Let me talk with you about Jax!

Hi all, I am writing this as a D3 Top lane main.

The thing is that Jax always was meant to be “the late game Champion” in League of Legends.

Down to the fact that the total Idear of the champion is that his entire kit depends on buying weapons and scale threw the weapons he gets. That’s also the reason why, by is lore he is called the grant master of the arms and is portrayed as a champion who is forced to fight with a lamp post, because if they gave him a real weapon he is the strongest Champion in the Summenors Rift.

So if we let that sink in and consider what his lore tells us and how his champ design is meant to be then we have to come to the conclusion, that Jax is meant to be a champion with a weak early game and the strongest late game, If he manages to get full built. He is meant to be a champion who in fact becomes from kinda useless to broken op with the length of the game, if he manages to get items somehow.

Does Jax fulfil that role as a relatively week early champion and a late game monster? His champ design and lore indicates?

Let’s do a analysis for the current Jax and the Top Lane match ups he can face. I will hereby not compare Jax to adcs mid laners or junglers, because jax is most played as a top laner and therefore should be considered primary as a top laner. Comparing him to other champions in other roles would take this discussion to far in my opinion.

So if we now take a look at Jax and his current state we have to realise that only his level 1 (if you skill e first) is kinda strong, if your enemy is so dumb to get into a longer trade with you at levl 1. But it for sure is not as strong as Darius levl 1, Olaf levl 1, Garen levl 1 or even a tryndamere levl 1 (down to passive maybe even the strongest levl 1 in game)

Let’s say Jax levl 1 is solid. But after that Jax will almost loose every Top Lane Match up if he is matched vs a player on equal skill level in the early phase of the game. In the mid game ofc Jax counters some champions like every Champion in League counters some other Champions down to the way their kits work, but there are hell of a lot champions that properly counter Jax here the hard way. For example: Malphite, Garen, Cho Gath, Renekton, Atrox, Gnar, Quinn, Kennen, Shen, Ryze etc...

In fact the only match ups I would consider as a clear win to Jax in mid game would probably be Irelia, Olaf, and Riven.

Of course you can always find a way to outplay an kled, Urgot or Darius. But the thing is that if the player you are playing against has ever played Jax in his life he should know your kit as Jax and if he is on the same skill level as you, be able to play around that.

So now let’s look at the late game. This is the point where Jax is supposed to outshine most other top Laners right?

Okay so let’s maybe add Garen and Darius and even Renekton to the Champions Jax should always beat in a 1vs 1.

But what with all the other Top lane match ups? Ofc you could always argue that late game is not about 1vs1 in lane anymore as past min 25 your team should always group.

BUT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SPLIT WITH JAX OR ANY OTHER TOP LANE BRUISER IF YOU WANT TO USE YOUR LEVL ADVANTAGE AND GOLD LEAD OVER BOT LANE. This does not count for full tanks or juggernauts. Please don’t split with Maokai or Malphite etc...

BUT you should also always match the Top lane. So If the enemy Fiora or Tryndamere or even Garen or what ever splits, you always have to match them, also in the late game!

So again the question: Is Jax actually the late game monster he is ment to be?

Answer: No!

Jax does not win Late game vs: Tryndamere, Vladimir, Ryze, Nasus, and is still a skill match up vs Fiora or Kled. Remember: I am only talking about classic Top lane champions!

In Team fights Jax is kinda lost Late game if enemy has at least some cc. So the question is: where is the late game monster Jax used to be?

I know this comment will get downvoted anyways just by any adc reading this Title, because yes: Jax is probably the only Top laner who can stop any Adc late game if he gets left alone from his support or is stupid enough to walk around solo (I am talking about top laners guys I know Assasins can always one shot adcs if they are fed, but again this discussion is about top laners)

But anyways hate me for speaking out the truth: Jax is not the lategame monster he uses to be and was ment to be. He got nerved twice in a row in Patches 8.24 and 9.2 (his r by 40 magic dmg flat at levl 16 and his Q damage at all ranks by 20) in order to compensate for the “new” Spear of Shoshin Item. Now that this Item is gone he did not get those stats back and therefore since preseason started, his win and pick rate continuously fall. The benefits of sanguine Blade to Jax are not compareable to the benefits Jax got from Spear of Shoshin.

If we want to keep him the authentic master of the arms you have to give Jax compensation buffs for spear of Shoshin in order to revert the compensation nervs he got when spear of Shoshin got released in the pre season last year.