Hello! My name is GN Duck

I ended season 10 and 11 Ranked 1 Galio [NA] and top 10 World. I've been Rank 1 Galio (according to League of Graphs) for a cumulative 18 months over the past 3 years. I play Galio support. I do not play compeitively anymore as of season 12. .

I have coached collegiate and amateur and love the educational side of League of Legends. I want this guide to be constantly growing, so please ask questions or challenge me on some of my points. Everything on this guide is from my own experience and is subject to scrutiny - in fact, I encourage it! You learn the most when your ideas are put to the test and you're asked to explain yourself and your thought process.

PASSIVE ABILITY

(Passive): Every few seconds, Galio's next basic attack deals bonus magic damage in an area. Tip: Plan your combos when this is off cooldown. It does Area of Effect damage and a lot of it!

Q

(Q): Galio fires two windblasts that converge into a large tornado that deals damage over time. Tip: The ability does the same amount of damage to everyone in its path. Once it lands, it creates a small circle that continues to do damage - try to make it land on the enemies!

W

(W): Galio charges a defensive stance, moving slowly. Upon releasing the charge, Galio will taunt and damage nearby enemies. Tip: This ability has a long cooldown and is POWERFUL. Try to maximize the number of enemies caught in it - the more the merrier!

E

(E): Galio will briefly step back and charge, knocking up the first enemy champion he encounters. Tip: Use this ability after you have landed your Shield of Durand - they can't dodge if they are taunted!

R

(R): Galio designates an ally's position as his landing spot, granting all allies in the area a magic shield. After a delay Galio smashes down the location, knocking up nearby enemies. Tip: Keep an eye on your team. You never know when they could use an ally!

Galio has some straight forward, basic combos. Start with Shield of Durand, follow by Justice Punch and a Winds of War Colossal Smash. This combo uses your full kit and leaves the enemy immobilized for a long period of time.

If you are far away from an enemy, no worries! Use your Justice Punch to close the distance and start charing Shield of Durand.

Whenever you land with Hero's Entrance, begin charging your Shield of Durand instantly. The longer you hold it, the longer the taunt.

And lastly - practice throwing your Winds of War out first, followed by the Shield of Durand or Justice Punch. The longer you keep them in the Winds of War, the more damage you do.

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When in doubt, Aftershock is the best keystone rune. If you are learning Galio for the first time, I highly recommend sticking to this.

Resolve Aftershock - After immobilizing an enemy champion, gain defenses and later deal a burst of adaptive damage around you. Font of Life - Impairing the movement of an enemy champion marks them. Your allies heal when attacking champions you've marked. Bone Plating - After taking damage from an enemy champion, their next three spells or attacks against you deal 30-60 less damage (at levels 1-18). Unflinching - After casting a Summoner Spell, gain Tenacity and Slow Resistance for a short duration. Additionally, gain Tenacity and Slow Resistance for each Summoner Spell on cooldown.

Sorcery Nimbus Cloak - Shortly after casting your Ultimate, gain a burst of decaying movement speed increase that lasts for 2.5s and allows you to pass through units. Celerity - Movement speed bonuses are 7% more effective on you and gain 1% Movement Speed. 9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP), 10% Attack Speed,8 ability haste 9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP), 6 Armor, 8 Magic Resist 15-140 HP (lvls 1-18), 6 Armor, 8 Magic Resist

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Aftershock - 65% of the Time

Resolve - Aftershock. The resistances that Aftershock gives are CRUCIAL to Galio support. Frequently, Galio will be taunting enemies in bulk numbers, meaning that he will have 1-5 enemies forced to attack him for upwards of 1.5 seconds. Having an influx of resistance is necessary to keep him alive. You want to go Aftershock when you are the playmaker or when you are the front line. Look at your team and ask yourself "who is going to start these fights?" If you have a Graves Jungle and Kayle top, odds are you will be the only front line. This is why you take Aftershock. If there is another front liner, say Zac jungle or Sion top - you get to consider going the other Keystone Runes. That being said, Aftershock will never NOT be valuable and applicable in your situation - it will always be the safe rune to go.

