Hello all, my name is Vladimir, and we're going to go on a magical journey together. Buckle up kids, the ride is beginning. I've been playing League since late Season 2, and I've been playing Jarvan mid since beta. With Jarvan's recent surge in popularity, I thought I'd put in my 2 cents about the man himself. Let's begin then, shall we?

Not much to say here really. Basic runes for an AD mid. Jarvan does very well with armor pen, and the defensive stat's help him stay safe seeing as your experience playing Jarvan mid consists of all inning 90% of the time.

Again, just the basics for an AD assassin.

Core Build

Jarvan's build in the mid lane is determined right from the get go by the enemy team. You always want to have Ravenous hydra, brutalizer, and infinity edge regardless of other variants. You'll also always want either black cleaver or last whisper. Sunfire Cape and Randuin's are both viable choices if you want the extra armor; Frozen heart is a decent pick up, but I prefer the other two choices personally. For extra MR, hexdrinker is the king, but you can also get a banshee's veil or even a scimitar if the situation calls for it. Some items that are also viable if you just want to deal tons of damage: Trinity Force, Bloodthirster, BotRK, Shiv.

Starting Items

Jarvan's starting items depend on the enemy mid laner. In most match-ups, you're safe to start Doran's blade, but flask is also very viable if you want the extra sustain. Cloth 5 is alright if you're really worried about an AD match-up (Yasuo or Zed). Boots 4 is almost never good in my opinion.

Boots

I find that in this meta, I almost always get merc treads; tabi are only viable against very heavy AD comps with minimal hard CC. Mobis are for when you are absolutely destroying the enemy team. Ionian boots could be decent, but I haven't tested them extensively enough to give a final say.

Here's a very basic explanation of the order of Jarvan's skills.

Q: First max always no matter what.

W: Usually third max, can be second if you're behind in lane, or in a losing lane.

E: Usually second max, gives a bit more damage and allows for your combo to spammed more.

R: I mean, it's the dunk. What do you want from me?

Jarvan is my go to mid laner for ranked. Not only is he an extremely potent laner and carry, he also brings the element of surprise. Although Jarvan mid has seen a recent surge of popularity, most lower elo teams will not account for Jarvan going mid.

Pros:

Extremely potent laner
Wins most mid match-ups
Not a very tough learning curve
Snowballs super hard
Huge roaming potential, especially from mid lane
Very effective at clearing camps if counter jungling or if you just want to bm your jungler
Fantastic counter to most mages

Cons:

You have to get ahead to be effective in most cases
Falls off if the game goes really late
Very easy to over-commit with him
Melee
Can get kited easily after using his combo

What comp should you play Jarvan mid with you ask?

Jarvan is at his best when he can hard engage with the support of his team. He thrives with teams that fight often. He works extremely well in comps that have Sivir. Junglers like Gragas and Vi synergize well with Jarvan as they can go as balls deep as he does.

Do not play Jarvan mid if you aren't willing to pull the trigger and commit at a moment's notice.

Well, that's all I have for now. I'll probably add onto this guide as I think of more things that are actually relevant. Thanks for reading.