I had the pleasure of speaking with Hunger x Hunger, a top Rumble player in North America and the world. He has been a guiding light for Rumble builds and playstyle in high elo games and has even topped the Lolskill.com rankings multiple times.

How long have you played league?

HxH: Since the end of 2010. One of my close friends Derek ‘Kuniv’ Rich introduced me to League of Legends and showed me his gameplay videos on rammus. He had the most viewed rammus guide back then. I came from a Defense of the Ancients background so getting into league was very easy for me. However toxicity was a huge part of DotA and because of that i didn’t adapt well to the friendly environment league was back when it first started. It is still a challenge today to kick the habit of calling people bad even when its intended to be in playful rivalry way just because of where my gaming background stems from.

How many games have you played on rumble approximately (Across all accounts)?

HxH: Approximately over 9000. Although I do feel like 99% of those games were mindless solo queue binges. One thing I enjoy about rumble is that the champion itself rewards you based on how well you play the game and does not leave you any room for error.

What made you start to play rumble, and why do you continue to play him? Do you ever get tired of the same champion?

HxH: Rumble was a very strong champion when he was first released however it was rumbles poke and siege playstyle that intrigued me the most. Since double ADC comps are becoming popular in competitive play Rumble will be popular yet again even though he isn’t an optimal choice for a team comp using standard meta and nope never get tired of playing Rumble.

What in your mind is the strongest and weakest parts of Rumble?

HxH: The strongest parts of rumble is his ability to deal long range damage with his ultimate. He also counters other short range mages because of the Q harass. The weakest part of rumble is his ability to wave clear. I could have 1000 ability power and yet flamespitter would still take 2 cycles to clear a minion wave. It’s honestly something that needs to be looked at again considering other mages clear waves in only a second. it takes rumble 8 seconds in the late game which is way too long and makes it impossible to hold turrets. Theres a slew of tanks that clear minion waves faster than Rumble to be honest almost every champion in the game clears faster than a late game Rumble.

What champions are the best to play against as Rumble?

HxH: AD/AP assassins which is why rumble mid seems much more viable for solo queue.

You have played so many game on Rumble, do you ever use him in lanes other than top? Do other lanes work?

HxH: Rumble is a very strong champion, i’ve tried him in every role besides ADC. In lower elos rumble can snowball faster as a support rushing Rylais.

Have you ever collaborated with other high level Rumble players, or do you see them more as opponents of being the best? Do you see other rumbles as being better than you, or on the same level at all?

HxH: I have not collaborated with any other high elo Rumble players. I’ve had some conversations here and there with the player RubenxSword, who is a challenger Rumble main on LAS server. I don’t think any of the other Rumble mains care as much as I do about innovating any new strategies, they just play the champion. I’ve pretty much been deemed a troll on popular streams for my banner of command rush which is a strategy I’ve been using this season.

You mention Banner of Command. What is strong about it on Rumble?

HxH: One of the strongest early ability power items in the game in my opinion. I’ve found that Rumble already being very hard to assassinate becomes even harder to kill. Its sort of an anti-carry style of play I slowly push objectives I don't rack up the kills myself but my goal is to pick away at the enemy lane and stunt any attempt they have at snowballing the game.

Rumble has seen competitive play for awhile now, and is a very likely pick for top laners. Do you see him as needing a nerf anytime soon - or is he in a perfect spot? How does the future of season 5 look for him?

HxH: I don’t see any nerfs in the future for Rumble They have gutted the champion from being a flavor of the month, so it’s not rewarding for anyone to just blindly pick him up for solo queue. He’s at a tolerable spot at the moment if they nerf him any more I would suggest a full rework because as of right now rumble is pretty unplayable for new players. Honestly rumble’s W is probably one of the most disappointing skills in the game. I like how it is strong early game to soften the poke damage from other champions but as soon as level 3 hits, the shield becomes irrelevant and the speed boost is negligible at all points of the game. I think they should just make it have one function to either be a stronger/longer boost of speed, or a stronger shield instead of 2 very weak versions that have no relevance outside of level 1.

Do you have any closing comments?

HxH: I’m not just speaking for myself when I say that being a one trick pony isn’t something I have to do to play at a high level. It is something I choose to do and it’s actually high risk and very little reward. Rumble mains cannot be compared to the typical one trick ponies who obviously main a champion due to the abusive nature of it in game. So if you run into a Rumble main out there recognize the struggle and show some love.

You can find Hunger x Hunger on his Twitch stream at http://www.twitch.tv/hunger_x_hunger