Jungle Pantheon is extremely powerful right now, but also underplayed. His level 2 ganks are godly and are on par with shaco, although not many people realize this. My hope is that players will realize how powerful he is and start playing him




Proof that I am 2k.



These 4 games were played in ranked at 2K elo with jungle pantheon. Sorry I don't have more. They were cleared out of my match history.


DISCLAIMER: JUNGLE PANTHEON IS NO LONGER VIABLE FOR HIGH ELO 2.1K+.
STILL AMAZING AT SHIT ELO

3/13: Added Doran's Blade gameplay video.
3/17: Added 4 more jungle matchups: Mundo, Gangplank, Malphite, Nocturne
3/30: New item MoM isn't good on panth to rush.

After attacking or casting spells 4 times, Pantheon will block the next normal attack that deals more than 40 damage to him.





This is one of the best passives in game. It helps Pantheon maintain a high HP bar in the jungle and is what allows him to destroy AD carries and other junglers like shaco, lee sin.





Pantheon hurls his spear at an opponent, dealing 65/105/145/185/225 + 140% of his bonus attack damage in physical damage. Certain Death causes Spear Shot to critically strike for 1.5x damage

Cooldown 4 seconds
Cost 45 mana
Range 600



Great for finishing off people during ganks because it can crit. It scales extremely well with AD, which is why I run Flat AD runes rather than ArPen. Max this first. Does not apply on hit effects (red buff).






Pantheon leaps at the target enemy champion and deals 50 / 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 (+100% of ability power) magic damage and stuns them for 1 second. Pantheon also instantly refreshes his Aegis Protection.

Cooldown 13/12/11/10/9 seconds
Cost 70 mana
Range 600



This stun is the reason why he is viable in the jungle, and it makes him one of the strongest gankers. Don't be afraid to flash+stun to set up a gank in lane, especially mid lane.






Passive: Pantheon gains 100% critical strike chance against targets below 15% of their max health.

Active: Pantheon focuses and deals 3 swift strikes in front of him for 13/23/33/43/53 + 60% of his bonus attack damage as physical damage per strike. Deals double damage to champions. Channels for 0.75 seconds

Cooldown 10/9/8/7/6 seconds
Cost 45/50/55/60/65 mana
Range 400



Late game this does TONS of damage if you aren't behind. However, early game, autoattacks are more important then taking the .75 seconds to cast this because it is very weak.

Hidden Passive: His lifesteal doubles on targets below 15%. The 3% mastery and 2 dorans blades totals to 9% lifesteal, which becomes 18% on low health targets: Great for his sustain






Pantheon gathers his strength and then leaps high into the air for 2 seconds, crashing down at the target area 1.5 seconds later. Deals up to 400 / 700 / 1000 (+100% of ability power) magic damage to units at the center (down to 50% at the edge) and slows them by 35% for 1 second.

Cost 150 / 250 / 350 mana
Range 5500



This ultimate makes or breaks a pantheon player. Read the section on how to use the ultimate.


Generally: -> -> ->

Why E maxed after W? Although Pantheon is a ganking-oriented champ and leveling increases his burst, the increase is very miniscule compared to how well scales.

Why Q over E? Early game, does not help your jungle speed even though its AoE. actually lets you jungle fast. It is also much better for ganks because you'll be able to use it at least 2 times most of the time. only starts doing damage once you have a lot of AD.

I go 21/9 for a few reasons. Pantheon is built very aggressively early to mid game, so 21 in offense is necessary. The extra crit damage and extra % damage when the enemy is under a certain health scales extremely well with Pantheon's heartseeker strike passive.

You need +6 armor, -4 minion damage, and 6 damage reflected to creeps to be able to jungle with boots and maintain a healthy health bar.

The other 3 points don't really matter that much, just put them where you prefer. I prefer the MR and smite mastery.

6 AS marks: Attack speed allows pantheon's passive to block damage more often. Helps you sustain in jungle.
3 Flat AD marks: AD scales amazingly with pantheon, but you can use 9 AS marks if you want.

9 Armor seals: Self explanatory, needed in the jungle.

9 AS glyphs: Attack speed allows pantheon's passive to block damage more often. Helps you sustain in jungle.

3 Flat AD quints: AD scales amazingly with pantheon and makes your ganks all the more scary. Pantheon is all about getting early ganks, so flat AD is better than ArPen on him.


