Good morning/afternoon/evening reader. My name is Arcthunder, and this guide will be covering Mr. Two Coats himself, Tahm Kench.

Honestly, this champion is what made me get serious about my game, especially going into ranked. By performing show-stopping plays with Kench's classic ability, Devour, you will have your ADC praising you eternally as you help carry them to victory. Not only that, but his low difficulty and frequency in free champion select make him a great pick, but a rare one. This guide will go over the basics of Tahm Kench, and how you can perform the best with him.

Now, prepare to feast your eyes on Overindulgence - A Beginner's Guide to Tahm Kench.

PS: Prepare for tons of (cat)fishy puns.

[1.5] ~ Been a while since I've updated this guide, so I've changed it to reflect the support item rework. Other than that, Kench is pretty set with what's in here.
[1.4] ~ After realizing the true power of Glacial Augment, I have updated the runes to reflect it.
[1.3] ~ The BRAND NEW RUNES DROPPED. WOOT WOOOO! I updated the runes to reflect preseason
[1.2] ~ New runes added. Now Tahm attacks faster without sacrificing that early health. He just moves slower :(
[1.1] ~ My old banners were eaten...so I had to make new ones. Rip :(
[1.0] ~ Let the feast begin...Overindulgence was first feasted on!

From Leauge itself...

"The whole world's a river, and I'm its king." - Tahm Kench

Tahm Kench travels Runeterra's waterways, feeding his insatiable appetite with the misery of the unsuspecting. The singularly charming gourmand savors every moment of his victims' suffering. A deal with Two-Coats may carry you to wherever you wish, but your journey will most assuredly end in the depths of despair.

Basically, he's a demon that has not only taken the form of a giant catfish, but has a high sense of class. Pretty epic if you ask me.

Riot posted a video containing much of Kench's lore, on their YT page; I suggest watching it since it is some great story telling. It also displays some of Kench's personality and how he preys on the vulnerable. Really gets you into the mood if you ask me.

Play Video
In-Game

In League of Legends, Tahm Kench serves the role of a Warden. Along with Braum and Poppy, these tanks are there to be a solid front-line for their team. In short, they protect their allies from harm, while allowing them to deal damage. With that in mind, you need to keep in mind that Tahm Kench is not a high damage dealer. Sure, his Devour can do a good amount of damage, but dealing damage should not be your main priority. You should save your spells you have to keep you and your team alive, while not being overprotective to the point in which they can't deal damage.

tl;dr: protect your team first, before doing your own thing.

Pros

+ Great Poke + Extremely Tanky with Thick Skin + Stun + Slow + Suppress + Free Teleport with Devour + Able to release allies from hard CC + Has the most taunts in game

Tahm Kench fits the support role perfectly and adds some extra benefits too! For starters, his Tongue Lash has a low cooldown, decent mana cost, and a great amount of damage. His E, Thick Skin allows him to nearly double his tanky capabilites and still leave him open to be the savior with his Devour. Finally, his Devour can deliver important targets directly to the fray, without having to waste time. Oh, and he also has the most taunts in-game (as of 7.18). Pretty sweet huh?

Cons

- Very Immobile - Hard CC won't let Tahm trigger Thick Skin - Devour doesn't stop Ignite, or similar damage - Lackluster at starting fights - Extremely slow if you Devour an enemy - People aren't grateful for you eating them

With the...physical appearance...of Kench, it should be no surprise that he is VERY. SLOW. He's ranked 6th in overall movement speed, only ahead of champions like Ivern and Jhin. Therefore, much of Tahm's item set needs to revolve around movement speed. Also, Devour doesn't stop delayed damage, like Teemo's Toxic Shot. Finally, since Tahm Kench is a Warden, he has very few abilities that can start a fight. Also, if you eat someone and they die, then they are blaming you.

Inspiration

Keystone - Glacial Augment: Out of all of the champions who can utilize Glacial Augment, Kench is probably the most disgusting one to play against. The slow is insane, allowing you to follow up quickly on two more autos to Devour or stun using Tongue Lash. Overall, this keystone makes you an aggressive support that can capitalize on the mistakes of your enemies.

