Won't you follow me into the Jungle?
One of the most important jobs for a jungler is ganking the lanes. This can give your laner a serious advantage against their opponent, giving them a boost in XP, gold, and farm. However, there are many different aspects of jungling. Camp clearing, vision control, and securing epic monsters just to name a few.
Ganking is just one aspect of what it means to be a good jungler. And naturally, some junglers will be more adept at ganking, while some might be better adept at clearing the raptor camp in one second or stealing the dragon. So keep in mind that the following is not a tier list of the best junglers out there, but a list of those that excel at ganking.
10. Amumu
Pharoh Amumu
Amumu is a tank from Shurima. Cursed long ago to be forever alone, he roams the world looking for a friend. Anyone who gets close to him is subjected to his curse, bringing ruin or death upon themselves. As a jungler, Amumu can gank a lane by pulling himself to the target, locking them down, and cursing them to take bonus damage
- Amumu can use his Q: Bandage Toss to pull himself to his target for a sudden appearance, and he will even stun the enemy in the process.
- His R: Curse of the Sad Mummy can easily follow-up a good Bandage Toss to lockdown surrounding enemies, preventing them from moving or attacking.
- Amumu is very handy to have when ganking a lane with an allied mage. His P: Cursed Touch makes his auto attacks and Curse of the Sad Mummy curse his target so that any magic damage dealt to them deals bonus true damage. His W: Despair refreshes this curse, but does not apply it.
9. Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks Classic
Fiddlesticks is a mage that roams over all of Runeterra. Known as the Ancient Fear, he is a creature that is the embodiment of terror itself. He stalks the outskirts of civilization, sowing paranoia before reaping the minds of his victims. As a jungler, Fiddlesticks can blink suddenly into the fight, terrifying his enemies and draining their health.
- After a short channel, Fiddlesticks can teleport a short distance and unleash his R: Crowstorm. This allows him to come into the lane in a flash, possibly from behind terrain, for a surprise gank.
- If enemies do get caught in the Crowstorm, they will be sure to take lots of damage from it, plus even more damage from W: Bountiful Harvest, which drains health from surrounding enemies and heals Fiddlesticks for a portion of the damage.
- If he was unseen while channeling Crowstorm, any enemy caught unawares will be feared, thanks to the passive of his Q: Terrify. Terrify’s active can fear them a second time for some serious lockdown. Meanwhile, his E: Reap can silence enemies for some bonus CC.
8. Nunu & Willump
Demolisher Nunu & Willump
Nunu, along with his Yeti, Willump, is a tank from the Freljord. The boy wished to prove himself a hero and set off to slay a fearsome monster. But he ended up befriending it instead. The pair of them now roam around having imagined adventures together. As a jungler, Nunu & Willump can roll onto the scene with a giant snowball and bury the enemy under snow.
- Nunu & Willump can surprise enemies by quickly rolling into a lane with their W: Biggest Snowball Ever! which gives them a speed boost as they gain momentum.
- Enemies hit by the Biggest Snowball Ever! will be knocked up and stunned for a duration depending on how big the snowball became. Nunu can also throw snowballs at the enemy with E: Snowball Barrage, making them snowbound, and rooting them for a short duration after a delay.
- If the above CC isn’t enough to keep the enemy frozen, Nunu and Willump can summon a blizzard with R: Absolute Zero to slow enemies even more, and deal major damage after a channel.
7. Evelynn
Blood Moon Evelynn
Evelynn is an assassin that roams around all of Runeterra. She is a demon that takes on the form of a human female to lure her victims to her before torturing them, finding pleasure in their pain. As a jungler, Evelynn is an excellent ganker, using her natural stealth to charm her target and burst them with magic damage.
- The stealth granted by her P: Demon Shade lets her easily enter a lane without the enemy even realizing she is nearby and allows her to gank from the most advantageous position.
- Her W: Allure, can charm a target once she attacks or hits them with a spell after a short delay. This ability also reduces the target’s magic resistance, allowing her to be even more deadly as they walk harmlessly towards her.
- To finish the target off, her R: Last Caress, deals bonus damage to targets below 30% health. This ability also blinks her away from the target and turns her untargetable, giving her an aptitude for turret dives.
6. Zac
Zac Classic
Zac is a tank from Zaun. He is the unlikely product of chemtech and toxic chemicals in the low Sump level of the city. The intelligent ooze that came about now roams through the pipes of Zaun, helping the downtrodden when he can. As a jungler, Zac can catapult himself into the lane he is ganking and keep the target where he wants so his ally can take care of them.
- Zac can surprise an enemy laner by launching into the lane with his E: Elastic Slingshot. This gives the enemy little time to react before the green blob is upon them.
- Enemies are forced to stay put by Zac’s Q: Stretching Strikes, which slams his target against another enemy. He can follow-up with a knock-up from his R: Let’s Bounce!, which also provides a slow.
