Kha'Zix is a champion that has helped to shape League of Legends' identity. From his release in Season 2, the ravenous predator from the Void has been played in the jungle, mid lane, and sometimes even top lane. After Spirit of the Elder Lizard was removed and Summoner's Rift's jungle was reworked, Kha'Zix has struggled to conform to the new jungle meta. In Season 5, his playstyle became very feast or famine with the advent of the dominant Cinderhulk enchantment. Kha'Zix was also outclassed by champions that had superior jungle camp clear times and that could exert more map pressure. After nearly two seasons of mostly buffs administered to Kha'Zix in an attempt to restore his place in casual and competitive play, the changes made to assassins, invisibility, and lethality have finally given Kha'Zix the tools needed to succeed in Season 7. Today, we're going to examine Kha'Zix and learn how to carry games with this otherworldly hunter.

Strengths:

-High damage

-High mobility

-Great early and mid game

-Easily gets fed

-Great duelist

-Not mechanically demanding

Weaknesses:

-Squishy

-Falls off late

-Lacks hard crowd control

-Weak versus crowd control

Summoner Spells

Flash: Flash can be the difference between snowballing your advantage and carrying your team or missing out on opportunities and letting the enemy jungler have the upper hand in the game. This spell brings unparalleled utility and mobility to the table when compared to other summoner spells. Always take Flash when playing Kha'Zix.

Smite: Smite is the essential summoner spell to junglers. Smite provides objective control and jungle sustain which will help you to secure a win. There is no contesting a well-timed 1,000 true damage Smite.

Runes

Reds/Marks: Attack damage Marks are the optimal choice for most champions that benefit from attack damage stats. These marks will increase the damage that his abilities can deal and make his auto attacks more powerful.

Yellows/Seals: Armor Seals help to mitigate the damage that is dealt by the jungle monsters. This will greatly increase the quality of your early clears and allows you to purchase items/gank lanes sooner.

Blues/Glyphs: Scaling magic resistance will benefit you more than flat magic resistance runes. It will be much easier for you to scale into the mid game and will help you greatly to survive the late game.

Quints: Attack damage Quints are the standard runes for champions that benefit from this stat. They will provide most of the extra attack damage that is gained from runes.

Masteries

Ferocity:

Tier 1- Sorcery is taken because Kha'Zix relies on his abilities to deal a majority of his damage instead of his auto attacks.

Tier 2- Fresh Blood compliments Kha'Zix's passive, Unseen Threat. The benefits gained from these buffs will increase your burst damage and give you some soft crowd control to help you to secure the kill.

Tier 3- Kha'Zix will benefit more from the attack damage gained from Natural Talent than lifesteal from Vampirism. Natural Talent will help Kha'Zix be relevant in the mid game and later stages of the game.

Tier 4- This tier is mostly personal preference. Double Edged Sword is more useful for making use of Kha'Zix's early game power and snowballing your lead in order to be even more of a threat later on. Others may choose to take Bounty Hunter instead of risking taking 2% additional damage. Bounty Hunter is also a viable option as you will most likely kill each member of the opposing team at least once as a result of his excellent ability to clean up teamfights.

Cunning:

Tier 1- A majority of Kha'Zix's attacks are single target. Savagery will increase the damage on your auto attacks and Taste Their Fear, making your jungle clears faster.

Tier 2- Assassin is taken to increase the damage that will be dealt to Isolated targets. This will raise your burst potential immensely and make you a more efficient assassin.

Tier 3- Merciless assists in executing your target as you will deal 5% more damage to targets that are under 40% health.

Tier 4- Some variation will also be seen in this tier of masteries. I prefer to take Dangerous Game. There are moments when you escape from a scrappy fight with an opponent and you survive with a sliver of health, but then minion damage kills you or ignite ticks down. Dangerous Game will help to prevent these instances. Especially being a squishy assassin, they may occur more often.

Tier 5- Precision will help you to tear through your enemies' armor regardless of whether it's innate or purchased.

Keystone Mastery:

Thunderlord's Decree: This keystone is your best bet when it comes to damage output. For example, one combination of W + Q + auto attack will be more than enough to proc Thunderlord's Decree and apply the damage to your target. This will increase your burst potential and assist in securing the kill.

Stormraider's Surge: With this keystone, you miss out on potential burst damage but gain increased mobility. Kha'Zix can easily deal 30% of a champion's health within the window of two and a half seconds. The movement speed earned can help to assassinate a target and then quickly escape heavy crowd control. Do I think that Stormraider's Surge is optimal? No, but it is definitely viable.

Abilities and Skill Order

Passive: Unseen Threat

When Kha'Zix is not visible to the enemy team, he gains Unseen Threat, causing his next basic attack against an enemy Champion to deal bonus magic damage and slow.

Unseen Threat helps make Kha'Zix's ganks and jungle invades even more potent. Unseen Threat can help make the difference between executing your target or him getting away and you not earning any gold from the fight. Bushes are your best friend when playing Kha'Zix. Not every bush is warded and more often than not, your enemies probably aren't expecting you to be silently waiting for them to walk by.

