League Classic matchup
Jax vs Rammus
The lane, from both sides
Jax’s side
- Weak against Rammusfrom the Top On-Hit Bruiser build (Top)
Spiked ShellSpiked ShellPassiveInnate: Rammus gains 25% armor as bonus attack damage. returns Jax's own attack damage, 
Defensive Ball CurlDefensive Ball CurlWActive: Rammus drops into a defensive stance for 6 seconds, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance, as well as dealing magic damage to enemies whenever they use basic attacks against him. Defensive Ball Curl can be canceled instantly by reactivating the ability, or 1 second after activating Powerball. adds to it, and 
Puncturing TauntPuncturing TauntEActive: Rammus taunts the target enemy champion or monster for a duration and reduces their armor for the same duration. forces exactly the attacks 
Counter StrikeCounter StrikeEActive: Jax enters Evasion for 2 seconds: a defensive stance that causes him to dodge all incoming non-turret basic attacks and take 25% reduced damage from all area of effect abilities sourced from champions. Counter Strike can be recast after 1 second, and does so automatically after the duration. Recast: Jax deals physical damage to nearby enemies, with the total damage increased by 20% for each attack dodged, up to a 100% increase, and stuns them for 1 second. was going to dodge.
Rammus’s side
- Strong against Jaxfrom the Armor Tank build (Jungle)Counter StrikeCounter StrikeEActive: Jax enters Evasion for 2 seconds: a defensive stance that causes him to dodge all incoming non-turret basic attacks and take 25% reduced damage from all area of effect abilities sourced from champions. Counter Strike can be recast after 1 second, and does so automatically after the duration. Recast: Jax deals physical damage to nearby enemies, with the total damage increased by 20% for each attack dodged, up to a 100% increase, and stuns them for 1 second. dodges attacks; it does not dodge Spiked ShellSpiked ShellPassiveInnate: Rammus gains 25% armor as bonus attack damage. returning Jax's own damage. Puncturing TauntPuncturing TauntEActive: Rammus taunts the target enemy champion or monster for a duration and reduces their armor for the same duration. forces the attacks, and Defensive Ball CurlDefensive Ball CurlWActive: Rammus drops into a defensive stance for 6 seconds, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance, as well as dealing magic damage to enemies whenever they use basic attacks against him. Defensive Ball Curl can be canceled instantly by reactivating the ability, or 1 second after activating Powerball. makes each one worse for him.
The lane in detail
JaxRammusRammus-favored: the taunt picks the attacks
Evasion is for attacks coming in, not for attacks going out.
Puncturing TauntPuncturing TauntEActive: Rammus taunts the target enemy champion or monster for a duration and reduces their armor for the same duration. forces Jax to attack Rammus. Counter StrikeCounter StrikeEActive: Jax enters Evasion for 2 seconds: a defensive stance that causes him to dodge all incoming non-turret basic attacks and take 25% reduced damage from all area of effect abilities sourced from champions. Counter Strike can be recast after 1 second, and does so automatically after the duration. Recast: Jax deals physical damage to nearby enemies, with the total damage increased by 20% for each attack dodged, up to a 100% increase, and stuns them for 1 second. cannot stop the magic damage returned by Defensive Ball CurlDefensive Ball CurlWActive: Rammus drops into a defensive stance for 6 seconds, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance, as well as dealing magic damage to enemies whenever they use basic attacks against him. Defensive Ball Curl can be canceled instantly by reactivating the ability, or 1 second after activating Powerball. when Jax's own attacks connect.
Who has the lane, level by level
2–910–1213–18- 1Even: Two defensive stances and no opener
- 2–9Rammus: Puncturing Taunt at 325, Powerball behind it
- 10–12Rammus: The taunt reaches 2 seconds, then 2.5
- 13–18Rammus: 3 seconds taunted, 30 armor gone
- 1Counter StrikeLevel 1: Rank 1 in the jungle order, and it stays rank 1 until level 13
- 2Puncturing TauntLevel 2: One second of taunt for 50 mana, out of the 321 he has at level 2
- 6TremorsLevel 6: 120 mana for 65 a second across 8 seconds, every 60
- 9EmpowerLevel 9: Maxed first in the jungle: 3 seconds, 35 mana, 120 magic damage
- 9Defensive Ball CurlLevel 9: Defensive Ball Curl adds 120 resistances; return damage also scales with armor
- 13Puncturing TauntLevel 13: Three seconds of forced attacks now, with 30 armor gone for the same stretch
The numbers, head to head
JaxRammusThe defensive button, rank 1 each
Defensive Ball CurlDefensive Ball CurlWActive: Rammus drops into a defensive stance for 6 seconds, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance, as well as dealing magic damage to enemies whenever they use basic attacks against him. Defensive Ball Curl can be canceled instantly by reactivating the ability, or 1 second after activating Powerball. returns 15 base magic damage plus 10% of Rammus's armor at rank 1.
Stance against taunt, rank 1
At rank 1 the evasion outlasts it. At rank 4 the taunt runs 2.5 seconds.
Whose crowd control scales, rank 5
The stun is one second at every rank. The taunt triples across its five.
