Garen vs Poppy
Skill matchup
Build vs Poppy
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Garen: Stridebreaker, Phantom Dancer, Mortal Reminder, Berserker's Greaves, Dead Man's Plate, Youmuu's Ghostblade, Black Cleaver, Serpent's Fang.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Poppy's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Poppy throws her buckler that bounces off the target. Poppy can pick it up to gain a temporary shield.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8s | 20s | 14s | – |
| 6 | 6s | 20s | 14s | 2m20 |
| 9 | 4s | 18s | 14s | 2m20 |
| 11 | 4s | 16s | 14s | 2m |
| 16 | 4s | 12s | 12s | 1m40 |
| 18 | 4s | 12s | 10s | 1m40 |
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 Poppy
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Stay away from walls
Stay away from walls against her: Heroic Charge (E) stuns you if she slams you into an obstacle.
- Step on her buckler
Step on the Iron Ambassador (passive) buckler when it lands: she can no longer pick it up, so she doesn't get her shield.
- No dashes during Steadfast Presence
If you have a dash, don't use it near her during Steadfast Presence (W): the field stops it, and you're slowed and grounded.
- Interrupt her Verdict charge
If you have CC, use it when she spins her hammer for Keeper's Verdict (R): the longer she charges, the farther she sends her target.
Other Garen matchups
Patch 16.21.1