Hello there fellow summoner-ers, or esses, if we have them.

My name's Malistaire and this is my first ever build.
Yes, thats right, in ever people!

And it's all about our favourite champion that nobody ever plays (at least as I see), Galio, The Sentinel's Sorrow. I've played a fair amount of Galio in dominion and he's quickly become one of my favourties.

As I mentioned a few lines up, this is my first build, so forgive me if I overlook absolutly everything (does happen) but I'll do my best to show you why this big lump of stone is both a baus defender and a deadly support mage.

Galio is a Tank/AP/Support champion that is very able at all 3 of these roles, even at the same time. Which is precisely what this guide is about!

"No , you can't take my point, and no, you can't escape with your life either..."

On the tanky side of things, Galio has (which we're going to max second), which he can use to defend (on himself) or as a support shield to help allies (his friends, duh). Bulwark is actually a very powerful shield once you get rank 3 and above I'd say, and the best thing is you can place it on anyone, making even that squishy semi tanky in stats for a short period. The small heal it gives also helps your survivability.

Also supporting both himself and his team is . Although we max this last, it gives you and your team a nifty little speed boost and is also great for interrupting those pesky capturers and takers.

Now here's the interesting part. Because of , a Galio with a decent amount of Magic Resistance can actually do a scary amount of damage with , especially in the early game, which is why we max it first. Many a time has an over confident caster tried to kill me in bot only to be killed themselves thanks to this wonderful ability. It's aiming is a little tricky as it is a slow projectile, but the pay-off when you land it is immense.

Now, the ultimate, in all it's controversy (look it up). is an AoE taunt that affects all surrounding enemies in range. You then take 50% less damage as you absorb their attacks and blast it back in their face. The damage is average at best but can sometimes lead to a kill. The real key to this ability is when to use it, and to that end, I say, patience. Don't rush into an enemy team who are at full health and activate it, as you will die and they won't even feel it. If however, 3 half dead enemy champs are taking your point, and you have a buddy backing you up, get in there and blow 'em up! The turret and your friend will do the rest.

TL;DR

In summary, Galio's moveset requires common sense. Knowing when and how to fire them off is key to his success. Remember to save allies with 's speed boost, slow chasing enemies with and protect your flippin' crazy damage dealers with . Ultimate with ONLY when it will guarantee a kill, severely weaken enemies for your team to pick off or possibly even save an ally from death.

Well, you see, because we're going to be a Tank/AP/Support, Galio is open to be both a Taker, who supports his team in taking points, or a Defender who prevents the enemy from taking his own team's points. If you are unsure on how these roles work, check out Zemiazas's brilliant dominion guide. Because I'm way too lazy to explain all 'o' that stuff.

For the sake of this guide, we'll be setting up a Defender Galio.

No idea whether Capturer or Disruptor Galio is viable but if you've given it a good few tries let me know how it went in the comments!

Masterah tahm! Okay, pretty simple really:

Defense:

Resistance: You're mainly a tank/defender, so it's good stuffs, plus it gives you 3 AP ( ) so it's extra funtimes.
Hardiness: Same as Resistance, minus the AP bonus of course.
Strength of Spirit: Gives you a teensy weensy bit 'o' regen for more staying power.
Harden Skin: But of course.
Veteran Scars: Again, more HP = more not dying-ness.
Ardor: Nice little boost to your AP, which you will be using.
Reinforce: I'll explain later why this is useful (more useful than 1 less minion damage anyway).
Tenacity: With this mastery, you'll be the most non-dyingly non-dying champion that did ever not die. (me neither)

OFFENSE: (RAAARRRRRRRGH...not that much)

Deadliness: Not useful really, but better than nothing.
Archmages Savvy: More AP = more long range boom boom.
Sorcery: Cooldowns, Cooldowns, fun for all the family (champions).
Archaic Knowledge: Magic pen so your can smash through their defenses and maybe pick up that kill.

Okay, moving on...

Runes are general tanking runes with a bit of Magic Pen, but note that per level runes are far better in Dominion due to the faster leveling and shorter games. I've listed flat armor seals and flat HP quintessences, this is merely because I can't afford the per level ones as of yet. If you have per level versions, use 'em son!

The Magic pen marks are to boost the damage of your .

Here we are maxing first due to the excellent early game damage, but we put one point in both and early on to get some use out of them and make us more durable and supportive. Get whenever you can to boost it's damage output.

So basically it's: > > >

However, if you're getting smashed to pieces early on then put a few extra points into Bulwark.

Now we come to the most pivotal part of any build, the ITEMS!

Being a defender and being at least partly a tank, you have to build according to your enemies. The item build I've listen is for playing against a balenced enemy team, and even then, you might want to add some personal touches.

One part of it I would recommend however, is the start, which is also the only part which is core build.

