The new Kha'Zix in the competitive scene part 2

In part 1 of this series, I discussed the sudden rise in popularity of Kha'Zix in the competitive scene and the first evolution path used by some European junglers. Here I will discuss two other junglers that have been using Kha'Zix to great effect, but choosing to evolve E first, and why the other evolution paths have not seen any play.

Shook 

Shook also has played Kha'Zix, always picking him when Lee Sin Was not available. However his first evolution of choice is his E then his W. What does this offer?

Early skirmishes

If you have watched the finals of the EU LCS, you will easily remember that Alliance had great dragon control throughout their games. Evolving E first gives Kha'Zix much more presence in teamfights  and makes him a much bigger threat due to potential resets. Additionally he becomes a bigger threat to the enemy carries due to the bigger leap range.

More risks and more towerdiving

E evolved provides a bigger leap range and resets on kill or assists. This means Shook can take more risks, especially while tower diving. The reset means he can go in, tank the turret, get the kill with the help of his team and get out. The reset mechanic means that if a tower dive is properly executed, Shook can take kills for his team that otherwise would be impossible.

Less damage, more presence

By evolving E over Q or W provides less damage overall. However the early teamfighting potential it provides is much higher than other options. Shook is counting on that presence to snowball the early game in a way that would be otherwise impossible. I believe Joe Miller said it best: with E evolve one kill can transform into two or even three and snowball the early game. This simple threat of resets enables Alliance to gain amazing dragon control and have an advantage heading into the midgame.$

At level 11 he picks up the W evolution, for the same reasons as all the European junglers.

Kakao

But before Shook brought his evolve E first into the EU LCS, KaKAO of the KT Arrows played it in the OGN Summer finals with one major difference: instead of picking W as his second evolution, he chooses Q. 

Early aggression 

The KT Arrows are a team centered around early aggression and skirmishes. Therefore it is very logical that KaKAO would opt for E evolution first. These are the same reasons as Shook as their priority both resides on early game power. 

The best objective control

The best early objective control Kha'Zix can offer is through Q maxed and evolved first. However W maxed first offers many other advantages that Q does not that were mentioned in part 1 and KaKAO prefers much more the E evolution thanks to the pressure it offers that was discussed previously. By evolving Q second, you get the best objective control starting mid game whilst retaining the perks of W maxed and E evolved in the early game.

Let's create picks!

In the finals of OGN, the KT Arrows played versus Samsung Blue, a team renowned for its teamfighting. The KT Arrows were therefore searching for picks and taking out high priority targets out before a fight even begins. Q evolved allows to buff isolation and its damage, making picks much easier to do. Additionally, each time KaKAO picked Kha'Zix he was playing versus teams which had heavy poke (Kog'Maw, Nidalee, Ziggs...) therefore needed to be able to take out targets rapidly before the poke got too strong. 

Now that we have discussed all the evolutions used in the competitive scene, lets examine other options and why they are not used.

Q evolved first

Q evolved first brings a lot of isolation damage, yet has not been  used at all. This is because Kha'Zix is at his core a melee assassin: therefore he needs a way to be able to reach the squishy ranged targets. This can be used by either evolving E for the added leap range or evolving W for the added slow. If Kha'Zix evolves Q first, he is kited easily and cannot do his job. Q evolved could be considered if you were aiming to counter jungle heavily and duel the other jungler or for very high dragon damage in the early game.

R evolved

R evolved has very little appeal until the very late game. It can be considered an option at level 16 if you are being killed too easily, however Q or W evolved bring many more benefits (either pick potential or poke/utility) and many junglers build at least one defensive item (such as Randuin's omen) to survive throughout teamfights. 

Conclusion

Kha'Zix is seeing an increase in play because much of what made him a great jungler is still there. Riot seems to have finally reached a point where several evolution options can be considered. There is no doubt that we will see more of our favorite bug in the jungle, probably in the upcoming NA LCS playoffs. What will be interesting will be the choice of evolution each jungler will pick. My personal bet is that E evolved first will become the favorite because of its playmaking ability and high snowball potential.