Garen

Garen is simplicity made champion, and that's a strength. No resource to watch: his abilities cost nothing, you can chain them without ever running dry. Perseverance heals him the moment he avoids damage for a few seconds, which makes ranged harassment frustrating to play against him. His combo is brutal and readable: Decisive Strike charges the target and silences it, Judgment grinds it down, and Demacian Justice finishes it when it's low.

If you want a champion that forgives mistakes and rewards blunt aggression, he's your pick. On the other hand, he has nothing against an opponent who keeps him at range: no range, no leap, a single approach window through his Decisive Strike. Played well against him, Garen never touches his target.

His passive regeneration changes the nature of his lane: as long as he takes no damage for a few seconds, he comes back full, which cancels slow poke and makes him unkillable while recalling health. Decisive Strike is his signature: it catches the target, silences it at the most annoying moment and turns his next attack into a heavy hit. Courage gives him resistances and a shield at the right time, and his ultimate executes a weakened target in raw damage nothing softens.

The flaw is structural: without Decisive Strike, Garen has no way to reach his target. No dash, no projectile, a melee attack range. Any opponent who keeps him at range, slows him or knocks him back makes him harmless. His silence bothers spellcasters, not marksmen who back up while shooting.

Your best pressure tool is Judgment: cast on contact, it chips the opponent while clearing the wave. Pick your engage windows: charge in with Decisive Strike when the opponent steps up to farm a minion, stick the silence on them, spin your Judgment, then back off while your regeneration resets. You don't need to stay in contact, you need to win the exchange and then heal on your own.

Just watch what cuts your approach. Against a ranged opponent, don't spend your Decisive Strike on nothing: it's your only button to close the gap, waste it and you spend the lane chasing without ever landing a hit. Keep Courage for the moment you take the most damage, and beware ganks: with no escape, an enemy slow condemns you if the jungler arrives.

Garen is strong right away. From the first levels, his silence-plus-Judgment combo wins most close exchanges, and his regeneration wins the war of attrition. He's a champion that wants to take the lead early, not wait.

His second awakening comes from his first defensive pieces, which turn him from fighter into unkillable wall: from there he dives the enemy backline and survives what others wouldn't. His ultimate stays a constant threat: a weakened target on the far side of the fight can die to a single button. Play around your ability to force melee range, and refuse the dead moments where your opponent keeps you at range.

You're not here to hold the front line neatly: you're here to break through and destroy one specific target. Spot the spellcaster or the marksman doing the damage, wait for the engage to go, then cast Decisive Strike on them. The silence lands at the worst moment for them, your Judgment grinds them down, and your ultimate finishes them the moment they're low.

The whole question is the timing of your entry. Too early, you dive alone and die with no support. Too late, your target has already unloaded their spells. Use Courage right before you take the biggest hit, and remember you can't easily get back out: pick a target you're sure to kill, not the one that drags you through the whole enemy team for nothing.