Tier One Rune - Magical Footwear: As mentioned many times before, Kench needs as much movement speed as you can get. Now, with the new runes, you get free boots! Plus, they are even better than regular boots. Very useful, since now that money can go towards more support items versus Boots of Swiftness.

Tier Two Rune - Biscuit Delivery: I don't know, but these biscuits seem to come at the best time during my laning phase. Low health? Suprise, a biscuit arrives! Not only that, but the increase to max mana is very helpful for those moments when you go OOM. Taking Future's Market is decent too, since it accelerates your build, but you only see the benefits once you build Gargoyle Stoneplate.

Tier Three Rune - Approach Velocity: For Kench, this is a match made from heaven (or hell, since he's a demon and all). Not only does Glacial Augment proc this movement speed, but so does you Tongue Lash, which easily allows you to run right past them while autoing at the same time. Don't take anything else: this is the only rune from this tier you should be taking.

Inspiration

Tier Four Rune - Revitalize: Revitalize benefits you and your teammates greatly as a support. Not only are your heals/shield on Thick Skin stronger, but your Locket of the Iron Solari follows this rune as well. This means that you give stronger shields to everyone within your radius, making you a stronger support.

Tier Five Rune - Font of Life: Font of Life is like taking the original Stoneborn Pact ...but better. Now you can take a different keystone and still benefit off of the old keystone. For newbies, your Tongue Lash impairs movement, so Font of Life is applied enemies. This allows your ADC to quickly heal off of trades.

Passive

An Acquired Taste (Passive): This passive has two different aspects to it. Primary, Tahm Kench puts the heft of his body into his attacks, making his autos add magic damage per % health. This allows you to perform strong trades in lane and still pack a punch late game. Additionally, if Tahm Kench basic attacks an enemy three times, then his Devour and Tongue Lash will have different effects. More on those in a sec.

Q

Tongue Lash (Q): Tahmmy throws out his tongue in a decent sized skillshot. If the enemy has three stacks of An Acquired Taste, then the skillshot will stun instead of slow. This ability is your primary poke in the early game since it packs such a punch early & late game. It is also the reason you max it first. However, spamming it too often will leave you unable to save your ADC at the prime moment, so be wise when using Tongue Lash.

W

Devour (W): Every champion has that one ability that draws players in. This is Devour, the show-stopping ability in Tahm Kench's moveset. I will have more tips later on how to use Devour properly, but for now, keep in mind that you can use Devour on allies, enemies, and minions. A very versitile skill that is useful throughout the game.

E

Thick Skin (E): Thick Skin makes you extremely tanky at the last second. The "grey health" that is stored converts to a shield when activated; otherwise, Kench gets a percent of the shield back as real health. It has many uses, including surviving tower dives, beating out trades, etc. By knowing when to use this properly, it can easily make you seem like a godly Tahm Kench main. It is an extremely useful skill, but we actually max this skill last, since the leveling isn't too noticable.

R

Abyssal Voyage (R): This ult can be extremely powerful given the right circumstances. When you activate this ability, you need to keep in mind who you are taking, where are you going, etc. It would not be good for you to use Devour straight into a now 2v5. When in doubt, the safest way to use your ult is to get back to lane faster. All aboard the Tahm Kench Express!

Ever-Seeing Eye As a support, a support item is a must. For Tahm Kench, the best item to match his splendor is the Eye of the Aspect. Not only does it provide 500 health, but you also get health regen, CDR, and some gold per second. Additionally, you get the benefits of of the old Sightstone, so make sure to use the free wards to your advantage (also get Oracle Lens to compliment your warding capabilities).

Super Nyoom Boots You know the drill, Tahm Kench hobbles around the map with his fat. This boots help him defy the laws of physics and move faster. Not much else, except you get the bonus slow resistance.

Hey...They have a Shield Generator! One of my favorite items to go on Kench. The armor and magic resist give Tahmmy Boi some solid defenses early game, and a shield active that keeps your teammates in the game longer. It also synergizes with your Thick Skin, since it lets you keep it off until the Locket Shield wears off. Easily a core item for Kench.