Armor at level 1, before either buys any
28.8Spiked ShellSpiked ShellPassiveInnate: Rammus gains 25% armor as bonus attack damage. reads a quarter of Rammus's as attack damage. Jax's number just sits.
Both fully ranked, level 16 and level 9
Jax has to keep hitting a champion who is paid for being hit.
Reach, from above
Jax
Rammus
Rings are ranges in game units, both radars on one scale. Abilities wear their icon, the basic attack wears the champion’s own face; the dashed ring wearing the opponent’s face is their longest reach.
The item race
Jax
1200gRammus is a jungler, so this is the jungle path: 35% tenacity, aimed at a 3 second taunt.
2000gThe camps, not Rammus, are what Jax farms until the boots are finished.
3628gSpellblade rewards a short trade after the shell ends, instead of repeatedly attacking through it.
skipThe jungle build lists it late; here more attacks a second only feed the 6 seconds of Defensive Ball Curl.
Rammus
2000gThe health lets him hold the taunt through the recast, and its tenacity shortens the stun that follows.
1000gPowerball wants a running start, and out of combat these boots give 105 before it begins to roll.
2200gJax's damage is a chain of basic attacks, and Enchanted Spikes bills 30% of each one back at him.
2900gEvery point of that armor is also Spiked Shell damage, and the aura takes 20% attack speed off Jax.
Play it as Jax
- 1Wait out Defensive Ball CurlDefensive Ball CurlWActive: Rammus drops into a defensive stance for 6 seconds, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance, as well as dealing magic damage to enemies whenever they use basic attacks against him. Defensive Ball Curl can be canceled instantly by reactivating the ability, or 1 second after activating Powerball.. It covers 6 seconds, and the cast after it is 14 seconds from the first.
- 2Keep
Leap StrikeLeap StrikeQActive: Jax dashes to the target unit's location. If the target is an enemy and they are in range upon arrival, Jax deals physical damage to them. Jax can cast any of his abilities during the dash. for after the taunt ends. Three seconds is longer than any stance Jax owns. - 3Take Mercury's Treads out of the first back. Tenacity is the stat this build has against a 3 second taunt.
Play it as Rammus
- 1Roll in first and taunt second. A Jax who opens Counter StrikeCounter StrikeEActive: Jax enters Evasion for 2 seconds: a defensive stance that causes him to dodge all incoming non-turret basic attacks and take 25% reduced damage from all area of effect abilities sourced from champions. Counter Strike can be recast after 1 second, and does so automatically after the duration. Recast: Jax deals physical damage to nearby enemies, with the total damage increased by 20% for each attack dodged, up to a 100% increase, and stuns them for 1 second. early has spent two seconds on nothing.
- 2Hold Defensive Ball CurlDefensive Ball CurlWActive: Rammus drops into a defensive stance for 6 seconds, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance, as well as dealing magic damage to enemies whenever they use basic attacks against him. Defensive Ball Curl can be canceled instantly by reactivating the ability, or 1 second after activating Powerball. for the taunt, so all three seconds of forced attacks land on 120 armor.
- 3Skip
TremorsTremorsRActive: Rammus creates an earthquake around himself for 8 seconds, dealing magic damage each second to nearby enemies, including to structures. on early ganks. At level 6 it is 120 of a 453 pool, and Puncturing TauntPuncturing TauntEActive: Rammus taunts the target enemy champion or monster for a duration and reduces their armor for the same duration. is what the gank needs.
The catch
Spiked ShellSpiked ShellPassiveInnate: Rammus gains 25% armor as bonus attack damage. converts armor into attack damage. Defensive Ball CurlDefensive Ball CurlWActive: Rammus drops into a defensive stance for 6 seconds, gaining bonus armor and magic resistance, as well as dealing magic damage to enemies whenever they use basic attacks against him. Defensive Ball Curl can be canceled instantly by reactivating the ability, or 1 second after activating Powerball. separately deals magic damage equal to its base amount plus 10% of armor when an enemy attacks Rammus. Armor purchases increase both effects. Waiting for the shell to end avoids its return damage; Evasion does not.
The kits at a glance
- Equipment Mastery
- Leap Strike
- Empower
- Counter Strike
- Grandmaster's Might
Rammus
Full abilities- Spiked Shell
- Powerball
- Defensive Ball Curl
- Puncturing Taunt
- Tremors
Base stats, side by side
| Stat | Jax | Rammus |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 506 (+83) | 506 (+86) |
| HP regen | 1.6 (+0.11) | 1.51 (+0.11) |
| Mana | 265 (+35) | 288 (+33) |
| Attack damage | 59.675 (+3.375) | 53.5 (+3.5) |
| Armor | 25.5 (+3.2) | 28.8 (+3.8) |
| Magic resist | 31.25 (+1.25) | 31.25 (+1.25) |
| Attack speed | 0.638 (+3.4) | 0.625 (+2.215) |
| Move speed | 350 | 335 |
| Attack range | 125 | 125 |
Level-1 values with per-level growth in parentheses, read from the Classic client and re-checked against it on every update.
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