Other Options:
Scaling/flat MR glyphs

ArPen instead of Flat Damage against: Udyr, Skarner, Maokai, (tanky junglers)

Smite is self explanatory.

Flash lets you do a flash+w (stun) combo. If your ap mid has a reliable stun, (annie, TF, sion, swain, etc), it is basically free first blood.

Q, W, Q, E, then prioritize R->Q->E->W

Start with Q to help you jungle, then level W at level 2 for your gank.

When jungling, do NOT use your E until later levels when it does significantly more damage. Your autoattacks in early-mid game do more damage against creeps.

Start most of the time.

Why?

I've recently had more success starting over boots or cloth armor simply because it further strengthens his already strong early game. The extra HP allows him to destroy shaco and lee sin harder, while letting him contend with udyr, skarner, and maokai.

Get after your second You need the AS to improve your creep killing speed and the lifesteal from TWO doran's + lifesteal mastery is enough to sustain yourself. The extra movement speed from boots 2 will also greatly help you land your W during a gank.

After two dorans, go -> -> -> -> .

You will have plenty of damage with this build, and you don't want to get on jungle pantheon because you won't have much farm and will be very squishy. With you slow people forever and scales well with your abilities.

Of course, all builds are flexible, so if you feel the need for an earlier FoN, go for it.
If the enemy stacks armor, get and sell

Also, do NOT upgrade brutalizer to Youmoo's ghostblade. It delays the very necessary FM a lot.
Do NOT get . If you rush it early, you are really weak, and lategame, FoN is just so much better.

I do consider this build to be the optimal build, however some other viable options are:

Start Wolves -> Blue buff. Get your team to help you especially if you start boots.

If you start on blue team, gank either mid or top at level 2, whichever has a stun or seems more of a sure kill.
If you are on purple team, gank mid at level 2. Ganking bot lane at level 2 is much more difficult because of wards and the heal SS meta.

After that, clear your jungle and do ganks in between. With Pantheon, there really is no set route because he is so ganking oriented. Remember that you generally want be spending more time ganking than farming.

If your blue gets invaded, just do wraiths then red, and gank either mid or top level 2 as well.

Against smart players, you will most likely have to flash -> stun to secure FB to stunlock the enemy if your solo lane has a stun. Don't be afraid to use your flash.

Also, if you are ganking and the enemy counter ganks, you should be able to most 2v2 fights because panth is just so strong early game. However, I can't say every situation, so you will learn with experience.

• 

Maokai has very good ganks but also more jungle control. You lose to him 1v1.
Bad matchup

• 

A good udyr dominates the jungle, and you can't beat him 1v1.
Bad matchup

• 

Easy for pantheon. You destroy him 1v1, and most shacos these days suck anyway.
Good matchup

• 

Can go either way, but not ideal
Ok matchup

• 

Relatively easier. You can beat him 1v1 and in most 2v2 situations cause panth's stun is op.
Good matchup

• 

Skarner is really tanky and he destroys you 1v1. However, you are a much better ganker so try to avoid 1v1ing him. Try to focus on your ganks. If he counterganks, a 2v2 situation can go to your favor even though he beats you 1v1
Overall, bad matchup: a good skarner will hinder you greatly.

• 

You beat riven early game because your shield mitigates at least one passive proc. Your ganks are stronger too.
Good matchup

• 

You need to take advantage of the fact that his ganks are weak pre-6. Once he's 6, hes an incredibly strong ganker/has strong presence.
Good matchup if you successfully gank pre-6

• 

Mundo is not popular however his extreme tankiness/hp makes him difficult for pantheon to 1v1/fight in jungle. Focus on ganking lanes because your ganking power is much greater.
Ok matchup

• 

GP is less played in jungle now as compared to a few months ago. However, panth does destroy him in every way, from greater ganking potential to a 1v1 jungle fight.
Good matchup

• 

Malphite clears really fast, scary level 6 ganks, and COUNTERS PANTHEON :x. His whole kit is anti-AD. If the enemy picks malphite before you picked, better to not pick pantheon.
Bad matchup

• 

Nocturne can be an easy matchup for Pantheon as long as you don't let his spell shield null your stun.
Preferably bait it so you don't waste potential damage, but pop it with Q if you have it
Ok matchup

• 

A good shyvana will steal your entire jungle you can't do much about it. Focus on ganking since her ganks are meh
Ok matchup

Knowing HOW and WHEN to ult can make or break a pantheon player. Don't position the ult on people or they will just run away. You have to predict where they will go.

