as soon as i load into the loading screen and see a garen against me top i always thing this games over because he just has to press two buttons to kill you and when he gets his first item he takes zero damage so there is no way you are going to win lane im sure im not the only person who feels like this
SeannPaii30 votes"The most effective way to kill an opponent is to slice through the man next to him." - Garen, the Might of Demacia. The reason people lose to a Garen player in the current meta is not his kit or his stats. The reason many low-ELO players lose to him is that they deliberately counterpick a "hard counter" champion (such as Kayle or Yorick), despite having little experience or skill with that champion.
First of all, I'd strongly advise you not to pick a champion that you have no idea how to use, even if that champ has a statistically high winrate against Garen. If you choose Darius or Quinn thinking you'll get an easy win against a Garen main, think again. Because his kit is so simple to learn, many players have more time to focus on Garen's metagame, developing strategies to succeed against particularly rough matchups (itemization, positioning, etc.). Many other champions don't afford that luxury, meaning low-ELO players are still learning mechanics and combos for their champ even as Garen is knocking down their towers. Pick a champion you are already comfortable with, or barring that, start practicing with another champion or two that fit your playstyle and have a high winrate against him.
Second, lets go through Garen's weaknesses. He is a low-mobility melee champion; his only gapcloser is a movespeed steroid (and his only disengage); he has no ranged poke; his passive sustain is negated by poke; he has no hard CC and has weak peel; he relies heavily on items and his abilities to remain relevant; his ult execute deals magic damage and scales with opponent's % missing HP; and his kill potential is dramatically reduced while his execute is on CD. Also, despite being a "juggernaut" champion, Garen is not a solo carry champion. If his teammates are behind, it's nearly impossible for Garen to win the game on his own against a competent opponent, even with a significant gold and experience lead.
So in an ideal world, we'd like to counter Garen with a high-mobility ranged poke champion with lots of armor and HP. That's a tall order, but we can probably fit most of those attributes into a particular champion.
Several melee champions who have strong splitpush and dueling capability are the exception to the rule when it comes to melee. Trundle, Tryndamere, and Yorick come to mind. Yorick can lock down Garen in his W and harass with his minions. (Side note, Malzahar can do the same quite well but his low mobility is a big downer.). Trundle steals Garen's tank stats while AP Tryn outsustains Garen pre-11 (still works despite the E nerf). All three can push lane much harder and faster than Garen, setting him behind.
If you want something a bit more durable, Cho'Gath and Tahm Kench are both high-HP, low-mobility melee tanks with strong poke. Cho'Gath in particular has a sweet knockup, an AoE silence to match Garen's, and an execute that deals true damage scaling with his bonus HP. Tahm has some hard CC in his Q, and his W swallow is strong peel that deals % opponent's-max-HP true damage.
Some ADCs also do well against Garen, specifically low-HP, high-mobility ranged poke champions like Quinn, Vayne, Kai'Sa or Ezreal.
Anyway, that's just my thoughts on how to counter my main man Garen. Good luck on the Rift! :)
jacobbiceps9 votesGood work mate!
Immovable Ozen4 votesim a Garen main, and this is 90% true, the only flaw is you saying he cant carry. In low elo its ez af. just push down top so hard and get so fed nobody can stop you. I have 1v3 3 cc champs and stomped cause of my lead.
TempName548462 votesyou can tell this dude doesn't know shit about garen when his implying darius beats him lmao
SpecterVonBaren4 votesJust as a note, Tahm is a skill match up, if Garen can deal damage to him but hold onto his Q until he has Tahm at like half HP then silence him and Ult then Tahm's toast. Pre-six is a different story but after six Garen can face roll a Tahm if the Tahm player isn't aware of what Garen is capable of.
