Welcome to my Hecarim Guide! My name is Huncho and I'm the best Hecarim in the world.

I started playing Hecarim in Season 13 and I have peaked 1200LP (rank 40) last split. I have over 1 million mastery points on Hecarim, and I'm excited to share my knowledge with you!

Coaching details

BUILD VIDEO

For itemization, I recommend watching this 5 minute build guide, as it sums up itemization perfectly.

As of my take of tear on Hecarim right now;

- I think it's viable and is my personal favourite build on Hecarim right now

Conqueror Rune
When you’re able to duel enemy jg/team and don’t need the extra utility that Conqueror provides (for example, they are mainly melee, and have no extreme slows). 95% of the time I go Conqueror I run the build pictured above, Stridebreaker is the item I build the other 5%


Phase Rush Rune
Usually take this when you’re against a lot of ranged champs and you need the extra utility of Phase Rush. If the enemy team has many slows, or even just one like Nasus/Ashe/Zilean, opting for Phase Rush is usually best, because it’s the easiest to pilot. Going Phase Rush doesn’t mean you have to go lethality, the item pathing pictured above is just a general guideline that works 95% of times.


Ingenious Hunter Rune
If you're using the builds showcased above, Ingenious Hunter synergizes with every item you build, and is by far the best rune in slot compared to others

When I say level 3 “cross-map” invade in the matchups, I mean when the enemy jungle clears their 3 camps and goes for the invade on your second buff.

The simplest counterplay to this is getting vision on your 2nd jungle half entrance/bush and skip the 2nd buff to go to your last camp.


• Always try to fight with 3 Q stacks. This means delaying camps midgame/lategame to have Q stacks for longer, Q anything before and during fights

• Conqueror is a better rune overall than Phase Rush, but PR is better sometimes for specific comps/matchups

• Conqueror is usually best in most Melee matchups

IF YOU ARE GOING TEAR

I really advise you to watch my manamune video, as it explains the itemization in-depth



Runes

Conqueror Rune	Phase Rush Rune	Ingenious Hunter Rune
When you’re able to duel enemy jungle/team and don’t need the extra utility that Conqueror provides (for example, they are mainly melee, and have no extreme slows). 95% of the time I go Conqueror I run the build pictured above, Stridebreaker is the item I build the other 5%	Usually take this when you’re against a lot of ranged champs and you need the extra utility of Phase Rush. If the enemy team has many slows, or even just one like Nasus/Ashe/Zilean, opting for Phase Rush is usually best, because it’s the easiest to pilot. Going Phase Rush doesn’t mean you have to go lethality, the item pathing pictured above is just a general guideline that works 95% of times.	If you're using the builds showcased above, Ingenious Hunter synergizes with every item you build, and is by far the best rune in slot compared to others
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Amumu

• One of the easiest matchups, just watch out for q, play for countergank and out-tempo. Conqueror favoured matchup unless enemy team comp dictates otherwise.

Bel’veth

• One of the hardest matchups. Need to watch for early raptors invade, she also has a strong level 3 invade. If she doesn’t get ahead early and is forced to full clear, the matchup isn’t that bad, and depending on your build you can typically space her and duel her. Can go either conq/phase rush, depends on enemy comp

Brand

• Easy matchup, if enemy brand is good his clear matches yours. Can punish early if you get early vision and run him down with ghost. Good brands usually take ghost so be careful for their spacing. You win every 1v1 as long as your movement is good. Try to stay out of the point blank range of his Q and you just win.

Briar

• Easy matchup post-nerfs. If she goes bruiser it can be annoying if you’re playing lethality. If she goes lethality you just win. Watch for early cheese, especially on raptors or late invade. Don’t fall behind you win easily. Conq preferred matchup but it depends on enemy comp. Can easily kite and space her kit with E + Ghost.

Diana

• Easy matchup, similar to Briar in ways. If you have conqueror you beat her early. She plays for full clear and can’t invade you level 3 unless she has lane prios.

Ekko

• Relatively easy matchup. Ekko plays for 3 camp reset/full clear, as long as he doesn’t get ahead you can snowball easily. Phase rush is usually best in this matchup but it depends on enemy comp. Try to stop Ekko from snowballing and you win.

