Hello hello, and welcome back to another Smite Season 7 countdown! In this list, we'll go over the (Next) Top 5 Junglers in the game as of March 2020, as we've already done with Hunters and Supports.
Like before, we're going to be excluding the Junglers that already made their debut appearance in my Top 10 Gods list: Odin, Thor, and Ullr. With over 100 gods in the game, it's fair to say that some of the other top-tier threats need some time to shine, and, especially with regards to the Jungler, picking to counterplay someone else becomes far more important than just about any other role.
With that said, if you want to know why Odin, Thor, and Ullr (a lotta Norsemen in the jungle, I must say...) are the premier jungle threats, you can check out my original Top 10 Gods of Season 7 list to get some info about them.
But if you don't mind some truncating, here's a brief recap: Ullr combines objective-busting Hunter power with monstrous 1v1 dueling capabilities, Thor is the very staple of what a Jungler should be and is thus one of the best at single-target CC and burst damage, and Odin's just plain bonkers nuts right now with his birdbomb shenanigans and buffed cage ultimate.
But, as before, these are hardly your only upper-crust Jungler choices.
And now, without further ado, let's go over the Next Top 5 Junglers in Smite Season 7!
5. Mercury, Roman Messenger of the Gods
If you're going Mercury, you don't really care that you're not doing much in the early game--no, no, you're picking Mercury because you want to be a godless killing machine after the 15-minute mark.
This speedy boi needs a bit of babysitting early on since he doesn't have the best jungle clear until he finishes his early items (usually Golden Blade), but once you start getting items online and your power and movement speed start going sky high, then Mercury becomes a scary speedy boi. Also, Mercury being one of the few Junglers who prefers having crit in his build, you can count on pure devastation in the late game, bringing even the toughest matches to a swift end.
It also helps that Merc has very good CC tied to his dash and his ultimate, doing double duty of getting into the fight AND taking someone out of it at the same time. With the right setup, Mercury is an absolute terror on the battleground of the gods.
There's a very high likelihood that Mercury has already punched you in the face.
Why Mercury is Top-Tier:
- Powerful basic attack-centric kit allows for late-game hypercarry potential
- Very fast, very mobile, and hard to pin down
- Special Delivery and Sonic Boom provide strong crowd control to help you obliterate your target
4. Bastet, Egyptian Goddess of Cats
The queen of Assassin ability damage got a rework recently that gave her some much-needed reliability, and the end result is that Bastet went from being one of the worst gods in the game (though I still loved playing her) to being one of the scariest things to stumble upon in the jungle.
Much like before, Bastet will jump on you, unload her entire kit, and jump back out--but this time, with her buffs, you will likely melt into chunky salsa and Bastet will continue onwards to kill and kill again instead of hiding until her cooldowns come back up like she did before.
She's basically a one-trick pony, and that one trick is MURDER. And if that's all you need your Jungler to do--farm quickly and kill even quicklier--then there's no better pick than the kitty cat.
Attempt to yiff at your own risk.
Why Bastet is Top-Tier:
- Able to leap in and out of any fight with a single ability
- Ungodly burst damage mixed with low cooldowns makes Bastet a feline/humanoid chainsaw
- Summons kitty cats that deal lots of damage and block hits for her, making Bastet deceptively hard to kill
3. Ratatoskr, Norse Squirrel
You see the squirrel, you underestimate the squirrel, you get brutally slaughtered and teabagged by the squirrel. Ratatoskr is here to crack nuts and pick flowers, and he's all outta flowers...at least, so he says.
This cute little rodent packs everything you'd want from a jungler--quick lane clear, physical protection shred, a stun that heals him, a high-damage dash, and an ultimate that lets him fly up to safety and drop down on an unsuspecting victim. Not to mention, while the rest of us have to buy 40 physical power boots like peasants, Rat gets 50 power on his "boots" item and can buy it without having to return to the fountain, letting him stay in the jungle longer than you (probably).
Rat is simple, Rat is cute, Rat is positively deadly.
Awww! Hey there, little guy! How are y--AAAAHHHHHHFWDNKQDJNQDKLKALKSLSJAKJ
Why Ratatoskr is Top-Tier:
- Quick to clear and quick to move, Ratatoskr's jungle rotation swift and easy and difficult to contest
- Protection shred and slow/stun combo makes Rat a threat to everyone on the enemy team
- Super safe ultimate lets him either escape any fight or catch any enemy by surprise
2. Susano-o, Japanese God of Summer Storms
It's never fun when you think you've just managed to escape a deadly foe, only for them to suddenly appear and finish you off without mercy...unless you're the one doing the chasing and finishing, of course, and when you're playing Susano-o, that kind of fun can be had every match!
