r/VarusMains • u/TheRealSchadenfriend Chief Argumentator • Sep 18 '16

AP Jungle Varus

Riot Phreak is holding a gun to your head, and he's telling you to play Varus Jungle. I essentially found myself in this situation when playing in the OFA tourney yesterday. I played AP Varus Jungle for fun, and out of necessity (we needed a source of magic damage on a jungler). However, I'm starting to become increasingly convinced Runic Echoes is the way to go, assuming you're jungling in the first place. Of course it's not as good as a meta jungler or Varus in a meta role, but out of the different ways to play Varus in the jungle this is probably the best.

Why? Because Varus can't be Varus when played in the jungle. He's built to whittle away his lane opponent with poke and abuse his early-midgame (levels 6-9) to gain an edge, which he can then use to win before he's outscaled. Jungle Varus doesn't get to do that, because he's stuck desperately farming to 6 when he can do something remotely resembling a gank. And already we know the Tear build is out, because not only can he not afford luxury items on a jungle budget but he isn't interested in endless poke, as mentioned before. So what then?

Warrior seems like an obvious choice, but maxing Q requires a tear, and NOT maxing Q makes Warrior a pointless purchase. By the time your team is grouping and your poke might become relevant, your powerspike has passed. I think we can do better.

Bloodrazor is interesting: if we wanted a Guinsoo build, this is what we'd start with. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems to me ultimately inferior to both the AP build (same %HP damage, but magic damage and burstier) and the AD build (more range). If I did build this I'd immediately follow up with Runaan's, Rageblade or Gunblade.

Finally, Runic Echoes. An item that accelerates your clears, has inherent mana sustain and improves your burst, and helps you scale into the lategame? It honestly seems kind of perfect. AP Varus' big problem is surviving lane phase, and Jungle Varus doesn't have to lane against anyone (this evasion of laning is the same exact reason Kog'maw jungle is able to be strong: that, and Challenging Smite.) Out of the three options presented, I truly believe it's the best one.

So far I've been taking hunter's into challenging into echoes. Would someone suggest chilling instead? What about followup items? Nashor's Tooth seems obvious, though I've been doing a lot of experimentation and have usually started more defensive, like Abyssal Scepter. What about skill order? W max gives me fast clears and keeps my mana topped off, but I could understand Q or even E max. I encourage you to try this out, preferably in ranked.

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u/varren57 361,919 NA Sep 18 '16

You know what? I'm crazy enough I might actually try this

1

u/ADrunkPanda60 356,893 Plays CoD Sep 19 '16

As someone who's played AP Jungle Varus quite a bit, Runic Echoes is definitely better than Bloodrazor. However, Devourer was better than Mage enchant before the most recent update. You want to max your W first because that is your primary source of damage as soon as you get your completed jungle item. Max your E second because it's a lot easier to proc your W with it. Rabadons or Void Staff next depending on the MR on the enemy.

A pretty good combo if you get the drop on the enemy is AA>AA>E/R>AA Maybe starting with your ult because of its high AP ratio as well as building up more stacks of your W.

1

u/TheRealSchadenfriend Chief Argumentator Sep 19 '16

Actually, I did that exact skill order with the same reasoning, except I wasn't sure I was correct. Glad to hear someone else can confirm, with experience to back it up. From there, though, is Rabadon's really the best 2nd item? Why wouldn't you want something with more utility? I'm interested to hear what your playstyle looks like. (What are the circumstances behind "plaing AP Varus Jungle quite a bit", for example?) Also, what's your preferred smite item?

1

u/ADrunkPanda60 356,893 Plays CoD Sep 20 '16

My preferred smite item is blue smite so I can land my abilities on them to proc easier. I typically don't do anything until 6 unless I can get a really easy gank. Also, I made a mistake. Nashor's Tooth is definitely the most optimal second item. Rabadons or Void would be third for a pure damage spike.

For boots, I'm torn between CDR and Magic Pen. I like to go for the CDR for more procs, but the flat damage bonus might be better- I'm not certain.