Kali-The Eventual Win Condition (7.5 Jungle Guide)

Kali is probably the strongest god in the game, once the game has hit the super-late game. There are very few gods that can have as large of an impact on the end of a long match as Kali, provided you even get there. And getting there is a bit of a challenge. During Season 6, some of Kali's core items got nerfed pretty hard, and made her curve a lot harder to pull off. Combine that with the strength of crit in this current season, as well as Heartseeker allowing many gods that wouldn't otherwise to have a strong impact in the late game, and Kali's viability is definitely not what it once was. However, if played correctly, Kali can still take over games, and decimate entire teams.

Kali doesn't want to start anything in the early game. Her main damaging ability, the 2, is difficult to land all the hits of at anything other than point-blank range. Her AA cancels are fine, but she's far from an early snowball god like Thanatos. For now, just focus on clearing camps and sharing some XP from mid-lane. Your starting pathing should look something like this:
Speed->Back Camps->Blue-->Mid-Wave->Red-Back Camps
Alternatively, if your solo laner is starting blue, you should definitely go to blue before mid camps, otherwise you might not get to level 2 before you get to mid lane.
If the mid-laner has already done their red, do the mini side camps instead. Fighting over the large side camps isn't advisable, since your ability to fight the enemy jungler for them isn't very impressive. Make sure to work your way into boots before finishing that first item. Apart from that, just make sure to do Jungle Shrine whenever it's full, and play safer than you would on most other assassins.
Your mark for your passive should be on a squishy of some kind, either the ADC or the mid-laner. You'll have a pretty good idea of where they are most times, and it can be easy to quickly blink in and finish up a kill after your teammates poke them a bit. Hitting all three hits of the 2 is really important to your DPS in 1v1's so take some time and familiarize yourself with the targeter, as it's completely unique. Now, additionally, this also gives you some lifesteal against said target, but it's fairly negligible, so don't rely on it to let you sustain through the fight. Finally, don't be afraid to use your ult defensively to escape a fight intact. It's a powerful tool, and you only really want to use it if you absolutely have to. The damage it does is also pretty low, so using it to try and kill a target at low health can often backfire on you, and leave you way out of position.

Around now, you should probably have 1-2 items completed. I would advise not fighting until you have Hastened Katana finished, but sometimes it's unavoidable. If a fight is inevitable, make sure you're the one who engages. Blink+Stun(3) is an excellent way to put huge pressure on a mage or hunter, and take out the enemy's main source of damage before they can really do anything. Your standard combo should look something like this:
Blink->3->Auto-Attack Cancel->2->Autos
Follow any escape attempt with your jump. Do not let them bait your jump until they use a movement ability of their own. With speed buff and Hastened, you should be faster than just about everyone, so you can definitely run them down. You can use your ult to bait out large ults from mages as well if you've got the reflexes. In your ult, you are immune to slows, knock-ups, roots, as well as literal death; Take advantage of this. Walk through Kuku ults, ignore the Sylv ult trying to stop you. However, you can still be pushed and stunned, so try and not target gods that have instant versions of this. Anhur is a prime example of a difficult target, as he can Impale you away if you blink in, and then put a slow down and force you to either ult or stop chasing. Or, if he gets the drop on you, he can potentially burst you to death before you can ult. Keep an eye out for abilities that could stuff you before you even begin. Once they're used, immediately strike, and you'll be able to win fights for your team. And always, if possible, actively target and get the last hit on your mark. Getting that kill will allow you to stay in the fight, rather than retreating immediately after a pick, as well as net you more gold than average. This can quickly turn the tide in a fight, since you can force your opponents to waste a lot of resources trying to kill you, then heal through it all and still be ready for more.
Additionally, it's at this time that your team might start going for objectives. Keep in mind that Kali's stun is also a power steroid. Whenever you're starting an objective, make sure to 3 for maximum DPS on it. However, as Kali, you should be more focused on zoning while your ADC and/or mage do the bulk of the damage.

This is the point where you should start to feel invincible. Thanks to your passive+ult, you can 1v1 just about anyone, kill them, and be more than ready for another. In late game team fights, Kali's job is to find the single most dangerous member of the enemy team, and eliminate them. By this point, your mark should be giving you an absurd amount of pen against even the hardiest of tanks. At level 20, with Executioner, Stone Cutting Sword, Crusher, and your mark, you'll have 206.5 pen against a 325 Physical Protections character. And, as far as squishies go, you'll be doing true damage to anyone who has 78 or less prots, once you've proc'd Exe and Stone Cutting. The same rules from earlier still apply, but you can afford to take a couple more risks now. The same targets you might've avoided before, you can now actively fight. As long as you understand how much damage they can burst you for, you shouldn't really fear too many people. If you know they can do absurd damage to you, you can preemptively ult. If they have crazy CC, you can preemptively beads. The most dangerous things you can run into are gods that can seriously delay you. Gods like Nu Wa and Da Ji can temporarily remove themselves from the battlefield, and run down the timer on your ult. Heimdallr and Ne Zha can remove you from the fight and do the same. You have to be aware of these abilities, and try your hardest to use your counter play options. A major part of playing Kali in the endgame is knowing exactly what can stop you, and just avoiding those things.

Kali is my most played god, and definitely my favorite. However, I feel like because she doesn't play like most of the other assassins, she doesn't see as much play as she should. Having said that, I'm fully aware that Kali doesn't really fit into the meta currently. She takes too long to kill in the early and mid game, and her itemization is pretty weak compared to the real heavy hitters. Still, a good Kali player can definitely get around all of this, and make the opposing team's life a living hell. If you're looking to play around a Kali on your team, you definitely want gods who are very good at building early leads. Lane bullies can really make Kali's life easier, since they don't need as much help, and can poke opponents out enough to give Kali some easy farm. Gods like Camazotz and Kukulkan are great examples of this. Additionally, gods that stall well are also good paired with her. The longer the game goes, the more opportunities Kali has to put together a huge carry. Gods like Ah Puch, who can defend really well, are great for giving Kali the time she needs to get all her items, and win the game outright. Like the title suggests, eventually Kali wins. She just has to get there. Thank you for reading all the way through this. If I've made any mistakes, or if you have suggestions, questions, whatever, feel free to voice them.