League of Legends - Kennen Champion Strategy and Item Build Guide

Kennen

Basic Information

Champion Stats

Lore

Skills

Icon	Description
	Mark of the Storm  Kennen’s abilities add one stack of Mark of the Storm to their target for 6 seconds. If the target reaches 3 stacks, it is stunned for 1.25 seconds and Kennen gains 25 Energy. The stun will be a diminished duration of 0.5 seconds if it occurs again within 6 seconds.
	Thundering Shuriken (Target Range: 1050, Speed: 1650, Cost: 60/55/50/45/40 Energy, Cooldown: 8/7/6/5/4)ACTIVE: Kennen throws a fast moving shuriken towards a location, causing damage and adding a Mark of the Storm to any opponent that it hits. Throws a shuriken that deals 75/115/155/195/235 (+75% Ability Power) magic damage to the first enemy it hits.
	Electrical Surge (Effect Radius: 750, Cost: 40 Energy, Cooldown: 14/12/10/8/5)Kennen passively deals extra damage and adds a Mark of the Storm to his target every few attacks, and he can activate this ability to damage and add another Mark of the Storm to targets who are already marked.PASSIVE: Every 5 attacks, Kennen deals bonus magic damage equal to 40/50/60/70/80% of his attack damage and adds a Mark of the Storm to his target. ACTIVE: Sends a surge of electricity through all nearby enemies affected by Mark of the Storm or Slicing Maelstrom, dealing 65/95/125/155/185 (+55% Ability Power) magic damage.
	Lightning Rush  (Cost: 100/95/90/85/80 Energy, Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6)ACTIVE: Kennen morphs into a lightning form, enabling him to pass through units. Each enemy unit he touches takes damage and receives a Mark of the Storm. Kennen doubles his base movement speed and ignores unit collision for 2 seconds, dealing 85/125/165/205/245 (+60% Ability Power) magic damage to any enemy he passes through. Additionally, Kennen will gain 10/20/30/40/50 Armor and Magic Resist for 4 seconds.Kennen gains 40 Energy the first time he passes through an enemy.Lightning Rush deals half damage to minions.
	Slicing Maelstrom (Effect Radius: 550, Cooldown: 120) ACTIVE: Kennen summons a storm that strikes at nearby enemy champions for magical damage. Summons a magical storm for 3 seconds that deals 80/145/210 (+40% Ability Power) magic damage to all enemies near Kennen every 0.5 seconds. Each hit applies Mark of the Storm, up to a maximum of 3.Each time an enemy is struck, further hits deal 25% less damage (minimum of 50% damage).

Strategy

• Your Passive skill Mark of the Storm stuns your opponent after inflicting 3 marks. Kennen relies on this to burst down enemy champions.
• Kennen’s (Q) Thundering Shuriken can dish out heavy damage so use this to harass champions or finish off minions early.
• Use your (W) Electrical Surge to add the last Mark of the Storm (passive) thereby stunning them.
• Kennen’s (E) Lightning Rush can be used to either escape or initiate team fights. It can also be used to deal AoE damage and clearing down minion waves. Use your it to pass through minions and deliver a Mark of the Storm (passive) and then press (W) Electrical Surge to deal damage.
• Your Ultimate Skill, (R) Slicing Maelstrom, applies 3 Marks of the Storm (passive). Use this skill to initiate teamfights by using your (E) Lightning Rush to get in the middle of your enemies. This deals heavy AoE Damage and stuns champions inside the circle. (R) Slicing Maelstrom goes well with Zhonya’s Hourglass as you’ll be positioning yourself near enemies, leaving your susceptible to being focused down.

Runes & Masteries

COMING SOON

Summoner Spells

Top Lane
Teleport	Flash

Item Builds

Top Lane – AP Build

Starter Items
Doran’s Shield	Health Potion	Warding Totem

Core Items (AP)
Hextech Protobelt-01	Zhonya’s Hourglass	Liandry’s Torment

Hextech Protobelt-01 – Kennen’s damage relies on being inside the clash and hitting enemies with (R) Slicing Maelstrom. As such, Hextech Protobelt-01 is a great item for him, as it gives Kennen another gap-closing skill to either initiate team fights or escape ganks.

The item also gives decent Ability Power, cooldown reduction, and health stats, three things Kennen needs to make him hit hard and as often as possible.

Zhonya’s Hourglass – Zhonya’s Hourglass is another staple item for Kennen. It gives him bonus Ability Power and Armor which helps Kennen take some physical damage while deal damage as well. Moreover, Zhonya’s Hourglass provides Kennen with an active skill that puts him in stasis, rendering him immune to any skills.

Liandry’s Torment – Liandry’s Torment is an excellent item. It provides good Ability Power and magic penetration, strengthening Kennen’s damage output. Furthermore, its passive skill synergizes well with Kennen’s Mark of the Storm (passive), dealing bonus damage to stunned enemies.

Full Item Build (AP)
Hextech Protobelt-01	Zhonya’s Hourglass	Sorcerer’s Shoes
Liandry’s Torment	Void Staff	Rabadon’s Deathcap

Sorcerer’s Shoes – A standard boots upgrade for mages, Sorcerer’s Shoes gives Kennen good movement speed and magic penetration.

Void Staff – Void Staff is another good item for Kennen. It provides good Ability Power and magic penetration bonuses. Moreover, it complements Kennen’s skill kit, further increasing their potency especially during team fights.

