Get a slowpush level 1, try dodging his q's and farming, avoid getting hit by his passive aa. Make sure you get level 2 first and slowly crash the wave. Make sure to manage the wave properly so you don't have it close to his tower, cause crashing a wave against Aatrox is pretty hard if you are not allowed to q on him outside of tower range. After you crash the wave respect his slow push, and fight him only on your slowpush. He is really strong when his q is maxed out, but after level 9 he starts falling off. Q on him aggresively if you are slowpushing and have passive stacked up and be ready to sidestep his w. Most of Aatrox players will e out once you q on them, so often walking with them instead of staying in place to autoattack is good so your e doesn't get kited. Steelcaps rush is really good against him as it allows you to dodge his q's and w easier and also reduce good chunk of his damage. (fleet, tp)
Akali
Generally hard matchup if you dont snowball. Cheese her level 1 in third lane bush, she is very weak level 1, and snowball off of that. Later on never q on her outside of minion wave (inside wave minions will tank her e) as she is just gonna e your q and outtrade you. (lethal tempo or grasp, ignite with lt, tp with grasp) (can also run tp ignite)
Akshan
Easy matchup for Jax, respect him level 1, dont allow him to take a good trade, its fine to give minions and just soak xp. Once he crashed the wave you can look for all in level 3 if he walks up too aggresively, but you dont have to. Once you are level 6 you easily win all ins. You can freely q him and make sure to follow his body so you can block his e. (LT, tp)
Camille
Free matchup for Jax, you win at every stage of the game. Look to have the wave away from the walls so she has no outplay potential. You can stun her during second part of her e and cancel it. E her basic attack at the start of the trade so she doesnt get passive shield, but be aware that good Camilles are gonna try to bait out your e by walkin up and and not autoing so they can space you and waste your e. (grasp, tp)
Cassiopeia
Very hard matchup for Jax if you are isolated in 1v1. Generally easy to gank Cassio on top, but in case your jungler doesnt help, its really hard matchup. Go phase rush, and go for short trades where you proc phase rush and just run back after. Try to dodge Cassiopeia Q's as her posioned E's are all of her damage. If you go lethal tempo you win all ins if you dont get stuck in middle of her w, and if you dodge her q's, also you cant allow to get kited, so if she uses w on herself go away, if she uses it aggresively you can look to kill her. If you however go phase rush and proc it after she uses her w, you will easily be able to outrun her, so i suggest learning to play this matchup with phase rush.(Phase rush, teleport) or (lethal tempo, ignite)
Cho'Gath
Most of Cho'Gath players are gonna start E. You can look to bait out his E by fake walking up and then go for a trade when he doesnt have his e. Cho'Gath outsustains you, so avoid trading with him unless you can transition it into a kill. This matchup is all about dodging his q. You can q aggresively on Cho'Gath, but dont aa him instantly since you are gonna be stuck in aa animation. Instead, look to keep moving forward as Cho'Gath is likely gonna Q on himself as soon as you Q on him, so if you manage to dodge his Q and get behind him you are gonna either kill him or get a really good trade. Another good trick vs Cho Gath is to wait for his q first(usually when he needs to last hit), and if he uses it aggresively you should look to q on him and you will hard win if you manage to do so.(conqueror or grasp, tp)
Darius
Skill matchup, but slightly Jax favored. Level 1 look for a trade when he tries to last hit minions with his q. Level 2 you can all in him. Q his q, otherwise start the trade by walking up. If he e's you, his e cd is longer than your e cd, so try to force a fight off your e cooldown. If he doesnt have his e, he can not do anything to you. (grasp or lt, tp or ignite)
Dr. Mundo
Play behind the wave, so he isnt allowed to q you, and you are gonna be fine. (conqueror, tp)
Fiora
Skill matchup, if Fiora isnt overly aggresive look to save your e, so you can have lane priority and get level 2 first. Play with the wave, fight her on your slowpush. You can either try to side step her w, or just q back on a minion when she w's. Her w cd is longer than your e cd, so try to all in her when you get your e cd back. Generally don't q on her aggresively or she will just w all your damage and kite your e. However if you slowpush and you see Fiora usually w's your q when you jump on her, one trick you can do is q on her and just walk behind her, its gonna make her miss w and then you have a free kill.(grasp with inspiration or lethal tempo, tp)
