Hey everyone. Mowzer here. I am a diamond jungle main on KR and NA. I spend the majority of my time playing on the KR server. Diversity comes from people thinking outside the box and trying new things. This tier list is purely my opinion and is not being stated as fact.
The list below has the champions listed from 1st to 10th. I feel that 1st is the strongest and 10th is the weakest, of those listed. This does not mean that any of these champions are weak or not viable. I would like to point out that there are far more than 10 viable/good champions. There are, in fact, over 20 junglers I feel are good.
| ATTENTION | This is my opinion and lists only the top 10 champions. This is NOT a complete tier list of every champion that can jungle. My complete “climbing” tier list will be posted at a later date.
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*5 ? 1: 5th last time, now 1st on my list. **New: not on the previous list.
I pick or ban Gragas every game. He’s a curvier version of Lee Sin, but he scales much better into the mid-late game. Also, he doesn’t suffer from a weak early game like most tank junglers do. He can initiate, disengage, sustain, health shred, damage reduction, slow, knock-back, etc. He has a rather high base damage too.
He charges into a fight with his belly out and isn’t afraid of dying instantly. His kit is great for getting around the map and applying pressure. He clears well and his passive helps to keep him healthy. He has high damage output early-mid game, but be weary of using your ultimate. You can save the enemy as quickly as you can hurt the enemy. Throwing a hostile tank into your carry is, typically, not a good idea. Also, you won’t scale as well as other top tier tank junglers. Your power comes from your early-mid game. You still have a solid late game, it’s just not as amazing as a number of others.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): cinderhulk. Pros – great engage/disengage, high base damage / Cons – skillshot dependent, outscaled by other tanks late game
Nunu isn’t a “get on my back and let me carry you” jungler. He makes up for this with his utility and ability to secure objectives. His dragon/baron presence forces the enemy team to ward dragon and baron constantly and his ability to counter jungle is almost unmatched. Q makes short work of enemy camps.
His damage output early to mid game is pretty good, but he falls off in the late game. This is when he transitions more into the support-tank role. He makes up for this by applying debuffs and buffs all around and forcing the team to focus him with CC when ulting. He isn’t a hard-carry jungler. Actually, he might be one of the easiest junglers to pick up. It’s not hard for him to steal and secure dragon and baron too. A good Nunu player can maintain a strong dragon lead for the team with little effort. Pick him when you have a solid carry to buff and a decent amount of damage on the team. I made Q for the fastest and easiest clears and secures on dragon/baron. I then max E second, but W can work well too.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): cinderhulk. Pros – great utility, easy to secure dragon and baron / Cons – low damage, ultimate canceled easily
Lady luck knows how to stay in business. Riot can’t keep her down. She has been nerfed a number of times, but she still keeps coming back for more. Her damage output and tankiness is down a little bit, but her ability to apply pressure to the map is still fantastic.
She gets the game moving quickly and has amazing map control. Her kit allows for her to farm, gank, and split push with ease. The key to winning with Rek’sai comes from her ability to get around the map and maintain levels with the laners or pull ahead of them. You can maintain this level advantage by using your ult and tunnels to get to and clear camps faster or split push. Build her tanky to be viable in this meta. A damage based Rek’sai won’t usually do very well. She can use either cinderhulk or warrior. Warrior is a more early-mid game based approach to using your power spike early on to dominate. Cinderhulk is more aimed at the mid-late game scaling to stay competitive.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): cinderhulk/warrior. Pros – high damage to tank ratio, high mobility / Cons – being kited, iffy CC
The cat is back. She has been up and down on my tier lists, but she has a great place in Solo Q. Her kit allows for her to traverse the map easily and kite her enemies with ease. She lacks CC, but she makes up for that with fist full of other abilities.
Her ability to poke and execute a target is nothing to laugh at. Using bushes and her abilities she leave her with little trouble when trying to chase down enemies. Well placed traps can provide an early warning system, add a bit of damage, or boost her speed some. The bulk of her damage comes from her spears. Mastering them will be key to dominating with her. Tanks are not affected as much by spears as squishes and highly skilled players can dodge skills better, reducing the effectiveness of your poke. Mastering the transition between ranged and melee will greatly improve performance. There is nothing worse than going HAM in the wrong form.
Suggested jungle enchant: magus. Pros – high mobility, great damage / Cons – No CC, skillshot dependent
Frosty got knocked down a peg. The missing damage on her W hurts, her not the enemy. She doesn’t clear as fast and she can’t dish out nearly as much damage as she could before. Outside of that, she’s still amazing. She still packs a punch while being tanky and has a stack of CC to bring to the table.
She lacks sustain and has a weak early game. She makes up for this by having a stellar team fight and a great mid-late game. Engaging is her specialty, so make sure to capitalize on a poor positioned target, especially the carries. Watch out for invades on your first clear. The aggressive invaders aren’t being picked nearly as much, but don’t let your guard down. Make sure to use your trinket to ensure your safety when you feel like a surprise party is about to happen.
Suggested jungle enchant: cinderhulk. Pros – lots of CC, solid team fight / Cons – no sustain, weak early game
She hasn’t moved on the list, but she is moving around quickly, even in those heels. She has been in and out of fashion lately, but her place on this list is strong. She does amazingly in Solo Q. The lack of consistent pink wards in the lower ranks make it a murderous playground for her. She can easily slip around the map and snatch what she wants.
