League of Legends: Strongest champions for level 1 invades
There’s nothing more exciting than a level 1 invade in League of Legends. Here are the top champions to pick if you plan to get an early advantage on the Rift!
Early gold leads are huge in the current League of Legends meta as it allows you to push on and win mid-game skirmishes with relative ease. In previous years, teams could simply look to out-scale their opponents with a stronger late game composition and excellent team fight tools. Nowadays, the early game is key.
Is there a better, more efficient method of creating an early game gold lead than level 1 invades with a group of champions armed with powerful engage tools? I don’t think so. Picking up two or three kills in the enemy jungle before minions have spawned not only injects gold onto your carries for a quick item lead, but it also blows key summoner spells that can be punished in the first five minutes of the game.
The only remaining question is: Is it smart to base your entire draft around a level 1 invade that has no guarantee of working? Not really, but it’s worth a try, especially during preseason! Here is a list of champions that are incredibly strong in level 1 invades:
Blitzcrank
The OG invader. Even in the depths of Bronze and Iron, you know to ward up and sit far back in your jungle when there’s a Blitzcrank on the enemy team. While he’s not the best at stacking up multiple kills during an invade, there’s no doubt that Blitz is the perfect option to grab an easy first blood at level 1.
Draft up a creative route towards the enemy jungle and do not stop running until you see an enemy attempting to flee. Use your Flash if you have to, as you just have to land a Rocket Grab in order to secure a kill or enemy Flash that can be punished later in the game.
Nautilus/Pyke/Thresh
While they’re certainly not as strong at level 1, these three champions offer the same utility as Blitzcrank in early invades. Nautilus’ Dredge Line + Staggering Blow combo will lock any champion down for long enough for a quick kill. Pyke’s Bone Skewer has a deceptively long-range and also adds a slow that makes it difficult to escape post-hook. And as for Thresh’s Death Sentence, the clue is in the name.
It’s less obvious that you’ll be planning an invade with these champions as it is with Blitz, so merely hover around the entrances to the enemy jungle while your team groups up, then head in and hope to find someone AFK or not expecting their jungle to be raided.
Braum
Braum offers a different approach to the level 1 invade. While the previous four supports all hook opponents from distance, Braum prefers to get in range to apply stacks to his Passive – Concussive Blows for a stun. That could be with an auto-attack, but ideally, he lands Winter’s Bite to slow the enemy, making it easier for Braum’s teammates to finish stacking the passive and lock down the opponent for a quick first blood.
More from Blog of Legends
- Bee’koz Vel’koz Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
- King Beegar Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
- EMENES retires following leave from Cloud9, cites military service
- EMENES Donezo Manifesto: Former Cloud9 Midlaner airs out grievances
- Team Heretics Perkz: European legend reportedly playing for TH
The difference between Braum and his aforementioned counterparts is that he is not limited to a single use of a hook or grab, but can instead apply his passive to multiple opponents to pick up a number of kills in the first two minutes of the game. Simply get in range of the enemy team and spam auto-attacks and Qs to lock down as many champions as possible to allow your team to apply damage.
Olaf
The first non-support on this list is Olaf, known for his axe-throwing and on this list for exactly that reason. Low mana cost, high damage, annoying slow. Olaf’s Q – Undertow is the perfect tool to invade enemy jungles and chase them down until they blow a summoner spell or fall to your team’s damage.
Olaf also has the added benefit of being able to take away enemy camps if the invade is successful thanks to his Passive – Berserker Rage making any health he lost in an early skirmish negligible. If you want to control the game from the first minute as a jungler, there’s no better choice than Olaf.
Jinx
You wouldn’t expect a marksman to be a strong early game invader, particularly one that thrives in the later stages of the game with multiple crit items under her belt, but Jinx is a great option for a level 1 invade. Unfortunately she relies on the first kill coming in to Get Excited! and chase down enemies with a burst of movement speed and attack speed, but she’s still useful before that.
If your team finds multiple enemies during an invade, Jinx’s Q – Switcheroo! is ideal. Using Fishbones, Jinx can spread her AoE damage among several opponents as long as they’re in close proximity for huge damage in the early game, which should lead to a few free kills.
Obviously, it’s a risk invading with such a squishy, scaling champion which could put Jinx unnecessarily behind early. But if it works out, you can snowball the game out of control instantly.
dark. Next. Preseason jungle tier list for Patch 9.23
What other champions are strong at level 1? What’s your perfect invade comp? Let us know in the comments!