Talk:Skarner/@comment-178.166.24.118-20120607085742

Had some RP lying around and decided to buy this guy on sale. He's amazing! Ganking before lvl 6 is not easy unless they are super extended but it's possible to force a couple of flashes. After lvl 6 it's a breeze as long as you dodge the wards. People just panic when they see a scorpion dashing at full speed against you. :P

I use the same runes for Skarner, Udyr and Shyvana (AS marks, Armor seals, MR p/lvl glyphs and Movement Speed quints) and I think it's the best setup. With 0/21/9 masteries I can start Regrowth + Health Pot and still have a speed of 350. After you get tier 1 boots and the W skill, Skarner will casually throttle at 420+ movement speed in his jungle. No biggie. :D

As for itemization, Philo + Boots + Ward in the first recall (790g), HoG + Ward in the second (900g) and Sheen in the third + Oracles, depending on how well I'm doing (you have to try hard to get Skarner killed in early game, but it's also not easy to get kills pre 6). The rest is very situational, altough Merc Threads, Tri Force, Randuins and Shurelya are core items IMO. I like BV or FoN better than Wit's End, cause Wit's End is more useful on champions like Nocturne or Udyr, and Skarner needs more MR and extra help (either the movement speed from FoN or the spell shield from BV) in order to charge to the middle of the enemy team. Yeah, while Skarner seems to be a strong sustained damage champion during early-mid game, that damage output falls late game and he's left with the pure intent of being the initiator or second initiator for the team, going for the surpress on carries. The AS runes, Tri Force and Elixir are enough for me to skip Wit's altogether. The last item depends entirely on the other team. If I fell tanky enough and our team is ahead, I go for Hextech Gunblade. If the outcome on teamfights is being decided on details, I go for GA. If our support for some reason doesn't have Aegis, I build Aegis.

TL; DR: Skarner is a strong jungler, a strong duelist and a strong teamfight disrupter who can be easily inserted in any team composition.