With the jungle changes this new season, many new champions have become viable in the current meta. Though Vi and Elise are still the top junglers, many others are chosen as niche picks, particularly if those champions are banned or taken away. One of these rising stars is Pantheon, the Artisan of War. The previous patch allowed his Aegis of Zeonia to target minions and monsters, and the Spirit item changes greatly improved his sustain, making his first clear much better with more health. However, that's not what sets Pantheon apart from the other junglers. He has a very special arsenal of moves that make him a powerful pocket champion when used properly, as proven in the NA and EU LCS.

This in mind, this week's Deep in the Rift will focus on our shield-bashing, spear-throwing, speedo-wearing friend, and see what makes him a great addition to a team's repertoire of jungler picks.

It's time to be a man.

(credits to Plainandplain for the image above)

LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS (Champion Info)

Pantheon is primarily a Fighter, with Assassin as his secondary role. Many players prefer to make him a Tank, but I think that path undermines his abilities way too much, making him become a weaker Shen or Renekton. He mainly deals Physical damage, and his job is to lock down and take out a opponent as quickly as possible, giving his teammates an immediate numbers advantage.

Aegis Protection, his passive, blocks the next incoming turret or basic attack beyond 40 damage. Refreshing every 4 attacks or ability use, it increases his survivability in the jungle. It biggest impact though, is tower diving. Being able to negate one turret shot means everything in doing ganks. This allows you dive early on and still survive.

Spear Shot (Q) is cheap to cast, spammable, and deals a lot of damage even at low levels. This is going to be your bread and butter spell. A strong harassment tool and a great finisher, it takes care of single targets easily, and its low cooldown will allow you to throw at least two of them when ganking.

Aegis of Zeonia (W) is going to be your gap closer. The damage is not that significant, and its stun lasts one second in all levels. But what's incredible about this ability is that it instantly refreshes Aegis of Protection. You think block one tower shot was awesome? Try two.

Heartseeker Strike (E) is your wave clearing tool. However, the damage isn't that great, even at maximum level, so don't expect to sweep camps and minion waves instantly. The thing that makes up for it is its passive, making your autoattacks and Spear Shot instantly crit when the target is below 15% health. This is what makes Pantheon a powerful assassin and cleanup champion.

Grand Skyfall (R). Also known as the Man Drop. It has a cast range similar to Twitsted Fate's, meaning you could drop into your opponents literally out of nowhere. This is where Pantheon becomes such a unique jungler to play, as by the time he hits six, his threat on the map skyrockets. Though it takes some getting used to, when executed well his signature skill enables terrifying ganks.

SWIFT AS THE COURSING RIVER (Game Examples)

(click on the matches to view drafts and VOD)

ROCC vs SHC CRS vs XDG

MIL vs [A] MIL vs CW

In the first two weeks of the LCS, jungle Pantheon has been used four times: once by ROCCAT and Curse, twice by Millenium. Out of these, ROCCAT and Curse won their games. While Araneae wasn't able to carry the team with him, it doesn't immediately mean that he was using it incorrectly. However, there should be a couple of things to note:

-Notice how Jankos and IWD use their ultimates. They usually position themselves behind the team, cutting off any escapes. ROCCAT displayed this the best, the Overpow and the rest converged and pushed Supa Hot Crew XD right between them and Jankos.

-IWD's aggressive jungling fits perfectly with Pantheon. He was able to make plays early on, which allowed Voyboy and Cop to get a strong lead.

-While Pantheon is a strong duelist, there are a few champions that can beat him early on. Kha'Zix and Lee Sin have superior dueling power, especially when caught alone. This is shown in Araneae's games, where he can't simply invade and counterjungle like he usually does.

FORCE OF A GREAT TYPHOON (Runes, Masteries, Skill & Item Build)

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The mastery page is focused on offense. Your game is all about ganking immediately after your first clear, so you should pack as much punch as possible. Executioner and Dangerous Game can be swapped for Sorcery.

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If you think you could gank more, going all AD is good. Otherwise, the 4% lifesteal will help you sustain better as you look for opportunites.

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Maxing Spear Shot is always top priority. Not only does this help you clear the camps faster, but it deals tremendous amounts of burst damage when ganking. It also serves as a great finisher when the opponent flashes away, due to its decent range. Since Aegis of Zeonia's stun duration is the same at all levels, Heartseeker Strike is a next one of max out.

As the core items, you want to stack up damage as soon as possible.

adds a burn effect to your burst, perfect for those last ticks of health.

is a cheap and efficient item, with a lot of stats he needs (Damage, Armor Pen, Cooldown Reduction). Finally, Last Whisper makes him a true assassin, able to melt the squishy carry instantly.

