YOU PICKED
GAREN
Top · Fighter · Baron lane
AGAINST
DARIUS
Top · Fighter · 38,410 games this patch
VS
7.5
HARD
DARIUS FAVOURED
THE ONE THING
Do not let Darius extend the fight. Every second in melee range is a stack in his favour.
PLAYSTYLE
Short trades
PUNISH
Missed Darius Q
YOU PICKED
Garen vs Darius
DARIUS FAVOURED
7.5/10
Baron lane · Hard · 38,410 games this patch · patch 6.2b
THE ONE THING
Do not let Darius extend the fight. Every second in melee range is a stack in his favour.
PLAYSTYLE
Short trades
PUNISH
Missed Darius Q
The plan
Matchup updated after the recent Darius changesEARLY
Levels 1–4
Concede the first two waves rather than contest them. Trade only when his Q is down, and never past two auto-attacks. Bone Plating carries you through his combo.
MID
Levels 5–10
Your ultimate creates real kill pressure once he is below half. Look for the window when he pushes without vision, or when he leaves lane and returns on low health.
LATE
Levels 11+
Stop duelling him. Your job becomes flanking their carries and cutting the back line. Let a tank absorb his ultimate and take the fight elsewhere.
Trades
DO THIS
1Darius misses Q
2Garen closes with Q, silence lands
3Two auto-attacks
4Walk out before stack three
You win the exchange and reset the wave.
NOT THIS
1Garen holds melee range
2Darius keeps auto-attacking
3Hemorrhage reaches five stacks
4Noxian Guillotine executes
He wins the trade outright and gains lane control.
Reading the abilities
Mistakes to avoid
Spending Courage on his Q instead of saving it for the execute.
Contesting the first wave and giving him a level-two all-in.
Duelling him in the side lane at full build instead of grouping.