Jungle Thresh: Will This Theoretically Work?

TonyTonyMordecai·Jan 10, 2015·1 votes·1,399 views

Basically the title.

I was thinking about the possible viability and/or effectiveness of being Thresh in the Jungle, since he has his Lantern to scout the dragon/baron, his Q to Monsters/Champions, his E for slows, and his 1st AA does a ton of damage, and he can be built mostly tank. Not to mention his passive gives him AP and Armor per Soul, and Monsters drop those.

Thresh, to sum it up, has mobility, AOE, single target, slow, a pull/gapcloser, a save tool for allies, zoning from ultimate, and late game tankyness.

Thoughts and/or Suggestions with Builds? Thanks in Advance!

21 Comments

Deep Terror NamiJan 10, 20153 votes

He's got no clearing capability or sustain so he's one of those that would need a lot of help to start off. Pretty much anyone is viable once they have a few levels and items, so that's kind of a moot point.

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 10, 20151 votes

Not a lot of junglers have sustain, so I guess it wouldn't be too hard to make Thresh work? True, levels do add viability. But still... It's tempting :I

Deep Terror NamiJan 10, 20151 votes

When I say "sustain", I'm really including anything that keeps them from dying to just 1 or 2 camps. Heals, high health/armor, shield; not everybody can clear the camps very efficiently for the first few levels while some do it extraordinarily well (even without a heal).

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 10, 20151 votes

Thresh has a shield... ...But the strength grows with AP and levels :I Thresh would also probably have to start from over the wall with his Q, so that he doesn't get hurt in the 1+ Monster Camps

Deep Terror NamiJan 10, 20151 votes

Ok, you take Thresh in the jungle and tell me how well he solo clears because of this all powerful shield. I'm not telling you he has no shield; I'm telling you it sucks and he still will need a lot of help in the beginning.

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 11, 20151 votes

I didn't say that Thresh's shield was super strong or anything, I just pointed that out because of your earlier reply. I never disagreed with anything you said. I simply stated that there was indeed a shield in Thresh's kit, but it only got better after AP and after leveling it up, but it would probably be leveled last because of how much it doesn't help with, offensive wise.

oDemonikoJan 12, 20152 votes

Personally I enjoy playing Thresh as a bruiser top lane in norms, I have no experience jungling but if I were going to jungle him I'd max E first, get mobi boots, and build AD Lifesteal. Example build would be item 3707 item 3153 item 3085 item 3068 item 3065 item 3117

I'd focus on finishing out the jungle item and getting early lifesteal first. Then finish botrk and visage or sunfire, dependent on enemy team comp. A perfect gank would consist of coming into lane behind there team member, initiating with flay and landing the Q for the lockdown, ulting if necessary to secure the kill.

If you end up using this build I'd like to know how it goes. Also, I'm posting from my phone and can't see the stats on the jungle item I picked. I beleive I got the one with chilling smite and then armor pen enchant, if not that was my intended item.

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 12, 20151 votes

yeah you chose the red enchant-chilling smite. I see what you mean, cause with the above build he's going to be a "use combo, then DPS for as much as possible". I don't know how "easy" his hook is to land, because it moves slower than Blitz or Leona's hooks, and even so, if the bush is warded, you can just side step him because of the wind-up he has before he throws his scythe. I'd probably use the ultimate if they start walking away, or hook them after they flash, because after that, it's over. Unless they're Gnar or LeBlanc, but I doubt we'll see LeBlanc Top become a thing anytime soon. Also, which boot enchantment would you get? Captain? Homeguard? Furor? Alacrity?

4nth0l0gyJan 10, 20151 votes

He was a lot more viable around his release. Now, Jungle kicks his ass. He'd be an okay ganker, but you're really better off playing him as a roaming support if you want to make him a ganker.

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 10, 20151 votes

That is true, but I'm still tempted to give him a try :I Maybe if he was some sort of DPS AP Tank Combination Build?

The ChinJan 10, 20151 votes

{quoted}

That is true, but I'm still tempted to give him a try :I Maybe if he was some sort of DPS AP Tank Combination Build?

Try it! If Leona can jungle I don't see why Thresh can't, but there's only one way to find out :)

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 10, 20151 votes

Wow. Yeah, Leona jungle is a good point. Oh man, Thresh Jungle will be attempted soon :P Will put a screenshot of my results after first-time Jungle Thresh in the post when I do attempt it

The ChinJan 10, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Wow. Yeah, Leona jungle is a good point. Oh man, Thresh Jungle will be attempted soon :P Will put a screenshot of my results after first-time Jungle Thresh in the post when I do attempt it

Post is as a reply to this comment, I want to see how it goes :p

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 11, 20151 votes

Okely Dokely :D

SukishooJan 10, 20151 votes

It used to work in the old jungle but I've tried it a few times recently and it's really hard now.

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 11, 20151 votes

Then it's a challenge! :3 Though I'm scared at how hard it's gonna be

Blue Collar BearJan 11, 20151 votes

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Thresh jungle before and after, despite not owning the champion.

As stated previously, he has a rough time clearing. It should get easier if you build AD, but I always built him AP in the jungle. At level three, or even two, his ganks are pretty powerful if you can land the shots. However, he has many problems in the new jungle (mana and health sustain, clear speed, invasion). I feel that if a more experienced player was playing Thresh in the jungle, he or she could do some real damage (only played Thresh twice). I believe that Thresh could certainly be a viable jungler that falls into either the ganking or farming jungler category, depending on how you built him.

Here is a link to my game. Please keep in mind that it was 4v5. ;-;

TonyTonyMordecaiJan 11, 20151 votes

Holy crap, it's the Supports against the Assassins! I see what you mean with the Thresh performance varying. I tried this in a custom game, and the mana problems were definitely there. I think once 4.22/5.1 comes into effect, we might see an improvement thanks to the 2x smite

Blue Collar BearJan 11, 20152 votes

The 2x smite, I believe, is going to help tank and counter junglers alike. It's going to be quite interesting.

Yeah. My first item back was a tear and boots, then I rushed my Rod of Ages. It's not quite so different from how I play AP Alistar jungle. If I'm ganking successfully, rush a Magus. If not, rush the Rod of Ages.

oDemonikoJan 12, 20151 votes

Most likely homie-guards if your losing for obvious reasons, otherwise alacrity for overall increased MS to increase gank potential. And I agree, I wouldn't initiate with the hook because its easy to dodge, I feel like its easy to land when someone is running from you so after a flash would be perfect to gap close. His kit lends itself tons of utility, so between Botrk active, chilling smite, hook, and Flay displacement / slow I feel like he has a lot of gank potential. Of course this is all theoretical and every game is different.

FantasySniperJan 13, 20151 votes

He starts with no armor and gets few souls from the jungle.

His damage is slow to start and is pretty much item dependant.

His ganking power relies solely on hitting the hook, which is difficult to use for starting a gank. If you decide to farm instead, you'll be slowing down your defensive building.

Overall, I'd say no. He has so many critical weaknesses early on, it may not even be worth it later.