League of Legends: How to Jungle with Morgana (Part 3)

So far in our League of Legends Morgana jungle how-to guides, we have covered how to farm the early game camps and what runes to take on Morgana. The next section is going to consist of heavy problem solving and theory crafting, including a look at some Morgana item choices, as well as counters and weaknesses.

Morgana Item Choices

The bread and butter of any champion build are anchored in what items they decide to purchase. Rune choice and champion traits are integral, but any champion can destroy another with the correct item pathing with specific goals in mind. For the sake of this section, we will NOT be addressing win rates with certain items as those statistics can be misinterpreted. A prime example is Mejai’s Soulstealer with an 87.5% win rate – purchasing the item does NOT mean you have an 87.5% chance to win, but rather it is purchased moreso BECAUSE the player is in such an advantageous spot. The inverse is also true, where buying a Refillable Potion (very common on jungle Morgana) only creates a sub 45% win rate.

The most common Mythic item built is Liandry’s Anguish, which is no surprise as the item provides AP, Mana, and Ability Haste. What separates a good player from a great player is what he or she decides to build next. Are you the primary engage? If so, think about investing in a Zhonya’s Hourglass to bait out cooldowns. Are your carries constantly being dove? Maybe put another point into your E – Black Shield and start up the Cosmic Drive for more Ability Haste and movement speed to get to fights faster. Each situation calls for a different mindset and playstyle, and it falls squarely on the Morgana player to decide what is the best course of action to take.

Morgana Counters and Weaknesses

Many sites provide a statistic to view which champions can easily counter another. This is a guideline to help a player decide what to pick during Champion Select, but one has to remember that eight other players are doing their own jobs within the game. Just because Morgana has a much higher win rate against Olaf does NOT mean that she will win by default.  

Against popular junglers such as Olaf, Udyr, Volibear, and Rumble, players have to consider matchups individually. Morgana is NOT a dueling champion unless she has a sizable lead – all things equal, if Morgana were to 1v1 any of the aforementioned junglers, she would likely lose. Make sure to play intelligently around what your win condition is.  

• Against Olaf, ensure that you have someone with you as an added damage source. Grievous Wounds are great here.
• Udyr specializes in slapping one person and then laying on a lot of AP damage with chase potential. Shield the slap, bind the bear, and have your team burst Udyr down.
• Volibear is very single target based with a telegraphed stun. The main worry here is his ultimate, but the giant lightning god is very kiteable with a single, well-aimed Dark Binding.
• Rumble is also kiteable but absolutely destroys your Black Shield in a matter of a second with his damage output. Teamfighting also heavily favors Rumble, so look for more separated skirmishes to prevent a team-wide Equalizer.