Sight wards and sightstones mean little to her, unless placed directly on a camp. They just fill her pockets with extra gold here and there. She can be built a variety of different ways and use a couple enchants. She’s rather strong with warrior or magus with an iceborn gauntlet. She’s relatively easy to pick up and takes advantage of the disarray of solo Q. Her clears take a little getting used to, but using Q to kite camps allows her to clear five or six camps. She’s not a safe pick that you can just dig in and hope to win in the late game though. She doesn’t have the best comeback potential either. Pick her if you like the aggressive playstyle and want to punish those that don’t ward and overextend past the point of hope. I have seen her with cinderhulk before, but I feel she does better with magus or warrior.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): magus/warrior. Pros – invisible to sight wards, snowballs easily / Cons – lack of CC, item dependent
She has replaced Nidalee at number 5 with her swift punches and classy style. Previous changes to her have knocked her down from the top 5, but is didn’t take too long for her to slide right back. She does well against the tanky meta and she has amazing back line dive. Her passive scales nicely in the health stacking meta too.
She does well clearing, but spamming Q without blue is a bad idea. You’ll run out of mana rather quickly doing so. She needs mana to be useful on ganks. Running OOM and not being able to Q a target for the kill can be embarrassing. There’s nothing worse than pulling off a perfect Q + flash and not having enough mana to R the target. Yeah, I’ve done that before. She can cover gaps quickly. Remember, a target you ult can still flea a certain distance before you connect with them. Doing a Q + flash combo and ulting a target that takes a Thresh lantern, flashes, runs, etc. can leave you miles away from you team. That tends to not end well for you.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): warrior/cinderhulk. Pros – Solid CC, shred (armor and health) / Cons – poor disengage, mana issues
I haven’t moved him again this patch, but I am seeing him picked almost every game. He can either be a top tier or not even mentioned on this list. It all just depends on the person playing him. I ban him a lot. Why? I don’t want an unskilled player on my team picking him. I fear those out there that have never played him and then see a reply of a top tier player/pro playing him. They then think they can win the game with a single inSec play.
He has a fantastic level 2 invade and those playing against him should be weary of this. He can manipulate the battfield and his enemies. Sightstone allows him to control the map with vision control and get around more easily. Winning with Lee in Solo Q can be difficult though. There are a list of tanky champions out there that outscale him. You need to secure a solid lead early-mid game on Lee Sin to pull ahead. It is easy for you to steal dragon and baron though. Q with Smite can make life hell for an enemy jungler. I have noticed more cinderhulk Lee Sins around, but the majority I see still run warrior.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): warrior/cinderhulk. Pros – Lots of utility, great invading / Cons – weak late game, player skill dependent
Rengar has been up and down on my tier lists. He hasn’t made an appearance in while, but I think he’s in a good place. He benefits from not need mana and this allows for him to give up blue to the mid laner without issue. Built full damage he can be a solid carry jungler.
He can go either glass cannon to melt face or tank up to still melt face, just slower. His clearing is decent, but his ganks are even better. Split push for days or execute a carry caught out. He has insane mobility with his pounce and ultimate and can easily traverse the map. Know when to build him full damage and when to get tankier. Rushing all damage when behind isn’t typically a good idea. Itemize incorrectly and you might be skinned to make a fur coat. Manage your stacks so you can optimize your damage or cc. Missing your E can be rather embarrassing too. He is not the best at coming back from being behind.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): Warrior. Pros – burst, manaless. Cons – item dependent, cc
Amumu has been on and off my tier list since the jungler rework in 4.20. He has a solid kit and fits well in the tank meta. His teamfight is amazing and he can put out a lot of damage with having only tank items. He lacks the sustain he once had with spirit items, and I feel this is holding him back some. Not being able to get post 1st blue doesn’t help either.
He has a weak early game, even weaker than Sejuani, but he makes up for that with CC, health shred, AOE damage, and an amazing teamfight. He scales amazingly into the mid and late game. He can initiate easily with Q and he requires little skill to pull off. Even as pure tank he manages to dish out a load of damage. I am not a big fan of AP Amumu, but he is fun to play and can be viable in certain situations. Every single ability he has does scale with AP too. Practice landing Q, because this is key do initiating and locking down your targets. Remember, your R has a limited range and isn’t exactly instant, there is a mild delay, so it can be dodged with flash or escape abilities. Some people run magus on him, but I prefer him built with cinderhulk.
Suggested jungle enchant(s): cinderhulk. Pros – solid team fight, health shred / Cons – mana issues, weak early game
Demotion(s):
- Sejuani – She lost a good bit of damage from her W. This hurt her clears and overall damage output. She’s still a good pick and does well in Solo Q, but she won’t be top 3 again anytime soon.
Contested champions: Kha’zix, Fiddlesticks, Volibear, Udyr, Pantheon
My personal (not listed) good pick(s) – Cho’gath! He does amazingly well in solo Q and I like picking him against Nunu to to counter Nunu’s Q + R combo with his own R + Smite. This is only post level 6, of course.
My fun pick(s) – Garen! Not the greatest jungle in the world and his first clear isn’t good. He’s fun once you get going and it’s easy to clear after you get cinderhulk.
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Post any comments below or let me know what you think. Check out my champion cards and comic series. I hope everyone is enjoying these tier lists. Thank you for all the support, feedback, and criticism. I greatly appreciate it! My social sites are Facebook, Twitch, Youtube, and Twitter. Special thanks goes to my girlfriend for checking my work, input, and helping me with various design projects. You are amazing. Have a wonderful day and best of luck you in your games.
TL;DR – Gragas is pick or ban in my book. Sejuani got knocked down with her W nerf. Eve is being picked a lot more recently. Kha’zix’s buff helped him a bit, but I still feel he is too hot and cold for top 10.
