this guide is for garen only top and tank if you follow it you will never die(if you wanna never die with garen you must be experienced with garen)Good LUCK

Garen is a champ that I avoided playing for the longest time. I avoided him because I always saw people building him tank and he just isn't very effective in that role. Sure he can take damage, but he has no CC outside of his silence and does very little damage late game when playing that role. And if someone isn't doing any damage why would you focus them? There's no reason to and that's why Garen shouldn't tank under any circumstance. If you cant pull aggro and you have no CC, you're not a tank.

Aside from that, tank Garen cant farm. The only way he can get gold is by KSing with his ult which I see all the time. And that's how most people justify Garen as a full tank. Kills. Well if you aren't doing the bulk of the damage, you don't deserve the kill. Your carry does. Can you win a game as tank Garen? Sure you can. Although your not doing anything but hurting your team, because they would be better off with someone else in that role.

Team fighting as tank Garen:
Step 1: Silence
Step 2: Spin
Step 3: KS with Ult
Step 4: Call your teammates noobs after you lose fight

Repeat until game ends. At this point you should have a score of 15/4/8 while your carries were all negative. Call your team noobs again and leave lobby.

Of course someone will say, "Well a good tank Garen will use his Ult before it can deal the killing blow, allowing someone else to get it". Sure. But have I EVER seen a tank Garen play that way? No. Not once and Ive played with my fair share. Its not even a good use of the skill because it wont be dealing max damage.

When most people look at Garen's skills all they see is their potential in the hands of a tank. I dont understand why. His silence of course counts as CC and if you build Frozen Mallet you gain another form of CC. But by that line of thinking, Annie would make a good tank. She has mass stuns, a shield that lasts WAY longer then Garen's and you could build Rylai's Crystal Scepter for mass slows before building pure tank. Of course shes squishy but every champ has the potential to be very bulky when built right. Of course people would say that its a waste of her potential because her skills scale on AP. So does Singed. So whats the difference? Annie has the tools of a killer. Building Garen tank is just a much a waste. He has the tools of a killer, not a tank.

I hate tank Garen and that's why I made this guide. Hopefully more people will as well and tank Garen will be a thing of the past. Obviously this isn't the first AD Garen build out there, but I firmly believe it will help you be the most consistent.

As I previously stated, Garen's play style changes over the course of the game so Im gonna cover that In the next 3 sections.

Tip: First of all, dont be afraid to harass early on. With the health regen from your passive you can take some damage and not have to worry about it. You're extremely powerful early game so you need to take advantage of that. Playing safe wont get you anywhere fast with Garen.

Tip: Garen is a very good bush camper if your laning against champs who dont have powerful skill shots. Whenever a champ is dumb enough to get close simply Q then E to deal massive damage. Rinse and Repeat. But you dont want to spend too much time in the bush or your minion kills will suffer. The best thing to do is swap places with your lane partner every so often. Having 2 champs fight over the same minion farm is never constructive.

Tip: At this point you're completely and totally reliant on your skills. You want to start a fight with Q and follow up with E. If your taking damage activate W. If your opponent was already missing health you should be able to seal the deal with your ult. If the champ is at full health you want to start the fight with Exhaust to maximize your damage. If they try to get away you have Flash to close the distance really fast and get your Ult off.

Dragon


Initial Spawn Time: 2:30
Respawn Time: 6 minutes
Reward: 150 global gold + 25 bonus gold to whoever deals the killing blow

Controlling dragon goes a long way to winning a game and the first can be the most important. Early game gold advantages set the tone for the rest of the game. If you can get dragon without the other team knowing, you'll have a major advantage. Why? Because they wont know the respawn time. Lets say you get dragon at 10:47, type "dragon 16:47" into team chat. This way your whole team knows when to get into position for the dragon respawn. Repeat this process and get in the habit of doing it. Do the same thing for Baron.

When to Dragon


Getting dragon is huge for your team, but going for it at the wrong time can be devastating. You can end up getting dragon stolen and giving kills to the enemy team at the same time.

The first dragon can be the hardest to get. You want to wait until your jungler has Wriggle's Lantern or at least Madred's Razors. You never want to go for it when the entire enemy team is alive. If they have ward control over dragon it can go very badly for you. The only safe way to go for it in that case is to have your support sneak off and buy an Oracle's Elixir and scout for wards. It's way too expensive to do early game. Another option would be to place a Vision Ward near dragon. Vision Wards will reveal other wards in the area. If you dont find any, its safe to assume that your jungler can take dragon. But there could be other wards nearby that can still alert the enemy to your position.

The best time to go for Dragon is after at least 2 enemies die. If your bot lane scores a double kill this is the perfect opportunity if they are in good health. Ping dragon immediately if your jungler is close by. If you have a support to heal, getting dragon will be no problem if your jungler is equipped for it. The enemy jungler wont be able to stop you because he would be walking into a 3v1. You just need to keep him out of Smite range. It would be a good idea to have your mid lane come as well for the extra support if possible.

: This has become my favorite summoner spell in the game. It has offensive and defensive capability which is great. Use it to chase or escape.

There's no reason to get Ghost when you have the speed boost from Decisive Strike.

: Another spell that can be used offensively or defensively. Mostly you want to use this offensively to ensure a kill, but you can also use it on champs like Nunu or Katarina to weaken their Ults if you cant silence them right away.

Optional Spells


: This is a great spell. It does damage over time and cuts down healing effects by 50%. Of course you can also use this to finish off a runner.

I don't get this on Garen because he already has the tools to finish off runners. Its a decent choice, but I feel its better off with someone else.

: Between Boots of Swiftness and Decisive Strike, Garen is plenty fast enough. This is a decent choice, but its overkill.

: Awesome spell. Teleport can win games under the right circumstances. But that's the problem. You never know how many chances you'll get to use this spell effectively per game. It could be a game changer or it could be a waste of slot. This is also way more effective in premades then solo queue.

Not Recommended


: Slows are the most common form of CC and that's why I don't bother with Cleanse. Judgement removes slows. It can be helpful, but I don't think Garen needs this.

: Its as effective on Garen as anyone else. Better spell then people give it credit for, but its just not as good an option as others.

Dont Ever Use


: This should be on your support champ.

: Garen doesn't use mana.

: This should be on your tank.

: This shouldn't be used by anyone.

: Only useful if you're dead... Not a goal you should be shooting for.

: Garen cant jungle.