Elise

• Medium/Hard matchup, unless you avoid early cheese/pressure. If you’re there for her early ganks/dives you can easily snowball and make her game unplayable. Elise is similar playstyle to graves/nidalee where she wants to perma invade you, but she isn’t as much of a threat because her cocoon is easily avoidable. Can Q stack on her spiderlings.

Evelynn

• The matchup itself is very easy, but if Eve gets ahead it’s unplayable which is why she can be tricky. You’re a lot stronger than her early and can snowball easily, but if the Evelynn is good she will get fed from your team like 99% of the time. Can avoid her Charm with your R. Phase rush is usually best in this matchup but it depends on enemy comp.

Fiddlesticks

• Fiddlesticks is very similar to Evelynn in terms of playstyle and champ identity. The matchup itself is easy and you won’t get invaded by Fiddle ever, but it’s hard to get ahead against him as his clear matches yours and he has lockdown cc lategame + Fiddle is always useful lategame no matter how behind. It’s important to get blue ward mid/lategame and make sure he can’t get any R angles for your team. Your job in this matchup is to make him as useless as possible, and if you get ahead you just run him down. Conqueror is usually best in this matchup (with tenacity rune, but it depends on enemy comp.

Gragas

• Medium difficulty matchup, Gragas actually has a level 3 invade window, but you can counter that easily if you skip second buff and go to your last camp. If Gragas goes AP, lategame he can be really annoying with his slows + burst. Phase rush is best into Gragas, but runes depend on enemy comp.

Graves

• One of the hardest matchups in high elo. Graves can punish Hecarim early game and outscale easily. Graves has 3 options earlygame for invade. Important to get early vision in enemy jungle and do your best to be aware.
1) lvl 1 late invade/early invade
-> to counter, you can either stack top/bot and play for lvl 1 skirmish if you think your comp is good lvl 1 + get vision
2) level 3 cross-map invade
-> to counter, when you cross map through mid you want to get vision on second buff brush (after wolves/raptors), and skip second buff and go to gromp/krugs
-> you can use this method against any other invade junglers (nidalee, kindred)
3) level 2 cheese invade over wall
-> to counter you can either ward river, or get your support/team to ward river
-> only a select few champs can do this (graves, nidalee, kindred are the main ones)


Gwen

• Easy matchup earlygame, can get difficult because of her scaling. Try to punish/skirmish early, if you don’t, she outscales and can outduel you midgame. Both phase rush and conq are fine.

Ivern

• Permaban OP

Jarvan IV (J4)

• Medium matchup; Easy in low elo, harder in high elo. If you take conq in this matchup and dodge E → Q you always win 1v1 with even items + q stacks. Watch out for level 3 cross map cheese and you beat him if you can snowball.

Jax

• Medium matchup; Easy in low elo → Can be very hard in high elo. Jax is one of those junglers you only see in higher elo, and if he’s in your lower elo lobbies, you just win because it’s hard to pull off. Phase rush or conq works in this matchup it just depends on enemy comp.

Karthus

• Medium matchup. Karthus is one of the fastest clearing champs, matching Hecarim’s tempo. Karthus wants to play for a perma fighting game because he benefits more than we do in this matchup. If he takes exhaust and we have phase rush we can run him down early game. Having good movement is really important in this matchup, making it more of a skill matchup. Phase rush is always better than conq against karthus.

Kayn

• Easy/Medium Matchup. Kayn is a special jungler in terms of ways to counterplay him early with invades, but it’s pretty easy. As long Kayn can’t start your wolves or raptors, you win early game and can out tempo. A good kayn will have good tempo but Hecarim is more useful early as long as we track Kayn properly. Masters and below, Kayn is looking to cheese early game and win the game through that, if you protect raptors/wolves, matchup is easy.

Kha’zix

• Easy/Medium matchup. Kha’zix has 1 invade angle and that’s a level 3 crossmap invade (where he invades you on your 2nd buff). As long as you get vision on your 2nd half jungle entrance + skip your second buff to go to krugs/gromp, you’ll be fine. Look at map for laners rotating, if you avoid the level 3 invade the matchup is pretty easy if you can get ahead. Kha’zix when ahead is difficult to play into though. Phase rush and conq are both fine in the matchup.

