Ivern: The Green Father

Ivern is a champion in League of Legends played exclusively in the jungle, classified as a Catcher (legacy class: Support, Mage). The Green Father uses Mana (450 – 1629.9 at max level) and deals Magic damage. Ivern was released on October 5, 2016, and was last changed in patch V26.01. Currently ranked S-tier in jungle with a 52.2% winrate and 1.3% pickrate, Ivern is the most unique jungler in the game – he literally can’t attack jungle monsters. Instead, he supports his team with shields, CC, brush control, and Daisy, turning every skirmish into a 6v5.

📊 Base Statistics

💡 Unique Mechanic: Ivern cannot attack or damage non-epic jungle monsters. He doesn’t clear camps – he befriends them. This means Ivern’s jungle clear is fundamentally different from every other jungler in the game. His clear speed depends on movement speed and pathing (walking between camps), not damage output. This is why MS items and runes are so valuable on him.

🌳 Passive: Friend of the Forest

INNATE: Ivern cannot attack nor damage non-epic monsters. Instead, targeting a jungle camp initiates a 2.5 second channel that plants a grove upon the camp. Placing a grove costs 94.5 – 45.3 (based on level) health and 90 – 37.9 (based on level) mana. The channel cannot be cancelled in the first 0.15 seconds and the last 0.5 seconds.

The grove matures over 40 – 1 seconds (based on level). When fully matured, Ivern can target the camp again to free it after a 0.5-second cast time, receiving full gold and full experience bounties. Using Smite on a grove monster instantly frees the camp regardless of maturity.

💡 Pro Tip: At level 5+, when Ivern frees a Red or Blue buff camp (or allies kill it), an extra buff is left behind for allies to pick up. This means your carries get double buffs – Ivern literally gives away buffs for free. Coordinate with your mid laner to grab the extra Blue, or your ADC for the extra Red.

🌿 Q: Rootcaller

Cost: 60 Mana | Cooldown: 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 seconds | Range: 1150 | Width: 160 | Speed: 1300

ACTIVE: Ivern throws a vine in the target direction, dealing magic damage to the first enemy hit and rooting them for a duration, during which they are revealed. While rooted, Ivern and allied champions can click the target to dash to their location, stopping at attack range. Hitting a non-epic monster reduces Rootcaller’s cooldown by 50%.

RECAST: Ivern dashes to the rooted target.

➡️ Key Mechanic: The ally dash mechanic is what makes Q so powerful. Landing Q on an enemy means your entire team can click on the rooted target to gap-close. This turns immobile champions like Garen, Darius, or Nasus into unstoppable forces – they literally get a free dash to the rooted target. Daisy also dashes to rooted targets automatically if within 1200 range.

🌾 W: Brushmaker

Cost: 30 Mana | Cast Time: 0.25 | Recharge: 20 seconds | Max Charges: 3 | Range: 1000

PASSIVE: While Ivern is in brush, his basic attacks deal 20 / 27.5 / 35 / 42.5 / 50 (+ 20% AP) bonus magic damage on-hit. This bonus persists for 3 seconds after leaving brush.

ACTIVE: Ivern grows a patch of brush at the target location for 45 seconds, granting sight of the area for 8 seconds. Spawning brush near terrain or other brush increases its radius. Allied champions in any brush when Ivern is within 1000 units get empowered attacks dealing 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 (+ 10% Ivern’s AP) bonus magic damage on-hit, persisting 1.5 seconds after leaving. Ivern stocks up to 3 charges.

💡 Pro Tip: Brush has insane utility beyond the damage bonus. Drop brush during sieges to hide your team’s movements. Place it in teamfight zones to give your ADC empowered autos. Use it near objectives to deny enemy vision. Champions with brush synergy like Rengar (free leap), Caitlyn (headshot), and Nidalee (cougar pounce) gain enormous value from your W. Daisy also benefits from Ivern’s W passive if Ivern himself is receiving the brush buff.

🌱 E: Triggerseed

Cost: 70 Mana | Cooldown: 11 / 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 seconds | Target Range: 750 | Effect Radius: 500

ACTIVE: Ivern places a seed on the target allied champion, Daisy, or himself, granting a shield for 2 seconds. After 2 seconds, the seed explodes, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies and slowing them. If the seed does NOT damage an enemy champion and the shield persists, the shield is reapplied for the same strength and duration without the explosion.

➡️ Key Mechanic: The shield-reapply mechanic is huge. If Triggerseed doesn’t hit any enemy champions when it explodes, the shield refreshes – effectively giving your ally a double shield in fights where the explosion misses. Also, casting E on Daisy and then sending Daisy into the enemy team is the bread-and-butter combo – the explosion deals damage and slows everyone around Daisy while shielding her.