Critmaster Garen5 votesJust as a note, Tahm is a skill match up, if Garen can deal damage to him but hold onto his Q until he has Tahm at like half HP then silence him and Ult then Tahm's toast. Pre-six is a different story but after six Garen can face roll a Tahm if the Tahm player isn't aware of what Garen is capable of.
tahm straight up outdamages and outtanks garen in extended fights. and short trades are just as pointless, due to the sustain mechanic on his e. he heals a large chunk of the damage you deal back up.
the dude can beat yorick and darius in head on fights.
like when you say its a skill matchup, you asume that the garen can get him into kill range of his ult in the first place, which he cant.
The Spiko1 votesi play garen a lot and those are champs that can beat garen : the n 1 spot is teemo of corse then come other champs that can bully garen if well played :
Critmaster Garen17 votesall the champions youre playing? 
beat garen in trades early on.
the problem here is that theyre all very difficult to play. youre bronze because youre not very good at the game. you need to accept this first.
the champions youre playing are not very beginner friendly. playing easier champions allows you to focus more on improving on the strategic parts of the game instead of investing your focus on trying not to make too many mechanical mistakes.
work your way up with simpler champions to more complex ones.
you have two options here
1.) bite the pillow and keep practising until you make less mechanical mistakes and learn level and item power spikes, lane mechanics and animation cancelling and are able to win fights against him.
chances are you will lose a lot until you get it right and start winning. garen is easier to play than the champions youre playing yourself. so its likely you make a shitton of mechanical mistakes, which he punishes and that keeps you losing games.
2.) chose an easier champion and learn the strategic elements of the game first before you pick up the more mechanical difficult champions youre playing
you honestly should stay away from high mechanical champions as a beginner. if youre looking for a relatively easy champion who beats garen in particular, i suggest 
channing86 voteshe takes 0 brain cells to play of course im going to lose lain even if i don't make mistakes
Critmaster Garen15 voteshe takes 0 brain cells to play of course im going to loose lain even if i don't make mistakes
no youre really not.
all 3 champions youre playing can bully garen around quite heavily in lane. chances are youre making too many mistakes and thats why youre losing even with counters.
the champions youre playing are simply too difficult to handle for you.
garen punishes mistakes.
channing82 votesif i even try to go in on him he just q's and e's me and im dead
Critmaster Garen11 votesif i even try to go in on him he just q's and e's me and im dead
if you go in and he hits you with q, youre not spacing yourself out properly.
yasuos q range is higher than garens q range. quinn is pretty self explanatory. akali can stealth herself with her shroud during garens q animation to prevent it from connecting. she can then wait it out and reengage the fight after his q ran out.
but these are all very difficult mechanics that take time to learn. if you do, these champions beat garen every time.
this is why i suggest you should start out with simper champions first and work your way up to more complex ones.
there are a ton of other strategic elements of the game that you should learn first.
channing82 votesAs yas i go into q and his q gives him movement speed so hes going to him he almost every time i don't play quinn or akali that much.
Critmaster Garen7 votesAs yas i go into q and his q gives him movement speed so hes going to him he almost every time i don't play quinn or akali that much.
i dont really know how youre playing, but you cant just run into him as yasuo.
you need to animation cancel to maximise your dps, play around your mobility with minions, and use the knockup on your q properly. you also need to space yourself out really really well.
most of the time you just want to stay out of his range and poke him with your q. but that requires practised reflexes to kite back when he tries to engage, manage minion waves, and positioning so youre behind minions yourself so he cant run directly at you.
garen is good at one thing in lane. hes good at punishing mechanical mistakes that youre making.
and playing difficult champions as you do, you probably make a lot of them.
the first mistake you might be making is trying to fight him with yasuo at all. yasuo outscales garen. so you already win when you just out cs him and win in farm. as soon as you have phantom dancer, i.e. youll win a straight up damage race.
