Jayce
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Poor (5.5/10)
High Investment Required
Epic Relics
Jayce is a specialized champion who focuses on high-cost spell archetypes, making him inherently slower than many current top-tier options. While his ceiling is high with full investment, his reliance on specific mana-ramping constellations and relics often makes him feel inconsistent or cumbersome during early progression. However, for those who enjoy 'timing attacks' and generating massive late-game value through spell duplication, he offers a highly unique and thematic playstyle.
Standard Hextech Combo
Essential for Jayce's mid-to-late game power, allowing him to double the impact of his signature 6-cost spells once the mana threshold is reached.
Guarantees a Jayce summon and provides the necessary countdown period to develop mana, effectively bypassing his expensive base cost while ensuring he hits the board alongside his power spikes.
Provides vital spell mana refills upon summoning Jayce, allowing for immediate casting of high-cost spells to stabilize the board or end the match.
Strategy
This build focuses on surviving the early rounds to reach the 6-mana threshold. Once active, the combination of Chemtech Duplicator and Jayce's inherent powers creates a massive 'timing attack' where a single 6-cost spell can be copied multiple times to clear the enemy board and Nexus simultaneously.
Early Acceleration
Reduces Jayce's cost significantly by leveraging early-game fodder units, enabling him to start his engine several rounds earlier than intended.
Generates a constant stream of champion spells, which is critical for maintaining spell-cast momentum and triggering level-up requirements.
Ensures that every round provides enough spell mana to facilitate the expensive deck archetype, reducing the 'dead turn' feel common in slower builds.
Strategy
By lowering Jayce's entry cost, this build attempts to align his board presence with the faster pace of high-difficulty adventures. It sacrifices raw duplication power for consistency and frequency of spell casts.
Other Relic Options
While specific to Jayce, this relic is often considered situational. It is best used to activate Starforged Gauntlets on various champions rather than being a strictly superior option to generic mana-refill relics on Jayce himself.
When paired with stat-boosting relics to reach the Titanic threshold, this provides an invaluable extra starting mana gem, which is one of the most effective ways to mitigate Jayce's slow mana curve.
An excellent utility choice to ensure Jayce and his summoned units can push damage through blockers once they have been buffed by high-cost spells.
Jayce's relic slots are highly contested. Generally, mana refills and duplication effects take priority over raw stats or keywords, as his kit naturally generates 'keyword soup' if he survives long enough to cast spells.
Constellation
Jayce's constellation path is notoriously linear and requires deep investment to overcome his inherent slowness. His power spikes are heavily concentrated in the later stars, making him a poor choice for low-resource players.
Hyper Charge
When you play a 6+ cost spell, reduce the cost of non-spells in your hand by 1.
Unstable State
+1 Starting Mana. Round Start: Create a Hextech Anomaly in hand if you don't already have one you created this way.
Hyper Charge II
When you play a 6+ cost spell, reduce the cost of non-spells in your hand by 1, then give allies +1|+0 and a random keyword this round.
Gearing Up
Game Start: Summon 2 Armed Gearhead.Review
The additional stats provided at round start are often viewed as low-impact. Because the buff is temporary and limited to specific targets, it frequently fails to change the outcome of a match compared to stars that grant mana or permanent scaling.
Manaflow
Game Start: Get a mana gem.Review
This is widely considered Jayce's most important upgrade. The extra mana gem is the primary factor in making him viable in high-difficulty adventures, allowing him to cast his 6-cost spells before the enemy aggro becomes overwhelming.
Hextech Infusion
After you play a 6+ cost spell, deal 10 to a random enemy or the enemy Nexus if there is none.Review
This upgrade adds significant random damage to 6-cost spells. While powerful for clearing boards and finishing the Nexus, it is often characterized as a 'win-more' power because by the time Jayce is successfully duplicating 6-cost spells, the game is usually already secured. Its randomness can also lead to anti-synergy where damage is wasted on targets already slated to die from the spell itself.
Gameplay Tips
- Avoid Spell Cost Reductions
Unlike most spell-slinging champions, Jayce actively dislikes powers or items that reduce spell costs. If a 6-cost spell is reduced to 5, it no longer triggers Jayce's inherent duplication or constellation effects, effectively disabling the core engine of the deck.
- Prioritize Lifesteal Keywords
Jayce's 'keyword soup' from his spells is one of his strongest survival tools. In high-difficulty runs, prioritize rolling for Lifesteal. Because he can reach extremely high attack stats, a single Lifesteal hit is often sufficient to refill the Nexus from near-zero.
- The Elixir of Sorcery Synergy
The 'Star of Discovery' node that grants Elixir of Sorcery to 6-cost spells is a transformative upgrade. It allows for triple-casting spells when combined with Jayce's level 2 ability, which trivializes even the most resilient enemy boards.
- Manage Board Space Carefully
Many of Jayce's spells and support units generate additional followers. Be mindful not to clog the board, as you need open slots to summon Jayce or utilize the 'Stormcarved Spire' from Frozen Tomb effectively.
- Draft for Target Variety
Ideally, draft non-targeting 6-cost spells or spells with variable targets. This ensures that when your level 6 power triggers its random damage, it has the best chance of hitting a relevant target rather than fizzling on an enemy that is already dying to the primary spell cast.