Core Build

+

Boots of Speed: Well, you need some speed, for positioning so you can fire off your smite, and for dodging enemy skillshots, which you will have to do a lot of in bottom lane. (Usually)

Chalice of Harmony: The chalice is perfect for Galio, as it provides an almost endless amount of mana. Seriously, you cannot run out of mana unless you endlessly spam all of your abilities. Not only does it give you this, it also provides Magic Resistance, meaning that you're more resillient and gain some AP due to .

As for boots, it is almost always best to go for as the MR/AP and CC reduction is too good to pass up. Other boots may also be viable, just go with what you feel is right and experiment!

Now at this point in the game, look at your enemies, their entire team.

Are they mainly Ability Power based? are they mainly Attack Damage based? Or are they both?

Ability Power Enemies

Here we'll be needing Magic Resistance because, well, it blocks a lot of magic. Plus it also gives us AP! (Remember )

Force of Nature: This is the best defence against Ability Power for a tank as it gives a whopping 76 MR (magic resistance). Thats 38 AP! The health regen is also noyce as it helps you stay in the field, rather than returning the base. The movespeed is great for any champion but has good synergy with .

Odyn's Veil: This item's a good all rounder, giving a sizable MR boost (AP too), some Health, some Mana, it's all inside this happy meal! Plus it's active can punish over confident attackers. It's more effective than the scepter in blocking damage as it's 10% total magic damage reduction is quite significant.

Abyssal Scepter: Now this item does give a good amount of MR, but it may not be enough if you only buy this one item. However, if YOUR team is comprised of Ability Power champions, it's aura can kick some serious arse. The AP is always welcome too.

This is the ideal team to play against as you get a lot of AP simply by buying these Magic Resist items.

Attack Damage Enemies

Time to show those whackety smackety easy mode champions what for, eh?

Randuin's Omen: This item's perfect for those teams where all they do is run in and auto attack (half of 'em these days). All of it's stats benefit you. We got Health, Health Regen, 75 Armor, Cooldown Reduction, Slowing passive and an AoE slowing active! Whats not to like!

Thornmail: This is the best defense for straight up attack damage. This item's passive, along with it's unholy amount of armor, makes champs like regret coming anywhere near you as it throws some of his damage back in his face. It's a great passive but not so great that it makes them not want to hit you, which we do.

Zhonya's Hourglass: Now this item is a risky one. It doesn't give as much armor as we'd like, but it does give us a beastly 100 AP. It's active can also save you in a pinch so only go for this item if you're confident you can survive and can time it right.

Balenced Enemies

Here you want to go for a mix of both magic resistance and armor. Or, you could simply follow the build at the top of this guide.

The ideal amount of Magic Resistance and Armor you'll want to aim for is 150. After this, it's usefulness begins to decrease if you buy more. So we finish off our build with either some uber Health or a mix of both health and Ability Powah!

Finishing Touches
If your game lasts this long, which isn't that uncommon, you could consider getting either of these two items, depending on your situation.

Warmog's Armor: This makes you almost unkillable in team fights in late game, even if you don't farm it. Go for this if you still feel you aren't tanky enough and want to make enemy champs waste their abilities.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter: If your defences are solid, and want a bit more AP and CC, go for this item. It also provides valuable Health on top of these bonuses so in most cases is recommended over Warmogs. The best of both worlds!

Or if theres any other kinds of problems you're facing, like not being able to escape CC, then go for whatever item suits the situation. In that case, it would be a

I personally go with the mastery improved + the trusty ol'

Improved Garrison is great for defenders such as as it can both prevent a capture and ensure a kill on an enemy point. Many times have I activated this, ran around the point as enemies were taking turret AoE, then popped my ultimate and got a double, or even a triple kill (kinda). It's very underestimated.

Flash is just flash, it can save your life if you time it right, and can mean the death of your enemies if you flash into their wounded team and .

Oh boy, here we go...

Strategy you say?! Don't muddy up mah guide with yer fancy book learnin'!.

Basically, you defend your points. Like. A. Boss.

I would not recommend going to windmill unless you have no other choice. Simply defend the points closest to your spawn, or even just the lower one if it's being focused. If a point is being focused, stay on it and ping for assistance. Dodge all the skillshots! if they come onto the point, like the fools they are, slow and run around, pop and you're ultimate if you have it, although try to wait for your team if you can. If you did great, they're all dead. If you did well, you died, but took most of them with you. If they're fed beyond belief just flash out and head home until reinforcements arrive.

When you're points aren't under attack, push your minions forward! For Equestri-cough-I mean umm, Demacia...

If you see an undefended enemy point close by, go for it, but keep an eye on your points for those sneaky capturers.

A guardian is always prepared...

My Little Galio: Friendship is Smiting.

Please, let me know what you think in the comments below and I'll try to update the guide with any good suggestions.

As I've said before, this is my first guide, so go easy and please try to be constructive if you hate it, rather than "HURR DURR IT SUX LOL".

Have fun!

4/10/11 - Changed up item section as suggested by Blowfeld, thanks buddy! I hope it's easier to read now.