one or two attackers fairly comfortably in most late game situations.
• Tenacity does not reduce Suppression, so don’t buy Merc Treads just to counter his ultimate.
• Warwick only really ganks well if his enemies extend in lane. Farm passively (last hits only) and he probably won’t bother you.
• Unless you can clear out multiple camps or steal a buff, don’t bother counter-jungling him unless it’s safe and profitable for you. He sustains so well that he can kill camps in any order and it won’t slow him down that much.
• Ward dragon consistently after the 7:00 mark. he can solo it quickly and safely once he hits 6+.
• Watch his build. Sometimes you can find vulnerabilities there.
• Ignite him in team fights.

Strong Versus: Volibear, Ahri, Akali, Vayne, [hypercarries], [warmogs]
Weak Versus: Udyr, Blitzcrank, [spammable disruption]
Synergy With: Sivir, Ahri, Graves, Caitlyn, [skill shots], [chain stuns]

Udyr : Solid Stunbot

My Preferred Method: TheOddOne (Phoenix)
Udyr is generally considered a god in the jungle. He has tons of pros and very few cons. He can adapt mid-game to fill multiple roles based on how the game is progressing. He is a force that MUST be dealt with in team fights and a scary thing to see heading toward you from a brush.

Udyr is probably the best jungler in the game for solo queue. This is because he can play nearly any role from the jungle. He can play supportive stunbot and just build himself tanky and buy wards/oracles for everyone. He can play bursty ganker and go tiger/bear for super fast ganks. He can go sustained damage offtank with Phoenix stance and Movement Speed quints/masteries. He can even build AS/shred and rip apart tanks Kog’Maw style.

Because of his versatility, he can be highly unpredictable for enemy teams. Some Udyrs get Bear at level 2 and gank top/mid right away. Some will babysit top or bottom lane all game and just deny farm through fear. Some don’t ever show their faces until you catch them soloing dragon. He can kill any jungle camp any time. He can gank anytime he decides to get Bear Stance. He can tank, carry, or do both when late game comes around. Udyr is a scary manbearpig.

When You Play On His Team:

• Don’t EVER try to save an Udyr that’s in trouble unless you can do so with certainty that you will be safe.
• Finish kills, but don’t Steal them. Udyr with kills is nearly as good as a ranged AD with kills.
• If he has blue buff, he will gank slightly more. Usually it will benefit an AP carry more than him, but weigh the pros and cons of that. Late game he won’t need it.
• If Udyr goes for a solo dragon and doesn’t ask for help, don’t help him unless you are CERTAIN no one sees you go there. It is especially important during this that you let him know if your enemy goes MIA.
• Keep an eye on how your Udyr builds. He will play very differently depending on that. Ex: If he builds Tiger with Wriggles, expect more aggression than if he builds Phoenix/Wits End.
• If Udyr is caught in the jungle by one enemy, go help him. The fight will last a little while in most cases and you don’t want them gaining advantage by 2v1’ing him while you farm.

When You Play Against Him:

• Udyr usually starts Wolves/Blue.
• Ward well, don’t extend too far, and his ganks shouldn’t be too problematic.
• Ward dragon consistently after the 6:30 mark. he can solo it quickly and safely once he hits 5+ with Wriggles, or after level 7+ without.
• Keep an eye on how your Udyr builds. He will play very differently depending on that. Ex: If he builds Tiger with Wriggles, expect more aggression than if he builds Phoenix/Wits End. In team fights, you are kind of forced to attack an aggressive Udyr, despite how annoying it is to fight him. Phoenix Udyrs are usually super-tanky stunbots, so avoid him and target others if you can. In the end, if you have to deal with an Udyr and can’t get to his carries, you’ll just have to build anti-tanky and focus the hell out of him until he leaves the fight or dies.
• If Udyr is caught in your jungle, go help your jungler kill him. Putting an Udyr behind and taking buffs off of him is never bad.

Strong Versus: Miss Fortune, Veigar, Vayne, Akali, Talon, [weak kiters], [burst ap], [true damage], [anti-carries]
Weak Versus: Rumble, Janna, Cassiopeia, Sivir, [strong kiters], [spell shields], [spammable slows]
Synergy With: Gangplank, Sivir, Sona, Warwick, [good chasers], [team auras]

Nocturne : Scary Snowballer

My Preferred Method: Freely
Since his introduction, Nocturne has been a frightful jungler. His ganks are highly successful, even before he achieves Paranoia, one of the best-designed abilities in the entire game. He farms safely and quickly. His passive is incredibly powerful in team fights and for farming jungle creeps or lanes. When timed correctly, his spell shield makes death inevitable for his victims.

Nocturne is a mid-game god in the jungle. As soon as he gets his ultimate, he immediately establishes dominance over the map. It is very difficult for any solo-laner to get away from a Nocturne gank post-6 without multiple CCs or a good escape ability. If a skilled Nocturne can take advantage of this dominance by getting the first few dragon kills and/or winning lanes for his team mates, he will often aid in ending the game in your team’s favor quickly.