Second Row Options:

Font of Life - all around best. Consistently gives small healing to allies. Demolish - Best when you know you will be pushed up in lane - best against weak laner opponent, or when you have AD carries that will push, such as Caitlyn and Jinx. Shield Bash - Only really good against double AD lane opponents, such as a Pantheon or Pyke Support. Since AD can't break Galio's passive shield, he will constantly have the bonus resistances from shield bash up.

Third Row Options:

Conditioning - Not worth it. Won't amount to much, and the other two in this row are invaluable. Second Wind - Great for double ranged matchups that will be poking you down. Think "Am I fighting, or am I being hit from afar." Good against champions like Sona, Soraka, Karma, etc. Bone Plating - Best for laning against a melee support - Leona, Nautilus, Pyke, Blitzcrank, etc. Short bursts are preferred vs. long trades when you go Bone Plating, whereas Second Wind prefers poke.

Fourth Row Options

Unflinching is the only viable rune. It reduces the slow of your W, which allows for better gap closer, and help vs. all other CC.

Secondary Tree: Sorcery

Nimbus Cloak is INVALUABLE on Galio. If you charge W, and ignite/exhaust, the extra movement speed allows you to outrun your prey. Similarly, flashing and immediately charging W allows you to keep up with the enemy, EVEN IF THEY FLASH AWAY. It's crazy not to go this rune. Celerity - No reason not to go it as it pairs nicely with Nimbus Cloak, and nothing else really synergizes with Galio's kit.

Stat Runes

The last 3 runes are up to your discretion. Adaptive and Adaptive are best. If the enemy is one damage (both AD or both AP), go ahead and go both runes of that resistance. Otherwise, stick to armor.

Glacial Augment - 30% of the Time

Inspiration - Glacial Augment- WHHEEWWW - For once Galio Support has options as to what keystone to go. Instead going Aftershock you now have the option of going Glacial Augment. Glacial Augment is invaluable when it comes to furthering Crowd Control and peeling Assasins off of your carries. Similar to Aftershock, you want to ask yourself "what is my role in this game - are there other front liners or engagers" or "are there assasins?" Only consider going Glacial Augment if there are other tanks/engagers on your team, such as Zac, Sion, Trundle, Sejuani, etc. If you aren't the only one who will be tanking the enemies DPS, then Aftershock is not as needed. Glacial Augment trades tankiness for Crowd Control/Damage reduction. It is additionally good against assasins. If you decide your role in the game is to peel your carries (such as Jinx, Vayne, Kog'Maw) and protect them from assasins like Zed Qiyana and Kha'Zix instead of starting fights and front lining, Glacial Augment becomes the best option. Charging your Shield of Durand to catch an assasin as they jump on your carry not only crowd controls them, but creates a slow field that reduces their damage against your carry by 15% and allows for your carry to kite away.

Second Row Options:

Hextech Flashtraption will be your go to run for this row. Having Hexflash allows for you to more readily use your Flash in lane to secure kills or pressure. With Hextech Flashtraption, you can trade your flash off cooldown to take away the oponent ADC's flash. Addiitonally, the playmaking potential on Hextech Flashtraption is outstanding. With nimbus cloak as well, Hexflashing out of a bush guantees a catch onto an unsuspecting ADC. Perfect Timing is a fine rune to take as well. It doesn't offer as many playmaking opportunities that Hextech Flashtraption gives, but allows you to rush a Zhonya's Hourglass in those specific situation outline in this guide. Magical Footwear is never worth it. You want your Tier 2 Boots ASAP - this delays it immensely.

Third Row Options:

Future's Market is the go to rune, though everything in this row has value. With Future's Market you get an earlier power spike (rushing Tier 2 Boots]] which allows Galio to make an impact on the early game (haha, get it? impact)). Minion Dematerializer (MD) is a swell rune to take, though has different application than the others in the row. MD allows you to maintain prio in lane by securing those pesky canon minions. Biscuit Delivery isn't the greatest rune, though it does still have it's use. It best if paired with Time Warp Tonic, for it allows more isntances of additional movement speed that can catch your opponent off guard. If you aren't going Time Warp Tonic, it's not worth it.

Fourth Row Options

Cosmic Insight is your go to rune here, though the other 2 still have places. Reducing the cooldown of your Flash and Ignite is very nice to stay ahead of the enemies. Approach Velocity only really has a place if you have an Ashe or Jhin ADCs or someone who provides Slows and Crowd Controls. The extra moement speed to catchup is very nice. Time Warp Tonic is only useful if paired with Biscuit Delivery. Otherwise, not super worth.

