Garen Build Guide : For Demacia! In-Depth Guide to Garen (35+ Detailed Matchups)

Introduction

Welcome to a better league experience, I'm BitBot, a player since the end of Season 6, and this is my guide to mastering in bronze, silver and gold. I've spent a lot of time on this guide, and will appreciate any feedback from ya'll.

Behold my guide justice with . This guide has been split into three parts: first part on in general, second on Juggernaut and third on Splitpush . I recommend the Juggernaut build for lower elo. Splitpush should only be played by higher elo players, unless you are a very good Garen player and have good understanding of macro. I am constantly trying to update this guide and make it a little better every time. Thank you for reading my guide to winning with .

I will be updating this guide weekly to keep the info nice and fresh. I just recently unarchived this guide from 8.23 and am working to bring it back to it's former glory. My next few updates will include ensuring the guide is up to date and a major visual rework (if I have time).
Matchups: 39

Abilities

Perseverance: Your passive allows Garen to regenerate 2% of his max HP per 5 seconds after not receiving damage for 9 seconds. This amount increases significantly at level 11 to 8% your max hp per 5 seconds after not taking damage for 4 seconds. Both these regenerations increase if Garen is below 25%/50% (levels 1/11) maximum HP, increasing to 4%/16% (levels 1/11) his maximum HP per 5 seconds. Lane minions never interrupt Garen's passive. Perseverance is what allows Garen to sustain himself in lane. If you take too much damage, just fall back and let your passive kick in and heal you to a decent amount of HP. Don't underestimate your level 11 power spike with this ability, as it not only massivly increases your healing but also prevents it from being interrupted by non-epic monsters as well as lane minions.

Decisive Strike (Q): Decisive Strike is your main engage ability. It causes you to gain 30% additional movement speed for 1.5/2/2.5/3/3.5 seconds, and the next time you auto attack the enemy it will silence them if used within 4.5 seconds of casting, dealing 30/60/90/120/150 additional damage(+40% total AD). Use this ability to run down the enemy or shove lane. Most players know not to go near Garen when he activates Decisive Strike, so try to use it when close to your opponent.

Courage (W): This ability is very underrated. People always think this ability to be very weak, however it is not. It gives you a TON of tenacity and it also reduces damage taken very significantly (60%) for the first .75 seconds. You then get 30% damage reduction for a few seconds after. That is a lot of damage reduction. It also has a passive ability where every time you kill a unit you get .33 armor and magic resist. This can stack up to a total of 50 armor and magic resist. That is a TON of resistances. Using Courage to block a turret shot is extremely useful as it negates most of the damage.

Judgment (E): Your Judgment ability makes Garen spin 5/6/7/8/9/10 times (increasing every 3 levels) for 3 seconds. You ignore unit collision and deal 14/18/22/26/30(+.36/.37/.38/.39/.4 total AD) per spin. Damage is increased by 30% when hitting a single target. Hitting an enemy with 4 spins reduces their armor by 25% for 6 seconds, refreshing with every attack on them afterwards. Judgment is extremely good in duels and in teamfights, as it allows you to either heavily damage several enemies, or do massive damage to a single enemy. This is your ability you want to use to stick onto and kill your opponent.

Demacian Justice (R): This ultimate ability will make the enemy hate riot games even more. The passive says that the enemy champion who most recently killed one of your allies is the villain. The villain then takes 1% their max HP as bonus true damage from your attacks. Your actives calls the Might of Demacia down on your opponent in the form of a giant sword. This does 175/350/525 magic damage plus 28%/33%/40% of the enemy's missing hp. This does true damage instead of magic damage to the villain. Always use Demacian Justice as a finisher as it does more damage based on missing HP.

Skill Sequence

Skilling Order

> > >

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Q

E

W

Q

R

Q

E

Q

E

R

E

W

R

W

Combos

Garen has a few combos that can help:

Basic Engage/Trade Combo

This is how you engage pre-6:

+ AA + +

Kill Combo

This combo will effectively allow you kill your enemy post-6:

Engage Combo + AA + AA + +

(If won't kill the enemy, back off and don't use it)

Sneaky Kill

This combo will allow you to catch the enemy off-guard:

+ + AA + +

(Only use if you know you can get a kill, this works well when tower diving)

Farming

In Lane

Farming with is very easy in most matchups. Your objective is to get as much CS as you can as fast as possible. Try to outfarm your opponent. To do this, don't be afraid of your opponent and time your aa's carefully. If you find it hard all minions, at least stay in range of the experience. For example, if or are bullying you in lane and not letting you get CS, try to stay in range of the enemy that are dying.