TheCodeisCupCake10 votes[{quoted}](name=Critmaster Garen,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2018-08-21T22:24:40.044+0000)
all the champions youre playing?
the problem here is that theyre all very difficult to play. youre bronze because youre not very good at the game. you need to accept this first.
the champions youre playing are not very beginner friendly. playing easier champions allows you to focus more on improving on the strategic parts of the game instead of investing your focus on trying not to make too many mechanical mistakes.
work your way up with simpler champions to more complex ones.
you have two options here
1.) bite the pillow and keep practising until you make less mechanical mistakes and learn level and item power spikes, lane mechanics and animation cancelling and are able to win fights against him.
chances are you will lose a lot until you get it right and start winning. garen is easier to play than the champions youre playing yourself. so its likely you make a shitton of mechanical mistakes, which he punishes and that keeps you losing games.
2.) chose an easier champion and learn the strategic elements of the game first before you pick up the more mechanical difficult champions youre playing
you honestly should stay away from high mechanical champions as a beginner. if youre looking for a relatively easy champion who beats garen in particular, i suggest
This is true
channing83 votesi know im bad at the game i have only played akali twice and i dont play quinn that much i do play yas but not top
Critmaster Garen7 votesi know im bad at the game i have only played akali twice and i dont play quinn that much i do play yas but not top
then why are you mad that youre losing against the garen.
this is all the advice i can give you from looking into your match history, without having you seen play the game.
play easier champions that beat garen.
jamjam is demon2 votes[{quoted}](name=Critmaster Garen,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2018-08-21T22:24:40.044+0000)
all the champions youre playing?
the problem here is that theyre all very difficult to play. youre bronze because youre not very good at the game. you need to accept this first.
the champions youre playing are not very beginner friendly. playing easier champions allows you to focus more on improving on the strategic parts of the game instead of investing your focus on trying not to make too many mechanical mistakes.
work your way up with simpler champions to more complex ones.
you have two options here
1.) bite the pillow and keep practising until you make less mechanical mistakes and learn level and item power spikes, lane mechanics and animation cancelling and are able to win fights against him.
chances are you will lose a lot until you get it right and start winning. garen is easier to play than the champions youre playing yourself. so its likely you make a shitton of mechanical mistakes, which he punishes and that keeps you losing games.
2.) chose an easier champion and learn the strategic elements of the game first before you pick up the more mechanical difficult champions youre playing
you honestly should stay away from high mechanical champions as a beginner. if youre looking for a relatively easy champion who beats garen in particular, i suggest
I just don't think it's fair that the only good champion is Trundle, other than that, MAYBE Quinn can beat him. It also depends if all he does is sit under tower. :/ just my opinion
Critmaster Garen7 votesI just don't think it's fair that the only good champion is Trundle, other than that, MAYBE Quinn can beat him. It also depends if all he does is sit under tower. :/ just my opinion
one of the EASY champions that beat him is trundle.
there are more champions that beat garen overall. yasuo can really shit on an overcommitting garen at early levels by animation cancelling his q and auto attacks with his e. he also outscales garen later on as soon as he has infinity edge and phantom dancers.
but it also requires game knowledge of yasuos and garens power spikes, when the best times for yasuo are to fight the garen and the other way around.
akali also has the tools to outplay him.
when you can play these champions well, you will win against garen every time. but its unlikely a beginner can just pick them up and play them correctly.
Gewaltherrscher2 votesWrong. Kayle,Cho'Gath,Singed,Darius,Jax,Camille,Fiora,Kennen,Riven,Illaoi,Urgot,GP and Quinn beat Garen in every stage of the game.
Neptunia xoxo1 votes[{quoted}](name=Critmaster Garen,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2018-08-21T22:24:40.044+0000)
all the champions youre playing?
the problem here is that theyre all very difficult to play. youre bronze because youre not very good at the game. you need to accept this first.
the champions youre playing are not very beginner friendly. playing easier champions allows you to focus more on improving on the strategic parts of the game instead of investing your focus on trying not to make too many mechanical mistakes.
work your way up with simpler champions to more complex ones.
you have two options here
1.) bite the pillow and keep practising until you make less mechanical mistakes and learn level and item power spikes, lane mechanics and animation cancelling and are able to win fights against him.
chances are you will lose a lot until you get it right and start winning. garen is easier to play than the champions youre playing yourself. so its likely you make a shitton of mechanical mistakes, which he punishes and that keeps you losing games.
