Hop, Skip, and Beat: ZionSpartan’s Jax
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If there’s one rule in the North American LCS right now, it’s don’t let ZionSpartan pick Jax. The Grandmaster at Arms burst onto the Rift in Zion’s hands back in Week 5 and since then, it’s become a game of keep away from the young Coast top laner. Yet, no one else seems to be interested in playing Jax. So what makes Zion’s play so scary? We sat down with him to find out.
That is, until ZionSpartan showed up with Jax. In Jax’s first NA LCS appearance of the 2014 season, he faced off against XDG’s Benny, who was playing Trundle. Things started slowly, not quite keeping up with Benny’s farm, and only grabbing a pair of kills to his one death during the first 20 minutes.
But then, he started getting some items. A Trinity Force. A Blade of the Ruined King. Randuin’s Omen. Suddenly, the hits from his lamppost were coming at blinding speeds and doing huge amounts of damage. Thanks to Jax’s ultimate, which gives bonus armor and magic resist based on his attack damage and ability power, he started to look unkillable. He completed the game with a ridiculous 13/3/2 KDA, showing off what happens when you let Jax get ahead.
ZionSpartan says that ability to take the lead and never look back is what makes Jax so strong. “He snowballs extremely hard if he gets a single advantage on a tank,” he says. But if he gets too far behind, he’s in trouble. “Playing the current tanks are much safer to pick. Jax has greater risk, but higher reward.”
That high reward is something that teams want to deny from ZionSpartan, especially after Coast’s second game of Week 5 against EG. He didn’t turn in quite the dominant late game performance, ending merely 5/4/1, but ZionSpartan was key to Coast’s victory. Once he got sufficient farm, EG played scared for the rest of the game, allowing him to split push down objectives.
Due to the huge influence Jax has had on every game Zion has gotten ahold of him, the champion has been banned consistently in Coast’s games. Interestingly, he doesn’t see the Grandmaster as something that should be played constantly, much less banned 100% of the time. “He isn't as risky as other carries and can still be tanky while dealing a significant amount of damage,” he says. However, “there are some situations where I would prefer another champion.”
Of those recent games, he’s seen the most success during one particular game on Lee Sin, going 9/1/6. Comparing the games he has played as Jax to the one he played the Blind Monk, it’s clear that Zion loves highly mobile bruisers with both strong ganking capabilities, and the ability to split push like crazy.
And when he’s allowed to do just that, Team Coast wins games. Looking at Zion’s stats, you won’t necessarily think he’s one to carry the team. But he pushes lanes exactly when he needs to, ensuring the team can grab objectives.
Will his unique style of play be the thing that finally breaks the supertank meta? Perhaps, but ZionSpartan himself is a bit apprehensive, saying, “other picks besides the tanks have always been viable it has just been that they take more practice and are more situational.”
One thing came to mind while talking to ZionSpartan about what he’s going to do in games where Jax gets taken away from him in the banning phase: Why not Aatrox? The two champions are extremely similar. They’re both sticky melee bruisers with strong gap closers and the ability to become deceptively tanky by attaining a huge amount of damage - Aatrox by way of lifesteal and Jax by way of the resistances on his ultimate, Grandmaster’s Might.
When asked, Zion responded cheekily, “Aatrox is pretty good.” Perhaps we’ll see the Darkin Blade make his way to the top lane with Zion at the helm in the coming weeks.
Snowball Fight
The current top lane meta is largely focused on huge tanks or those that bust up huge tanks; the big flashy plays of champions like Riven haven’t been as prevalent compared to previous seasons.
That is, until ZionSpartan showed up with Jax. In Jax’s first NA LCS appearance of the 2014 season, he faced off against XDG’s Benny, who was playing Trundle. Things started slowly, not quite keeping up with Benny’s farm, and only grabbing a pair of kills to his one death during the first 20 minutes.
But then, he started getting some items. A Trinity Force. A Blade of the Ruined King. Randuin’s Omen. Suddenly, the hits from his lamppost were coming at blinding speeds and doing huge amounts of damage. Thanks to Jax’s ultimate, which gives bonus armor and magic resist based on his attack damage and ability power, he started to look unkillable. He completed the game with a ridiculous 13/3/2 KDA, showing off what happens when you let Jax get ahead.
ZionSpartan says that ability to take the lead and never look back is what makes Jax so strong. “He snowballs extremely hard if he gets a single advantage on a tank,” he says. But if he gets too far behind, he’s in trouble. “Playing the current tanks are much safer to pick. Jax has greater risk, but higher reward.”
That high reward is something that teams want to deny from ZionSpartan, especially after Coast’s second game of Week 5 against EG. He didn’t turn in quite the dominant late game performance, ending merely 5/4/1, but ZionSpartan was key to Coast’s victory. Once he got sufficient farm, EG played scared for the rest of the game, allowing him to split push down objectives.
Due to the huge influence Jax has had on every game Zion has gotten ahold of him, the champion has been banned consistently in Coast’s games. Interestingly, he doesn’t see the Grandmaster as something that should be played constantly, much less banned 100% of the time. “He isn't as risky as other carries and can still be tanky while dealing a significant amount of damage,” he says. However, “there are some situations where I would prefer another champion.”
What Now?
So how does ZionSpartan respond to getting his most dominant champion banned against him on a constant basis? Why, find someone else to play, of course. He’s played three champions since Week 5: Shyvana four times, Lee Sin twice, and Renekton once.
Of those recent games, he’s seen the most success during one particular game on Lee Sin, going 9/1/6. Comparing the games he has played as Jax to the one he played the Blind Monk, it’s clear that Zion loves highly mobile bruisers with both strong ganking capabilities, and the ability to split push like crazy.
And when he’s allowed to do just that, Team Coast wins games. Looking at Zion’s stats, you won’t necessarily think he’s one to carry the team. But he pushes lanes exactly when he needs to, ensuring the team can grab objectives.
Will his unique style of play be the thing that finally breaks the supertank meta? Perhaps, but ZionSpartan himself is a bit apprehensive, saying, “other picks besides the tanks have always been viable it has just been that they take more practice and are more situational.”
The Future and Aatrox
One thing came to mind while talking to ZionSpartan about what he’s going to do in games where Jax gets taken away from him in the banning phase: Why not Aatrox? The two champions are extremely similar. They’re both sticky melee bruisers with strong gap closers and the ability to become deceptively tanky by attaining a huge amount of damage - Aatrox by way of lifesteal and Jax by way of the resistances on his ultimate, Grandmaster’s Might.
When asked, Zion responded cheekily, “Aatrox is pretty good.” Perhaps we’ll see the Darkin Blade make his way to the top lane with Zion at the helm in the coming weeks.
and 
calls him Zionspartan
!!!! when you play 
ious
Is awesome