Gangplank
This matchup used to be really hard, but i feel like it's not as hard lately. Make sure to not get hit by his passive auto attack, and slow push waves correctly so he can't freeze you. On level 6 you easily win all ins. Go flash and ignite in this matchup and use ignite before he uses his orange so you decrease his healing. (grasp, tp)
Garen
You have prio level 1, make sure to get level 2 first. E his Q, and disengage when he w's. His w cd is longer than your e cd, so try to all in him when you get e back. Make sure to stay healthy in this lane cause if you are not over like 80% hp he has huge kill pressure on you. Play slow with the wave cause he outsustains you and has better wave clear. (grasp, tp)
Gnar
Most of the ranged champs you can look to cheese level 1, same with gnar, but i don't suggest it unless he walks into you, cause he is gonna get Mega form and heal off of it. Look to engage on Gnar when he is stuck in aa animation, cause then its gonna be easier to get your e off and not get kited. Post 6 you hard win if he is in mini form. (lethal tempo or grasp, teleport)
Gragas
Go grasp in this matchup, look to avoid his q's, if he e's your e early you can still q on him and stun him afterwards.If he doesn't e early try to walk back and make him miss his e. (Grasp with inspiration, teleport)
Graves
He outpushes you level 1, try to stay healthy and you can look for all in level 3. If he doesn't snowball you hard win on 6. Make sure to q on him when he is stuck in animation, so you can secure the e recast on him and have better position. (fleet, teleport)
Gwen
If she starts q level 1, try to get behind her and force long trade. If she starts e, wait for her to aa you to cast your e. You stat check her. Make sure to not q on her when she has ult, save your q for disengage. (LT or grasp, tp or ignite)
Heimerdinger
Unplayable matchup, go second wind and d shield, play to farm up. Only window you have to kill him is when he is out of mana. (fleet with resolve or phase rush, teleport)
Illaoi
Hard matchup, look to trade level 1 by walking behind her, look to freeze her before she gets 6. If you don't snowball until 6 matchup is almost unplayable. Try to bait out her e before engaging, cause it's really easy for her to hit it if you q her. Play behind the wave if you can't bruteforce all in, so she can't hit the e. Look to kill her tentacles before trading. (lt, tp)
Irelia
You win this matchup at every stage of the game. Try to deny Irelia xp level 1, she is really weak if she can't approach the wave, but you win even if she does. Save your e for when she has no minions to dash to, and no w as well ideally. You hard win all ins after 6. (lt, ignite or tp)
Jayce
Q start in this matchup and make sure to proc grasp when you q on him. He is really squishy early, and doesnt do that much damage until first back, so you will outtrade him with the grasp. Try to play around bushes in top so he has to guess where you are, and if you play bushes and he walks into your q range, you can precast your e and stun him as soon as you jump on him. Its fine to use your e like this in Jayce matchup as you cant hit it other way. (grasp with inspiration, teleport)
K'Sante
K'Sante can space you with his q's, so try to bait his q's before going to last hit minions or trade. Try to play with waves until 6, after 6 you win all ins. Don't start trade by q-ing in, cause he can just dash away and negate all your damage. In lane you will usually go even, but he denies you in teamfights so try to keep him sidelane in mid/late game(grasp, teleport)
Karma
Very annoying matchup, look to cheese her level 1. If she w's you and you don't have q up, look to commit to all in, cause you most likely can't dodge her w, ideally you wanna stun her when she roots you so you can keep aa-ing her while rooted. When she has q up look to bait it before looking for a trade or an all in. (fleet, teleport)
Kayle
Very good matchup, she can't even crash wave against you, so contest her first crash. Only way you can lose trade vs Kayle is if she kites your e with her w when you q on her. Use your e before you q on her to secure e recast hits her when you jump on her. (fleet, teleport)
Kennen
Very hard matchup if Kennen is good. Q start and go grasp with scorch and make sure to proc grasp every time you q on him. If Kennen is playing aggresively look to cast your e before you cast your q so you can recast it as soon as you land on Kennen, otherwise he can kite your e with his e. Abuse playing around bushes when he doesnt know where you are, as its gonna be easier to get into a good position. Try to q on him when he is in auto attack animation to get into better position to trade and make it harder for him to kite you.(fleet, teleport)
