In League of Legends, the champion Shen is currently very popular. He is often used in the top lane or as a supporter. Recently, however, he is increasingly taking on the role of a jungler. Players from the professional team TSM have notably used him there, winning the Summer Playoffs of the LCS.
Why has Shen suddenly become so popular? The popularity of Shen is a gradual process and has been facilitated by some adjustments over the course of the season:
- The beginning was Patch 10.6 in March of this year. There, the damage from “Twilight Assault” (Q) against monsters was significantly increased. Riot already laid the foundation for Shen as a jungler there.
- With Patch 10.15, his passive “KI Barrier” was strengthened, making him a better top laner. This change was slightly weakened again in Patch 10.18, but he is still better than before the adjustments.
Jungle Shen became popular through professional player Mingyi “Spica” Lu, who has been on the roster of TSM since May 2020, which has had to go through some crises this year. Nevertheless, the American team made it to 1st place in the Summer Playoffs and thus qualified safely for the Worlds.
A significant contribution to this has been made by Jungle Shen, as analyzed by YouTuber I AM JERM:
What makes Jungle Shen so interesting? Shen was already very popular as a jungler in Seasons 2 and 3. However, he had more useful skills for the jungle back then, such as lifesteal on “Q” and low cooldown on “W,” which granted him a shield. However, a rework in 2016 made Shen unplayable in the jungle.
The new adjustments have made him at least a bit better in the jungle. Furthermore, his taunt and ultimate are extremely useful in team fights.
In Patch 10.16, Shen was played in the jungle in 0.3% of all matches in SoloQ, in the current Patch 10.18 already in 0.6% (via u.gg). This is a remarkable increase.
Other professional teams have also started using Shen in the jungle:
- “Jankos” from G2 used him in the finals of the LEC against Fnatic.
- The professional “Spirit” from Afreeca Freecs, a Korean team already qualified for the Worlds, mentioned in an interview that they are also keeping an eye on Jungle Shen (via Invenglobal).
How to play Shen in the jungle
What should you pay attention to? Shen is not particularly strong at defeating monsters in the jungle or ganking in the lanes unless you land an early taunt correctly.
Exactly this is what “Spica” did in the game against Team Liquid (for mobile users: the gank starts at 9:25):
Shen is especially useful when you have solo laners who deal a lot of damage and can reach the backline of the enemies. Then Shen can join with his ultimate and taunt the enemy directly.
How to play Shen in the jungle? You should first skill your “Q” and max it first. “W” is useful if enemies try to farm in your jungle, “E” if you want to gank.
For runes, you should focus on:
- Resolve – Grasp of the Undying, Shield Bash, Second Wind, Unflinching
- Domination – Sudden Impact, Ravenous Hunter
- Attack – Flex – Defense
Even though he is somewhat slow in the jungle, he is one of the easier champions there.
Spica and Jankos achieved 1st place in their respective region with Jungle Shen. However, for a well-known team from Korea, things do not look so good. Nevertheless, player Faker remains one of the best and most famous players worldwide.
Politicians are currently even considering changing a law because of him.