Secondary Tree: Sorcery

Nimbus Cloak is INVALUABLE on Galio. If you charge W, and ignite/exhaust, the extra movement speed allows you to outrun your prey. Similarly, flashing and immediately charging W allows you to keep up with the enemy, EVEN IF THEY FLASH AWAY. It's crazy not to go this rune. Celerity - No reason not to go it as it pairs nicely with Nimbus Cloak, and nothing else really synergizes with Galio's kit.

Stat Runes

The last 3 runes are up to your discretion. Adaptive and Adaptive are best. If the enemy is one damage (both AD or both AP), go ahead and go both runes of that resistance. Otherwise, stick to armor.

Predator - 5% of the Time

Domination - Predator. This keystone is used the least, but still has its place on Galio support. A few conditions need to be met to confidently go Predator. 1) You must have 1 or more front liners on the time outside of you ( Zac, Sion Poppy, etc.). 2) You must have an ADC who can be left alone. With Predator you'll be roaming and leaving lane alot. You can't leave your Ashe alone against a Draven and Leona, but you can leave your Ezreal alone against a Jhin and Janna. Rule of thumb - if your ADC can't 1v2 or scale really hard, then don't go Predator. When you decide to go Predator, it's all about roaming. Best times to roam are off of a a reset (walk mid instead of botlane) or when the enemy is pushing INTO you (allows your ADC to be safe). Remember - this is an early game rune meant to snowball your team - you are very weak and it doesn't scale much.

Second Row Options:

Cheap Shot as decent as the others - provides more burst. Taste of Blood I enjoy taking when it's a double ranged botlane - it helps to stay healthy by poking with your "winds of war]]. Sudden Impact Not great, but the magic pen will do the same amount of extra damage as Cheap Shot does.

Third Row Options:

Ravenous Hunter - Don't go, gets no value. Ingenious Hunter - This is your go to. It provides a massive reduction to your Predator. Additionally, you have the option of goin Everfrost, which gets its Cooldown reduced too. Relentless Hunter Its not bad, just not as good as the above. Ultimate Hunter In theory this sounds great, but in practice it doesn't provide enough CDR to be relevant. Galio doesn't naturally get much CD through items, so it doesn't scale.

Secondary Tree: Sorcery

Nimbus Cloak is INVALUABLE on Galio. If you charge W, and ignite/exhaust, the extra movement speed allows you to outrun your prey. Similarly, flashing and immediately charging W allows you to keep up with the enemy, EVEN IF THEY FLASH AWAY. It's crazy not to go this rune. Celerity - No reason not to go it as it pairs nicely with Nimbus Cloak, and nothing else really synergizes with Galio's kit.

Stat Runes

The last 3 runes are up to your discretion. Adaptive and Adaptive are best. If the enemy is one damage (both AD or both AP), go ahead and go both runes of that resistance. Otherwise, stick to armor.

The standard leveling up order starts with Shield of Durand, Justice Punch, Winds of War, then you max Shield of Durand. This is always a safe and fine way to level up Galio.

Once you get a little more comfortable on the champion, you get the option of putting 3 points into Winds of War or Justice Punch before maxing Shield of Durand. Detailed explanation can be found in the below chapter.

60% of the Time Level Up Order

First 3 points should almost always be the same. The exception would be situation where you want to start Justice Punch which is when you are in hook lane ( Thresh Pyke Blitzcrank Nautilus). W Shield of Durand Start - Best for Lane. The CC is insane - it's range is unmatched. MR Shield is nice, if the laners get within W range they WILL lose the trade. If this is a hook lane (as mentioned above), go Justice Punch first to negative their engage. E Justice Punch Second - The moblity lends it's to saving you in lane or securing kills. The damage is very nice too. If you went Justice Punch first, then level Shield of Durand here. Q Winds of War 3rd - Level Q to lvl 3 from levels 4 and 5. The damage from Q scales really well with level even without building any AP. Keep the poke in lane by spamming off cooldown. Keep prio with the wave by helping it push. After 3 Points Q Winds of War, Max W Shield of Durand. Around level 6-8 is when you will start seeing your first team fights, on average. You don't need points into W before that. People ask a lot why you don't max W Shield of Durand first. Few reasons. First - it doesn't change the CD, which is rough. 2nd, Q Winds of War and E Justice Punch have a BIG change in damage when leveling them up that can't be ignored. 3rd, the resistances gained from W Shield of Durand leveling up are very small in the early levels. 5% on 50 armor means almost nothing. It is better for in lane trading and dominance to go Q Winds of War or E Justice Punch for 3 points before maxing W Shield of Durand. You start maxing W Shield of Durand when you have items stacked to back it up, and are starting to group for team fights and objectives. Post level 6, max Shield of Durand follow by Justice Punch.

