My name is GarenteedDamage, and I am a Yorick main (despite the name). However, Garen is my go to second pick in most cases. Garen was the first champion I ever played in League and I mained him for quite a while before finding Yorick. I am a streamer on Twitch and I stream League daily. You can find my Twitch (click here). Feel free to stop by and talk to me about Garen or League in general! Or if you would rather talk to my community here's the community discord link: (Click for Discord Link)

Now in case you were wondering why you should trust the information I give you on how to play Garen; at the end of Season 10 I had two accounts in Gold II:

Garenteed Damage: op.gg
Garenteed Dmg: op.gg

Also, I tested all of these builds in Season 11 preseason and I am currently using them almost daily in Season 11. I also understand that for some the fact that I had two accounts in Gold II doesn't mean much. However, the majority of League players are in low gold and under.

Abilities:

Perseverance (Passive)
Garen's passive allows him to poke an enemy then run back and after a short duration regen any damage that enemy may have done. This makes Garen very strong in the laning phase as long as you aren't overly aggressive.



Decisive Strike (Q)
Garen's (Q) applies an on hit effect (Silence) which stops many champion abilities. It is best used to stop other champion ults. For example, Katarina (R), Twisted Fate (R), Shen (R). His (Q) also gives him a movement speed buff. Using your (Q) while in your (E) animation allows you to go faster and still use your (Q) once your (E) has ended. For best rune synergy I suggest taking Nimbus Cloak or Approach Velocity. Nimbus Cloak gives you a movement speed buff after you use a summoner spell, so if you flash on or ignite an enemy with your (Q) active you will receive a greater movement speed buff. Approach Velocity allows you a movement speed buff when you're moving towards an enemy who is movement impaired. This works best when Garen is engaging into a team fight.



Courage (W)
Garen's (W) simply makes him tankier both through it's passive and it's active. However, his (W) also gives him a boost of 60% tenacity. This means if you time your (W) well and someone hits you with a cc ability then that cc ability's effect will be shortened greatly on you.



Judgement (E)
Garen's (E) can be pressed twice. The first press uses his (E), the second press can be used to stop his (E). This is best used to perfectly time a silence with his (Q) or get an (R) off. Garen's (E) stacks Conqueror quite efficiently and allows him to proc more of it's healing. Garen's (Q) can be used while his (E) is active. This speeds Garen up and may allow him to get more damage off with his (E) while still allowing him to use his (Q) after the fact.



Demacian Justice (R)
Garen's (R) is a finishing ability. Meaning you use it when the enemy is low health. It does a decent amount of true damage but does not have a finishing indicator like some other champion ultimates do. Also, Garen's (R) if used on an enemy before they flash may follow them through their flash. Meaning Garen's (R) will kill them at a greater distance than would have normally been possible. Garen's (R) can also be used with summoner spell combos. For example, if you flash, (R), and ignite an enemy when they're low health you will most likely surprise them and guarantee a kill.



Garen Items:

The Bread & Butter Items
I consider Sterak's Gage, Dead Man's Plate, and/or Force of Nature to be the most necessary items for Garen. I tend to buy Sterak's Gage in every game. Sterak's Gage is an item that adds to your tankiness and damage as well as granting you a massive shield at max stacks. Dead Man's Plate and Force of Nature can be interchanged but both are useful because of the movement speed buffs and resistances they give him.

The Other Items
As for the other items I've listed in my builds, which items you build and what buffs they give you vary. You should build certain items in certain situations, hover the (notes) icon next to my builds for more information.


Garen Lore:

Born into the noble Crownguard family, along with his younger sister Lux, Garen knew from an early age that he would be expected to defend the throne of Demacia with his life. His father, Pieter, was a decorated military officer, while his aunt Tianna was Sword-Captain of the elite Dauntless Vanguard—and both were recognized and greatly respected by King Jarvan III. It was assumed that Garen would eventually come to serve the king’s son in the same manner.

The kingdom of Demacia had risen from the ashes of the Rune Wars, and the centuries afterward were plagued with further conflict and strife. One of Garen’s uncles, a ranger-knight in the Demacian military, told young Garen and Lux his tales of venturing outside the kingdom’s walls to protect its people from the dangers of the world beyond.

He warned them that, one day, something would undoubtedly end this time of relative peace—whether it be rogue mages, creatures of the abyss, or some other unimaginable horror yet to come.

As if to confirm those fears, their uncle was killed in the line of duty by a mage, before Garen turned eleven. Garen saw the pain this brought to his family, and the fear in his young sister’s eyes. He knew then, for certain, that magic was the first and greatest peril that Demacia faced, and he vowed never to let it within their walls. Only by following their founding ideals, and by displaying their unshakeable pride, could the kingdom be kept safe.

At the age of twelve, Garen left the Crownguard home in High Silvermere to join the military. As a squire, his days and nights were consumed by training and the study of war, honing his body and mind into a weapon as strong and true as Demacian steel. It was then that he first met young Jarvan IV—the prince who, as king, he would one day serve—among the other recruits, and the two became inseparable.

In the years that followed, Garen earned his place in the shieldwall as a warrior of Demacia, and quickly gained a fearsome reputation on the battlefield. By the time he was eighteen, he had served with honor in campaigns along the Freljordian borders, played a key role in purging fetid cultists from the Silent Forest, and fought alongside the valiant defenders of Whiterock.

King Jarvan III himself summoned Garen’s battalion back to the Great City of Demacia, honoring them before the royal court in the Hall of Valor. Tianna Crownguard, recently elevated to the role of High Marshal, singled out her nephew in particular, and recommended him for the trials necessary to join the ranks of the Dauntless Vanguard.

Garen returned home in preparation, and was greeted warmly by Lux and his parents, as well as the common people living on his family’s estate. Though he was pleased to see his sister growing into an intelligent, capable young woman, something about her had changed. He had noticed it whenever he visited, but now Garen wrestled with a real and gnawing suspicion that Lux possessed magical powers… though he never let himself entertain the idea for long. The thought of a Crownguard being capable of the same forbidden sorceries that had slain their uncle was too unbearable to confront.

Naturally, through courage and skill, Garen won his place among the Vanguard. With his proud family and his good friend the prince looking on, he took his oaths before the throne.

Lux and her mother spent much more time in the capital, in service to the king as well as the humble order of the Illuminators—yet Garen tried to keep his distance as much as possible. Though he loved his sister more than anything else in the world, some small part of him had a hard time getting close to her, and he tried not to think about what he would be forced to do if his suspicions were ever confirmed. Instead, he threw himself into his new duties, fighting and training twice as hard as he had before.

When the new Sword-Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard fell in battle, Garen found himself put forward for command by his fellow warriors, and the nomination was unopposed.

To this day, he stands resolute in the defense of his homeland, against all foes. Far more than Demacia's most formidable soldier, he is the very embodiment of all the greatest and most noble ideals upon which it was founded.