Hello everyone, my name is Lazily and I am an unconventional support main. This is my second guide here on MobaFire and this time it is for The Fresh Prince of Botlane: Prince Jarvan Lightshield IV of Demacia. I picked him up fairly recently after extensively playing the subject of my first guide, Support Shaco (for those interested, Shaco Support Guide). I reached ~420k mastery with Shaco playing him 99% botlane and decided it was time to try new things. Jarvan Support was something I had played a few times before with moderate success. I liked his ability to hard engage whenever he damn well pleased. With his fairly strong base damages and CC I decided he would become my new focus.

With shifts in meta towards carry tops and jungles I found Support Shaco less viable in most of my games and with Jarvan IV I can (1) still play a kill lane bot lane, (2) be the tank my team needs, (3) bring more reliable CC and purpose in teamfights, and (4) still defy the meta. Without further ado, here goes my Support Jarvan Guide. Enjoy.

HERE IS MY FIRST J4 SUPPORT MONTAGE! PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!
Play Video

Lately I have been binge-playing Jarvan. If you'd ask me who I played I'd tell you Shaco, J4, Syndra. If you look at my match history, I play J4. Similarly to my obsession with the Clown last Summer, I have recently become obsessed with J4. Honestly I don't know how to explain it other than the fact that there is something so rewarding about everything you do with J4. Every knock up, shield, glorious 5-man ultimates, and even ****ng basic attacks sound and feel like they pack a punch. There's no better feeling in League than being able to spam taunt, run train, not give a ****, and do work- AS A SUPPORT !__!

I'm going to be playing the ever-living f*ck out of J4 until I'm knowledgeable enough off the top of my head to complete this guide. I hope you all will stick around, enjoy, and further innovate this pick of mine.

Pros:

-Strong Base Damages
-Tank with surprising kill potential
-W ability is practically Randuin's with a shield
-Not mechanically intensive
-Flag toss (E) gives AoE Attack speed buff for you and your ADC
-Passive can chunk tankier champs
-CC in a knockup, slow, and "impassible" terrain
-Strong engage when he chooses or escape if need be

Cons:

-The biggest Con is that a missed flagswag combo can make fights tough to win
-If you use your E or Q outside of the combo there is a decent amount of time where you CANNOT engage, escape, or skirmish effectively
-Has some trouble with sustain supports if they get the early advantage
-Has trouble vs hard engage/ hard CC supports if they the early advantage
-Poorly timed engages can be your demise

Personally, I will only ever use ignite. I do this because J4 has solid base melee damage which can be surprising to a squishy enemy ADC or Support. Ignite is your ace in the hole. I cannot even begin to tell you how many kills I have gotten with J4 solely because I had ignite. Trades and skirmishes never seem to go in my favor when I've use exhaust. I like being a bully with J4. That is my playstyle. If you're a bully, you do damage, not mitigate it. Take ignite. MAN UP.

If you've chosen to ignore me use Exhaust, puss-c.

- Watch your cooldowns
- Your shield can be so clutch. Try and survive if you'll be able to use it.
- Be careful not to try and use the Combo before your E comes off cooldown.
- Don't feel rushed to get your combo off on an enemy. Try and look for oppurtunities to use the SwagFlag on multiple people when your team is in a position to follow.
- Atleast in laning phase, do not use your Q/E out of combo too often. It can make you relatively useless until the ability is no longer on cooldown
- Alot of people will say to never use your ult on a single enemy
- J4 Support has good CDR and is meant to give utility
-

If you can get a pick on a carry I will almost always use my ult
- Ulting an enemy carry will force them to either Flash or Die

BEFORE YOU PLAY JARVAN SUPPORT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PLAYING CUSTOM GAMES UNTIL YOU FEEL PROFICIENT WITH THE FLAGSWAG COMBO.

As support Jarvan your role is to be either a tanky engager for your team or a peeler for your ADC.

During the laning phase there are two playstyles that really depend on the matchup/game/ opponent/skill level. Ideally, if things are going well you want to an aggressive and violently-abusive bully. Alternatively, if you don't get an early advantage or can't safely be that bully you were in highschool- YOU NEED TO BE PASSIVE.

I start flagtoss at level 1. Flagtoss allows you to check brushes for invades without having to facecheck. If the enemy team has a Blitzdank you can safely scout your jungle to make sure he is not there. The flag does not last very long so if you're worried about an invade I would recommend using the flagtoss to check a bush and then placing your trinket there. I wouldn't really recommend your team invading as without your Q you don't offer any level 1 CC.

Once I know we are safe from an invade I will leash for my jungler. I will tank some hits from the Gromp/Kruggs and upon entering lane will immediately execute one melee creep. You want to try and rush to level 2 but if you push the first then the enemy will be under their tower.

Therefore, what you which you can easily do with your passive. However, if you push the first wave too hard the second wave will be under the enemy tower. I will execute those 2 melee creeps and then back off slightly until the next wave arrives. You and your ADC will reach level 2 after the first wave and the three melee minions of the second wave.

If you beat the enemy to level 2 then you should put a point in your Q and immediately engage. Your level 2 damage if you land your combo along with your passive damage can make trades very advantageous. THERE IS NO NEED TO ALL IN HOWEVER. Get in, knock those hoes up, maximize your passive by attacking both enemies, and walk away. With Grasp of the Undying and your early game damage this trade should almost always go in your favor. Be smart about it though, do not overcommit, there's no need to chase. Win the trade by asserting your dominance as Demacian Royalty.

With your relic shield you want to sustain in lane, generate gold, ward, and protect your ADC. When the enemy's abilities are on cooldown (like Nami Bubble, Blitz Hook, Thresh Death Sentence, etc.) you want to look to skirmish. Outside of those windows of opportunity play smart, and hold on to your combo to either engage or escape. Like I said in the Pros/ Cons, a lot of Support Jarvan's strength relies on your ability to land your FlagSwag combo. When either your E or Q are on cooldown you want to be cautious. Similarly to playing around the enemy's cooldowns, they will be playing around yours. A pointlessly thrown Flag toss gives the enemy a 13 second window for them to engage so again I will reiterate, be smart with your abilities.

If you are engaged upon do not immediately use the combo unless you need to escape ASAP. If they engage onto your ADC, use your W to slow them and whack them until they are clumped together or get to an angle where you can FlagSwag them both. Remember, your W shield scales with level but also grants an additional bonus depending on the number of enemy champions around you. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to land your combo. It is a fast combo that should be committed to muscle memory much like the Alistar Combo. IT IS AN EASY COMBO TO DO, BUT A DIFFICULT ONE TO MASTER. Especially in the heat of battle when that combo will protect your ADC and save you or give the enemy an easy double kill.

If you and your ADC get the early advantage it is fairly easy to keep it so long as you ward and continue to be smart with your engages. Play around enemy cooldowns as well as your own. Don't go hyper-aggressive because it will surely backfire.

Lastly, a small note, when sieging towers you want to throw your flag behind you and be mindful of how much longer it will remain there. Flags last for 8 seconds. You want the flag behind you so that if/ when the enemy arrives to protect their turret you can quickly and easily Q towards it out from underneath their tower to your safety. Sieging towers is a strong point of Support Jarvan's viability. Together with your ADC, your high base attack speed, and your flag granting an attack speed buff to you both you can put some serious hurt on towers.

Even during the laning phase you want to look to roam. Since Jarvan is truly a Jungler he has a strong kit for ganking other lanes. If the enemy is back and you do not need to recall, look to get some wards down and show some love by roaming and ganking mid. If you have your ultimate you can almost always guarantee burning an enemy's Flash if they don't have a dash of their own just by pressing R onto them. If you do not have your ultimate you still have a kit that can set up kills and deal some surprising damage. Don't waste too much time though roaming because you don't want to leave your ADC alone. If the enemy sees you are mid lane they can go aggressive on your lonely ADC.

During the mid game it is important to get vision down. Try to have a Pink ward on the map at all times. This is kind of general knowledge but if you are against a Vayne buy two pink wards, place one on the map, and hold onto the other one for when she ultimates. Placing a pink ward on top of a Vayne in her ultimate will ruin her day.

During the midgame when the first teamfights begin to break out you need to decide based on your team's composition if you will be the engager or if you need to peel for your ADC.

If you have a comp with strong AoE (Gangplank, Malphite, Miss Fortune) you want to look for that opportunity to use your ultimate and bunch them together.

If you decide to go the alternative route and peel for your ADC then stay with her, change your targets to get the most out of your passive. Use your swagflag combo to knock them up if they get near her and your ultimate as a last resort to really peel them off of your ADC. You have to be REALLLLLLY careful though that you don't trap your carries in your ultimate with you. If you do you are essentially placing your carries on an altar as a sacrificial offering to the enemy team.

Look for picks around the map. Even if your team is not immediately with you, if you see an enemy that does not have a dash and they are alone. A knock up followed by your ultimate will lock them down long enough for your team to get there. Use your Ultimate to burn people's flashes and set up kills. Your ultimate can also be used as an executing ability with it's fairly high base damage and +1.5 per bonus attack damage. While I wouldn't recommend doing it on the support, if the enemy ADC or Midlaner is escaping with low health you can FlagSwag towards them, flash (if need be), and then ultimate their face.

Using your ultimate in narrow corridors in the jungle can block off paths entirely which can either be a good thing or a bad thing. Be aware of this and try to use it beneficially.

*DISCLAIMER* This is obviously entirely based on my own opinion. If I have an ADC that you or a friend play listed lower on the list don't think they are not viable. There's a very good chance I haven't played with many of them or not with skilled players. This is based on my experiences and anything can be viable.

God Tier:
Kalista:
Kalista's ability to kite around while J4 is in their face is beautiful. Her ultimate is great with J4 for helping him initiate or escape. By throwing J4 in, he can get into a position to use his ultimate and still have his FlagSwag combo available. I've played J4 with a few good Kalistas and it was a very good time :)

Lucian:
Lucian is honestly just really strong at the moment and can excel with any support. Strong duel potential together with J4, can win most trades. J4 ult can put enemies on a silver platter for Culling.

Miss Fortune:
Cataclysm + Bullet time = Synergy . . . . . nuff said

Vayne:
Vayne is an ADC that can hard carry almost any game. With Jarvan she gets an attack speed buff to proc silver bolts more easily/ quickly. Jarvan also serves as an "in yo face" support to be a front line for her to sit behind and deal damage. Vayne also has crazy synergy with J4's ultimate. She can tumble out of it if he ever gets stuck and can condemn enemies into it. With J4's somewhat passive laning phase and Vayne's weaker early game you can focus on getting her farmed and ahead. After level 6 you should not lose a fight.


A Tier:
Corki:
Corki is just strong. With his poke, escape, magic damage, and The Package he compliments Jarvan. An incoming Corki with package can easily be set up by a FlagSwag into ultimate.

Tristana:
This is a very strong lane. Together, Tristana and Jarvan have insane synergy. J4's strength comes from his ability to hard engage whenever he wants and Tristana's kit allows her to follow his lead. The Flag gives AoE attack speed allowing Tristana to get more auto attacks off for her Explosive Charge. Her jump allows her to follow Jarvan into fights and get the reset with a kill/ assist. She can jump out of J4's ultimate if she is caught in it. She can knock people away if either of you are in trouble. A skilled Jarvan with a skilled Tristana is a lane to be reckoned with...

Ezreal:

Jinx