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His E counters your passive, so try to cs away from him. If you're on top of him and he uses his knock up try to make sure you are spinning, this means your dps will continue through his cc. Also Cho's ult does more damage than yours unless he is the villain. Get early MR.
Darius
His passive counters yours. Try not to trade with him early. You outscale him due to your tank steroid. Very hard to win lane. Let him push and pray for gank because he is very susceptible to dying to ganks. If you get ahead from ganks you'll destroy him because he can't escape you.
Dr. Mundo
Outscales you due to his ult. Also does tons of damage and beats you in trades level 2-3. If you get him low and then he ults immediately ult him. When he ults he instantly loses health so this is your chance to kill him. If you want to fight him wait for his cleaver before you use your Q. If he's the villain your ult will absolutely obliterate him.
Fiora
If she q's into you at level 1 Q her and you'll win the trade. You have to constantly vary your Q & E around to try to bait her repost. Do not ult her unless you know her repost is down or she is silenced. You'll be sad. If shes bad you can destroy her.
Ekko
Your silence completely destroys him, but he can kite you all day and poke you in lane easily. Early Merc Treads into hexdrinker works for me. Try to dodge his big aoe stun and remember to play around his ult.
Gangplank
If the GP is Diamond 1 or above this lane is probably impossible to win. However, below diamond no one can play GP so this lane is free. Play around barrels. Farm early into Sunfire Cape and then get in his face and push hard. Trade at all times and buy lots of pots. Keep his orange in mind just before you ult. He outscales you hard, but he outscales most champions.
Gnar
If he gets Black Cleaver this lane is free. Rush Sunfire, get lots of pots. Fight him in Mega Gnar. All of his abilites are easy to dodge apart from his ult when hes mega. If you think hes about to ult you, make sure you are spinning to continue your dps while cc'd & you will destroy him. Also make sure your W is active so you can tank the majority of his damage during and after ult. When he's mini he is very hard to get onto with his Q and jump. However if you get on top of him you destroy him once you have Sunfire Cape.
Disclaimer, if he gets Frozen Mallet this lane gets very hard. He will kite you all day while in mini. You can still beat him when he is mega. If he gets Black Cleaver then you'll absolutely destroy him when hes mega (which nearly everyone does in plat and below).
Hecarim
Farm early. Once you have the components to Sunfire Cape, get in his face. This lane is easy.
Illaoi
Never fight her while she is standing in her ultimate unless you can insta kill her with ult. Respect her soul stealing ability & don't trade with her next to your soul. She is weak, but her tentacles are strong. Once you have Sunfire Cape get in her face and push.
Jarvan IV
Early is hard. His passive auto & Q poke is hard to deal with. Survive until Sunfire completed. Then you can start being aggressive. When you think he's about to E-Q combo you, make sure you are spinning and have your W active to continue your dps while tanking all his damage. You outscale him stats wise due to your W tank steroid so you can fight him mid-late game easily.
Jax
A very good Jax will make this match up hard. A bad Jax will make this match up very very easy. Spin and W when he starts to spin to continue dps through the stun. However, remember this does reduce the damage he takes so be careful. He outscales you, but if you get a lead you can bully him until he gets rageblade.
Jayce
Very very annoying in lane. If you are really struggling consider getting Dead Man's Plate first just to survive and to help assist with ganks if you get one with the extra slow. If you can get on top of him you win trades, but a good Jayce shouldn't let that happen. Buy lots of pots.
Kayle
Q after she Q's if you want to fight her. Remember her ult before you decide to ult. She can poke you, but she has less kite & less mobility than most ranged top laners. Hard to win, but is winnable. Get early hexdrinker and merc treads. She also outscales you really hard.
Kennen
Lots of poke. Decent kiting with stun and mobility. This lane is hard. You win all- if he lets you just sit on him and spin, but a good Kennen will not let this happen, even when he ults. Early MR needed.
Lee Sin
Dont stand within E range unless you want to engage & if so, wait on using Q until he uses his E. Don't die before first back, then destroy him. If you silence him and spin once post level 7 he will probably have to back or die .
Lissandra
Very hard. Early MR. You should never get near her due to her W. If you get near her and you can silence her while her E is travelling across the ground, her W is on cooldown and her ult is down THEN you will absolutely destroy her. So basically probably never gonna happen. Don't stand inbetween her and minions because of her Q.
Lulu
Unwinnable unless she's terrible. She should never kill you though. Buy MR, buy lots of pots and try your best to farm.
