Skarner · Jungle

Skarner Early Jungle Guide

Laning phaseData-drivenMediumPatch 16.19.1

158Updated 3 hours ago

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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

Start with your jungle pet and Smite, plan a full clear towards the lane you want to gank and show up when that lane has the enemy pushed and without Flash. Early, your objectives are the first dragons and the void grubs: track where the enemy jungler started and contest on the opposite side.

Strengths

Sustain from Seismic Bastion.
Very durable: Riot rates it 8/10 in defense.
Crowd control: Ixtal's Impact applies a stun to set up kills.

Weaknesses

No dash or blink in the kit: vulnerable to ganks without vision.
Falls behind if the early ganks fail: every wasted trip is lost farm.

Build cheat sheet

Pick the build that fits what you want to do this game.

Early jungle buildBalancedRecommendedHow to open: your jungle pet and Smite for the first clear, then the components of Bandlepipes on your first backs, and boots once the pet has evolved.
Standard buildBalancedAdvancedThe default path: Bandlepipes, Zeke's Convergence and Locket of the Iron Solari give the health, magic resist and armor this class relies on. Pick it when you have no reason to adapt. Built from Riot's item tags and the champion's class; Riot publishes no build statistics.

Builds

Early jungle build

BalancedRecommended

Open build

When to use it

How to open: your jungle pet and Smite for the first clear, then the components of Bandlepipes on your first backs, and boots once the pet has evolved.

Where it's played

Picked before the game: the main lane first, then the alternatives.

Summoner's RiftRed side · bottom leftBlue side · top right

JungleMain100% of matches
TopPriority 2

Jungle priorities

StartRed buff

1Scuttle Crab
2Gank bot
3Dragons
4Voidgrubs
5Rift Herald
6Baron Nashor
7Atakhan

Guideline, not a measurement: a crowd-control jungler starting red side. Secure the scuttle, gank the lanes that can follow your control and set up dragons.

Starting items

Mosstomper SeedlingHealth PotionHealth regeneration.

Early game

KindlegemHealth and ability haste.Cloth ArmorArmor.Null-Magic MantleMagic resist.

Core items

1Bandlepipes

Boots

Plated Steelcaps

Runes

Primary· Resolve

Secondary· Precision

Shards

Summoner spells

Flash
Smite

Abilities

Threads of VibrationPassiveSkarner's Attacks, Shattered Earth, Upheaval, and Impale, apply Quaking. At max stacks of Quaking, enemies take max Health magic damage over its duration.
QShattered Earth / Upheaval8/6.75/5.5/4.25/3s30 mpSkarner rips a boulder from the earth that empowers his attacks and can be thrown as a powerful projectile.
Cooldown
8·6.75·5.5·4.25·3
Cost
30
Range
400
WSeismic Bastion10/9/8/7/6s60/65/70/75/80 mpSkarner gains a shield and creates an earthquake whose shockwave damages and slows foes.
Cooldown
10·9·8·7·6
Cost
60·65·70·75·80
Range
700
EIxtal's Impact22/21/20/19/18s50/55/60/65/70 mpSkarner charges forward and passes through terrain. If he collides with a champion or large monster, he'll slam them into the next wall he hits to damage and stun them.
Cooldown
22·21·20·19·18
Cost
50·55·60·65·70
Range
1700
Basic ability — applies a stun. Save it for priority targets or to interrupt a channel.
RImpaleUltimate120/105/90s100 mpSkarner's tails lash forward to suppress enemy champions. Once suppressed, the victims will be dragged along by Skarner as he moves around.
Cooldown
120·105·90
Cost
100
Range
625
Ultimate — applies a suppression. Use it on the target your team can kill.

Strategy

1Starting and early items

Your jungle pet and Smite decide how fast and how safely you clear. The early jungle build below lists the first items with what each one gives you.

Key early items: Kindlegem and Cloth Armor.

2Ganks

A gank works when the lane is pushed towards the enemy tower and the enemy has used Flash or their escape: pick those moments instead of forcing a bad one. The kit brings crowd control (stun) with Ixtal's Impact.

3Clearing and pathing

Clear camps in an order that ends next to the lane you want to gank or the objective you want to take, and reset before the next spawn instead of walking around at low health.

4Early objectives

Early, your objectives are the first dragons and the void grubs: track where the enemy jungler started and contest on the opposite side. Your spikes are level 6, when Impale comes online, and each completed item: Bandlepipes first, then Zeke's Convergence.

Tips

A gank works when the lane is pushed towards the enemy tower and the enemy has used Flash or their escape: pick those moments instead of forcing a bad one.
Kindlegem is your first purchase that changes the lane: get it early.
Gank with Ixtal's Impact ready: without it, most ganks end in a Flash and nothing else.
Basic attacks apply Quaking. Stick to your target and re-apply it for maximum damage.
Early, your objectives are the first dragons and the void grubs: track where the enemy jungler started and contest on the opposite side.

Matchups

Strong against

Rengar
Ixtal's Impact (stun) lets Skarner pin Rengar down before Thrill of the Hunt gets them out.
Shaco
Ixtal's Impact (stun) lets Skarner pin Shaco down before Deceive gets them out.
Kha'Zix
Ixtal's Impact (stun) lets Skarner pin Kha'Zix down before Leap gets them out.

Weak against

Kindred
Kindred attacks from 500 units and Skarner from 150, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.
Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks attacks from 480 units and Skarner from 150, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.
Nidalee
Nidalee attacks from 525 units and Skarner from 150, with no dash in the kit to close the gap.