Jax General Guide by xxIAMLEGENDxx

Introduction to Manly Jax Guide

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Hello and good day to all and this would be my 7th build in mobafire and i will be featuring Jax, The Grandmaster At Arms.He is one of my most used champs, aside from Vayne, Xin Zhao , Jarvan IV. Maokai and Darius.

Anyways moving on to the guide, the guide i will be showing you right now would be the most success i have with when I play Jax and the things I have learnt when playing him. I've played over 300 games with Jax , including Normal games, ranked games, bot games and custom games. I'll occasionally be updating this guide. It'll be great if you leave constructive feedback.

Without a doubt, he's one of my favorite solo tops and possibly one of the strongest.Although he gets countered at lane, whenever he gets on a killing spree he is very deadly! Due to the Season 3 changes this is my build for Jax ,and this is what I've had success with so far. Again please don't rely everything on looking at the builds and masteries alone. The only way you'll figure out is have a try yourself. My promise is to only provide builds if i have played a champ at least minimum 50 games before making a guide with him. Furthermore, I also only like to share my best champions.

*Please take a good look at the "Your Enemies For Life" Chapter because this is where it shows every single top lane champ you can possibly be against, how you counter them, who counters them and my personal thoughts about them in detail. Something unique I am sure no one has done this before - 12/13/12. It took me approximately about 6 hours and a bit to do this chapter so yes, quite a lot of effort =). I'll be adding and changing these, especially because new champs come out every 3-4 weeks.

A Short Overview Of Jax

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The Grandmaster at Arms Melee Fighter Jax is an AD bruiser. He has strong bursty damage and he's extremely strong because of his Counter srike. Because he's focused on doing more damage,it is critical for him to get Trinity Force, Hextech Gunblade and Guinsoo's Rageblade because is these are his damage dealing items. Since he's mainly played as an AD bruiser and sometimes jungle, it's also helpful to add to your build a Guardian Angel and some tankiness. Especially in very late game, Guardian Angel is a game changing item. Furthermore, Jax is a very dominant champion, he's a shut-down champion, has a gap-closer and is ridiculous when fed. Getting him fed is the last thing you would want to do.

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Why Play Jax?

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Jax is best to be a top-lane champion, but he can however choose to jungle. However, it's best if you play Jax as efficiently and effective as possible. He functions well as a top laner because he has the potential to dominate that lane. He is really well off just Solo, trying to probably deal as much damage as possible or farm creeps as required. The way you play him is based on your opponent, but the number one thing you should always remember is to ward and if you know you counter that champion, put the pressure on him. A great example is Irelia , she is exceptionally strong but Jax has the tools to beat her using his dodge and stun. It's critical to land the stun when your jungler comes to gank. Counter Strike and Leap Strike may also be your escape tool. Adding to this, Jax can be a hard carry, and he destroys most people 1 v 1.

>His Dodge and stun is OP
>Can pretty much kill any ADC 1 v 1
>Pretty good when roaming around
>Has one CC - only a stun, but it's an aoe in a small area. It can hit multiple targets.
>Whenever the jungler ganks top, the gank is almost every time guaranteed kill as long as your jungler has one CC.
>Very strong late game.
>Barely any champs can beat him 1 v 1 (Full Build)
> Ward then Leap Strike is an escape tool.

Jax's Story/Lore

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

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.

League Of Cleavers

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We all know that The Black Cleaver is one of the most overpowered items now ever since riot introduced this item's new passive. Before it was nerfed, here are the champions who benefited greatly from The Black Cleaver. Check out these champions win rate increase in Season 3!

Win rate prior to Season 3: 50.3% / Win rate after Season 3: 53.1% Riven was definitely a champ that benefited well from The Black Cleaver especially because of how well she scales off AD. With 2 The Black Cleaver 's brings Riven's cooldowns to half, and adding Ionian Boots of Lucidity adds even more CD which makes her spam her abilities even more. Definitely good with Riven.

Win rate prior to Season 3: 47.1% / Win rate week after Season 3: 51.7% We all know that Pantheon is one of those champs that works really well with The Brutalizer. Despite having only 2 physical damage abilities, his win rate rose by 4%. This shows how effective it is for him as Pantheon can be played the "AD Caster Mid" with a low cooldown on Spear Shot.

Win rate prior to Season 3: 48.4% / Win rate after Season 3: 51.6% Kha'Zix greatly benefited from The Black Cleaver based on statistics alone. The item greatly improved Kha'Zix 's ability to burst down people even faster, adding Last Whisper. This also makes his gank even stronger, as he the gap-closer. Taste Their Fear can drop to a merely 2 sec cooldown which is ridiculously low.

