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Jax Matchups and Counters
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This guide is assembled by the site from match data and the game's own information — nobody wrote it by hand. Official and community guides appear alongside it when they exist.
Overview
This guide covers Jax's matchups and how to adapt to them. Riot publishes no matchup statistics, so the matchups below come from the champions' own stats and kits: attack range, starting durability, crowd control and mobility. They describe an advantage on paper, not a measured result.
Strengths
- Crowd control: Counter Strike applies a stun to set up kills.
- Mobility: Leap Strike lets you reposition, engage or escape.
- Clear job in the team: win a long one-on-one lane, pressure the side and matter in team fights.
Weaknesses
- Melee range: ranged opponents can poke it in lane.
- Isolated lane: vulnerable to ganks when you push.
Build cheat sheet
Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.
- Against physical damageDefensiveRecommendedFor a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
- Against magic damageDefensiveSituationalFor a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
- Against healingDefensiveSituationalFor games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Builds
Against physical damage
When to use it
For a lane or a team that hits with attacks: armor boots and an armor item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
232%169%- TopMain69% of matches
- JunglePriority 232% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Dusk and Dawn
- 2Cosmic Drive
- 3Zhonya's Hourglass
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
Flash
Teleport
Against magic damage
When to use it
For a team that kills with abilities: magic resist boots and a magic resist item in the core.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
232%169%- TopMain69% of matches
- JunglePriority 232% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Dusk and Dawn
- 2Cosmic Drive
- 3Banshee's Veil
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Teleport
Against healing
When to use it
For games against healers, life steal or regeneration: the anti-heal item goes into the core instead of waiting.
Where it's played
Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.
232%169%- TopMain69% of matches
- JunglePriority 232% of matches
Starting items
Core items
- 1Dusk and Dawn
- 2Cosmic Drive
- 3Morellonomicon
Boots
Situational
Runes
Primary· Resolve
Secondary· Precision
Shards
Summoner spells
- Flash
- Teleport
Abilities
Relentless AssaultPassiveJax's consecutive basic attacks continuously increase his Attack Speed.
QLeap Strike8/7.5/7/6.5/6s50 mpJax leaps toward a unit. If they are an enemy, he strikes them with his weapon.- Cooldown
- 8·7.5·7·6.5·6
- Cost
- 50
- Range
- 700
WEmpower7/6/5/4/3s30 mpJax charges his weapon with energy, causing his next attack to deal additional damage.- Cooldown
- 7·6·5·4·3
- Cost
- 30
- Range
- 300
ECounter Strike17/15/13/11/9s50/60/70/80/90 mpJax's combat prowess allows him to dodge all incoming attacks for a short duration and then quickly counterattack, stunning all surrounding enemies.- Cooldown
- 17·15·13·11·9
- Cost
- 50·60·70·80·90
- Range
- 300
RGrandmaster-at-ArmsUltimate110/100/90s100 mpEvery third consecutive attack deals additional Magic Damage. Additionally, Jax can activate this ability to deal damage around himself and strengthen his resolve, increasing his Armor and Magic Resist for a short duration.- Cooldown
- 110·100·90
- Cost
- 100
- Range
- 260
Strategy
1Good matchups
Jax does well against these:
- Heimerdinger: Jax starts with 650 health and 36 armour against Heimerdinger's 558 and 19: the early trades are already won on paper.
- Quinn: Jax starts with 650 health and 36 armour against Quinn's 565 and 28: the early trades are already won on paper.
- Kled: Counter Strike (stun) lets Jax pin Kled down before Jousting gets them out.
2Tough matchups
Jax struggles against these:
- Sett: Facebreaker (stun) lets Sett pin Jax down before Leap Strike gets them out.
- Fiora: Riposte (stun) lets Fiora pin Jax down before Leap Strike gets them out.
- Gnar: Hyper / Wallop (stun) lets Gnar pin Jax down before Leap Strike gets them out.
3Synergies
Jax works well alongside these, because their kits fit together:
- Morgana: Counter Strike from Jax holds enemies in place for Soul Shackles from Morgana.
- Nunu & Willump: Counter Strike from Jax holds enemies in place for Absolute Zero from Nunu & Willump.
- Xin Zhao: Counter Strike from Jax holds enemies in place for Crescent Guard from Xin Zhao.
4Adapting the build
The situational builds in this guide answer specific threats: Against physical damage, Against magic damage and Against healing.
5Playing against Jax
If you're on the other side, this is what to exploit:
- Try to engage him in short bursts instead of going toe-to-toe with him. Preventing him from attacking consecutively drastically lowers his damage output.
- Jax can dodge all incoming attacks for a very short amount of time and stuns enemies in melee range when it ends. Wait to strike him until after his dodge is finished.
Tips
- Look at the enemy team before choosing your build: the situational builds below answer the most common threats.
- Good matchup: Heimerdinger. Play forward when you face them.
- Tough matchup: Sett. Play safer and wait for your team.
- Against teams with a lot of dive, save Leap Strike for the first jump.
- Against slippery heroes, hold Counter Strike until their escape is used.
Matchups
Strong against
Jax starts with 650 health and 36 armour against Heimerdinger's 558 and 19: the early trades are already won on paper.
Jax starts with 650 health and 36 armour against Quinn's 565 and 28: the early trades are already won on paper.
Counter Strike (stun) lets Jax pin Kled down before Jousting gets them out.
Weak against
Facebreaker (stun) lets Sett pin Jax down before Leap Strike gets them out.
Riposte (stun) lets Fiora pin Jax down before Leap Strike gets them out.
Hyper / Wallop (stun) lets Gnar pin Jax down before Leap Strike gets them out.
Works well with
Counter Strike from Jax holds enemies in place for Soul Shackles from Morgana.
Counter Strike from Jax holds enemies in place for Absolute Zero from Nunu & Willump.
Counter Strike from Jax holds enemies in place for Crescent Guard from Xin Zhao.
Changelog
- Guide created for patch 16.19.1.
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