How to win the jungle race as Graves against Xin Zhao · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Graves's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Xin Zhao.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Respect Xin Zhao | The W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer — Graves has no answer to that at level 1. Three Talon Strike's knock-up plus passive healing wins the first buff-pit duel on their half of the map too, so skip the level-1 crossing and answer the pressure cross-map. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Respect Xin Zhao | Wind Becomes Lightning (W) challenge poke starts trades they finish for free, and Graves has no clean answer to it on the second camp — the W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands, and give up the second buff rather than the kill. |
| Level 3 Route | Respect Xin Zhao | The window at the opening scuttle belongs to Xin Zhao: the full knock-up combo with W slow is among the top three level-3 duels. Your own line is real — Smoke Screen's blind caps a kit that wins almost every close-quarters exchange — but it arrives second here. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands, then give up the level-3 river fight. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Respect Xin Zhao — Path Opposite | You lose the 4-5 duel. He dives lanes through 4-5, since Audacious Charge into the knock-up needs no setup at all — so let them have that half of the map and cash the other half faster. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Xin's R | Crescent Guard makes the 1v1 literal, which is the whole problem: Crescent Guard isolates you from your team and wins the resulting 1v1. Fight him with numbers before the R cast or poke the duel down from range, and spend Collateral Damage to equalize rather than to open. |
| First Item Spike | Youmuu's / Umbral Glaive Spike | Completing your core lethality component grants a devastating physical damage and armor penetration spike that completely destabilizes their defensive stat builds. Your camp clearing mechanics become completely automated, letting you wipe whole sides in seconds before invading deep into their jungle tracks. Xin Zhao's first item is a sharp jump — the knock-up combo goes from a strong trade to a kill on most junglers. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Graves Favoured — Wins Late | The late game is yours. Remember what Xin Zhao still is at full build — he isolates one target with Crescent Guard and wins the 1v1 he just created — and take the fights that do not let it matter. |
Start your clear at the Red Buff camp to maximize early health optimization via E shell resets, before executing a full 6-camp clear path straight down into the scuttle crab. Xin Zhao clears fast and heals off Determination, so he reaches three healthy and looking for the first fight.
Ranked by the race windows in Graves's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Graves vs Xin Zhao report continues with scuttle & dragon rules, invade windows and safety boundaries, the top-side objective fight, macro rotations and the win condition — plus the live enemy-jungle tracker that shows their start, clear and gank timers in game.
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Xin Zhao pressures 5 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.
Not exactly — Xin Zhao pressures 5 of the 7 windows, so Graves is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Graves takes Fleet Footwork on the Precision tree with Triumph, Legend: Alacrity and Coup de Grace, and Domination secondary (Sudden Impact and Treasure Hunter) vs Xin Zhao.
Start Mosstomper Seedling + Health Potion and back for Serrated Dirk / Cloak of Agility — keep full-clearing into invades. Build Youmuu's / Umbral Glaive first, then Infinity Edge, with Plated Steelcaps / Berserker's Greaves.
Playing the other side? Xin Zhao vs Graves guide →
All Graves jungle matchups →
More Graves jungle matchups: vs Volibear · vs Warwick · vs Wukong · vs Zac · vs Zyra · vs Amumu