As the most impactful role in the game, junglers carry a heavy burden in League of Legends.
Their champion must be equipped with the right tools for minimizing the time they spend farming in the jungle and maximizing their time ganking.
At least that’s what the majority of players expect from them in solo queue.
And so, choosing the right jungle champion in season 13 is difficult. If you’re a new player, I’d suggest you check my list of beginner-friendly junglers.
Here you can also check the worst champions in League overall.
But if you’re a seasoned jungle player that’s looking to climb higher than before, I can honestly tell you to avoid these 7 picks.
1. Twitch, ~45% Win Rate
Twitch is far from the jungle power he once possessed. He used to be a notorious jungle pick, ideal for ganking and harassing enemies early thanks to his camouflage and element of surprise.
However, with the rise of tankier picks in every role, including jungle, Twitch’s popularity and effectiveness pummeled to the bottom of the ladder. He’s currently the jungler with the lowest win rate across all servers and elos.
The problem that Twitch faces is obvious – he doesn’t deal nearly enough damage as he once did because all of his targets are much tankier now.
No matter if he goes AD or he’s utilizing the AP Twitch build, a tank champion always proves more effective than him.
Don’t get me wrong, Twitch can still win the early game through creative ganking. However, the difficult part is in snowballing those leads and closing the game before the tanks get their items.
Twitch’s jungle clear is still decent and his ability to move around the map is fantastic. But in order for you to carry a game as a jungler you definitely need a stronger pick nowadays.
2. Qiyana, ~47% Win Rate
Qiyana is in a similar spot although her win rate has been somewhat higher than that of Twitch.
Qiyana is a mid lane assassin that many players enjoy in the jungle as well. She’s flexible, mobile, and able to one-shot the squishy carries on the enemy team.
But that’s about it. Qiyana doesn’t do well in extended fights and her only advantage is to enter the fight explosively, hoping to end it before the enemy can retaliate.
Well, this isn’t always an easy thing to do, especially when the enemy team has a couple of tanks. In order for Qiyana to have high enough damage to one-shot someone, she needs to get very head early on.
And of course, this isn’t always an easy thing to achieve, especially in high elo.
I’ll admit that Qiyana is a fast champion, both in terms of jungle clearing speed and moving around the map. She can be present in many fights but her overall effectiveness in them is questionable this season.
So, go for a safer pick!
Read Also: The 7 Worst Mid Laners
3. Talon, ~48% Win Rate
Talon is another mid lane assassin you should definitely consider avoiding in the jungle. He doesn’t have too many strengths that allow him to carry games.
Other than ganking from unexpected angles (thanks to his E), Talon can’t seem to do much else.
His mobility allows him to influence all parts of the map better than most junglers but when it comes to transferring those leads into the late game, he falls short.
Talon’s damage is actually decent. Especially in the early game, he’s able to win duels against most champions.
This often helps him invade and establish control. And if you manage to do so for a long time, you can definitely tip the scales.
But the reason why Talon has such a low win rate in the jungle role is that it’s immensely difficult to do so on consistently.
There are many other easier junglers that are super aggressive in the early game and that can give you the same effect.
So unless you’re an OTP Talon and you want to main him for both mid and jungle, I’d stay away from him.
4. Poppy, ~48% Win Rate
Poppy is a weird champion, to say the least. She doesn’t have a defined role or a class, so every once in a while players invent a new build or take her to a new role.
Well, jungle Poppy hasn’t been shining very brightly for years now.
Sure, here and there some junglers have carried games and shown her potential, but overall, she simply isn’t as effective as some of the other more traditional picks.
First of all, Poppy is neither a tank nor a damage dealer. Her most used build involves bruiser items but her overall damage lacks the numbers that champions like Olaf or Jarvan IV can provide.
On the other hand, if Poppy decides to go full tank and only build tank items, she heavily depends on her team to do all the damage.
Not to mention that there are even better tanks than her for the jungle role such as Maokai or Sejuani.
All in all, Poppy isn’t in the best possible state and I wouldn’t play her while climbing!
5. Sylas, ~48% Win Rate
It’s difficult to pin down the exact reason why Sylas jungle simply doesn’t work while he’s one of the best mid lane champions in League of Legends.
He’s a very powerful AP bruiser that crushes opponents in one role but fails to do so in another.
Well, the first thing to look at is Sylas’ jungle clear. Anyone that has tried to play this champion in this role knows how underwhelming his jungle clear is early on.
Seriously, his damage to jungle monsters is very low and you always struggle to secure your two buffs without recalling to base first.
Not to mention that you can never contest a buff if the enemy jungler comes to invade simply because you don’t have enough HP.
As you know, Sylas’ W doesn’t provide healing when used on a jungle monster. And so, he doesn’t have nearly enough sustain the way junglers like Viego or Diana do.
Another thing to remember is that Sylas is a heavy mana user. His abilities cost a lot of mana which ends up being a problem for many players, especially in lower elos.
So with all of these things combined, you should stay away from Sylas jungle this season.
Read Also: The 7 Worst Top Lane Picks
6. Blitzcrank, ~48% Win Rate
With Blitzcrank’s mini-rework, Riot Games opened a way for players to enjoy this champion in the jungle. Both the AP Blitzcrank and the AD Blitzcrank were viable, but this didn’t last long.
Simply put, Riot Games nerfed jungle Blitz and buried him in the ground. His jungle clear isn’t impressive and he lacks the damage numbers to carry games.
Blitzcrank is a utility champion, a pick that provides crowd control in exchange for damage. Yes, he can be a really helpful jungler overall but he’ll always depend on his teammates to actually carry the games.
In terms of ganking, Blitzcrank is more than decent. His Q is a great tool for setting up kills and he’s one of the best hook champions in the game. However, that’s often not enough.
And that’s why most players lose with Blitzcrank jungle.
7. Karthus, ~48% Win Rate
And lastly, we have Karthus – everyone’s least favorite jungler when he’s on their team. This is a champion that everyone hates playing against but also hates playing with.
Karthus is an AP mage whose primary strength is dealing AoE magic damage.
His key ability is his ultimate, Requiem, which is a global ability that damages all enemies on the map. It can be especially powerful when you get ahead.
However, Karthus is only an effective pick in the late game. This is a scaling champion that has a very slow early game and requires lots of gold and experience in order to actually carry games.
When you play Karthus jungle, getting ahead is simply a must. You need to farm as well as gank, and ensure that you take neutral objectives such as Rift Herald.
Every death sets you miles behind because you’ll never be able to beat the enemy jungler 1v1, especially if they’re someone like Lee Sin or Olaf.
So, I’d only play Karthus if my team is full AD or I have tanks on top and support.
Conclusion
It’s not so much that these 7 champions are bad and can’t seem to carry but more that it’s very challenging to do so on a consistent basis.
For solo queue, it’s really important to play a champion that can always perform, regardless of the matchup or patch.
Because of that, I’d recommend you some of my other jungle guides and figure out the best champions and ways for you to climb this season.
I’d suggest you read the “How to Carry as a Jungler” guide and make sure to know the basics.
Good luck, my friend!