Win rate prior to Season 3: 44.9% / Win rate after Season 3: 49.2% Zed's win rate was in the mid 40s until the new The Black Cleaver and it his win rate vastly increased by 5%. What makes Zed good with this item is the cooldown reduction from this item, as well the as armor pen itself. He has a strong evasiveness, and this item greatly increases his DPS.

Win rate prior to Season 3: 49.4% / Win rate after Season 3: 58.2% Talon 's win rate destroys all of the above, improving to a high 58% and 9% increase in win rate. The item was purchased 160% times when people played Talon on average. Talon is well known to counter mid mages, and this just adds to an even more devastating laning phase. Adding Last Whisper with Talon makes him so strong.

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Runes

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Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage(3) Provides 6.75 AD You need 3 of these, they are pretty much typical AD damage quints you would want to have because they are exceptionally great for last hitting. These also increase a slight amount of damage to your physical damage abilities.

Greater Mark of Attack Damage (9) Provides 8.55 AD Now you need 9 of these again, because they're the typical AD marks, and again they help you for last hitting minions greatly and it gives you those bonus damage for your physical damage abilities again. There is nothing else much to say for these runes because they aren't that complicated and pretty self- explanatory.

Greater Seal of Armor (9) Provides 12.7 Armor Now this is probably the most important runes for a top laner because most of the time, you're against an AD type of champ. The only time they'll really use AP is when they try to counter you like Malphite or Singed. Singed isn't like a really big counter especially because your Jayce but he is basically almost unkillable especially when it comes to late game. But of course, these still help you for overall combat stats.

Greater Glyph of Magic Resist (9) Provides 12.06 MR Again these are good, because if the top laner isn't AD, then you have these alongside to help you. Likewise they're still overall stats for later in the game because there should be at least one AP champ on the other team. However, have your alternative runes ready, [[Great seal of scaling magic resist]. Reason why is because if you are playing ranked, and you realise your opponent that is top lane is AP as well as the majority of the opposing team, it's good to get scaling MR.

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Masteries

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So you may find these masteries odd but trust me, Jax already rapes enough without offensive mastery trees. So you should go with the3-26-1 masteries where you take 3 in offense, 26 in defense and 1 in utility. So let me help you explain these masteries for Jax. Now you should already know by now that Jax is already over powered with items and trust me he doesn't need offensive mastery trees anymore because he is that strong. Now for the 26 points in the defensive side, what's great about this for Jax is basically trying to reduce the duration of those slows and overall get bonus armor and magic resist for combat. Don't also forget what I love about this category is Juggernaut and Veteran's Scars . Juggernaut gives you a great 4% increase in your max health while Veteran's Scars is just a simple 30 hp. May not seem like a lot, but trust me I've been in a lot of situations where I stay alive with just about 30 HP or less. So there's your savior right there. Also, since Jax is so strong late game, Durability also gives you bonus 108 HP at level 18 which is great for overall tankiness again. Feel free to go 21-9-0 masteries as well, because they're pretty much the alternative for Jax. I just like taking 3-26-1 now, again Season 3's masteries is a big difference from the previous seasons.

For the utility side, it isn't that much of a help to you, i am sure a lot of people want the Runic Affinity mastery which provides you 20% longer durations for your buffs, but in all honesty, it is best for Jax to get more tankiness so as he can harass and play aggressive in lane. It's more beneficial if you give the red buff to preferably, the AD carry and the blue golem buff to your AP teammate rather than taking it all yourself. I know you love spamming abilities but it's still best to give blue to mid :D

Play as a team and win!

Skill Sequencing/Combo

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Start off E > Q > W > R

Level 1: Always start with Leap Strike or Counter Strike
Level 2: Get one of the above, depending on which you unlocked first.
Level 3: Always get Empower , whatever you didn't get at level 1.


Personally, the reason why Q or E is best taken first is because it's Jax 's CC ability and damage dealing ability. It's the stun from Counter Strike and the damage dealing ability from Leap Strike . Sometimes you also have to look at the situation. E is best taken if you find yourself getting chased down at level 1 because of counter jungling. You got yourself an escape tool. Once you know you're safe to go, take Q first and then E next.

W should be maxed lost because personally, they aren't the most useful ability for Jax to max first. Although, you should consider mixing everything up and levelling each of your abilities. It's just that I max it last. Only reason being is because people are mostly scared of doing 1 v 1 with Jax. I noticed in my past experiences if I jump on people, they really like to run away so that's why I max Leap Strike. Sometimes, they can be not doing anything because they want you to push the lane for an easy gank. Beware!

