Jarvan may be past his prime as far as being in the meta or nerfs/buffs but is defiantly still viable. I don't claim to be Diamond, because quite frankly i'm not, but I do want to educate players on a champion I enjoy playing. Jarvan brings a lot to the table as a jungler, these things include good gank potential, tankiness, and lots of utility including built in armor shred. In team-fights late-game he has the ability to lock down carries and create opportunities through his knock up and ult.

In this chapter ill try to explain why I build the items I build on Jarvan. Of course being a tank juggernaut is the best upgrade for our jungle item, I feel this needs little explanation. Speaking of, I chose Rangers Trailblazer for the easy access to the mana and Health restore which can be helpful for a tank. Jarvan is really good at locking down carries and so Randuin's Omen was a logical pick, not only does it give good health and armor, it also provides a AOE slow that helps to lock down carries. Another part of Jarvan's kit is armor shred on his Q, to synergise with this Black Cleaver seems like a good idea, the health and AD are just bonus. We need more than just armor though, and considering I build no life steal on this build Spirit Visage helps with regen and MR. As for our boots, When diving a carry CC is to be expected and Mercury's Treads help with this and provides bonus MR. As for our last item it depends on their team's damage, lots of Magic damage , build Banshee's. Lots of Physical Damage, build Sun Fire Cape. Enchantment on boots is personal preference.

This chapter will pertain to how to effectively make plays and use this build.

Early Game

In the early game Jarvan can't really counter jungle so that shouldn't be on your radar much, but if you know you can steal a buff because you know the enemy jungler is not around feel free to steal camps. Mostly be looking to gank and farm as Jarvan does well late game. As for how to gank with J4 Look for overextended lanes or lanes with CC to gank. When going in ping your doing so and run into lane, try to save your E-Q for the enemy's flash or other dash. Post 6 you can lead in with E-Q and save your ult for after their flash.

Mid Game

In the mid-game you start to get stronger as you pick up some items. For the remainder of laning phase you want to farm jungle and gank, depending on their jungler you may be able to fight him or her now. Once your team starts to group you start to take on the role of initiation and tanking. Be careful, especially if you didn't have the greatest laning phase for you may not be thank tanky yet. A good simple mentality to have when initiating a fight are "who are the most prominent threats to my team" think of yourself as a parent and your team is your children. Take into consideration , "who are their assassins? will they all in my carry? how can I lock down their carry?" and you should do fine.

Late Game/Team Fights

By late game you should be tanky and nearing build completion, remember to never stop farming gold wins games. By this point in the game you wont be doing much damage so you turn to your defense and utility to win fights. When you initiate think in a similar way to mid game only know the consequences are more dramatic for winning and losing fights. Don't forget to take into account whether your team is ahead or behind as a whole when initiating, a 4v5 when your behind doesn't ensure a win. By now its more your supports job to peel (Still peel if you get the chance) and you should be more focused on locking down their carries. Usually a good initiation looks something like this, You E-Q in on their carry, ult if you need to, use Randuin's, anything to keep that carry from doing damage while you team (hopefully) wins the fight. Land some auto's but more importantly Q's to lower their teams armor.

MORE TO COME

I will be adding more sections to this guide in the future as well as videos and pictures. Leave any questions or comments and I will answer them to the best of my ability. If you wish to play with me (I don't know why you would :P) add me on league at Surreal Swag.