Malphite
Go long sword 3 pot and go really aggressive early. Very easy to bully early. Once he gets his first item, if you're not reasonably ahead he will start to beat you in fights and will continute to for the rest of the game unless he becomes the villain. If he is the villain be hyper-aggressive towards him.
Maokai
Unsure of correct strategy for this match up right now, this used to be Garen's easiest match up, but the new maokai build makes this much harder (was ROA/Righteous Glory before, now Sunfire. Plus they now have Grasp of the Undying which makes him trade well). My best bet would be get hexdrinker and bami cinder. If he's the villain you will destroy him.
Nasus
Get Black Cleaver first. The better the Nasus the harder it becomes, but from my experience, most Nasus players in plat and below will shit the bed vs Garen. Try to bully him as much as possible. If thats not working, try to make a tp play whenever possible. He will outscale you.
Olaf
Tough match-up due to the new keystone Warlord's Bloodlust. Don't let him Q you too much. Your ult counters his passive, but if your ult doesnt kill him you can lose the 1v1 unless you're significantly ahead. Save your Q for after his Q. Your ult will do more damage to him when he uses his ult, unless he is the villain.
Pantheon
Q poke is very annoying early. Once you get Sunfire be aggressive and shove the wave. When he uses W use your spin and W. Dont Q him when his passive is up. If his passive is up spin on him or auto and then Q. If you don't feed him you will outscale him hard.
Poppy
Early-on Poppy does good damage and can out trade you, but post-7 this lane is easy. Get Sunfire Cape. Spin and W as shes knocks you into a wall. She has to be significantly lower than most other champions to kill her with ult due to her passive mr, unless she becomes the villain. When shes the villain you will destroy her.
Quinn
Throw your computer out the window.
Renekton
Very easy post level 7 with components to Sunfire Cape. Early he out trades you. Do not die early. If he E's into you to trade, start spinning and W. Once you have Sunfire Cape he cannot win unless you have already fed him. Once you have Sunfire Cape proceed to take a dump on him.
Riven
A very good Riven can win this so be careful. It's not as hard a counter as people think. If shes bad, get Black Cleaver and ruin her. If shes decent get Sunfire Cape. When shes good, bait her into fighting you by Q'ing her. She will E. Most Riven players think this is the key to fighting Garen. She may then turn to trade with you. If so, W & spin when she get close to you and hits you with her third Q or W and you'll win the trade. Try to make sure she's silenced when you ult her so she doesn't use her shield and deny you the kill. You can trade a little at level 1 with just a Q and then backing off. Do not fight her at levels 2 & 3, if you silence her but she still sticks to you she will absolutely destroy you in a trade because your E does no damage before you are level 4. Overall, this is a soft counter, purely because if you make a mistake once you've got sunfire you'll lose 10-20 % hp that you can regen easily. If she makes a mistake she gets half healthed & loses lane.
Rumble
Pretty hard lane. Don't stand in his Q & dodge his harpoons. If you are chasing him save your Q for his second harpoon. Get Hexdrinker, Merc Treads and Spectre's Cowl and lots of pots. Try to farm what you can. If his harpoons are down you can trade with him.
Ryze
Very hard. If for some reason he uses his W on a creep to last hit you can engage on him once you have Hexdrinker and Merc Treads, otherwise just farm. Don't fight him during his passive because he will destroy you.
Shen
Surprisingly hard due his % health damage on Q. Farm what you can until Sunfire and then just push him in all game. He can't really deal with your pushing power. Look out for his ult and try to silence him before he teleports.
Rengar
Get Sunfire Cape and destroy him. Just don't die before that and this lane is easy. Don't go near bushes early and ping like crazy if he is missing post level 6.
Singed
You can kill him at 7 easily if the lanes going even. If you don't get a lead early this lane gets very very hard. DONT CHASE SINGED :^)
Sion
He can stop you from engaging with his q and e easily (he doesn't have to get the knock on Q to do this). Your ult counters his W passive. If he plays passive you can't do anything, but if he start's being aggressive just save your Q for his E or when you're already stood next to him and you can destroy him.
Tahm Kench
Hard to win, easy to not lose. You can use Q to get away from him when he slows you. You can silence him when he's low to stop him using his grey health shield. You will continue to spin if you're already spinning when he eats you.
