Thoughts on the Jarvan FOTM

If you've been paying attention, no doubt you've seen a strangely high influx of Jarvan players lately, especially in top lane, where he was knocked out with a myriad of nerfs to his stats and gold items.

But now...he's back?

At first I was skeptical as to whether top lane Jarvan could survive well, with no innate sustain to his name. However, I soon realized that not only was it viable, Jarvan's also a solid counter to many common champions with his passive armor and his shield that doubles as a CC.

Even my Yorick had trouble pushing him out of lane without a jungle gank!

As for Jarvan's late game and utility, it's indisputably powerful. An AOE knockup, AOE slow, and AOE cataclysm (a unique ability), he's got a lot of potential. Both his knock-up and his cataclysm can't be cleansed or QSSed, and acts as two blinks for him to get to the AD carry with. This means that even if the AD carry blinks away, he might still be in trouble from the wrath of Demacia.

However, all this power comes with a price, and that is that it requires the ability to know when to ult and when to let your ult down. Many a Jarvan have thrown games in the past by trapping their allies in their ultimate to die (see picture below).

Do I believe that the FOTM is warranted? As a Jarvan main in Season One, I can certainly say that Jarvan is impeccably powerful and has the strength to make a massive impact on the outcome of a game. He's also very versatile and mobile, albeit a bit slower than other heroes like Lee Sin or Ahri. 

While he isn't quite the 1v5 with 2 HoG + Pstone monster he was in Season One, I believe he still has the ability to compete in top lane against top level heroes like Shen and Warwick. Okay, maybe not Warwick, that was actually a joke. Nobody competes with Warwick :(

What do you guys think? Been seeing a lot of Jarvans lately? Comment below!