- Zac has a chance to survive death with his P: Cell Division. He will split into four bloblets, which attempt to recombine. This ability can be used to survive a turret dive, so long as there are minions for the turret to target instead of the bloblets.
5. Shaco
Royal Shaco
Shaco is an assassin that roams around all of Runeterra. He once was a magical puppet created for the joy of a young prince but was eventually corrupted by dark magic. He now roams about playing “games” that usually result in a bloody murder. As a jungler, Shaco uses stealth and fear to gank his target, keeping them frozen in terror as he stabs them in the back.
- The stealth granted by his Q: Deceive is an invisibility, which means he can be standing right next to his target without them knowing. This allows him to position perfectly while ganking and ensures he can make use of his P: Backstab.
- The traps from his W: Jack in the Box fear enemies, giving him some CC to lockdown his target when properly placed.
- The bonus damage from Backstab and the critical damage from Deceive both mean that the target’s health bar will vanish just like the Demon Jester himself. Plus his E: Two-Shiv Poison deals bonus damage to low health enemies, and also benefits from the effect of Backstab.
- His R: Hallucinate allows him to clone himself, adding confusion to a fight for his enemies. They may be unsure of which Shaco to attack, and if they kill the wrong one, it spawns three Jack in the Boxes for more damage and CC.
4. Nocturne
Eternum Nocturne
Nocturne is an assassin that roams around all of Runeterra. He is a demonic shadow that feeds on the nightmares of the living. He haunts his victim’s minds before gorging himself on their fearful thoughts. As a jungler, Nocturne is quite the ganker, using darkness to terrify his target before leaping onto them and shredding their health.
- Nocturne’s R: Paranoia allows him to dash directly towards a chosen target. It has an immensely long range, allowing him to almost teleport to the lane he is ganking and catching the enemy by surprise.
- Paranoia also limits the sight radius of every enemy champion and blocks their ally vision as well. This can create confusion for the enemy team, leaving them unsure as to which lane will be his target, and making it extremely difficult to work together.
- Once Nocturne approaches his target, he can use E: Unspeakable Horror, for a bit of CC. The target will become feared if they remain within range of Nocturne after a short duration.
- He also has a spell shield through his W: Shroud of Darkness for a bit of protection to make sure he arrives at his target’s location.
3. Rammus
Full Metal Rammus
Rammus is a tank from Shurima. Many theories surround the Armordillo’s origin, but none have yet to discover the truth. He rolls around the Shuriman desert in his spiked shell for an unknown purpose. As a jungler, Rammus can speed into a lane to chase down enemies before forcing them into a fight they’re unlikely to walk away from.
- Rammus gains tremendous movement speed with his Q: Powerball. This allows him to roll onto the scene quickly and surprise the enemy. Enemies hit are also knocked back and slowed for a short duration.
- Once Rammus arrives at his target, he can taunt them with his E: Frenzying Taunt. This forces the target to stay put and attack Rammus, giving his allies an ample window to take them down.
- While the enemy is attacking Rammus thanks to his taunt, he can activate his W: Defensive Ball Curl which will reflect a portion of the damage received back to the attacker. Add this to the damage from his R: Tremors, which also slows, and Rammus can chip away at the enemy’s health even more.
2. Kayn
Soulhunter Kayn
Kayn is a fighter from Ionia. He is a member of the Order of Shadow, an organization he hopes to lead one day to establish Ionian supremacy in Runeterra. He wields the darkin weapon Rhaast, which is slowly corrupting his body and mind. As a jungler, Kayn is adept at ganking, stepping through walls to surprise his enemies and reaping their essence for his own gain.
- Kayn can appear out of terrain with his E: Shadow Step. This allows him to come into a lane from unexpected positions to surprise the enemy.
- If transformed into Shadow Assassin, he can blow up the enemy with huge damage in an instant. And his W: Blade’s Reach slows by 90%
- If transformed into Darkin, Blade’s Reach knocks up all enemies hit for extra CC.
- Kayn becomes untargetable when he uses his R: Umbral Trespass. This can be used to smoothly rotate aggro during a turret dive.
1. Hecarim
Elderwood Hecarim
Hecarim is a fighter from the Shadow Isles. He was once a proud knight of the Blessed Isles before the Ruination turned him into a spectral fusion of man and beast. As a jungler, Hecarim rides into a lane with tremendous speed to ride down his target. Couple this speed with the CC his kit offers, and you’ve got yourself the recipe for a fine ganker.
- Hecarim’s E: Devastating Charge grants him bonus movement speed over time. This lets him cross the map quickly and get to a lane unusually fast. Even if the river bush is warded, Hecarim’s speed can still surprise the enemy.
- Devastating Charge also comes with a free knockback on his next attack. And if more lockdown is still required, then his R: Onslaught of Shadows is an easy follow-up to fear enemies and keep them in place.
- Because of his P: Warpath, the attack from Devastating Charge will be naturally, well, devastating. Add on some damage from his Q: Rampage, and you can be sure the enemy’s health bars will take a dive once Hecarim arrives on the scene.
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