As the royal family of Demacia for centuries, members of the Lightshield line have spent their lives waging war against any who opposed Demacian ethics. It is said that every Lightshield is born with anti-Noxian sentiment in his blood. Jarvan IV is no exception, even though he is the first Lightshield born to the age of the League of Legends. As his forefathers had before him, he led Demacian troops into bloody engagements with Noxian forces, and on many occasions he has bled alongside wounded allies and fallen comrades. In his most crushing defeat, he was outmaneuvered and captured by a Noxian battalion under the command of Jericho Swain. This mistake nearly cost him his life at the hands of Urgot, but he was rescued by the Dauntless Vanguard, an elite Demacian strike force led by Jarvan's childhood companion, Garen.

Those close to him believed that his capture changed him. Xin Zhao was quoted as saying: ''His eyes never seemed to look at you, only through you to something he could not look away from.'' One day, without warning, Jarvan IV handpicked a squad of Demacian soldiers and left Demacia, vowing to find ''atonement''. He began by tracking and hunting the most dangerous beasts and bandits he could find in northern Valoran, but he soon tired of such prey. Seeking something that only he understood, he ventured south of the Great Barrier. He wasn't heard from again for nearly two years. After many had assumed the worst, he returned to glorious fanfare on the streets of Demacia. His Demacian plates were adorned with the bones and scales of creatures unknown. His eyes bore the wisdom of someone twice his age. Of the twelve soldiers who had departed with him, only two returned. In a tone as cold and steady as steel, he swore to bring the enemies of Demacia to their knees.

''There is only one truth, and you will find it at the point of my lance.''
- the ''last words'' of Jarvan IV at his failed execution

Damage 50(+3.4 / per level)
Health 420(+90 / per level)
Mana 235(+30 / per level)
Move Speed 315
Armor 14(+3 / per level)
Spell Block 30(+1.25 / per level)
Health Regen 1.4(+0.14 / per level)
Mana Regen 1.2(+0.09 / per level)

Dragon Strike - Jarvan IV extends his lance, dealing physical damage and lowering the Armor of all enemies in its path. Additionally, this will pull Jarvan to his Demacian Standard, knocking up enemies in his path.
Jarvan IV extends his lance, dealing 70/120/170/220/270 (+) physical damage and lowering the Armor of all enemies in its path by 10/14/18/22/26% for 3 seconds.
If it contacts his standard it will pull Jarvan IV to its location, knocking up enemies in his path.
Golden Aegis - Jarvan IV calls upon the ancient kings of Demacia to shield him from harm and slow surrounding enemies.
Jarvan IV forges a 50/90/130/170/210 (+20/25/30/35/40 health for each nearby enemy champion) health shield for 5 seconds, which slows surrounding enemies by 15/20/25/30/35% for 2 seconds.

Demacian Standard - Jarvan IV carries the pride of Demacia, passively granting him bonus attack speed and armor. Activating Demacian Standard allows Jarvan IV to place a Demacian flag, granting these benefits to nearby allies.
Passive: Jarvan IV has 10/14/18/22/26% bonus Attack Speed and 10/14/18/22/26 bonus Armor.
Active: Jarvan IV throws a Demacian flag to a nearby area, dealing 60/110/160/210/260 (+0.8) magic damage to enemies, and granting surrounding allied champions his passive bonus for 8 seconds.

Cataclysm - Jarvan IV heroically leaps into battle at a target with such force that he terraforms the surrounding area to create an arena around them.
Jarvan IV heroically leaps at an enemy champion, dealing 200/325/450 (+) physical damage and creating an arena of impassable terrain around them for 3.5 seconds.
Activate again to collapse the wall.


Martial Cadence - Jarvan IV's first attack on a target deals 10% of their current Health as bonus magic damage (max: 400 damage). This effect cannot occur on the same target for 6 seconds.

Try to remember in which order you hit your enemies with Martial Cadence, so you can immediately use it on them again when 6 seconds are up.
Martial Cadence can only affect a unit once in 6 seconds, so it is a good idea to target another unit or champion to activate the passive during that time.
Using Dragon Strike to harass the enemy is useful. Keep Dragon Strike off cooldown for initiation, chasing or last-hits.
Golden Aegis can slow retreating enemies to finish them off. Combine Golden Aegis, Demacian Standard and Dragon Strike in this order to finish fleeing enemies if your ultimate is not usable.
Placing a Demacian Standard increases the stats of allies as well as one's own. Remember that Jarvan IV gains both his passive's and the standard's bonus stats.

It is unwise to place a Demacian Standard before a gank. Experienced players will notice the situation and act cautiously.

Using Cataclysm to cage multiple enemies is a great way of dealing damage to them without harming your own teammates. Be careful where and when you place it, as it may not turn out to be in your favor. Using Cataclysm at the wrong time/place can cause unnecessary death to you or your teammates, for example caging the wrong enemy out or caging low-health allies within.

