Why Monkey Around with Wukong?

Wukong skillfully trolls his way to victory, juking his foes with ease and making other Top Laners hate the early game. His abilities let him get up close, melt opponents, and then safely get away. Now because of Season 3's changes he is getting noticed more and more. I would not be surprised if he becomes one of the best Top Laners in the game.

When I first started playing League of Legends I was pleasantly acquainted with Wukong, but since there were champions like Jax and Singed I quickly switched to them instead of keeping with Wukong. He was easily overlooked at the time by me and many others and now in the Preseason of Season 3 I regret not learning him sooner.

 

Early Game

1. Wukong usually destroys most opponents with his E then Q then W combo. He rushes in, slams down his staff, and disengages with at the least minor damage. A continued use of this combo will require multiple Mana potions and Health potions. As the lane progresses to the level 6 stage your opponents will be able to answer your "Pokes" with damage of their own, this will then cause you to go the route of two Doran's Blades or the route of a Vampiric Scepter.

2. The first Items you'll build is basic boots and a few Health pots, then after a period in lane you'll need to invest in a Brutalizer and a Phage. Lanning Phase for Wukong benefits from a balanced lane, the more time spent fighting only one person will mean a better creep score and a better chance to feel out your opponent. An early tower kill on either side will cause Wukong to wander and will be easily caught off guard because of his low health in the early game. Decoy is essential and must be taken by at least level 3 or else you'll be killed by the Jungler or the Mid coming up to "Play".

3. Black Cleaver and the new Ravenous Hydra are your Main goals in game and the sooner you acquire both the better.

 

Mid Game

1. Team Fights will break out often, with an early Black Cleaver and a spinning Ultimate with Wukong will cause all your opponents to drop in Armor and the added knock up will allow your AD Carry to play cleanup crew. Hitting your Ultimate to start a team fight will end badly though given not all of your opponents will be caught by your Ultimate and will wait it out to engage. Be sure to use it Soon after the entire enemy team engages, and remember to focus the Carries after it is finished.

2. Wukong can and will be used to counter jungle after the 15 minute mark and sometimes sooner because of his E hitting up to 3 targets, which is the perfect number for clearing out 3 of the 4 wraiths and leaving the enemy Jungler or Mid with only 5 or 6 gold instead of the initial 80+ they would have gotten. Now because of the new jungle this will cripple the enemy because of the added gold over time will instead be yours and not theirs. 

3. Wukong can be used to initiate Team fights with his E and then a quick Disengage with W causing them to focus his Decoy and lead them into the trap, The entirety of your Team.

 

Late Game

1. Most games won't last until late game with Wukong because his easy ability to snowball and become another Carry for the team as well as a hard Initiator. The Added AOE from both his Ultimate and Ravenous Hydra will cause enemy teams to fall much faster than usual, but because of the eventual builds of the enemy team, Guardian Angel will make sure the enemy team can't kill you. 

2. The Last thing to note is by level 18 Wukong will be either a Carry or a Feeder, The in-between route of "Even" is rarely seen unless your team doesn't call out MIAs or if in team fights your team composition doesn't hold any weight to the enemy's.

 

Counters

Sadly Wukong can be countered by most bruisers like Singed because of their decent damage and the added defense they acquire through their Items. If counter picked it would be best to try and kill them within the first few levels of the game or at least wait for a gank from the Jungler to occur.

Other Champions who can counter Wukong would be Xin Zhao because of his high damage and lane sustain, Vladimir because of his latent Tank factor and his lack of mana, and Darius because of his damage over time, being a tank, and his crippling Ultimate which can eat through Wukong's remaining health and can only be done on a champion so your Decoy cannot make him waste it.

On the Other hand Wukong counters all forms of squishier Top Laners and those who have Ultimates who can waste it on anything/anyone. Most Notably Wukong is a hard counter for Irelia because of his juking prowess and a much stronger Ultimate. He may also counter Fiora, Akali, and Volibear. Fiora because his Decoy can bait most of her abilities, Akali because of his own Invisibility and the Ability to Ultimate while Akali is Invisible, and Volibear because of his Decoy being flung into the enemy team instead of himself.

 

Personal Review

I personally Review champions I play and like to play, because of this I have set up my own Reviews based on Viability, Balance, and Advantages vs. Disadvantages. Basically 1 out of 10 means an unbalanced and boring champ to play with either too little power, or too much, and either need a remake or for their stats to be updated. 10 would mean a Strong, Reliable, Fun, and Balanced champion which no matter who you are, would love to play this champion till the end of time. As of right now there has been None of either, but I can't wait to find a 10.

Now onto the Review:

Viability

1. Counters high power Top Laners.
2. Useful in a team fight.
3. Has great Synergy with a high CC Team or with Amumu as the Jungler.
4. Makes light work of any enemy champion who is out of place.
5. Can Juke just about anything.

Balance

Is Balanced
1. Decoy (W) - Long Cooldown for Great escape.
2. Nimbus Strike (E) - Hits Multiple targets Dealing damage, but doesn't Multiply the damage when it only hits 1 Target.
3. Base Stats - All stats Improve in a Decent manner and doesn't make him scale to an ungodly power.

Isn't Balanced
1. Stone Skin (Passive) - Is too low early game and unneeded in late game, Scales with amount of enemy champions around instead of a base level. For Improvement it would be better to scale 6/8/10 for each enemy champion around or as a base amount of 15/30/45.
2. Crushing Blow (Q) - Too much damage from AD ratio, instead of 110% of AD added, it would be better to be 90% so that it won't overpower all other champions right out the gate.
3. Cyclone (R/Ultimate) - Too short of a Cooldown at level 3 and would be best to be reduced down to 100% AD so as to not completely melt the enemy team. This Ability has been known to Decimate enemy teams and make it easy to ACE them without much warning.

Advantages

1. Wukong's Ultimate is made to melt teams.
2. His Decoy can save your life and those of your team.
3. Has High Damage early and late game.
4. Is made to use Armor Penetration Religiously.
5. Is hard to gank.
6. Is perfect for most Team Compositions.

Disadvantages

1. Wukong has a low amount of mana the entire game.
2. Cannot be built to tank and still do damage.
3. Is easily picked off if focused down.
4. Relies on his Decoy for everything he does.
5. Cannot stray from building a Black Cleaver.
6. Is easily countered and tower dived if no mana is available or if his Decoy is on Cooldown.

 

Overall Score

Wukong has Tons of early game advantage over most enemy champions but his passive is underpowered and not necessary and would be best Improved or Changed completely. His mid and late game are exceptional and will usually snowball. His play-style is a troll for enemies almost impersonating the "U Mad Bro?" meme. This quality makes him whimsical and a load of fun to play as. 

My Score: Wukong gets 8 (Bananas) out of 10.

Summary

Wukong is a Top Laner who can act as another Carry and a Hard Initiator while having a great Escape/Disengage utility skill. He works best with high CC teams and is reliant on Armor Pen Items/Runes/Masteries and Black Cleaver. He will most assuredly be seen during Season 3 ranked games and tournaments a Ton more. I hope to see more players grab and have fun with the quirky and cleaver Monkey King.