Since Afreeca Freecs' top laner Jang "MaRin" Gyeong-hwan pulled out the splitpushing AD Kennen during the very early stages of Season 7, Kennen has been all the rage internationally as a viable splitpusher and aggressive presence in the top lane that had difficulty dying to tanks. This is still true, as Kennen can very easily scale thanks to the lack of kill pressure that tanks generally have.

With the new midseason patch and attempt to shift kill pressure away from tanks once more, Kennen has continued to be a staple pick in the top lane against top lane champions just hoping to get out of the lane phase without a huge disadvantage. Kennen is a great bully and an even better scaling champion, letting his splitpush plan come to fruition and carry the game alone, if given enough room.

Runes

1 Attack Speed and 8 Attack Damage Reds, Armor Yellows, 3 Attack Speed and 6 Magic Resistance Blues, Attack Speed Quintessences

This rune page gives you a good balance of resistances, attack damage, and attack speed. Because of Kennen’s W passive, he’s more inclined to specialize in attack speed earlier, and more attack speed increases his sustain through Doran’s Blade as well as his initial Blade of the Ruined King buy, making his dueling much better in the early and mid game stages.

Masteries

Eighteen in Ferocity is pretty standard for auto attacking threats. Kennen has great synergy with Fervor of battle in particular, as the attack damage contributes to his W passive, which will give him greater burst damage as he builds up the empowered auto attack. Fresh Blood and Battle Trance help with laning without a downside, and Kennen needs the armor penetration over the magic penetration for his Blade of the Ruined King damage onto tanks despite his tendency to do slightly more magic damage (thanks to creeps having low magic resistance) over the course of the game.

Twelve in Resolve keeps Kennen alive and allows him to threaten the splitpush much more often thanks to the use of Insight. Insight should be taken over Fearless because Kennen already gets a good chunk of resistances in fights through his E, making more resistance suboptimal versus having health to balance it out. As well, having Flash and Teleport up more often allows Kennen to make cross-map plays and use the utility of flash to escape sticky splitpush or teamfight situations. Veteran Scars and Tough Skin help optimize his early resistances and contributes to a brutal laning phase for the opponent as trading becomes more and more fruitless.

Skill Order

First six levels: QEWWWR

Getting Q first is the best harass tool, and E afterwards helps escape any early cheese from the top laner or jungler. After, however, W is the skill you want to max. It helps with waveclear in conjunction with E, and actually scales with your total attack damage, increasing by level. This is AD Kennen’s primary tool for dueling as it provides huge burst in lane in combination with an active W.

After that, maxing E second helps with waveclear and gives you access to your escape much more often, making your splitpush a lot safer. Your ultimate should be leveled when possible, and your Q should be leveled last despite its early point as a harass tool.

Build Order

Though Doran’s Shield got a huge buff, it’s still not a great choice for champions hoping to bully their lane as Kennen would. Rushing Blade of the Ruined King is a must, even though it got its cost very very slightly increased. After that, going Frozen Mallet will ensure that you will have the survivability and kiting ability to deal with any tank or fighter hoping to contest your presence in a side lane. Phantom Dancer adds to your attack speed and continues to help your survivability for a very low cost. Death’s Dance got an insane buff in Patch 7.9 that helps Kennen’s dueling substantially, and contributes to his W passive more than any other AD item given it having 80 attack damage. Guardian Angel helps as well, as it also now gives attack damage.

Doran’s Blade + Health Potion Blade of the Ruined King Mercury Treads Frozen Mallet Phantom Dancer Death’s Dance Guardian Angel Maw of Malmortius or Runaan’s Hurricane

Playstyle

Early game, Kennen's ranged advantage lends itself well to a favorable laning phase because he can easily harass and cs simultaneously. That combined with his good base damage on abilities allows him to trade against the patterns of most meta top laners. Kennen is fairly gankable, so make sure you're not pushing in. If you are, your ultimate is a good get out of jail free card as it will stun pursuers as you scurry away. Early game is not when the splitpushing starts, after all.

Mid game sees Kennen starting to assert himself in 1v1s through his Blade of the Ruined King and Frozen Mallet power spike, meaning that he can chase down tanks, outdamage them and outsustain them in any prolonged fight. This makes it impossible for them to lane against him, yielding two scenarios: either a collapse onto you, or a teamfight away from you. With Kennen’s main goal being splitpushing, it’s imperative that you don’t join fights immediately and try to signal to your team that it’s worth backing off if the teamfight situation is likely. Avoiding any collapse is key to splitpushing, and therefore investing in Control Wards and using your trinket constantly will help you determine when it is safe to push your advantage. Once more, there are plenty of ways to disengage, amplified by the Frozen Mallet passive and Blade of the Ruined King active.

The late game is when Kennen’s splitpush truly comes online. With the damage reduction from Phantom Dancer and the new Death’s Dance, coupled with the attack speed and W passive available to Kennen, he should be able to 1v1 most any other champion, especially the enemy top laner who he is likely to be ahead of because of his smoother power curve and easier laning phase. In teamfights, should Kennen join them, he functions as a second AD carry with the ability to peel for himself and his team in unique ways, being a part of the backline and having an ultimate with great zone control for your entire backline. Using that optimally will be key to getting that last bit of necessary damage out there to win the fight. Kennen does not go in with this build, he is meant to be a peeling presence and AD carry, unlike his “go button” AP style which relies on Zhonya’s and his ultimate to completely dismantle enemy teams.

Gabriel Zoltan-Johan is a News Editor at theScore esports and the head analyst for the University of Toronto League of Legends team. His (public) musings can be found on his Twitter.