Dark Tech Hecarim is a Hecarim build + playstyle that is arguably unorthodox, but revolves around constantly applying pressure onto the enemy team. It utilizes 3 key tools to run the opposing team out of their lane as well as snowball your team. These 3 tools are Youmuu's Ghostblade , Turbo Chemtank , and Predator . (Can go Divine Sunderer too )

Yes, this does seem like a 4fun troll Hecarim build, and that's how it started when I was "developing it." If I had to pinpoint the most important aspect of this idea/strategy, it would be the Youmuu's Ghostblade rush (and like predator tbh).

Initially I was testing lethality Hecarim on patch 11.17, and I was planning to rush Prowler's Claw as my mythic item, as there was a fun mechanic I was informed of, where if you E -> right click -> Prowler's a target, you actually dash through them and immediately knock them towards your team right after.

However, I had heard/seen numerous high elo assassin players, specifically Zed and Qiyana rush Youmuu's first without even getting a mythic. Youmuu's was buffed on this patch (11.17) and now the item provides just as much AD (55) as a mythic, almost as much Ability Haste (15 v. 20), the same amount of lethality (18) and an item effect (passive + active movement speed) all for 2900 gold, which is 300 less than most mythic items. Obviously Hecarim pairs very well with movement speed so I realized how strong of a potential rush item Youmuu's may be for Hecarim.

Predator + Lethality Hecarim is not anything new as I believe in Season 9, a Hecarim player got Rank 1 at some point playing Lethality Hecarim (BeNice2EachOther). However, I still mainly saw it as a gimmick as it is a very feast or famine playstyle. Also, I believe lethality Hecarim is incredibly hard to pull off consistently, because you are not a true assassin so you don't have invisibility and/or blinks to help you avoid being focus and bursted.

As I was testing this Predator + Youmuu's rush setup, I realized how similar the playstyle was to the Turbo Chemtank Hecarim meta that dominated the middle of the season. I then had the epiphany that I could possibly revive the Turbo Chemtank Hecarim by basically integrating Youmuu's Ghostblade to the start of the build.

The Turbo Chemtank Hecarim playstyle/build was killed off when Hecarim got his base damage + stacking % damage on his Q reduced, his W heal % reduced, and his E base damage and movement speed reduced. They also made Hecarim's Q % damage stacking and his W % healing scale with AD. These all nerfs happened on patches 11.6, 11.7, and 11.9.

Hecarim basically had all 4 of his kneecaps broken as he instantly fell out of meta, before Riot slowly introduced some compensation buffs in the upcoming patches. On patches 11.11 and 11.12, Hecarim gained buffs that increased his Q and E AD ratios. If you haven't realized by now, buying Youmuu's effectively negates ALL these nerfs by utilizing the compensation buffs + movement speed from Youmuu's .

Well frankly, Youmuu's was a terrible item until it got buffed on patch 11.17. Ability Haste is a stat that if very good, if not necessary on Hecarim. Pre-buff Youmuu's did not offer AH. The item also had a worse build path as it required a Pickaxe instead of Caulfield's Warhammer . It's much easier to stack Long Swords for Caulfield's Warhammer than save 875g for a Pickaxe . Also Youmuu's cost reduction made it a more desirable early powerspike.

The Chemtank variant build is basically the spiritual successor of Turbo Chemtank Hecarim, which also didn't build a Sheen item. Hecarim still did bruiser levels of damage even without Sheen , while simultaneously being a tank. Even thought Hecarim's base damage has been nerfed, Youmuu's makes up for that damage. Argubly more damage because of the extra lethality and extra AD from movespeed.

This doesn't mean you cant go a Sheen item though, as shown with the Essence Reaver possibility. Also if the Chemtank build isn't down your alley, you can still play with Divine Sunderer .

Well actually I recently came across a Diamond Hecarim player in NA that goes Phase Rush , but he still goes Turbo Chemtank first and Youmuu's second (https://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=nitianyizhongge). I think if you can acquire both items, Phase Rush is still good. The Phase Rush and
Turbo Chemtank combination is good as you can Q , W , and touch them with the damage from Bami's/Chemtank to proc Phase Rush and run behind them with E .

The issue I have with going Phase Rush to rush Turbo Chemtank , is that it's the very thing that got nerfed. You have no early damage/power to snowball yourself. You rely on your laners having the damage to make the ganks work. I think there is a possibility of rushing Youmuu's and going Phase Rush working, but you can't integrate the Phase Rush proc into your E burst unless you have Chilling Smite up. I personally have not tested Phase Rush yet with the Youmuu's rush. (Will likely test in future)

I prefer Predator as the burst is more reliable with my combo and also the upfront movement speed is really what helps Hecarim snowball. It also allows me to access the Ingenious Hunter rune to increase the uptime of the many item cooldowns.

I would actually argue, impact-wise, it is actually better. Since you have access to more mobility tools (like Youmuu's and Predator . You are able to look for plays more often. Also before you would want to farm for/prioritize Chemtank as soon as possible, you didn't look to take over the map as early. With this setup, you can start taking over the game the moment you get boots .

