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Is it just me or are Tank Junglers Unviable?

Altonius Amakiir·6/19/2018, 8:11:43 AM·29 votes·13,452 views

It feels like a lot of tank champions just aren't viable anymore?

And when I say this, I mean building tank too, not building some cheesy high damage build with little survivability.

Rammus feels like he can't do anything early game and that he is only good for split pushing and team fights. I won a game as him in the jungle role, but the lanes all carried themselves through laning phase (with me getting zero kill participation until mid game).

Amumu doesn't feel like he has fast enough early clear speeds (feels like he falls behind pretty easily).

I haven't seen a Nautilus jungle in seemingly forever.

Cho'goth doesn't seem good at the role anymore.

Poppy doesn't have enough damage.

Maokai can do it, but he also is meant to built a lot of AP nowadays (which I will get into later about with a separate topic).

Zac can do it fine, but like Maokai he also builds a lot of AP now.

Gragas can do it, but builds a lot of AP to accomplish this and is on the weak side right now.

Sejuani seemingly got nerfed out of the role.

Jarvan is more of a fighter with how he is built (even though the client considers him tank).

Dr. Mundo works well, but he is technically a jugernaut.

Nunu is doing well, but he also desperately needs a nerf and builds a lot of AP (and then multiplies it).

Trundle can not jungle well without building a lot of damage.

Tank rek'sai has been dead for a while.

Shyvanna no longer builds tank, but more like a fighter.

I want to play a tank jungler or two, not a fighter. I'm tired of having the closest things to that available in the jungle role being Dr. Mundo, Nunu, and Warwick. I don't even like playing a tanky Warwick to begin with, to me it contradicts the very thematic I like to choose him for. I don't like how there's a bunch of tanky champions that I have to have dip into damaging items just so they can be viable (Nunu, Gragas, Maokai, Zac, Galio). I thought it was cool having Maokai be a heavy AP build but still really tanky, it seemed like a nice niche when the tank update came out. Now, it seems like any tanky champion that anyone built AP on and it became somewhat mainstream is turned into a champion that needs to build into that. I don't want to have to build 300 to 350 AP on Nunu just to make the most of my W on AP allies, I would rather it scale with their AP so I can decide to dip into AP or not. I don't want to be in game deciding: Do I build AP so I can get my W isn't useless on half the team, or build more tank because we need more tank. I don't want to have to delay tank items to build damage just because of that. I don't want to have to build a lot of AP on Gragas just so I can get some decent damage resist. Personally I think the AP stuff belongs on Maokai, and I don't play Zac enough to comment on him. As far as Galio goes, I don't even understand why he is still considered a tank in his current state. He can't clear a wave without building AP, and if he builds AP he gets burst like an ADC. It seems almost like I have to build him straight mage now. Not every AP-scaling tank needs to be turned into a mage-tank hybrid.

I don't want there to be a jungle tank meta, but I'd at least like there to be a niche for tank junglers that doesn't involve building a bunch of AP. I want the feeling of being able to stand in the enemy for several seconds just soaking damage, the feeling that I can block all skill shots for my allies and not worry too much about my survivability when the team fight starts. Right now the only champion that really fits that fantasy and can jungle is Dr. Mundo. But I get stuck in the jungle role a lot playing with my friends, and Dr. Mundo is certainly not always the best pick, so I'd like there to be a few others that fit that niche. Like Mundo is good against high magic teams, what about a champion for high AD enemy teams or someone who can deal with mixed, just not as well as the other two?

I don't know if I'm completely stupid or something, but I don't see any obvious tank junglers, and the ones I've been trying don't work too well.

45 Comments

Done256/19/2018, 12:42:44 PM6 votes

A buff to Bambi's Cinder would make jungle tanks great again.

RekSai CoffeeCo6/19/2018, 2:44:58 PM6 votes

A lot of junglers have been made unviable due to 8.10 and 8.11 with scuttle added in of course but instead of fixing both jungle/scuttle, riot has decided to nerf champs (some who were killed in 8.10/8.11) to fix the "funneling" problem that was caused by having a weak jungle compared to solo lanes (weak in many ways but just make it even then the top can "have the 1v1" that riot catered to make these stupid changes in the first place.

