“Believe in the heart of the cards” as Darwell “GS Asurai” Llerena likes to say.

Jungle Twisted Fate (TF) has been all the rage lately in the rift; from solo queue to the competitive scene, it seems that our favorite card-carrying gambit is more than just a fad. More and more players seem to be willing to gamble on the Card Master to raid their neutral camps and steal enemy buffs.

Twisted Fate has been dealing his cards since 2009 and a popular way to play him would usually be as an Ability Power (AP) carry in the mid lane. However, he is breaking the stereotype of tanky or bruiser type champions owning the jungle, especially since the Season 5’s jungle monsters have been buffed significantly in terms of their own damage output.

By now, it’s no mystery that a jungle Twisted Fate is possible but what people miss out on is how players make it so. Veteran jungle players may already be familiar with the term “soft resets” but for those who aren’t, let me break it to you briefly: To soft reset is to clear a jungle camp from a certain distance wherein you will take minimal to no damage at all. This requires precision timing and positioning since neutral monsters will return to their spawn point and eventually regenerate health. Here is a video that demonstrates soft resetting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjH3NwMnClA&feature=youtu.be

Take note that soft resets can only occur up to ten times. Past that, the neutral monster will hard reset meaning it will regenerate its health faster than the soft reset. This is a very useful trick to have up your sleeve if you want to jungle as TF.

Jungle Twisted Fate officially broke the meta when Unicorns of Love (UOL) used him in their win against Team Solo Mid (TSM) in their first game of the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) semi-finals. UOL caught TSM off guard during the banning phase when UOL mid laner Tristan “PowerofEvil” Schrage locked in Twisted Fate which made TSM’s mid laner Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg feel safe as he counter picked with a Xerath. UOL shocked everyone in attendance when they last picked LeBlanc and swapped Twisted Fate to their jungler Mateusz “Kikis” Szkudlarek. After that game, everybody was playing Twisted Fate in the jungle.

 

Skills

 Loaded Dice

Twisted Fate’s passive; when he kills a unit, he gains an additional one to six gold. This gives him a gold advantage over typical junglers.

 Wild Cards

His Q is a skillshot of three rows of cards in an arc; it deals magic damage to enemies it passes through.

 Pick a Card

Twisted Fate shuffles through his deck of cards. Once reactivated, his next attack will either be a blue card which restores mana on hit, a red card that damages and slows enemies or a gold card that stuns the target. All three cards will deal bonus magic damage.

 Stacked Deck

His E is a passive that grants him bonus attack speed per level. Additionally, it also makes his fourth basic attack deal extra magic damage.

 Destiny

Twisted Fate’s ultimate; reveals all enemies on the map and lets him teleport to a target location within a range of 5500.

UOL Kikis posted on reddit the runes, masteries as well as item and skill build when playing jungle Twisted Fate.

 

Runes

*Attack speed marks and quintessences will help trigger Twisted Fate’s passive E as much as possible, allowing for extra magic damage. Armor per level seals to make sure he lasts long enough in late-game team fights. Cooldown per level glyphs will significantly reduce Destiny’s down time giving him more chances to abuse his ultimate.*

Masteries

* 21 points in offense focusing on attack speed and attack damage while nine points in defense to reduce incoming damage and increase health.*

You can start level one with a point on E and max it first for the attack speed and additional damage with every fourth basic attack. Put a point on W at level two, max it second. Only put a point on you Q when you have to since you will not be making much use of it. Make sure to get Destiny at level six and level it when possible.

 

Items

Starting:   or 

First Recall: 

Core: 

Always start out with the standard jungling items. Rush the hunter’s machete into a Ranger’s Trailblazer early on to help you clear out jungle camps and buy Boots of Speed when possible to reach the lanes faster. Kikis suggested to either get Berserker Greaves or Mercury Treads. Once you get your Devourer and Wit’s End, you can build tank items, which is how Kikis plays Twisted Fate. He goes full tank with Randuin’s Omen, Banshee’s Veil, Guardian Angel and Zhonya’s Hourglass. A tanky build will let you use Destiny aggressively meaning you can teleport in the middle of the enemy team, stun them with gold cards and pop Zhonya’s when you take too much heat.

Conclusion

A great level 6 gank with a semi-global range that reveals all enemies on the map is surely enticing for any jungler out there. The ability to slow or stun at will is also a handy skill in TF’s kit.

Are you ready to go all in with Twisted Fate? Will you bet on the Card Master’s deck hoping for a gold card to stop any foe in his tracks? Your enemies are destined to fall beneath your feet thanks to a little luck and a little help from your friends.

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