The Best Jungler Champions in LoL

Image: Riot Games

Human Made

Penned by Brett Moss

I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first 360. I love arena shooters, MMOs, and MOBAs, but I'll pretty much try any kind of game.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Season 2022 has only just begun, but we can already see how the jungle role is lining up this season. Since games are tending to go long (especially at higher levels of play), scaling is important. This means less glass cannon assassins and more tanks and support-like junglers.

So who is the best Jungler Champion in LoL? This week, we’re taking a look at the top Junglers and giving you a few tips on how to play them. Also be aware that not every single jungler is listed in the tier list below. I have effectively taken my top 10 junglers and then added a few more at the bottom of that list that aren’t quite as good to show the range of champions in the jungle.

Let’s get started!

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LoL Jungler Champion Tier List

Image: HGG / Brett Moss

First, let’s break things down with a tier list outlining all the best Junglers in League.

Jungling is difficult because there’s no one proper way to play the role. Each player, and each Champion, can have an entirely unique strategy. Amumu, for example, has incredible crowd control which allows him to shut down important enemies with no problem. All four of these champions have one or two specific areas they excel in and none they’re truly terrible at. 

The A-tier champions also excel in specific areas but have the downside of not being as versatile. Take Kha’Zix, for example. Kha’Zix has really high burst damage which he can use to get critical shut downs and keep his carry safe. However, he doesn’t have much sustained damage in teamfights. By no means are these champions bad, but they aren’t as well-rounded as the S-tiers.

The B-tier champions shine with specific team comps or as counter-picks. While they aren’t as versatile as the ones above them, they can still make a significant impact on a game. They’re also great backup picks for when your favorite gets banned. The enemy team banned Elise? Well, Taliyah is a solid pick. And so on. These are great champions, even though I don’t prefer them over the S- or A-tier ones.  

Here we get into the most mediocre of Junglers. These are either underpowered, irrelevant in the meta, or not versatile enough to cut it. If you really like one of these champions, there’s no real reason not to play them. That said, if you want to make a substantial impact on the game, they aren’t your best bets.

These are just bad. When I see these on my team, I assume the Jungler got autofilled and hasn’t played the role in years. Play them if you really want to, but even then, maybe reconsider. 

10 Best Jungle Champions in League of Legends, Ranked Good to Best

Below is a more in-depth look into the top Junglers from the League of Legends Jungler tier list above. I’ll be discussing the top ten from that list and giving some advice about playing those top choices. The stats presented below are from u.gg and are accurate to patch 12.1. 12.2 just came out, but the stats for it aren’t developed yet so we’ll stick with 12.1 for now.

10. Diana

Win Rate: 50.09% | Pick Rate: 13.1% | Ban Rate: 13.7% | Counters: Lilia, Elise, Shyvana | Countered By: Warwick, Xin Zhao, Taliyah

Starting out our top 10 picks coming in at #10 is Diana. Assassins aren’t the strongest pick in the jungle at the moment, but Diana is one of the few that gets around this. She isn’t a full assassin like Kha’Zix (who we’ll talk about later), so she doesn’t suffer from all of the down sides that assassins typically face.

She’s able to sustain her damage throughout a lengthy teamfight, pull off massive engages with her ultimate, and still manage to get out alive. Diana is also an AP champion, which is good for filling in gaps on your team.

Skill Order: Q > W > E

9. Hecarim

Win Rate: 50.51% | Pick Rate: 10.1% | Ban Rate: 8.6% | Counters: Karthus, Gragas, Qiyana | Countered By: Warwick, Nunu & Willump, Rammus

Hecarim fits into the 2022 meta in a weird way. Since assassins aren’t the top picks anymore, Hecarim kind of takes over the role of picking off carries. His ridiculous speed allows him to get to the enemy backline faster than pretty much anyone else, and in most situations he should have enough damage to finish them off before they blow him up. Or, if nothing else, he can distract carries for long enough for his own carries to get to them. Hecarim is one of the best junglers for ganking, also due to his speed, so he never has any part of the game in which he becomes useless.

Skill Order: Q > E > W

8. Kha’Zix

Win Rate: 51.46% | Pick Rate: 8.2% | Ban Rate: 8% | Counters: Volibear, Gwen, Poppy | Countered By: Rengar, Sejuani, Amumu

In 2022, Kha’Zix is still the master assassin of the jungle. While other assassins have fallen down the list a bit, Kha is almost just as good as he was last year. What makes Kha so consistent is his general strength and his stealth abilities. He might not be able to take down enemy junglers as easily this year, but any enemy carry that’s hoping to scale into late game will be devastated to see him on the other team.

Kha’s ability to jump onto an enemy backline is better now than it has been in a long time, as ADCs seem significantly more relevant now than they did in season 2021. Kha does suffer a bit from the recent meta shifts, but if an assassin is what you want in the jungle, he should definitely be your go-to.

Skill Order: Q > W > E

Evolution Order: Kha’Zix can evolve his abilities into more deadly versions of themselves. The order for this is Q-W-E.

7. Vi

Win Rate: 51.47% | Pick Rate: 5.3% | Ban Rate: 2.9% | Counters: Lee Sin, Evelyn, Talon | Countered By: Rammus, Amumu, Volibear

Vi remains strong this year, as long as you know who to play her against. Vi struggles against tanks, so you’ll want to avoid her against picks like Nunu or Rammus. Where she shines, though, is against assassins and other brawler picks. Champs like Karthus and Lee Sin are hopeless against Vi.

Vi’s strongest elements are her ability to fight in early game and her ultimate’s engage potential late game. Early Vi can fight just about anyone effectively, and as she transitions into late game she’s able to pick off carries if she gets the right positioning. Using Vi’s ultimate as a form of engage is the most important thing to do when playing her, as it can easily turn a fight around for her team.