Ranmaru6/19/2018, 12:24:35 PM6 votes

All tanks* FTFY

Raije6/19/2018, 6:59:28 PM6 votes

It's rough. No one seems to want to play anything but damage most of the time and cinderhulk and champion nerfs have made most tank junglers garbage. I just play Warwick most of the time because he's the only semi tanky jungler that seems to be viable. I think Sej and Zac are playable but more reliant on their team than in the past. Basically tanky junglers are more niche picks now.

Paroe6/19/2018, 12:32:48 PM3 votes

The jungle is not a healthy place for tanks. You take way to much damage with no reliable way to heal it up, your ganks are poor, and if you do play a tank you just get out farmed and outplayed by the enemy jungler.

DoktorKaiser6/19/2018, 2:25:20 PM3 votes

How can they possibly be viable when half the damage in the game is either true damage with conqueror or extreme early game burst with electrocute. Both of those on their own would make tanks unviable, but combined its fucking disgusting. You can literally just survive encounters with AP champions that took comet or aery, too bad that those appear once every 3 games in favor of bruisers and assassins.

TheSingularity6/19/2018, 8:32:42 PM3 votes

Ornn is the only tank who can jungle easily. Every other tanks clears too slowly and it too weak 1v1

Slow clears means we take more dmg so we have to B more, fall behind in XP/gold (can't speed up our clears quickly) and obviously we can't gank as often early, the one time we have to be able to gank heaps as we're always low and underleveled

And no 1v1 so we sacrifice every single scuttle, drake and herald

SwagusMagus6/19/2018, 8:37:46 PM2 votes

I prefer going assassin+bruiser hybrid Rek'sai which in my opinions works ALOT better than full tank rek'sai. I usually prefer going hail of blades and BF sword early game and dominate people with it, however it depends how you play aswell. Going full tank Rek'sai is not viable at all, she deals literally 0 damage and does nothing at all except cc some random opponent but it stops there.

JoeMG6/19/2018, 3:43:27 PM2 votes

One of my favorite junglers this season has actually been Nautilus . His clears are decent but his ganks are great. Post-6 especially it's so easy to lock down a target. Sometimes I build item 3151 as a last item but usually his damage + aftershock is pretty good, evem building all tank.

French Courtesan6/19/2018, 5:06:25 PM2 votes

Yes you are the only one. Move on.

The Deckowner6/19/2018, 7:14:20 PM2 votes

I want the feeling of being able to stand in the enemy for several seconds just soaking damage, the feeling that I can block all skill shots for my allies and not worry too much about my survivability when the team fight starts.

It's very very damn hard to fulfill this gameplay fantasy in any role nowaday.

Pika Fox6/19/2018, 7:23:25 PM2 votes

Jungle bruiser malphite. Always a fun time. Just sucks trying to go trinity as a jungler, but gauntlet is cheap enough.

mack91126/19/2018, 7:25:48 PM2 votes

I think the tank jungle item should have a new passive with something along the lines of champion takes reduced damage by some percentage from other champions while making there own autos do reduced % damage to enemy champions to encourage tanks to get it and discourage fighter and bruiser junglers from getting it. Would be a good lever for tank junglers. In my opinion.

The Space Cowboy6/19/2018, 7:47:54 PM2 votes

They may not be as good as bruisers but they work fine. It’s a different play style and they are less impactful for the first ten minutes. Poppy has plenty of damage to take one of your examples. She just isn’t as reliable cc wise as an udyr for instance.

Blåbæret6/19/2018, 10:21:26 PM1 votes

Cinderhulk got nerfed for no reason and then you have the example of Sejuani who got nerfed into uselessness. Sej is legit not even playable atm.

