Alongside the best jungle champions in the meta, you should also learn about the worst jungle champions and avoid using them in important Ranked matches. A common factor for this list in patch 10.5 is that they are all newly buffed champions that have been “transferred” to the jungle.
Here are the top 5 worst jungle champions you should not play in patch 10.5:
1. Gnar
Although Gnar received quite a few buffs in patch 10.4, these buffs are not sufficient to make him a strong and viable jungler as Riot intended. Instead, Gnar currently holds a win rate of only 36% – the lowest in the jungle.
This is likely due to the fact that Gnar’s skill set is more suited for solo lane rather than clearing jungle camps, as well as his heavy reliance on his passive, Rage Gene, to transform into Mega Gnar and execute effective ganks. Unless his skill set is changed or his damage is significantly increased, he is likely to remain one of the worst jungle champions in the game.
2. Zed
Zed is one of the newly added champions to the jungle pool in patch 10.4 and is just as terrible as Gnar so far, with a win rate of only about 36% in the current patch.
The reason Zed does not perform effectively in the jungle is simple: his skill set is not suitable for any jungle tasks at any stage. His damage before level 6 is not enough to secure a kill in any lane, unless you have individual skills on par with Faker or any other professional mid laner. He also lacks crowd control or utility outside of one-shotting the enemy ADC or mid laner – which is very difficult to achieve in the current meta when jungle gold and experience lag significantly behind laners.
3. Talon
Talon had a brief period of success in the jungle when lethality items like Duskblade of Draktharr, Youmuu’s Ghostblade, and Umbral Glaive were strong, but has struggled since then with a win rate of only about 38%. Although his skill set seems quite suitable for the jungle role thanks to E – Assassin’s Path allowing him to traverse terrain and create unexpected ganks quite easily.
However, Talon offers very little utility to the team as well as crowd control and is only truly useful when he can isolate and eliminate the primary carry in the enemy team. He lacks the capability to solo secure major objectives in the early game like Lee Sin, Rek’Sai, Olaf, and other traditional junglers.
4. Darius
Darius is one of the champions that received jungle buffs in patch 10.4 and is considered a strong choice in patch 10.5, but only in the top lane. In the jungle role, Darius’s win rate is just above 40% in patch 10.4 and is even lower at the current time.
Darius’s skill set is more suited for jungle than Talon, Zed, or Gnar, but he lacks the necessary mobility to execute successful ganks. He also cannot solo secure major objectives unless he has built a few items. However, the changes to jungle gold and experience at the beginning of season 10 have made it even harder for him to complete those items.
5. Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser is a terrible jungle champion, primarily because he performs much better when played in almost any other role. His skill set is fantastic when in lane, where he can maximize his passive, Death’s Grasp, and W – Indestructible in trades. His ultimate, R – Realm of Death, also allows him to escape ganks or even eliminate the enemy jungler in Baron or Dragon fights.
However, when playing as a jungler, if Mordekaiser uses his ultimate to eliminate the enemy jungler, not only does the enemy lose out, but he also misses the opportunity to Smite the objective. In other words, one of Mordekaiser’s greatest utilities is removed when he is in the jungle. He performs better in the top lane or mid lane in patch 10.5 and all subsequent patches simply because those roles provide more ways to exploit his skill set and secure advantages for his team.