Overall, it's best if you max your Q first and then followed by your E. Just take note you alternate some of these at times because they have their own uses. A nice example is Counter Strike, it's good because it's your escape tool, your only CC and it's basically OP!

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Useful Starting Items

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Boots of Speed + 3x Health Potions are standard opening items for Jax and many champions as they give you a movement speed boost, and additional 450 HP to recover health from the damage you received from laning phase. The reason why these are the best options is because you would want movement for escaping either ganks or if you are against a high mobility champ.

It's best having at least one Doran's Blade early game, regardless what situation you're in. I personally like to buy always 2 of these, because it gives a sufficient amount of health, 20 AD for last hitting and 10 health back for one hit which is a lot! The only time I really purchase only one is when you get an early advantage let's say two early kills. That way i'll just rush Phage.

Now you would want to rush this item for Jax mainly because it again gives you a vast amount of health and extra AD again, which in turn helps a lot in early game whether it's dealing damage or last hitting minions. It also gives you a great passive of slow, which is great for chasing down people. After you purchase this item, you purchase the boots you require and you have to base that on the enemy team.

Beneficial and Optional Items / Spells

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Jax has a lot of other optional items. It's best to look at the situation that you are in. You maybe against many different opponents, ranging from tanks to bruisers to AP casters. Below here are some viable items for Jax but also looking in depth to the situations. Take note that not all the photos I use below are necessarily the ones I use in my build. I place the top 3-5 items with description below, these are the items that are the most beneficial. The others are just optional.

Take note: The 5 items below each chapter are not going to be your final build either, along with the boots of your choice. These are just examples of beneficial and optional items for Jax.

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Very easily said to be the most used Summoner Spell. Flash is without a doubt a very useful spell, probably the best for almost any champ. It helps you escape, chase and chain some combos. You can also use this, to hit your knock back whenever your jungler ganks. If you flash in front of the opponent and appear in front of them. You land a perfect E.

Again very famous spell and probably one of the most useful again. Although they nerfed this item extra CD, it's still useful as ever. Personally i love this especially when you're in 1 v 1 situations against the top laner. Whether if it's escaping or chasing, Ignite is basically a strong spell because it deals true damage over time.

This is probably the other spell that I use the most with Jax. I use this whenever no one in the team takes Exhaust. I really think this spell is very underrated, and I find this especially good if you're chasing down people which is what Jax can do well. Leap Strike + Counter Strike + Exhaust should be an easy kill whenever you're chasing down someone.

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These boots give you 25 MR and a unique passive that reduces the duration of CC which is great for AP heavy teams and teams that have a lot of CC. These are the best to go with if you're in this situation. Also, you should consider getting this especially if you're having trouble against an AP caster or AP carry up top.

These boots personally don't give you any combat stats aside from movement speed alone. These aren't the best boots for Jax either mainly because it doesn't suit him well. This is still viable though and it gives you a ridiculous amount of movement speed. All I can say is really great for chasing. Take it if you want to mock around.

These boots give you 25 armor and a unique passive that reduces incoming basic attacks from champions. These are great especially for AD heavy teams and bruisers. These are the best to go with if you're in this situation. You'll find this useful especially if you're against an AD bruiser like Jayce.

These boots grant you 20% attack speed, slight nerfed from last Season. However this is pretty straight forward, not my favorite boots for Jax though, because personally I don't think he needs that extra attack speed. You can still get this though, if you're really just going to be a full AD bruiser.

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This item was slightly changed in Season 3. These item now gives you 500 health and 70 armor. It used to give you 350 HP, 75 armor and 25 health regen per 5. What I really love about this item is the unique passive: Cold Steel and it's unique active. This mainly helps reduce the amount of attack and movement speed and also helps you when you're trying to escape or chase.

This item was slightly nerfed, as it used to give you a larger amount of armor and MR. However, it's unique passive was changed to 30% of your max health and mana. What I love about this item is simple baits just for like Darius' and Garen 's ulti. They always tend to to use it whenever you're on low and Guardian Angel is the best way to bait those.

This item really gives the 2nd most amount of armor in the whole game. It grants you a great 90 armor and 20% CD, and a unique aura of reducing the attack speed of nearby enemies by 20%. You need to be in range in order to activate this aura. Overall gives massive combat stats and the armor which you need for heavy AD teams.

This is very critical especially if there is about 4-5 AD on the other team. It gives a unique passive of returning back 30% of the damage in magic damage from basic attacks. Now take note, this is also especially helpful when you notice about 2-3 of the enemies bruisers or ADC are really fed. You'll really need these just to minimize the damage they deal.

