The fearsome clown assassin can be tricky to play at first, but here are our tips for the dark court jester.
2021 was the year of the resurgent Jungle picks. After Udyr and Rumble made waves in the meta, Shaco could be the next to follow. After 2,567 days off in the pros, the clown was even picked in a competitive match in China. JD Gaming’s jungler ‘Kanavi’ had a good game with the unorthodox pick and has raised the question of whether Shaco will feature regularly in drafts around the globe in the future.
If you’re inspired by the performance or just want to know how to play with or against Shaco, you can find our guide to the dark court jester here.
JDG 2:0 WE
Special congrats to Kanavi's Shaco and Yagao's Zoe.#jdgwin pic.twitter.com/mMg88NmgBk
— JD Gaming (@JDGaming) July 11, 2021
Aggressive from the start – Pathing and Ganking
If Shaco is played well he can be one of the most influential junglers in the early game. To farm your Jungle Camps as quickly and efficiently as possible, you need to use your Q (Deceive) and W (Jumping Devil) perfectly. With his W, Shaco is able to clear several camps at the same time. It’s best to try this out first in the practice tool.
If you start your clear with the Red Buff, you can place two jumping devils with the raptors to farm both camps at the same time. This strategy can be used in any jungle quadrant and will give you a massive advantage over the enemy jungler.
From here you can complete your full clear of the Jungle by moving to the Krugs, or go straight for a mid-lane gank. If you decide to keep farming, you can comfortably jump over the wall with your Q and clear the camps with Spring Devils. Always attack the jungle monsters from behind – your passive gives you bonus damage here. If you decide to gank early, your Q and W are your best tools here as well, as any overly aggressive manoeuvre by an opponent can easily be punished.
Always make sure to place your jumping devils behind your target to give them little to no room to escape.
Shaco’s potential in teamfighting – confusion and harassment.
Shaco’s initial gameplay is fairly simple: gank and annoy your opponents while farming Camps and Dragon/Rift Heralds. The team fights in the later game can be far more difficult to pull off. As an Assassin, your primary goal should still be to reach the backline and neutralise Carrys. Your Q gives you ample opportunity to do this, although your R (Hallucinate) may be the best tool for this
Kanavi's Shaco has been waiting 2,527 days to zone out an entire team and clear the way for LokeN to dominate! #LPL #TimeToConquerAll @JDGaming pic.twitter.com/N9Nytvug9H
— LPL (@lplenglish) July 12, 2021
In the chaos of a team fight, it is likely that your double will be damaged. The three jumping devils that the doppelganger drops as soon as it dies can cause unexpectedly large damage. E (Blade Poison) can be used to take out stragglers. With the slowdown and bonus damage, you can easily take out enemies with little life.
Near target objects (Dragon, Baron Nashor, Rift Herald) you should do your best to harass enemies and deal damage beforehand. This can give you an advantage in the actual fight or push them away from the neutral target object. Your Q is not only a tool for teamfighting, but also an excellent ability to peel as you can clear walls. Overall, Shaco is particularly good at confusing and annoying opponents.
Shaco’s different builds – AP vs AD
Shaco has two main build paths, one where he prioritises AP and another that focuses on AD. These two different builds represent different strategies. The AP build emphasises Shaco’s “trickster nature” by boosting his abilities and their damage. This often allows him to take on a more supportive role, setting up kills and finishing off opponents, though he is reliant on his teammates. The AD build is far more independent and allows players to take the game completely into their own hands.
For the purposes of this guide, we choose the AP build to showcase AP Shaco’s incredible carry potential. Liandy’s Wrath and Cosmic Drive are two strong first items to go for. Both increase his burst damage, with Liandry’s Wrath bringing additional “burn” damage against tanks. As a fourth item (after the boots), you can diversify your damage portfolio with a certain amount of AD. The Gatherer or Essence Raider can do just that job, also granting an AD burst.
The Collector is always a good choice, as its execution mechanic is another way to give enemies the final death blow. Depending on how the game goes, you can either keep going for damage with the Blade of Infinity or get a little more defensive power with the Guardian Angel. Basically, you have a wide selection of possible items.
Runes – Many different sources of damage
Dark Soul Harvest is the most common primary rune for Shaco players. Considering that it’s relatively easy for Shaco to get champions below 50% health, the bonus adaptive damage can make all the difference. Perfidious Trick works well with Shaco’s abilities that cause slowdowns, like his E and W. Argus’ Legacy and Ultimate Hunter help enable Shaco’s gank-focused jungling style.
Sorcery is especially important as a secondary rune for AP builds. Superiority and Rising Storm help you still have enough damage in the later game to burst the enemy carries.
Even though Shaco’s kit and gameplay have the biggest impact early in the game, you can still have a big impact on the outcome of the game later in the game with the right item build and runes.