Bot lane is the easiest lane to gank once you are level 6. You can basically feed off bot lane if you ult properly. And yes, even at 2k elo.
You have to position the ult behind them and closer to the river so that you can block off both of their escape routes.

Your ult can destroy the enemy team if they are doing dragon or baron. With practice, once you get your ult timing down, ult a bit outside the dragon pit to either force them into the pit or force them to scatter and be separated.

Also, once the ring forms after you click your ult, you can spam W before you land and stun them even if they are slightly out of range.

I smartcast all my abilities except my ult so I know the range and can place it exactly where I want it.
I suggest that you do not smartcast your E until you get the range down. You can really screw up a kill if you press E too far away and you just walk forward doing nothing.

Tip 1: Many pantheon players have the misconception that you have to W-> E. In a teamfight, usually it is better to position yourself so that you can hit multiple people with heartseeker strike, and save your stun when you actually need it to catch someone, not just to set up your E.


Tip 2: When ganking, after you stun, get an autoattack in before you Q for extra damage and to slow the enemy if you have redbuff. A lot of low-mid elo players forget about their autoattacks and just try to use all their abilities, which reduces potential damage significantly.

Tip 3: I'm not going to go over the three ganking routes for bot/top lane as most people know them (lane/brush gank, river gank, tribush gank). Don't forget pantheon's 4th ganking route (his op as shit ult).

Tip 4: If you start on blue team, gank either mid or top at level 2, whichever has a stun or seems more of a sure kill. If you are on purple team, gank mid. Ganking bot lane at level 2 is much more difficult because of wards and the heal SS meta.

Starting with DORANS BLADE


Another 2K elo game where I start with doran's blade. Notice how I dominate lee sin and how I use my stun during the first kill of the game.






This video is a 2k elo game that demonstrates the power of pantheon's early level ganks and shows camping and proper ulting.


**The buzzing in the beginning goes away after about 20 seconds.







Please excuse my sub-par commentary/LoL recorder skills...pretty new to both.

Gank and camp all day. If their top lane doesn't have a ward, camp the shit out of him. Mid lane is easy ganks if he has a stun and your flash is up especially. Its important that you get used to the range of your w, so you don't flash and then be out of range of your stun looking like a retard.

Its important to note, YOU ARE STRONGER THAN MOST JUNGLERS because of your shield and stun. Some exceptions are udyr, skarner, sometimes maokai. However, you shit on lee sin and shaco hard, so if you started cloth armor against lee and shaco and they invade your jungle, just turn around and rape them.

Once you are level 6, gank bot lane every time your ult is up. If you can secure a kill on their AD carry at least, try to dragon if the conditions are good. Make sure to keep dragon timers no matter who you play. They are really important.

Again, just keep ganking and ganking, thats your job. At this point if you played right, you should have at least 1-2 ganks completed because pantheon is one of the BEST gankers right now.

With a full build, or at least a FM, you can initiate fights with your ult IF your team is there to follow up. Don't go real man mode and 1v5 cause you will die. It is really important to have the timing of your ult down so you don't do this.

You can also easily catch people late game when outer/middle turrets are gone. If one or two of the enemy is overextended, just jump behind them, stun, and have your team follow up.

Its a misconception that he completely falls off late game. Sure he doesn't scale as well as a ranged AD carry, but can still 1v1 a ranged ad lategame of equivalent money value because of his kit.

Lategame depends on your team, you either want to go for their carries or stay with your carry and protect him with your FM permaslow and stun.

I have never been in ELO hell, but based on my experience with pantheon, he would be one of the best junglers to carry yourself out of ELO hell with, if you belong higher of course. With enough ganks, he becomes a carry, while winning lanes for your team.

The issue with some junglers is that bot lane can be hard to gank with good ward coverage, but pantheon's ult solves this problem.

I will add more to this guide, but try out jungle panth :) You will be surprised.