Junglers are vital to your team’s success in League of Legends, and not all jungle champions are created equal.
The most important thing to look at when choosing a jungle champ (and the most obvious) is if the champion is good at ganking and securing kills or aiding their teammates. Other pivotal aspects include clear speed, invasion pressure, and macro mobility. The best jungle champions in League are the ones that can do it all.
This list of top-tier champions can change depending on several things. It can be difficult to keep up with the flavor-of-the-month champs, so let us do it for you. Here are our top junglers for League’s Patch 14.21.
Best League of Legends junglers in Patch 14.21
The list includes five strongest picks in the current meta.
- Elise
- Skarner
- Nocturne
- Kha’Zix
- Udyr
You can find the full jungle tier list at the bottom of the article.
Elise
It didn’t take long for Elise to take over the meta in Patch 14.19 after the developer introduced a few quality-of-life buffs to her. After rising to power in the jungle, she was nerfed by Riot in the latest update, but that wasn’t enough to send Elise to her demise. The champion is still one of the strongest in the current League meta.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Creative gameplay – Strong ganks – Versatile playstyle | – Falls off in the late game – Can quickly become useless if she falls significantly behind |
Despite receiving some changes in the last few patches, the core of Elise’s gameplay remains the same. She’s a creative jungler with two forms—human and spider. Using them both in combat is key to achieving success, and with numerous combinations you can do, playing Elise hardly gets boring. More importantly, it often brings you success.
Elise shines the brightest in both early and mid game where her powerful crowd control and damage can secure you some easy kills in ganks and fights for neutral objectives. You should always try to land a Cocoon on enemy targets first, followed by Neurotoxin and Volatile Spiderling, before switching to the spider queen mode and finishing off the enemy with your other abilities. This combo is easy to land yet often proves dangerous, especially for squishy targets. Additionally, Elise’s cooldowns are quite low and don’t cost much, so you will hardly ever run out of fuel.
| Area of Interest | Best options for Elise |
|---|---|
| Best runes | Rune tree one: Domination – Dark Harvest – Sudden Impact – Eyeball Collection – Treasure Hunter Rune two: Precision – Triumph – Coup de Grace Offense: Attack speed Flex: Adaptive force Defense: Health |
| Best items | – Sorcerer’s Shoes – Stormsurge – Mejai’s Soulstealer – Zhonya’s Hourglass Mejai’s Soulstealer asks for aggressive gameplay. However, if you feel like grabbing early kills and lead might be tough due to champion compositions, you may replace it with another pick. There are plenty to choose from both in terms of looking for an alternative for Mejai’s and seeking something to round out your build with. These include Shadowflame, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter and Void Staff, or even Rabadon’s Deathcap if you’re looking to go all in. |
| Best Summoner’s Spells | – Flash – Smite |
| Best build path | – Volatile Spiderling/Skittering Frenzy (W) – Neurotoxin/Venomous Bite (Q) – Cocoon/Rappel (E) Once you hit level three, make sure to max Q, then W, and E by the end of your game. Always put points in your ultimate when possible. |
| Toughest matchups | – Zed – Hecarim – Nocturne – Taliyah – Kha’Zix – Evelynn |
Skarner
Ever since his rework earlier this year, Skarner has been a fearless pick in League. That’s still the case in Patch 14.21, where he continues to find himself among the strongest junglers. With his versatile kit and ability to soak up tons of damage, you shouldn’t be surprised.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Tanky – Great crowd control – Easy to play, rewarding when mastered | – Typical frontline that won’t do much on his own – Susceptible to invades |
Contrary to Elise, Skarner’s gameplay isn’t the most creative. However, that doesn’t change the fact it’s still immensely satisfying. The idea behind his kit is to become a massive juggernaut who will both engage onto the enemy team and soak as much damage as possible while the rest of your team cleans the table. Believe me, grabbing multiple enemies with Skarner’s ultimate and literally dragging them to their demise is incredibly fun. On the downside, you won’t be able to do anything without your teammates since your damage will be practically nonexistent.
Still, try to make as much impact with your ganks as possible and stack both armor and magic resist towards that late game.