Life-Line Knight's Vow is a very powerful support item. You get armor, CDR, and more fat-I mean, health. However, the most notable part of Knight's Vow is its active. By attaching yourself to, say, an ADC, you become even more of a tank. You are healed for the damage your chosen "knight" deals, plus take in a percent of the damage they take. This makes you a strong, indirect tank, making you even more a threat.

Healing Suit Any tank that has strong healing aspect should get this item. You recieve more health (see why I call this build Gluttony?), CDR, which pushes you to 40% CDR, magic resist, and more health regen. Also, the item's passive synergizes with your Thick Skin, and all of your health regen you've stacked up so far. It also helps you succeed in small skirmishes, since you will heal up after all is said and done.

Just a Stoneplate Need even more tankiness? Gargoyle Stoneplate has you covered. It is like a Locket of the Iron Solari, but with more beefiness. More armor + magic resist, but with a massive active, allowing you to become an unstoppable wall in teamfights.

It is important for any Tahm Kench player to know when to use Devour properly. Otherwise, you will be in...deep water.

Allies

Allies are your main priority when dealing with Devour. Since you are a Warden/Tank, you need to focus on keeping the frontline as solid as possible, while allowing your allies to deal damage. This is where Devour comes in handy. Should an assassin penetrate your frontline and threaten your carries, then you can simply throw that Vayne in your belly and protect them in harm. The advantage to using Devour on an ally versus an enemy is that there's no wait time; no need to stack An Acquired Taste. However, there are few instances where you should eat someone.

• A high-priority carry is in threat of an assassin ( Zed is getting to Kog'Maw).
• Your ally is being locked down with CC.
• Your ally is low health/being focused.

Be warned: People will flame you if they die after you Devour them. Think wisely.

Enemies

As mentioned beforehand, in order for Tahm Kench to nom on an enemy, he needs to get a taste for them. After three autos, he can eat an enemy, keeping them out of the game while dealing a chunk of magic damage to them. THIS SHOULD NOT BE YOUR MAIN PRIORITY. Save Devour to save your allies! You are not a damage dealer! If you see that red chomping fish by that enemy, do not directly eat them! If you want to be the tank your team needs, you need to know when to use Devour offensively.

Here are a few examples...

• Skirmishes (although, you do want to hit your empowered Tongue Lash first).
• Punish bad positioning ( Tristana is on the front line?)
• Early trades

Minions

This is the last thing you should use your Devour for. As mentioned above, there are just too many good uses for you to use Devour on minions. However, there are good times to use a devour on minions.

• Wave-clear
• Lane poke (Q>W can grab a minion from afar)
• That's it.

Early Game

Your main priority in the early game is the allow your ADC to farm up, whether with minions, or champions. You will counter other supports that have hard CC as their only way to pick off kills in the early game, such as Morgana or Thresh, so just focus on keeping your ADC safe and letting them farm.

When it comes to poking, you should have the upper hand, since your Tongue Lash is very strong in the early game. If you happen to land a Tongue Lash on a badly positioned enemy, then try and engage. Attempt to get your stacks then Devour them if the circumstances allow. At the least, you can burn a summoner spell or force them to back, which will give you an advantage later on.

Mid-Game

Unlike other supports, that usually have to stay in bot lane at all times, you and your ADC can roam quickly with your Devour. Look to rotate around the map and secure objectives, mainly turrets. If you happen to catch yourself in skirmishes, try and stall time with Devour and your empowered Tongue Lash until your team can back you up. In teamfights, you need to take a spot in the frontline and avoid unnecessary damage until the fight starts. Transport high-damage carries to the battle with Devour.

Late Game

By now, you should be building against the most fed carry. As with mid-game, stay in the frontline and protect your carries. Games shouldn't go on this long, so make sure to focus on taking objectives.

Become the tank. Feel the tank.

This formally concludes my guide on Tahm Kench. I managed to remake some of my lost banners, however, if you can find the originals, then I will definitely reward you in some manner.




Also, feel free to look over my three other guides: Skaarl's Philosophy, a guide on the Noxian Meme, Kled, Wolf's Calling, a guide on the Deathly Duo, Kindred, and pReCiSiOn, a guide on the Knife Grandma, Camille.



Now with your newfound knowledge, go enjoy a nice buffet with Tahm Kench, The River King