NOTE:Matchup and item explanation given in notes!!!

1. Introduction
2. Pros/Cons
3. Why to choose jax?
4. Lore
5. Item explanation
6. Summoner spells
7. Runes and Masteries
8. Matchups
9. Abilities explanation and tips
10. Games With Jax

Why do i write this guide?Mainly because i like jax and i consider my build pretty good :P
And a note for RITO!!! NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU NERF JAX...THE LAMPPOST WILL ALWAYS BE AS STUPIDLY OP AS ALWAYS!!! :P







Jax is one of the most viable Top laners among the league!He isnt easily countered and can win lane easily.He is pretty stable during the match, meaning that he has not a very good early(until lvl 6) and a very nice mid and late game!He is also a hybrid meaning that he deals both physical and magic damage so even if the enemy builds either armor or mr you can still deal much damage!
I wouldn't suggest to choose jax against champions that can easily poke you pre-6 lvl because jax shouldn't trade until he hits lvl 6 as he cannot easily trade and he absolutely needs farm!!!




Pros :



+Best dueler
+Nice split push
+Fine wave clear
+Amazing Burst!
+Nice Gap closing/escape(Q)
+HE HITS WITH A LAMPPOST(cmon how cool is that)


Cons :



-Not easily killing real Tanks
-Harassed easily
-Bad pre-6 lvl game
-Mana issues(because he relies on mana)
-No easy poke as he has no ranged attack
-1 second stun during the whole game




It is seldom the case where a champion is defined by his actions after joining the League of Legends rather than before. Such is the case with Jax, for whom the argument could be made that he is the most prolific tournament fighter currently at the Institute of War. Before joining the League, Jax was an unremarkable soldier-for-hire. For reasons known only to the former leader of the League, High Councilor Reginald Ashram, Jax was put on the top of the list of candidates to receive a League Judgment - the interview process that either accepts or rejects a prospective champion. His Judgment was the quickest in League history, where the Doors of Acceptance glowed and slowly swung open as soon as it began. Jax faced no recorded Observation or Reflection during his Judgment.

Jax proved himself to be an immediate terror in the Fields of Justice. The self-proclaimed ''Armsmaster of the League'' rattled off a streak of consecutive wins that to this day has not been matched. A number of summoners in the League grew concerned that the perceived objectivity of the League of Legends would be questioned by the presence of an unknown fighter who was unbeatable. For this reason, the new leader of the League (following Reginald Ashram's disappearance), High Councilor Heyward Relivash, created special restrictions for Jax to fight under. This was something the League had never done before, and something that has never been done since. The burly fighter responded by imposing his own special conditions; as a means of protest, he permitted himself to fight using only a brass lamppost. Neither the League's sanctions nor his own has affected his winning ways. The League has since rescinded its sanctions, but Jax has not; he fights and fights well with his trusty brass lamppost.

''Be advised - there has been an outbreak of lamppost-shaped bruises in the League of Legends.''
-- Gragas






There arent many things to explain since i explained almost everything at the build notes.BUT i will like to explain why to complete trinity first and then botrk.First of all when someone encounters jax it is natural to build armor...so by completing trinity when already having half of the botrk helps you to deal both physical and magic damage.Also with Bilgewater Cutlass you have its passive which can come handy in early game since you can use it to be saved when you are chased and you can also use it to chatch up to someone!




I think that the best spells to choose are Flash and Ignite because it gives you a huge advantage on the lane...you can escape a gank with flash and secure the kill with ignite...
Now another viable kit is Flash with Teleport...teleport gives you a huge advantage for the farm and you can use it for a gank or to splitpush!





I dont need to explain anything about the runes... they work fine with me in every matchup!
Now about the masteries : They give you the usual armor,magic resist and health! They also offer some ap that can give your W a huge boost and they also work fine in every matchup.




NOTE:In the build i talked about the common matchups!Now i talk in short about almost every possible matchup
While Jax is very strong, he has a really bad level 2-5 during which time he can easily be shut down by lane bullies such as Darius , Renekton and Jayce. If you make it through this stage however, you can usually outscale most of these lane bullies.
(short summary)

