League of Legends XXXIX: Harrowing in the Playground

[ex cathedra]

I really enjoy jungle Hecarim, but our builds don't sound particularly similar.

I generally use 9/12/9 or 1/18/11 masteries with AD/Armor/MR/AD or AD/Armor/MR/MS runes and often build 2x gp10 into Frozen Heart. R>Q>W>E. Nothing really compares. The aura is ridiculously valuable in pretty much every situation, as is 99 armor. The mana pool is a pleasant bonus, but the CDR increases his Q output tremendously and shaves off a significant portion of his ult CD. His Q is really strong, by the way, to the point where the only damage I'd generally itemize on Hecarim is some combination of Hexdrinker, Last Whisper, and 40% CDR.

Shurelya's is situationally core depending on whether I'm the only initiation on our team. Otherwise, it can be delayed until lategame or replaced entirely (with, say, Aegis).

Randuin's is an important lategame option so that you can just ult people and pretend that you're Malphite. Pretending to be Malphite = really strong. A bit too expensive to finish particularly early, though.

Hexdrinker, Aegis, Mercury Treads, Spirit Visage, and Guardian Angel are your MR options. I'd build Hexdrinker in pretty much every game unless I needed both Aegis and Spirit Visage/GA for some reason, since its early stats are super valuable for a 1400 gold investment. All of the others are situational; Spirit Visage makes for a solid Randuins replacement against AP-heavy teams, as the CDR and increase W healing are not to be underestimated.

Last Whisper is just a really great source of DPS. Considering that in pretty much every reasonable lategame scenario the squishiest enemy is going to have at least 90 and likely somewhere in the vicinity of 110 or 120 armor, LW translates into a huge percentile damage boost to your Q. Its low price and high sustained damage output make it by far the most palatable damage item on an otherwise full-tank bruiser. Some people like Triforce, but the cost is painful and the investment makes Hecarim even more team-reliant than he already is.

Boots are obvious. Merc Treads, Ninja Tabi, or boots of mobility in every situation. Boots 5 are mostly useful in the early/midgame, but if you fall behind their value fades quickly. They're quite high-risk//high-reward. On the other hand, if you get ahead early Heart of Gold + Boots 5 + Oracle's makes for an absolutely terrifying pony.

Speaking of Oracles, buy it. Your W, E, and R make you very resilient and early Oracles apply tons of map pressure.