Champion Guide

Skarner Guide

By LoLSuggest

Jungle

Skarner is a hybrid of bruiser, juggernaut and tank with simple, reliable crowd control. Threads of Vibration stacks Quaking on enemies hit by his attacks, Shattered Earth and Impale, dealing percentage health damage at three stacks. Shattered Earth empowers his next three attacks, and Upheaval throws the boulder to damage and slow; Seismic Bastion shields him and sends out a slowing shockwave; Ixtal's Impact charges through terrain and grabs the first champion or large monster he hits; and Impale suppresses up to three enemy champions and drags them along. He is easy to learn, scales well and makes ganks and teamfights very hard for the enemy.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Skarner build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Start Scorchclaw Pup, whose slow helps you catch champions, or Mosstomper Seedling against burst or heavy poke. Rush Trinity Force in most games, starting with Phage and Hearthbound Axe, then build Unending Despair, Protoplasm Harness, Spirit Visage and Jak'Sho, The Protean with Plated Steelcaps. A hybrid bruiser build takes Protoplasm Harness and Titanic Hydra, with Overlord's Bloodmail when ahead, while a full tank build rushes Heartsteel, then Frozen Heart, Unending Despair, Force of Nature and Jak'Sho. Thornmail is the anti-heal option, Randuin's Omen and Frozen Heart help against attackers, Knight's Vow protects a strong carry, and Zeke's Convergence or Bandlepipes add utility. Take Mercury's Treads against magic damage and crowd control, or Boots of Swiftness against slows. Run Grasp of the Undying with Shield Bash, Conditioning and Overgrowth, plus Magical Footwear and Approach Velocity. Take Flash with Smite. Max Q, then W, then E.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Easy to learn, with strong scaling.
Impactful ganks thanks to Ixtal's Impact and Impale.
Strong into meta champions and able to itemize against any team.

Weaknesses

Lackluster damage and weak dueling early.
Slow and immobile outside his charge, and reliant on landing abilities.
Vulnerable to percentage health damage.

Laning Phase

Take Shattered Earth at level 1, Seismic Bastion at 2 and Ixtal's Impact at 3. Clear toward the bot lane, since dragon is the first objective at 5 minutes: drop a Stealth Ward in the quadrant opposite your start to spot invades, then full clear leashless (Red Brambleback, Krugs, Raptors, Wolves, Gromp and Blue Sentinel) and take the Rift Scuttler at 2:55. Farm with Shattered Earth, two attacks and the Upheaval recast to stack Threads of Vibration and start the cooldown early. Ganks are strong as soon as you have Ixtal's Impact: approach through blind spots along the walls, pop Oracle Lens as you enter the river, and drag the grabbed target toward your tower or teammates. Prioritize even lanes near live objectives rather than laners who keep dying.

Mid & Late Game

From level 6, use Impale to catch laners out of position and swing river fights, then return to farming while it is on cooldown. Play around upcoming objectives: move bot for dragon and top for Voidgrubs or the Rift Herald, set up vision and ambushes, and catch side-lane waves your laners abandon. Late in the game stay with your main carry, catch targets in side lanes before objectives, and do not initiate 1v1s against hypercarries such as Master Yi or Kayle.

Key Tips

Shattered Earth, two attacks and then Upheaval maximizes damage and gets the cooldown going sooner.
Prepare Shattered Earth before Ixtal's Impact, attack once, then throw the boulder so the target stays slowed.
Shattered Earth and one attack before Impale add two Quaking stacks, and Impale completes them.
Throwing the boulder can also find stealthed enemies such as Teemo or Qiyana.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.