- New Tenacity Items: Tested my build with Berserker's Greaves / Cloak & Dagger instead of Mercury's Treads. I went 24/5/22 in a lvl 30 non ranked match. He's now more hard trolling than before.

Trundle is a very rarely seen champion on the battlegrounds of League of Legends. This guide will show you his advantages compared to other bruisers / junglers. Besides Trundle hasn't experienced any changes since his release. So this guide should be up-to-date for the next weeks / months.

The biggest advantage of the underrated troll is that he's able to fulfill more than just one role. You can play Trundle as a very tanky "invader" who deals out a decent amount of damage at the same time. Otherwise you can use him as a pure melee DPS char which crushes the whole opponent team.

This guide will focus on both possibilities. My favorite is the pure DPS build because the most people underestimate Trundle's dangerousness. If your team lacks of tanks like Shen, Rammus or Amumu you can switch to a tankier build which will be explained later. But most of the time you won't miss the incredible damage Trundle can deal in mid-/lategame.

Give trolls a chance! ;-)

(+++) Trundle is so much fun to play. Not just because he's an ugly troll but also because he can use his skills so differently. His Rabid Bite scares the enemy ("OHNOEZ!!1 NOW I'VE GOT RABIES!!) due to a huge damage boost. A smart opponent doesn't even try to slow, stun, taunt or use other CC effects on you because of your improved resistances within your Contaminate area. His Pillar of Filth can be used in so many different ways: offensively to slow a fleeing enemy or block a small jungle entrance / defensively to give you more time to run away or to scout a bush where enemies may hide. And your Agony (Ultimate) can also be used either as a "tank softener" or to finish off fleeing squishies on low life. I've played more than 70 games with him and it's never getting boring.

(++) Trundle is in my opinion the best jungler in the game. You can jungle very, very safely and quite fast. Of course he can also lane but then he relies on an special lane partner like Teemo, Anivia or Cho'Gath. His jungling abilities are much more worth. With Trundle even a newb like me learned how to jungle effectively and safe.

(++) Besides his mobility and diversity Trundle can be built towards an Anti-CC beast. With Mercury's Treads on his contaminated area Trundle is nearly immune to each type of CC (stuns, slows, taunts, fears, snares, sleeps, and immobilize). But with the new patch the new tenacity items make Trundle more viable to a build with Berserker's Greaves instead of Mercury's. Trundle relies on mobility, AS and AD. So try my new variation of the build with Cloak & Dagger + Berserker's Greaves.

(+) Most players think you're UP and a "lame newb char" and therefore nothing but a running feeding tube. Use this misjudgement for your own advantage. Play "passive aggressive". Wait for the right moment to jump out the bushes after you finish your first jungle round and land your pillar right behind the possible escape route. Either your enemies will blink away or kick the bucket. Surprise them hard! They won't believe their eyes when a gross char like Trundle owns them.

(---) Trundle relies on items. Without them he's nothing but a sitting duck. That's why you have to farm quite well. Trundle CAN lane quite good but the chance that you don't get enough creep kills on a lane is quite big when you have to fight against "dash" chars like Xin Zhao OR very mobile assassins like Nocturne OR range DPS chars like Ashe.. because you're quite squishy for a melee champ until you've reached lvl 6. And good players will harass you hard. So don't be a fool and go jungling! Your squishyness and your poor farming qualities on lane suck hard.

(-) Trundle not just relies on items but also on runes. He needs a better CDR (cooldown reduction) and more AD (attack damage) and ArmP (armor penetration) to become viable not just for high ELO but also for normal lvl 30 games.

(-) Some people will say that his damage output sucks. I cannot approve this. His damage output is enormous after you can achieve items like Wriggle's Lantern, Frozen Mallet and Sheen. But compared to other bruisers he's not THAT good. That doesn't mean he's ****.. but just.. not that easy like Xin Zhao for example.

(-) Another weekness of Trundle is his AP scaled Ultimate. You won't buy AP items except for Trinity Force.. so Agony isn't as awesome as other Ultimates. Moreover his Pillar of Filth is hard to handle right. You can fail and block your own team while chasing the enemy instead of slowing your prey for the finishing move. "Easy to learn, hard to master."

- Marks: 6 x Greater Mark of Desolation + 3 x Greater Mark of Attack Damage

You need ArmP to maximize your damage output especially against tanks which stack armor. I'm playing with additional 3 AD Marks to simplify your jungling. You can also switch to a 9 x ArmP rune set when you feel safe with your standard damage. I decided to put more mastery points in CDR instead of "Offensive Mastery" (damage against minions) because it's much more worth in mid- and lategame. With 3 AD Marks you're absorbing the mastery points I didn't put into "Offensive Mastery".

- Seals: 9 x Greater Seal of Armor

The more armor the better. This guide isn't for a tanky Trundle but you will need some armor just for the case that you have to switch to defensive items when your team is lacking of a full tank. And it also helps jungling.

- Glyphs: 9 x Greater Glyphs of Focus

Cooldown reduction is necessary to play an effective Trundle. You need to use your Q as often as possible. CDR Glyphs are a must-have for competive games. Less than 9 CDR Glyphs are newbish.

- Quintessences: 3 x Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage

My choice for Quintessences isn't as finally as the one for Glyphs. You can either use more MS (movement speed) for creating a mobility-monster or more AD for a stronger early game / jungling route. AD Quintessences are cheaper.. so I'm using three of them. But you can also take more ArmP. It's a matter of taste. ;-)

I use a 21/0/9 skill tree. Normally you would put 2 points in Offensive Mastery (increases the damage you deal to minions by {2/4}) for a safer jungle route. But my 3 x Greater Mark of Attack Damage and 3 x Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage compensate that. So I can use more CDR by getting 3 out of 4 into Sorcery (Reduces the cooldown of your champion's abilities by {0.75/1.5/2.25/3}%). I also put 1 point in Utility Mastery (Increases the duration of neutral monster buff by {15/30}%) to maximize the duration of blue and red buff. The rest is quite obvious to get the best out of your steroid troll. After ~70 games with Trundle it seems that this is the best choice because of a high amount of AD, CDR and a great utility of jungle buffs.

Four items are a must-have for Trundle:

- Start with Wriggle's Lantern. It helps jungling (free ward) and increasing your damage (especially against minions). At the beginning take cloth armor + 5 health potions. After your first jungle route buy boots and 2 potions to take your second one. Move on with farming for the complete item.

- Berseker's Greaves increasing your AS in addition to "Contaminate" and Ghost. Due to the new tenacity items you don't need Mercury's Boots for more CC resistance. Complete the boots after Wriggle's. You will see: Berserker's Greaves + Cloak & Dagger (+25 tenacity) = Trundle pwnage (AS + crit + tenacity / CC resistance)!

- Sheen This should be your third item because it increases the usefulness of your "Q" which is your main damage output. Some will say "take Phage instead" but I've got the feeling that with CDR runes Sheen is a monster boost for you.

- Your fourth item should either be Phage or Cloak and Dagger. Since the last patch I take C&D as fast as possible after Wriggle's Lantern, Sheen and boots because more AS + crit > more damage. But this is just my opinion. If you like AD more than AS take Phage.. then C&D.

- After that you should try to complete Trinity Force because it is THE core item of our beloved troll (AS, AD, AP, MS and CS + HP/Mana)! Trundle without Trinity Force.. is just trolling.

- As the last "must have" item take Frozen Mallet. It slows the enemy (hello red buff!) AND makes you much more tanky then before. You're an invader and chaser.. so nothing is more useful then slowing the enemy with every hit you get.

=> This is the so called "CORE ITEM - BUILD".

Normally most of my games don't take that long. If you got the time and money you should buy items depending on the enemy team and their most dangerous carries.

1.) You're facing a armor heavy team? Build Black Cleaver and Youmuu's Ghostblade to reduce the armor of a tanky composition. => This would be the "TANK DESTROYER - BUILD"!

2.) You're facing an AP heavy team? Build either Force of Nature and Banshee's Veil if your team deals already enough damage or Wit's End for more AS and manaburn (the new version of it after the coming patch will be interesting for Trundle). => This I call the "BYE BYE AP SQUISHIES - BUILD"

3.) The third possibility is that you simply increase and therefore maximize your AD / AS / lifeleach output. Herefore you should build Madred's Bloodrazor and Bloodthirster. => Name it the "STEROID - BUILD"

Heed my advice: be flexible!

Trundle is a jungler! That's why you should get Smite and Ghost (because your viability relies on attack speed and your damage output). Ignite can be effective when your plan is to go pure AD ( Madred's Bloodrazor / Bloodthirster) in late game. Exhaust should be taken when you're laning and you've got some problems with dash chars like Xin or assassins like Nocturne. Helps to evade early ganks or to support your own. Other summoner spells like Heal or Clarity should just be used as a laning Trundle for the first 10-15 games if you're new to the troll and not feeling absolutely safe with him.

Jungling never been that easy. You can either start at blue buff or at the wolf camp. The route is explained in the picture:

As soon I've reached lvl 5 or 6 I'm trying to gank and get my first kill or assist. Always switch between jungling and creeping on lane when the time is right. Get as often as you can red / blue buff.. also in lategame. I don't recommend killing the dragon on your own with lvl 5 / 6 (as seen in the video - props to stonewall008, the best trundle jungler) because it can be very, very hard. Try to get help from a team mate. With a friend it should be easy. Have fun!
Play Video

Trundle needs to gank early and get some extra money for his necessary items. That's why you need a good team work and partners with good synergies like Teemo(more map awareness and slow through mushrooms / blind), Janna (boosts your MS / AD), Anivia (wall and Ulti for slowing / blocking the escaping enemy) or other CC heavy chars. My current dream team would be:

Jungler/Melee DPS: Trundle (slow/map awareness with Wriggle's)
Range DPS: Teemo (blind/slow/map awareness)
Mage: Ryze (stun) or Anivia (slow / block)
Tank: Rammus (taunt) or Shen (taunt / global Ultimate)
Support: Sona (slow/heal) or Janna (slow `/ buff AD)

All in all Trundle is a very underrated champion. He can be build in more than one way to be effective and a viable team mate. His damage output is incredibly fast and he cannot be CC'ed effectively while on his contaminated area. If you're farming poorly or getting killed 1-2 times early on.. you will have a hard time. Trundle really depends on his first 15 minutes and his gold income / gank kills. But he's fun and not often seen as other "OP" bruisers. Get used to him and have a good time trolling the enemy team hard.. but never be too rude. You want the opponent to underestimate your strength.. so troll with manners! :trollface: