Feeling Confident? Time to Change the Meta

So you're the best huh? Up until roughly the 1900 Elo range, you can pretty much play anything and expect some success as long as it's played competently. What's the best way to have some fun? Play something crazy in the jungle. We've all seen "Dyrus" and "TheOddOne" run jungle Singed, or we've seen "SaintVicious" playing Jungle Alistar. I mean in comparison to the solo que favorites like Lee Sin, Skarner, or Shaco, these jungles are just not as strong. Yet, we see them making it work. Today I'll be giving you a short analysis of a few champions that are relatively fresh and viable in terms of the ranked scene. (The term viable is being used VERY loosely).

The Unsual Suspects: All of these heroes are purely meant for fun, they work, but they're not competitive at high levels. This post is just to help encourage raising the bar. LoL is a game that can grow stale without player innovation, this blog post will help you become the innovator.

Miss Fortune: AD Carry gone jungle. Her DPS and speed in the jungle is actually very good. Her gank is ok with "Make it Rain" but it gives vision in brushes when used and it's a slow. Coupled with "Miss Fortune's" passive movement speed bonus, her ganks can be pretty strong if done correctly.

Starting Buy: Cloth Armor & 5x Health Pots
Starting Skill: Impure Shots (W)
Starting Path: Wolves -> Blue Golem -> etc.

Master Yi: People have been jungling Master Yi for ages, but will you do it in ranked? I dare you. His potential proc on "Alpha Strike" is insanely strong if you get lucky. Easily one of the fastest jungle clears in the game with very strong damage even in the early game due to his "Wuju Style". His gank is relatively strong because his Alpha Strike allows him to gap close very easily. With red buff, it will force a summoner 100% of the time.

Starting Buy: Cloth Armor & 5x Health Pots OR Vampiric Scepter
Starting Skill: Alpha Strike (Q)
Starting Path: Wolves -> Blue Golem -> etc.

Heimerdinger: This jungle choice is definitely more troll than the other two I've listed but the result is hilarious. There's nothing scarier than a double-buffed heimerdinger running into the lane. His jungling ability is very newb friendly because you're success comes from the tankability of your turrets and his passive HP/5 regen. Also, due to red buff now being able to be triggered off him spells, starting the gank off with "Hextech Micro-Rockets" isn't a bad choice. If you want to push the jungle meta with this hero, prepare to see some "zzzz"s.

Starting Buy: Cloth Armor & 5x Health Pots (Safe) OR Regrowth Pendant & Health Pot OR Amplifying Tome & Health Pot
Starting Skill: H-28G Evolution Turret (Q)
Starting Path: Wolves (If side-lanes help DPS them) -> Blue Golem -> etc.

Cho'Gath: Stun, Slow, Silence, Massive Nuke. How could this possibly go wrong? His "Vorpal Spikes" ability makes his jungling speed pretty quick. Add this skill on top of his 2 CC's and a blue buff, you got someone who's jungle speed is only limited by your CDR. His passive "Carnivore" makes it very easily to sustain while jungling, even if you are starting with less traditional buys such as "Regrowth Pendant". His gank is quite litterally hit or miss unless you have someone that can initiate for you in the lane. However, if his "Rupture" hits it's mark, its usually lights out for that person.

Starting Buy: Regrowth Pendant (Rush to Philosophers Stone)
Starting Skill: Vorpal Spikes (E)
Starting Path: Wolves -> Blue Golem -> etc.

If you want to be the cutting edge of tomorrow's meta-game, you have to be prepared for a rigorous period of trial of error. Sometimes your ideas on paper won't translate well into the game. But without ever trying it, you won't know. At the same time, you have to remain open minded, and don't fall into the trap of just playing whats already been discovered. Try different item builds, different champions, different masteries and never be afraid to push the boundaries that have been set before you.