Q: Taste Their Fear

Deals physical damage to the target. Damage increased on Isolated targets. If he chooses to Evolve Reaper Claws, this refunds a percent of its cooldown against Isolated targets. Kha'Zix also gains increased range on his basic attacks and Taste Their Fear.

This ability is the bread and butter of Kha'Zix's kit. Taste Their Fear will do a majority of your damage. Use this ability whenever it is off cooldown should you not 100 to 0 your enemy with a single spell reel. Attacking targets that are Isolated will magnify your damage output. The Isolation passive makes you a great backline assassin and excellent at making picks or dueling. Taste Their Fear should be skilled first and evolved first. Taste Their Fear's range is increased which helps when chasing enemies down during a gank or while getting a pick. The additional damage makes clearing your jungle so much faster and exceptionally improves the chances of executing a successful gank. Evolve this ability second if you already evolved Leap or Void Spike because the damage that the Reaper Claws evolution provides is too high to pass up

W: Void Spike

Kha'Zix fires exploding spikes that deal physical damage to enemies hit. Kha'Zix is healed if he is also within the explosion radius. If he chooses to Evolve Spike Racks, Void Spike now fires three spikes in a cone, slow enemies hit, and reveals enemy champions hit for 2 seconds. Isolated targets are slowed for extra.

The healing that Void Spike gives Kha'Zix will help you stay healthy in the jungle and allow you to keep clearing camps. The area of effect damage is useful when clearing camps with multiple monsters like Raptor camp and Krugs camp. Void Spike delivers a soft form of crowd control to your target, giving you and/or your teammates the opportunity to catch up to them and kill them. Skill Void Spike second and skill Evolve Spike Racks last.

E: Leap

Kha'Zix leaps to an area, dealing physical damage upon landing. If he chooses to Evolve Wings, Leap's range increases by 200 and the cooldown resets on champion kill or assist.

Leap is your gap closer and escape. Use Leap to surprise your enemies from bushes, get closer to your enemy during a gank, or escape a botched teamfight. Leap's uses are endless. Make sure to evolve Leap second to gain the 200 range increase. Evolving Wings will enhance all of Leap and make you much more of a threat to the enemy backline.

R: Void Assault

Each rank allows Kha'Zix to evolve one of his abilities, giving it a unique additional effect. When activated, Kha'Zix becomes Invisible, triggering Unseen Threat and increasing Movement Speed. If he chooses to Evolve Adaptive Cloaking, while out of combat Kha'Zix also passively gains Void Assault upon entering a new brush.

Void Assault is the perfect ability for dueling as you can juke your enemies and confuse them. Kha'Zix also gains Unseen Threat as he is invisible to enemy champions which will give you the damage to win your duel. Void Assault can also be used as a tool to surprise an unexpecting and oblivious target. Bushes can be used to further enhance this effect. Void Assault is also useful when escaping from the sticky situations that you may find yourself in. Make sure you run in unexpected directions to avoid being hit by skill shots or crowd control and appropriately time when you are revealed. If you choose to evolve Void Assault, make sure that you utilize the passive and apply excellent map pressure. Skill this ability when given the opportunity.

Items

Starting Items

Hunter's Talisman and Refillable Potion are your go-to starting items when jungling. Hunter's Talisman provides the necessary health return to stay healthy during your first clears and experience needed to get ahead of your enemies. Refillable Potion will top off your health and ensure your hit points don't dip too far down.

Core Items

Skirmisher's Sabre - Warrior: After your first jungle clear, you should aim to gather the items needed to purchase the Warrior enchant on your Smite item. Warrior is the only viable jungle enchant because Kha'Zix benefits from the attack damage stat that is provided. Increased cooldown reduction is a bonus as it allows him to cast all of his abilities more often. The Smite item that you decide to purchase is up to your personal preference and playstyle. I believe that Skirmisher's Sabre is the most optimal Smite item because Challenging Smite grants you true damage on your auto attacks. This will considerably increase your burst as your first auto attack is also buffed by Unseen Threat. Your enemy's reduced damage will make them much less likely to want to return any damage to you, resulting in an encounter in your favor.

The Black Cleaver: Black Cleaver synergizes so well with Taste Their Fear. It is a must-buy item, especially if you are evolving Q first. The cooldown reduction gained from Warrior's enchant and this item totals to 30% CDR. This allows for Taste Their Fear to be casted more often, accumulating valuable Black Cleaver stacks and shredding your opponents' armor. The damage is amplified with an evolved Q. If your target tries to escape, you will be able to keep pace with them as a result of the movement speed buff given to you by Phage.

Duskblade of Draktharr: Duskblade of Draktharr is another item that synergizes with Kha'Zix's kit. Your first auto attack after being unseen will deal true damage on hit. The buffs given to Duskblade of Draktharr on Patch 7.2 are fantastic as the true damage has been increased from 50 to 75, making it more gold efficient and more effective. These benefits in addition to Unseen Threat and Skirmisher's Sabre will aid in outputting an overwhelming amount of burst. The movement speed buff out of combat helps when repositioning before a fight or roaming to other lanes for a gank. Blackout is useful for securing objectives and denying enemy vision which is crucial in soloqueue.