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This is probably the item that I will most likely substitute because it gives you MR and attack speed. Your MR also increases for every basic attack you do by 5 for 5 seconds and stacks 4 times. This is a big boost, and also add the extra 42 bonus magic damage for your basic attacks. Really great for AP tanks like Singed

This is very critical especially if there is about 4-5 AP on the other team. It gives a unique passive of absorbing a shield that absorbs 400 magic damage for a duration. Now take note, this is also especially helpful when you notice about 2-3 of the enemies AP carries are really fed. You'll really need these just to minimize the damage they deal.

The reason why this item is so good is because of the aura it gives. Really beneficial for your team and of course yourself. This item here gives a huge amount of 60 MR, the largest you can get in the game now and also adding 400 health and 30 armor. I know you wouldn't need the armor, but the 60 MR is really what matters here.

This is actually not a bad item at all, because this gives you the 3rd most MR in the game, Spirit Visage 2nd and Runic Bulwark the most. This is really good especially for team comps like Nautilus , Zyra , Malzahar. How does this work? Naut (Jungle) , Zyra (Supp) and Malzahar (Mid). Really heaps of CC and this item is going to help.

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This is probably Jax 's main substitute item, because it gives AD,AP and a a great unique passive. A really simple way to explain it is it's a hybrid item, and Jax is a hybrid champion so they basically synchronize well together. I don't take this, mainly because I want a little more tankiness into Jax.

This item is extremely viable for Jax, it's just that I don't personally use it. This item gives good amount of AP, 500 HP and a unique passive slow. This gives Jax overall a big combat stat boost and some tankiness. Based on experiences, it's still best going with Hextech Gunblade and Trinity Force.

Why is this good? Because this is the new Madred's Bloodrazor except that you don't have the attack speed. This is really good especially if you're against people like Singed, Cho'Gath because of their tankiness and high health. Personally though, aiming tanks is not your #1 Priority. It has to be the ADC and then the AP carry.

Atma's Impaler is a decent item for Jax because it gives some tankiness to him, some crit chance and AD bonus. This is great, for pretty heavy AD teams. I personally don't get this often because there are a lot more better items than this. However, there is nothing wrong with this item feel free to use it.

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Laning Phase/Understanding Items (Solo Top)

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Laning phase and Understand items on the lane you are in is possibly one of the most important skills you would want to know about along with map awareness and overall the decisions you make. What's really important when going Jax is you would want to really put the pressure on your opponent. Through past time experiences, Cho'Gath stomps on Jax. The reason being is because Cho is so tanky and his CC definitely kills you. Rupture when landed knocks you up, and then slows you for a duration after. This helps Cho'Gath chain his combo and so he will get an easy Feral Scream on you, a silence which lasts long and is devastating. Don't forget about this true damage ult. Otherwise, Jax is one of the most dominant solo top, because of his dodge and stun, which is strong on champs that are heavy reliant on basic attacks to do damage.

Now let's get to the laning phase and understanding the items you purchase early game. These are the very common early game items for Jax, and i'll explain in detail the reasoning on why they're useful and also their disadvantages.

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So this is pretty straight forward for almost every single champ. You want to take that extra bonus movement speed because again it helps you in a lot of ways. First of all, during laning phase hels you escape ganks a lot easier. Adding to this is when the opponent initiates on you. Sometimes it's easy to tell he wants to fight you, but if you're not fast enough to let's say run away, you'll receive heavy damage.

Again, the best along to go with Boots of Speed. Synchronizes well together, and very useful early game. These give you 150 health, and since you have 3 of these they give you 450 health. They basically help on your laning phase because it gives you more sustain and you wouldn't want to be constantly returning back to base. If you lane well and farm well, you get more gold which amounts on more health pots.

The 3rd item you must always buy for Jax, especially once you return to base. Think nothing else but this. If you're basically farming well and you have a lot of gold, usually when I recall I get myself 2 Doran's Blade along with sight ward and 3 Health Potion. Again this helps you so much in controlling your lane. Great sustain plus warding for extra security for ganks. Really great set up.

Possibly also one of the best early game items early on, gives great amount of health which makes you look tanky as well as a good amount of AD, because it's very early on the game. Adding to this is it's slow unique passive. Really great especially for chasing down people when your jungler comes to gank. Although not necessarily you need the jungler to gank, if you can take guy on 1 v 1 then do it. Don't hesitate.

Sight ward

One of the most important laning items. You simply just can't lane without a slight vision of the map near the brushes or the river. What's so good about this item is that junglers like to constantly gank especially when they like to shut you down or if the top laner is friends with junglers, usually they would do that a lot. This helps you keep safe from ganks basically. Take a Vision Ward especially for people like Shaco.