Out of Lane

Out of lane farming is exactly the same but with more enemies and pressure. When out of lane, try to kill as many as possible at one time. To easily accomplish this, use to your advantage. Getting CS is as important out of lane as it is in lane. The enemy will most likely try to stop but remember this: YOU'RE GAREN. They come near, just beat them to death with your sword. Show em' no mercy. Never unengage unless you are very behind or if it is a 1v3 or more.

Farming is Important! A good goal is 80cs by 10 min!

Juggernaut or Splitpush

SPLITPUSH

VS

JUGGERNAUT

Splitpush Garen excels at shredding turrets during teamfights. His core item is a as it procs whenever he uses on a turret. He is also amazing for solocarrying games with really fed opponents.

Juggernaut Garen excels at shredding the enemy during teamfights. His core item is as it gives him hp, cdr, ad, and armor shred: everything he needs to be a monster. He is supreme lategame.

Juggernaut Garen

Pros / Cons (Juggernaut)

Pros

+ Can Get Very Tanky
+ Quite Fast
+ Major Threat
+ Does a Lot of True Damage
+ Has a Ton of AD

is a juggernaut that is very dangerous late game. Once you get and , it is very hard for the enemy to kill you while you can kill them with ease. In lane, it is easy to farm off of minions until you hit level 6. Once you have your ult, you can start diving low health enemies and getting completely and utterly fed. In lane your opponent will have a hard time farming if you play well.

Cons

- No Escape Without
- Isn't the Best Early
- Easy To Be Over Aggro
- Overextends Easily With
- Bad Against Lane Bullies

Despite being a monster most of the game, without your q you have no means of escape. You have little mobility, and your sustain is not as good as it could be earlier. You don't have early escapes, so once you engage, there is no way to unengage (unless you saved like I mentioned). Champs like , and can also be a problem, as they will bully you during laning phase.

Runes (Juggernaut)

is a must for as it grants him more max HP and healing every 4 seconds when attacking an enemy champion. The extra damage is also very useful, as it will make you tanky and deadly. The bonus damage is also proportionate to your max HP (which will be around 5k max).

is the next best rune in this row ever since was moved to the third row. is quite useless as is . That leaves to be the only remaining rune for that has any use. does help with taking turrets.

Next we have . We take this because it increases 's already incredible sustain. heals you for 4% of your max HP, which again is useful as you will be tanky running this build.

We run because it gives more HP if 8 or Monsters die near him. We are getting very tanky with these runes now.

will help survive fights better. As a tank, you will be the frontline, taking all the hits. Any extra sustain is alwyas helpful for you, especially when going in 1v2 or 1v3.

This is a must for Juggernaut . It gives more resistance to crowd control, which is a big must for a frontline tank. Combined with , you will be almost immune to cc.

Summoner Spells (Juggernaut)

: Undisputable. You must have this spell. It is good for getting you out of some dangerous situations and getting a kill on an enemy.

: You generally bring this spell 99% of the time. It is good for across the map ganks and putting pressure on the enemy. Try not to use it to get back to lane.

: This spell may be brought if the enemy has no early game escapes or if the enemy has many late game escapes.

Items (Juggernaut)

Doran's Shield
This item is simply the only viable starting item for . It gives him sustain and extra help last hitting minions. All other choices are inferior to this.

The Black Cleaver
This item is literally perfect in every way for juggernaut . It gives you 20% CDR, 400 HP, 40 AD, lots of armor shred, and a passive where every time you hit an enemy it gives you 20 ms. This will help you shred and stick onto your enemies.

Sterak's Gage
This item is what makes killing so hard. It gives him 450 bonus HP and whenever he takes a bunch of damage he grows in size and gets a HUGE shield. It also gives him quite about of ad (50% base ad).

Mercury's Treads
These boots are perfect for as he can now have a max of 90% tenacity if is timed correctly. Great against teams with heavy cc.

Ninja Tabi
These boots are really only good against teams that have full ad champions. An example would be , , , and .

Boots of Swiftness
Buy these if you are still having a hard time sticking on to the enemy adc or top laner.

Dead Man's Plate
The best armor item available for . It gives him extra ms to get back to lane and to roam around getting kills. You can also consume momentum to use a powerful auto attack.

Sunfire Cape
Another good choice for armor. It is specifically good in teamfights as it has an AoE passive that burns all enemies around him. This also synergizes well with .