Skill Order: Q > E > W

6. Rammus

Win Rate: 51.64% | Pick Rate: 2.3% | Ban Rate: 3.1% | Counters: Nidalee, Ivern, Vi | Countered By: Rek’Sai, Sejuani, Trundle

Rammus’s strengths are obvious: he’s fast, he builds a lot of armor, and he’s almost impossible to kill. Rammus has gotten a bad reputation over the years as a meme pick, but he’s usually at the very least a decent tank. This season, however, Rammus truly gets his chance to shine. Few things terrify a late game carry as much as a Rammus with four armor items rolling at them faster than anything else in the game.

He’s also great against assassins and brawlers, as they won’t be able to get any damage through him thanks to his armor. Rammus’s reliance on armor is both his biggest strength and weakness. It makes him almost immune to AD if he builds enough, but leaves him very open to AP damage. That being said, Rammus does not have to build exclusively armor. Pure magic resist items should probably be avoided, but hybrid tank items like Gargoyle Stoneplate are great additions to his build.

Skill Order: Q > E > W

5. Skarner

Win Rate: 51.86% | Pick Rate: 0.7% | Ban Rate: 0.1% | Counters: Nocturne, Rengar, Master Yi | Countered By: Amumu, Warwick, Jarvan IV

Skarner is another often-overlooked champion that gets a chance to shine this season. Skarner’s ultimate ability is one of the best in the game for shutting down carries, and this is one of the best metas in a while for him to use it to his max potential.

Using Skarner’s ultimate well is the main goal for anyone that plays him. It’s a great tool for pulling off high-quality ganks, and in teamfights it can allow for his team to instantly shut down the biggest threat agains them. His presence also adds an additional element to map control–capturing his crystals. It isn’t essential to keep these crystals captured, but by doing so Skarner gains even more potential during fights.

Skill Order: Q-E-W-Q-Q-R (max them in Q-W-E order)

4. Rek’Sai

Win Rate: 51.68% | Pick Rate: 3.9% | Ban Rate: 3.3% | Counters: Evelynn, Rammus, Ivern | Countered By: Amumu, Taliyah, Fiddlesticks

Rek’Sai is the master of map control. Her tunnels are one of her strongest assets, allowing her to move around much faster than other junglers. She also has some of the best gank abilities, so she is able to help shut down enemies long before they become an actual threat.

Rek’Sai does tend to struggle against some tanks, but as long as you prioritize ganking over invading, and your team has at least one champion that can help against tanks, then Rek’Sai is a really strong pick. You just have to learn how to play her effectively.

Skill Order: Q > E > W

3. Amumu

Win Rate: 51.72% | Pick Rate: 2.6% | Ban Rate: 1.1% | Counters: Poppy, Talon, Rammus | Countered By: Nidalee, Nunu & Willump, Nocturne

The sad mummy is finally back in the top 10 junglers this season, as he’s a solid combination of everything needed in the jungle right now. Amumu has four solid reasons to be played: he’s a tank, he’s AP, he has a great stun as one of his non-ultimate abilities, and his ultimate is incredible for teamfights.

Amumu’s early game is mostly just a series of ganks, but late game he’s one of the most effective junglers in a teamfight. His ultimate ability can stun several enemies at once, allowing his ADC or other carries to finish off an entire team with no resistance. Prioritizing crowd control is the way to go with Amumu, as you’ll get far more accomplished doing that than if you tried to go for kills yourself.

Skill Order: E > Q > W

2. Trundle

Win Rate: 52.55% | Pick Rate: 3.9% | Ban Rate: 2.9% | Counters: Olaf, Poppy, Rammus | Countered By: Skarner, Kindred, Nunu & Willump

Since tanks are really strong in the current meta, Trundle is an excellent pick. His ultimate ability is an essential tool against tanks, stealing 40% of the target’s current Armor and Magic Resist for 5 seconds. This can be a game changer when he’s able to use this ability on an enemy hyper tank in the late game and allow his team to win a critical teamfight.

The rest of his abilities are focused primarily on causing pressure in lanes, so he’s a viable pick for heavy ganking as well. Trundle is a situational pick, though, so I wouldn’t recommend picking him blindly. If the enemy team doesn’t have at least one heavy tank on their team then you’ll probably be better off with someone else. But when they do have a few tanks, Trundle is a perfect pick.

Skill Order: Q > W > E

1. Nunu & Willump

Win Rate: 53.09% | Pick Rate: 4.8% | Ban Rate: 2.8% | Counters: Volibear, Amumu, Warwick | Countered By: Rek’Sai, Gwen, Sejuani

Our #1 top pick for best jungler is Nunu (and Willump). This pick has been a monster in the jungle all season so far, and it’s not hard to see why. With the current meta being so focused on scaling into late game, and most lower elo games going long anyway, Nunu is incredible. Tanky junglers are usually good in long games since they’re able to initiate teamfights and peel for carries, but Nunu is a step above the rest.

His AP scaling allows him to do serious damage with his ultimate ability, and he can easily steal or force objectives thanks to his Q-ability. Nunu’s AP also means your team won’t be left without any when your mid and top both auto lock AD assassins without asking the team. For the early part of this season at least, you can’t go wrong with Nunu in the jungle.

Ability Order: Q > W > E

High Ground View

Jungle is a daunting role to play. You have a lot of responsibilities, and there’s a lot of pressure on you to get it all right. Take your time to learn the role and its ins-and-outs, then get out there and gank some lanes!

We hope you enjoyed this guide on the LoL best Junglers, and happy gaming!

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