30% of the time Level Up Order

This level up order is specifically into hook-based situations like Pyke Thresh Blitzcrank Nautilus and even Leona. Instead of ranking up W Shield of Durand first, you rank up E. Galio thrives in hook matchups because of his ability to buffer his Justice Punch into a hook and dashing though it to nullify it (see the above youtube video for explanation). Then, you put 3 points in E Justice Punch instead of Q Winds of War for levels 1, 4, and 5. From level 7 onward, you can max Shield of Durand. Putting 3 points into Justice Punch is mainly for the cooldown. You need to make sure your Justice Punch is up for every Bone Skewer, Death Sentence, and Rocket Grab. The CD is reduced tremendously, and the damage scaling is A LOT as well.

10% of the time Level Up Order

Rarely should you max your Shield of Durand right off the bat. But there still are situatons where you would. Maxing after the first 3 levels is only necessesary when there is NOTHING you can do in the game. You can't win lane because they are strong or you are being camped, and there's no roam potential because you have a weak early game. If and only if these factors are prevelent shoudl you max Shield of Durand for the additional resistences.

Starting Items

For obvious reasons, you should start the AP support item, Relic Shield. Spellthief's Edge is inconsistent, meaning you won't reliably stack it in a good amount of time. Plus, the HP from relic is very nice. Be sure to try to use relic stacks to manipulate the wave to your advantage - use it to get level 2 before your opponents.

start - always nice - I recommend this item in any game, any situation that you are EVEN or AHEAD in. It costs 350g which is decently cheap. It gives fine stats for the price, plus you have the chance of stacking it for more. Galio does really well with early game AP (he falls off after an item and a half- that's his peak damage efficiency). This item is valuable even if you don't think you can stack it. You lost 210 gold on a resale, which is less than 3 pink wards. It's worth it.

Boot Selection

Galio gets a wide variety of Boots to choose from with almost no wrong answer. It is best to rush tier 2 boots, regardless of which ones you pick. Early game stats are unequivocal, and the movement helps tremendously in your laning endeavors. Tier 1 boots are always a first buy must have.

If the majority of the damage on the enemy team is AD, go plated. Define Majority: Take a look at at their team. Count how many of them do damage - ignore the support if they are an enchanter. Ignore Jungle and top if they are purely tank. Then count how many do AD, how many do AP. If it's a tie, go Plated Steelcaps if they don't have Crowd Control, and go Mercury's Treads if they do. Against champions like Leona, these boots come in clutch. If there are 3 or more serious CCs on the other team, go Mercury's Treads. Plus, the Tenacity reduces the slow of your W. Even if they are heavy AP, but have no crowd control, Plated Steelcaps may still be the move. Don't go Mercury's Treads for the Magic Resist. Only go if you have multiple front liners on your team - meaning you will not be the only one taking damage. Boots of Swiftness are GREAT for reducing the slow on your W, which allows for great gap closer, but leaves you squishy. If you aren't taking the brunt of the damage, they may be the best build! Similar to Swifties, only build these if you are not the only front liner, or if your job is to PEEL PEEL PEEL. If you are only worrying about (1) assassin, you don't need resistance boots. I would not suggest these for support Galio, though mid lane galio these are almost a must. If you are confident and an experienced Galio player, go for it. Otherwise, avoid. They are VERY punishing's if you don't know the extent of Galio's ability. HAHAHA no.

Against All Attack Damage Based Champions

Here is where Galio gets FUN.

Galio is great as a support because he can fill so many different roles depending on the game. Tank, Peel, Engage, DPS, CC, cross map SAVIOR. As support, he synergizes amazingly with many defensive items.