Kled
Look to bait out his q before going in. When he doesnt have q and you have e, you always win trades. (grasp or lt, tp)
Lillia
You hard lose level 1 trades vs Lillia so avoid trading level 1, once you get 2 you can start trading by q-ing on her, and you win every trade. (lt or grasp, tp)
Malphite
Most common ban for Jax players, hard matchup, and also denies you a lot later on in the game too. The way you can win this matchup is by going grasp and second wind, so you can deny his poke and use your magic damage for short trades. Early look to trade with him frequently when he goes to last hit minions so he doesn't get his passive. (grasp, teleport)
Maokai
Never q on him first, wait for him to push you away and then you can q. Make sure to not get baited by Maokai pulling you into wave when you dont have e up. (grasp, teleport)
Mordekaiser
He cant proc passive level 1 cause of your e, so look to force trade level 1, you hard win until 6, you can freely q on him, and then look to side step his e. Once you are both level 6, try to have wave on your side, or he can easily all in you if you are not ahead. (lt, ignite)
Nasus
Look to force plays top side with your jungler, Nasus is weak early, but not that easy to dive, so look to late invade enemy jungle and not let enemy jg walk up to their top side jg. If you cant make plays with your jungler and force Nasus out of lane, look to freeze him before he gets level 6. Never start a trade with your q after level 6, save it for gap close or q out if he ults. (lt or fleet, tp)
Olaf
Force trades level 1, you hard win, you dont have to use your e instantly, if Olaf wants to go for all in. Later on when you go for all ins, save your e for when Olaf gets low. (lt, ignite)
Ornn
Try to not get hit by Ornn's q, and this matchup is pretty much all about spacing and not overforcing in his wave if he has big waves. After 6 look to use your stun to not allow him to ult you. (conqueror or grasp, teleport)
Pantheon
Look to cheese him in third lane bush, and get behind him, so he cant space you with his q's. Try to get prio level 1, you win trades if you manage to walk up to him, ideally you wanna get behind him to start the trade, so he has to run into you. Once you get level 2, make sure to not q him if he has w, or he is gonna w you and walk out of your e range. Once you get 6 you win all ins, cause you have combat ult and he doesnt. (lt, teleport)
Poppy
Try to bait out her q's before trading, wait for her to use her ranged passive on minions and then walk up. On sunderer you win. (grasp with inspiration, teleport)
Quinn
Pretty boring matchup, you are never allowed to engage on quinn, cause she can just e you. Just play to farm up, if she e's you first, you can q on her and win trade. (fleet, teleport)
Renekton
Look to trade away from the wave level 1, so Renekton cant stack fury on the wave, force fights when Renekton is out of fury, you hard outscale.(grasp, tp)
Rengar
Don't use your e too early, he can kite it easily, look to pull wave towards river level 1, so he can't use bushes as easily, try to ignite his w. His trade pattern will be to w after you burst and stun him, so look to go for short trade with ur w, and once he used his w you can all in him as he wont be able to heal the big chunk of your damage. Another think to pay attention to when you all in is, you wanna try to fight when he doesnt have minions to jump to, cause again, the only way he wins all in is if you waste your e too early, or if he cant kite your e.(lt, ignite)
Riven
Level 1 you win, so get prio early, you can look to walk up behind Riven. Once Riven is level 3 you lose trades if wave is even, you only win if Riven wastes any cd. You can look to bait out her w by fake walking up. Playing exhaust allows you to aggresively q on riven and stun her after she uses her cooldowns and tries to disengage, cause if she tries to all in you when you dont have e, you can counter her burst with exhaust. (grasp, tp)
Rumble
Try to cheese him level 1. From level 2 engage only if he plays overly aggresive, otherwise just play slowpush into slowpush until you outscale (grasp with inspiration, teleport)
Ryze
Look to stun Ryze as he procs Phase Rush to waste it, and you can easily all in him and win trades. (fleet or lt, teleport)
Sejuani
Very hard matchup, go grasp and bonk her when she walks up into your face, wait for your sunderer and then you win. Never q on her if she has dash. (grasp, teleport)
Sett
You win level 1, look to get prio and play with waves. Once you get level 6 you win all ins. (grasp, teleport)
