The League of Legends classes are all seemingly created to fit certain roles in the game. More often than not, you’ll notice a Bruiser/Tank on Top, an AD Marksman on Bot, and a Mage on Mid. Assassins are one of those classes that we will usually see played on Mid. Due to their high mobility and tendency to roam around, they can also be played elsewhere, i.e., the jungle. Other than Mid and Jungle, Assassins can be found in some other places, though I’d not recommend stepping out of these two roles when picking them.
Why? Well, they are best when left to themselves. A naturally solo class, Assassins specialize in taking out enemies quickly and effectively. Their focus is mostly on single targets, and they just want to go in and out in the blink of an eye.
In this list, I’ve compiled what I think are the 7 Best Assassin Junglers at the time. As you may know, the League of Legends meta is ever-changing, and that must always be considered when looking up these lists. However, we at LeagueFeed update our lists when we feel they’ve gotten a bit old, so be sure to check our website often.
Without further delay, ready your Guardian Angels as we dive into our list.
7. Talon
Talon is a Champion that I’ve only recently noticed in the Jungle role. Typically a Mid/Top Lane pick, Talon is a mobile, fast and bloody (literally) Assassin that should be feared. He has a lot of utility to help him out both in the jungle as well as in ganks, so let’s talk about a few.
Talon’s Q and W both deal a solid amount of damage. His Q is a single target spell, which helps him clear out those larger neutral monsters like Buffs and Gromp. If the ability is used at point-blank range and not from a distance, Talon will critically strike the enemy. This means that, when face to face with the said neutrals, you’ll quickly burst them down even on lower levels.
His W unleashes blades in front of him, dealing damage in a cone. These blades will deal damage twice, once initially and once when they return to him. When clearing camps with multiple neutrals – such as the Raptors or Wolves – this is a great tool to speed up the process and mitigate their usually heavy hits.
But where Talon excels the most is probably the ganking capability. Talon has a lot of gap closing and initiating abilities. His E allows him to vault over terrain literally. Though he cannot leap over the same terrain twice in a row, it is an insanely powerful tool to cross wide distances and gaps between him and his opponents. His Q gives him a leap, and his R increases his movement speed and provides invisibility. The speed at which he vaults over terrain also scales with movement speed.
Recent changes to Youmuu’s Ghostblade made Talon a jungling Assassin beast. The extra movement speed and Lethality allow him to remove important targets from the game immediately and subsequently retreat to safety. I strongly recommend you pick him up if you’re thinking about using an Assassin in the jungle, as he is very powerful in the current meta.
6. Shaco
Shaco has been one of the most picked Assassin junglers throughout the years. He is a cunning Champion to play both as and against. He has one of the best starting jungle clears, as well as a solid clear in general. His ganking is impeccable, and he is one of those Champions that you just fear in general, unknowing of his position at all times.
Shaco’s W spawns a little Jack-in-the-box that becomes invisible to enemies after a few seconds. When walking near it, it fears the enemy and proceeds to shoot at them, dealing AP damage. This is his main weapon in the jungle, as it will fear even multiple neutrals at once. It also helps Shaco be one of the few junglers in the game that can start Buffs without any help. He can stack 3 to 4 Jacks in front of the Buff before it spawns. They will deal massive damage hastily and bring it down.
Due to his fast and easy start, Shaco can prowl around the jungle and remain in it for much longer than would be the case with some other picks. Using this to his advantage, he can rack up gold and farm, as well as XP, and proceed to gank lanes. His Q gives him invisibility. And yes, it is the old type of invis, meaning it doesn’t have a proximity trigger. He can literally appear behind you and mess you up with his Shiv and leave.
Try him out. He’s fun, he’s fast and not that difficult to learn. Keep in mind there are many tools to reveal you in the game, such as Control Wards and Ignite, so watch out for those.
5. Kayn
Kayn is a usual jungle pick that has a lot of versatility attached to him. He has two forms to pick from, one of them is an Assassin while the other is more of a Tank/Bruiser type. This makes Kayn a great situational pick to have on your team, and he can morph into any of these two depending on what your team needs.
If you happen to dominate the enemies full of squishy, easy-to-kill targets, I suggest you go for the Assassin option. It has one of the highest AD ratings in the game and some of the fastest time-to-kill abilities. You have all the tools you need during the jungle phase – an AOE Q that can heal you a lot due to the jungle item, a W that hits multiple opponents, and an E that also heals you. Sustain, upon sustain, upon sustain.
All of this makes the clearing phase a breeze, allowing you to stay in the jungle for very long periods, racking up gold and XP like it’s nothing. His ganking is all the more amazing, no matter which forms Kayn might be in. Since this is an Assassin list, we’ll focus on that one. It makes him fast, and I mean fast. His Q casts in a blink, and his W casts independently. Using his W will create a Zed-like shadow and cast while Kayn uses other abilities he has on himself.
His E is also buffed with speed, and his R is a quick and effective finish that isn’t much different from his other form. His entire Shadow kit hits like a truck and can obliterate opponents without breaking a sweat. The cooldowns are also not exactly balanced either, so Kayn can continuously gank and eviscerate you forever. One of the staple jungle picks in recent Seasons, Kayn always remains viable. Learning him now means you’ll likely be prepared for a new Assassin meta (as if one wasn’t going on currently).
Also read: Best Assassins in League of Legends
4. Nocturne
It wouldn’t be an Assassin jungler list without the nightmare himself. As long as I remember in League, Nocturne has been a jungler that’s always found a place among those picked often. I don’t know how he manages to do it, considering how old and outdated his kit is, but what I do know is that he’s a fun and solid Champion to play, and here’s why.