| Area of Interest | Best options for Skarner |
|---|---|
| Best runes | Rune tree one: Resolve – Grasp of the Undying – Shield Bash – Conditioning – Overgrowth Rune two: Inspiration – Magical Footwear – Approach Velocity Offense: Ability haste Flex: Health based on level Defense: Health based on level |
| Best items | – Mercury’s Treads/Plated Steelcaps – Heartsteel – Sterak’s Gage Like with any tank, there are numerous build options for Skarner, especially if he finishes his core items. What you pick will mostly depend on the enemy team composition. If they’re stacked in AP-dealing champions, you should go for magic resist and so on. Picks like Spirit Visage, Thornmail, Frozen Heart, Warmog’s Armor, or Jak’Sho, The Protean work brilliantly. However, my personal favorite is Unending Despair because of its passive ability to deal damage to nearby enemies in combat. As a Scorpion King who wants to be in the middle of each fight, it’s a perfect match. |
| Best Summoner’s Spells | – Flash – Smite |
| Best build path | – Shattered Earth/Upheaval (Q) – Seismic Bastion (W) – Ixtal’s Impact (E) After getting to level three, your Q should be the main priority. Afterward put points in W and E, respectively. |
| Toughest matchups | – Rengar – Shaco – Graves – Rek’Sai – Warwick – Xin Zhao |
Nocturne
In a metagame of tower-diving enemy champions, Nocturne makes ganking lanes a whole lot easier. Thanks to his ability to literally turn the lights off with his ultimate, he’s a force to be reckoned with in the current meta.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Unique ultimate that makes ganking easier – High damage – Mobile – Can snowball immensely if allowed | – Easy to shut down early – Almost useless if behind – Quite tough to get the hang of quickly |
Despite being immensely strong, Nocturne is useless until he reaches level six. Before that, ganking without his ultimate can only work if you flank. The champion has an admirably fast jungle clear, though, so reaching that milestone level six shouldn’t be time-consuming.
Once you hit your ultimate, it’s time for some action. In the early levels, it’s used primarily for ganking, but as the game goes on, it can also serve as a valuable tool in other situations. During fights for League‘s neutral objectives in the jungle, you can utilize the power to turn the vision of Baron or Drake off for the enemy team.
| Area of Interest | Best options for Nocturne |
|---|---|
| Best runes | Rune tree one: Precision – Conqueror – Triumph – Legend: Alacrity – Last Stand Rune two: Domination – Eyeball Collection – Ultimate Offense: Attack Speed Flex: Adaptive Force Defense: Health |
| Best items | – Stridebreaker – Plated Steelcaps/Mercury’s Treads – Experimental Hexplate Nocturne has a lot of solid options when it comes to late-game items. Black Cleaver, Eclipse, Death’s Dance, Edge of Night Maw of Malmortius are all valuable items. It all depends on what type of team composition you are facing and what kind of stats you need to boost in the first place. |
| Best Summoner’s Spells | – Flash – Smite |
| Best build path | – Duskbringer (Q) – Shroud of Darkness (W) – Unspeakable Horror (E) Max out Q, then E, and then W as the last ability. |
| Toughest matchups | – Udyr – Morgana – Zac – Gragas – Lillia – Wukong |
Kha’Zix
Kha’Zix is the true definition of an assassin. He often lurks in the shadows and randomly pops up among the top junglers from time to time.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Snowball and carry potential – Great at ganking, especially solo lanes – Mixes well with a lot of compositions | – Falls off a bit in the late game – Needs to gain some steam early to be useful |
When playing Kha’Zix, you should look for ganks and kills early. Snowballing is important for every Kha’Zix in the jungle, and thanks to Treasure Hunter and Triple Tonic, it is easier and more valuable. After you hit level six and the first Evolution, you should be ready to go.
There’s not much philosophy to Kha’Zix’s gameplay. You try to flank the enemies, go in with E, get a kill or two, and escape with your ultimate. It sounds easy, and it actually is, though opponents will likely try to pin you down as fast as possible.
| Area of Interest | Best options for Kha’Zix |
|---|---|
| Best runes | Rune tree one: Inspiration – First Strike – Magical Footwear – Triple Tonic – Cosmic Insight Rune two: Domination – Sudden Impact – Treasure Hunter Offense: Adaptive Force Flex: Adaptive Force Defense: Health based on level |
| Best items | – Youmuu’s Ghostblade – Opportunity – Ionian Boots of Lucidity Like most AD-based junglers in League, Kha’Zix’s path when building items is pretty similar and straightforward. Youmuu’s Ghostblade and Opportunity lay the groundwork for you to become a perilous assassin. Afterward, you have to obtain items like Edge of Night, Serylda’s Grudge, and Maw of Malmortius to round up your build. There are obviously a few alternatives, like Guardian Angel, Profane Hydra, Spear of Shojin, Eclipse, or Death’s Dance. Each has its benefits, but the truth is, that you should keep track of the enemy champions. If you’re not in any danger, you can maximize your damage, but that won’t always be the case. |
| Best Summoner’s Spells | – Flash – Smite |
| Best build path | – Taste Their Fear (Q) – Void Spike (W) – Leap (E) Maxing out Taste Their Fear first is pivotal for your jungler clear. Afterward, maximize W and E, respectively. When it comes to Evolution Order, it should be Q, W, E, and R. |
| Toughest matchups | – Ivern – Warwick – Shaco – Nunu & Willump – Rek’Sai |
Udyr
Last but not least, we have another original and classic pick in the form of Udyr. The jungler can take up to four different forms, allowing him to become arguably the most adaptive champion in the whole League collection. On top of that, due to his kit’s versatility, there are also two viable build options for Udyr—AD and AP. They’re both terrific, so we’re going to cover two of them below.