Late game, if he is well farmed/fed, he will be able to put incredible pressure on the enemy lanes alone or with his team. Even if he has a weak start, he can catch up very well by split-pushing lanes. If a team fight breaks out elsewhere, Paranoia can get him there quickly and right on top of their squishiest carry in no time.

In team fights, Nocturne excels at assassinating enemy carries and peeling them off of your own team’s carries in the process. If built with Atma’s Impaler and Warmogs Armor, he is nearly unstoppable in this aspect. On a team that can allow him to anti-carry safely, he will force the enemy team to backpedal out of team fights very quickly while your carries clean them up.

When You Play On His Team:

• Do NOT steal his kills. Finish the job if you’re a carry, but don’t deliberately steal kills from him. Nocturne IS a carry.
• Noct usually doesn’t need blue buff after the first clear. Nocturne is probably the best keeper of a red buff on your team, so let him have it unless he built a Frozen Mallet already.
• If Nocturne goes for a solo dragon and doesn’t ask for help, don’t help him unless you are CERTAIN no one sees you go there. It is especially important during this that you let him know if your enemy goes MIA.
• In team fights, if Noct jumps on an enemy carry, try to keep up with them. These fights are usually pretty mobile because the victim tries to kite him and his allies try to save him. Pick off any squishies you can if you can’t reach Noct’s target. He is an excellent distraction that does fine on his own, but does even better when your heals/auras/cc are near.
• Do not expect Nocturne to buy wards or Oracles until late game. His Wriggles is pretty much dedicated to Dragon control.

When You Play Against Him:

• Nocturne usually starts at Wraiths or Blue, but can do almost anything. If you CV Wolves and Blue, you’ll at least know which side he’s starting on.
• Kite like crazy.
• Don’t use your important CC until his spell shield is gone. Bait it out as best you can or pop it with a less important skill.
• Put a tank on Nocturne to peel him away from your squishies and tell your squishies to stay near the rest of the team. If they run, Noct will catch them and their team won’t be able to help.
• Save your gap-closers and flash for avoiding getting feared. Never leave yourself without an escape.
• If he builds Warmog’s Armor first but doesn’t have Atma’s Impaler yet, he doesn’t hit as hard as you might expect him to, so don’t focus him in that small window. If he builds damage first, then focus him. Once he has both, you probably can’t focus him quickly, but you may have to.
• Counter-jungling is only strong against Nocturne in the early minutes of the game. Steal all but one red Wraith at start and it will stop him from ganking as early as he may want to. After he hits level 4+, countering him won’t be quite as effective since he’ll be ganking a lot and non-buffs will probably respawn before he gets back.
• Deny enemy vision as much as possible. If Noct can’t see your carries in the back, he can’t ult onto them. If they ward well, it’s really easy for him to catch stragglers or isolated enemies, so counterward carefully and quickly.

Strong Versus: Annie, Veigar, Vayne, [single-stuns], [burst ap], [squishy carries]
Weak Versus: Rumble, Skarner, Irelia, [protective tanks], [spammable slows]
Synergy With: Sion, Graves, Rumble, Wukong, Leona, [stuns], [aoe crowd-control], [burst damage]

Trundle : Countertank Bruiser

My Preferred Method: Avelice
Trundle is all about counter-picking and team composition. Sometimes you just need a giant Pillar with an AoE slow on your team. Sometimes you need to shut down a tank or three. Sometimes you just want a solid all-around tanky DPS the wreak havoc on the frontline of your team fights.

Trundle is kind of a niche jungler. He works well in very specific team comps, where his disruptive Pillar and stat debuffs are relevant. He is also a hard counter to champions that stack resistances like Rammus and Galio. He can sometimes fare well against hypercarries because his Bite reduces their damage output, but he usually isn’t tanky enough to stick to them unless he gets an ult on another target beforehand. Trundle can tend to feel pretty awkward if he’s not picked for the right team, so choose him with intent.

When You Play On His Team:

• Finish kills. Trundle doesn’t generally make huge waves if fed early the way carries do. He will definitely put the money to good use, but he can get there with assists and creeps.
• Trundle doesn’t NEED blue buff after the first clear, but does much better with it during the early stages of the game. Only take early blues if you’re Swain/Anivia/Kassadin/etc. and let him have reds until late game.
• You generally want to help Trundle with the early dragon fights. He can solo after level 9 or so.
• In team fights, Trundle is best at scattering the enemy team with his pillar and isolating one or two of them for a quick focused kill. He can basically shut down any one member of their team fairly well with his debuff effects, but needs good carries to follow-up on that advantage. Try to keep your team pretty tightly together in the late game so you can be in position to pounce/support when he gives you an opening.
• Trundle can carry an Oracle for anti-vision pretty well if you need him to. He usually won’t do so unless you ask of course.
• When you see leaves flying around someone in a team fight, it means their resistances are GREATLY reduced, so consider focusing them if the situation calls for it.
• If your team is in full retreat, make it easy as possible for Trundle to drop a pillar behind you if you’re the last one running. This means use your dashes and CC to create distance as best as you can.

