Garen vs Shen

Garen
vs
50.7%

over 2688 games

Shen

Skill matchup

Heavy AD damageVery tankySplit pushStrong engage

Build vs Shen

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, Infinity Edge.

Starting items

Doran's Shield
Health Potion

Core build

Stridebreaker
1
Phantom Dancer
2
Mortal Reminder
3

Standard

Berserker's Greaves
4AS
Dead Man's Plate
5

Summoner spells

FlashDot94%
FlashTeleport4%

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Dead Man's Plate
Youmuu's Ghostblade
Black Cleaver
Infinity Edge
Lord Dominik's Regards
Force of Nature
Serpent's Fang
Sterak's Gage
Executioner's Calling
B. F. Sword
Spear of Shojin
Voltaic Cyclosword
Serrated Dirk
Randuin's Omen
Death's Dance
Hullbreaker
Tiamat
Trinity Force
Guardian Angel
Thornmail
Jak'Sho, The Protean
Immortal Shieldbow
Endless Hunger
Bramble Vest
Maw of Malmortius
The Collector
Wit's End
56.2% WR527 games
PrecisionPrecision
ConquerorConqueror
TriumphTriumph
Legend: HasteLegend: Haste
Last StandLast Stand
SorcerySorcery
Axiom ArcanistAxiom Arcanist
CelerityCelerity
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Shen's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Ki Barrier (P)

After casting a spell, Shen gets a shield. Affecting other champions reduces the cooldown of this effect.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
38s16s18s–
66.5s16s18s3m20
95s14.5s18s3m20
115s13s18s3m
165s10s14s2m40
185s10s10s2m40

Playing as Garen

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. 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.

  2. Stay closest to your opponent

    During Judgment (E), stay closer to your opponent than to their minions: the nearest enemy takes extra damage.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Save your R to finish

    Save Demacian Justice (R) to finish: its true damage grows with the target's missing health.

Playing against Shen

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Stay on the same side as his blade

    Stay on the same side as his spirit blade: if it doesn't pass through you, Twilight Assault (Q) deals much less damage.

  2. Trade after his E

    Take a trade after his Shadow Dash (E): it's both his taunt and his only dash, on an 18 to 10 second cooldown.

  3. No autos into his Refuge

    Don't waste autos on targets inside Spirit's Refuge (W): they're blocked there. Use spells instead, or wait for the zone to end.

  4. Interrupt his ult

    If you have CC, save it for Stand United (R): Shen channels before teleporting, and interrupting him keeps him away from the teamfight.

  5. Push when he leaves

    When he leaves lane with Stand United (R), ping your team and push your wave: each ult costs him minions and tower health.

Patch 16.21.1