Skarner Build Guide by Elthizar

Introduction

Hey guys! Elthizar here, with my second all-singing, all-dancing, champion build! This time, I'm going to show you the nigh-invincible Skarner build. My hand to whatever deities there may be; after you build shurelya's reverie and Randuin's Omen, you become almost impossible to kill, unless your opponents unload all their damage and cc onto you.

Pros / Cons

Pros

- This build is incredibly strong late on, and it should take 2 or more high-damage champions to bring you down.

- It is quite easy to stack your

Leviathan when ganking and in teamfights, thanks to the AoE damage of Crystal Slash.

- Since you are a tank, it is unlikely that you will lose your stacks in most situations.


Cons

- This build is quite weak early on, before you have got

shurelya's reverie or Mercury's Treads, so a judgement call is required before you commit to a gank.

- It is quite easy to find yourself out of position, as I find the amount of speed boosts lead you to attempt chases that wouldn't be tried by most.

Masteries

These masteries are, in my opinion, the best for a jungling tank, as it grants a good amount of sustain and a little bit of damage, primarily aimed towards faster jungle clearing. The main priority masteries are Initiator and Swiftness , which both further bolster the amazing movement speed your Skarner already has. Also critical is the Runic Affinity mastery, as it will cause your buffs to last longer.

Runes

Using this rune page will grant you great sustain and mobility, along with a bit of shady cooldown reduction through energize. The Greater Mark of Attack Speed will stack with your passive very well, and allow you to focus on building crazy tanky. The Greater Seal of Armor and Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist will allow you tank good amounts of physical damage early on, and a good amount of magic damage too, further down the line. The Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed will stack with your Crystalline Exoskeleton and shurelya's reverie speed buffs, making you an STBS (Super-Tanky Ballistic Scorpion){Elthizar's Crazy Moment #2}

If you fear heavy magic damage early-game, then Greater Glyph of Magic Resist might be more to your liking, although they are at the cost of a bit of magic resist late-game. If you feel really confident in your abilities, you could drop the armour in favour of Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration, and you could take cloth armour as your first item, potentially allowing you to work better without crest of the ancient golem than you would normally.

Items

This build rotates around two key items: shurelya's reverie and randuins' omen. Beyond these, it's all about surviving. Frozen Heart will pretty much negate the damage of enemy AD champions, while Banshee's Veil and Force of Nature give magic resistance and sustain. Leviathan is surprisingly good on this build, as you can steadily gain stacks when ganking and in teamfights.
Also, your cooldown reduction will be maxed out, thanks to shurelya's reverie, Randuin's Omen, and Frozen Heart.

Other Potential Items

If you want to make yourself even more ridiculously survivable, consider Guardian Angel instead of Banshee's Veil. If you want your cooldowns to come back up even faster, a Wit's End can help with further attack speed.

Skill Sequence

This build is all about mobility (more for you, less for them) and survivability. Maxing out Crystal Slash first means that you can inflict a continuous slow on your enemies, as well as doing fairly decent damage early on. Crystalline Exoskeleton, and its great synergy with shurelya's reverie, mean that you want it maxed at about the same time as you finish shurelya's reverie, or as close to that point as you can. Using this build, it is maxed at level 12, since I don't bother to take a point in Fracture early. I max Fracture last because it is more a damage component than a sustain ability and, with the regeneration and health I get from my items makes it somewhat null.

Summoner Spells

You must take Smite on this build for one reason. You are a JUNGLER. Also, when playing Skarner, your damage is not sufficient to allow you to get away without it.


There are arguments for having Ghost or Flash on this build. Ghost is better for Skarner than most, as with Ghost up, as well as your bonuses from Crystalline Exoskeleton and shurelya's reverie, you are moving at a speed equivocal to a charging Rammus. However, I feel that Flash is slightly better for this, as it allows you to jump towards an enemy and grab them with Impale before they have time to react. Also, in dire situations, the movement speed bonus from Ghost can be negated by a particularly large slow. Flash instantly jumps you away from the threat, making your escape much safer.

Non-viable Summoner Spells

In my opinion, the only champion on which this is viable is Dr. Mundo.


Not required because you will be picking up your team's first blue buff.

You shouldn't be near the lanes long enough to use it, and also the minion you create will push the lane, putting your teammate a larger risk of being ganked.


It should be your support's responsibility to take this, and you can always ask them to check up on enemy buffs if you want to attempt a steal.

Summary

This is probably the most fun tank build for any champion I've ever found. Skarner just becomes so tanky so quickly, and he is just as mobile as any other tank, if not more so. Also, the speed up/slow down combo from shurelya's reverie and Randuin's Omen is nothing short of a fight turner. On top of that, your Flash/ Impale combo is enought to make any try-harding AD carry quake in their boots.