Kindred

• Hard/Hardest matchup. The reason Kindred is such a hard matchup is because she can punish you early almost every game. Look back at the Graves notes for this matchup as Kindred/Graves pilot very similarly, but Kindred is slightly more annoying.

Lee Sin

• Easy/Medium matchup. Watch out for early cheese/invade, Lee Sin CAN invade you level 3 cross-map, if he hits Q, he has kill pressure as well. Try to space Lee and dodge Q or else early game can be tricky. Once you get into midgame/lategame, the matchup becomes pretty easy as you can cancel his Q2 with your E. Both phase rush and conq are fine. Matchup is easier in low elo.

Lillia

• Medium/Hard matchup. Lillia is one of the junglers that can match Hecarim tempo as well. If she’s ahead it can be a really difficult matchup. Watch for raptors invade, and you can fight her raptors early if you have prio mid. Phase and conq both good in this matchup, but if you have conq you need to make sure you don’t get kited out.

Maokai

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Maokai can look for cheese early on your raptors, other than that he won’t invade which is good for Hecarim. The cc he has can be really annoying if you don’t have good movement. If you’re confident in this matchup with your movement, you can go conq, but phase rush is typically safer just for his slows.

Master Yi

• Medium/Annoying matchup. Master Yi has a lot of cheese potential early game. He can level 2 or 3 invade, but it’s pretty rare. Typically Yi will look for full clear. Hecarim has better tempo, just watch out for his item powerspikes. If you have phase rush you can kite Yi out really well especially with good movement. You can space his entire kit and E his W.

Morgana

• Easy matchup. She has decent clear but if you just dodge her Q you run her down. Try not to R through her shield.

Nidalee

• Hard matchup. She’s in the category of graves/kindred where she can invade early, refer to the graves note. You can run her down most times and duel her, try to save your E for when she jumps over a wall and you can follow sometimes. Both PR and conq are fine in this matchup. Very similar to graves

Nocturne

• Medium/Annoying matchup. Nocturne always wins 1v1 if he plays it properly. If you have phase rush you can kite out his fear and space him but it’s pretty hard. Nocturne has an invade window level 3 cross map and can also level 1 cheese on your buff or raptors. Typically Nocturne just plays for 6 and full clear tho. Phase rush is easier to pilot against noc, conq provides better dueling power, but ideally you aren’t gonna be dueling him much anyway.

Nunu & Willump

• Easy/Annoying matchup. In lower elo this matchup is easy because you can out-tempo Nunu heavily and just outscale fast. A good Nunu can be annoying to play against because he can pressure your weak laners. You can outspace him and his root if you have phase rush, both PR and conq are fine in this matchup. As long as you warn your lanes about potential Nunu ganks early, the matchup is free if he can’t get a successful one off.

Poppy

• Easy/Annoying matchup. She has a level 3 cross map invade window, if you get past her early cheese you just win the game by out csing her.

Rammus

• Easy matchup. Rammus has a lot of similarities in terms of playstyle to Nunu, and you only see this pick in lower elos. You can easily out cs + tempo him, if you’re building full lethality you might struggle against him in a 1v1. Cleaver over shojin is best in this matchup.

Rek’sai

• Easy/Medium matchup. Rek’sai likes to play for a level 3 gank, if you get vision or play counter you should be able to snowball easily. Rek’sai has a level 3 cross map invade window, but as long as she doesn’t get ahead you just run her down. You can outspace her when she’s burrowed and bait her to come out and easily win duels.

Rengar

• Hard matchup. In lower elos this matchup is easy, because playing Rengar is hard. In higher elos this matchup becomes difficult. Rengar can punish Hecarim at any point in the earlygame. You don’t win against his level 3 cross map invade, but if you’re able to farm and force him to match you tempo-wise, it’s not that bad. Conq is favoured in this matchup, for the dueling potential, but it depends on enemy comp.

Sejuani

• Easy matchup. Sej has no real invade windows, you beat her in 1v1. Her champ is literally a worse version of Hecarim. She can be tricky in higher elos where she has good ganks, but you should be able to snowball through her easily. Conq is better in this matchup, but it ofc depends on enemy comp.

Shaco

• Medium/Annoying matchup. You can typically go to his raptors and break his boxes early game to throw off his clear. Shaco is a cheese jungler who can punish Hecarim hard if he’s ahead. He has a level 3 cross map invade window, but other than that he’s not much of a problem to you, but rather to your laners. Both Phase Rush and Conqueror are fine, if he’s going AP, Mercs are high value late game.

