Jarvan lV, Demacia’s Exemplar

1. Champion Overview: Jarvan IV for Top Lane

In this guide, we will be discussing Demacia’s Exemplar, Jarvan IV.

Pros:

1. Jarvan IV fits very well in creating a perfect team composition with many other champs.

2. Jarvan IV provides decent Crowd Control that allows for ganks to result in more success and his E+Q combo allows him to gap closer in order to hunt down enemies.

3. Jarvan IV’s ultimate causes opponents to be trapped inside a small radius for a decent amount of time. (Do note that some champions can come out of this; Vayne, Riven, etc.) This allows Jarvan’s teammates to catch up and execute the enemy champions that are stuck in his ultimate.

4. Jarvan’s shield is able to absorb more damage as the shield’s amount increases according to the number of enemies nearby.

Cons:

1. Jarvan IV unfortunately is able be kited down really easily if he misses his E+Q combo. He is a high risk but also a high reward champion.

2. Jarvan IV’s E+Q can be intercepted in certain situations. (Syndra’s knock back, Lee sin’s kick, Vayne’s condemn, etc.)

3. Jarvan IV’s ultimate is also a high reward and high risk ability because sometimes it can actually hurt your team by using it. (For example, it can actually zone out one of your carries, resulting into a death that may cause the team fight to be turned heavily into the opponents favor.)

2. Suggested Masteries & Runes

Masteries:

Runes:

The small amount of armor pen. and damage helps you come out on top of small trades because your Q will also shred through their armor. Running 4% lifesteal will give you sustain in the laning phase. Running flat armor and flat mr runes will give you decent tankiness for you to win trades during the laning phase.

3. Summoner Spells:

Choice 1:Flash.

Flash is a must for Jarvan IV because it allows him to create plays; (For example, Flash+ EQ combo, or Flash + Ult.) Flash also allows him to escape ganks and gap close.

Choice 2: Ignite or Teleport.

Ignite is usually recommended because it allows for stronger 1 v 1 fights in which Jarvan usually comes out on the top. Teleport can actually be used against certain champs like Shen and Singed. Teleporting at level 6 to gank another lane is incredibly strong and will usually end up in secured kills, which in result could lead to a free dragon to increase your team’s gold lead.

4. Skill Order: 

Explanation: 

Starting E at level 1 is extremely crucial. Your flag will act as a ward that lasts for a long time and may even catch out some invades to prevent your team from facing death. After your initial E, you want to max Q to help in laning. Maxing Q will allow you to trade with your opponent and will also shred through more armor the higher the level.

Suggested Build:

Jarvan has high base damage, so after building one damage item, he can build straight into a tank and still be a big threat.

1. Hydra

2. Sunfire

3. Spirit Visage

4. Randuins

5. Mercury Treads ( or Ninja Tabi if they have no CC).

6. Banshees Veil (Against heavy AP Team) or Warmogs(Against heavy AD Team).

Starting: 

-Dorans Shield + 1 pot:

Dorans shield will give you incredible sustain along with the 4% lifesteal runes, and will allow you to come out on top from small trades.

Mid: 

At this point you want to have a Hydra and a Sunfire Cape (or Spirit Visage), depending on the enemy’s team composition.

End: 

By the late game phase, you want to have these 6 items listed above. You will truly be a threat to the enemy team.

Main Counters:

1. Yorick- One of Jarvan’s main counters is Yorick. Why? Because Yorick has the ability to out sustain Jarvan during the laning phase and will continually harass you everytime you come to last hit a creep. Try to avoid creating long engages with Yorick because eventually you will lose due to his amazing sustain. Everytime he sends his ghouls, walk into a brush because the ghouls will lose aggro on you. Abuse the fact that Yorick is extremely mana hungry and only go in for trades when he is nearly out of mana. Also, be smart about the creeps you last hit because taking lots of damage for a single creep is never worth it.

2. Shen- Shen is simply just an annoying match up to play against as Jarvan. His cooldowns are lower than Jarvan’s and his shield and his Q sustain allows him to stay in lane longer than Jarvan possibly can. Eventually you will run out of mana and will need to back, allowing him to further gain a lead during the laning phase. When fighting a Shen, consider taking teleport to follow his ultimate ganks. Remember to play safe and avoid engaging in long fights.

6. Commentaries and Thoughts

7. Jarvan lV Montage

Featuring: casperleexd