Shen
Look to bait out his passive before trading by fake walking up, try to not let him get into your body, cause then he can dash through you and pull you with him and deal e damage. Once you get 6 look to perma have lane prio if your team is on the map, so you can punish him for ulting on the map by getting plates. (grasp, teleport)
Singed
Walk in front of the wave so Singed doesnt proxy the wave, you win trades easily, save your q for after he flings you. Play slowly with the wave, cause he has way better way clear than you. (grasp, tp)
Sion
Cheese Sion level 1, he is very weak early. Q on him aggresively and hold your e so he cant q you. (conqueror, teleport)
Sylas
Cheese him level 1, he is very weak, you win any stage of the game, he is not allowed to recast e on you. If he ever does just use your e and all in him. (lt or grasp, ignite)
Tahm Kench
Play with the wave so he can't hit his q, if Tahm doesn't hit q he can't win trades. Q on him only if he wastes his q, otherwise play to outscale. (grasp or conqueror, teleport)
Teemo
Stack tenacity to reduce his blind, try to q on him when he is in his aa or q animation so you can stick to him easier. (fleet, tp)
Trundle
E early when trading so he cant q you, you hard win any stage of the game. Ult after Trundle ults so he cant steal your ult stats. (lt, ignite)
Tryndamere
Don't let Trynda get into your body, so he can't dash back through you. Level 1 look to get prio on the wave, level 2 you can start trading cause you can follow up his e with your q. (grasp or lt, tp)
Udyr
Give him prio level 1, he can kite you and outpushes you, once you get level 2 you can look to trade, if you trade hard commit, cause he can do a lot of damage while you are backing off. (grasp, tp)
Urgot
Try to bait out his e by fake walking up or q-ing away when he e's. Plated steelcaps rush is really good vs him. Play with the wave, respect his push and fight him when you have passive stacked up. (fleet, teleport)
Vayne
Go ghost to be able to stick to her. If she e's you just back off, if she doesn't you win all in. Just don't grief level 1 and matchup is good. (phase rush or fleet, tp)
Vladimir
Q start and jump on him level 1, try to get prio, and then play slowpush into slowpush until u can. Once you cant, rush tiamat and play for tempo, try to proxy waves and avoid laning, makes it even better cause most Vladimirs dont run tp ( Grasp with inspiration)
Volibear
You hard win trades if he doesn't hit his e which is pretty is to dodge. Just start trades by insantly e-ing. (grasp or lt, tp)
Warwick
Very good matchup for Jax, if ww isnt aggresive its fine to save your e, so you can keep the wave prio, otherwise you can trade, look to e his q. When you go for all in after level 6, hold your e for later on, cause most of warwick players are gonna use their ult when they are low on hp in order to heal up, so try to use your e when warwick is forced to ult you or he dies.(lt or grasp, ignite or tp)-rush executioner if u dont go ignite
Wukong
Wait for him to go for last hit on minions with his e, and then cast your e, you will hard win. You win any stage of the game if you don't waste your e. (grasp, teleport)
Yasuo
Probably the best Jax matchup in the whole game, dont get spaced by Yasuo q level 1, level 2 always start trades with your e, never q on yasuo, especially if he has minions he can use to dash through, cause then he can kite your e. Level 6 you hard win all ins. (lt or grasp, tp)
Yone
Dont let Yone space you with q's level 1, look for trade when he tries to last hit minions. Once you are level 2 you win all ins, Yone is gonna e your e, but then you just back off and you are fine. (grasp, tp)
Yorick
Never q on Yorick first, cause he can cage you and kite you, if you start trades with e you can't lose. (grasp or lt , tp)
Zac
Abuse him level 1 , look to deny him xp and snowball before he gets level 6. (grasp, tp)
Hey, i'm stefanko, s13 1327LP rank 1 EUNE and 1023LP challenger EUW. I've been rank 1 Jax world on league of graphs multiple times. I'm known for my unrivaled Jax pick, and i recently started streaming at https://www.twitch.tv/stefankolol I offer coaching(feel free to add me on discord stefanko#5246 if interested), and have over 1000 hours of coaching done and probably close to 10M mastery points on Jax, and i'd be happy to answer any of your questions on my stream.
Game approach
When playing Jax, you should look to sidelane, get as much resources on the map as you can, be the highest level in the game, and play objective focused gameplay, fighting when enemies aren't close to their towers, so you have a lot of space to get good flanks and all ins in.