2.) chose an easier champion and learn the strategic elements of the game first before you pick up the more mechanical difficult champions youre playing
you honestly should stay away from high mechanical champions as a beginner. if youre looking for a relatively easy champion who beats garen in particular, i suggest
Actually Yas and Akali both get destroyed by Garen. Quinn is the only thing that actually does well vs Garen.
Critmaster Garen3 votes[{quoted}](name=Neptunia xoxo,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=00010004,timestamp=2018-08-22T03:29:23.162+0000)
Actually Yas and Akali both get destroyed by Garen. Quinn is the only thing that actually does well vs Garen.
a good yasuo beats garen on early levels. he can out dps him if he animation cancels his q and auto attacks. especially with conqueror.
garens lvl 2 and lvl 3 are actually really shitty.
garens cooldowns early on are pretty lengthy, while yasuos are short. he beats garen in extended fights. but its not something anyone can do. you have to be actually practised on the champion.
spacing is incredibly important in this matchup. yasuo can win simply by spacing himself out properly and abusing the fact that his q has more range than garens q and auto attacks.
jamjam is demon10 votesI wish I could like this post 10,000 times. Garen is such a fucking cockblock in League it's not even funny. I was playing Katarina mid lane, roamed all game, got myself a ripe score of 19/2. But no no no, my boy Garen comes mid with his fucking Conqueror and Resolve (7/3) btw and starts to absolutely destroy me. Keep in my mind, I earned 19/2, which is very fed in League; yet he can still kill me so easily? Garen needs a nerf, or a rework where he atleast takes more than .1 braincells to play.
Child of the Pit1 votesI wish I could like this post 10,000 times. Garen is such a fucking cockblock in League it's not even funny. I was playing Katarina mid lane, roamed all game, got myself a ripe score of 19/2. But no no no, my boy Garen comes mid with his fucking Conqueror and Resolve (7/3) btw and starts to absolutely destroy me. Keep in my mind, I earned 19/2, which is very fed in League; yet he can still kill me so easily? Garen needs a nerf, or a rework where he atleast takes more than .1 braincells to play.
I mean i do not disagree with Garen being strong, but Garen still counters Katarina harshly, and seven kills is not Zero kills.
jamjam is demon1 votes[{quoted}](name=Child of the Pit,realm=EUW,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2018-08-21T23:10:33.936+0000)
I mean i do not disagree with Garen being overpowered, but Garen still counters Katarina harshly, and seven kills is not Zero kills.
Why does it matter if he "counters me" it was within the 20 minute mark and I had one kill a minute. The fact that he was 7/2, killing a 19/2 is hella tilting.
Critmaster Garen7 votesWhy does it matter if he "counters me" it was within the 20 minute mark and I had one kill a minute. The fact that he was 7/2, killing a 19/2 is hella tilting.
how did you get that many kills and didnt close out the game?
if you seriously go 20 kills by the 20 minute mark and dont roll over the enemy team, you guys must have done SOMETHING wrong.
and how did you even get into range of him? did you try to assassinate him in a teamfight or something?
actually, i want to see the replay of that game now.
Child of the Pit3 votesWhy does it matter if he "counters me" it was within the 20 minute mark and I had one kill a minute. The fact that he was 7/2, killing a 19/2 is hella tilting.
I mean counters means alot, doesn't matter if im a 19/2 Jinx with 3 items, if a 7/2 Rammus with only Jgl item, Ninja Tabi and Thornmail comes rolling at me while im solo im pretty much guaranteed to die, because Rammus hardcounters most of the ADC's.
True Garen4 votesWhy does it matter if he "counters me" it was within the 20 minute mark and I had one kill a minute. The fact that he was 7/2, killing a 19/2 is hella tilting.
If you were sitting on the gold from several of those kills, then they don't count much towards your fighting power. Besides, that you were almost certainly the Villain at this point.