Consider saving Dragon Strike and Demacian Standard, so Jarvan IV has an escape technique after trapping enemies with Cataclysm. Placing Demacian Standard over an impassible wall or terrain and using Dragon Strike gives you a great way to juke and escape this tactic can also be used to help enemies escape.
Enemy champions such as Shaco, Ezreal, Shen, or other champions with a similar short-ranged teleport/dash ability (including Flash) can easily escape Cataclysm. Be aware of this when using Cataclysm on these targets.

Combining well-placed Demacian Standard Demacian Standard with Dragon Strike Dragon Strike can disrupt the enemy enough to turn the tide in a battle. This can also be used to chase an enemy or cut them off by pulling yourself across terrain.
Jarvan IV can have a deceptively long nuke radius. Consider using your Demacian Standard Demacian Standard and Dragon Strike Dragon Strike combination to close distance on a target, and using Cataclysm Cataclysm immediately afterwards for the nuke

Pros:

- Solid laning champion
- Perfect for initiating fights
- Great harassing with his Demacian Standard and Dragon Strike
- 1v1 other champions should be no problem
- Golden Aegis, an AoE shield can slow down enemies
- Able to knock up 5 people with two abilities, Demacian Standard and Dragon Strike
- Demacian Standard has great buff for teamfights and taking down turrets
- Cataclysm great for trapping
- Solo lane is great


Cons:

- Because you initiate the fight, you will be targeted (This can also be a good thing since you are, after all a TANKY dps
- Cataclysm can be rendered useless with flash and some champion's moves that jump out
- If built full DPS, can be quite squishy
- Low mana pool
- Cataclysm can trap your own teammates

Initating
Remember your job and do it well. You are one of the best initiators out there! Try to warn your team that you're going to start so they don't wonder off in the middle of a fight. What I normally do is dash in with my Demacian Standard, Dragon Strike combo, launch a Golden Aegis to slow everyone down, then trap some people in with Cataclysm. Use Cataclysm to it's advantage. Don't target tanks and champions that have abilities to jump out/ have Flash. Cataclysm's cooldown is 90 seconds so it's best to use it in the beginning of the fight so near the end when your enemies are running away you can pop it again to catch running targets.

Basic Tactics
Use your Demacian Standard, Dragon Strike every time it's available. The knock-up effect is awesome and dropping down the Demacian Standard will help a bunch due to it's passive. Also remember to pop your Golden Aegis whenever possible as well so it absorbs some damage plus it slows down enemies.

Awesome team combos
Miss Fortune
Use Cataclysm to catch a target in while Miss Fortune uses Bullet Time. They won't be able to run away while Bullet Time smashes their health. Miss Fortune, as a squishy will be safe from any damage since they can't reach her too!
Fiddlesticks
Use Cataclysm to catch a target in while Fiddlesticks uses Crowstorm. They won't be able to run away and Fiddlesticks will be safe from harm. I've laned with many Fiddlesticks and this is one deadly combination.
Nunu
Use Cataclysm to catch a target in while Nunu uses Absolute Zero. Nunu is tanky enough survive in your trap and after a chunk of your opponent's health is taken from both Cataclysm and Absolute Zero, you and Nunu can finish them off easily!

Escape Tactics

You can use your Demacian Standard, Dragon Strike to jump through walls so try leading enemies to a place they can't easily go across then use your combo! One place I found this combo useful is running into the Dragon or Baron Nashor's 'den', then using the combo leaving them in the 'den' forcing them to walk all the way around if they want to get you.
If you really need to escape or are trying to save a teammate, use Cataclysm onto enemies, then use your Demacian Standard, Dragon Strike to get out leaving them in there unable to chase you!

Of course, if you have Flash you can use it the same way you use your Demacian Standard-Dragon Strike combo.

Farming is one of the most important parts of this game. That's where you'll be getting your gold ! Jarvan IV doesn't look like it, but he is one amazing farmer. Not the best out there, but enough that he can make a lot of gold out of it.
His innate ability, Martial Cadence deals an initial 8% damage so use it to your advantage for last hits early game. His combo, Demacian Standard-Dragon Strike if used correctly can clear a whole mob when you're around level 10. For the most part, Jarvan IV's abilities have such short cooldowns (Greater Glyph of Focus helps here) so every mob that comes you'll be able to use your combo.

Try to aim for 150+ minion kills by 30 minutes

Remember that although Jarvan IV is a strong tanky champion, he is still more squishy then full tank champions. I love him for the fact that he deals insane damage while still being able to survive almost anything! As this isn't a guide for one set-in-stone build, I urge you to try out combinations before you downvote/flame.
If you have any suggestions or see any errors, go right ahead and tell me in the comment section, any help would greatly be appreciated!

Good luck!