Champion Guide

Tahm Kench Guide

By LoLSuggest

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Our Tahm Kench guide covers solo lanes and support variants. The build stacks health, sustain and shields: Grasp of the Undying and Shield Bash turn Thick Skin's frequent shields into damage, burn items hit everything around you, and Revitalize plus Spirit Visage amplify every heal and shield so you can keep fighting long after others would retreat. This is an alternative to the standard meta build.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Tahm Kench build

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

Items

Starting Items

Core Items

Situational Items

Grasp of the Undying with Shield Bash, Second Wind and Revitalize, plus Triumph and Legend: Alacrity (or Legend: Haste or Last Stand); Cheap Shot with Ultimate Hunter is the alternative secondary. Take Flash with Ignite. Start Doran's Shield with a potion (Doran's Ring if you want mana), and aim for Bami's Cinder and a Refillable Potion on your first back — Bramble Vest first against heavy healing. Build Sunfire Aegis against physical damage or Hollow Radiance against magic damage, then Mercury's Treads (Plated Steelcaps into full AD teams with little CC), Dusk and Dawn, Unending Despair and Spirit Visage. Finish with Riftmaker for the drain version, or Jak'Sho, Thornmail, Kaenic Rookern, Force of Nature or Winter's Approach depending on the enemy, and always buy Elixir of Iron. Support versions start World Atlas and lean on Celestial Opposition, Redemption or Iceborn Gauntlet.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Strengths

Huge sustain from Tongue Lash, Thick Skin and amplified healing.
Thick Skin's shield is free and on a low cooldown, so Shield Bash procs constantly.
Devour can isolate a target or reposition enemies mid-fight.

Weaknesses

The build is built for mid and late game, so early kills aren't the goal.
Dusk and Dawn is expensive and leaves you fragile if bought first.
Heavy healing from enemies like Aatrox, Irelia or Olaf forces anti-heal purchases.

Laning Phase

Focus on farming and staying alive — use abilities to last-hit even at level 1, since the build peaks later and not dying matters more than trading kills. Engage with Tongue Lash to slow, stack An Acquired Taste with auto-attacks, then use Devour to throw the enemy away from where they want to go and follow up with another Q. Use Thick Skin after taking a chunk of damage to shield and proc Shield Bash. Tongue Lash's slow also makes Abyssal Dive easy to land.

Mid & Late Game

Once your items come together, clear waves with your passive and burn items, then join fights by diving the enemy backline with Abyssal Dive, alone or with your jungler using Devour. Use Thick Skin two or three times per fight to soak damage and keep your on-hit damage going.

Key Tips

Spirit Visage also boosts heals and shields from allies like Soraka, Janna or Yuumi.
Buy Refillable Potion early — it refills on each back and can be sold later.
Thick Skin heals you out of combat even if you don't activate the shield.