True Garen5 votesWhy does it matter if he "counters me" it was within the 20 minute mark and I had one kill a minute. The fact that he was 7/2, killing a 19/2 is hella tilting.
Anyway, I can't find the match either.
Høustøn3 votesI wish I could like this post 10,000 times. Garen is such a fucking cockblock in League it's not even funny. I was playing Katarina mid lane, roamed all game, got myself a ripe score of 19/2. But no no no, my boy Garen comes mid with his fucking Conqueror and Resolve (7/3) btw and starts to absolutely destroy me. Keep in my mind, I earned 19/2, which is very fed in League; yet he can still kill me so easily? Garen needs a nerf, or a rework where he atleast takes more than .1 braincells to play.
Its not like Garen directly counters Kat or anything, and was also fed
Critmaster Garen6 votesIts not like Garen directly counters Kat or anything, and was also fed
i want to know what really happened.
"garen killed me" can mean anything from losing a 1v1 to she just got randomly caught by their team.
Høustøn4 votes[{quoted}](name=Critmaster Garen,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=000000010000,timestamp=2018-08-21T23:31:59.086+0000)
i want to know what really happened.
"garen killed me" can mean anything from losing a 1v1 to she just got randomly caught by their team.
Lmao yeah. People need to stop complaining about things that are the way they should be.
HungryAngry2SPP3 votes...how? How did you get in his range?
ned the kled7 voteshe's sitting at a 52% winrate with 8.43% pickrate
he's also cancerous to kled
i approve of your post
Critmaster Garen9 votes[{quoted}](name=ned the kled,realm=EUNE,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=0006,timestamp=2018-08-21T22:37:40.659+0000)
he's sitting at a 52% winrate with 8.43% pickrate
he's also cancerous to kled
i approve of your post
actually its down to 50% to 51% depending on the source.
his pick rate is still high, correct. but it has been slowly declining over the last few weeks. the reason he became popular was a mix of the vs. event with his dope skin, and that the assassin filled meta favoured him like crazy.
since tanks became a bit more popular this patch, both his winrate and pickrate fell off further.
ValiantKiller2 votes[{quoted}](name=Critmaster Garen,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=00060000,timestamp=2018-08-21T22:56:43.075+0000)
actually its down to 50% to 51% depending on the source.
his pick rate is still high, correct. but it has been slowly declining over the last few weeks. the reason he became popular was a mix of the vs. event with his dope skin, and that the assassin filled meta favoured him like crazy.
since tanks became a bit more popular this patch, both his winrate and pickrate fell off further.
That why you see the rise of our mighty 
cause he destroyer of garen and tankers in general :'D
Except sion maybe lol
Guzergus6 votesso there is no way you are going to win lane
Garen isn't strong at lane at all, in fact he has to play defensive against a lot of top laners.
Pika Fox6 votesI mean, Nasus can just farm for free against garen, teemo can just teemo, quinn is still fotm, trundle can do troll things and ruin garens everything.
Theres plenty of good picks top against garen.
Madsin253 votesTrundle does not beat garen.
Infact trundle has a 46% winrate against garen.
Especially if trundle is the villain you can't even dream of beating garen.
Nasus also has a 46% winrate against him.
Pika Fox2 votesTrundle has literally all the tools to deal with garen with his team. Q reduces AD, E displacement and slow when garen Q is down hurts him quite a lot, ult removes nearly aol of garens tank stats, meaning he cant safely go in on the team.
Thimes4 votesHe is easily manageable later on when you group as 5, except you feed him early on so hard that enemies can finish game at 25 min. So it's simple, don't fight him, take CS what you can, don't take trades. He is free food for your bot lane after 3-4 items.
channing83 votesi cant even push up to take farm i see garens take predator so as soon as i push up they kill me
Thimes6 votesThe whole idea of laning phase is NOT to push. A well frozen lane is a won lane. Learn how to control minions and create situations so that you are never in the spot that he can kill you without diving. That is the quintessence of the top lane. Tbh just go watch some challenger top laner playing same match up and you will see how he positions wave etc.
lightdragoon883 votesAmazing how with no changes to him other than getting a Legendary skin, Garen went from a champ people would flame and report you for picking to a champ people will flame and report you for NOT picking him.