Teemo
Standard ap Teemo is beatable. Play passive until you have Merc Treads, Hexdrinker and Sunfire Cape. Be wary of shrooms, but he is a squishy with no proper escape so if you can get near him you can destroy him. You need to Q to get near him, but if he blinds you do not hit him with your Q, instead start spinning when near him. This lane is not as hard a counter and people think. Certainly winnable.
Trundle
Hard lane with recent changes and Garen's rework. Harder to bully early, but he still outscales you. If his ult is down try to all in him. If you get a lead you can bully him for the majority of the game.
Tryndamere
If he gets a lead you'll get destroyed for the rest of the game. If you get a lead you can bully him until he's full build. Get a Thornmail later on in the build and get Ninja Tabi boots.
Udyr
If he constantly uses W in trades and just R's you randomly you cant do too much to him. Once you have Sunfire you can push him in and he will go oom trying to wave clear back. If you can silence him when he hasn't activated his W shield you can destroy him in a trade, but he will life steal with w back up.
Vayne
Throw yourself out the window. Pray for a gank, its the only thing that can save you.
Volibear
His passive makes him hard to kill, so don't be baited into all in fights unless his passive is down. If you ult him while his passive is up and he lives you'll get destroyed. Your villain passive absolutely ruins him mid-late game. Save your Q for after his E.
Wukong
Q-E combo will destroy him early. when you see him E towards you use W. If you Q his clone, back out, thats the only time you lose trades. Spin when he ults to continue dps while knocked up. You can bully him at all stages of the lane and if you don't fall behind and you have Sunfire Cape the lane is won.
Xin Zhao
Don't be too aggressive early, he can counter engage easily and do a lot of damage. Try to be spinning just before he knocks you up to continue dps while cc'd. If you get a lead you will crush him the rest of the game.
Yorick
Ghouls makes this lane very hard, but at least they are extra gold. Just try to farm and survive lane. If he gets oom and stays in lane before his first buy be very aggressive. You don't win trades or all ins at any other time during lane phase. You outscale him.
Yasuo
Pretty easy, but be careful before first buy. If he dashes towards you and his passive shield is down silence and spin and ruin him. Don't die early and once you get Sunfire Cape this lane is free. Just don't let him poke you down too much early.
Heimerdinger
Unwinnable unless you get a gank. Therefore, get Hexdrinker, Spirit Visage and Merc Treads so you can sit in his turrets when you do get a gank. He is a immobile squishy so if you get on him you can blow him up. If you don't get a gank just farm.
Shyvana
Pretty easy now after rework, post 7 you out trade her. Sunfire Cape is a must first buy.
Swain
His ult makes it hard to get him low enough to kill him with ult. His bird laser and W make it impossible to get near him. Just farm, get mr and pots.
Nautilus
Lane phase can be easy. Be aggressive when his W shield is done. Trades should go evenly if his shield is up, but you'll win trades hard if its down. A good Nautilus will outscale you. His ridiculous levels of cc and tank bring more to teamfights than you do, unless you can 100-0 a squishy, so you need to get big from lane phase.
Irelia
If shes bad and you get a lead you can bully her all game and you will outscale her at max items. However, her mid game power spike is stronger than yours and if she gets to tri force without dying she will start to beat you. Therefore go long sword 3 pot first, if you get a lead go black cleaver, if not go sun fire.
Welcome to my Garen guide. My summoner name is actually BoomerangTKO (can't figure out how to change it on here, Master Mangina was my old name). I have been a Garen main for over 2 years. I find him incredibly fun! This guide will outline a basic build path and a lot of champion match ups. I am new to making guides, so in-depth strategy will be left out for now, but I may increase the knowledge in this guide in the future.
Summoner Spells
Summoner Spells
Flash and Teleport should be your go to summoner spells. Flash is a must on 99% of champions. Teleport is a great summoner for any top laner, allowing you to control your own lane while potentially making plays around the map.
Ignite over Teleport is the main consideration you should make. Ignite has great synergy with your ult and is a more snowball-orientated spell. If you have played a bit of Garen before and feel comfortable in the lane match-up you are in, ignite is a good option.
Garen is one of the few champions that can make use of Ghost well. Being able to stick to people is important as Garen and this spell helps with that. However, I find Flash to be more useful and I would recommend Flash over Ghost, but try it out for yourself and decide.
Items
Items
Core Build
Sunfire Cape is the best starting item. Makes you very hard to kill, but have enough damage to win a 2 v 1 gank. Once you have this item, you can sit in the enemy wave before it hits your wave, spin & get perfect cs for the rest of the game.
