Hi,

my name is Kartago I am 23, I am from North Germany and playing on the EUW Servers. I started playing League at the end of Season 1 and started playing ranked in S3. I hit Master in Season (S9) and I wanna give some help how to climb with Garen and how to adapt in certain Match-ups.





I like to start playing and maining Garen in Season 8 where I also hit Diamond 1 with Old Garen. I played Champs like Gangplank and Galio that were much more Complex but Garen was always a Champion I liked, so I thought to myself:
"Why not maining this Guy who just Jumps at people from above, Spins like a Beyblade on them, screams DEMACIA! and strikes foes down with a big *** lighting sword from the sky!"


Furthermore I gonna talk about Top and Mid lane in general, why I chose them and how to play it with some Match-ups rough explained such as against Ranged and Melee's. This Guide isn't nearly finished as I want to have it! So for example if I see comments, where many of you want a specific Match-up explained or some Match-ups more in depth explained for example, I will respond to you! Also keep in mind this Guide IS NOT FINISHED YET, I will keep updating it and edit some Chapters like Gameplay and explain more like Runes, Laning, Matchups and how to build against specific Champs.


Here are my League accounts if you want to Study my builds/runes etc.
https://euw.op.gg/multi/query=s%C3%A1hnuz%C3%A1l%2Ckart%C3%A1go%2Cceoofcull


Only thing left I want to say is that you can also catch me on my Stream https://www.twitch.tv/lol_kartago , where I do mostly commentary with facecam and I surely gonna answer your questions about our Demacian Boi. Other then that, thank you very much for Reading this guide and leave a like and a comment if it helped you!

EDIT: I quit Season 11 because I havent gotten any enjoyment out of the game cuz of multiple reasons, so no League content for now but always appreciate a fellow chatter in my stream! :]



Have a nice day and good luck on the Field of Justice!

- My Feeling about Season 11 atm
atm I feel like Garen is rly situational Top Lane and loses most
match-ups due getting outscaled, so I'm playing mostly Garen mid atm.
Idk what this season brings for me but I try to climb with positivity and give
all I`ve got!!! (maybe check me out on https://www.twitch.tv/lol_kartago)

First off all I don't want you to master Garen first, much more I want you to understand the Game. The Advantage, we Garen Players or Mains have is in fact that we don't have to fancy Combos and all that to Trade, to get a Kill, to engage and so on. We can pretty much relay on our easy combos and focus more on the Map control, on the Roam to help other Lanes and on the Objective-Control.

You never go wrong with Garen Top Lane, it's his Lane where he was born in and always fits. He also has more Matchups that he can do some work and give the Team a good Frontline.


- What Summoner spells do I use?
Always go Flash then I can recommend Ignite, but there are some other variants, too. Such as Teleport, helps to get faster back to lane and also for some nasty Bot TP's, that maybe wins you the game. But I can only recommend this in Diamond2+ where your AD Carries actually doing stuff. Then we have Ghost and boy this one, is something else late game combined with Conqueror and either Nimbus Cloak + Celerity or Taste of Blood + Ravenous Hunter! Take this if you really don't wanna fight your Laner for example against Tanks like Ornn , Malphite or Mage Midlaner in general rly great roaming potential for Pressure on all side of the map!

-How do I lane?
Against Melees and Ranged, you pretty much wanna always get Lv 2 before them and get an early Lead over your Opponent. Keep in mind if they have a enemy Xin Zhao , Rek'Sai , Shaco , Twitch for example and you are on the blue team, that you perhaps getting Lv 2 ganked after he finished Red Buff. So either ward early or only last hit and play safe.

Always look at your Map and track the enemy Jungler down. As a Top laner you are much more vulnerable as in Mid lane. So if you don't see the enemy Jungler step back and lose some CS and just let the enemy Minions push back into you. It's always more worth losing CS than dying only for overextending. If you're Jungler is in your near you can play a bit more aggressive and ask him to Counter gank. To the specific Match-ups scroll down to get some more Information

Against Ranged Top laners you trying just to give them no Kills at all. As long your team is winning there's no need for a miscalculated All-in that ending killing you. So rather try to push the Lane and go for roams! Predator helps you alot wit that.


-What Runes can I take?
I described them on the Top a bit more in the Notes. But Basically Fighter = Conqueror you want Win early against Champs that gets scary late Game such as Mordekaiser , Darius , Jax , Nasus , Riven , Fiora take Conqueror. If You are fighting against Teemo , Kayle , Kennen , Heimerdinger ? = Go for Fleet Footwork or Predator if you wanna roam a lot. Phase Rush I mainly go against Fiora , Riven , Nasus but mostly I look at the enemy Jungler if they have Champs like Rek'Sai , Volibear , Kindred for example that can easily gank and dive you (feel free to ask me about possible Phase Rush situations).


-What do I go in the 2nd Keystone Key?
I'm not 100% sure what to go against every specific Champ or Match-ups, because you look more on your Team and the enemy team, rather ONLY your Lane Opponent.