When you are against an all AD team comp, itemization gets very straight forward - ARMOR ARMOR ARMOR.
Bramble Vest will be your first, most efficient purchase. Regardless if the other team has insane healing or not, getting this piece first is powerful. The stats are great for a 800g piece, for starters. Not only that, but Thornmail scales off of bonus Armor, meaning every purchase going forward is multiplied.

After buying this (and plated Plated Steelcaps) ask yourself - is my ADC (or APC) in danger of getting one shot? Are there assasins'? If so, start building your Locket of the Iron Solari (start with Kindlegem, HP is better at the start of game, plus CDR is nice). If the answer is no, there's no burst damage or assasins' to worry about, go ahead and finish off your Thornmail. You WILL be unkillable.

If started Locket of the Iron Solari, go Thornmail second.

If started Thornmail and deemed that Locket of the Iron Solari not to be a priority, then consider going Evenshroud or skipping straight to a non mythic item, such as Dead Man's Plate or Zhonya's Hourglass.

Am I the only front line? Am I the one who starts the fight, or has to stand in front of my whole team in a team fight? (i.e. there are no other tanks or front liners on your team, or just 1). If Yes, build Evenshroud, followed by Zhonya's Hourglass.

Am I on peel duty? Are there multiple assassins' or divers that will be fixated on focusing my carry? If yes, build Evenshroud and Knight's Vow.

Am I looking to make picks and do damage? If yes, Dead Man's Plate. If you go this route, you need other tanks or front liners on your team to soak up DPS.

- Good against Pyke and if you are the only front long. If you are the only front line, it helps to stall the fight after you engage to let your team help, make room for yourself, and allows for your Justice Punch to come off of cooldown. - Doesn't work if you are the main engager. If there are multiple enemies focusing you, you will not get much value out of Knight's Vow, in fact it will hurt you more than it helps. It redirects damage from an ally to you - if you are already taking the brunt of everything, you ARE already redirecting the damage to you. It is best for assassins/protecting hyper carries ( Aphelios, Vayne, Jinx, Twitch). Additionally, if you have 2 front linters on your team (tanks or hard engagers), you can swing this item without losing value. - Always a great call. I frequently rush a Dead Man's Plate first item. It's great for gap closer, the auto attack slow is huge for landing your Justice Punch or Shield of Durand, the damage is nice, and the stats are great. Overall, a great item. A frequent question I get is "Isn't that item only good for roaming," which is a very valid question. My response is as follows. Galio lacks cooldowns, meaning that if you use an ability it NEEDS to land and be good. If you miss your Shield of Durand, you become real useless real fast. The movement speed that Dead Man's Plate gives allows for no punish to mobility when charging Shield of Durand. It guarantees purchase. Additionally, the stats come with 45 armor and 300 hp. These stats may not be as much as a Frozen Heart or Warmog's Armor, but they are enough to remain alive. The mobility it gives more than makes up for it. The mobility this provides makes up for Galio's uselessness when he missed abilities. When level 13 hits, get the Vigilant Wardstone. It's unmatched in utility, and the stats aren't half bad. Don't get it before, though. Not worth the money. Only get if you have no high priority items to purchase.

3rd or 4th Item

Your third and 4th item becomes very situational. Ask yourself - What do we need? Is your carry dying a lot? If so, consider that Knight's Vow. . Do you need to be tankier? Do you need an Anathema's Chains for their one SUPER STRONG CARRY - how are you dying? If there are multiple AD carries, go Frozen Heart or Randuin's Omen. The world is your oyster at this stage of the game, build what helps and go with your gut.

Against All Ability Power Champs

If you are against an all AP team, you are SET for a good time.

First Buy: Mercury's Treads. Follow this up with a Negatron Cloak. Stacking early MR will make you an unkillable force with how well Galio synergizes with MR.

Your inventory should look like this - Mercury's Treads, Negatron Cloak, Pot/Refillable, Control Ward and perhaps a Dark Seal.

Finish your Force of Nature here for your first tiem, even before your mythic - it's that powerful. Once stacked, you get 20% reduced Magic Damage plus movement speed that in VITAL in kiting and keeping up with the enemies.