Black Cleaver or an MR item such as Hexdrinker, Spectre's Cowl or Merc Treads can also be good first items.
Black Cleaver & Dead Man's Plate are the most core items.
If sticking to original build, get a hexdrinker then Randuin's Omen & then complete your Maw.
Merc Treads & Ninja Tabi are both good options, but my favourite are Boots of Swiftness. Alacrity is excellent as Garen loves movespeed, but Distortion also works.
When you've finished your build, Maw is the best item to swap out for others in situations where there is no magic damage (Sterak's Gage or Warmogs) or lots of magic damage (Spirit Visage).
If there is so much magic damage that you want Maw & Spirit Visage consider skipping Sunfire Cape or Randuins Omen instead.
Starting Items
Cloth 4 pot is the best starting items in my opinion. Very safe due to reduce damage from champions and minions and lots of sustain.
Long sword is good against easy lanes or lanes where you need to bully hard early.
Boots are often a good start against ap ranged champions. Helps dodge skill shots, get out of range of harass after going for cs and get close to them to output your damage.
Dorans items are fine, but I never use them.
Situational Tank Items
Need more MR? Spirit Visage. Need even more MR? Banshee's Veil. I prefer Spirit Visage as I value the cooldown reduction on it over a spell shield, but its personal preference between the two items.
Need more armour? Thornmail is the best option.
Need more tankiness in both armour and magic resist? Go Zz'Rot Portal.
Does the enemy team not have great late game damage, but you're the sole tank? Does the enemy team have lots of poke that you need to soak and then regen quickly. Warmogs is a great option. Remember that flat health becomes less effective as the game goes on, so be careful when buying this. Furthermore, don't buy it JUST for the regen. Your passive already heals you for lots, the extra regen is redundant in a lot of situations other than when against a poke comp.
Situational Damage items
Sterak's is really good alternative to Maw when there is no magic damage. Still getting a bit of damage, but more useful tankiness in the situation where there is no magic damage.
Titanic Hydra is the best offensive option when you just want a second damage item, but you are sticking to the original core build (maybe dropping Maw or Randuins for example). Titanic Hydra has great synergy with Black Cleaver.
Being kited into oblivion with cc? Mercurial Scimitar is fantastic. I never see anyone build this on Garen, I think it is the most underrated item on him.
Just want tons of damage? Infinity Edge is better when you're build doesn't have much health. If building Infinity Edge I would also recommend building Statikk Shiv and an anti-kite ad item (Mercurial Schimitar or Ghostblade). This is the best high damage Garen build in my opinion.
Need extra movespeed and damage? Ghostblade
Abilities
Abilities
Max E first for lots of damge. Max Q next for a little more damage & more speed. max W last, it gives you a longer duration of damage reduction which can be really strong in team fights, but as long as you time it well you don't need to put more than 1 point in it early. I like to put a point in Q at level 5. This lowers your damage slightly, but I find the extra movespeed is more beneficial.
Masteries
Masteries
For Keystones, there are 3 you can go: Thunderlords, Grasp of the Undying & Bond of Stone.
My favourite right now is Grasp of the Undying. Nice for trading in lane, gives you a little sustain and does a surprising amount of damage to squishes.
Bond of Stone lets you run into an enemy team and be so annoying and tank a million abilities like it's nothing. Bond of Stone on top of your 30% reduction on your W is so strong and if you get a lead in lane you can normally 2v1 the jungler.
Thunderlords stacks and procs off each spin tick so this is also really strong and great in lane.
Choose from these 3.
Runes
Runes
Marks I always go Physical Damage marks. The only other option is Armour Penetration. Choose from these two
Seals Almost always go Armour. Health or Scaling Health can be good vs a Magic Damage lane.
Glyphs Vs a Magic Damage lane you want to go 9 flat Magic Resist. Against Attack Damage its a little more up to you. I like to go 6 scaling Cooldown Reduction (which gives you 10% CDR at level 18) with 3 scaling Magic Resist. I think you can choose what you want though.
Quints You can go whatever you like within reason (no Ability Power pls m9). I go 1 Movespeed (significantly counters his last nerf), 1 Physical Damage & 1 Armour. I think you could also throw in 1 Health or Health Regen vs Ability Power ranged over the armour. You could go 3 quints of any of the quints i have mentioned plus Armour Penetration, Hybrid Penetration etc. Try it all out and choose for yourself.
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