Weird Picks #65: Jungle Leona

Leona is arguably one of the most entertaining supports to play. She has the ability to initiate teamfights and absolutely ruin a marksman's day. Her crowd control is second to none, and anybody who is unfortunate enough to get hit by a Zenith Blade quickly finds out there are worse things than getting hit by a Morgana snare.

Meanwhile, did you know she actually works as a jungler as well? Check out the scoop below!

Weird Pick #65

Jungle Leona

November 2016

Introduction

How to Play

Primary Runes: Aftershock, Font of Life, Conditioning, Overgrowth
Secondary Runes: Triumph, Legend: Alacrity
Abilities: Q, W, E, then prioritize R > W > E > Q
Core Items: Cinderhulk Enchant
Boots of Swiftness
Iceborn Gauntlet
Dead Man's Plate
Frozen Heart
Randuin's Omen

Why It Works

Aftershock

Aftershock gives you 45 bonus armor and magic resist plus 75% of your bonus resists for 2.5 seconds once you immobilize an enemy champion, then explodes for magic damage that scales with your bonus health. As a champion with TONS of hard CC, Jungle Leona triggers it in every single fight, and the resist spike arrives exactly when she's diving into the middle of the enemy team.

Amazing Ganks
Leona's ganking power is extremely powerful as a result of her early game gap closer and point and click stun. Combined with the damage boost on her passive, Leona can easily burst down enemy champions before they have a chance to even think about getting away.

Inescapable Late Game CC
With Iceborn Gauntlet and Dead Man's Plate, Leona becomes completely inescapable and nearly unkillable. This means that she can catch people and lock them into oblivion via slows, roots, and of course, her two stuns.

Potential Pitfalls

Low Passive Generation In Jungle
Because her passive requires another ally to proc, part of the best part of her skills goes largely unused during the early game when it is extremely effective.

Slow Clear Speed
Part of the reason Leona jungle is not used as often is a result of her low clear speed. The balance team decided that with her passive damage, she shouldn't have too much base damage to prevent her from becoming too overpowered. However, because of the longer jungle respawn times on the new map, this could prove to be less of an issue.

Conclusions

Jungle Leona is definitely much more viable than most people believe, and is worth a shot if you love playing Leona. Although she is not a top tier jungler, she can certainly catch many people off-guard with how much damage she can put out when she actually gets some farm.

Suggested Rating: Tier 3