Critmaster Garen5 votesAmazing how with no changes to him other than getting a Legendary skin, Garen went from a champ people would flame and report you for picking to a champ people will flame and report you for NOT picking him.
it wasnt garen that changed. it was the game.
the skin just made people pick him up and realize that hes really strong in an assassin dominated meta. but that meta is already changing again.
Gewaltherrscher2 votesIf u want a change to the binary kit that Garen has go ahead and suggest a rework like i do.
Hello Meddler, I hope the Garen nerfs are not a statcheck because that wont solve the core problems that Garen has.
Garens-state: he stomps people in low elo// abilities -> binary /mobility is not even close to be as good as other meta toplaners gaping flaws->(kitable, has barely any CC)
There are 3 parties when it comes to Garen. Group 1 to 3
1.) Riot wants to keep Garen as a champ for beginners 2.) People that get stomped in lane by Garen mains are in bronze/silver 3.) Garen mains that play him in high elo that get beaten up in their lanes because of the reasons above
Now this is how it should be: To satisfy all 3 groups Garen needs changes to his kit that keep him a basic champion with abilities that allow players with a higher skill ceilling to outplay his opponent.
Possible Solution to satisfy all 3 Groups:
1.) Keep the general frame of his kit Q/W/E/R how it is 2.)Take away the unreliable (RNG) Villian mechanic that destroys people in low elo/ and add CC to his R so Garen becomes usefull in teamfights 3.) add something to his kit that rewards skillfull players and punishes if the player misses the play*
*Here is the solution or my thoughts : If Garen activates his Q and reaches a certain distance to his Q target, he can leap forward by pressing Q for a 2nd time then he deals bonus damage on hit. IF Garen does not connect then his Q cooldown extends by 4 seconds or X amount of time needs PBE testing! To compensate the removal of the villian mechanic that is an unreliable (RNG) and unfun mechanic his NEW R draws people in X distance of sucessfull execution of the enemy towards the impact area of his ult and slows them for X amount of time.
Modl Ryden l1 votesChange his silence to what all other silences have become. Replace it with a 99% slow or reduce the duration entirely to like .5 seconds.
You wanna know's uninteractive? Silence into a spin to win. What are you supposed to do? Flash? Lmao for some reason a champion's ability to silence affects the summoners capability to cast a spell!?!? Like what? The only option you have is right click to move or basic attack. That's all. You can't disengage from the oncoming damage from Judgement which sucks because if you're a villain, aka a person who's playing their best, you'll be taking bonus true damage. But if you're in a piss poor state of being dominated you get your armor shred. Yah, good luck getting back in the game buddy.
Critmaster Garen8 votes[{quoted}](name=l Ryden l,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=0007,timestamp=2018-08-21T23:44:54.459+0000)
Change his silence to what all other silences have become.
2.5 seconds in an aoe.
1.5 seconds in an aoe at range, leading into a root
and all the other silences that were changed were ranged, direct targeted silences on mobile assassins.
True Garen5 votes[{quoted}](name=l Ryden l,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=6LEGlcru,comment-id=0007,timestamp=2018-08-21T23:44:54.459+0000)
Change his silence to what all other silences have become. Replace it with a 99% slow or reduce the duration entirely to like .5 seconds.
You wanna know's uninteractive? Silence into a spin to win. What are you supposed to do? Flash? Lmao for some reason a champion's ability to silence affects the summoners capability to cast a spell!?!? Like what? The only option you have is right click to move or basic attack. That's all. You can't disengage from the oncoming damage from Judgement which sucks because if you're a villain, aka a person who's playing their best, you'll be taking bonus true damage. But if you're in a piss poor state of being dominated you get your armor shred. Yah, good luck getting back in the game buddy.
Actually, Garen has the shortest Silence in the game. Garen has very little CC.