So Resolve is pretty much always a safe Option if you aren't sure what to go. My most favourite one's are Conditioning which amps up your Courage and also gives later on bonus Resistances combined with mountain dragon and then there is Overgrowth which is imo a MUST have! But instead of you can also get Second Wind which is great against DoT Damage or Poke against Ranged. Also like most guides recommend Bone Plating for Garen 2nd, I, Never ever go this! I always take instead cuz it's for both Early/Mid/Late Game!
When do I take Resolve now? Against Melee's with Early short Trades and Poke like Gnar , Gangplank , Camille for example or just Ranged Champions like ADC's, Teemo or Kennen



And when Sorcery?
Sorcery was used to be the scaling rune for Garen which is sadly now completely gone in Season 10, same with Full Cooldown Garen (sad noises was actually most fun build for me). So now Sorcery is only used for early cheese for movement speed so only take now Nimbus Cloak and Celerity .

Nimbus Cloak is still good, so I actually play this instead of Gathering storm when I take sorcery (MOSTLY not NECESSARILY) it gives Garen an even better use of Ignite and Flash to engage and disengage.



-What do I build? What to get on first Recall and When icon=Stridebreaker size=25 or
Get for early Recall Dagger and Long Sword or Boots and ALWAYS get Refillable Potion if you have still 150g left. If you have about 1100g get Ironspike Whip or Berserker's Greaves . then go for Hearthbound Axe , Kindlegem or if you are winning get Ironspike Whip.



[PATCH 11.2 UPDATE]

So when or or Gore Drinker
Because of that devastating Stridebreaker nerf I can recommend to build Trinity Force for now IF you are ahead. If you are behind you should go Stridebreaker . I build gore drinker only when I go Phase Rush more information for that read the text at phase rush runes thread.

Second Item is ALWAYS Dead Man's Plate! Then if you are super ahead go straight for Essence Reaver (or buy it with 3500g income as 2nd) otherwise get a Tank Armor or Magic Resist Item like Sterak's Gage or Force of Nature. Then either if ahead for Essence(if you don't have it yet) or a Tank Item. As last Item(s) you can adapt on, what you need in your Scenario. For that scroll up and look in the Notes of my recommended Item Customizations!



-When do I Split and when do I group as Garen ?
Basically if your team is winning: Group with your team, peel or protect the one who's carrying. Get some items (if you are behind to make it easier for them get rid of threats) For Example Randuin's Omen , [[The Black Cleaver are 2 items that actually supports your team to do the work. Black Cleaver shreds the armor so your ADC does more Damage. Randuins Slows Threats for your Carries. Keep these in mind if you getting Carried and dont feel bad! There will be your time to shine!


Splitting is the Opposite: You are super strong but your team is super behind. Now you have to hope that they will communicate with you and not straight up ignoring or flaming you. If though, mute the player(s)! Tell them to play safe, get farm, distract the team and let you do the Job of pressure the Game. Keep also in Mind of the enemy movement. You can maybe 1v2 but you can't 1v3 or 1v4 so always put a ward somewhere where they may come from. Leave when you see more enemies moving towards you! Switch Lanes when you took down Inhibitors or you have to be near Objectives like Dragon or Baron. This is one the hardest Ways to win cuz you really relay on the patients of your team and of the enemy team making mistakes such as bad Objective calls and engages on your team. [Update] Hullbreaker is a item now and helps you split faster, so get that item for sure if you wanna split all game.


And if You and your Team is equally ahead you can do a mix of splitting and helping your team by roaming from behind when they about fight a Team fight! Just keep communicating with your Team what you up to and what they up to, to keep Synergy on your Team.

Why would you ever play Garen Mid lane?! I saw a Challenger Garen player in NA called Riste doing it first and he inspired with some fun Ideas to make it work! So you pretty much want always get Predator or Fleet against Ranged Champions. Against Assasins you take either Predator such as against Zed or Conqueror against Qiyana , Fizz , Ekko , Kassadin, Talon.

- What Summoners do I use?
Always take Flash and pretty much always go Ghost because of the Predator nerf and sometimes Ignite against Bully lanes like Kassadin or Katarina or Barrier against Burst-Mages like Syndra , Ahri , Orianna , Xerath.

-What do I do in the first 10 Minutes?
After the first wave around 3 Minutes Ward at the Area next to The Raptors to have vision on the enemy Jungler. You need because my Strategy is to perma push your Laner in and either helping your Jungler if he's invading or to have even CS with your Laner. Mages like Syndra , Ahri , Azir , Orianna , Xerath have it hard to focus on CS'ing and Poking you. Also tell your Jungler if you succeeding at pushing your Laner in, tell your Jungler to focus the Side-Lanes!


Predator rework changed Garen mid a lot! It got weaker to roam you had due to the fact that it's only a "Chase" movement speed rune and you had to change the runes tree to compensate the nerf a little bit for Garen (Scroll to Rune section) Now you can use Ingenious Hunter & Ghost Poro anymore which was sooooo good imo cuz Garen actually could buy a lot of Active items like the Predator shoes itself, Randuin's Omen , Youmuu's Ghostblade, Quicksilver Sash etc. + you could spam at max 5. Stacks of Ingenious Hunter vision for your teams with either Stealth Ward or Farsight Alteration which was so strong late game (at least in high elo). But imo its still an ok rune for Garen just somewhat weaker.


