The LCS Rengar early build

ProfDrDeath·Jul 29, 2014·2 votes·2,416 views

I don't really get the point of the current prefered early game build for Rengar in the LCS. The build I am refering to is, of course, this:

and then either tanky or more damage, not completing .

I don't understand what the advantages of this are supposed to be. You don't get the gold or the increased offensive prowess from Flare, you don't get good damage to champions with your abilities...or pretty much anything. Only thing you get is the fast CdR from the boots. But if I wanted a lot of CdR, wouldn't Madred's - two Long Swords - Ionian Boots - Elder Lizard be more useful for that?

4 Comments

12talesJul 29, 20142 votes

If you're a jungler, there are a few drop-off point at which you can stop focusing on your jungling item and move on to your regular item build. Because Spirit Stone gives absolutely no combat stats, it's usually not very productive to sit on it, which basically leaves your options as A) Madreds, B) Wriggle's, or C) Completed Spirit Item.

Rengar is a jungler that completely relies on his ultimate to do anything productive, so he places incredibly high priority on having significant CDR by the time he hits 6. Not only does Elder Lizard scale relatively poorly, it also delays your CDR progression - Madred's, Lucidity Boots and Kindlegem give you 25% CDR at 2600 gold. The build you suggest would give you the same for nearly 3800 gold - which you're not realistically going to have by the time you want to be ulting across the map.

MrBuffingtonJul 29, 20141 votes

That's very interesting; would this be a good build for solo q too? (also, is feral flare better than EL for Rengar?)

I'm wondering why pros go for madreds at all then, why not stick with machete? I wouldn't think Rengar is a champion that really relies on attack speed (his Q already resets his autos, not to mention the empowered Q doesn't share the cooldown), and you can go for something like extra long swords to build into lizard later. I know pros don't build feral flare since they don't have time to farm, but why waste the gold on an early dead-end item like Madreds? I don't think Rengar's clear would be too bad with machete + a couple long swords/brutalizer vs. madreds + boots, but idk.

Like, why not build machete + 4 long swords (1765 gold) or machete + brutalizer (1662 gold) instead of Madred's + Lucidity boots (1775 gold)? I mean, you're sacrificing a bit of jungle clear and 5% CDR, but you'll actually be building brutalizer into Youmuu's and you'll still have the option of going for elder lizard or just selling machete for other items (since if it gets to late game, you're going to be selling madreds anyways. Why not save some gold and just stick to machete?)

12talesJul 29, 20142 votes

It's not specifically that Rengar scales with Attack Speed - rather, he scales with on hit effects. Not only does his Q reset his auto attack timer as you say, the empowered version also grants attack speed. Both of those facts allow Rengar to make particularly good use of Madred's passive.

The issue with sitting on Machete and rushing your brutalizer is - what are you going to use those longswords for? You're Rengar - you're not gonna be ganking too often pre-6, and there aren't very many junglers that are going to realistically invade you. Unless something silly happens, your single goal in the early game is to hit level 6 as quickly as possible, with as much gold as possible. And with that goal in mind, Madred's offers significantly more than a longsword.

Also, remember - with Madred's, you're not just buying the stats. You're buying the time that you save by clearing faster. If it takes you an extra two seconds to clear every camp because you're opting to rush raw combat stats after your machete, you're effectively losing gold, and more importantly for Rengar, experience.

If I can get a level advantage over the enemy jungler (especially if I can hit 6 before them), the base stats that I get from leveling up are worth more than the gold I had to spend on Madred's passive. For that crucial level 6 gank, 325 Gold has essentially bought me 90 Health, 3 AD, 3% Attack Speed, 3.5 Armor and 1.25 MR over the enemy jungler, plus the extra damage/utility I get from the skill point. Which is pretty worth it in my opinion.

MrBuffingtonJul 29, 20141 votes

Awesome, thank you! I was thinking the extra long swords could go towards the elder lizard, or for a hydra, or tiamat and last whisper, but I guess those are suboptimal build paths.

As far as playing Rengar in solo q, do you think elder lizard or feral flare is the way to go? Or is the pro build the way to go? Also, if you're completing feral flare, would you recommend buying a CDR item (brutalizer, lucidity boots) after madreds before buying wriggles, or would you wait? Thanks!