If you’re looking for more wins in League of Legends in Season 14, then we have the answer: Garen. It’s not as simple as just taking him top lane and spinning to win though; the iconic juggernaut has actually moved south on Summoner’s Rift this year—and is shining bright after the swap.
While some may consider it the wrong lane for Garen, the best place to play the Might of Demacia in League this season is actually down in the mid lane.
In the League Patch 14.14 cycle, the justice-loving, sword-wielding soldier has been popping up in mid more and more. And, to add gravy, he’s even winning up to 54 percent of the matches he appears there, according to stat site U.GG.
The tank has yet to break into pro play in the mid lane this campaign, but may begin his expansion there once the season turns towards the 2024 World Championship.
What’s interesting is Garen hasn’t really been heaped with strong changes across Season 14 either. Early in 2024, he had his Judgment attack damage ratio per spin plumped up a little and his Courage shield strengthened. Seven updates later, Riot played around with his selection radius (120 units, up from 75). Outside these tweaks, the Might of Demacia’s remained relatively stagnant power-wise.
What has helped is his mid-lane-minded build path. Garen buys Stridebreaker, which was reworked heading into Season 14, alongside Phantom Dancer before picking up Infinity Edge and Dead Man’s Plate. These combo for heavy critical chances, more speed, and nearly 1,000 extra health. Once you have that together in the mid game, you can then look to buy strong splash items like Mortal Reminder (for more penetration and critical strike) and Sterak’s Gage (for that extra survivability). Force of Nature also works against heavy ability power comps.
If you’re thinking about picking Garen up and taking him into the mid lane, make sure you take Conqueror for your main rune. When levelling his abilities, you’ll want to prioritize Decisive Strike and Judgment early.
To counter this tanky new mid lane threat, you can overpower him with mages like Syndra or Malzahar—both beat him up to 53 percent of the time.
