I say he can be both. Even support or jungle (I tried jungle Galio as soon as the mastery system went out, so I looked like an off-meta main Galio jungle for some time). As jungle you'll have a hard-ish time having to itemize against ad damage from the jungle, but I guess you're not forced into armor if you can clear/heal fast enough.
I think the problem is that he's really too dependent on the enemy team's composition. As long as you're not against an AD lane he's a great pick, but as soon as you're faced with Yasuo, Zed or the like his weaknesses get too evident.
The fact that there's always (99% of games) an AD carry (with only Corki dealing significant magic damage), while sometimes you might face the terror of a full AD team, makes him the niche pick he is.
tl;dr pick him in the lane with the most AP champions being meta, and propose a lane swap whenever you are against physical damage.
I think the problem is that he's really too dependent on the enemy team's composition. As long as you're not against an AD lane he's a great pick, but as soon as you're faced with Yasuo, Zed or the like his weaknesses get too evident.
The fact that there's always (99% of games) an AD carry (with only Corki dealing significant magic damage), while sometimes you might face the terror of a full AD team, makes him the niche pick he is.
tl;dr pick him in the lane with the most AP champions being meta, and propose a lane swap whenever you are against physical damage.
Thing is, Galio is considered to be the Anti-mage of League. Most of the top laners tend to be AD champions, such as Darius or Gnar.
Galio, in my eyes, shines in mid lane the most.
But he also is a very good support. If you manage to pull of your ultimate with the enemy ADC caught in it, you might even get a double kill (if your adc is doing their job)
Galio, in my eyes, shines in mid lane the most.
But he also is a very good support. If you manage to pull of your ultimate with the enemy ADC caught in it, you might even get a double kill (if your adc is doing their job)
You need to log in before commenting.
Also, what I meant with "good source of magic damage" was a good source of magic damage from the mid-laner. If the mid-laner is AD, I'd rather build Morellonomicon and build some MR afterwards than build Athene's Unholy Grail, but it's just my opinion. Then again, like I said, I am still testing Galio, I am nowhere near a pro player with him (YET!).
Not counting AD clowns like Yasuo, I don't think he has bad AP matchups... or does he?
EDIT: Tear of the Goddess not worth it. After some testing, it is just way better to get a Morellonomicon or Athene's Unholy Grail, depending on your enemy laner.