PowerSlave9936/20/2018, 12:31:42 AM1 votes

Honestly tanks are just not usable in jungle unless you get extremely lucky or their jungler messes up so good. Cause cheese/high damage picks role the jungle now.

xelaker6/20/2018, 2:28:06 AM1 votes

I find mixed success with sej, but only if the enemy jung isn't invading me every 10 seconds

Crimson Zeppelin6/20/2018, 4:31:46 AM1 votes

If you bring lee sin, xin, and udyr graves into the meta. Picking a tank jungler is like a invitation to a banquet to the opposition. "Do you plan to go 0/3/0 while you are level 4 while they are 6?" Is the question.

Also bruisers thrive in this month. Picking a tank is going to benefit the enemy team heavily than helping your team.

Unstoppable Monk6/20/2018, 4:34:06 AM1 votes

I am fine with this as I hate having to play tank jungle with a team that fails at their damage role and can't protect from invades.

Willow Uvgood6/20/2018, 4:54:59 AM1 votes

Cho jg is pretty decent. If you want to do well you need: Grasp, font, wind, overgrowth, with inspiration secondary. Approach velocity and magical footwear are beasts on him, and you can omit a gargoyle stoneplate, because you can go locket instead. item 1413 item 3065 item 3001 item 3110 item 3190 best build I could come up with for him.

BigFBear6/20/2018, 5:53:09 AM1 votes

I am otp Voli/Jungle. I stopped climbing with 2. Account and stuck in mid Gold (since jungle changes), while my Main-Acc was Plat1 last Season (but also falling since jungle changes).

It helped to changes Runes from Resolve/Precision to Domination/Precision but still hard as fuck. Maybe I have to stop build tanky. Maybe I have to stop play my beloved Voli in general. Or even better: Maybe I should stop playing this shit Season at all.

BigFBear6/20/2018, 6:04:53 AM1 votes

Typical for new jungle is that you are mostly 2-3 levels behind laners. Especially as Tank Jungler.

NA Darklarik6/20/2018, 6:48:29 AM1 votes

Tanks have been unviable ever since the Health stat reductions on most major items. The buffs to penetration and later Conqueror sealed the deal.

Brutalistica6/20/2018, 7:10:29 AM1 votes

I do fine as Poppy as a jungle tank, but you have to know what route you want to be. Do you want to hold damage or dish it out. Poppy is good for sneak attacks and you have to make you ram enemies against the walls. Her buff now makes the kit dangerous as a bruiser.

MorganFreemanBot6/20/2018, 7:18:46 AM1 votes

The current jungle was difficult for tanks to begin with; the focus on ganking meant that they had to reliably get results, whilst generally being vulnerable to most laners / non-tank junglers in the early game.

The scuttle changes doubled down on this. Tanks aren't "bad" in the jungle, per say. They're just bad when Olaf, Udyr, Rek'sai, or any other bruiser-fighter jungle decides to invade them. They need serious hand holding from their team in order to be on par.

Chumpzi11a6/20/2018, 12:59:26 PM1 votes

Have you considered modifying your general summoner-rune-item solutions to your particular team composition needs? Example: Aftershock is great on Rammus, but sometimes phase rush is better. Maybe their team has Tryndamere, jax, and Ashe, so phase rush and manaflow band could let you mitigate the slows, rush thornmail, and still give blues to your mid laner. Maybe you're worried about the an early jg invade, take ghost poro and leave some extra vision on the other side of the map before minions spawn. This kind of pregame is what the rune rework was about. There are general rune-skill-item solutions that are okay, but by tailoring your builds to your particular circumstances you can outperform some generally decent build. Even during the game, this kind of modification can be helpful. From the previous example, if Tryndamere, jax and Ashe are not doing so well, but the enemy Katerina or brand is you can put thornmail on hold and build an abyssal mask. Or if your team has a Viktor, put an extra point or 2 into e early to guarantee the stun from gravity field. If necessary, tell your teammates about this stuff. I recently played Rammus and ganked mid (their yasuo, my varus), flashed for the knockup into taunt, and varus threw in some autos, then yas dashed and flashed away. So I explained that if varus used his ult while yas was taunted, it would be easy to land and make the gank more effective. After that varus held his ult until someone was cc'd, and the fights went fine.