The time has finally come and the patch is here. Thankfully I got to spend time with Garen on the PBE, so I'm able to get this out to you guys on release. I've been playing LoL since the mid point of season 1 and I've never seen such a drastic change to the game. The improved mastery trees are welcome, but they wont make the biggest impact. The real update is the item shop. The new items have the potential to be meta changing. Health has been nerfed in many cases and lifesteal has seen a very drastic nerf as well. Add that on top of the new armor pen options and you should be seeing games play out at a faster pace. Only time will tell when the meta changes and new builds surface.

How does all this affect Garen? Very drastically. Without even buffing Garen, this patch makes him 10 times more viable then he was before. Just the change to The Black Cleaver was a massive buff to Garen, as he makes supreme use of the item. The only champion that can surpass him in that respect is a Wukong with ult. The massive utility that Garen now brings will make him a more sought after champion without a doubt. He might not see tournament play, but he will be played more.

I hope you guys love the changes I've made as much as I do. Enjoy the guide and have fun summoners. A new dawn for LoL is here and the rise of Garen has begun.


Pros:
- Good farming ability
- High movement speed
- Naturally tanky
- Good finishing ability
- Strong early game
SPACE
SPACE

Cons:
- Easy to kite
- No strong CC
- Poor initiation
- Not the best late game scaling
- Too sexy

Garen, The Might of Demacia
Throughout Valoran, the resolve of Demacia's military is alternately celebrated or despised, but always respected. Their ''zero tolerance'' moral code is strictly upheld by civilians and soldiers alike. In combat, this means Demacian troops may not make excuses, flee, or surrender under any circumstance. These principles are espoused to their forces by unrivaled demagogues who lead by example. Garen, the valiant warrior who bears the title ''the Might of Demacia'', is the paradigm to which these leaders are compared. Thousands of great heroes have risen and fallen on the bloody battlefields between Demacia and its preeminent rival, Noxus. It was beneath their mighty banners of war that Garen first met steel with Katarina, the Sinister Blade. The infantrymen who beheld this event (and survived) commented that it seemed as though the two were locked in a mortal waltz against a symphony of clashing blades.

Garen, the pride of the Demacian military and leader of the Dauntless Vanguard, returned from this battle breathless for the first time in his career, though some speculate that this was due to reasons other than exhaustion. The plausibility of these rumors was bolstered when, in every instance thereafter, Garen seized the opportunity to encounter the Sinister Blade again. A paragon of Demacian ethic, Garen never entertained such allegations, for he knew others couldn't understand. Even simply the pursuit of a worthy opponent on the battlefield is, to a true warrior, the reason to rise each morning. The promise of one, particularly so beautifully and diametrically opposed, is the validation of his existence.

''The most effective way to kill an opponent is to slice through the man next to him.''
-- Garen, on front line strategy

Damage 52 (+3.5 / per level)
Health 455 (+96 / per level)
Mana 0 (+0 / per level)
Move Speed 345
Armor 19 (+2.7 / per level)
Spell Block 30 (+1.25 / per level)
Health Regen 7.45 (+0.75 / per level)
Mana Regen 0 (+0 / per level)

If Garen has not been struck by damage or enemy abilities for the last 10 seconds, Garen regenerates 0.5% of his maximum Health each second. Minion damage does not stop Perserverance.

Decisive Strike - Garen gains a burst of Movement Speed, breaking free of all slows affecting him and his next attack strikes a vital area of his foe, dealing bonus damage and silencing them.
Garen breaks free from all slows affecting him and gains 35% Movement Speed for 1.5/2.25/3/3.75/4.5 seconds.

His next basic attack deals 30/55/80/105/130 (+1.4) physical damage and silences his target for 1.5/1.75/2/2.25/2.5 seconds.
Cost
No Cost
Range
0

Garen passively increases his Armor and Magic Resist. He may also activate this ability to grant himself a shield that reduces incoming damage and crowd control effects for a short duration.
Passive: Garen's Armor and Magic Resist are increased by 20%.

Active: Garen gains a defensive shield for 2/3/4/5/6 seconds, reducing incoming damage by 30% and granting 30% Crowd Control Reduction.
Cost
No Cost
Range
0

Garen performs a dance of death with his sword, dealing damage around him for the duration.Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body for 3 seconds, dealing 20/45/70/95/120 plus 70/80/90/100/110% of his attack (+0.7/0.8/0.9/1.0/1.1) as physical damage to nearby enemies every second. Garen can move through units while spinning but moves 20% slower when travelling directly through units.

Judgment can critically strike dealing bonus damage.
Judgment deals 25% less damage to minions and monsters.
Cost
No Cost
Range
325

Garen calls upon the might of Demacia to deal a finishing blow to an enemy champion that deals damage based upon how much Health his target has missing.
Garen calls upon the might of Demacia to attempt to execute an enemy champion, dealing 175/350/525 magic damage plus 1 damage for every 3.5/3/2.5 Health the target is missing.
Cost
No Cost
Range
400

TIPS

Garen's regeneration greatly increases if he can avoid receiving damage for several seconds.

Courage increases the effectivess of defensive items. Be sure to itemize appropriately against your opponents damage types.

Garen is only constrained by cooldowns, making items such as Youmuu's Ghostblade and Brutalizer very effective for him.

Initial Spawn Time - 15:00

Respawn Time - 7 minutes

Reward: 300 global gold + global buff

Baron can be a game changer, but its important to realize that it doesn't ensure a win. Ive seen many players get really cocky with Baron buff and make stupid mistakes. Baron buff is an advantage that you want to have. Its going to make you more powerful, but its not going to make you invincible. Getting cocky is just going to lead to you wasting your buff.