Pros and cons
Pros:
-Huge 1v9 potential
-Great scaling
-Good mobility
-Great against autoattackers
-Great duelist, perhaps the best in the game
Cons:
-Has very hard matchups
-Mana issues
-Low sustain
-Needs to farm melee range
-Very bad in lane if frozen
-Needs resources
-Bad at sieging
-Weak if counterstrike gets kited
Early game
Jax early game warries a lot since there are many matchups you should approach differently. Generally you don't want to stay in the lane for too long as Jax is mana hungry and has no sustain. You usually want to have the wave on your side of the lane so you can all in the enemy. Jax has hard time last hitting if wave is pushing to him, so try to get prio level 1 if matchups allow you to so you are not forced to lose cs. Once you crashed the wave you can look to:
-Stay in the lane if you have a favorable state(are stronger than enemy, healthy and have mana)
-Make a play with your jungler if he is pathing to top
-Look for cheater recall if you are weaksided or low on resources.
Try to pay attention to your jungler's pathing and look to have good wave state and have your gold spent when he is about to make a play top side.
Mid game
Once the lane is over you mostly want to sidelane and get resources on the map. Try to reset(spend your gold and get healthy) around 1 minute and 20 seconds before objective spawns so you are strong on the map when you need to pressure the map. You want to try to pressure sidelanes opposite of objectives around 30 seconds before objective spawns, and then get your team 5v4 by rotating or keep pushing sidelane if nobody comes. The way you wanna snowball on Jax is by taking resources on the map on cooldown. Only time you wanna group is if enemy overextends. It's really important to be strong on the map when objectives are about to spawn, so you can secure your team an objective or be ready to trade something else on the map if your team is not in a good state to contest the objective. Avoid sieging with your team as Jax, as it makes Jax(and other bruisers) very useless.
Ideal synergies
Jax works the best with junglers that don't do full clears, so he can take their jungle camps and receive ganks from them if lane isn't in a good state. Supportive junglers are very good to have, but Jax can work well with some full clear junglers asw, such as Eve or Karthus since they give you easy resets and force enemies to build mr. Having any enchanter on bot lane is also scaling really well into mid and late game with Jax.
Teamfighting
There are few different scenarios when it comes to teamfighting:
-If enemy has ranged champs, look to find a good flanking spot where you can approach enemy team from close range, and wait for enemy to get out of position by going on your team, or getting into your face.
-If enemy has ***asisns, look to stick to your team's squishy champs, as assasins need to go melee range on them.
-If your team has few enchanters, look to stick to them, avoid flanking where they can't follow up, as it's gonna make them useless.
-If your team has tanks or champs that can buy a lot of time, let them engage first, as Jax is really good at cleaning up.
-If you need to be the one that engages, look to buy stopwatch to buy time for your team.
Tips and tricks
Ultimate mechanics:
-You can cancel your ult animation with your e if you are not in leap strike animation
-You can cast ultimate and flash after to give enemies less time to react to your ultimate
-You can use your ultimate while your q is casting
-When you engage on someone and want to go for all in you usually want to q>e>aa>w>r as you should use your ultimate when your aa is on cooldown
Trading:
-When you are chasing someone who has flash, use your flash first and then q after he flashes for maximum q range and more optimal damage
-Try to e in the wave so your e damage gets ramped up by dodging minions autos when trading
-When someone gets out of your e range and you can't close the distance, fake walking back and then go forward again, it's gonna make enemy think you are backing off and they are gonna get baited into your e.
-Q on ranged champs when they are stuck in aa animation to make it easier to stick to them.
-Once you are level 6 always make sure to stack up 3rd aa ult passive before trading.
-W extends your aa range, so try to w enemy when they go for last hit on a minion.
-When you q on someone look to autoattack and then w+aa for maximum dps instead of using w instantly
-Look to auto attack minions to ramp up attack speed from your passive before you go for a trade or an all in
-Most of the matchups you can camp third lane bush and come behind enemy and look for extended trade while enemy cant kite your e, sometimes you can even deny enemy xp from 3 melees
Teamfighting:
-A lot of times in teamfights you can q on enemy frontline and cast your e. It's gonna make enemy backline think you are committing on frontline so they stop being scared from you and walk up, and once you stack up damage on your e, you can flash on enemy backline and look to oneshot them.
Runes and matchups
I went on runes and matchups in detail in build options and threats, so you can check them out there, i added notes to explain my decisions if you have any confusions.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading the guide, i hope it helped you. I look to update the guide frequently, but as i said you can always ask me anything you want on my stream at https://www.twitch.tv/stefankolol or on discord stefanko#5246
If you liked the guide, i would highly appreciate if you could give it a thumbs up :)
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