Garen
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Good (6/10)
Low Investment
Rare Relics OK
Garen is a highly consistent and accessible champion who excels in standard and mid-tier adventures. While his mechanics are straightforward and effective for growing unit stats through combat, he currently lacks the scaling tools provided by extended constellations, making him vulnerable to being out-statted in high-difficulty endgame content.
Sustained Combat Dominance
Provides a consistent source of Garen's champion spell, ensuring he can initiate strikes every round to trigger stat growth and unit removal.
Ensures sufficient spell mana is available every round to cast the strike spells generated by the champion spell relic.
Grants the entire board Overwhelm, which is critical for Garen to translate his high unit stats into Nexus damage against numerous blockers.
Strategy
This build focuses on Garen as a centerpiece engine. By generating and funding a strike spell every turn, Garen can continuously grow his board's stats while keeping the enemy board clear. This setup is particularly effective for stabilizing against aggressive mid-range decks.
Vanguard Strike
Allows Garen to strike an enemy immediately upon summoning, contributing to his level-up requirement and providing instant board impact.- A second copy of this relic can trigger an immediate level-up upon summon if both strikes are successful, granting a full board Rally.
- Essential for ensuring that Garen and his buffed Elites are not perpetually chump-blocked by low-value units.
Strategy
This is an aggressive configuration designed to force a level-up the moment Garen hits the board. The double strike provides immediate removal and often results in an instant Rally, allowing for a decisive turn-five win.
Other Relic Options
Increases defensive stats to help Garen survive initial engagements and provides Sharpsight to deal with Elusive threats.
Offers a high-impact burst of power upon leveling up by providing a zero-cost strike spell for immediate board control.
Provides vital protection against enemy removal spells in higher-tier adventures where Garen is a primary target.
For players with access to Epic relics, Hidden Tome can replace Archangel's Staff to provide a more immediate spell mana refill upon play. Found Fortune is also a viable choice to pull key synergy units or spells from the deck.
Constellation
Garen is currently limited to a three-star maximum, which defines his role as a powerhouse for mid-level content but highlights a lack of tools for modern endgame challenges. His kit relies entirely on winning combat engagements; if the enemy's starting stats significantly exceed Garen's initial baseline, the deck can struggle to initiate the strike-based growth loop.
Demacian Might
When an ally strikes, grant it +1|+1.
Justice
+1 Starting Mana. Round Start: Create a Fleeting Single Combat in hand.
Demacian Might II
When an ally strikes, grant it +2|+2.Review
This power is the core of Garen's identity, allowing units to scale rapidly simply by participating in combat. It synergizes perfectly with Regeneration and strike spells, though it is vulnerable to Frostbite or Entomb effects which prevent units from completing their strikes.
Gameplay Tips
- Prioritize Unit Survival
Because Garen's deck scales units through repeated strikes, losing a unit early is a significant loss of investment. Use Garen’s regeneration and high health to take the most dangerous trades while keeping your smaller Elites alive to stack bonuses.
- Manage Spell Mana for Single Combat
Single Combat is your most versatile tool. It can be used defensively to remove a threat before it attacks, or offensively to grow a unit's stats and trigger a level-up. Always try to enter your turn with at least two mana banked to keep this interaction available.
- Plan Around the 5-Mana Turn
Garen has a relatively high cost for a champion whose deck lacks significant mana cheating. Ensure your early-game followers provide enough board presence to stall until turn five. If Garen is removed immediately upon play, the deck often loses momentum, so hold protection like barrier or spellshield when possible.
- Leverage the Rally Loop
Once leveled, Garen rallies at the start of every round. This effectively doubles your opportunities to strike and grow. In adventures with 'Deadly' mutators, use these extra rounds to grow your stats via strikes before committing to a full attack where your units might be blocked and killed.
- Optimize Support Champion Selection
Look for support champions that benefit from stat buffs or have strike-based synergies. Champions that can provide additional strike spells or combat protection (like Barrier or Frostbite) help Garen bridge the gap into the late game.