Thornmail
Take this if you are against a full AD enemy team comp or if the enemy has a lot of lifesteal. This item really isn't the best otherwise.

Randuin's Omen
Bring this if the enemy has a few of crit base champs like or . It is also useful as it slows down the enemy once you get to them.

Spirit Visage
Almost a core item. It is perfect for and synergizes perfectly with his passive . It also gives a lot of health and mr. Bring this in almost every game as your 3rd/4th item.

Gargoyle Stoneplate
Another option for mr, this item can really help in 1v3 and 1v4 situations, as it doubles his max HP for a certain amount of time. Buy this if you seem to be getting focused a lot.

Maw of Malmortius
Against a ? Then do we have the item for you! Buy this item and you'll get 55 Attack Damage, 50 MR, and 10% CDR for just 3250 gold! But wait, there's more! Buy this and you will also get access to a magic shield that will prevent 350 magic damage that will bring you below 30% your max HP! What a deal!

Adaptive Helm
This item really isn't all that good on unless you are against a really fed , , , any mage with spammable abilities really.

Warmog's Armor
Ah, the cherry on top. This item makes a true late game behemoth. Granting him 800 HP, he can walk into the front of a teamfight and walk out unscathed. Even if he does fall low on HP, he can just exit battle and regen it very very quickly.

Teamfights (Juggernaut)

In teamfights, 's job is to be in the front lines of battle. Your objective: tank for as long as possible while dealing a ton of damage.

If you get below 1,000 HP, try to fall back while your / regenerates a good bit your health. Once back to about half health, decide whether you want to go back in or if the battle is over.

Splitpush Garen

Pros / Cons (Splitpusher)

Pros

+ Can Solo Carry Easily
+ Quite Fast
+ Shreds Turrets
+ Does a Lot of True Damage
+ Has a Ton of AD

is a splitpusher that is very dangerous early/mid game. Once you get and , it is very hard for the enemy to kill you while you can kill them with ease while shredding turrets in the process. In lane, it is easy to farm off of minions until you hit level 6. Once you have your ult, you can kill your enemy laner and start attacking the turret. In lane your opponent will have a hard time farming if you play well.

Cons

- Little Escape Early
- Isn't the Best Early
- Weak Levels 3-5
- Not The Best Late Game
- Bad Against Lane Bullies

Despite being a monster most of the game, you do have a problem during levels 3-5. You have little mobility, and your sustain is not as good as it could be. You don't have early escapes, so once you engage, there is no way to unengage (unless you saved ). Champs like , and can also be a problem, as they will bully you during laning phase. You will also be shredded if the game goes past 35 minutes.

Runes (Splitpusher)

is a must for as it grants him more max HP and healing every 4 seconds when attacking an enemy champion. The extra damage is also very useful, as it will make you tanky and deadly. The bonus damage is also proportionate to your max HP (which will be around 3.5k max).

is the next best rune in this row ever since was moved to the third row. is quite useless as is . That leaves to be the only remaining rune for that has any use. does help with taking turrets.

is our next rune. We grab this because further increases 's resistances. Combined with his 60% damage reduction and 150 armor, this rune becomes a powerful addition to his kit. Here lies : Season 8 - Season 8

We run because it gives more HP if 8 or Monsters die near him. With this splitpush build, you will most likely always be near minions, utilizing this rune to it's max effectiveness. Also, the other two runes don't really help you.

Running on is a must. Without it would be too slow to keep up with anyone in battle. Now that this rune gives even more movement speed, it synergizes extremely well with Splitpush .

is good on . It ensures that you get low health enemies and also adds a good bit of damage into your early game trades. This rune makes you very op in short early game trades.

Summoner Spells (Splitpusher)

: Undisputable. You must have this spell. It is good for getting you out of some dangerous situations and getting a kill on an enemy.

: You generally bring this spell 99% of the time. It is good for gaining an early game lead and early game pressure.

: This spell may be brought if the enemy has 3 or more very mobile champs such as , and .

Items (Splitpusher)

Doran's Shield
This item is simply the only viable starting item for . It gives him sustain and extra help last hitting minions. All other choices are inferior to this.

Trinity Force
This item is the best item ever invented. gives you movement speed whenever you hi something, a good bit of cdr, and a mix of other stats. However, the thing we love most about the is the sheen. Everytime you use , your sheen will proc and deal bonus damage equal to 200% your ad. It's basically like a crit but it can effect towers.

Sterak's Gage
This item is what makes killing so hard. It gives him 450 bonus HP and whenever he takes a bunch of damage he grows in size and gets a HUGE shield. It also gives him quite about of ad (50% base ad).