This is also possibly one of the most taken items at the moment in Season 3. Because it gives quite a big amount of AD, armor pen, CDR and it also builds into your The Black Cleaver . Personally it's really good, but I don't take it because I'd rather take sustain rather than just all damage. Again, I suggest you stick tier 2 boots, Phage and 2 Doran's Blade with you. This is just the way to go. I usually take Sheen next if the lane is going fine.

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Your Enemies For Life (Top Lane)

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The Fist Of Shadow Assassin, Melee , Stealth Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters : Lee Sin , Garen , Riven , Mordekaiser Counter Mechanics : Stealth Detection and Magic Resist Detail : Akali is not going to be a problem for you. You counter her pretty well.The only thing that makes her annoying is her shroud, but trust me just don't stay around that area. When she does use this ability , wait for the duration to end and then jump onto her. She cannot win against you 1 v 1 without her shroud because you have a stun and dodge. Unless if she is really that fed.

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The Terror of the Void Mage, Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters : Kog'Maw , Warwick , Vayne , Garen , Teemo Counter Mechanics : % Life Based Damage and Magic Resist Detail : Cho'Gath is going to be a major problem for you. He has 3 CC, and his Rupture is a 2 in 1 CC ability. What it does it knock you up,and slows you after for a duration. This ability is ridiculously strong and if he gets this to hit you, he'll also instantly land his Feral Scream. Adding more to this is his great sustain in lane. By late game, he gets very tanky and difficult to kill.

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The Hand of Noxus Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : High Counters: Teemo, Jayce, Yorick Counter Mechanics: High mobility, Ranged Crowd Control, Armor Detail : Darius is quite an easy match up. What you have to do is outsmart him especially because he has no escape abilities. It's also not a good idea to 1 v 1 this guy, because his Noxian Guillotine will destroy you regardless. The only way you can beat him 1 v 1 is when you're level 6 and he's at level 5. He cannot kill you at this rate. I already tested it out. At level 6 you get destroyed. (Full Health vs Full Health)

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The Madman of Zaun Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Medium Possibility of successful gank : Low Counters: Darius , Miss Fortune , Fizz, Kog'Maw , Olaf Counter Mechanics : Ignite, Healing Reduction , % Life Based damage Detail : Dr.Mundo is a not an easy match up and not a hard match up either. Personally, he is very difficult to kill because of his tankiness however, you can try and kill him before Level 6 because it's his ultimate that keeps him alive. However, I just continue to farm because it's pointless trying to kill him. When the jungler comes to gank any levels before 6, give it a try and see if you can get him to really low.

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The Spider Queen Mage, Ranged, Melee, Jungler Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Jax, Kassadin, LeBlanc Counter Mechanics : Burst Damage, Magic Resist , Spell Shield Detail : Elise is an easy match up.She can be really annoying at times because she's got a stun, and she's got the ability to keep swapping forms. She also has the potential to escape and harass you. Take note that she also can stay invulnerable for two seconds. It's a long amount, but this provides a big impact in 1 v 1 fights. She usually uses this when you're on low. Don't forget about her attack speed buff.

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The Grand Duelist Melee, Carry Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Jax, Pantheon , Malphite , Singed Counter Mechanics: Armor, Slows, Blinds, Taunts , Dodge Detail : Fiora is actually one of the easiest match ups you'll ever get. She is simply useless against you, because she is a champ that is heavy reliant on basic attacks to do damage. If she makes a mistake on trying to attack you with her attack speed buff, she's in some trouble because you can just dodge that. The only thing that will hurt you is her ulti, take note of that when tower diving it does a lot of damage.

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The Tidal Trickster Assassin, Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Medium Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Ryze , Diana, Akali, Mordekaiser Counter Mechanics: Snares, Magic Resist Detail : Fizz is a decent matchup. The only thing you should watch out is that he can still do heavy burst damage. Just take note he takes less physical damage from your basic attacks becaues of Nimble Fighter and he also ignores unit collision like your passive. Make sure you don't get caught in his Chum the Waters because this is one of his main damage dealers and if he chains the combo on you, you're going to have a bad time. You should consider harassing him constantly.

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The Saltwater Scourge Melee, Carry Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : Easy Counters: Pantheon, Irelia, Fiora, Jax , Malphite Counter Mechanics: Armor, Dodge, Spell Shields Detail : Gangplank personally for me is not a difficult matchup. The number one priority you have to do is shut him down and don't him free farm. He has to choose the option of either last hitting or harassing you with his Parrrley. If he chooses to harass you, bring up the fight to him because trust me you're going to win easily and Gangplank is actually pretty squishy early on. If you let him free farm, you're in some trouble.

