The Unseen Hero
They are the unspoken of the rift
Lost in their team's success
The carries they lift;
Always arrives to their distress
They give up their own wealth
So that other's may be blessed
Sacrificing their own health;
The team for what is best
Always the first to lead;
The last to give way
Protecting those who are fed
Let them be on your team, pray
Welcome the unseen hero
To the recognition you deserve
Although they may see you as a zero
Defeat you will always serve
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| Team Solomid's TheOddOne pioneered the Support Jungler Maokai |
Very few like to play the support role; fewer like to play the support role in the jungle. However, there is a reason why pro teams play support junglers in their team compositions. The support jungler, popularized by Team Solomid's TheOddOne and the ex-Counter Logic Gaming EU's Snoopeh, revolves around picking a typically weak champion who strengths are crowd control abilities and being difficult to kill with little gold.
The support jungler's role is primarily to support his carries by providing crowd control so that damage can be applied, providing more gold to carries and building items that champions who want damage would not normally build.
Why are support junglers an enormous part of competitive and successful play? There are two major reasons - distribution of gold and game mechanics.
Distribution of gold between the team is a huge part to competitive and successful play. There comes a point in skill cap where four players on the map, with a traditional bot lane support, will not be able to continue efficiently farming. For champions to secure income more quickly and finish game-changing items faster, carries began to take jungle creeps. As a result, the jungler who picked an item-dependent champion will fall behind and become less than ideal. Thus, support junglers whose role is not effected by items, was created to allow players to attain gold more efficiently.
Moreover, items play a huge role in the game that is League of Legends. Big, final items are completely game changing to champion mechanics. An AD carry with 2-3 completed items is significantly stronger than an AD carry with 1-2 completed items to an almost unbelievable extent. The fewer champions gold is centralized upon will create a much stronger team presence.
What are the implications of the Support Jungler?
- Three farmed carries are better than four under-farmed carries
- Crowd control wins games by allowing champions who build damage to apply damage
- Aura items, wards, and base damage / innate tankiness are extremely strong and required by teams
How do you play the support jungler?
There are many ways to play the many support junglers; however, there are certain principles that every support jungler should follow. I present the 10 commandments of the support jungler, regardless of situation.
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| Support jungler Moses always helps the team before himself |
- Thou shall always buy wards and keep vision on the map that is effective and efficient
- Thou shall always build cost-effective aura and defensive items
- Thou shall always initiate the fight so that the carries do not have to
- Thou shall always save the carries by peeling divers
- Thou shall always proritize the carries' life over their own
- Thou shall always give the kills and farm to the carries
- Thou shall always give away buffs when you do not need it
- Thou shall always take the damage of the enemy team before a carry should
- Thou shall always only leave the fight when victory is assured
- Thou shall always help the carries before they help themselves
The support jungler is the most successful method of jungling in the current meta. Where bruisers and "power" junglers are extremely strong and difficult to handle early game, they are required to be able to use their powerful early game to be effective. Support junglers shine in mid-late game where more gold is acquired in the long run. Learning how to play the support jungler is a requirement for any serious jungler.
What are you waiting for? Go out there and be the hero your team needs!
Look for my upcoming Maokai guide on how to specifically play one of the most powerful support junglers in the game!
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