Mercury's Treads
These boots are perfect for as he can now have a max of 90% tenacity if is timed correctly. Great against teams with heavy cc.

Ninja Tabi
Buy these if the enemy has little cc or if they have an AD team comp. These boots are perfect against auto-heavy top laners.

Youmuu's Ghostblade
is the perfect item for when you are ahead in gold or cs. It gives a ton of out-of-combat ms, lethality, and also a it of damage. It's active gives a burst of 20%
ms as well.

Dead Man's Plate
The best armor item available for . It gives him extra ms to get back to lane and to roam around getting kills. You can also consume momentum to use a powerful auto attack.

Titanic Hydra
Get this if you are constantly getting ganked, 1v2'd or 1v3'd. It will help you survive while dealing a bit of AoE damage. You can also buy the if you are behind in farm.

Spirit Visage
This is your go to mr item on splitpush . The stats are helpful when splitpushing making this a good all-around item.

Frozen Mallet
This is a situational item for splitpush . If you need help staying on an enemy while being able to survive in duels, this could be the item you need.

Edge of Night
Another lethality item, the is on the defensive side compared to the other two lethality items. Channelling it while out of combat gives you a spell shield that makes you completely ignore the next enemy spell that hits you for up to 7 seconds. This item also gives you a bit of HP and AD.

Teamfights (Splitpusher)

Try not to get into teamfights unless your team needs you. Your objective: splitpush the most open lane whenever a teamfight starts.

Splitpush until you know the enemy is coming for you or until you get relatively low on HP. It is very important to have amazing map awareness and vision during this time or else you will die. Never put yourself in danger of being killed.

Matchups

Matchups Table of Contents

Aatrox

Jax

Riven

Akali

Kayle

Rumble

Camille

Kennen

Shen

Cho'Gath

Kled

Singed

Darius

Malphite

Sion

Dr Mundo

Maokai

Teemo

Fiora

Nasus

Trundle

Gangplank

Ornn

Tryndamere

Gnar

Pantheon

Urgot

Gragas

Poppy

Vladimir

Illaoi

Quinn

Wukong

Irelia

Renekton

Yasuo

Jayce

Rengar

Yorick

Abilities

Items

Aatrox - The Darkin Blade
Melee, Bruiser, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Aatrox has gotten way better since his rework. He now wins lane against almost every champion. His main source of power is his darkin blade which will knock you up if you get hit by the sweet spot. Dodge his darkin blade and you should be fine. You probalbly won't lose the game if you just play it safe. Don't get dived! Also, don't kill him while his ult is up, instead for it to go off then use the finishing blow. TOC

Abilities

Items

Akali - The Fist of Shadow
Melee, Assassin, Top Lane, Mid Lane, Burst

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

The new Akali is a little bit tougher than the last one. She is very annoying in lane, popping her shroud whenever you attempt to hit her with a Decisive Strike. You might want to max Judgment in this match so that you can do damage to her while she is shrouded. Buy an Oracle Lens so that you can see where she is in her shroud and hit her with Judgment. Watch out for her ult. Very strong. TOC

Abilities

Items

Camille - The Steel Shadow
Melee, Skirmisher, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Although threatening, Camille is easy enough to fight as Garen. All you need to do to beat her is to bait her Tactical Sweep then go all in. Her passive and her q have long cooldowns early game so abuse this whenever possible. While her early game isn't the best, her mid-game is deadly once she has her Trinity Force and her Sterak's Gage. Unless you can kill her, don't fight her while she has her ult. TOC

Abilities

Items

Cho'Gath - The Terror of the Void
Melee, Juggernaut, Mage, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 4/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Cho'Gath really shouldn't be a problem if you are a good Garen player. You might want to go juggernaut for this matchup as that will make this a bit easier. Cho'Gath can't ever hit you with his Rupture as long as you keep moving and he isn't in a bush. This now means DO NOT LET HIM GET IN A BUSH!! It will increase his odds of hitting you significantly as you won't be able to see his animation (which is quite long). TOC

Abilities

Items

Darius - The Hand of Noxus
Melee, Bruiser, Juggernaut, Lane Bully, Top Lane

Difficulty: 10/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Darius is a pretty tough matchup in any elo, especially in bronze-gold. He is a major lane bully and can get very fed very easily. However, I have found that the way to beat Darius is to either go for a low level cheese kill or by denying him every time he tries to cs without Decimate. During levels 1-2 you are infinitely more powerful than him giving you the perfect opportunity to go for a kill with ignite. TOC