| Pros | Cons |
| – Versatile gameplay – Strong in one-vs-one scenarios – Solid counterganks | – Can be easily played around – Weak until he completes his first items |
There are a few things to keep in mind when playing Udyr. First of all, your early level won’t be the strongest, which is the case with many junglers. You should look to complete your first major item, which usually happens around 12-14th minute. At that point you will also have three or four points in your major ability (R for AP, Q for AD), and these should start to hurt your enemies. That’s when you should try looking for either Void Grubs or dragons. Luckily for you, both objectives stack well on Udyr, so you can accept the trade your enemies want to make.
The real fun for Udyr players begins around 20th minute, when you should have one ability maxed out and two core items under your belt. That’s when the champion reaches his massive power spike and can get into multiple fights, especially since both teams will begin stacking around neutral objectives. Like with most junglers, try looking for the backline. However, without any significant engage in your kit, you might want to wait for your teammates to begin fights unless you can find some solid flanks in the meantime.
| Area of Interest | Best options for Udyr |
|---|---|
| Best runes | Rune tree one: Precision – Conqueror (AP)/Press the Attack (AD) – Triumph – Legend: Haste – Last Stand Rune two: Inspiration (AP)/Sorcery (AD) – Magical Footwear/Celerity – Approach Velocity/Waterwalking Offense: Adaptive force Flex: Adaptive force Defense: Health based on level |
| Best items | – Boots of Swiftness (in both variations) – Liandry’s Torment (AP) – Mejai’s Soulstealer (AP) – Stridebreaker (AD) – Trinity Force (AD) Like we mentioned, there are two ways of building Udyr. Both of these versions rely on different abilities as their go-to. For an AP build, you will want to maximize Wingborne Storm (R), starting the game with Dark Seal and completing the Mejai’s Soulstealer and Liandry’s Torment combo as fast as possible. Hopefully you will get some stacks in early ganks, since these two items are your main damaging tools. Afterward, you ought to get beefy with defensive choices of your liking: Jak’Sho, The Protean, Unending Despair, Dead Man’s Plate, and so on. Make sure to also obtain Abyssal Mask due to its unique passive of reducing enemies’ magic resistance. AD Udyrs will instead rely on Wilding Claw (Q). While AP Udyr focuses on AoE AP damage from his ultimate, this one is about cutting through single targets, since Claw Stance enhances both your attack speed and damage. With that in mind, Trinity Force and Stridebreaker are your core picks. The former boosts each of your vital stats, while the latter gives your attacks an AoE flavor. After completing these two, you should rush Sterak’s Gage in practically every game, since it’s a pivotal tool for every AD-based bruiser in the game. Then you can round up your build with either aggressive items like Death’s Dance or rather defensive ones like Thornmail, Spirit Visage or Dead Man’s Plate. |
| Best Summoner’s Spells | – Ghost – Smite |
| Best build path | – Wilding Claw (Q)/ Wingborne Storm (R)/ Iron Mantle(W)/ Blazing Stampede (E) for both builds – Maximize R first, then W, and E by the end of your build for AP version – For AD, maximize Q, then E, and W by the end |
| Toughest matchups | – Kha’Zix – Zed – Hecarim – Nidalee – Jarvan IV – Bel’Veth |
Tier list of best League of Legends junglers in Patch 14.21
Every jungler is playable in the current meta to some extent. While the five picks explained above make for the best ones in our judgement, there are handful of others who are strong in Patch 14.21. Here’s the full tier list.
| Tier | Champions |
| S | Elise, Nocturne, Kha’Zix, Udyr, Skarner |
| A | Shaco, Graves, Karthus, Lillia, Nidalee, Bel’Veth, Diana |
| B | Hecarim, Jarvan IV, Talon, Kayn, Kindred, Warwick, Rek’Sai, Zac, Ivern, Nunu & Willump, Poppy, Pantheon, Rammus |
| C | Taliyah, Fiddlesticks, Ekko, Qiyana, Gragas, Wukong, Shyvana, Jax, Xin Zhao, Evelynn, Rengar, Sejuani, Teemo, Dr. Mundo, Brand, Trundle, Zed, Olaf, Maokai |
| D | Amumu, Lee Sin, Vi, Volibear, Viego, Briar, Gwen, Master Yi, Sylas, Naafiri, Zyra, |