When You Play Against Him:

• Trundle usually starts at Wolves, then Blue.
• You can extend your lanes with good warding and a careful eye, but definitely not without it.
• If you see him ult, focus anyone but him until it wears off. If he ults you, drop back and be more passive if you aren’t a tank.
• Don’t let yourself get separated from your team when traveling together. One good pillar will make you an easy kill. If anyone is going to have some distance, the tank can be it, but even that can be risky.
• Don’t fight in tight spaces if you can help it.
• Trundle, like most Atmogs/Trinity users, hits deceptively hard and has a good on-hit ability, so don’t stand still while he beats on you.

Strong Versus: Rammus, Galio, [resistance tanks]
Weak Versus: Kassadin, Wukong, Tryndamere, Skarner, Corki, Ahri, [wide blinks], [shield/health-stacking tanks]
Synergy With: Morgana, Kennen, Anivia, Rumble, Wukong, Leona, Xerath, Gragas, [aoe cc], [aoe burst]

Lee Sin : Disruptive Heavy-Hitter

My Preferred Method: Cruzerthebruzer
Lee Sin is an incredibly disruptive force in team fights that ganks relentlessly in the early game. He moves around the map very quickly and farms the jungle without much thought as he passes through it. Playing against a skilled Lee Sin can be extremely frustrating and limiting for any laner.

Early game, Lee Sin will babysit the lanes and gank twice as often as most other junglers. Mid game, he is great at baiting enemies into ambushes and stealing dragons through walls. Late game, he is almost unkillable if built/played right and can pressure enemy carries away from team fights if he doesn’t just kill them. Lee Sin is just a straight-up pain in the ass.

All that being said, he is not great when his team is losing. He generally can’t turn fights around without being fed. He is nowhere near as mobile when his team doesn’t have map control. Luckily, his playstyle can really help his team get that early dominance, so if his allies can take full advantage of that, the farm and map control will follow.

When You Play On His Team:

• Do NOT steal his kills. Finish the job if you’re a carry, but don’t deliberately steal kills from him.
• If you’re an AP mid that loves blue buff, ask him to get it for you whenever it’s up.
• Let him have red until late game.
• Drop wards EVERYWHERE.
• In team fights, if Lee Sin jumps on an enemy carry, try to keep up with them. These fights are usually pretty mobile because the victim tries to kite him and his allies try to save him. Pick off any squishies you can if you can’t reach Lee Sin’s target. He is an excellent distraction that does fine on his own, but does even better when your heals/auras/cc are near.

When You Play Against Him:

• Lee Sin generally starts in the red side of his jungle, but he can pretty much do whatever he wants. If you CV him at wraiths or red, be prepared for a level 2 gank. If not, you can generally assume he won’t gank until 3+.
• Do not counter-jungle him unless you see him on the other side of the map. He will win most 1v1 fights.
• Counter-ward earlier than you normally might. Clearing wards from dragon and baron areas will save you lots of grief chasing or escaping him.
• In team fights, try to put an Udyr/Renekton/[tanky with cc] on him to keep him away from your carries. If he jumps onto a squishy, don’t kite him too far from the rest of your team. He will almost always catch you and your team won’t be able to peel him off if you run away from them.

Strong Versus: Shaco, Akali, Talon, [stealth], [squishy carries]
Weak Versus: Singed, Kennen, Sivir, Riven, Janna, [strong escapes], [movement speed], [spammable slows/disruption]
Synergy With: Graves, Rumble, Wukong, Leona, [gap-closers], [cc]

Amumu : Creep Leveller

My Preferred Method: Unicorn
Amumu is arguably the best initiation tank in the game. He farms extremely quickly and safely with his kit as long as he has mana. Teams that build around a skilled Amumu will be frighteningly strong in team fights.

Amumu is looked at as a one-trick pony a lot. His ult is really his bread and butter, but most don’t realize his little green body walking around the middle of their team afterwards and how much magic damage those tears and tantrums do. Built with a Sunfire Cape, Aegis, Frozen Heart, Abyssal Scepter, or other tanky aura items, Amumu really makes his carries look very good even with his ult on cooldown. A Rylai’s is actually pretty fun too if you dont need other resistances.

The mummy functions best with an offtank that can peel anti-carries off your allies. He may have very strong cc, but it’s not spammable and he uses all of it to initiate usually. This means he won’t have anything left to peel for at least 8 seconds into the fight.

The obvious place for Amumu is in a burst AoE comp. If you can run Kennen, Wukong, Sivir, Sona with him for example, the team fights will be pretty self-explanatory. Just make sure you’re in position to do what you need to do as soon as the initiation is made by either Sona or Amumu. Basically: STICK TOGETHER.

