Garen Carry to Gold?

Lurkkin·1/21/2015, 8:44:33 PM·1 votes·2,541 views

Hey all, I recently returned to the Rift after a pretty long (6 month) hiatus. I have been maining top lane and was looking for a champion to try to move up in the ladder. After trying Renekton, Riven, Rengar, etc I found that I have been killing it as Garen. Just wondering if he would still be viable at around a gold elo as I know certain champions start to fall off as your opponents get better. Currently have around a 65% win ratio with Garen so I would love to continue playing him.

8 Comments

redniwediS1/21/2015, 8:48:49 PM1 votes

I'm completely biased on this, but I would say Garen is worth maining. I've mained him for a long time now, and with his somewhat recent passive buff along with a few new items that itemize well with him he can be fantastic if you learn him.

Blue Collar Bear1/21/2015, 8:49:45 PM1 votes

He is a good niche pick. There are tons of situations in which he does do well. Irelia is a very common pick lately, and Garen does relatively good against her. Renekton is another pick that is becoming more common, which is another match up that Garen can come out on top in. Just be aware of how easy he can be countered. Anyone with ranged harass hurts him pretty hard.

Laughing Fish1/21/2015, 8:50:00 PM1 votes

Garen is my main champion. He Stands for Truth! Justice! and the Demacian way! Few things are better then ulting someone at the last second, and than yelling in all chat "DEMACIA!"

Howldoom1/21/2015, 9:11:39 PM1 votes

Garen is currently the top laner I have the most comfort with. His passive, plus his independence from resources like mana means that, played safely and smartly, he can stay in lane for a very long time. He also have good base damages for someone who builds VERY tanky.

In the late game, he can be immortal outside of very lengthy team fights.

Senial1/21/2015, 9:31:52 PM1 votes

I answered no, because that is the easier answer, there isn't a "yes, but no" option. He shouldn't be a "go-to" pick in my opinion or if he is, then you need a large champion pool, so that you can trade as he is easily countered.

That having been said, he is super strong, and in a really good state with itemization the way it is.

I think there are better champions to get extremely good on as you climb the ranks, however he is a solid pick to fit into most team comps. Riven, Lee Sin, and Darius are all solid picks for tanky AD with more utility. For a more AP type top Rumble and Swain are solid picks as well.

All 5 of the aforementioned picks also translate great into team fights and offer more in ways of ganking mid, or preventing/helping counter-jungling.

Sirin Gioro1/21/2015, 10:47:43 PM1 votes

He will be significantly weaker with the removal of DFG (can I summon Ouroboro here?) Kappa

I'd say no because he is easily countered, so don't pick him as first pick. Besides, top lane is all about initiating as tank. Offering hard cc. Garen? Ayy lmao silence. So no. Whenever there's a Garen in my game especially in ranked, it's a gamble. Should I dodge and wait for five minutes and lose 3 LP or should I risk my 20 LP? I don't know. I only know that there are better top laners than Garen. He would be OK if he had some stun or fear or some stuff like that, but no. A silence is not enough. His ult is also a high cooldown single target execution (hi Zed ), which I would be fine with it if it was an AoE execution (hi Jinx ). But I'm pretty sure you can climb to Gold with Garen, but not for high ELOs like Diamond and Master and Challenger where most people have already master the mechanics of kiting (hi [insert ADC here]).

That's my opinion so don't take it too personally Maybe

Tilomentry1/21/2015, 10:57:20 PM1 votes

I would say yes. As far as I am aware, getting as far as gold is more about over all decision making rather than champion mechanics. If you are good at your champion of choice and are able to make the right calls when it comes to tactical decisions (what to build, what objective to prioritize, when to fight) then getting to at least gold should be possible.