If you have been playing League of Legends solo queue in Patch 14.9, you must know Jinx is one of the best champions right now—but that could change when Patch 14.10 drops.
According to the stats site U.GG, Jinx currently sits at a 25.2 percent pick and 21.7 percent ban rate in Emerald and above, marking her overall presence at 46.9 percent. This is a high pick-and-ban rate, given she’s a hyperscaling carry with no means to peel enemies or escape from sticky situations.
Jinx, similar to other hypercarries, doesn’t come online until she builds her third item. Her build typically consists of Kraken Slayer, Infinity Edge, Runaan’s Hurricane or Rapid Fire Cannon, Lord Dominik’s Regards, and Bloodthirster.
In Patch 14.10, Riot Games is reworking marksmen items and completely removing Lethal Tempo. Although some top laners like Tryndamere have been using this rune, Lethal Tempo is predominately a marksman rune (and one of the main reasons Jinx could dominate Summoner’s Rift).
Riot aims to make marksmen’s power progression more rewarding, allowing for more power spikes. The changes listed, like the removal of Lethal Tempo, the nerf of Press the Attack, Fleet Footwork, and Ghost indicate this might be the end of Jinx’s dominance. Rapid Firecannon and Runaan’s Hurricane will grant more attack speed, but removing Lethal Tempo on top of Ghost nerfs should leave a mark on Jinx’s presence.
We expect the next patch will thoroughly shake up the marksmen meta. It’s hard to say which AD carries will love these changes, but we’re inclined to predict champs like Samira, Miss Fortune, and Lucian will get their five minutes of fame.