When You Play On His Team:

• Steal his kills if you’re a carry. Just make sure the job gets done if you’re a support. Amumu will get plenty of farm from farming and assists.
• Don’t ask Amumu for blue buff until late game. He will need it until he gets at least a Philo Stone and Glacial Shroud.
• Be ready to help Amumu with dragon when your team is in position for it. If they try to contest it, you have an amazing counter-initiate to wipe them out with.
• Make sure you tell Amumu if you’re ready for a team fight. If your ult is up and your gap-closer is ready, he can instantly start a winnable fight.
• Try to stick close to him when moving as a team. If he initiates and you lose the entire snare duration getting into position, you are combat ineffective and will not have another chance to get as great a jump on them for another 90 seconds.
• Don’t expect/ask for him to gank at all until he hits level 6. Even then, try not to get yourself into a position where your lane needs a gank in the first place.

When You Play Against Him:

• Amumu always starts at Blue.
• Counter his blue buff throughout the game. Each one you steal puts him behind by at least one level.
• If Amumu initiates on your team but no one dies, retreat. Heal up and pick a fight while his ult is on cooldown. That is assuming you can retreat, and that you didn’t have a strong counterattack.
• Gank the lanes a lot. Amumu does not do well running from lane to lane covering and counter-ganking. It slows him down a lot.
• If you catch Amumu in the brush trying to gank you, don’t run straight away. Stay safe, but don’t let him know you see him. Waste as much of his time as possible. Amumu wants to be in the jungle farming all the time. Unsuccessful ganking is extremely unprofitable for him.

Strong Versus: Volibear, Fizz, Pantheon, [health stackers], [melee]
Weak Versus: Rumble, Karthus, Fiddlesticks, Cassiopeia, [aoe counter-initiation], [long-range dps], [damage auras], [summoner spell: heal]
Synergy With: Kennen, Rumble, Karthus, Fiddlesticks, Sona, Cassiopeia, [aoe crowd-control], [aoe burst damage], [carries that don’t use blue buff]

Gangplank : So Much Booty

My Preferred Method: Shotgun Heavy
Gangplank has always been OP. Right now, he can play any role in the game from support to toplane. Jungling with him isn’t necessarily the best place for him, but it is never bad to have a good Gangplank on your team.

Gangplank in the jungle is pretty much throwing a strong champion that you want on your team wherever he fits. Gangplank deals ridiculous damage — especially with crits — on single targets with minimal effort. He can escape any cc with oranges to get himself out of trouble at will. His ult helps him countergank without even being there and allows your team to take objectives as 5 without worrying about a tower getting blown up by sneaky OP minions across the map.

When You Play On His Team:

• Do NOT steal his kills. Finish the job if you’re a carry, but don’t deliberately steal kills from him. Gangplank IS a carry.
• Gangplank usually doesn’t need blue buff after the first clear. Red buff is best on him for most of the game.
• You usually want to help GP kill dragon, but he doesn’t always need it.
• Unless the other team has better poke, try to make the pre-fight dancing last as long as possible before initiating. Parrley shots on squishies can take them out of the fight before it even starts given the chance.
• Don’t risk yourself to try to save him. He has oranges. It’ll be k.
• Depending on how he builds, he will fight differently. Ex: Atmogs GP will be in the fight slashing away with melee attacks while Trinity GP may float around the edges, firing shots and using his abilities until it’s safe for him to roll in and finish people off.
• Do not expect GP to buy wards or Oracles until late game. His Wriggles is pretty much dedicated to Dragon control.

When You Play Against Him:

• Gangplank usually starts at Blue, but is fairly flexible.
• Bait his oranges before using your best CC. Getting stunned with his W on cooldown is usually a death sentence (until he gets Warmogs).
• If your lane is warded and safe, push it relentlessly. Forcing his team to beg him for ganks the whole early/mid game will put him pretty well behind. Making him use his ult to defend a turret is also much better than having him drop it on you for a gank.
• Sometimes Banshee’s Veil is actually better against him than armor. Negating a Parrrley may actually be better mitigation than a Randuin’s Omen provides. Pay attention to his build and consider it.
• It is generally a bad idea to fight in his ultimate.

Strong Versus: Annie, Veigar, Vayne, Malzahar, [squishies], [single-stun champs], [suppresses]
Weak Versus: Wukong, Rumble, Singed, [tanky dps with escapes], [spammable cc]
Synergy With: Xerath, Udyr, Vayne, [aoe damage], [good chasers], [single-target burst]

Tryndamere : Selfish Lover

My Preferred Method: Cruzerthebruzer
Tryndamere is one of the first champions you meet when you first play this game. He never goes away. He’s always extremely predictable but still difficult to stop if you don’t have enough crowd control. Putting him in the jungle with his ridiculous sustainability is pretty common sense.

Any good Tryndamere is going to do his very best to get into late game as quickly as possible. He is going to farm everything in front of him, take down any objective possible, and trade kills with people just to get ahead. He doesn’t care about you or your team. He only cares about achieving his late game ASAP.

