Yorick’s dominance in League: Lethality build secrets and jungle viability explained
Yorick’s Unexpected Comeback
League of Legends’ forgotten champion Yorick has stormed back into meta relevance following patch 11.7 adjustments. The Shepherd of Souls now dominates both top lane and jungle queues with an innovative Lethality approach that capitalizes on his enhanced kit.
After years languishing in obscurity post-rework, Yorick’s Season 11 renaissance stems from strategic buffs that amplified his core mechanics. The Lethality variation particularly shines by transforming his ghoul summons into deadly assassins.
Previously pigeonholed as a niche split-pusher, Yorick’s 2016 rework failed to establish consistent viability. His hybrid identity as a bruiser/drain-tank often fell short against champions specializing in either role.
Patch 11.7 Game-Changing Buffs
The overlooked patch 11.7 modifications revolutionized Yorick’s combat flow through two pivotal changes:
Mourning Mist Enhancement
Mourning Mist (E) now triggers automatic grave awakenings near marked targets, creating a self-sustaining ghoul army during engagements. This eliminates downtime between summons when abilities are on cooldown.
Ghoul Damage Amplification
Ghoul leap attacks against E-marked targets deal 200% damage, enabling devastating burst combos. When paired with Lethality items, this can eliminate squishy champions in a single rotation.
These synergistic changes propelled Yorick’s top lane win rate from 51.48% to 54.97% with an 8.8% pick rate according to u.gg statistics.
Lethality vs Bruiser: Build Showdown
Lethality Loadout
Eclipse stands as the Mythic cornerstone, providing shield sustain and armor penetration. Core items include:
- Serylda’s Grudge for slow utility
- The Collector for execute potential
- Essence Reaver for mana sustain
Arcane Comet outperforms traditional runes by synergizing with Yorick’s E poke pattern. Domination secondary runes further amplify burst damage.
Bruiser Configuration
Divine Sunderer remains the bruiser staple, followed by Sterak’s Gage for survivability. Titanic Hydra enhances waveclear while Dead Man’s Plate provides engage potential.
Grasp of the Undying sustains lane dominance, with Inspiration secondary addressing mana needs. This build trades burst for extended combat endurance.
Jungle Yorick’s Rising Potential
The automatic grave spawning mechanic enables jungle Yorick to maintain exceptional clear speed. Ghouls tank camps while dealing amplified damage to large monsters.
Ganking potential stems from E’s ranged slow and W’s terrain creation. Properly executed, Yorick can solo Baron Nashor at 20 minutes using Maiden to tank.
While jungle metrics haven’t peaked like top lane, analysts like LS highlight the viability. Expect adoption rates to climb as players master the clear pattern.
Advanced Play Techniques
Combo Execution
Optimal damage sequence: Prepare 3 graves > Land E > Summon ghouls (Q) > Activate R during leap animation. This spawns fresh ghouls that immediately perform empowered attacks.
Split-Push Tactics
Lethality Yorick excels at creating map pressure. Key principles:
- Time pushes with objective spawns
- Use W to block chasing enemies
- Recall Maiden before dying to preserve pressure
Common mistakes include overextending without vision or mismanaging ghoul waves. Always track enemy rotations when split-pushing.
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