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Playing Against Skarner
JunglePatch 16.2.1
What They Do
Tanky disruptor with massive displacement. He ignores terrain to gank, pins targets against walls, and can kidnap multiple players at once with his ultimate. His damage scales with his health and burns you for % max HP.
Abilities (What to Watch For)
| Ability | What You'll See | What It Means For You |
|---|---|---|
| Three purple stacks on your character model | Max stacks of trigger Quaking, dealing max Health magic damage. Avoid long, drawn-out brawls where he can stack this up. | |
| Ripping a giant boulder out of the ground | Empowers his next 3 attacks. He can throw it as a slow/damage projectile. If he misses the throw, his DPS drops significantly; punish him during the window before he can grab another. | |
| A purple circular shockwave and a shield | Deals AOE damage and slows. is his primary tool for sticking to you. Bait the shield out before using your burst. | |
| Charging forward, ignoring walls like a train | If he hits a wall while carrying you, you're stunned. has a 24-18s cooldown early on. If he misses this, he has no reliable way to lock you down. | |
| Tails lashing forward in a cone | Suppresses and drags up to 3 enemies. Unlike his old ult, is now a skillshot with a windup. You can Flash the animation if your reaction time is sharp. |
Respect
- !Wall-pin ganks→ allows him to charge through terrain. He will gank from angles you didn't ward, like through the thick wall behind your turret.
- !Multi-man →In tight corridors, he can grab your whole backline. One good ultimate can drag three of you into his entire team.
- !Percent health burn→ means even if you're a tank, he will shred you over time. You cannot out-stat him in a 20-second fight.
- !Rock-toss poke→ projectile has a surprisingly large hitbox and slows. It sets up his follow-up engage easily.
Punish
- +is on cooldown (24s-18s)→This is his only real gap closer and hard CC. If he misses the wall slam, he is a kite-able meatbag for nearly 20 seconds.
- +Missed boulder→If he throws the rock and misses, he loses the empowered auto-attack damage. This is your best time to trade or counter-jungle him.
- +Pre-level 6→His ganks are entirely dependent on hitting a wall with . Before he gets , his threat level in open space is very low.
- +During windup→There is a brief channel before the tails lash out. Use any movement ability or Flash to get behind him or to the side.
Laning Tips
- •Ward deeper into the jungle or over walls. Standard river brush wards won't see him using to bypass them.
- •Stay away from walls! If he hits you with in the middle of the lane, he just pushes you; if you hit a wall, you're stunned for 1.25s.
- •If he grabs a rock with , stand behind your minions so he can't hit you with the projectile throw.
- •His shield is his main survivability. If you're a jungler, wait for him to pop it before you commit your full burst.
- •Buy Quicksilver Sash (QSS) if you're the carry. It still cleanses the suppression from , stopping the drag immediately.
- •Skarner's first clear is healthy but not the fastest. If you're playing a strong early duelist, try to fight him at his second buff.
Teamfight Warning
- âš Do not clump up in the jungle. Narrow paths make it impossible to dodge and maximize his value.
- âš Watch for the 'flank train'. He will use to come through a side wall and grab your ADC before anyone can react.
- âš Interrupt his movement. If he suppresses someone with , CCing Skarner will stop him from dragging your teammate further away.
- ⚠Check his items. If he's going Heartsteel, the game becomes a ticking time bomb—you must end before he gets too much HP for his scaling.
- âš Force fights in open areas (like mid lane or river) where there are fewer walls for him to utilize with .
AI-generated counterplay guide • Patch 16.2.1 • Cached