While that’s going to suck for the early game, it means he will still knock down turrets and kill dragons at least, so you will still benefit. All of it is a means to an end of course. When Tryndamere is fed, the other team soon surrenders. Do your best to feed him by stunning their juiciest targets, initiating team fights that allow him to spin into their second level, and/or building Stark’s Fervor on the support.

When You Play On His Team:

• Do NOT steal his kills. Even if you’re a carry, do your best to let him have them without allowing the target to escape. Tryndamere is probably the definition of a carry.
• If you need blue buff, make sure to tell him. He will generally take it for the xp and gold unless you say something.
• If Tryndamere goes for a solo dragon and doesn’t ask for help, don’t help him unless you are CERTAIN no one sees you go there. It is especially important during this that you let him know if your enemy goes MIA. Keep in mind that if they catch him, he has a very reliable escape.
• In team fights, try to initiate in a way that allows Tryndamere to anti-carry the best target. In situations where he initiates, try to keep up with him without risking your life. It is generally best to pick off whoever you can while they’re focusing him, because his target may not be safe for anyone else to go for.
• Do not expect Tryndamere to buy wards or Oracles. His Wriggles is pretty much dedicated to Dragon control.

When You Play Against Him:

• Tryndamere can start nearly anywhere in the jungle, but usually it’s at small golems or Wraiths.
• Don’t overextend your lane, even with wards. At worst, Trynd will have enough room to chase you down. At best, he’ll come up and farm the big stack of minions you brought him.
• Don’t counter-jungle him unless you see him elsewhere. He will win most 1v1s on his side of the map.
• If Tryndamere initiates on you, burst him as best as you can without using your ultimates. Kite him until he either runs away raging or dies.
• If Tryndamere anti-carries someone after another player initiates on you, kite him as best you can. Do your best to face him when he chickens your team.
• Some people think that focusing Tryndamere is a bad idea, but it isn’t. Make him use his ult as quickly as possible, then switch targets to the next priority. Trynd will most likely leave the fight after the rage ends, but if he doesn’t kill him. Either way, he is out of the fight as quickly as possible, which was your goal all along.
• Save your Exhausts and slows specifically for him and use it AFTER he uses Spinning Slash.
• When he uses his ult, count to 3 and stun or Ignite him.

Strong Versus: Jarvan IV, Corki, Malzahar, Fizz, [weak escapes], [burst ap], [squishy carries], [weak cc]
Weak Versus: Rammus, Singed, Janna, Kassadin, [protective tanks/supports], [spammable slows], [displacement], [strong cc]
Synergy With: Sion, Taric, Leona, Amumu, Fiddlesticks, Rammus, [stuns], [good initiators]

Maokai : Immovable Object

My Preferred Method: TheOddOne
Maokai is an incredibly powerful tank that can harass, initiate, and peel very well. His ultimate gives your team a huge advantage in localized team fights. Maokai is a strong pick no matter where you put him, and many say the jungle is the best place for him.

Maokai is similar to Amumu as a jungler. He’s a great initiator that farms very well when he has blue buff. His ganks are much easier, and therefore more reliable. His ultimate is obviously not as good, but it is still very solid if you have team fights that don’t move around too much. The best way to maximize the potential of Maokai is to let him initiate and just focus down whatever he binds. Other than that, he’s just a ton of utility.

When You Play On His Team:

• Steal his kills. Secure them as support if you have to. Maokai wants assists.
• After he gets his Philosopher’s Stone, ask him for blue if you REALLY need it, but don’t assume the answer is yes. Maokai really needs it to farm efficiently.
• Always help him with dragon.
• If he gets attacked in the jungle, help him if you can. He does not 1v1 well.
• He carries an Oracle well if he has enough cash. Let him know if you need him to.
• In team fights, stay inside his ultimate. If you have to kite, do so inside the circle. Maokai is great at peeling enemies off his carries, so just be patient and wait for his cooldown.
• He ganks neutral and enemy-pushed lanes pretty well as long as you have good burst in that lane. Don’t push too hard and have your abilities ready for him if you want a gank.

When You Play Against Him:

• Maokai usually starts at his or your Wraiths, then moves directly to his Blue.
• Do your best to deny his blue. He often starts Wraiths before going to blue, so you can sometimes jump him there or steal it before he arrives. Only do this with CV of course.
• Take advantage of his poor dragon control.
• Don’t fight in his ultimate range. At the very least, do your best not to use your big cooldowns on enemies within it. You will be disappointed at the results.
• Counter-jungle him. If you get caught, just run. You can probably take him, but it will take a little while and his friends will usually arrive to help him before yours do.
• Stick on his carries as best you can. His snare has a single target and a decent cooldown, so he can’t stop a good focused team on his own.