Abilities

Items

Dr Mundo - The Madman of Zaun
Melee, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Dr. Mundo is an easy matchup if you watch out for his ult, Maximum Dosage. Early game try to get as many trades as possible to get him very low on hp. If you think you can kill him early, be sure to save Decisive Strike for his Infected Bonesaw. Use it to cleanse the slow. Once you hit level 6, try to bait him into using Maximum Dosage then kill him once Maximum Dosage goes down. Don't get poked too much. TOC

Abilities

Items

Fiora - The Grand Duelist
Melee, Bruiser, Skirmisher, Lane Bully, Top Laner

Difficulty: 6/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

The main thing you want to look out for when playing Fiora is to watch where she is hitting you. If she hits your vitals she will do a ton of damage to you, making her a major pain in 1v1 situations. try not to trade with her unless Riposte is on cooldown. She will most likely harass you during laning phase while denying you farm. The main thing you need to worry about is to not feed her. TOC

Abilities

Items

Gangplank - The Saltwater Scourge
Melee, Bruiser, Skirmisher, Top Lane, Mid Lane

Difficulty: 8/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

This is gonna be a tough lane. Gangplank shreds tanky melee chamions ( Garen) with ease due to his Powder Keg and his range advantage with Parrrley. It is unlikely that you are going to beat him in lane simply due to the fact that he counters you in most ways. A good way to get a kill on him is to call your jungler to gank you right after he uses Remove Scurvy. This will increase your odds of winning game. TOC

Abilities

Items

Gnar - The Missing Link
Ranged, Bruiser, Lane Bully, Top Laner

Difficulty: 5/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Going against Gnar is basically feast or famine. If he kills you once, he will probalbly win the rest of the game. If you get a lead, Gnar will be useless the whole game. Your main goal is to get very fed off of him. To do this, wait until he has just used Hop then go all in. Don't fight him if he is about to become Mega Gnar. If he does become Mega Gnar during a fight, get the heck out of there. TOC

Abilities

Items

Gragas - The Rabble Rouser
Melee, Mage, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Jungler, Support

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

A rather new edition to top lane, Gragas doesn't really have any escapes once he uses Body Slam. Because of this, try to bait his Body Slam then go all in for the kill. early game will be a breeze, while late game you should win, but you might have trouble killing Gragas alone. Make sure he doesn't try to roam and get kills on your jungler or your mid laner. TOC

Abilities

Items

Illaoi - The Kraken Priestess
Melee, Bruiser, Lane Bully, Top Lane

Difficulty: 8/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Illaoi is going to destroy you in lane. The only way to really counter her is by not getting hit by her tentacles. Every time she hits you with a tentacle she heals for a good bit of health. If she hits you with Test of Spirit, either be super aggro and get her off your body without getting killed in the process or get out of the circle as fast as possible. Don't kill any tentacles that spawn while you are under the effect. TOC

Abilities

Items

Irelia - The Blade Dancer
Melee, Bruiser, Skirmisher, Top Lane, Mid Lane, ADC

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

This is an extremely easy mattchup for you. Irelia needs to use Bladesurge on minions in order to sustain. Every time she does this, hit her with a Decisive Strike. She will lose all her lane sustain this way making it way too easy to kill her once you poke her down enough. If Irelia calls her jungler top you might want to leave as she is fairly dangerous in 1v2s and 1v3s against you. TOC

Abilities

Items

Jayce - The Defender of Tomorrow
Ranged, Melee, Bruiser, Assassin, Lane Bully, Top Laner, Mid Laner

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Although this may seem like a tough matchup, simply start with Cloth Armor. Jayce will not be doign any damage to you. Rush Ninja Tabi on your second back. Try to build a Youmuu's Ghostblade when possible (after trifore/black cleaver). There will be nothing he can do against you. Try to get the jump on him from a bush to kill him or wait for him to be dumb enough to come within melee range. TOC

Abilities

Items

Jax - The Grandmaster at Arms
Melee, Bruiser, Skirmisher, Juggernaut, Assassin, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Another easy enough matchup if you know what you're doing. The best way to beat Jax is to hit him with a Decisive Strike once his Counter Strike goes down. Keep doing this and forcing him to waste his Counter Strike to farm. Once you reach level 6, you may go all in and kill him. unfortunately, Jax is one of the few champions that you can't 1v1 during late game, so make early game count! TOC

