League of Legends S12: Garen Top Build Guide

From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Garen in the toplane in League of Legends.

Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.

That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.

Runes

Core Items

Stridebreaker

3300 Gold

Dead Man's Plate

2900 Gold

Build

Stridebreaker is a great tool for catching up with your prey, and synergises well with Garen's kit. This will allow you to bully the lane. 

Dead Man's Plate only adds to this, making you pretty scary in securing solo kills after extended trades. 

Other good items include Mortal Reminder for Grievous Wounds and move speed, and Sterak's Gage for survivability. Trinity Force is also great for toplane bullies like Garen.

Starting Item & Boots

Health Potion

50 Gold

Doran's Shield

40 Gold

Berserker's Greaves

1100 Gold

Skill Order

While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Garen skill priority is:

R > E > Q > W

Summoner Spells

These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Garen in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.

Gameplay

Garen is a simple character to play, allowing you to focus on the basics of controlling the lane. Judgement allows you to push waves easily, while you'll have great burst on enemy champions with your other abilities. In teamfights, you should aim for a good flank before assuming a position on the frontlines.

• Level 1 - Take E - Judgement, so that you can clear waves more quickly than your opponent. 
• Level 2 - Take Q - Decisive Strike, for the burst potential and mobility. 
• First Back - Getting Berserker's Greaves will aid in clearing waves more quickly. 

Tips & Tricks

• Decisive Strike can be used against towers for more damage.
• Decisive Strike also removes slows, so keep it in the bank if you know an enemy champion has that in their kit.
• If you've taken damage but need to stay in lane, back off and allow Garen's passive, Perserverence, to kick in for a heal.
• Judgement can critically hit.
• Hitting an enemy six times with Judgement reduces their armor by 25% for six seconds.
• If timed correctly, Courage can reduce damage taken in a teamfight significantly.
• While Demacian Justice has a cast time of 0.5 seconds, if your opponent flashes during this time they'll still be hit.