Welcome to the League of Legends Champion Spotlight featuring Skarner, the Crystal Vanguard
Skarner is a melee fighter who excels not only at dealing damage but also controlling the battlefield.
Utilizing basic attacks in addition to his abilities, Skarner is a true hybrid fighter.
Skarner’s passive is Energize. His basic attacks reduce the cooldowns on all of his abilities.
His cooldowns are reduced further if he attacks a champion.
Crystal Slash damages all nearby enemies.
If Crystal Slash has damaged an enemy recently, it will deal bonus damage and also slow enemies it hits.
Crystalline Exoskeleton gives Skarner bonus movement and attack speed in addition to a damage-blocking shield for a few seconds.
If the shield breaks or times out, the speed buffs end.
Fracture damages all enemies in a line and tags them with a mark.
If Skarner then damages a marked target, he consumes the mark to heal himself.
This heal is worth the most on the first mark consumed and gradually less as you consume more of them.
Skarner’s ultimate is Impale. Skarner damages and suppresses target enemy champion.
Skarner may then drag him around for a short time, dealing further damage when the effect ends.
I play Skarner as a jungler. Have a teammate pull the Ancient Golem and take it down with Crystal Slash and Smite.
Clear through the rest of the jungle, taking Crystalline Exoskeleton at level 2, another point in Crystal Slash at level 3, and Fracture at level 4.
After your initial jungle pattern, grab Boots of Speed and a Sight Ward, and then look for a gank.
I find Xin Zhao and flank behind him. Morgana reacts to my aggression and with the slow from Crystal Slash, lands a Dark Binding.
Unfortunately, I underestimated Xin Zhao’s health, so instead of taking the kill right away, we end up both dying to the turret.
However, as with all first blood gains, it was worth it.
Skarner is a natural ganker, so always look for available enemies.
I pick up a Long Sword and find Nidalee over-extended in mid. I push in with Pantheon, forcing her to escape with Flash and Ghost.
I simply loop back around, taking her down with Pantheon’s help.
I close in with Crystalline Exoskeleton, taking her down with Crystal Slash, Fracture, and basic attacks.
My attacks actually refresh Crystalline Exoskeleton in time to block some turret damage, but unfortunate I die.
Ultimately, because we trade kills and I also got an assist, it was still worth it.
When you want to dive an enemy champion at his turret, always try to push out your minion wave.
I shove my minions to the turret as Morgana sets up to gank Xin Zhao.
Alistar joins in, so instead of pushing in for the kill, I retreat and let our minions tank the turret again.
In chasing Alistar away from the turret, I attempt to slow him with Crystal Slash and end up tagging him with my lizard buff.
I don’t want to let Alistar juke into another brush, so I Impale and pull him back toward my side of the map.
Xin Zhao makes the mistake of actually trying to defend the turret.
Since it’s this low, I take it down with the attack speed from Crystalline Exoskeleton and start to kill Xin Zhao with Crystal Slash.
I stick on Xin Zhao, using all my abilities.
Fracture damages and keeps me healthy, Crystal Slash slows him down, and Crystalline Exoskeleton keeps me in range for further attacks and lower cooldowns thanks to Energize.
We’d have killed Nidalee as well, but she escapes with Ghost and Flash.
We get into a teamfight in the enemy jungle.
I take on the role of a damage-dealer in a major fight, trying to find the biggest threat and sticking to him.
After getting pulled by Blitzcrank I spot Xin Zhao and head for him immediately.
I lead with Fracture and throw out consistent damage with Crystal Slash and basic attacks.
However, I’m not extremely tanky, so I have to retreat until Kayle hits me with Intervention.
Turning back in, we take down Xin Zhao and Nasus, again sustaining myself with Fracture and stopping them from running with Crystal Slash.
Alistar makes his way in and Cho’Gath dies. I look for the most threatening target, which is Nidalee when she enters the battle.
Blitzcrank lands an amazing hook but I just barely survive the turret with Crystalline Exoskeleton.
I’m exceptionally afraid of Alistar so I tag him with Impale just for the suppression.
Seeing Morgana above me I know she will lead her Dark Binding as though I ran and Alistar chased me, so I keep running along my escape path and she lands it, picking up the kill.
With no team left, Blitzcrank is an easy kill underneath his turret and we pick up an ace.
Here Nasus is simply farming without any of us on the map.
Once he sees he turns around, but Flash, Crystalline Exoskeleton, and Trinity Force allow me to catch him.
I drag him back to my team with Impale, where he gets hit with a Dark Binding.
Because of Crystal Slash his escape is hopeless, so he accepts his fate and deals as much damage as he can before dying.
In the last teamfight, we camp the brush waiting for them. After Morgana gets pulled by Blitzcrank, we charge forward.
Immediately, I try to stick to Xin Zhao, who’s the most threatening target on this side of the fight.
As he targets Kayle I pull him away with Impale, taking him down with Crystal Slash.
I turn to Nasus who drops immediately and then to Alistar after his ultimate ends.
As Blitzcrank tries to run I Flash over the wall and slow him with Crystal Slash, allowing us to pick up the kill quite easily.
For runes I take flat damage marks, flat armor seals, magic resist per level glyphs, and flat damage quintessences.
This setup allows me a fast and safe jungle run, with defensive stats that keep me durable throughout the game.
My masteries are 1/18/11, making sure to take all physical damage reduction masteries in “Defense” and neutral buff duration in “Utility.”
I also pick up Smite and Flash for jungle speed and ganking potential.
I max Crystal Slash right away for the most damage and slow.
Afterwards I max Crystalline Exoskeleton which allows me to catch up to and destroy targets.
Also, because the buff ends when the shield breaks, I need to make my shield durable.
I take a single point in Fracture at level 4 and max it last.
I open with a Cloth Armor and five Health Potions. Wriggle’s Lantern and Mercury Treads are my first mid-game items.
My two core items are Trinity Force and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter. These items give me a great mix of damage, durability, and chasing power.
My final items are another mix of damage, durability, and utility:
Depending on your needs, you might want to grab Sunfire Cape, Force of Nature, or Hextech Gunblade.
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