Garen vs Kayle
Skill matchup
Build vs Kayle
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Garen: Stridebreaker, Phantom Dancer, Mortal Reminder, Berserker's Greaves, Youmuu's Ghostblade, Dead Man's Plate, Force of Nature, Infinity Edge.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Kayle's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Kayle's attacks are empowered by the heavens as she levels up and spends skill points. Her wings are lit aflame as she progressively gains Attack Speed, Move Speed, Attack Range, and waves of fire on her attacks.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 12s | 15s | 8s | – |
| 6 | 10s | 15s | 8s | 2m40 |
| 9 | 8s | 15s | 8s | 2m40 |
| 11 | 8s | 15s | 8s | 2m |
| 16 | 8s | 15s | 7s | 1m20 |
| 18 | 8s | 15s | 6s | 1m20 |
Playing as Garen
Tips to maximize your impact
- Silence, spin, back off
Trade with Decisive Strike (Q), then Judgment (E), and back off: the Decisive Strike silence stops your opponent from answering with spells.
- Stay closest to your opponent
During Judgment (E), stay closer to your opponent than to their minions: the nearest enemy takes extra damage.
- Back off to regenerate
After a trade, back off until Perseverance (passive) kicks in: without recent damage taken, you regenerate part of your health every second.
- Courage just before impact
Activate Courage (W) just before the bulk of the damage: you first gain a shield and tenacity, then a longer damage reduction.
- Save your R to finish
Save Demacian Justice (R) to finish: its true damage grows with the target's missing health.
Playing against Kayle
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Trade early
Take your trades early: at first, her attack range is a melee champion's, and Divine Ascent (passive) only extends it as she levels up.
- Freeze and starve her of levels
Freeze the wave near your tower to keep her off minions: each level empowers her autos through Divine Ascent (passive).
- CC during her R, damage after
During Divine Judgment (R), hold your damage but use any CC you have: the target can't take damage, but can still be slowed or stunned.
- Force early objectives
Force objectives and teamfights early on: Kayle gains power with every level, so every minute of the game plays in her favor.
Other Garen matchups
Patch 16.21.1