-When should I roam Top/Bot or help my Jungler out?
First you have to push your Lane in or having your minions at least in the middle of your Lane. You gotta adapt how your Opponent plays: If he plays Aggressive: Dodge his Abilities or wait for him to use them, then push in. Look at your Health Bar, don't go for a Clear if you are bellow 50% HP! If he plays defensive, get Cull to get an even bigger Advantage in terms of Farming CS. Best back to Base is with 600g to get Cull and Refillable Potion.

Second for Roaming Bot or Top you need at least your Ultimate Demacian Justice and (not necessary but helpful is Predator)! If you have both and the enemy Bot/Top is pushing in and maybe has 50-75% HP. then that's almost every time a GAREN-teed kill with Predator + Ignite + Demacian Justice. If you got spotted by a ward keep going if the enemy top/bot is not falling back. DON'T FORGET to ping "On your way" to the Lane, you are about gank when you are in the middle of the river to give them time to engage. Do not hesitate to spam your ping.

So the best Scenario for you would be if you pushed your Laner in. If you getting Pushed in and your Jungler wants to invade or needs help, communicate with him that you cant help and ping him away!



-When do I go Fleet Footwork and when Predator?
Same like Top lane if you wanna try to win your lane on your Own go Fleet Footwork, if you rather wanna help your Team go for Predator. BUT for Midlane I can ALWAYS recommend Predator more cuz you WILL roam sooner or later for Objectives. But just try some Variations out and see what fits your playstyle the best!



-What to buy on 1st/2nd recall with Different Gold lead?

300g if you started with Doran's Shield:
Refillable Potion + Rejuvenation Bead

300g if you started with 1x Health Potion & 3x Rejuvenation Bead:
Boots

with 600g (sell 1 or more Rejuvenation Bead if you need the gold to get these):
Boots + Ruby Crystal

with 900g (sell 1 or more Rejuvenation Bead if you need the gold to get these):
Ruby Crystal + Boots + Long Sword

with 1300g (sell 1 or more Rejuvenation Bead if you need the gold to get these):
Berserker's Greaves + Refillable Potion

with 2000g (sell 1 or more Rejuvenation Bead if you need the gold to get these):
Berserker's Greaves + Ruby Crystal + Long Sword + Refillable Potion


What do I build?
-You can find the Full Builds if you scroll up, with notes in each Build. But in short: ALWAYS get Dead Man's Plate for Mid lane first never ever go Trinity Force first in my opinion. You need the mobility to roam and it gives a lot of survivability in lane. You not playing as a Frontline-Bruiser that goes in and tanks everything for your Team like Top lane Garen. You are playing a more aggressive build mid lane as long as you not hard losing your lane.

Your Playstyle and Mission is something else. You building to One-shot either a squishy target like an ADC or Mid laner for example, who is the threat in your Game and get enough tankiness to get out and let your Team deal with the rest. Thats why Trinity Force + Predator are such dangerous items for the enemy ADC and Mid Lane when you get it very early, cuz you just One-Shotting them with these.

After Trinity Force , you get Mobility Boots if you see your Side Lanes getting constantly pushed in plus you are super strong and have already Tri force to make your Roams even more Dangerous. Otherwise get Berserker's Greaves if you have a big kill lead, Mercury's Treads against heavy AP+CC(imo the best choice because you can always need Tenacity) and Ninja Tabi against heavy AD.

As your second item you can always go for Sterak's Gage or rush Dead Man's Plate if you have the gold. Dead Man's Plate gives you movement speed and the proc to deal 100 magic damage to make your Predator + Trinity Force even better!


-When do I go Crit and what do I get?
Always go Crit as your 3rd item if you up against a lot of Champs that build armor so after Trinity Force & Sterak's Gage or Dead Man's Plate. If you are super ahead you can get a Cloak of Agility to get 50% Critical chance and sell it then later if you don't need it anymore.


- When do I build Lethality?
I only go lethality if either snowball and get as 3rd item either Serpent's Fang or Youmuu's Ghostblade or if they have a lot of shields and I get Serpent's Fang . Build a Serrated Dirk early if you have big lead in your lane and you play against a lot of squishy champs that dont rly build armor


-When do I go Attack Speed Mid lane?
I only go Berserker's Greaves when I'm like 3/0 and got money for Long Sword and Ruby Crystal as well. My only thought about going for Attack speed is after Trinity Force if you're super ahead (6/0/3 f.ex) then either go for Zeal into Statikk Shiv or Phantom Dancer if you have 1300g or for Stinger if you have only 1100g. Why Stinger you ask? Because it gives CD which gives you bonus AD from Transcendence. That's why I can always recommend going for ! Last option would be Wit's End against Full AP.