Skarner Pro Builds - How to Play Skarner in Season 14
Skarner – the Primordial Sovereign – is a great Tank that is usually played on position Jungle. Skarner can also be played in other roles, but we focus on position Jungle in this LoL Skarner guide as it fits the current meta in S14 very well.
Skarner has a win rate of 60% and pick rate of 1.4%. There is a ban rate of 37%. Although a great champion, winning with Skarner is not a given. You need to have the right Skarner build in order to unleash the full potential on patch 14.23. There are many Skarner probuilds out there. We help you to find the right probuild, Skarner players need to win.
Latest Skarner probuilds
Here a quick view on the latest Skarner probuilds on position Jungle.
How to play Skarner
We will show you what you need to do, to increase your chances of winning your lane. Skarner is strong, but if you ran into 
Udyr or 
Amumu you might get in trouble. In order to win your lane and against your counter, you need the right spells, items and runes. The following Skarner Jungle pro build will help you with that.
Follow our build, pentakills will follow and you will learn how to play Skarner. Since Riot Games regularly releases a new patch, Skarner builds may change from time to time. It is important to keep up to date.
Items for Skarner
Items obviously play a big role in League of Legends. Buying the right item can make the difference between winning and losing as Skarner. The order of items is also very important. Especially in early game, it is imperative to make the right decision on what to buy. You need to know the right starter item and starter trinket. But you also need to know what your final items will be. Your opponent like 
Sejuani or 
Briar can also influence your buying decisions.
Since Skarner is a powerful Tank you should start with 
Gustwalker Hatchling and 
Health Potion. Your starter trinket should be 
Stealth Ward. You will find those in the shop under: Tools > Vision & Trinkets. Your optimal final boots are 
Plated Steelcaps. So make sure to buy accordingly. A good buy order for your items is:
Heartsteel
Unending Despair
Spirit Visage
Skarner abilities and summoner spells
Pro Gamers in LoL also gain advantage by their choice of spells and the order they use their abilities on Skarner. You also shouldn’t leave this to chance.
During champion select you have the possibility to choose two spells for Skarner. The choice of summoner spells can’t be underestimated. They can play a big role in team-fights. Countless team-fights have been decided by a well-used flash. Statistics have proven that the best choice is 
Flash and 
Smite.
You can also gain an advantage in early game by using Skarner abilities in a certain order. Each phase of the game differs. Some abilities might be good in late game, but less in early game. Start the game with 
Shattered Earth / Upheaval. Then you should continue with 
Seismic Bastion, followed by 
Ixtal's Impact. An order for abilities of Skarner up to level 10:
| Level | Key | Champion Spell |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | R | Shattered Earth / Upheaval |
| 2 | R | Seismic Bastion |
| 3 | R | Ixtal's Impact |
| 4 | R | Shattered Earth / Upheaval |
| 5 | R | Shattered Earth / Upheaval |
| 6 | R |  Impale |
| 7 | R | Shattered Earth / Upheaval |
| 8 | R | Seismic Bastion |
| 9 | R | Shattered Earth / Upheaval |
| 10 | R | Seismic Bastion |
Most effective Skarner runes selection
For an effective Skarner build, you also need to select the appropriate runes. Ideally, you make an extra rune page for Skarner. You have to choose a primary and a secondary path from five rune paths for the Primordial Sovereign: Precision, Domination, Sorcery, Resolve and Inspiration.
In the primary path you can choose a keystone rune and three lesser runes. The secondary path only consists of two lesser runes. There are also the three so-called shard slots. The best rune paths for Skarner are for primary 
Resolve and for secondary 
Inspiration. As the keystone rune on Skarner most pros pick 
Grasp of the Undying.
For your primary path – Resolve – choose these runes on Skarner:
- Grasp of the Undying
Conditioning
Overgrowth
Shield Bash
For your secondary path – Inspiration – choose these runes on Skarner:
Magical Footwear
Approach Velocity
Champions that counter Skarner
As mentioned before, it is always necessary to react to opponents of Skarner. There are champions that counter Skarner. These champions have advantages that can be dangerous for you. Udyr for instance is strong against Skarner and has a win rate of 62%. Another dangerous counter is Amumu.
When your opponent counter picks Skarner in champion select, you need to be aware. In this case, adjust your items and game to the situation.
Cosmic Sting Skarner is one of the 6 available skins for Skarner.
Conclusion
Many people are looking for Skarner pro builds, that players often used to win. By following our probuilds, you can turn Skarner into a beast. Especially if you also follow our Skarner guide. When you have your runes placed like we told you, Skarner will reach its full potential. Buying the items we listed will also increase your chances. Start with the abilities in the correct order to gain an advantage in early game.
When you build Skarner in League of Legends correctly, you will have a very capable champion. But as always you need to practice, especially when and how to use Impale. League of Legends is a dynamic game that changes with every patch. Keep following the patch notes and keep adjusting your LoL Skarner build.
Also, keep reacting to the game itself. Do you play mid, top or bot? Who is support or jungle? Overall, a good game is the sum of the right decisions. Over time, you your skills with Skarner will grow. Once you mastered Skarner – the Primordial Sovereign – you will rule the rift.
