League of Legends Patch 9.7 tier list: jungle edition

Falling champions

Xin Zhao (A tier to C tier)

Xin was left off of two tier lists, but that’s not the only reason that he dropped like a brick in the tier list. His highest rank on the remaining tier list was B tier, so clearly there is a consensus of agreement that Xin Zhao is not a strong pick at the moment.

Sylas (C tier to D tier)

Sylas is one of those test cases of a champion who isn’t really meant to be played in the jungle, but ended up being passable in the position because of his over-tuned kit. Now that he’s been nerfed out of viability in the top and mid lane, it’s not surprising that he’s dropped from an off-meta jungler to borderline troll pick in the role.

Rengar (A tier to B tier)

Rengar has always been a fairly divisive champion when it comes to the opinion of his strength as a jungler. In Patch 9.6, almost every tier list had him as A tier but those that didn’t had him somewhere in the C tier range.

That opinion has largely not changed in Patch 9.7, but he was omitted from Tierlist.gg’s ranking. If they had rated him as a C tier, Rengar would have remained a low-A tier pick. I would expect that he is still a decent-to-strong pick despite what our data says.

Buffed champions

Cinderhulk users

In Patch 9.7, tank junglers got a buff to the Immolate damage to monsters and minions in an effort to help their lagging clear speed and help them contend with the early ganking Warrior junglers. Did this change make Cinderhulk junglers top tier in solo queue? Well no.

Here is a list of all the primarily Cinderhulk junglers (meaning they don’t also flex and go Warrior or another enchantment) and their rating change from Patch 9.6:

• Rammus = -0.189
• Nunu & Willump = -0.029
• Amumu = 0.289
• Sejuani = -0.133
• Zac = 0.081
• Volibear = -0.104
• Poppy = -0.182

So, generally, tank junglers didn’t get much stronger and, in fact, some got weaker. We should also note that the first pure tank jungler doesn’t appear until the 12th spot on our list (Nunu & Willump). Yes, tank junglers could gain popularity and prominence in pro play but, for now, stick to early-ganking Warrior junglers.

Which League of Legends junglers will you be playing in Patch 9.7? Let us know in the comments!