League Classic matchup
Garen vs Jax
The lane, from both sides
Garen’s side
- Weak against Jaxfrom the AD Bruiser build (Top)
Counter StrikeCounter StrikeEActive: Jax enters Evasion for 2 seconds: a defensive stance that causes him to dodge all incoming non-turret basic attacks and take 25% reduced damage from all area of effect abilities sourced from champions. Counter Strike can be recast after 1 second, and does so automatically after the duration. Recast: Jax deals physical damage to nearby enemies, with the total damage increased by 20% for each attack dodged, up to a 100% increase, and stuns them for 1 second. blanks the auto-attack half of Garen's damage, and past the early levels Jax simply outscales the duel.
Jax’s side
- Strong against Garenfrom the Top On-Hit Bruiser build (Top)Counter StrikeCounter StrikeEActive: Jax enters Evasion for 2 seconds: a defensive stance that causes him to dodge all incoming non-turret basic attacks and take 25% reduced damage from all area of effect abilities sourced from champions. Counter Strike can be recast after 1 second, and does so automatically after the duration. Recast: Jax deals physical damage to nearby enemies, with the total damage increased by 20% for each attack dodged, up to a 100% increase, and stuns them for 1 second. blanks
JudgmentJudgmentEActive: Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body for 3 seconds, losing the ability to basic attack but dealing physical damage each second to enemies within range for the duration. Judgment deals 75% damage to minions and monsters. Garen is ghosted while spinning but moves 20% slower when traveling through units. Judgment can critically strike. for its whole duration, and Garen's other answer is 
Decisive StrikeDecisive StrikeQActive: Garen cleanses himself of all slows affecting him and gains 35% bonus movement speed for a few seconds. Additionally, his next basic attack within 4.5 seconds deals bonus physical damage and silences his target. Decisive Strike resets Garen's basic attack timer., one auto-attack Jax also dodges. 
Grandmaster's MightGrandmaster's MightRPassive: Jax's basic attacks grant bonus attack speed, stacking up to 10 times. Jax's basic attacks generate a stack of Grandmaster-at-Arms on-hit for 2.5 seconds, refreshing on subsequent hits and stacking up to 2 times. At 2 stacks, his next basic attack on-hit consumes all stacks to deal additional magic damage. wins the long trade Garen has to fight.
The lane in detail
GarenJaxJax-favored past the first four levels
Garen's whole kit is free; Jax pays 90 for one stance.
Jax's note above says Counter StrikeCounter StrikeEActive: Jax enters Evasion for 2 seconds: a defensive stance that causes him to dodge all incoming non-turret basic attacks and take 25% reduced damage from all area of effect abilities sourced from champions. Counter Strike can be recast after 1 second, and does so automatically after the duration. Recast: Jax deals physical damage to nearby enemies, with the total damage increased by 20% for each attack dodged, up to a 100% increase, and stuns them for 1 second. blanks JudgmentJudgmentEActive: Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body for 3 seconds, losing the ability to basic attack but dealing physical damage each second to enemies within range for the duration. Judgment deals 75% damage to minions and monsters. Garen is ghosted while spinning but moves 20% slower when traveling through units. Judgment can critically strike.. The ability line gives Evasion 2 seconds and 25% off area damage, against a spin that runs 3. Both sentences sit on this page, and nothing picks between them.
Who has the lane, level by level
5–89–18- 1–4Even: Judgment costs nothing, Counter Strike costs 70
- 5–8Jax: Counter Strike drops from fourteen to twelve seconds
- 9–18Jax: Grandmaster's Might wants the long fight
- 1Decisive StrikeLevel 1: No mana at any rank: 8 seconds, 1.5 seconds of silence
- 1Counter StrikeLevel 1: First point at 18 seconds and 70 mana of a 265 pool
- 6Demacian JusticeLevel 6: 140 seconds at rank 1, for 175 plus missing health
- 9Counter StrikeLevel 9: Counter Strike reaches its final rank: a 10-second cooldown and 90 mana
- 9JudgmentLevel 9: Judgment also reaches rank 5, with 360 base damage across its three-second spin
- 14CourageLevel 14: Its second point; rank 1 held 2 seconds of 30% reduction
The numbers, head to head
GarenJaxMain button at rank 1
The spin never asks for mana and returns five seconds sooner.
Maxed main, both top orders
Nine seconds against ten, and one of them is free.
Damage of the maxed button
JudgmentJudgmentEActive: Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body for 3 seconds, losing the ability to basic attack but dealing physical damage each second to enemies within range for the duration. Judgment deals 75% damage to minions and monsters. Garen is ghosted while spinning but moves 20% slower when traveling through units. Judgment can critically strike. adds 330% of attack damage on top of that 360; the stance adds a stun.
Crowd control at rank 5
CourageCourageWPassive: Garen's bonus armor and bonus magic resistance are increased by 20%. Active: Garen reduces incoming damage and the duration of incoming crowd control effects by 30% for a few seconds. shortens the stun to 0.7 seconds, if Garen pressed it before the recast.
Sustain with no items
0 from the kitNon-minion damage delays 
PerseverancePerseverancePassiveInnate: Garen regenerates 0.5% of his maximum health every second if he has not taken non-minion damage in the last 9 seconds. for nine seconds; 
Equipment MasteryEquipment MasteryPassiveInnate: Jax gains 3 maximum health per 1 bonus attack damage and 2 maximum health per 1 ability power from items. increases maximum health without healing.