Strong Versus: Urgot, Heimerdinger, Fizz, LeBlanc, Mordekaiser, [sustained damage], [kiting carries]
Weak Versus: Soraka, Kog’Maw, Riven, Blitzcrank, [silence], [displacement]
Synergy With: Sona, Graves, Corki, Morgana, Karthus, Cassiopeia, Fiddlesticks, [aoe], [gap-closers], [focus fire]

Olaf : Honey Badger

My Preferred Method: derSchranzer
Olaf is an extremely resilient jungler, much like Warwick. The difference is that Olaf can definitely carry, while Warwick plays a more subtle role. He sustains very well, and he is very safe after his first clear because of his W and passive. You can build him tanky and rely on his true damage, or just make him a heavy hitting slowbot that anti-carries like a beast.

Olaf’s early and mid games are fairly solid. He farms well and can really punish enemies that extend beyond the river in their lanes. If his enemies are not extended, he can sit in the jungle and farm very efficiently while occasionally throwing axes at laners as he passes through to show his presence. Late game, he can be quite scary because of bursty true damage and AoE slows.

He works best in teams that can burst targets down fairly quickly. His ultimate is really helpful, but if they have a spammable stun or snare (Udyr, Taric, Ryze, Lux, etc.) he needs the carries to be dead before it wears off. Sometimes, if he’s farmed enough he can do this himself, but most of the time he needs a good assassin or well-positioned ranged AD to ensure the job is done. He will often die in these fights, but it usually ends up worth it for a 3-for-1 exchange or better.

When You Play On His Team:

• Finish kills if you’re a carry, but don’t steal them.
• If you see his axe hit someone, you can probably catch them, but don’t overextend if you aren’t sure it’s safe. Olaf can get out of trouble much better than most others can.
• Don’t ever try to save an Olaf unless you can do so safely.
• Olaf needs blue buff for a little while. It’s the only thing that holds back his sustainability in jungle. Ask before taking it before late game.
• If Olaf goes for a solo dragon and doesn’t ask for help, don’t help him unless you are CERTAIN no one sees you go there. It is especially important during this that you let him know if your enemy goes MIA.
• In team fights, if Olaf jumps on an enemy carry, try to keep up with them. These fights are usually pretty mobile because the victim tries to kite him and his allies try to save him. Pick off any squishies you can if you can’t reach Olaf’s target. He is an excellent distraction that does fine on his own, but does even better when your heals/auras/cc are near.
• Do not expect Olaf to buy wards or Oracles until late game. His Wriggles is pretty much dedicated to Dragon control.
• Only heal Olaf if he is very low. Topping him off reduces his damage (read his passive).

When You Play Against Him:

• Olaf pretty much always starts at Blue (or Wolves, then blue).
• Dodge Axes.
• Don’t expect Armor to help you. Build health as well if you expect to tank him.
• If you want to kill him, do it quickly. Much like Warwick, he will heal quickly if you don’t focus him and/or use Ignite. Obviously, his resistance to stuns makes this difficult to do, so it is generally best to not go for him unless you have no better target.
• If Olaf gets low on health, finish him as quickly as possible. He gets progressively stronger the lower he gets.
• Make sure you understand his ultimate and don’t waste your CC before it ends.

Strong Versus: Rammus, Irelia, [armor], [non-burst damage]
Weak Versus: Kassadin, Wukong, Udyr, Blitzcrank, Ezreal, [spammable disruption], [knock-ups], [kiting]
Synergy With: Janna, Akali, Ahri, Kassadin, Talon, [assassins], [good chasers]

Shaco : #@$% You

My Preferred Method: Teodur
I hate Shaco. When he’s on my team in solo queue, he always does dumb shit, feeds, and is completely irrelevant late game. On the enemy team, he stomps all over my retarded laners early game, takes dragon while I’m busy covering those lanes, and always gets away right as I’m about to kill him. All that being said… You need to learn how to play him so you can at least counter him.

When You Play On His Team:

• Do NOT steal his kills. Finish the job if you’re a carry, but don’t deliberately steal kills from him. Shaco NEEDS early kills more than any other jungler.
• Let Shaco have both buffs for the early and mid game unless he says otherwise.
• If Shaco goes for a solo dragon and doesn’t ask for help, don’t help him unless you are CERTAIN no one sees you go there. It is especially important during this that you let him know if your enemy goes MIA.
• In team fights, don’t expect Shaco to be very present. He will mostly just be there to clean up stragglers or lead them on a wild goose chase through the jungle to get them off your turrets or vulnerable allies.
• NEVER, EVER, EVER follow a Shaco into a risky situation. He can escape almost anything, but you can’t. He will pull some stupid shit fairly often, but don’t try to help him. If you do try to, and it gets you killed, don’t try to blame him for that. He is an assassin, not a tank/support.
• Never try to save a Shaco unless you are absolutely safe doing so. If he can’t save himself, no one can.
• Do not expect Shaco to buy wards or Oracles ever. His Wriggles is pretty much dedicated to Dragon control.
• Be prepared to fight 4v5 a lot later in the game. Shaco will either only participate in the second half of a team fight or he’ll be backdooring turrets and inhibitors while you fight.

