League of Legends champion Garen
© Riot Games
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How to master Garen in League of Legends

Garen has finally made an appearance in competitive play this year and this is how you can dominate with the top laner.
Written by James Busby
7 min readPublished on
G2 Wunder surprised everyone when he picked Garen during week 7 of the League of Legends European Championship – after all, the Might of Demacia is the only champion who hasn’t been played in one of the top five major regions this year.
While Wunder struggled to put on a convincing show with Garen during their game against Vitality, they still won the hearts of the crowd. Riot’s resident commander may not have the tools needed to make it in the pro scene, but Garen is still a solid pick for those looking to climb up the competitive rankings.
Garen is capable of dishing out high amounts of damage, has incredible sustain, and can become ludicrously tanky with the right build. Despite Garen’s simplistic kit, he can be rather hard to master as his lack of mobility and late-game damage can prove troublesome. However, if you’re looking to deliver some Demacian Justice and take down your foes with crushing blows, then Garen might be the champion you’re looking for.

How to make the most of Garen’s abilities

Perseverance (Passive)

Garen’s primary source of sustain is gained through the use of his passive. Perseverance regenerates Garen’s health every half-second and is doubled when he’s below 25 / 50% of his missing health. It’s a very simple, yet effective passive that gives Garen a lot of opportunities to make aggressive early-game plays and outtrade those that dare to engage him. Perseverance allows you to be incredibly aggressive in the early-game, so try to constantly harass and poke your lane opponent as much as possible.

Decisive Strike (Q)

Decisive Strike is a great tool to use when you want to increase your movement speed, cleanse any slows, deal bonus physical damage, and silence those that wish to harm you. If you’re playing against a particularly aggressive champion or wish to initiate a fight, then Decisive Strike will give you the tools needed to make the magic happen.
During teamfights, try to land your silence on the enemy team’s main damage dealer to instantly shut them out of the fight. Combining this ability with the rapid spins from Judgement also allows you to deal great amounts of uncontested damage, so try to always weave in a few spins whenever it’s safe to do so.

Courage (W)

Courage has both a passive and active ability. The passive permanently increases Garen’s bonus armor and bonus magic resistance every time he kills an enemy unit, giving him a maximum of 50 bonus resistances at 150 unit kills.
Meanwhile, the ability’s active reduces incoming damage by 60% and has 60% tenacity for the first 0.75 seconds, while the remaining duration reduces incoming damage by 30%. When you combine this ability with the health regen from Perseverance you have an unstoppable monster who can tank huge amounts of damage and stay healthy in long skirmishes and teamfights.

Judgement (E)

One of Garen’s main sources of damage comes from Judgement. Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body for three seconds, dealing physical damage with each spin to all nearby enemies. When used against a single target, Judgment deals 33% bonus damage and can also critically strike for bonus physical damage. Enemy champions that are hit four times have their armour reduced by 25% for a total of six seconds, making them incredibly vulnerable to follow up attacks. Try dropping judgement when your enemies are grouped during teamfights to melt through as much armour as possible.

Demacian Justice (R)

Garen’s ultimate marks the enemy champion with the most kills and displays them as the villain. During this phase, Garen's basic attacks and Judgment deal 1% of the villain’s maximum health as bonus on-hit true damage. When activated, Garen calls upon the might of Demacia to execute the target enemy champion, dealing magic damage which is converted to true damage when targeting the villain. While Demacian Justice can often finish off non-villain champions, it’s often best to focus the enemy team’s main threat as the added true damage can instantly shut them down before they can even react.

Who is Garen strong against?

Below are the current Korean server win rate statistics for Garen. If you see any of these champions being picked, then make sure you lock in the Might of Demacia for an easy win.
  • Maokai (58.29%)
  • Irelia (57.89%)
  • Hecarim (57.53%)
  • Sylas (57.32%)
  • Heimerdinger (57.32%)
  • Jayce (56.32%)
  • Malphite (56.16%)
  • Viktor (55.5%)
  • Rengar (55.35%)
  • Poppy (54.87%)

Who is Garen weak against?

Below are Garen’s lowest win rate matchups. If you see any of these champions being picked, then make sure you avoid prioritising Garen or play passively to stave off any frustrating losses.
  • Yorick (44.99%)
  • Kayle (47.63%)
  • Teemo (48.15%)
  • Mordekaiser (48.16%)
  • Vayne (48.22%)
  • Gangplank (48.62%)
  • Camille (48.84%)
  • Olaf (48.98%)
  • Fiora (49.26%)
  • Pantheon (49.34%)

Garen Strategy tips

Garen can be used to counter many popular top lane champions

Garen can be used to counter many popular top lane champions

© Riot Games

If you wish to strike fear into your enemies and pass Demacian Judgement onto all those that dare oppose your heroic rise, then you’ll need to know how to use his kit to your advantage. Garen excels at close quarter brawls where he can use his colossal sword to shred through enemy health and armour, forcing his lane opponent away from their farm and pushing them into unwanted early-game brawls.
While Garen lacks any decent forms of CC and mobility, he does have the ability to silence priority targets with Decisive Strike and delete them with his ultimate’s bonus true damage. When you combine these abilities with his passive health regen and scaling armour from Courage you have a champion that is incredibly difficult to shut down.
Target enemy carries with Garen's ultimate

Target enemy carries with Garen's ultimate

© Riot Games

During the early-game, focus on harassing your lane opponent with Decisive Strike and weave in a few auto attacks when they have been silenced. Any minion aggro you take will be healed by Garen’s Perseverance passive, so don’t be afraid to constantly barrage your foe when Decisive Strike is up. It’s not uncommon for your lane opponent to cower away from their farm in the early-game, so keep the pressure on and try to force them into unwanted brawls.
As soon as you have access to Courage, you’ll want to focus on securing enemy unit kills to ensure your gaining the bonus armour and magic resistance as quickly as possible. The 0.33 armour scaling may seem rather small, but you’ll eventually gain a maximum of 50 bonus resistance at 150 unit kills. The active also allows you to reduce incoming damage by 60%, giving you plenty of opportunities to tower dive enemy champs and get stuck into the thick of a teamfight.
While Garen’s late-game regen and overall tankiness may seem incredibly potent, he does struggle against poke and CC heavy teams. Try to avoid incoming skillshots by activating Decisive Strike to receive a 30% movement speed boost and be ready to cleanse any slows that have imparied your movement. Always be on the lookout for opportunities where you can bait enemy champions into unwinnable.
For example, you can make it look like you’re about to lose a fight, then quickly drop Demacian Justice before they can even react. Garen’s ultimate works wonders against enemy carries and you should always prioritise landing it on those that pose a risk to your team’s backline. However, due to Garen’s lack of gap closers, you’ll often need to play around the map and find favourable positions where you can creep behind the enemy before surprising them with Judgement.
The Might of Demacia may not be cut out for the pro scene, but he is still a fantastic pick for those that enjoy getting straight into the thick of a fight. If played well, Garen can take control of the early-game and instantly put an end any champs who require late-game items to become useful. Garen isn’t the most mechanically intensive champions on the Rift, so be sure to give him a go and deliver Demacian justice to anyone who dares to get in your way.