Jungle Bard!

I'd like to preface this post by saying this is purely for fun and while doable, I wouldn't recommend it for Ranked.

So, first we're going to look at himself. We have a passive that spawns collectible chimes all across the map, which when collected refill mana and give a small burst of movespeed, as well as empower the second half of his passive: Meeps; a powerful on-hit attack buff with myriad effects such as magic damage, aoe, and a slow. His Q is a short range, fast moving magic damage skillshot that travels extra distance after hitting a target giving it the chance to connect to a second target, applying a stun. His W places a shrine which heals allies for a small amount, or grows over time into a larger heal. His E creates a tunnel thru terrain which any player can travel thru, although enemies travel slower. And his ult is a long-range aoe Zhonyas that affects everything, even turrets and Epic monsters.

So, how does one move this kit from a duo lane support to a solo jungler? Step one is understanding how his kit works, and what it can do. Bard's offensive capabilities as a support come from set-up with his stun, ult, and the mobility from his E. These things of course stay when he's solo, but what about damage? His damage is a small burst from his Q, but otherwise entirely the empowered autoattacks granted by his Meeps. As such, I recommend Bard as an autoattack-based bruiser, rather than a pure mage. 21/9/0 masteries with the 21 in the AD section, and runes centered around armor, AD, and AS.

An important note is that as a jungler, you can freely gather Chimes without ever leaving the adc alone, as they'll be tended by a support other than Now let's enter the jungle! For first clear I immensely recommend starting Krugs for the stun passive, as all of your clear is autos plus Q. Chaining the Krug stun into Q stun will save you a lot of health. Speaking of health, place a shrine right before you start the camp, grab it when it grows, and place another as you continue the clear. At level one, the CD on W is the same as the time it takes to grow, so its easy to get the hang of. Once you've gotten blue buff, like any other champ with a heal ability, sustain becomes easy. I prefer for my smite upgrade, as the sustain and enhanced clear speed are an enormous help early.

Once you've got the gold, you'll be going for ( may work but I haven't tried it yet.) Why Devourer? Again, your damage is empowered autos, and that's what Devourer is all about. Pumping out auto's fueled by attack speed and on-hit bonuses gives you a formidable DPS for a "support" champion, but it takes more than alone. Second item you're gonna want . More attack speed, health, mana, movespeed, everything really. But most important is the spellblade. Q a target to get a solid chunk of damage + slow, then consider: your next auto will have: bonus physical from spellblade, bonus magic in an area that slows from Meeps which simply get stronger as you gather Chimes, and bonus magic from Devourer, all enhanced by Phantom Hit. That's some serious damage for a single Q-auto combo. After this, you'll want to build tanky, as this is about the height of damage can produce.

So how about ganking during laning phase? Get creative! Bard has a wealth of options, after all, he was created with the intention of being a "roaming support." You can use the movespeed from a nearby chime to swoop in from the front and slow with a Meep + Red Buff auto, or sneak in from behind on a Magical Journey for a clutch stun. Even if no readily obvious play is available, you can always leave your laner a healing shrine to consume at their leisure. Controlling objectives is also a great strength of the Beard. Your ultimate is the ultimate tool for holding the enemy jungler at bay while you safely smite the objective down, or if they got their first, you just go ahead and Zhonya that Dragon. Who's gonna stop you from a lane away?

Late game is the same as being Bard support, but with the notable change that rather than having utility-centric items, you're a powerful solo fighter with combination burst and sustained mixed-damage aoe. All in all, you're a force to contend with.

That's it for my in-depth guide on a thing I like to play for fun. Good luck, and happy roaming!