Nocturne has a great clear and good sustain in the jungle. He can choose any path he wants, but he’ll usually go from the Blue Buff and pick his next course of action. He has a W that can hit multiple neutrals and do nice damage to them. But his clear lies mostly in his passive and his E. His passive gives him extra damage every few seconds and heals him a bit. As you keep attacking, the cooldown is reduced substantially if the target is a monster or Champion. This means you will be dealing and healing a lot during your stay in the neutral area.
His E, adequately named Unspeakable Horror, deals magic damage and channels a fear that is triggered after a few seconds. The fear channel can be broken by running away from it, but neutrals can’t do that, now can they. Anyhow, this makes clearing those stronger camps a lot easier. Keep in mind it doesn’t work on Epics but still deals that bit of damage.
Ganking is a no-brainer with Nocturne due to his Ultimate. It will darken the entire map, taking all Vision away from the enemy team. Nocturne can promptly dash to a select enemy Champion and deal massive damage. The range is insane, so using it while you’re not in the immediate area is recommended. When landing on an enemy, Nocturne has a spell shield, has fear, and most importantly, has his W that can be attached to enemy Champions, leaving a path behind them. In this path, Nocturne gains movement speed, and he can chase people down with ease. He’s always been strong, fun, and viable, so give him a spin, and I’m sure you’ll love him.
3. Evelynn
I’ve lost count of how many times this Champion managed to appear in one of my lists. She’s just too good at prowling and walking in uninvited, it seems. Those exact qualities make her one of the most dangerous junglers to face in games. She’s been around for a long while now, and it seems like she won’t go away any time soon. With items that just keep getting worse (broken) with each patch, AP Assassins like this one are becoming actual butchers.
This vampire seductress has a kit tailored around jungling and prowling. Her Q gives her a lot of multi-targeted damage for clearing larger camps, the E is a good single target burst, and her W is what we all love to hate. It channels a charm and, if Evelynn doesn’t damage the enemy targeted before it is complete, she will trigger it with her next attack. This attack will, next to charming the opponent, do extra damage. This applies to both big neutrals like Buffs and Champions alike.
Combine all this with her executing R and invisibility, and you’ve got yourself a daemonic menace. She can walk around the map, completely oblivious to your vain Warding attempts, and gank you without even thinking about it. Control Wards are a way of prevention, yes, but you won’t have them around you 24/7. Evelynn is one of the most fun Champions I’ve ever had the opportunity to play, and I guarantee you will have a similar experience too.
Also read: Best Amumu Skins
2. Kha’Zix
Kha’Zix is a Champion that is just too strong sometimes. I remember times when Assassins couldn’t carry games, but that seems to have all changed. This one, and the Champion that’s just up next, are perfect examples of that. Kha can deal obscene damage to even the tankiest of opponents if everything aligns correctly, and it does more often than not.
His clear is straightforward. Lots of multi-target damage heals and single target burst. But Kha isn’t about the clearing or pathing in the jungle; he’s all about ganks. His passive Isolates targets, giving him extra damage on them. Using his rather amazing kit, he can go invisible, leap in and delete enemies in mere seconds.
His Q, if the target is Isolated, can one-shot people by itself. It deals so much damage that sometimes I’m shocked at how fast a health bar can deplete. His E, his R, and his W all have advantages of their own and can be upgraded whenever Kha levels his Ultimate spell. Due to having only 3 levels in the Ultimate, Kha will have to leave one out. Depending on the situation you can choose which abilities you need most and which one you can keep in its default state. Kha is currently one of the most powerful Champions to play in general, never mind the jungle viability. I recommend you use this opportunity for freelo while you can, as changes are bound to come soon. Hopefully, at least.
1. Zed
You are definitely checking the headline right now, asking yourself: Is this an actual jungle list? And the answer is: Yes, yes, it actually is. Zed has had some recent buffs relating to his damage to neutrals. This immediately made him an S-tier jungler, with a clear that is so blazingly fast it’s incredible. As we all know Zed, he’s a maniac when it comes to killing single (or even multiple) targets. This is true now, both in the jungle and outside of it.
Zed can clear camps fast and utilize his newly found damage on neutrals to cut down the larger Buffs and Gromp without breaking a sweat. With his great Q and E, he can slay the numerically bigger camps like the Raptors effectively, especially when he uses his W to double the damage he does. He’s just insane currently, and after buffing himself in terms of early XP and gold, he can proceed to gank.
Using his Ultimate, ironically named Death Mark, he can chunk and, in all likelihood, kill even the biggest of tanks in League of Legends. As Death Mark does more and more damage, the more you keep dealing to the one marked. It can deal literal thousands of damage at once. This makes Zed one of the strongest burst Champions ever conceived. Some Seasons back, Zed couldn’t exactly carry games, and now he can do it from multiple roles around the map. Truly a remarkable Champion and a staple of the Assassin role, Zed is the best Assassin jungler and Mid laner that can be played in the final days of Season 12.
Also read: How To Get Better At Warding In League of Legends?
Conclusion
Whether these Champions will remain as powerful as they are as we slowly near the Pre-Season and Season 12 is a question that remains to be answered, Riot’s tendencies for enriching the Assassin class with new items and mechanics seems to me like they will only get better (or worse, depending on your perspective). Whatever it may be, there’s still time to squeeze out some LP from these lethal beasts and perhaps even climb a Division or Two.
Anyways, that was our list. Let us know what you think of it, as we always love to hear from you. The lists only grow as the days go by, and feedback is the best way of helping us improve.
