Preseason in League of Legends always comes near the end of the year, bringing massive changes to the landscape of the game. This year, the preseason changes have shaken up the jungle meta to its core, making climbing ranks a bit harder without guidance. 

Preseason jungle meta 

In case you missed it, now it’s your time. With the latest changes hitting the jungle this preseason, anyone can jungle. The best players in the world complained that the role had become obsolete, with these changes lowering skill expression. But it’s not just an exaggeration, literally, any champion can jungle now. 

The new jungle pets make clearing the jungle a breeze, so make sure to try out some new stuff in normal games. Ezreal jungle is back, Kayle and Yuumi can do a full clear and my personal favorite is Sylas jungle. But if you are into winning meaningful games, these are your best picks in the current meta. 

Best jungle champions in preseason 13

Shyvana

A 56% win rate with just a 3% play rate. Let me tell you why Shyvana is the best jungle pick in preseason 13. She can do it all, and very effectively as well. With the latest jungle changes, taking the Drake on your own becomes almost impossible for a jungler. But Shyvana’s passive helps her do it without calling an objective vote and asking for help. She also gets bonus resistances from every Drake, which only enhances her tank build.

As we already said, tank items are beyond broken. And she can abuse them all really well. Good luck killing a Shyvana with 5000 health on two items. Boy, I sure do love that Heartsteel item on every tank. How about you running away from her when she uses her ultimate ability while building Iceborn Gauntlet? Nope, you are slowed out of existence, and she still does damage. Maybe a tank can fight her? Well, she just builds Botrk or Nashor’s Tooth after her tank Mythic item and melts them as well. And if you feel like making everything explode, the AP build with Night Harvester gets the job done.

Trundle

With all those tanks bullying everyone around, it’s about time someone hit them back. Trundle might be an old and outdated champion, but he has one job and he does it well. Just like Fiora, his Q ability procs on hit damage, making Botrk and Divine Sunderer a must-have. Those items melt tanks, but the rest of his kit also gives him combat advantages.

Forget the pillar and the ground, Trundle’s ultimate ability robs tanks of their tanky stats. Losing health and resistances might not sound that bad, but it’s a problem when he is adding them to himself. Not only does Trundle become a better tank, he still does a ton of damage to them with his items. Making him the perfect pick in this current meta. 

Mordekaiser

If your team is lacking in magic damage and you need a safe jungle pick, Mordekaiser should be your choice in this preseason meta. An absurd 55, 5% win rate with a growing 3,5% pick rate, shows that more and more players are realizing the power that Mordekaiser brings. Although nothing about the champion or his items was changed, he is still enjoying moderate success and a 10% ban rate. 

Most of this comes due to the meta change. As a juggernaut, Mordekaiser has always had a more enjoyable time against tanks than other mobile champions. His passive does quite a bit of damage the longer the fight goes on. And the shield on his W ability also helps him sustain through the fight, something other meta champions can’t really do. 

Mordekaiser items

But one notable development we are currently seeing unfold is him using the new tank Mythic item called Protean. The item gives bonus resistances, damage, healing, and a resistance multiplier for every enemy affected. Having Mordekaiser frontline with this item is a double-edged sword for the enemy team. They probably won’t have enough damage to kill him, he is burning their tanks by the second and provides magic damage to the team composition. 

The two-item combo of Protean and Rylai’s has a staggering 57% win rate, so make sure to lock in Mordekaiser in the jungle for some free wins.

Notable mentions: AP Assassins

If you wonder what makes AP Shyvana and assassins like Ekko and Evelyn dominant in the jungle, it’s the items and clear speed. Let’s take a quiz with the help of the screenshot below. Do you know how much magic penetration this build gives? Magic penetration as a statistic is the direct counter to building magic resist, impacting how much damage magic spells do. 

Hextech Rocketbelt gives 6 magic penetration when completing it, and an additional 5 magic penetration for every legendary item. With Sorcerer Shoes, you already have 24 flat magic penetration. And if you do the math on the Shadowflame and Void Staff passives, you realize why magic damage is actually true damage. Building Maw is a big scam because nothing can save you from a 40-70 flat magic pen, and that’s before Evelyn hits her charm.

Best jungle pets in Preseason 13

Jungle pathing and clear speeds went out the window in this preseason meta. But choosing your champion and his jungle pet makes a lot of difference in the outcome of the game. Almost every champion in the game can clear the jungle now, thanks to the newly introduced jungle pets. Due to the smaller leash ranges on champions, ranged junglers like Kindred are having a hard time. But every other AD champion in the game can jungle and find great success if you build Ravenous Hydra and Spear of Shojin. Naturally, if you are playing a champion that uses auto attacks to deal damage, the red jungle companion should be your first option. But since Graves is the only viable ranged jungler, the choice is already made for you.

If you want to experiment with playing assassin junglers in a tank meta, suit yourself. Champions like Evelynn and Kha’zix now clear much faster even without items so taking the blue jungle companion is only viable on champions like those. It gives bonus movement speed when you exit a bush, so naturally, assassins benefit the most from it.

In most cases, you should almost always be taking the green jungle item and pet. The gold value on all of the benefits it brings is off the charts, and makes junglers a much more formidable force. Once you claim 40 stacks, you get a fat shield, tenacity, slow resistance and that’s before you consider it helps you clear the jungle. Mana regeneration is also a nice benefit, especially for tank junglers so choose wisely.

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