Jarvan IV had an impressive showing as a top laner.

On May 30th, Longzhu Gaming Dongha “Khan” Kim played a pivotal role as a top Jarvan IV in defeating KT Rolster 2-0 for the second match of the LCK Summer Split on opening day. After a comfortable laning phase to level up, Khan became a major part of the team’s victory by picking off enemies with timely Demacian Standard-Dragon Strike combo and Cataclysm.

Here are the runes and masteries he used for the match:

Scaling health and magic resist runes are suitable for dealing with AP champions. Combined with Quintessence runes, total attack damage comes out to be 15.3. Jarvan IV’s basic attacks can deal a fatal amount of damage to enemy champions with low health, thanks to his passive that deals 10% of the target’s current health to champions as bonus physical damage.

For masteries, Khan went with Grasp of the Undying, which helps when trading with enemies and subsequently improves sustain in lanes.

He maxed out R-Q-W-E in that order. Jarvan IV generally has two options for ability order: maxing out Q first or W first. In the case of Q, the Demacian Standard-Dragon Strike combo followed up by an auto attack can instantly deal a hefty amount of damage. Maxing W first gives Jarvan IV armor, allowing him to tank more damage in teamfights. Khan opted for a more damage-oriented route to focus down an enemy at a moment’s notice.

Top Jarvan IV’s item build is quite aggressive. Khan completed two items pretty early in the game: Titanic Hydra for wave clear and health and Black Cleaver for reducing enemy armor. Thanks to the two offensive items and synergy with a capable Orianna, Jarvan IV decimated key enemy damage dealers as soon as the teamfights started.

In the defense items department, Khan chose a new Gargoyle Stoneplate, whose passive grants 40 bonus armor and 40 bonus magic resistance when near 3 or more enemy champions as well as a unique active that increases max health by 40% and character size while reducing the damage dealt by 60%, in addition to a flat stat gain of +40 magic resistance and +40 armor.

Khan supplemented much-needed CC with Iceborn Gauntlet and improved survivability with Quicksilver Sash.

Though top Jarvan IV has seen some plays, they were far from impressive. Yet, Khan expanded upon the item build to deliver performance comparable to the increasingly popular top Galio.

As it stands, the top lane is undergoing a massive shift with the change in item builds. Champions like reworked Sejuani and Galio are going strong as top lane picks along with historically viable top AP champions like Rumble. For everything in between, Jarvan IV as an AD champion is adding diversity to team comps. If you prefer the cutthroat skirmish of top lane, look no further.