This notoriously hard to shake off Jungler has gotten some nerfs in recent days, but all they've managed to do is make this stormy samurai only kind of ludicrous instead of outright ludicrous. Everything about Susie's kit was designed for maximum chasing potential, especially if Blink is one of your relics of choice, so if you're sick and tired of weakened targets barely escaping your wrath, then Susano-o is the god for you!
Also, he's really good at wrecking jungle camps super-quick, too, so if you aren't watchful, there will be a swordsman in your territory, farming your minions. And if you aren't ready to put up the fight of your life, you'll be the one he farms next.
Feeling cute today. Might bring storms and death, idk.
Why Susano-o is Top-Tier:
- Supreme chase potential makes him the outright hardest opponent to escape from
- Lightning-fast jungle clear lets him invade enemy camps from a very early level
- Wind Siphon and Typhoon offer amazing utility, instantly turning the tide of any teamfight
1. Da Ji, Chinese Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit
There are few things in Smite scarier than the shwiiing of sharpening claws and the tell-tale exclamation of "Ha-haaa!" before you're shredded into beef jerky by a busty fox lady. Because you know there's almost nothing you can do to stop it.
Da Ji will teleport in and mangle your face right off your skull and walk away whistling while you bleed and burn, screaming as you rapidly approach 0 HP. She can slow you with her fire claws, her channeled slash attack makes her immune to knock-ups and reduces damage taken if you try to backstab her, her teleport can place her next to friend or foe alike, and her fire pillar ultimate is truly the stuff of nightmares if you don't have any CC immunity in your kit or your Beads are down. Oh, and everything she does applies a separate bleed on you. You will get into a quick scuffle with Da Ji, and after only a few seconds, you'll wonder where the heck all your HP went, whether you're outright dead or close to it.
She can chase, she can clear, she can gank, she can burst, she can teamfight--everything you need your Jungler to do, Da Ji does it with style and deadly finesse. 
Oh God, the claws aren't for show! THE CLAWS AREN'T FOR SHOW! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Why Da Ji is Top-Tier:
- Extremely versatile kit lets her engage any foe on her own terms, almost always giving her the advantage in a fight
- Can either chase down fleeing opponents or escape from a bad fight with ease
- Huge burst damage and terrifying teamfight ultimate
Bonus Round! 0. Mulan, Chinese Demigoddess of Heroism
Surprise! It's a Warrior! As of March 2020, Mulan is still a brand-new goddess in Smite, so she has yet to be used in any official competitive capacity...but she's fair game in casuals, and from what we've seen of Mulan in casuals, she's gonna be a jungle nightmare beast when the pros can finally use her in official ranked games.
Being a Warrior, Mulan is naturally much bulkier than her Assassin competition, already giving her a huge advantage in the Jungler role. After all, the enemy Jungler's not scary if you can just track them down and big-weiner them all game long until their threat level is completely neutered. Mulan's not as mobile as most Junglers tend to be, but her bulk combined with her high ability damage means that she's usually not gonna be the one running from the fight.
She's also a bit unique in that her abilities gain new functions and passives as you deal damage with them, so as the match goes on, Mulan's power increases by a LOT. Slap some hybrid power/defense gear on this girl, and you'll see why she became a world-renowned legend in the first place. Or you can specialize her into either tanking and leading the charge, or building power and attack speed to further terrorize the enemy.
Either way, Mulan's gonna make mincemeat out of the enemy team.
Target locked. Engaging...Cuisinart Mode!
Why Mulan is Top-Tier:
- Warrior bulk combined with high damage
- Evolving abilities make Mulan exponentially deadlier as time goes by
- Very flexible, able to be built into a beef castle main tank or a terrifying hypercarry
And that's it, folks--the Next Top 5(+1) Junglers of Smite Season 7! As per usual, these lists are ephemeral and timely, so by this time next year we might have some new top-shelf Junglers to play around with, whether they be entirely new gods or old favorites with big buffs. I, for one, eagerly await the return of our Ne Zha overlords. But until that day comes, there are among the best choices to be the scary lane-ganking Jungler your team needs you to be. Happy smiting, and I'll see you out there! Save some minion waves for me!
