Hello and welcome to my incomplete guide of Garen, The Might of Demacia. Garen is a tanky skill shot nuke type champion that does not rely on attack speed but rather skills. Due to his outrageous damage early game and survivability with the crazy heal from his passive he is best at solo top, where as he is free to farm and can avoid the squabbles of the fighting below while he builds up his items for late game tanking. Garen's main focus would be to farm enough creeps to get max stack on his W for the added 25 armor and magic resist while harassing the enemy champion with the silence from his Q and the AoE damage from his E. He is not a champion that is easily countered because of his early game harass, although he can be countered by champions who are made for dealing with tanks i.e. Wukong.

For Runes I focus mostly on Armor Pen marks to further harass enemy champions with Garen's outlandish damage and to slowly shred through enemy defense. I take Armor Seals to add a bit of early game resistance to myself as I farm early game and for an added bonus late game. I take Magic Resist per level Glyphs for late game when I have to face down the enemy AP carry and all around AP damage. For Quintessences I take Health to add a bit of early game advantage in health over the enemy champion.

For Masteries in the Offensive Tree I focus mainly on Weapon Expertise and leave it at that. For the Defensive Tree I go all the way to Juggernaut taking all the damage % reduction Masteries I can.

For Garen I start off with Boots and a few Health pots for early game sustain as my passive is not as well off as it is late game considering my low health. For late game I would substitute Banshee's Veil based on need for either Force of Nature or Thornmail depending on the enemy team composition. The reason I take Sunfire Cape over Warmog's Armor is for the added benefit of Armor and damage over time and as the Tank the damage over time helps shred through the enemy defences as I charge through my enemy with Judgement.

I take W first for the added Armor and Magic Resist I get from farming creeps early game rather than harassing my enemy first. This way when I hit level 3 I will have the advantage with my increased armor and magic resist compared to their early game resist. I max Judgement first as it is Garen's main damage output and Decisive Strike next for reduced Cool Down Reduction. The Reason Courage is maxed last is because its main benefit is achieved through the passive effect and not the active affect. Remember that Demacian Judgement is a finishing move and to use it based on the enemy's health as they try to flee from the fight.