Abilities

Items

Kayle - The Righteous
Melee, Ranged DPS, Top Laner, Mid Laner, Support

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Win
Game: Lose

This is an interesting one. Kayle stands no chance against you in lane. Just silence her as often as possible and go all in all the time until lategame. HOWEVER, once late game starts, don't fight Kayle. She will be infinitely more powerful than you. Try to avoid teamfights if possible as she does extremely well if her team peels correctly. Otherwise, try to splitpush often. TOC

Abilities

Items

Kennen - The Heart of the Tempest
Ranged, Mage, Assassin, Top Laner, Mid Laner

Difficulty: 4/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Kennen is going to poke you all game long. His range advantage is very annoying in lane. To trade, wait for him to use Electrical Surge then go all in as he wont be able to stun you easy or do much damage. Just remember that while in lane he may be poking you, he is in reality poking a bear. Make him suffer if the game goes late. He will not to be able to do anything against you if you didn't feed earlier. TOC

Abilities

Items

Kled - The Cantankerous Cavalier
Melee, Bruiser, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 5/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Kled's difficulty depends how good at the game you are. PAY ATTENTION TO WHEN SKAARL IS COMING BACK UP! I cannot stress this enough! I used to make the mistake of thinking Kled is dead while, in reality, Skaarl is here to ruin your day. You will win this matchup if you pay attention to when and when not you can kill Kled. If not, you will lose badly by giving Kled free kills thinking you've killed him. TOC

Abilities

Items

Malphite - Shard of the Monolith
Melee, Juggernaut, Mage, Top Lane, Support

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Malphite has two options when laning against you. Option 1: take damage often and get killed while focusing on farm; Option 2: use up all your mana 1 minute into lane. Both a very poor option for Malphite but he doesn't really have any others. Abuse his high mana costs, once he is out of mana he is basically just a wall of rocks. If he does have mana while he fights you, try to use Courage to negate most of his ult damage. TOC

Abilities

Items

Maokai - The Twisted Treant
Melee, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Support

Difficulty: 1/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

There really isn't anything to put here. If you go Juggernaut Garen, you WILL get a bunch of kills and get very fed. I highly recommend juggernaut for this matchup as you will be unstoppable. Just watch out for the jungler, as Maokai becomes slightly more dangerous in a teamfight. Maokai has no escapes. I honestly have nothing else to put here, Maokai is a very very poor choice versus Garen. TOC

Abilities

Items

Nasus - The Curator of the Sands
Melee, Juggernaut, Bruiser, Heavy Scaling, Top Lane

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

The best way to beat Nasus is by not letting him get stacks. every time he goes in for a Siphoning Strike on a minion, hit him with a Decisive Strike. Once he is at about half health, feel free to all in. The main thing to worry about is that post-6, I can't tell you how many times I've ulted at the exact same time as Nasus, leaving him alive and me with a wasted ult. Don't make the same mistakes as me! TOC

Abilities

Items

Ornn - The Fire Below the Mountain
Melee, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 4/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

In this matchup, lane is almost a tossup. A good way to win this tossup is to never stay in one place and force early game trades as often as possible without putting yourself in danger of getting ganked. Ornn naturally extends, so let him. He will be backing less than you due to Living Forge. You must out-sustain him by not getting hit by many of his abilities. Build juggernaut Garen. TOC

Abilities

Items

Pantheon - The Unbreakable Spear
Melee, Bruiser, Assassin, Lane Bully, High Mobility, Top Lane, Jungler, Mid Lane

Difficulty: 4/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

This is an even-ish matchup. Pantheon will poke you with his Comet Spear a ton during laning phase. Trinity force Garen is reccommended becuase Pantheon will porbably have Conqueror. Pantheon's empowered Shield Vault will give him 3 stacks of Conqueror, ripping through tanky targets. You should be able to out-sustain and out-trade him in a fight, so don't be afraid to play aggressive.TOC

Abilities

Items

Poppy - Keeper of the Hammer
Melee, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Jungler, Support

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

In this matchup, lane is almost a tossup. It all depends on who is more skilled at their champion. to win this, try to bait out her Steadfast Presence before you try to trade with her. She will win in a 2v1 against you so don't overextend too much. Try not to fight her too much until you get your ulti. Once you get your ulti, bait her and try to kill her. You will most likely win late game. Stay away from walls. TOC

Abilities

Items

Quinn - Demacia's Wings
Ranged, Assassin, High Mobility, Top Lane, Jungler, ADC

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Same as Jayce. Simply start with Cloth Armor and build into some early Ninja Tabi. Try to farm in lane as best as you can. Wait for her to use her leap attack and run at her with Decisive Strike and go for the kill. If you get marked with Harrier otherwise, fall back and don't let Quinn hit you until it goes away, else you will take a ton of damage despite your armor. Build a ghostblade. TOC