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The Might of Demacia Melee, Recommended, Fighter Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Pantheon , Teemo, Yorick, Jayce Counter Mechanics: True Damage, Armor, % Life Based Damage Detail : Garen is quite a difficult match up because he has sustain, incredible tankiness, CC and damage dealing abilities. It is not a good idea to go against him, especially because he can still spin even when you stun him. His Decisive Strike deals a lot of damage, and silences you for quite a long duration. After this he'll continue his combo using his E. Don't forget about his cheap ulti, it can kill you at 1/4 health.

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The Will of the Blades Assassin, Melee Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Jax, Udyr, Renekton, Yorick Counter Mechanics : Armor, High Health Targets, Healing Reduction Detail : Irelia is an easy match up, and you counter her. She gets tanky late game and very hard to difficult to kill as well. However, you will beat her 1 v 1.Again, her basic attacks won't do anything to you even if she activates Hiten Style because of your dodge. Her E is also a stun, her main CC but this won't help her escape from you. She either slows you or stuns you. Either way, it's still a good skill.

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The Exemplar of Demacia Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Easy-Medium Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Jax , Olaf , Yorick Counter Mechanics : Armor, Wall Jumps Detail : Jarvan IV is a very strong solo top because he has the ability to last hit well and he has 3 CC which is a lot. He uses martical cadence for last hitting minions. He will do the E > Q > R combo on you especially if he wants to initiate a fight on you. This is really strong combo, as it knocks you up and gets you stuck in an arena for 3.5 seconds. However, you have the potential to win against him.

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The Defender Of Tomorrow Ranged, Melee , Fighter Difficulty : Medium Possibility of successful gank : Low Counters: Xin Zhao , Cho'Gath , Wukong Counter Mechanics: Stuns, Slows, Dodge Abilities Detail : Jayce is one of the most dominant solo tops but the outcome of this match up may sometimes be in question. It really depends on who plays more smartly. Reason being is because both of you can do heavy damage in a matter of seconds. However, Jayce can keep harassing you from long range. But if you let him do his full combo, you're in some really deep trouble. Even though hard to gank, give it a try if you really need help.

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The Judicator Figher, Support Difficulty : Easy-Medium Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters : Pantheon , Jarvan IV, Yorick Counter Mechanics: Dodge, Hard CC, Magic Resist, Silence Detail : Kayle isnt a very difficult match up for Jax. She can be annoying because of her Righteous Fury but she can't keep using this forever. You have the potential to take the fight to her because you'll win it. She's basically melee, not ranged without Righteous Fury. However she relies on basic attacks to do damage and without that she's nothing. Just farm well and keep the pressure on her and you'll win the lane.

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The Blind Monk Assassin, Melee Difficulty : Medium Possibility of successful gank : Low-Medium Counters: Trundle , Udyr , Renekton Counter Mechanics: Hard CC, Armor, Defensive skills Detail : Lee Sin is going to be quite a strong match up. Although melee only, he chains his combos usually a Q > E > W on 1 v 1 situations. This right here is if he wanted to engage on to you. If you were already face up against him, he'll most likely use E first then Q because he wants to reduce your attack speed. However, he deals damage to you, and then when you do your combo right, you'll see the amount of burst you do.

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Shard of the Monolith Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank : Low-Medium Counters: Rumble , Vladimir, Singed, Cho'Gath Counter Mechanics : Ability Power, HP% damage , Magic Resist Detail : Malphiteis one of your major counters. Fighting against him 1 v 1 is not the best idea. His abilities counter your abilities. Ground Slam is the main ability that shuts you down really bad because of the attack speed reduction. Him getting Frozen Heart means you're completely useless to him. I suggest you just farm safely and ask for some ganks. Because late game, he's too difficult to kill.

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The Master of Metal Melee, Pusher, Fighter Difficulty : Medium Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Yorick , Swain , Malzahar , Orianna Counter Mechanics: Kiting, Cleanse , Magic Resist, Harass, Hard CC Detail : Mordekaiser is a really strong champ because of the shield from Iron Man. He gets incredibly strong as well late game, when he gets all of his item his combo alongside with his ulti deals so much damage! However I suggest you fight Mordekaiser whenever he's around 1/4 health. Make sure though you are around 1/2 or higher health before you approach him. His ulti steals life off you.

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The Curator of the Sands Melee, Pusher, Recommended, Fighter Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Riven, Rumble , Teemo Counter Mechanics: Armor, Deny Farm Early Game Detail : Nasus is actually an underrated champion and he is very strong. He has great sustain in lane, last hitting tools and a slow duration increasing over time. Adding to this is his ulti as well, which makes him really tanky and takes out your health bit by bit. Fortunately for you though, your Counter Strike is the reason on why you can beat him. However, try shutting him down early game and prevent him from free farming! Why? If you don't his Q will do 1K+ damage without crit.