Mercury Treads: This item will help to reduce the amount of time you spend crowd controlled if you are affected by it. Additionally, you will gain magic resistance which increases your survivability.

Optional Items

Ravenous Hydra: Ravenous Hydra helps Kha'Zix clear his jungle more quickly and gives him lifesteal which keeps his hit points up. As a result, you will be able to gank more often and apply more map pressure. The lifesteal gained from Ravenous Hydra will also make soloing dragon much easier and allow you to earn these buffs for your team. This item will increase his damage and burst potential with the active that this item provides.

Edge of Night: Purchase Edge of Night when struggling versus mages like Zyra, Annie, and Morgana. Use Edge of Night's active to dodge abilities that have the potential to do a significant amount of damage or lock you down. This will make jumping into the enemy backline and dueling much safer. The movement speed gained from Edge of Night allows you to roam and gank more often.

Maw of Malmortious: If mages like Syndra or Leblanc are giving you trouble, this item will absorb some of the damage that that you may receive and let you survive the initial burst. This will give you the opportunity to leave the fight or attempt to assassinate them.

Early Game

From the moment you see which champion has Smite in the loading screen, you should be thinking about your game plan. Kha'Zix's early game is very strong due to the Isolation passive on Taste Their Fear. The lack of minions and enemy champions other than the jungler will make it more likely for them to be alone, giving you the Isolation advantage. If the opposing jungler is weaker in the early stages of the game, you should be looking to invade their jungle and apply as much map pressure as possible. Successfully forcing them to Flash away or killing them will set them behind in gold and experience. Map pressure relief lets your team take more risks in lane and increases their chances of getting fed. Ward as much as possible in order to track the enemy jungler's movements. If the enemy jungler is ganking a teammate and you are nearby, be prepared to counter gank. Otherwise, if you are not in a position to gank, clear out their jungle.

Mid Game

At this stage, you should have your core items completed and should start itemizing for the late game. You must have patience when teamfighting. Position yourself on the side of teamfights in order to have the most opportunities to get to the enemy carries. Look to assassinate the enemy backline and clean up teamfights with the resets on Leap that you will earn from assists and kills. Don't split your focus or else you will miss out on damage and the enemy will begin to focus on killing you. Isolated targets are even easier to kill thanks to the passive gained from Taste Their Fear. You shouldn't be afraid to kill tanks either because of the lethality and armor shred you will earn from the Black Cleaver. Do your best to end the game now to achieve the highest chance of winning.

Late Game

Kha'Zix is weakest in the late game. Consider purchasing a Banshee's Veil. Edge of Night, or Guardian Angel when the game has dragged on for this long. Poke with Void Spike when grouped and sieging. Make sure that you are grouped with your team when you engage. Focus on killing priority targets and clean up teamfights with your Leap resets. Try to peel for your carries when possible. You staying alive is crucial. Don't get picked off because you were farming the jungle or a side lane. Mistakes like these can cost you the game.

Jungle Matchups

Rengar - The Pridestalker

This is probably the greatest rivalry in League of Legends. I don't recommend invading Rengar or fighting him before you evolve Taste Their Fear. He has very high burst damage in the early stages of the game and can take you by surprise if you are not careful. Post level six, you'll be able to outplay him using Void Assault and Leap. If you do fight Rengar, take initiative and be the one to swing first. Unseen Predator can catch you by surprise. Rengar will lock you down with a Bola Strike and burst you with his combo before you can burst him. Not to mention you miss out on the damage that you gain from Unseen Threat. The outcome of the game will be decided based on which of you is more fed.

Lee Sin - The Blind Monk

If you lock in Kha'Zix before the enemy jungler is picked, nine times out of ten, Lee Sin will be picked by the opposition. Lee Sin is a champion to be feared and for good reason. His ability to pick his fights with high mobility and six abilities that can be used to help him win early game fights are what makes him so strong. Not to mention, Resonating Strike deals percentage missing health damage, serving as an effective execute ability. There's nothing worse than minding your own business in your jungle and Lee Sin catches you clearing a camp with only half of your hit points. Try your best to track Lee Sin and predict where he will be. Dueling Lee Sin is dangerous if he is ahead because he can find your position if you use Void Assault with his Tempest/Cripple. Get the drop on him first and dodge his Sonic Wave if possible. Fight him in Isolation or if you are ahead.

Vi - The Piltover Enforcer

Vi is another one of the few champions that possess the power to duel you early. If you choose to invade or fight Vi, make sure that her Vault Breaker has already been used. This ability will knock you back when she collides with you and apply a stack of Denting Blows to you. Get the jump on her and get her Flash or a kill. Do your best to shut her down early and put more pressure on the map than she can. Getting hit with her crowd control is a death sentence. In teamfights, wait for Vi to cast Assault and Battery or else you will be locked down and focused by the enemy team. Try to end the game before the late game is reached. Although Vi doesn't scale as well as other late game champions, her initiation and teamfighting are superb.

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