When You Play Against Him:

• Shaco always starts at a buff. It may be on your side of the map even. It is generally best to CV their Blue/Wolves, and have someone guard each of your own buffs.
• If CV hasn’t picked up Shaco’s location yet, don’t face check any bushes during the first few minutes. After he is detected, continue to be careful about unwarded bushes, but not so careful it hurts your farm. This is especially important for your jungler, because Shaco will often try to ambush him near his Red buff early on. This is even scarier if you see him start with an AP item in the initial CV.
• When Shaco uses Hallucinate, you can always tell which one is the real one if it has red/blue/banshee’s veil/guardian angel buff on it. If none of those are present, the more passive one is usually the real Shaco. Don’t kill the fake unless none of your allies are near it.
• If Shaco appears to be baiting you, he is. Don’t ever follow him into an unwarded brush or chase him when his team is MIA.
• In team fights, Shaco will generally just clean up low health targets. If you can see [the real] Shaco and focus him down, do so. Most of the time, he won’t be visible. If you are low health and don’t see him, he’s probably right behind you, so keep running until you hit a friendly turret or see him go for someone else.
• Be careful to have an answer for Shaco split-pushing and backdooring your buildings.
• Oracle Elixir.

Shaco is a high-reward champion with relatively low-risk if played well. If he can establish a few kills early-on, his mid-game will be downright infuriating for the other team. He will help his laners outfarm the enemy lanes with sheer paranoia and force them to purchase wards with the little bit of farm they do have. The enemy jungler can never farm with low health when Shaco isn’t accounted for. No one can ever face check a brush.

All that being said, the game has to end fast for Shaco to keep his dominance. With full 6 item build and level 18, Shaco is extremely dangerous… unless the enemy team also has those things. An Irelia, Wukong, Lee Sin, [etc.] with equal farm to Shaco will make short work of him. Hallucinates and Deceives can carry you pretty far, but not if they’re tankier and more sustainable than you. Shoot for a 20 minute surrender or have 4 team mates whom — with a good lead — can stomp all over the enemy 5, so you can split push if there is a late game.

Strong Versus: Ryze, Urgot, Vayne, Twisted Fate, Zilean, [squishy solo laners], [inexperienced players]
Weak Versus: Karthus, Morgana, Lee Sin, Graves, Sivir, Caitlyn, Maokai, [aoe/skillshot burst], [protective tanks], [wards, oracles, clairvoyance]
Synergy With: Janna, Graves, Wukong, [burst damage], [multiple disruption]

Quick Notes About Other Junglers

These are junglers that I like to play that aren’t super-popular or overpowered. Each has a few reasons why I think they’re viable. I can expand on them for anyone who’s interested.

Wukong

My Build: SoloMid Guide
Early-on his sustainability isn’t great. He can full-clear safely with 21/9/0 masteries, but usually won’t have enough health to gank right away without a great leash on blue. That being said, after his first trip back to shop, he is very safe and his ganks are great. He can stealth from a brush until he is up close to his target, smash their armor, then close the gap with Nimbus Strike if they flash away. Once he hits 6, getting ganked or caught in the river by Wukong is scary as hell. In the right comp, it is worth his slow start to get his mid and late-game presence. I’m actually starting to consider him to be better than a few of the above champions now.

Pantheon

I haven’t played a lot of competitive jungling with Mantheon at this point, but my early experiments with him are very promising. His ganks are solid and scary. His sustain is much better than you might expect because of his shield. My favorite part about Pantheon in the jungle is his counter-ganking though. You can be almost anywhere in the jungle (post-6) and counter-gank their jungler with your Grand Skyfall VERY effectively. Given a good lead, he snowballs pretty hard too. Keep an eye on him.

Fiddlesticks

In my opinion, Fiddle is the only viable AP jungler. He ganks well, he has an extremely powerful team fight presence, he farms safely (but not quickly), and works well in the right team comp. Coordination with his team is absolutely key, and a strong frontline is also very helpful. He’s good on any team that can keep a team fight relatively confined to a space without too much chasing. He’s bad against displacements like Alistar, Janna, and Tristana. The main reason he isn’t one of my favorites is the fact that you pretty much have to build your team around him.

Master Yi

Yi farms the jungle extremely fast and safely. His ganks are decent, mostly due to his mobility, but not great. He is like Tryndamere except with less utility and team fight presence. He’s also extremely easy to counter. He’s a solid jungler, no doubt, but he’s too one-dimensional for me.

Cho’Gath

Jungle Cho is built a lot differently than lane Cho. This may be obvious to some, but it bears mentioning. You will not hit as hard with spells as lane Cho, but you will be just as scary for your utility and tankiness in team fights. You will get 6 Feast stacks VERY easily and your auto-attacks will be fearsome as your fat ass rumbles over their team. Cho’Gath ganks are very solid, especially with good vision. He can counter jungle Wraiths very quickly, and he can eat buffs/dragons/barons with Smite for up to 1840 burst damage on steals and secures.

Malphite

He’s a rock-solid (heh) jungler and a good ganker. His late-game feels like Amumu with less damage. Great initiator, good damage soaking, and decent AoE damage while sitting in it. Not a bad choice at all, just not really ideal. Bad dragon control unless you buy him a Wriggles, which isn’t really needed for anything else he does.