I would also argue that you are spiking much harder and earlier as you have access to more damage and movement speed in comparison to before. Youmuu's is an item built to snowball it's buyer. I also believe the meta has shifted to enable this super high tempo, aggressive play, as we transitioned from a farming jungle meta to a more skirmish-heavy meta. Therefore you don't lose out as much from not power farming. There have also been gradual nerfs to mobility from items and runes (phase rush ), so it only further accentuates Hecarim's niche fearsome mobility.

The one weakness/downside I would say that comes with Youmuu's rush + Predator Hecarim, is obviously it isn't as safe as Phase Rush + Chemtank Hecarim. As you are not as durable, nor do you have the utility from Phase Rush . However, I don't think reaching that level is possible, as Hecarim was broken for a reason. Hecarim has always been vulnerable in isolation early game, even with his bruiser-class builds + rune setups.

Well, I would generally describe bruiser Hecarim as someone who wants to farm either for level 6 , or farm for his mythic item . Once he hits one of these power spikes, he starts to look for ganks and skirmishes much more frequently. However, before these power breakthroughs, he prefers to farm over ganking unless the ganks are really free.

With this Hecarim strategy, you have much more power spikes, which allows you to look for plays much more frequently and earlier in comparison to standard Hecarim. These power spikes include acquiring boots (+ Predator ), acquiring Serrated Dirk , completing Youmuu's , and etc.
(literally every item completion is a power spike)

As Predator Hecarim, you should be using you actives off cooldown to make plays and pressure the map. Ganked a lane a burned enemy flash with Predator ? Regank in 20 seconds with Youmuu's (if possible). The opposing team should always feel fear when stepping up for minions, and feel suffocated out of resources. An added bonus is absolutely obliterating enemy morale with the pressure, they will tilt off the face of the Earth from the constant ganks as well as the enemy jungler not being able to match your insane map presence.

Prioritize establishing control of the tempo of the game, farming is somewhat of an afterthought. Clear 1-2 camps -> gank, 1-2 camps -> gank. Smart jungle pathing still matters as you don't want the enemy jungler to feed off of your camps. You melt through camps with your early Youmuu's , and navigate the map just as fast, so this shouldn't be too difficult. Make sure to check lane states as you are clearing BEFORE you attempt a gank, so you do not waste valuable time setting up for a gank that won't happen. Be smart and efficient, and do not give the enemy team any breathing room.

Yes. It was because the success I had was so surprising, that I spent so much effort into breaking it down(Although sample size is relatively small/in normal). Honestly, I still likely need more data in this build/playstyle, so I would appreciate if you guys tried out this strategy yourselves and gave me feedback either in comments or discord dms. The Real Fake#3504

Challenging Smite can be cast on enemy champions to mark them for 4 seconds, reducing their damage against you by 20%, and empowering your basic attacks to deal 48 − 125 (based on level) true damage to them over 2.5 seconds.

Chilling Smite can be cast on enemy champions, dealing 28 − 166 (based on level) true damage and stealing 20% of their movement speed for 2 seconds.

Hecarim has many various routes you can take that still result in efficient clears. This is a basic clear on Hecarim can be modified multiple ways. Some Hecarim's may prefer to rush to their level six powerspike and not even gank early/in their first clear.

The Basic Clear

• Start at a buff (Blue /Red ) -> Gromp /Krugs (Smite ) this camp) -> Wolves /Raptors . (Start Botside for a better leash, start Topside if you fear getting invaded - since most people start bot. However, if you know for sure you want to level 3 gank, starting Red Buff is usually the smartest choice as the slows that it applies to your autos greatly increase the chance of the gank working out).
  
  
• Check if mid is gankable.

The first clear you want for Predator Hecarim is always the same because this allows you to do a crazy strong first gank. (The routes from the Conqueror Routes can also be used, but the reason you go predator is for early ganks/pressure. So if you can do this path, it is preferred.).

• Always go Red Buff -> Raptors -> Krugs (You clear Raptors -> Krugs over Krugs -> Raptors so your camps respawn nicely when you path back top, also allows possible sidelane gank after Krugs ).

Once you head to your Blue side jungle , you can:

• After this your Raptors should respawn soon, followed by your Krugs . Therefore you should head to that side of the jungle to clear it. If possible, make a transition gank through mid. If not, just head straight straight to Raptors .
  
  
• After this basic first clear you should really be adapting to the game state (ganking overextended lanes, securing objectives, or farming/counterjungling). This step/plan can also be implemented after your first clear of Blue side .
  
  
  Additional Notes:

  • If you are wondering why it has to be a Red Brambleback start, it is due to the Red Buff granting you a slow on autos. This then makes your first gank more likely to be successful.
    
    
  • This is a given for jungling in general, but it is super crucial with this Predator playstyle/setup especially. CHECK YOUR LANE STATES BEFORE YOU GANK, as in while you are still clearing/walking towards the side of the map. If you get in position for a gank and then realise it is ungankable, you are wasting valuable time, which is extremely important for the high tempo/pressure play of Predator Hecarim .