Hi summoners, MxThunder here. I'm a platinium 2 player and going up. In this guide I will try to explain to new players how to play Jax.

Jax was my first champion. I immediately started to love him, even if i was not good with him, I play him a lot since they updated the Triforce. He is a God-tier toplaner in my opinion.

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Pros

Tanky
Very High damages
Counter all AA with his E
Fun to play
Great splitpusher
Huge late game Champion
HE HAS A F*CKING LAMP POST



Cons

Weak early-game
Manavore like hell
Bad jungler
Can get harassed like hell
Need items to be powerful

Always take flash. It could save your life or give kills/engage a teamfight.


A good spell if you know you will get kills if you TP botlane or if you get counter-picked. This is the best spell to split-push like a hero!


A really good spell to get early kills with your jungler or to fight high regen champs like Dr. Mundo or Vladimir



A good spell against AA champs like Master Yi. I don't take it a lot but is still a good spell


Useful if you want to chase down opponents. I don't like this spell but it can still be good.

I wouldn't recommend anything else on glyphs. None of the other are worth it.


I wouldn't recommend anything else too. You need HP.


This marks are important early game to trade a little. You can go with greater mark of armor penetration because they scale better late game.


Those Quints scales really well with Jax in general.



I don't think any other masteries than the one on the top of the guid would be worth it.

This ability is Jax's gap closer. It scales with both AD and AP. You can combine this ability with Empower's damage to harass the opponent.


Jax's W is a great ability. It has a low mana-cost so feel free to harass your opponent with this ability. THIS ABILITY ALSO RESET YOUR AA so when you want to trade, come close to your opponent, AA him and then W him.


This ability is the reason why jax counters all AA champs. When you use it, you will dodge all the AA from everything (including minions, monsters and champions) and then stun all the opponents around you (it has a circle hitbox). Use it when you 1v1 a champion and try to land the stun on the maximum of champs that is possible. This ability makes you a real nightmare for all the ADCs in the game.


This is your most op ability. Your ultimate has a really good passive. Every third AA jax deals some magic damage to the target. When you hit 6, you need to harass like hell. Doing this is simple: AA a minion 2x -> W+Q on your target -> AA you target -> Walk away like a boss. This ability sequence can rip 1/4 to 1/2 of your opponent's life. BE CAREFUL ABOUT YOUR MANA BECAUSE IT EATS A LOT OF MANA! The active gives you armor and MR scaling on your AP and AD. It has a low cooldown so feel free to use it when you engage a fight.

My prefered starter with Jax. It gives everything you want early game.

Good item when you know you won't be able to hit minions and vs ranged.

Good boots against AA champs and if the team has lots of AD damages.

Mercury's Trades Good boots with heavy CC teams. The only alternative to Ninja Tabi

A must-have on Jax. It gives a lot of good stats for Jax and the active is soooo good to chase and trade people.

Another must-have on Jax. Every stat of the item scales really good with Jax. The passive synergize really good with Jax's W.

This item is really good on jax. It give AS, MS and tenacity. All of the stats are important on jax.

A good anti-AP item. The first passive is not so good but the second one is really useful. It can surprise your target and make you win a fight.

This item is not so common on Jax but it can be good to push a line since Jax can't push minions really fast.

A great item if you need MR. It gives a lot of hp and some CDR too which is good on Jax. The passive is really useful too to regen your health really fast.

This item is in my opinion the best defensive item on Jax. It has huge stats and really good passive and active when you 1v1 someone and the want to chase/flee.


If you need some chasing power, then go fot it. The slow is great with jax and it gives you a lot of HP. This item is really underestimated in my opinion.

If you are afraid of grabs and/or if you need to be the frontline this item is definitly something you should consider. The passive can save your life more than once.

I hardly ever pick this on Jax. You'll only need this when the other team is full physical damages and has at least 2 AA champs (Yi, Trnydamere,...). They will die by auto-attacking you. If you build this, I recommend you to buy some hp too.

This item is a really versatile one. It can be awesome and save a game. But when the ressurection is gone, it's nearly useless to have one. Pick this if you are fed like hell or change one of you items to this for the last fight.

This is the most difficult part of the game with Jax. 7/10 of the games, you'll need to just SURVIVE the laning phase. You'll be starting with one of your jungle camp (usually birds). Use your flask when you engage the camp. When you're done you'll need to back and buy some more pots or ward. Your laning phase is starting here. Try to last hit as good as you can and play really safe. Wait your jungler to try to kill someone or wait the moment the ennemy does a mistake to kill him (a tower dive for example. Just stun your opponent under-tower.). Unless you are a good Jax player (but I don't think you'd be reading this guide if you did^^) or that you counter your ennemy, you won't win 1v1 if your ennemy has like half of a brain.