Rabadon’s Deathcap – Rabadon’s Deathcap greatly increases Kennen’s Ability Power, and subsequently his skills. Once he gets this item, he can burst down squishy champions handily.

Situational Items
Mejai’s Soulstealer	Banshee’s Veil

Mejai’s Soulstealer – Mejai’s Soulstealer further amps up Kennen’s Ability Power for each kill and assist he acquires. However, if he gets killed, he loses a big portion of the bonus Ability Power stacks he gets.

Banshee’s Veil – For enemy teams that have heavy crowd control, or mages and assassins who tend to use skills to burst you down, it is best to get Banshee’s Veil. This item gives decent Ability Power, cooldown reduction and magic resistance. Furthermore, it provides Kennen a spell shield that blocks the first enemy skill and negates its debuffs and disables.

Top Lane – AD Build

Starter Items
Doran’s Blade	Health Potion	Warding Totem

Core Items
Blade of the Ruined King	Frozen Mallet	Phantom Dancer

Blade of the Ruined King – Blade of the Ruined King is his staple item for his Attack Damage build. This item gives good Attack Damage and Attack Speed stats, as well as an active skill that slows down opponents.

Moreover, Blade of the Ruined King helps Kennen take down tanky champions, as it deals additional damage based on the enemies’ current health.

Frozen Mallet – Frozen Mallet is a good item, as it makes his attacks slow enemies. It also gives Kennen good Attack Damage and Health bonuses. Furthermore, this allows him to hits his skills easier and proc Mark of the Storm (passive).

Phantom Dancer – Phantom Dancer gives good dueling power. It has great Attack Speed and critical strike chance bonuses, as well as movement speed. Its passive skill lowers the damage output of enemy champions who are hit with Kennen’s auto attacks.

Full Item Build
Doran’s Blade	Frozen Mallet	Phantom Dancer
Ninja Tabi	Runaan’s Hurricane	Guardian Angel

Ninja Tabi – Ninja Tabi is a standard boots upgrade for Kennen. It gives him good armor and movement speed, allowing him to shoulder some auto attacks, especially when he initiates with (R) Slicing Maelstrom.

Runaan’s Hurricane – Getting Runaan’s Hurricane further increases his pushing pressure. This item gives him great Attack Speed, Movement Speed and critical strike chance bonuses. On top of that, it makes his auto attacks hit up to three enemies at once.

Guardian Angel – A standard defensive item for most ADCs, Guardian Angel provides good Attack Damage and armor stats. Furthermore, it resurrects Kennen if he incurs fatal damage.

Situational Items
Wit’s End	Guinsoo’s Rageblade

Wit’s End – Another item that gives Kennen good dueling potential, Wit’s End increases his ability to whittle down opponent’s magic resistance. It gives him good Attack Speed bonuses and magic resistance. This makes all his skills deal more damage on enemies.

Moreover, Wit’s End is a good counter item for enemies who deal magic damage, as hitting opponents increases Kennen’s magic resistance stats up to a certain number of stacks.

Guinsoo’s Rageblade – Another hybrid Ability Power item, Guinsoo’s Rageblade enables Kennen to deal massive damage with his auto attacks. This is because Guinsoo’s Rageblade deals on-hit magic damage to enemies, while simultaneously increasing Kennen’s attack speed, Ability Power and Attack Damage.

Playing Against

• Burst him down first as he is very squishy and can be bursted down easily.
• Although highly mobile, Kennen is very susceptible to ganks especially when his (E) Lightning Rush is in cooldown. Hit Kennen with a strong CC like a snare or stun to defeat him.
•  Being a lane bully, constantly harassing his opponent whenever he can. To counteract this, avoid getting tagged with (Q) Lightning Shuriken. This will allow you to safely trade with him while taking minimal damage.
• His stun from Mark of the Storm can prove very deadly. Stay clear away from him once you get 2 stacks. Also consider building Magic Resist items.
• When ganking Kennen’s lane, do your best to avoid getting hit with his skills. This will lessen your chances of getting stunned.
• Do not clump together when Kennen is nowhere to be found, especially during team fights. Kennen will lead in with (R) Slicing Maelstrom and stun your entire team.

Hard Counters

• Diana – Diana is a melee burst mage who is proficient at eliminating targets while tanking some of their damage. For instance, she can engage and soak damage with Pale Cascade, while dealing good damage with Crescent Strike and Lunar Rush. If he tries to escape, she can pull him back in with Moonfall.
• Janna – Janna excels in averting unwanted clashes, thanks to Monsoon. She is known to keep champions who like to engage from getting a good position for their sets. Even if Kennen manages to get (R) Slicing Maelstrom off, Janna’s Monsoon will push him away from the fight, effectively negating his damage output.
• Vladimir – Vladimir is proficient in soaking damage for his team while dealing massive sustained damage against the opposing team. He can out-sustain Kennen in the lane thanks to Transfusion and avoid getting hit with most of Kennen’s damaging skills with Sanguine Pool. He can also slow down Kennen with Tides of Blood and amplify his damage to Kennen with Hemoplague.
• Swain – Swain is known for locking down champions and dealing sustained magic damage, apart from being extremely tanky once he gets his items. He can also root with Nevermove, follow up with Decrepify and amplify his damage with Torment. In team fights and skirmishes, he can use Ravenous Flock to deal massive magic damage while healing him at the same time.

Strategy Video

COMING SOON

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