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Playing Against Shaco

Jungle

Patch 16.2.1

What They Do

Shaco is an early-game assassin jungler who relies on invisibility and mind games. He uses to bypass wards for unexpected ganks and to control the jungle or trap enemies. He thrives on tilting opponents through counter-jungling and pick-offs.

Abilities (What to Watch For)

Ability	What You'll See	What It Means For You
	Backstab animation with red crit-style numbers	Deals bonus damage when hitting from behind. Never run directly away from him in a duel; kite sideways or stand your ground to deny procs.
	A brief orange puff of smoke in the fog of war	A blink plus invisibility. This is his primary engage and escape tool. If you see the smoke, he is already nearby. has a 12-10s cooldown; once used, he is extremely vulnerable.
	A small jack-in-the-box that vanishes shortly after placement	Hidden traps that fear you and deal magic damage. They block movement and stop dashes. Use Oracle Lens to reveal and disable them before they trigger.
	Shaco throws a glowing dagger	Passively slows you on auto-attacks. The active throw deals increased damage based on your missing health. Do not try to out-run him at low HP, as will execute you.
	Shaco splits into two identical copies	Creates a clone that deals damage and explodes into three mini-boxes upon death. The clone takes 50% more damage—ping the real Shaco before he ults to keep a target mark on him.

Respect

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The Level 2-3 Invade→Shaco often takes Ignite and uses to clear his first buff instantly, allowing him to invade your second buff while you are still tanking it.
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Invisible Gank Paths→Because of , he can jump over walls like the dragon or baron pit to avoid standard river wards. Ward his actual camps (Raptors/Gromp) to see where he is.
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Damage→Turning your back to him increases his burst significantly. If you are an AD bruiser, you often win the 1v1 if you just face him and auto-attack back.
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Explosion→Killing the clone while you are low health is a trap. The explosion and resulting mini-boxes from will fear and kill you.

Punish

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is on cooldown→He has no other mobility. If he uses to engage and doesn't get the kill, collapse on him immediately as he cannot escape for at least 10 seconds.
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Early Game Invades→Shaco is surprisingly weak if you catch him setting up his boxes. If your mid/top has priority, invade his level 1 to pop his boxes and ruin his clear.
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Oracle Lens (Sweeper) Active→Pop your sweeper whenever you suspect he is nearby. It reveals his silhouette during and reveals his traps, allowing you to smite or avoid them.
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Mana Depletion→Shaco has high mana costs early. If he fails two ganks, he is usually out of mana and forced to reset, giving you a window to steal his camps or take objectives.

Laning Tips

•Ward the actual jungle camps rather than the bushes; lets him bypass most bush wards.
•If he appears with , walk toward your tower but don't turn your back until he has used his empowered auto-attack to mitigate .
•Keep a Control Ward in the middle of your lane or in a deep river pixel brush to spot his smoke trail.
•You can Smite his boxes instantly to prevent the fear from triggering during a gank.
•The real Shaco is usually the one with the most recent item buffs or the one that isn't running mindlessly at you; use 'Target Champions Only' to help distinguish.
•Ping him immediately when he appears; the target mark often stays on the real one even after he casts .

Teamfight Warning

⚠Don't waste high-cooldown ultimates on the clone; check his items/stats (the clone often has lower resistances or missing buffs).
⚠Sweeper is mandatory for supports and junglers to track his movement in the backline.
⚠Save a displacement or CC for the moment he exits to prevent him from procing on your carry.
⚠If he goes AP, do not chase him into un-swept jungle corridors; you will walk into a nest of boxes.
⚠The clone explosion from can turn a winning fight into a wipe; stay spread out when the clone is low on health.

AI-generated counterplay guide • Patch 16.2.1 • Cached