There has been a new build trending for Jayce in the top lane: here is what you need to know about the new tank build.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Jayce tank top build explained
While Jayce is one of the most popular characters in Arcane, his presence in professional play hasn’t been the greatest in recent times. He is only occasionally picked as a way to dominate the enemy during the laning phase and bring strong poke to the team composition.
In the series between Anyone’s Legends (AL) and Weibo Gaming (WBG) the Demacia Cup, AL’s top laner Flandre brought out an interesting tank Jayce build, making it a first for the top lane champion. Let’s break down the reason why he decided to go for it and whether it can be viable going forward.
Breaking down the build
One of the main reasons why the top laner went with the tank build is due to the matchup Flandre went against. WBG’s top laner went with Renekton, a lane bully that is known for having lethal on Jayce, especially on the early levels.
Even though Jayce can theoretically win the matchup due to the range advantage, it requires impeccable positioning: one bad trade or mistep can lead to a death that allows Renekton to snowball the matchup.
The rune choice
With that in mind, Flandre went with defensive items to resist the early laning phase while also building a scaling tank that could use the stacking effect from Grasp of the Undying. Given the champion’s ability to quickly deal damage in both melee and ranged form, Flandre could constantly proc the rune and turn Jayce into a beefy front line that can resist incoming damage.
Bear in mind that Jayce received a rework that allowed him to gain extra resistances while in Hammer form (melee), making him great to both resist side lane pressure and join teamfights when needed.
The build used by Flandre was Fimbulwinter, Unending Despair, Spirit Visage, and Frozen Heart. Together with the Grasp of the Undying, Jayce could benefit from strong health regeneration from both items and runes, allowing him to deal consistent damage and survive.
Can it be used in solo queue?
The question is tricky since it still comes down to whether you can perform on Jayce and what kind of team composition you play with. It’s obvious that you will deal less damage compared to his lethality build but it will allow you to compensate with better teamfighting potential. If you played the champion in a coordinated environment, I think it’s a build you can consider going for, especially if you end up in a similar matchup to Flandre’s. Otherwise, it’s probably just more worth to go for the damage build, which is usually also the reason why you want to pick Jayce in the first place.