Starting the fight
Leap StrikeLeap StrikeQActive: Jax dashes to the target unit's location. If the target is an enemy and they are in range upon arrival, Jax deals physical damage to them. Jax can cast any of his abilities during the dash. needs a body to land on; Decisive StrikeDecisive StrikeQActive: Garen cleanses himself of all slows affecting him and gains 35% bonus movement speed for a few seconds. Additionally, his next basic attack within 4.5 seconds deals bonus physical damage and silences his target. Decisive Strike resets Garen's basic attack timer. only shrugs off slows and runs.
Reach, from above
Garen
Jax
Rings are ranges in game units, both radars on one scale. Abilities wear their icon, the basic attack wears the champion’s own face; the dashed ring wearing the opponent’s face is their longest reach.
The item race
Garen
720gCourage adds 20% to bonus resistances, so 40 armor arrives as 48 against the recast.
2650gSame 20% again: the 45 armor lands as 54, and 450 health is what the long trade costs.
1000gNinja Footwork shaves a tenth off the attacks Grandmaster's Might stacks on, and 25 armor meets the recast.
2300gJudgment pays 330% of attack damage at rank 5, and Impact turns bought health into more of it.
Jax
1200gCounter Strike is an ability, so the recast is followed by a Spellblade hit.
3628gThe 250 health is only part of it: Equipment Mastery pays out another 150 for the damage stats attached.
- 1000g
Judgment is physical on all three ticks, so 25 armor works on each; the block covers the silence hit.
3200gGaren carries 551 base health and 96 a level, and Ruination bills 5% of whatever is left of it per hit.
2600gGrandmaster's Might already stacks attack speed ten times; Growing Fury adds eight more at 4% each.
Play it as Garen
- 1Land Decisive StrikeDecisive StrikeQActive: Garen cleanses himself of all slows affecting him and gains 35% bonus movement speed for a few seconds. Additionally, his next basic attack within 4.5 seconds deals bonus physical damage and silences his target. Decisive Strike resets Garen's basic attack timer. before he leaps: the silence takes Leap StrikeLeap StrikeQActive: Jax dashes to the target unit's location. If the target is an enemy and they are in range upon arrival, Jax deals physical damage to them. Jax can cast any of his abilities during the dash. and
EmpowerEmpowerWActive: Jax empowers his next basic attack or Leap Strike against an enemy within 10 seconds to deal additional magic damage to his target and nearby enemies. Empower resets Jax's basic attack timer. off the table for 1.5 seconds. - 2Let PerseverancePerseverancePassiveInnate: Garen regenerates 0.5% of his maximum health every second if he has not taken non-minion damage in the last 9 seconds. restart by avoiding champion damage for nine seconds; minion hits do not stop it.
- 3Hold CourageCourageWPassive: Garen's bonus armor and bonus magic resistance are increased by 20%. Active: Garen reduces incoming damage and the duration of incoming crowd control effects by 30% for a few seconds. for the recast: rank 1 is 2 seconds of 30% off and a stun cut to 0.7.
Play it as Jax
- 1Wait out the first second of Evasion before recasting; each dodged attack adds 20% to what the stun hits for.
- 2Use the wave. JudgmentJudgmentEActive: Garen rapidly spins his sword around his body for 3 seconds, losing the ability to basic attack but dealing physical damage each second to enemies within range for the duration. Judgment deals 75% damage to minions and monsters. Garen is ghosted while spinning but moves 20% slower when traveling through units. Judgment can critically strike. moves 20% slower through units, and Leap StrikeLeap StrikeQActive: Jax dashes to the target unit's location. If the target is an enemy and they are in range upon arrival, Jax deals physical damage to them. Jax can cast any of his abilities during the dash. only needs one to land on.
- 3Keep attacking after the spin ends if you can stay close; Grandmaster's MightGrandmaster's MightRPassive: Jax's basic attacks grant bonus attack speed, stacking up to 10 times. Jax's basic attacks generate a stack of Grandmaster-at-Arms on-hit for 2.5 seconds, refreshing on subsequent hits and stacking up to 2 times. At 2 stacks, his next basic attack on-hit consumes all stacks to deal additional magic damage. builds attack speed across successive hits.
The catch
Grandmaster's MightGrandmaster's MightRPassive: Jax's basic attacks grant bonus attack speed, stacking up to 10 times. Jax's basic attacks generate a stack of Grandmaster-at-Arms on-hit for 2.5 seconds, refreshing on subsequent hits and stacking up to 2 times. At 2 stacks, his next basic attack on-hit consumes all stacks to deal additional magic damage. has no active cast for Decisive StrikeDecisive StrikeQActive: Garen cleanses himself of all slows affecting him and gains 35% bonus movement speed for a few seconds. Additionally, his next basic attack within 4.5 seconds deals bonus physical damage and silences his target. Decisive Strike resets Garen's basic attack timer. to silence. Its first rank adds 6% attack speed per stack, up to ten, and 140 magic damage on every third attack. Garen can prevent Jax from casting his other abilities, but the passive still rewards an extended attack trade.
The kits at a glance
Garen
Full abilities- Perseverance
- Decisive Strike
- Courage
- Judgment
- Demacian Justice
- Equipment Mastery
- Leap Strike
- Empower
- Counter Strike
- Grandmaster's Might
Base stats, side by side
| Stat | Garen | Jax |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 551 (+96) | 506 (+83) |
| HP regen | 1.8 (+0.15) | 1.6 (+0.11) |
| Mana | – | 265 (+35) |
| Attack damage | 60 (+3.5) | 59.675 (+3.375) |
| Armor | 25.7 (+3) | 25.5 (+3.2) |
| Magic resist | 31.25 (+1.25) | 31.25 (+1.25) |
| Attack speed | 0.625 (+2.9) | 0.638 (+3.4) |
| Move speed | 345 | 350 |
| Attack range | 125 | 125 |
Level-1 values with per-level growth in parentheses, read from the Classic client and re-checked against it on every update.
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