Champion - Summary - Difficulty pre-6/post-6/late-game threat

Aatrox He has high kill potential, be careful but dont let him bully you - Medium/Easy/Easy
Akali Bully her pre-6, early pots are a must. Vision Ward helps a lot first back - Easy/Medium/Hard
Cho'Gath Get MR and some Doran's Blades to win the lane. Easy/Medium/Easy
Darius Hard lane, get armor/HP and dont fight him - Hard/Hard/Medium
Diana EZPZ. Early Hexdrinker and a Doran's Blade or two. Bully her all game. - Easy/Easy/Medium
Elise Lots of pots, dont let her poke for free - Medium/Easy/Easy
Fiora Ninja Tabi is a must. Counter Strike hurts her DPS a lot Medium/Easy/Medium
Garen Recommend flat armor runes and Cloth Armor start. Post-6 you can fight him. Hard/Medium/Medium
Irelia Bully her all game, but be careful around level 8-9. Easy/Easy/Medium
Jarvan IV Save Counter Strike for when he goes on you. Medium/Easy/Easy
Jax (in case of normal) Mirror lane? Lol. Rush Guinsoo's Rageblade and bully him. Easy/Easy/High
Jayce Dont die to him, try to farm. Doran's Shield on first back helps. Hard/Medium/Easy
Lee Sin Focus on farming and staying safe. Post-6 you can easily kill him. Medium/Easy/Easy
Malphite Rush an early Spectre's Cowl into Hextech Gunblade. Medium/Medium/Medium
Nasus Siphoning Strike will hit through Counter Strike. Bully him early. Easy/Medium/Medium
Nidalee Hexdrinker if AP, Ninja Tabi/ Doran's Shield if AD. You win post-4 Medium/Easy/Easy
Nunu & WillumpHardest counter to Jax. Spectre's Cowl and sustain required.Hard/Hard/Hard
Olaf Easy lane. Rush Doran's Blades and Hextech Gunblade. Easy/Easy/Easy
Pantheon See: Garen
Poppy You can beat her early, but she's really strong lategame. Medium/Medium/Hard
Quinn One of the most annoying lanes ever. Just focus on farm and dont die. Hard/Medium/Easy
Renekton Lots of armor, dont fight him ever. Hard/Hard/Medium
Rengar Lots of armor, win post-6. - Medium/Easy/easy
Riven Rushing Ninja Tabi and Giant's Belt helps. Hard/Medium/Medium
Ryze Hexdrinker and early bullying put him down. Easy/Medium/Medium
Shen Zones you hard early, but you win lategame. Dodge his taunt. Medium/Medium/Easy
Singed Honestly have no idea how to win this lane. Hard/Hard/Hard
Teemo Grab a Hexdrinker and some HP and tear him up post-6. Hard/Medium/Easy
Vladimir Spectre's Cowl and Hextech Revolver is really nice against him. - Medium/Medium/Medium
Zac Hexdrinker will put him in his place. Medium/Medium/Easy

If there is a matchup not on this list that you want to know more about, PM me and I'll look into it.




Jax's abilities are pretty much obvious but i will tell you some tricks in case you dont know them!

Relentless Assault This is Jax's passive, Relentless Assault, it is rather niceand makes Jax a nice duelist that can fight better in longer fights. Overall a nice passive.

Leap Strike This is Jax's Q, Leap Strike, it is Jax's only gap closer, but a very good one as it has a decent range ( about the range of Flash ), so even if your opponent Flashes out, you can still catch up with them to secure the stun.

Empower This is Jax's W, Empower, you will be maxing this first to reduce its cooldown and increasing its damage, this is a AUTO ATTACK RESET!

Counter Strike This is Jax's E, Counter Strike, this is what makes Jax deadly, it is a non skill shot and only requires you to stand NEXT TO THEM, also it is an AoE stun! This also makes Jax a very strong anti-carry because it dodges all basic attacks and reduces surrounding AoE damage. Use this ability to engage fights or to peel bruisers off your ADC ! Max this last because it does not increase the stun duration by leveling, so there's no point in leveling it.

Grandmaster-At-Arms This is Jax's ultimate, Grandmaster-At-Arms, it gives Jax bonus damage after every 3 attacks, the bonus damage is MAGIC DAMAGE , therefore it works with SPELL VAMP ! The active of this ability makes Jax very tanky mid/late game, gaining him about 80-100 ARMOR and MAGIC RESIST ! :D This ability has a very low CD so it is always available in team fights.



Now about the tips...here they are!

1) Jax's Q Leap Strike can be used on allies and wards, this means that if you place your trinket down on the other side of the wall you can Q to it, basically a free Flash !!

2) When trading make sure you leave Counter Strike on for as long as possible, this is because it will do more damage depending on the amount of attacks you've dodged, also you will take less damage from them.

3) Jax's W Empower is an auto attack resetter, this means that after you auto attack, use W, then your next auto attack will happen straight away. Timing this correctly will maximise your damage output.

4) When going for the kill you can wait till the enemy uses Flash first before Leap Striking to them, this will mean the opponent has wasted Flash and has took damage too. ( This will not always work as some players don't panic, or if they are playing champs with a lot mobility such as Lee Sin )







Here are some games with jax...I added those 2 loses so as you dont say that i add only the games that are in favor of me!

Update Archive

This is where i write what i add in every update of the guide...It wont be of any use for you i write it mainly for me. :P

Added ability and tips
Added matchups
Added games with jax