I personally preferred to play garen as main tank, but because of the remake of masteries, due Season 2, the new offensive masteries are just WAY too yummie to ignore.

Simply because of that, I hereby challenge myself to make a successful Tanky DPS Garen guide.

Let's have some action! :)

These runes are just what I pick for Garen, but to be honest, if there's any runes you find more suiting or fitting to your playstyle, go ahead and take them. I'm not forcing you to use these.

I'd suggest armor penetration for any dedicated Garen player though. If you don't have Desolation marks yet, make it your next choice of rune purchases!

The armor seals can eventually be replaced by HP regen, flat/scaling HP, or even critical strike rating.

Alternatives to the flat magic resistance glyphs, could be flat/scaling cooldown reduction, or scaling magic resistance.

The quints are a wide subject. I prefer either HP or movement speed, depending on whether I am going to solo or not, and what I eventually will be up against.
Dodging skillshots is easier with movement speed quints, while bursts will have a harder time against you, if you go the tanky way and take flat HP quintessences.

As I described in the introduction, offensive masteries are the way to go for garen.

I'll point out a few key masteries that you definitely want.

Weapon Expertise:

Armor Penetration by percentage is great for any Garen. A lot of your damage is physical, and will therefore be increased by armor penetration. This mastery is mainly best lategame, since it takes a percentage of your enemy's armor, which most likely will be higher in the late game, than early game.


Deadliness:

Crit chance also increases the damage of your Judgment (E ability), aswell as Attack Damage does.

Executioner:

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the perfect place to put your mastery point, if your champions name starts with "G" and ends with "aren".
It compliments his ultimate with an impressive 6% damage!

Garen should be played as initiator, in my opinion. The way I would engage a teamfight is:


Don't storm in alone, make sure you have your team right in your heels.
Silence the most threatening magic champion (Veigar, leblanc, kassadin etc.)
Spin around a few times, with your Courage up, to soak the damage you will recieve.
Remember to exhaust their carry when he starts to focus your squishies.
Make sure to watch the broader image of the situation. - Who is chasing? Who is being chased?



Those were just a few tricks I personally keep in mind when engaging teamfights.

Not much to note here, other than DO IT!

Don't be afraid to use Judgment and Decisive Strike to farm with. You don't use mana anyway!