Abilities

Items

Renekton - The Butcher of the Sands
Melee, Bruiser, Lane Bully, Top Laner

Difficulty: 7/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Renekton will make you unexist early game. Have your jungler camp top if Renekton isn't already fed. Renekton is a notorious lane bully, and known to be one of, if not the strongest early game top laner. just try not to feed him and don't get zoned out. Mid-late game is when Renekton really falls off and becomes super weak. He doesn't do nearly as well as most champions late game. TOC

Abilities

Items

Rengar - The Pridestalker
Melee, Assassin, Bruiser, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 1/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Rengar top is really really bad against Garen. The fact is, Rengar relies on burst to help him win. Just pop Courage and there goes all of Rengar's damage. It completely shuts him down. Due to this, Rengar will most likely look to roam once he hits level 6 for a free kill. Keep track of where he is at all times and remember to ping MIA whenever he leaves lane to deny him kills. TOC

Abilities

Items

Riven - The Exile
Melee, Bruiser, Lane Bully, Top Lane

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

This is an annoying yet simple matchup. Go super aggro on her while still last hitting. If she is about to hit you with her third strike from Broken Wings, either fall back or activate Courage. Once you hit level 6, be cautious as you both have execute abilities. You should be able to kill her if you avoid her Ki Burst. Try not to go for too many extended fights. Conqueror is very broken on her, so dont let her get fed. TOC

Abilities

Items

Rumble - The Mechanized Menace
Melee, Bruiser, Mage, Lane Bully, Top Lane, Mid Lane

Difficulty: 7/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Rumble will bully you hard with Flamespitter. Whenever trying to cs, try to go in, last hit, get out. Save your Decisive Strike for whenever he uses his Electro-Harpoon to cleanse the slow. Go all in if you have any advantage of any kind. Call your jungler to fight him when possible. He will most likely overextend, so abuse that. try to trade with him whenever his Scrap Shield is down. TOC

Abilities

Items

Shen - Eye of Twilight
Melee, Bruiser, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Support

Difficulty: 1/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

While you may not be able to kill him, Shen won't really be able to kill you either unless you are doing something wrong. this is a game where you are going to have to get fed by farming instead of killing. Focusing on last hitting every single minion in your way. Once you hit level 6, use Decisive Strike to cancel Shen's ult Stand United. Do not be too greedy and watch out for his taunt while sieging his turret. TOC

Abilities

Items

Singed - Mad Chemist
Melee, Mage, Bruiser, Lane Bully, High Mobility, Top Laner

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win
This is a tough one as your chances of winning game are on the line. Odds are that late game will pretty much suck if he catches you out. His spammable slows will counter your cleanse from Decisive Strike, making him EXTREMELY annoying as you can't kill him. A good way to counter is by killing him a ton during early game. Ward the back of your lane to prevent him proxying, specifically the bush near your tier 2 turret. TOC

Abilities

Items

Sion - The Undead Juggernaut
Melee, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Support

Difficulty: 6/10
Lane: 50/50
Game: 50/50

This is a complete tossup. Everything about this matchup is about who is the better player. You're going to want to build juggernaut or else you will not be able to kill him or at least build Black Cleaver. Try to pop Courage if he is about to stun you with his q, and use Decisive Strike when hit by his e (the skillshot). Try to get your jungler to gank often. Don't get killed by his dead body! TOC

Abilities

Items

Teemo - The Swift Scout
Ranged, Mage, Assassin, Lane Bully, Top Lane, Mid Lane, ADC, Support

Difficulty: 9/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Lose

The devil. A Teemo is gonna destroy any inexperienced Garen player with ease. Throughout my years playing Garen, I have discovered the best way to beat Teemo in lane. Simply wait for him to use his blinding dart on you, then USE Courage RIGHT before the dart hits you. With your mercury treads, the blinding will be over in like a split second, allowing you to go all in on Teemo. Watch out for his shrooms. TOC

Abilities

Items

Trundle - Cursed Troll
Melee, Bruiser, Juggernaut, Top Lane, Jungler

Difficulty: 4/10
Lane: Win
Game: Lose

Trundle is a minor threat to you. To win against him, bully him to death during laning phase. Zone him out so that he misses experience. He can't fight you until late game. To beat his late game power, do not build tanky, as he will shred through it with Subjugate. Simply build a Trinity Force into a Youmuu's Ghostblade and a Stormrazor. You will out damage him. TOC

