I think that Shen jungle is really strong right now. I mean, your sustain is beyond good and your ganks are amazing. With cinderhulk you can even 1v1 a vi early game.
So basically the pros are •sustain in jungle •taunt to make amazing plays •shield for more sustain and clutch saves •ult for the ultimate cockblock and turnaround. •items allow him to dish out heavy damage while still tanky.
Cons. Uhhhh yeah
Hasztalan22 votesYe and when you realise taht u are 3 levels behind to everyone as Shen clears so slowly that a 90 years old grandma puts 2 lap on him within the first 10 minutes...
Imperial Japan1 votesNo not really. When I play him I am barely behind. Around the same as an average jungler.
IcyPepper1 votesI just run attack speed marks and armor quints. Really helps the early clear before cinderhulk.
Imperial Japan1 votesI just bring along my ad runes I have right now
Troy2426212 votesI've used it and I DO enjoy it. Biggest issue for me is team reliance, and your ganks still aren't the best around. Post-6 counterganks are amazing and global pressure is fantastic. He's great in slower paced games which is what we're starting to see now a bit more.
Blue Collar Bear1 votesI'll discuss.
Something you did not bring up was Shen's cons:
Shen has very slow clearing. He cannot keep up very well with meta junglers, even the tank ones. Early game, Shen has very little ability to duel most meta junglers (even the tank ones, again). With both of these cons, it's likely he'll be invaded a lot early game and you will rely heavily on laners to help you. This could potentially put your laners behind. Another con is that Shen only brings one CC ability to the table. To reiterate, he can't farm efficiently. His ganks are very sub-par. He's prone to invades. He's outclassed by most junglers.
Aside from being able to counter gank very efficiently (albeit on a high cooldown), I don't see much of what he has to offer to a team that another jungler could not do better.
Imperial Japan1 votesSo, as for the slow clear time, I do admit it is slow but I think being counter jungled will not be too much of threat. His sustain will keep him healthy enough to counter act them and after you purchase cinderhulk (bamy's cinder) you can 1v1 even vi. Also his 1 cc is very useful in gank as it immobilizes the enemy long enough to kill and pro 6 global pressure is amazing
Imperial Japan1 votesPost 6*
Blue Collar Bear1 votesNot being able to farm efficiently is the same thing as falling behind. Counter jungling is an issue, because Shen cannot out-duel most junglers. Sure, he will not die to his enemy counter jungling him, but he will not be able to contest his already slowly farmed jungle. Also, a 1.5 second taunt on a long cooldown is not a considerable form of cc. For example, Sejuani brings a knock up w/ gap closer, a near perma slow, and a root. All of that has much, much more burst damage than Shen, too.
Shen does not bring the damage nor cc that a jungler needs. What makes him a viable jungler is his sustain and global presence, two things that most junglers do not have. Shen trades damage and cc for this, which upsets overall team composition in the meta. A team composition would have to be tailored to him, which is why he does not see much play.
Imperial Japan1 votesHe does not fall behind in my opinion. He is slow on his first clear and only that one and it only is by a few seconds which only allows him to get his juggling item faster. Besides, after his first item and especially with cinderrhulk, he can pretty much 1v1 any jungler.