Shurelya's Reverie

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The Yeti Rider Melee, Recommended, Fighter, Jungler Difficulty : Medium Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Jayce , Darius , Sona , Alistar , Blitzcrank Counter Mechanics: Cleanse, Magic Resist, Interrupts Detail : Nunu is actually a viable top champion because he has the sustain to stay there. He also has a movement and attack speed, as well as Ice Blast. It can deal quite a bit of damage especially his ulti. Nunu can actually exchange with you surprisingly. Think of his Ice Blast as his Leap Strike. It deals quite a bit of damage, and he has an attack speed and movement speed buff just to be safe from ganks or if you wanted to initiate on him.

Shurelya's Reverie Zeke's Herald

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The Berserker Melee,Fighter Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Yorick , Darius , Kennen Counter Mechanics: Armor, Attack Speed Reduction , High Health Targets Detail : Olaf is going to be a tough match up. Olaf can sustain in lane and he can deal heavy damage to you, more than you do and also win 1 v 1 fights. His Ragnarok is ridiculous and your CC won't do anything to him. If you get bursted down easily, it's because he maxed Reckless Swing first. Keep the pressure up on him all the time and deny him farm because if you don't you're going to have an even harder time.

Shurelya's Reverie Zeke's Herald

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The Artisan of War Assassin, Melee Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank : Medium Counters: Yorick , Malphite , Shen Counter Mechanics: Taunts, Armor, Hard CC Detail : Pantheon is going to be a really tough opponent for you especially because of his passive and Aegis of Zeonia. This simply helps him deal damage and do his combo to you without a problem. Even though you have your own stun, his is insta lock. Furthermore, by the time he also feels like you're low enough, he's not going to hesitate to tower dive you especially because his shield is going to block the turret hit. Beware!

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The Butcher of the Sands Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank : Low Counters: Malphite , Pantheon , Garen Counter Mechanics: Ranged, Armor Detail : Renekton is going to be very difficult for you.He has one of the strongest early games and it's not a smart idea to approach him 1 v 1 full health especially at level 6. He has the sustain, and can constantly spam and harass you by Slice and Dice > Ruthless Predator > Cull the Meek > Slice and Dice back out.Just keep farming safely but however, ask for help if you're having troubles.

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The Pridestalker Melee, Stealth, Fighter , Jungler Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank : Low-Medium Counters: Lee Sin , Darius , Jax , Fiora Counter Mechanics: Armor, Healing Reduction , Stay Away From Bush Detail : Rengar gets countered by you. What makes him really hard is because of the brushes where he really likes to go because it's his main strong point. Of course this is a tactic, and it's very useful so I suggest if he goes into the brush nearest to you, just prepare for him to jump straight to your face. However you beat him 1 v 1 , thanks to your Counter Strike. However he'll most likely ulti away on low health.

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The Exile Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Olaf , Garen , Jax Counter Mechanics: Armor, Mobile champs with CC Detail : Riven is one of the most dominant top laners because of her shield, slight dash and an ability which is spammable. What also makes her great is her no need of mana. Riven doesn't really have any sustain items, however you have the tools to counter her. You are way more bursty than her. However, she is still a pretty strong top laner. This only changes if you let her free farm or if she's really fed which is not what you want to do.

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The Mechanized Menace Mage, Melee, Pusher Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Cho'Gath , Yorick , Xin Zhao Counter Mechanics: Hard CC, Magic Resist Detail : Rumble actually has the highest win rate as a top champion in Season 2 because of his extreme harassment during laning phase. He basically spams his E at you all day. He also has a shield, and his passive grants increased stats depending on the ability used. Also adding to this is his really strong ulti, which is great exceptionally for ganking. However, you can exchange with him and you can also harass him so keep the pressure up for him as well!

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Eye of Twilight Melee, Tank, Support Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Yorick , Warwick , Jayce, Vladimir Counter Mechanics: Hard CC , Magic Resist Detail : Shen is not going to be a big problem to you. He doesn't have the potential to really kill you, and you will still stomp on him easily again because of Counter Strike. He'll most likely Shadow Dash back out because he knows he can't win against you. Just watch out for this as well when the opposing jungler ganks because we all know taunts are annoying. Just farm well, look out for ganks and dominate the lane!