🌺 R: Daisy! (Ultimate)

Cost: 100 Mana | Cooldown: 140 / 130 / 120 seconds | Duration: Up to 45 seconds

ACTIVE: Ivern summons his sentinel friend Daisy to his side, who lands 350 units away and remains on the field for up to 45 seconds as a controllable pet. Daisy’s 3rd consecutive attack on the same champion or epic monster launches a shockwave that deals magic damage to all enemies hit and knocks them up for 1 second. This effect can only occur once every 3 seconds.

RECAST: Commands Daisy to move to the target location. If recast on Ivern, Daisy follows him. The recast can be used while affected by CC.

Daisy’s Stats:

💡 Pro Tip: Daisy is the strongest pet in the game. She applies Ivern’s on-hit effects including W passive, has a 1-second knockup on her 3rd hit, and scales with levels incredibly well. The standard combo is: Summon Daisy → E on Daisy (shield + slow) → Q the enemy (root + Daisy dashes to them) → Daisy gets 3 hits → knockup. Between the root, slow, and knockup, the enemy is CC-locked for nearly 4 seconds.

🎯 Strategies and Gameplay Tips

Jungle Pathing

• Unique Clear Pattern: Start by marking Wolves → Blue → Gromp (walk and place groves without fighting). Cross to Red side: mark Raptors → Red. By the time you’ve walked to Red side, your Blue side groves are maturing. Smite one to collect immediately, walk back to collect the rest. This gets you level 3 faster than most junglers expect.
• Grove Timing: Groves mature in 40-1 seconds based on level. Early game, you MUST plan your pathing around maturation timers. Mark camps early and collect later. At higher levels, groves mature almost instantly, making Ivern’s clear absurdly fast.
• Counter-Jungling: Ivern can steal enemy camps without ever fighting them. Walk into the enemy jungle, place a grove on their buff, and walk away. Come back when it matures. At level 1, you can even use W to create brush in the enemy jungle for vision while planting groves. The enemy jungler arrives to find empty camps.

Early Game (Levels 1-6)

• Avoid 1v1s: Pre-6, Ivern is one of the weakest duelists in the game. You have no Daisy, limited damage, and squishy stats. DON’T contest scuttle crabs against aggressive junglers like Lee Sin or Rek’Sai. Give up the crab and focus on your unique pathing advantage.
• Gank With Q: Your ganks are deceptively strong. Q root into ally dash is a guaranteed engage. Place W brush during the gank to block enemy vision of your approach, then Q from the brush. Even if Q misses, the brush provides strategic value.
• Level 6 Powerspike: Daisy changes everything. Suddenly you can duel, dive towers, and contest objectives. The moment you hit 6, look for opportunities to fight. E on Daisy + Q the enemy + Daisy’s 3-hit knockup is a kill combo that catches everyone off guard.

Mid & Late Game (Levels 7+)

• Play as a Second Support: Your build is Redemption → Moonstone → Ardent Censer. You’re not a carry – you’re a force multiplier. Shield your ADC, root threats, create brush for team repositioning, and send Daisy to disrupt the enemy backline.
• Objective Control: Ivern clears jungle insanely fast at higher levels (groves mature in 1 second). Keep all camps on cooldown, maintain full gold income, and use Daisy to tank Baron/Dragon while your team damages it. Ivern’s objective control is elite because of Daisy tanking and his rapid camp clearing.
• Teamfight Positioning: Stay behind your carries. Shield the most important ally, Q the biggest threat to root them, create brush for your team during siege, and micromanage Daisy to knockup priority targets. Redemption from range adds a massive AoE heal. Your job is to enable your team, not to deal damage.

❌ Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

• Fighting Without Daisy: Pre-6 Ivern is pathetically weak in 1v1s. Never contest fights without Daisy available. If your R is on cooldown, play safe, farm efficiently, and wait for it to come back. Ivern without Daisy is like playing with a permanent handicap.
• Ignoring Daisy Micro: Summoning Daisy and forgetting about her is a massive waste. Recast R to direct Daisy to specific targets – especially to get the 3-hit knockup on priority carries. A well-managed Daisy is worth more than most ultimates in the game.
• Forgetting To E Daisy: E (Triggerseed) on Daisy is the standard combo. The shield keeps her alive longer, and the explosion deals damage + slows everyone around her. ALWAYS E Daisy before sending her into a fight. Naked Daisy without E is significantly weaker.
• Wasting Brush Charges: W has 3 charges but 20-second recharge. Don’t spam all 3 brushes randomly. Save at least 1-2 for fights or objective setups. Strategic brush placement wins teamfights – random brush placement is just wasted mana and charges.

