League of Legends has over 150 Champions under its belt. All of them are suited for specific roles and positions, but many can also diverge from their destined path.
Champions in League reach their potential at different stages of the game. Some are perfect in the early game, while others have to wait a while to peak. We can determine their scaling prowess based on what stage of the game they’re best in.
The Jungle is notorious for having Champions that can balance good early pressure and powerful late-game presence. Their scaling is notoriously strong, and there’s a wide variety to choose from.
There are traditional scalers but also unique cases. This article will go over the best Scaling Junglers, their quirks, strengths, and weaknesses.
This is the second of five articles on the subject, so be sure to check out the rest on our website.
Let’s begin!
7. Amumu
We’re opening the list with a non-traditional entry. Though Amumu has some incredible scaling, he’s just a Champion that grows in power through time. There aren’t any unique mechanics that lock him to a scaling nature. He’s just a mummy with the knack of being insane from beginning to end.
The most recent significant change to Amumu gave him a second Q charge. This seemingly simple update immediately soared Amumu to the Jungle game’s top. He was certified S+ tier after only a day or two, showing how much of an impact the change had.
Amumu starts off the game slowly but still has those two lethal Q charges. He can clear the Jungle well, deal solid damage and apply insane CC. As the game progresses, he will get pretty Tanky, being able to soak up thousands of damage without breaking a sweat. All of this while managing to stun the entire enemy team for multiple seconds.
You’re basically grounded for a while if he gets a chance to repeatedly grab you with his Q. It’s incredible how many potential Amumu has for setting up kills or team fights. An impactful, robust, yet simple Tank – Amumu is a scaling beast that every Jungler has to try.
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6. Kindred
Kindred is built to scale and in quite an exciting way. Her passive grants her marks on certain enemies and Jungle camps, which she can then kill to buff her range and other stuff. Literally going into infinity, Kindred’s scaling is infamous among the League of Legends community. YouTubers like Vandiril have made some insightful videos on Kindred’s scaling.
Kindred is an AD Jungler capable of reaching insane power pretty quickly. If things go her way, and she manages to pick up the marks unobstructed, she’s bound to win the game. However, she can be prevented from getting said marks if the enemy Jungler is hell-bent on preventing her. It’s easy to stop her as all the marks will spawn in the enemy’s Jungle, making it risky to try getting them.
But even if she doesn’t, she can still be quite powerful. Able to rack up tons of damage, sustain and attack speed, Kindred is an incredible marksman of the Jungle. She’s notorious for having one-shot abilities with a high survivability rate. With her kit, she can confidently venture into otherwise deadly endeavors.
I love Kindred, her lore, and her kit. Riot has experimented heavily when designing her, which I wholeheartedly welcome. If only there were more experimental Champions and no more “damage-AOE-dash” designs…
5. Kayn
Kayn, like most on this list, has a unique mechanic that makes him bound by design to a scaling nature. His passive allows for him to choose between two forms. Kayn can then survey his situation and pick whichever his team requires most. However, he cannot switch to the other once he’s made a choice.
Kayn’s default form and the early game start slowly. Though his clear and sustain are excellent, he doesn’t have any special abilities from the later forms. Once he builds up enough orbs obtained through fighting, Kayn can ascend to a new power level.
The two forms on offer are an Assassin and a Bruiser, usually called Blue and Red Kayn. The Blue Kayn form can obliterate enemies and plays similarly to Zed. With high mobility and damage, it’s the perfect thing to choose against squishy enemies. It’s also excellent if you’ve already gained an enormous advantage and want to end the game as soon as possible.
The latter, Red form, is a Tank Bruiser able to heal thousands of HP in a single combo. It is notoriously unkillable; it turns Kayn into one of the best Tanks in the game. He can soak up all the damage the enemies throw at him and get all the lost HP back in just a few spell casts.
Both of these forms have impressive scaling that only increases through time. However, the best in this regard would be the Red Kayn, as the Blue one loses his might eventually. Enemies can always build defenses, and it’s much harder to counter an % HP-based damage source than a pure damage one.
Whichever you choose, Kayn will always be a great scaling beast from start to finish.
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4. Evelynn
Evelynn takes a while to unlock her actual abilities. Only from level 6 and above that Evelynn genuinely starts playing the game. The first five levels are basic, and not much happens. Farming up until level 6 is the primary goal, and that’s when the fun begins.