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The Mad Chemist Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank :Low Counters: Teemo , Jayce , Vladimir Counter Mechanics: Slow, Magic Resist Detail : Singed is a strong match up, and you can't really do anything to kill him. Singed is well known for his Insanity poison and Poison Trail combo along with Ghost and Mega Adhesive for chasing down people. Unfortunately for Jax, he barely has an escape tool and Singed will slow you and fling you back. Personally you can kill him early on with the help of a gank, but in late game it's really rare.

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mercy cutthroat

The Blade's Shadow Assassin, Melee Difficulty :Medium Possibility of successful gank :Low Counters: Lee Sin, Riven , Yorick , Pantheon Counter Mechanics : Stealth Detection, CC, Armor, Harass Early Game Detail : Talon is another very strong laner that deals tons of damage especially when his combo is done right. The person who wins the lane depends mainly on how well each farms and which person does the better decision. In 1 v 1 situation, the outcome may come in question. However, I like to harass him as much as possible so that he knows you're not scared of him. However his noxian diplomacy is really devastating.

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Camouflage

The Swift Scout Ranged, Stealth, Support Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Akali , Yorick , Pantheon Counter Mechanics : Stealth Detection, Magic Resist, Armor, Gap-closers Detail : Teemo has got to be the most annoying champion ever no doubt.He's going to constantly harass you all day. Take advantage by being aggressive early game, because he's squishy so ask for a gank often. He also has a blind, kind of like your dodge ability so both of you are pretty equal. However, just be aware of his mushrooms and get an early Oracle's Elixir when you can.

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The Piltover Enforcer Melee, Fighter Difficulty :Easy Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Jax , Teemo , Jayce , Garen, Riven Counter Mechanics: Knock backs, armor, mobile champions with CC Detail : Vi is definitely a strong champ because she can deal a ton of damage even when she is tanky. However, you counter her because of the skills you have. Simple example is when she tries to dash forward to you, just jump onto her and stun her. Adding to this you can win against her 1 v 1 , just watch out for Assault and Battery because the enemy jungler is coming to gank.

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The Crimson Reaper Mage, Ranged, Fighter Difficulty :Medium Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Riven , Swain , Xin Zhao , Irelia Counter Mechanics: Magic Resist, Burst Damage, Healing Reduction Detail : Vladimir is basically one of those champs with incredible sustain. You're going to exhaust your mana already when he's still in lane with a large amount of HP thanks to his spmmable Transfusion. It even gets worse once he gets Hextech Revolver. Furthermore, there's a possibility he can beat you 1 v 1 because of Sanguine Pool. He's going to harass you as much as he can with Q which you can't really do anything.

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The Thunder's Roar Mage, Ranged, Fighter Difficulty :Medium Possibility of successful gank :Low-Medium Counters: Darius , Teemo , Jayce , Yorick Counter Mechanics: Ignite, Healing Reduction Detail : Volibear is a decently tough matchup. He is tanky, and can choose to build damage dealing items as well. What I suggest you do is just to farm somewhat passively, and make sure your wards are up in lane. His Rolling Thunder definitely is going to be devastating especially when the opposing jungler ganks. It's hard to win against him 1 v 1.

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The Monkey King Melee, Stealth, Fighter Difficulty : Medium Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: lee sin , Darius , Olaf . Garen Counter Mechanics: Range, CC , Armor Detail : Wukong is definitely one of the hardest match ups. The reason for this is because of his famous combo E > Q > W. This basically is his harassing tool all day and he'll always want to try and get in range to do this combo. Of course, the problem with Decoy as well is he can lead you to a bait to the jungler. Not only that but hitting the Decoy will result in a massive loss especially during 1 v 1 situations.

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The Seneschal of Demacia Assassin, Melee, Fighter Difficulty : Easy Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Jax , Malphite , Volibear Counter Mechanics: Armor, Attack Speed Reduction, Taunts, Blinds, Dodge Detail : Xin Zhao is the best match up you'll have all day. This lane is yours. Reason being is because he is basically very heavy reliant on basic attacks to deal damage. He focuses on Three Talon Strike and Battle Cry to deal damage, but this basically just makes your life easier. Just dodge and stun and then you win.

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The Gravedigger Melee, Pusher, Fighter Difficulty : Hard Possibility of successful gank :Medium Counters: Cho'Gath , Trundle , Xin Zhao , Nunu Counter Mechanics: High sustain, Armor, Gap-closer bruisers Detail : Yorick is again one of your nightmare match ups. He is extremely strong especially when spamming his abilities. Yorick has a slow, and 2 omens that deal quite a big amount of damage and one of them heals for an amount. This is his sustain ability. However, take the fight to him 1 v 1 in full health. He's so difficult to kill and his passive and ulti just makes your life harder. All I can say is farm safely.

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