Boots upgrade will always depend on the situation, so this one's up to your judgment

If you are finished with your core items, here are a couple of options you could pick:

Black Cleaver helps Pantheon shred even more armor. This is useful if you are stuck fighting tanks or could survive the dive already. Frozen Mallet and Warmog's Armor are good defense items when there is a mixed bag of damage. Mallet will help you chase people better, and Warmog's add a ton of survivability. Randuin's Omen is perfect is AD-heavy comps, are well as autoattack hypercarries like Vayne and Jax. Finally, Hexdrinker and Banshee's Veil are good items to grab when mages are your problem. Hexdrinker adds damage, gives you an emergency shield, and could be upgraded to the Maw of Malmortius. The Veil blocks one spell, which makes diving a little bit safer, as you can negate one possible crowd control spell.

STRENGTH OF A RAGING FIRE (Strengths and Weaknesses)

Pantheon is a snowball enabling jungler. Similar to Vi and Elise, he has strong ganking and dueling power. This makes him great when there's a lane to camp, ensuring his ally's lane victory. Because he can deal so much damage immediately, he can pop in a lane, kill a champion, and get out before the enemy jungler could respond. His damage build makes him a powerful threat in the early to mid game, so him getting the kills is still worth it. Finally, the mandrop gives him amazing map control, as he can dive in from almost anywhere in the map, initiating fights when the enemy least expects it.

With all this in mind, he does have his share of weaknesses. He can fall off hard in the late game, especially when the tanks get their items, dampening his assassination power. If his teammates fall in the early game, then he will have a hard time helping them get back, as he relies on his allies' damage to help with his Spear Shot and Heartseeker Strike. Lastly, while Grand Skyfall is an amazing engagement tool, it does take some time to wind up. Meaning, if the enemy team thinks fast enough, they could either prepare your arrival and zone out your team away from you, or immediately disengage.

MYSTERIOUS AS THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THE MOON (Team Synergies)

Pantheon fits well in pick comps. His single-target lockdown and burst synergizes well with assassins. He doesn't have much to offer in major teamfights, so zoning/eliminating one champion out is crucial. As you saw in the VODs, his teammates have abilities that help chain single target crowd control. As his kit is great in cutting off enemy rotations, a team that loves roaming and skirmishes is a perfect fit for him.

Because the pro teams used as examples picked a wide variety of champions, I would instead list all the other champions aspiring teams could use to built with Pantheon.

TOP

Can get by on his own, but becomes a monster when fed. His cleavers can help set up good ganks in the lane, and he's a perfect dive buddy due to his tankiness.

Has strong harassment and sustian similar to Mundo, but has the option to go assassin when need be. Thrill of the Hunt allows him to get past the tanks and dive the carry as you drop in.

Might force you to take care of the top lane more than usual, but it's worth it. One of the best hypercarries, he can set up strong ganks if he hits his counterstrike.

MID

what he lacks in cc, he makes up in raw, unadulterated damage. If you can get him snowballed into six before his opponent, the damage the two of you can deal will melt anybody.

a great all-around midlaner. While he can set up a gank his Body Slam, it's his Explosive Casket that makes him so great in isolating enemies.

while she isn't top picked in the meta, her Charm is still potent, Also, her Spirit Rush makes her very mobile and great to be in tandem with when making picks.

ADC

the best ADC in terms of pure power. If you can stun the opponent, at least two axes can land, dealing tons of damage and immediately putting the situation into your favor.

while the best ADC early damage goes to Draven now, his Buckshot is still something to be afraid of. Quickdraw is great for gap closing, and Smokescreen plus Collateral Damage are useful tools for chasing and execution.

her strong laning and wave clear allows her to be a strong pusher, which can open up tower dives. On The Hunt helps Pantheon's chase potential post-ult.

SUPPORT

strong support for aggressive lanes, her and Pantheon can chain a hell of a lot of cc as early as level 2, almost securing a first blood. Solar Flare is also a great tool for locking down enemies as you cast Grand Skyfall

similar to Leona, but safer in lane due to Imbue and Shatter. His advantage can be seen later in the game, as his armor shred and Radiance are powerful stat boosts for you.

the cow has one aspect that trumps these two other supports: repositioning. Enemy near the tower? Flash-Pulverize, then Headbutt. Follow with Aegis of Zeonia. Profit.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope that this article helped you guys understand the Artisan of War a little bit. He is a great example of how the jungle changes opened the door for new possibilities. So try him out, and show the rift that you have what it takes to be a man!

(Apologies for the Mulan references. Well, not really.)

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