Varus
Matchup Summary
Detailed Tips
- 01
Alcove Strat - Level 1 try to rush into the topside alcove with E start to avoid being zoned off the wave level 1. Being zoned off leaves Renekton in a terrible position, however being in the alcove prevents losing XP and losing any necessary HP. Once you achieve the first wave of XP, try to leave the alcove safely through bushes and walk towards your side of the wave state.
- 02
Play For Sustain - Varus is one of the most disgusting champions within the entire game for Renekton to deal with, usually due to the fact he can take PTA, boneplating, barrier and just naturally have the stats to tank Renekton’s damage. Try to avoid any direct conflict unless Varus is playing like an NPC. Otherwise if he is playing it optimally, give respect for Varus passive and try to play for teammates and abuse D Shield + Second Wind to help you get through the laning phase.
- 03
Respect Varus W Passive - Varus W passive is absolutely crazy as a concept, due to the fact it can apply on hit AP damage, which can be utilised with Varus’s passive attack speed from minion or champion kills, also factoring the overall amount of max HP damage he can deal with his regular Q and W Q. Try to avoid taking fights with passive stacks already applied on you, let them drop off and avoid any Varus abilities that can proc it.
- 04
Don't Underestimate Varus - The amount of times I think I’m about to kill Varus, only to get his giant throbbing huge W AP damage one shot my face is simply too much to think about. With that said, even if he is low, respect the fact he can barrier, have boneplating, or can apply passive stacks into his W Q one shot. Always play with caution.
- 05
Play Wave On Your Side - Playing the wave on your side essentially means playing wave states on your side of the map, via abusing wave manipulation tactics or freezing on your side of the map. Simply use this to help you combo on your laner, taking away any space from them being able to trade you back (This also helps prevent the enemy running you down with their extended or sustained movement speed abilities). You can also use this wave state to run down your opponent with your abilities up, helping you obtain kills a lot easier vs stalemate or ranged match ups. Look to do this when your opponents are below 50% HP, or potentially make a mistake to provide you an all in opportunity to run them down.
- 06
Play For Ganks - As already mentioned, this lane is a complete horror show for Renekton. With that said, play for your teammates. Even if you’re receiving a gank, still respect Varus passive and his overall damage. Try to get his boneplating before the initial gank, to help you burst Varus down in the event of a gank. If you’re a jungler reading this, PLEASE GANK RENEKTON, PLEASE!
- 07
Rush Plated Steel caps + Hexdrinker / Negatron - These items may seem like a very weird combination to build, but due to Varus’s high base and hybrid damage, Renekton needs these to survive this match up. You can potentially risk going to a normal build, but Varus will most likely tower dive you if you don’t have these items to survive. Firstly rush boots to mitigate against his auto attacks, then aim towards either of the MR options to lower varus passive and R damage. PLEASE NERF LANE VARUS RIOT!
- 08
Abuse Renekton's R Powerspike - In the off chance Varus misses R, or fails his W Q, Renekton can have a chance to statcheck and run down Varus if these conditions are met. Before you opt into an all in, make sure Varus has no boneplating and is below 70% HP. Just remember, Varus can get up to 2 Q’s within a fight, so make sure he misses 1 and you’re able to tank the other.
- 09
Respect Varus R - One of the more crazy things about the match up is the fact Varus can instantly apply passive stacks through his R, leading him to W Q to instantly one shot his targets. Depending on his build, these abilities alone can completely one shot you if he opts into a full AP build, and yes… ONE SHOTS YOU. However if he doesn’t go full AP, he can one shot you a little less faster. Simply try to avoid Varus R at all costs, or this becomes a death sentence the moment it hits you. Try to flash or use E to avoid his R in these moments, or look to bait it out aggressively by E’ing into him at range, then quickly side stepping to the side.
- 10
Play For Teammates - The best thing to do in this match up is just play for your teammates. Whenever an objective is up, simply roam towards your team and try to get your gold funneled through picks or objective secures. You can also play with your team to shut down Varus if they give you the time of day, but most likely you’re just going to have to find a way to win by roaming and using TP to initiate cross map plays.
- 11
Build Maw of Malmortius, Eclipse, Black Cleaver or Stridebreaker - Go Maw of Malmortius to survive against Varus’s AP burst damage / Go Eclipse for consistent power through mid game and damage mitigation with the shield. / Go Black Cleaver for additional CDR and other versatile stats for utility based gameplay. / Go Stridebreaker to cripple Varus's mobility and provide teammates with additional utility.
- 12
Mid Game + Teamfighting Tips - The whole game is typically a struggle fest against Varus, so the most you can do is just play for your team at any stage when there is an opportunity. Typically I opt into building utility items such as Stridebreaker or Black Cleaver into tank items, to allow me to soak up damage and utilise my peel based strengths to help my teammates play the game. When it comes to dealing with Varus, you’re going to need your teammates to collapse on him in the side lane, so make sure to ping your teammates to help shut him down before he is able to take everything in the side lane. Alternatively, within team fights try to lock him down with your W and utilise empowered E shred if he’s going the tank build. It will be very hard to genuinely play against him, so try to look for winning fights when he isn’t there or get picks beforehand that will help you win.