Decoding TheShy’s Trending Full Tank Jayce
In recent days, TheShy has continued to be the center of attention after using the full tank Jayce playstyle with incredible success on the Korean server. According to community reports, this player has won 10 out of 11 matches with this playstyle, quickly turning it into a trend within the League of Legends community. Not only TheShy, this full tank Jayce playstyle also helped AL clinch the championship at the 2024 Demacia Cup when it was used exceptionally well by Flandre.
The first reason that full tank Jayce is extremely strong is due to the “overpowered” nature of the Doomsday Cloak. This item provides health, armor, cooldown reduction, along with a passive that deals magic damage and offers substantial healing. Moreover, this item is incredibly cheap at only 2800 gold and allows Jayce to deal a significant amount of damage (when combined with the Indomitable Power rune) while being remarkably durable and hard to take down.
Furthermore, this playstyle also mitigates the significant weakness of the “old” Jayce during lane swaps, where he was extremely fragile. By building tanky, Jayce becomes less susceptible to turret dives and can withstand encounters against 2-3 enemy champions. Not only that, this full tank playstyle also allows Jayce to contribute more during the game even when behind, rather than relying solely on damage as the old build did.
TheShy’s Full Tank Jayce is Subtly Supported by Riot Games
Despite its strength, it must be said that full tank Jayce does not provide the same satisfaction as a damage-dealing playstyle. Players using tank items cannot execute long-range Shock Blasts that drain a lot of health from enemies. Therefore, the fact that full tank Jayce has become a trend is simply because it is too strong, and it is surprising that Riot Games is subtly “complicit” in this.
Accordingly, Riot Games has divided armor penetration and magic penetration items into two different groups. The noteworthy point here is that when a player buys an armor penetration (or magic penetration) item, they cannot purchase another item from the same group. Meanwhile, tank items face no such limitations within the armor or magic resistance increasing item groups. The consequence is that tank champions become more robust over the course of the match, while damage output is limited to the point where it cannot penetrate these defensive stats.
In summary, the extreme strength of full tank Jayce is a combination of the “overpowered” nature of tank items and the confusing limitations on armor/magic penetration items from Riot Games. Hopefully, Riot will soon recognize the excessive advantage of tank items and make appropriate adjustments in the upcoming season.