Skarner ARAM Build and Guide

Updated for patch 26.21. Ability details come from Riot’s official game data for this patch; ARAM balance numbers come from the League of Legends Wiki’s champion data.

A Skarner ARAM build is a frontline tank kit: Iceborn Gauntlet to turn his boulder attacks into slow fields, Sunfire Aegis for constant area damage, Jak’Sho, The Protean for long fights and Kaenic Rookern against mages, on Mercury’s Treads. His only ARAM modifier is a nerf: he takes 105% damage on the Howling Abyss.

All items here come from his patch 26.21 kit (no win-rate site involved).

How is Skarner changed in ARAM?

One line. He takes 5% more damage than on Summoner’s Rift, and his own damage, healing and shielding are untouched. For a tank, to be fair, that’s the nerf that matters most, because standing in front and absorbing hits is the whole job. Why him? Impale is a suppression that drags a champion back into his team, and on a single lane there’s always a carry within reach. Riot evidently preferred to make him a little squishier rather than weaken the grab.

Why does Skarner fit the Howling Abyss?

His engages need walls, and the Abyss is basically a corridor of walls. The patch 26.21 kit:

• Threads of Vibration (passive): attacks, Shattered Earth, Upheaval and Impale stack Quaking; full stacks deal max Health magic damage over the duration.
• Shattered Earth / Upheaval (Q): he tears up a boulder that empowers his attacks, or throws it as a projectile. Cooldown 8/6.75/5.5/4.25/3.
• W: a shield plus an earthquake whose shockwave damages and slows. Cooldown 10/9/8/7/6.
• Ixtal’s Impact (E): a charge through terrain that carries a champion or large monster into the next wall and stuns it. Cooldown 22/21/20/19/18.
• Impale (R): suppresses enemy champions and drags them along as he moves. Cooldown 120/105/90.

The lane is narrow, which means a wall is never far from any enemy. Ixtal’s Impact into the side of the bridge is close to a guaranteed stun, and he can start the charge from the other side of terrain, so the enemy rarely sees it coming. Impale then hauls the stunned carry back into his own team. Quaking ticks on every hit, and in a long ARAM fight it stacks to full on several targets at once. Is it hard to execute? Not really. The hard part is surviving after the combo, since he’s now standing in the middle of five enemies.

What should a Skarner ARAM build focus on?

Resistances and Health, plus anything that keeps doing damage while he tanks. His abilities provide the crowd control, so items can stay defensive.

Iceborn Gauntlet starts it. Spellblade makes his next attack after any ability deal bonus physical damage and leave a frost field for 2 seconds that slows. With Shattered Earth on a 3 second cooldown at rank 5, he triggers that field constantly, and every slowed enemy is easier to catch with Ixtal’s Impact. The item gives 300 Health and 50 Armor too.

Sunfire Aegis is second. Its burn, Immolate, wakes up whenever Skarner hits or gets hit and then keeps scorching everything close for 3 seconds; look, in an ARAM brawl that’s basically always. It adds 350 Health and 50 Armor.

Jak’Sho, The Protean third. After 5 seconds of champion combat, his bonus Armor and Magic Resist go up by 30% until the fight ends, and ARAM fights tend to last that long (honestly, longer). That helps with the 105% damage taken more than anything else in the build.

Kaenic Rookern closes it out with 80 Magic Resist and 400 Health. Magebane grants a magic shield after 15 seconds without magic damage, which tends to refresh between waves of poke. Mercury’s Treads add 30% Tenacity so stuns don’t cancel his charge.

How do you play Skarner on the Howling Abyss?

• Charge from behind terrain. Ixtal’s Impact passes through walls, so start it where the enemy can’t see you coming.
• Aim the charge toward a wall; the stun only happens on impact with terrain.
• Drag the carry home. Impale suppresses champions and pulls them along while you walk back to your team.
• Keep the boulder going between engages. Shattered Earth empowers attacks and stacks Quaking.
• Cast your W shield before the enemy collapses on you, since the shockwave also slows them.

How do no-recall shopping and Mark change the plan?

Items are bought at the fountain after each death, nowhere else. Expect the first full item after the first respawn, so pick up an Armor or Health component along the way (it all builds into the tank items later). Skarner has no healing in his kit, so the health relics on the lane are his only way back up between fights (the W shield helps, but it isn’t a heal).

Mark throws a snowball; if it lands, he can dash to the target. Summoner spells lock before loading. For Skarner, Mark is a second engage on top of Ixtal’s Impact: snowball, dash, then charge the target into the wall. In practice, Flash plus Impale is just as strong, so pick the one that suits your team.

Is Skarner good in ARAM?

He’s a good engage tank, especially with poke-heavy teammates who need a target pulled forward. The 105% damage taken makes him less forgiving, though, and a team with lots of disengage can make his charges harder to land.

Playing against him on Summoner’s Rift? See the Skarner counters guide. Item stats are in the items database for LoL, and his looks are on the Skarner skins page.

Long story short, the Skarner ARAM build is Iceborn Gauntlet, Sunfire Aegis, Jak’Sho and Kaenic Rookern on Mercury’s Treads, and the plan is wall stun, Impale, drag.

FAQ

What is Skarner’s ARAM modifier?

Just one: he takes 105% damage, according to wiki data for patch 26.21. Everything else stays at normal values.

What items should Skarner build in ARAM?

Iceborn Gauntlet, Sunfire Aegis, Jak’Sho, The Protean and Kaenic Rookern, with Mercury’s Treads.

Why does Iceborn Gauntlet suit Skarner?

After each ability, his next attack hits harder and drops a frost field that slows. Shattered Earth has a short cooldown, so he triggers it often.

Does Ixtal’s Impact need a wall?

Yes, for the stun. He carries the target until the next wall he hits, and only the slam into terrain stuns.

How did we build this Skarner guide?

By matching items to his patch 26.21 ability text. Win-rate data was not part of it.