Shyvanna

• Easy matchup. Shyvana plays for full clear but you kind of just beat her at every point of the game. If she goes AP she can be annoying with poke, but you have a lot more snowball potential early with Hecarim’s kit. She has no real invade window, apart from raptors cheese. Both PR and Conq are fine in this matchup.

Sylas

• Easy/Annoying matchup. This matchup can be super easy, or annoying if he gets ahead. Sylas can’t match your clear at all so he’s gonna look for early ganks. If he can’t get any early ganks off, you automatically have a big lead over him. If your laners don’t respect his early ganks this matchup can actually be hard if he gets kills, because you have to respect his early game damage/burst. Sylas has a level 3 cross map invade window, but it’s rare for Sylas to go for invade rather than gank. Conqueror is favored in this matchup.

Taliyah

• Easy/Medium. Taliyah is pretty easy in lower elos, as she’s not really picked there. In higher elos she can be a more difficult matchup, because she’s just a good jungle champ. She has a cross map invade window level 3, but it’s rare for Taliyah to invade. She plays for full clear and matches Hecarim clear pretty well. If you dodge her flick and have good movement, you can snowball easily against her as long as you don’t get spaced. Phase Rush is favored in this matchup.

Talon
• Medium matchup. Talon is similar to Rek’sai in ways because he wants to look for a level 3 play. He has a level 3 cross map invade window, but as long as you dodge either W1 or W2, you beat him (unless he has ignite). Generally, you can play for his second raptors spawn, and out-snowball him from there if he doesn’t get kills early. Talon has a really fast clear midgame/lategame and good burst against you. Typically, whoever gets ahead just wins this matchup hard. Both Phase Rush and Conqueror are good against him, but Conqueror is a lot better for dueling early.

Trundle

• Easy/Annoying matchup. You can’t duel him at all, especially early game. Unless you’re ahead, he beats you in a 1v1 for the most part. Phase Rush and Conqueror are both fine in this matchup; Phase Rush is easier to pilot though because you can negate his E slow. The main goal in this matchup is to just get ahead through farming because Trundle can never match Hecarim in CS (his early clear is too bad).

Udyr

• Hard matchup. Udyr is basically Trundle with a better clear. Udyr will match your clear well and try to get ahead through objectives and early ganks with Ghost. Phase Rush and Conqueror can both be good, take Conqueror if you just want to 1v1 duel him, and Phase Rush if you want to kite away from his empowered R. It’s important to not fall behind in this matchup.

Vi

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Vi is overall an easy matchup, you out-tempo her and can snowball. She has a level 3 cross map invade window, but it’s rare to be invaded by her. She can be annoying with her R, but if your R is up, you can avoid the knockup as long as you don’t get hit by Q beforehand. If Vi ults you during a teamfight and your positioning is good, you’ll just win the game. The matchup is a little harder in high elo. Conqueror is best vs her.

Viego

• Easy matchup. Watch for early cheese on raptors and level 3 cross map invade. You can duel Viego if you dodge his W and space him out. Conqueror makes dueling easier but both runes are fine. Play for out-tempo and counterganks.

Warwick
• Easy/Annoying matchup. Warwick can be annoying but you can space his entire kit with Phase Rush. He has a level 3 cross map invade angle.

Wukong

• Easy matchup. Wukong plays to farm early, and you do that better than him. He has a stronger 6 spike but Wukong should never get 6 before Hecarim. Conqueror is better in this matchup and just make sure to not all in him without Q stacks when he has his 6 powerspike/sunderer spike.

Xin Zhao

• Easy/Annoying matchup. Xin has to look for early gank opportunities or else you can out-tempo him like crazy. He has a good level 3 cross map invade window so just be careful of that and you should be able to snowball easily. Can be annoying when he has prio on his laners.

Zac

• Easy matchup. Zac plays to full clear and can maybe cheese gank. Zac has no real invade window and you can get ahead easily through farm. Conqueror is best in this matchup but, like always, it depends on the enemy comp. You can also cancel his E with your E.

Zed

• Easy matchup. Zed jungle is the worst jungle right now, you should never be against him

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