⚙️ Recommended Build and Itemization

Core Items

• Redemption: First item with highest WR (52.5%). Massive AoE heal that can be cast from across the map. Combined with your shields, this makes your team unkillable in teamfights. The heal/shield power amplifies your E even further.
• Moonstone Renewer: Constant healing in teamfights through ability usage. Every Q, W, and E you cast generates healing for the lowest-HP ally nearby. Combined with Redemption, your sustained healing output rivals actual healers.
• Ardent Censer: Your shields grant allies bonus attack speed and on-hit magic damage. Since E is on a 7-second cooldown at max rank, you’re constantly giving your ADC Ardent buff. This is why Ivern is so powerful with auto-attack-heavy carries.

Situational Items

• Dawncore: Scales with heal/shield power, amplifying everything Ivern does. The more enchanter items you stack, the stronger Dawncore becomes. Late-game Dawncore Ivern shields are genuinely massive.
• Shurelya’s Battlesong: Movement speed active for team engage or disengage. Perfect when your team needs to catch mobile enemies or run from dangerous fights. The MS burst on allies combined with Q root creates unstoppable engages.
• Malignance: Alternative first item for damage-focused build (50.8% WR). Provides AP, ability haste, and a damage zone around R targets. If your team has enough damage and you want more from Daisy, Malignance turns her into a genuine threat.

⚔️ Counter Picks & Matchups

✅ Ivern Counters

1. Udyr

Why: Udyr can’t deal with Ivern’s kiting and CC. Your Q root prevents his engage, Daisy blocks his path, and he can never reach your carries through the wall of shields and slows. His melee-only kit means Ivern’s ranged poke and brush control keep him at bay all game.

2. Lee Sin

Why: While Lee Sin is strong early, Ivern avoids him entirely pre-6. Post-6, Daisy blocks Lee Sin’s Q resonating strike, and your shields absorb his burst. In teamfights, Ivern’s utility outscales Lee Sin’s playmaking – you provide more value with shields and CC than he does with kicks.

3. Qiyana

Why: Your brush mechanics counter Qiyana’s stealth plays. You can place brush where she tries to hide, revealing her position. E shield absorbs her burst, Q root prevents her combo execution, and Daisy bodyblocks her ultimate displacement.

❌ Ivern is Countered By

1. Naafiri

Why: Naafiri’s packmates rapidly destroy Daisy, and her aggressive invade style punishes Ivern’s weak early game. She can fight you in your own jungle pre-6, and your Q root doesn’t stop her pack from shredding your HP. Her all-in burst overwhelms your shields.

2. Poppy

Why: Poppy’s W (Steadfast Presence) blocks all dashes – including your allies’ dash from Q root. This completely negates Ivern’s primary engage tool. She can also use W to prevent your Q recast dash, and her tankiness makes Daisy’s damage irrelevant.

3. Zyra

Why: Zyra’s plants destroy Daisy efficiently, and her zone control with roots and plants matches Ivern’s control style but with more damage. Her poke burns through your shields, and her ultimate knockup zone disrupts your entire team positioning that you spent the fight setting up.

FAQ

Q: How does Ivern’s jungle clear work?

A: You don’t fight monsters. Right-click a camp to channel for 2.5 seconds, planting a grove. The grove matures over 40-1 seconds (faster at higher levels). When it’s ready, click again to collect gold and XP. Smite instantly collects any grove. At high levels, groves mature in about 1 second, making your clear insanely fast.

Q: Can Ivern fight Dragon and Baron?

A: Yes! Ivern CAN attack epic monsters (Dragon, Baron, Rift Herald). The passive only prevents attacking non-epic jungle camps. Use Daisy to tank while you and your team DPS the objective. Ivern’s objective control is strong because Daisy soaks all the damage.

Q: Is Ivern good for beginners?

A: It depends. Ivern’s kit is simple to understand but his playstyle requires strong game knowledge. You need to understand jungle pathing, when to gank, how to track the enemy jungler, and how to manage Daisy in fights. He’s easy mechanically but demanding strategically. If you already understand jungle fundamentals, Ivern is surprisingly straightforward.

Q: What skill order should I max?

A: Max E first for shield strength and explosion damage scaling. Then Q second for root duration and damage. W last since the passive damage scales less impactfully than E’s shield power for your support role. Take R at 6, 11, 16.

Q: Why is Ivern S-tier right now?

A: Season 2026 changes massively benefit Ivern. The jungle quest’s MS bonus directly speeds up his walking-based clear. The level 20 cap means Daisy scales even harder. Enchanter items are strong in the meta. And his 52.2% WR with relatively low pickrate means the people playing him know what they’re doing – he rewards mastery heavily.

Q: Which ally champions synergize best with Ivern?

A: Rengar (free leap from brush), Caitlyn (headshot from brush), auto-attack carries who benefit from Ardent Censer (Kog’Maw, Jinx, Vayne), immobile melee champions who get free dashes from Q root (Garen, Darius, Nasus), and any champion that scales well – because Ivern’s job is to keep them alive long enough to carry.