Make the most of Skarner with our guide.
Skarner, The Primordial Sovereign is making his way to Summoner's Rift. These are the best builds and runes to take advantage of his new enormous Ixtali incarnation following his rework.
Skarner was the winner of the fan vote for who received a VGU for last year, but his rework was delayed until early 2024. Published at the launch of the now-removed Dominion game mode, the old version of Skarner was woefully outdated in both aesthetics and gameplay. This new version brings him in line with modern champions in a major way, but it also means brand new ways to play the champion.
Skarner Rework abilities
Skarner's rework has given him a brand-new kit. Here's how he functions now:
Passive - Quaking: Skarner's attacks and all of his abilities, except his W, apply a three-hit passive that burns the target for a percentage of their maximum health after triggering.
Q - Shattered Earth: Skarner enhances his next three auto-attacks, granting damge based on health and attack damage. After a small internal cooldown, Skarner can throw the rock. This deals another burst of damage in a straight line skill shot and slowing enemies hit.
W - Seismic Bastion: Skarner slams the ground, shielding himself and slowing enemies in an area.
E - Ixtal's Impact: Skarner charges in a chosen direction, burrowing through terrain along his way. If he collides with a champion or monster, he will grab and Suppress the target. If Skarner collides with a wall, he deals additional damage to any grabbed targets, and stuns them.
R - Impale: Skarner charges up a triangular area in front of himself. Upon completion, up to three enemies in the area are suppressed. Skarner can then drag them with him as he moves for a short duration.
Skarner runes
The Skarner rework keeps much of Skarner's identity as a straightforward, frontline melee threat with several highly impactful crowd control tools. With this in mind, what runes should you be taking on his new form?
Skarner's rework is near-universally being used as a jungler. While there are some players trying him out top lane, we'll be focusing on his jungling potential. The first, and perhaps most obvious, choice is a Conqueror rune page that brings out Skarner's skirmishing potential and bruiser-focused nature.
Primary: Conqueror - Triumph - Legend: Tenacity - Last Stand
Secondary: Conditioning - Overgrowth
Skarner rework build
Skarner's rework gives him much more space to find fights and picks without his ultimate, but most builds are focusing on a tankier playstyle. Sunfire Cape, Frostfire Gauntlet, and Kaenic Rookern all seem to be key items on most high-level Skarner players' list of things to buy. Other common picks include Unending Despair, and even Knight's Vow to protect your squishy teammates.
More bruiser-esque builds with Titanic Hydra, Sundered Sky, and similar items are making appearances. However, most Skarner builds focus purely on durability at the moment.