Abilities

Items

Tryndamere - The Barbarian King
Melee, Bruiser, Assassin, High Mobility, Top Laner, Jungler

Difficulty: 3/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Beating Tryndamere is incredibly easy if you know how to play defensivly. Let him push into your turret by ONLY last hitting minions. Don't hit them if they aren't going to die to that hit. Tryndamere won't be able to get his full rage statcks which is his main source of damage and sustain. Poke him down with Decisive Strike then bait his ult and go all in once it is down. He cannot fight you for most of the game. TOC

Abilities

Items

Urgot - The Dreadnought
Ranged, Bruiser, Juggernaut, Top Lane

Difficulty: 8/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

Urgot is a tough match. You can beat him if you can bait him. Try to get him to use Purge then run away. All in him while his Purge is down. Try to move to where his shotgun knees have already been used early game, as they have a 30-20 second cooldown. Watch out for his ult post-6. If he pokes you down before going all in, you're in big trouble. Don't stop moving and abuse his early game mana troubles. TOC

Abilities

Items

Vladimir - The Crimson Reaper
Ranged, Mage, Bruiser, Juggernaut, Lane Bully, Top Laner, Mid Laner, ADC

Difficulty: 5/10
Lane: Lose
Game: Win

You might want to consider a Hexdrinker. This matchup is a tough lane. Vlad has incredible amounts of sustain. You will have trouble landing many abilities, and the ones you do land will most likely be healed back quickly. Build an Executioner's Calling ASAP. It will majorly reduce his lane sustain. Try to build for a lot of damage with a Sterak's Gage thrown in. Vlad will most likely build AP not Tank. TOC

Abilities

Items

Wukong - The Monkey King
Melee, Bruiser, Assassin, Top Lane, Jungler, Mid Laner

Difficulty: 1/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

The easiest matchup for Garen league has to offer. Unless you are truely brain-dead, Wukong is an extremely easy matchup. There is nothing he can do to stop you. He does not do enough burst to kill you and cannot stay in an extended fight without dying. All in him as much as possible to force him to back often or kill him, resulting in you getting fed in kills and farm. DO NOT ULT HIS CLONE!!!!!!!!!!!! TOC

Abilities

Items

Yasuo - The Unforgiven
Melee, Bruiser, Assassin, Top Laner, Mid Laner, ADC

Difficulty: 2/10
Lane: Win
Game: Win

Not only is this easy, I have never seen a Yasuo that doesn't feed early every game. Abuse this by poking him down every time he goes for a last hit. In addition to generally being bad at league, Yasuo players are extremely toxic 99% of the time. Use this by typing in all chat to make him more tilted. A tilted player cannot think straight and will make very dumb mistakes that you can take advantage of. TOC

Abilities

Items

Yorick - The Shepherd of Lost Souls
Melee, Bruiser, Juggernaut, Lane Bully, Top Laner

Difficulty: 5/10
Lane: Win
Game: Lose

Use your brain for this one. This is somewhat a matchup of skill during lane. A good way to beat him is to go all in once he misses his Mourning Mist. If he does miss, he won't have his souls to back him up, allowing for easy harassment or kills. If you do get trapped in his Dark Procession, simply auto then q the wall as fast as you can, then run for your life. Don't fight if his ult is up. TOC

Conclusion

is one of the most fun champions to play. Try not to follow this guide 100%, adapt to the situation. If you have any thoughts on how I could improve my guide, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Upvote this guide if you liked it. If not, you may leave a downvote, but please explain your choice and what I am doing wrong. I will be adding more to this guide as time goes on.

Have fun beating people to death with an oversized sword!

For Demacia! In-Depth Guide to Garen (35+ Detailed Matchups)

For Demacia! In-Depth Guide to Garen (35+ Detailed Matchups)

Choose Champion Build:

Runes:

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Items

Ability Order

Perseverance (PASSIVE)

Decisive Strike (Q)

Courage (W)

Judgment (E)

Demacian Justice (R)

Threats & Synergies

Garen

Recommended Items

Runes:

Spells:

Flash

Teleport

Items

Ability Order

Perseverance (PASSIVE)

Decisive Strike (Q)

Courage (W)

Judgment (E)

Demacian Justice (R)

Threats & Synergies

Garen

Champion Build Guide

For Demacia! In-Depth Guide to Garen (35+ Detailed Matchups)

Garen has a few combos that can help:

Farming is Important! A good goal is 80cs by 10 min!

League of Legends Champions: