Riot Games recently introduced Jax’s mid-scope update with the first official patch of season 13, Patch 13.1.
While most players will be familiar with Jax’s kit and playstyle, the newly updated champion has new numbers and effects on his abilities: Jax can be both built as a burst magic damage champion as well as a splitpushing bruiser.
To help you understand how you should properly build Jax in the new season, we have created an in-depth guide on what runes you should go for and which items you should buy in the future. Both AP and AD versions of the build will be included.
Here are the best new Jax builds in League.
Runes
Conqueror Jax (AP version)
Precision
Conqueror: With the AP Jax build, you will be relying more on your spells rather than your auto attacks. That said, weaving auto attacks in between abilities is going to be essential and Conqueror will allow you to gain extra adaptive force to maximize your burst damage. In the later stages of the game, you will also be able to fully stack the rune during fights and one-vs-one duels, granting you an extra eight percent healing on your damage dealt.
Presence of Mind: While Jax’s abilities don’t have a high mana cost, the champion is required to consistently spam his spells to dish out damage and close the gap with his enemies. Presence of Mind will partially make up that weakness by granting him extra mana upon takedowns.
Legend:Alacrity: Attack speed is one of the most important statistics Jax needs to be a strong champion. Legend: Alacrity will give that little bonus to make up for the considerable loss of attack speed in the AP Jax build.
Coup de Grace: Since this build will be all about bursting the enemy targets, Coup de Grace’s bonus of eight percent damage will increase the chances of killing your opponents when below 40 percent health.
Sorcery
Nimbus Cloak: After landing your Q+E combo, sticking to the enemy with Jax can be troublesome. Nimbus Cloak not only grants bonus movement speed upon casting summoners spells to chase targets, but it’s a great way to quickly escape from danger. Whether it’s for offensive or defensive purposes, this rune is strong on Jax.
Transcendence: Ability haste is also another important stat that Jax won’t be able to build until late into the game with his fourth item. Transcendence will make up for that, allowing you to have lower cooldowns and be more aggressive with your trades or fights.
Lethal Tempo Jax (AD version)
Precision
Lethal Tempo: When going with the AD Jax build, most of your damage output will come from auto attacks. For this reason, attack speed is going to matter even more than in the AP build, so Lethal Tempo will be the go-to keystone rune.
Not only does it improve your early-game trades, but it will scale much better than Conqueror. In the late stages of the game, fights will become more and more extended, allowing you to take better advantage of this rune.
Triumph: Contrary to the other build, you won’t be using mana as much, so Triumph is the best option in this row of the Precision tree. It grants extra health generation upon takedowns and bonus gold to snowball.
Legend: Alacrity: This is the only common rune for both Jax builds. We mentioned how attack speed is crucial on this champion, so always go for this rune.
Last Stand: This rune will allow you to deal increased damage when low on health, a situation that you’re going to find yourself in often by playing Jax. Whether it’s during the laning phase or in a teamfight, Last Stand might make the difference between living and dying.
Resolve
Bone Plating: Jax is not a strong champion in the early game and he’s vulnerable to the enemies’ poke or short trades. Bone Plating negates part of the damage and allows him to have a safer laning phase. Alternatively, you can also go for Second Wind for higher health regeneration.
Overgrowth: Jax doesn’t have a lot of bonus health incorporated into the build, so this rune will make you a little bit tankier and harder to take down.
Bonuses are identical for both builds. In the mid lane, however, you will find yourself going for bonus Magic Resist since the champion pool is primarily made of magic damage champions.
Bonuses: +10 percent attack speed, +9 Adaptive Force, +6 Armor (+8 Magic Resist if against magic damage champions)
AP Jax build (New)
Jax’s starting items depend on which opponent he will face, but in most scenarios, Doran’s Shield will be the preferred choice.
This is because Jax is a melee champion and, as such, he will struggle in the first few minutes against the mid lane mages that will try to poke and harass him. Doran’s Shield will regenerate additional health if the champion took damage, partially nullifying the poke. Against melee matchups, though, you can consider starting with Doran’s Blade for more damage.
In the new AP Jax build, the first core item to rush is none other than Nashor’s Tooth. It grants all the stats he needs: ability power, attack speed, and additional on-hit damage that will synergize with his kit.
Therefore, during the early game, make sure to buy the item components needed: Blasting Wand is usually a better first buy than Recurve Bow because having more ability power increases your potential damage dealt with combos. Dodging spells is essential in the mid lane, so get tier-one boots whenever possible.
Once you get Nashor’s Tooth, the second core item for Jax will be Riftmaker. It grants health for extra tankiness, ability haste, and, most importantly, omnivamp. The latter is an essential stat for Jax to sustain through trades or fights. For a DPS champion like him, Riftmaker is the best Mythic available. Before rushing the third item, close out tier-two boots by picking up Sorcerer’s Shoes: with the added magic penetration, Jax will be able to one-shot enemies with one combo.
For the fourth item, you have various choices that will depend on the state of the game. Ravenous Hydra is great to have 10 additional omnivamp as well as better wave clear, while Lich Bane is stronger when it comes to burst damage on a single target. Regardless, you should be building both items in most cases for the combined ability haste, so it’s only a matter of which one to buy first.
If you’re considerably ahead, you can also pick up Rabadon’s Deathcap to greatly increase your ability power and maximize your damage.
There are some situational items that can also be built. Zhonya’s Hourglass is a great item to protect Jax from getting burst down by the opponents and the active can be also used to bait the enemy team. In addition to that, you can get additional armor to strengthen your resistance while your ultimate is on cooldown.
Rylai’s Crystal Scepter and Cosmic Drive are similar items that achieve the same goal: chasing and sticking to targets. The first slows enemies, while the latter grants additional movement speed (and ability power) when landing three separate attacks or spells. With Jax’s quick combos, he can take full advantage of that passive.
AD Jax build
The AD version of Jax will likely still be played up in the top lane, with his items being revolved around attack damage and attack speed. Similar to the AP version, the starting items are going to be identical: Doran’s Shield for a defensive or passive start and Doran’s Blade for more aggressive laning.
The two recipe items that you must rush on AD Jax are Sheen and Cauffield’s Hammer. The first grants additional damage on your next auto attack upon casting an ability, improving your short trades. The latter, instead, gives you higher attack damage for extended skirmishes.
The first item to buy is going to be Jax’s Mythic, Divine Sunderer, granting him extra health, attack damage, ability haste, and sustain when using the empowered attack (after casting an ability) on enemy champions. Most importantly, though, the Mythic grants both armor and magic penetration when building Legendary items. And with a hybrid damage output, Jax makes the most of both.
After building Divine Sunderer and tier-two boots, the next core item to build here is Blade of the Ruined King. The more the enemy top laners stack health, the stronger the item gets. In addition to that, Jax also gets lifesteal for increased sustain and steals movement speed.
Jax’s fourth item for the AD build is also going to be Ravenous Hydra. Without it, the champion will struggle to clear waves in the mid game. If you need some resistances, Death Dance is a good item that also grants attack damage and ability haste. Otherwise, opt for Spear of Shojin to become an unstoppable fighting machine with lower cooldowns on your abilities.
Splitpushing will still be an option on Jax, so Hullbreaker can be an effective situational item in the right moments. If the enemies have a lot of magic damage, you can consider building Wit’s End for the extra magic resistance. Lastly, Guardian Angel is just an overall great item to survive against the enemies’ burst damage.