When you hit 6 and get your Trinity Force and your Vampiric Scepter you'll be a monster when duelling people. You need to harass with your ultimate (see skills section) and rip off your ennemy by stabbing him to death with your lamp post. Whenever possible, push your lane and the turrets. Help your teammates by pushing all day all night. You'll be able to dive the other toplaner most of the games so the ennemy jungler will come. The botlane will then be free and will usually win.

The late game part is where Jax shines bright like a diamond. When you are not teamfighting, PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT! Be annoying as f*ck and push. When a fight is preparing, group up with your mates. If you have an engage like Malphite or Leona wait for them to do the work the jump in and assasinate the ADC/APC or defend your carries. You are an off-tank, not Garen. So don't try to jump in like a tard in the middle of the other team without your complete team. You can also solo a Dragon or a Baron Nashor (if really fed) if you have the time.

In this chapter, I'll explain the most commons matchups you'll have when playing jax.

Difficulty:

Hard

Difficult

Normal

He's gonna have a bad day

Aatrox

Basically, he shouldn't be able to kill you alone. He got nerfed hard and is not a very good champion anymore. As he doesn't scale like hell late game, he will usually go tanky. He will never 1v1 you if he isn't fed. The only thing that will annoy you is his Blades of Torment he uses to harass and his Blood Well . Try to zone him as early as you can and ward your bushes. Be carefull because he is really strong at lvl 3.


Cho'gath

Cho'gath is a really tanky champion. You can kill him early game, but at some point he will be so tanky that you shouldn't even consider 1v1 him. When coming to late game, you will be able to duel him again. You will basically need to focus on farming and survive your lane. Try to avoid his Rupture and don't stay behind the creeps because oh his Vorpal Spikes



Darius

Darius is a huge lane bully. He has low mana-costs on his Decimate and his Hemorrhage is incredibly strong. When he hit 6, he will have a huge spike of power with his Noxian Guillotine. DON'T TRY TO 1V1 HIM. DON'T TRY TO HARASS HIM. He can even 1v2 when you jungler comes and get 2 kills. If he does so, don't even imagine stay on you lane. At the end you should be able to 1v1 him. Be carefull of this matchup.


Dr.Mundo

Mundo is a good counter to jax because he doesn't trade with AA. He can stay in lane forever because of his Goes Where He Pleases and his Maximum Dosage. He is good all along the game. Don't even try to harass him. The only way to kill him is to all in with a ignite and if possible with your jungler. Try to farm as good as possible and avoid getting hit by his Infected Bonesaw.


Fiora

Fiora is an AA based champion that scales great with the time. It seems that Jax was made to counter her. She can't really trade you because of your Counter Strike. When you hit 6 do the 2AA>Q+W>AA combo as much as you can. If she tries to trade back, just use you E to get out. When she uses her Blade Waltz use your ultimate to tank as much damages as possible. Jax completly dominate this matchup so try to get fed as much as possible (P.B is 22/0/7 ^^)


Gangplank

In this meta, Gangplank is a rare pick. Jax is pretty much one of the best counter to GP. You can dodge his Parrrley with your E. Be carefull at early levels because GP is one of the best early champion. He won't be a problem if you avoid getting poked 24/7 without trading back. Don't stay in his ultimate as it deals some damage and slow.


Garen

He is tanky as hell, he deals tons of damages, he has movespeed and a finisher. All those things make Garen a reliable champion against Jax. Just AFK farm and don't try to kill him, except with your jungler. If you want to harass him, engage him, deal some damage and then jump out. Be careful with your mana and this matchup won't be TOO difficult. Care about his Demacian Justice if you are low-life.


Jarvan IV

There is not much to say about this matchup. Don't try to 1v1 him in early levels because he has an incredible early game. Try to dodge his Dragon Strike especially if he uses it with his Demacian Standard because he will bump you. Jarvan is really good because he has a good synergie with all types of ganks. Buy some wards and wait a little. Then you should be able to 1v1 him. If he ults you, just jump/jump-ward outside like a boss. His Cataclysm won't be useful in 1v1 because most of the time, you will want to stay close to him.


Jayce

This matchup is pretty difficult for Jax. Jayce has poke, movespeed, range and can bump you if you try to engage. Try to avoid his Shock Blast as much as possible. When you'll get more powerfull, try to all-in with your BotRK and slow him. Then you should be able to stun him and kick his as* really hard.


Kennen

Kennen is a hard matchup for jax. He will spam his abilities all day all night to poke you down. Try to avoid getting hit by his Thundering Shuriken. Ask for help at the beginnig. Then you will need to all-in and kill him in one go. You can also try to 2xAA>Q>W him to harass him. Not the most difficult matchup but definitly a difficlut one.





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