Sion

Definitely legit. Sustains perfectly in jungle, ganks well, can solo dragon at level 6 with a Wriggles, and can 1v1 an invading jungler fairly well. The longer the game goes on, the stronger he gets, too.

Renekton

Solid, decent jungler with very strong ganks. Because he farms the jungle well and his item builds are pretty cheap, he’s not a bad option. The only reason he isn’t going to be picked much is because Skarner is pretty much strictly better unless you specifically need to spam stuns, and then Udyr is better. Renekton hits as hard as Skarner with harder CC. He CCs as hard as Udyr with slower farm in the early clearing and slightly less survivability in long team fights. He’s great for AoE comps and quick burst damage comps. If the fight outlasts the duration of Dominus, it can be a little messy though.

Jarvan IV

Jarvan ganks very very well and has a disruptive presence throughout the game. A solid choice, but his Heavy DPS role is often taken by top laners in traditional comps, so he doesn’t always fit.

Singed

He’s actually pretty good, but can’t get farmed as quickly in the jungle as he can top. This is problematic during mid-game because he won’t be as resilient in time for dragon fights.

Blitzcrank

Blitz is very solid as a utility jungler. There is no reason not to jungle with him IF you want a Blitz on your team. Bottom lane is probably a better place for him with the right lane partner, but it’s not a huge disparity. Jungle Blitz will do more damage late game, while support Blitz brings auras (Frozen Heart and possibly Aegis) and allows for a more damaging jungler.

Alistar

Has the potential to be a very strong support jungler, but requires every lane to be somewhat strong in DPS because he will bring nothing but disruption to team fights. This means that bottom lane needs an aggressive support or no support at all. Not sure if the current meta is the right time for this.

Twitch

Jungle Twitch really isn’t jungling. It’s roaming with an alibi. The psychological effect is strong as long as you can get an early gank or two, but if you don’t kill anyone by the 10:00 mark, you’re in a very bad place. I think a highly skilled player can make him great, but I would never focus on practicing him to the extent I would need to to do this.

Junglers I Don’t Like

Just as obviously biased as it sounds.

Nunu

His hybrid tank/AP role is hard to make relevant late game. His counter jungling is impressive, but the respawn timers are so low for most of it that it really isn’t as rewarding as it used to be. If he has a rough start, he does NOTHING for his team mid and late game.

Xin Zhao

Too easy to kite. Takes too much farm to be strong if early ganks fail.

Shyvana

Farms Fast, but that’s it. Her ganks are very weak with no CC. Her control is weak. She can only counter jungle the easiest camps. Reaches late game well, but so do other junglers that do more before that. As a tanky DPS late game, she does very good damage, but has little utility as opposed to others with spammable stuns, slows, etc.

Shen

As good as Shen can be, putting him in the jungle is just something people have done because he doesn’t really fit anywhere else in the current meta. If you really want to play Shen, try to run him as a support or solo top with Teleport. I don’t recommend you do any of that right now unless you’re REALLY good with him. Note: I’ve heard that he may be getting some revamps in a coming patch that will make him much stronger in the jungle. We’ll see.

Fizz

He’s good, but he fulfills a role (AD Bruiser) that other champions just do way better. If he could do it well as AP, this would be great, but he can’t.

Champions that CAN Jungle, but are Far Better Laners

Jungle these guys if you want, but they are so good in lane that it is almost a hindrance not to use them that way.

• Gangplank
• Rumble
• Yorick
• Irelia
• Fizz
• Riven
• Renekton
• Volibear
• Nasus
• Singed
• Talon

Champions that CAN Jungle, but SHOULDN’T

These are vague generalizations obviously. You can jungle almost anything right now. If you justify their viability with a non-traditional team comp, then go nuts with them. These are champions that I have personally experimented with and found to not fulfill enough of the goals I set for myself as a jungler.

• Graves
• Karthus
• Gragas
• Poppy
• Eve
• Akali
• Mordekaiser

Final Thoughts

A lot of people are looking at the new jungle — and the jungle in general — in the wrong way. You don’t have to gank to be a successful jungler. You don’t have to clear fast to be a good jungler. The main purpose of a jungler existing is to enhance the quality of the top laner’s experience and gold income. As long as you can play near an equal level as your solo lane team mates when the team fights start, you’re still doing your job. That being said, going above and beyond in as many ways as possible is where the best junglers will always shine.

For me, there is never going to be a Tier List for jungling. It will always fall to whatever champions can fulfill the most utility for their team while still being a strong presence late game. I hope some of my thoughts here were helpful or insightful to anyone reading this, but if they weren’t, I hope it at least got some creative juices flowing. I welcome any input or discussion you guys want to throw my way.

For anyone reading this that doesn’t play LoL, thanks for bearing with me for this entry. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to write about my usual fare in here in the coming weeks. Also… try LoL 😛