At level 6, Evelynn unlocks her notorious invisibility passive. She can waltz around the map unnoticed and show up behind you with lethal intent. Rarely does a Jungle-related list go by that Evelynn doesn’t appear. Our favorite vampire seductress always seems to find her way into these lists like the actual deadly shadow she is.
With each level and item, Evelynn becomes more and more powerful. She ascends to a higher level appropriate to her vampiric nature. Eventually, she starts embodying that Assassin class that she’s described with, killing people with nothing more than a spell or two. I love Evelynn and everything about her, and you will too if you give her a try.
The first five levels are not harmful, and it doesn’t take long to get to level 6. However, you won’t be able to gank too much as you lack a lot of mobility and strength to do so. Thus, it’s best advised to keep to the Jungle until level 6, when you can start doing the usual Jungle stuff. Remember that, even though you’re not at your peak pre-6 – you still shouldn’t allow the enemy to get advantages through Dragons, open Lanes, etc.
3. Kha’Zix
This infamous Assassin is a true scaling beast. He is directly comparable to Kayle, which we’ve mentioned in our scaling Top Laners article that you should check out. At levels 6, 11, and 16 (when Kha gets his Ult upgraded), he can choose to evolve one of his abilities. Only 3 out of 4 can be evolved, so choosing based on the situation is advised.
As a Champion that progressively unlocks more and more of his potential, it was inevitable that he would be on a list like this one. It takes a while for Kha to pick up the pace, though his early game pressure is quite jarring. With his E, he can engage from the game’s earliest stages. This gives him enough to be good at ganks right off the bat, without waiting for anything.
However, as an Assassin, Kha does fall off if the game continues for too long. He’ll always be good at picking off squishy enemies and those with a bit more HP and defense. But he won’t always be great at team fighting or killing tanky opponents. Thus, Kha reaches his peak by the 35–40-minute mark and starts losing potential with each passing minute.
It’s not that he loses on strength; it’s just that everyone is fed by that point and can repel his lethal attempts.
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2. Master Yi
Master Yi requires the slightest explanation of all entries on this list. Everyone knows him, how and why he’s powerful, and everything else. No one likes him or the people who pick him. Notoriously strong in the lowest ranks of the game, Master Yi is a true scaling horror that has the potential to win games singlehandedly.
I’ve never seen a Champion win 1v5 more than Yi does. He can get so fed and strong so quickly that I don’t know what Riot is doing anymore. Though he has lost popularity throughout the years, some players continue to abuse him even in the high Elo divisions. He was infamously popular in the Korean Challenger levels for quite a while, and if they don’t know how to value something – no one does.
Yi exponentially grows in power with each item he purchases. He has no single “peak moment” or “power spike.” Everything he does is a power spike in and of itself. Purchased a mythic? New power spike. Got a legendary item finished? Also, a power spike. And so on until he wins.
Unique, hated, and infamous – Master Yi is a scaler like no other in the Jungle.
1. Karthus
Karthus has been growing in popularity in the Jungle for the past couple of Seasons. He has had an adventurous time in League of Legends, going from a Mid Lane mage to a Bot Lane carry to a scaling Jungler. Versatile, robust, and capable of one-shotting five people simultaneously, Karthus is something else.
The more he farms, the better he gets. And it’s worth mentioning that farming with Karthus is a nonissue. It takes him minutes to clear the entire Jungle right off the bat – something that only gets faster as the time progresses. What he lacks in proper ganking, he makes up with his Ultimate, a global ability that strikes the entire enemy team.
He’s notorious for his “just press R” design that revolves around him using his Ultimate as soon as it’s up. IT takes no effort, skill, or anything else to eviscerate the enemies. He can farm the entire game, focus on the objectives, and constantly use his Ult to finish people off or get them low enough.
I don’t even have to explain anything. The fact that he has an Ultimate that kills five people with just a single press is everything you need to know about his design. It’s broken, wholly busted, and I hope to God Riot fixes it as soon as possible. Though, based on what they’ve been doing lately, I scarcely believe they will.
Conclusion
League of Legends, and the Jungle especially, has offered us many Champions to play. When looking at the best scaling Champions, the Jungle is infamously intense. Offering a wide range of Champs that can go on to impact the game from start to finish, this is where this position shines the most. As we can see above, scaling Junglers are works of wonder and can singlehandedly change the course of a match.
I hope you’ve found this list informative and fun to read, and I wish you all the best on the Summoner’s Rift!