Once you have this down, it's time to look at the game as a whole. Similar to the ALL AD team comp, ask yourself, is your carry dying fast? Multiple assassins' or divers? If so, go Locket of the Iron Solari. Keeping them alive is ideal. AP dealers typically rely on burst ( Evelynn Syndra Orianna Veigar, etc.). Building a Locket of the Iron Solari will help a lot.

Is your carry fine? Are you in charge of being the front line, or front lining with someone else? If that's the case, once again forget about a mythic and start stacking MR items.

	- First build if you have an all AP team - the stats are great and the passive is unmatched. It empowers your whole team while giving you AMAZING stats and damage reduction. Build it 2nd or 3rd if you have 2 or 3 AP team members. Not Worth if your team has 1 or less AP.
	- Extends CC duration and reduces up to 30% damage from a designated target. Never go wrong building this item. Best into comps that have (1) damage dealer of AP or AD, while the rest of the team is the other. Best into comps with 1 designated carry. Best into (1) assassin comp - allows you to lockdown the assassin so that your carry can live and make distant.
	- Always good. RUSH into all AP RUSH into Soraka, Yuumi, Warwick, Sona, things of their nature. Build (don't rush) into any comp with 2+ ADs.
	- Not a big fan of. Galio Ult is far too long to get too much value from it. Only time you build it is if you team is 100% reliant on team fights.
	- My personal favorite that I rush 90% of games. Don't build into AD light comps. BEST into multiple AD comps. BEST if you DONT have to peel carry BEST if you are roaming/moving around the map a lot BEST if you are looking to make picks Don't build if you are on peel duty, meaning there are plenty of assasins or backline divers. It's better to put money into Mythic items or Knight's Vow.
	- Situational - Only build if you are going Predator - if you are going Predator you have decided that you are on "pick" duty or damage duty. Pairs well with Ingenious Hunter.
	- First build if their team is all AP or all but 1 AP Go 2nd or 3rd if they only have 2 or less AP BEST when you are primary engage/frontline. Don't build if 1 or less AP threat.
	- BEST into all AD comp, or 3+ AD BEST if they have multiple AD carries (ADC, Graves, Kindred, Teemo, etc.) Attack speed based champ will suffer. Don't build if on peel duty. Don't build if you are the only engage/front line. Other items will be needed instead - the lack of HP pool will kill you. Don't build if they have 1 or less AD threats.
	- Don't build. The shield given does not last long enough to make it worth while - though the stats are GREAT, the passives from other items and effects make it pale in comparison. You never get to stack enough bonus HP to make it worth.
	- I do not recommend this item UNLESS you are the ONLY AP on the team. At this point, you are taking on the role of damage dealer, not support. Leave it to mid Galio.
	- GREAT when you have a hyper carry ( Vayne, Twitch, Jinx) GREAT When you are on peel duty. Bad when you are the only frontline - you will die so fast and it will not be worth it. This item gets value when your carry is being targeted, not when YOU are being targeted.
	- Locket is a fine, safe item to go. If you are ever unsure on what to build, you can NOT go wrong with getting a locket. Evenshroud is better in the current meta, but if you are starting out and wanna play more safe, 100% go locket. Just be sure to use the active!
	- Only build if into an all AD team. Build this instead of frozen heart for the extra HP Best against Crit based champs - Yasuo, Yone, Jhin
	- Never go. It's not worth it. Galio doesn't synergize with healing, making this item obtainable only for it's stats, which can be gain with abyssal mask and then some.
	- ALWAYS GO if they have 3+ AD damage dealers. ALWAYS GO if they have healers (soraka, yuumi, etc.) Consider going if you are the front line - the stats or wonderful and stack well with bonus AD. Consider going if they have auto attack threats. Never go if they are all or mostly an AP comp.

For engage support enemies, it is vital that they make the first move. Whether it's Leona or Alistar, you have to wait for their engage before you use your abilities. In general melee range engage matchups, the first one to pull the trigger typically loses the trade. Below are specifics on all matchups.

Alistar This is a fun matchup, in my opinion. Galio serves as a counter in lane to Alistar as well as in team fight. The only thing that Alistar has an edge on is his ability to roam and he has a better engage. Laning: Galio serves as a block to Alistar. Anytime Alistar engages either on the support or a carry, Galio kit allows him to buffer and cancel/delay the full combo. If Alistar is running at you, charge your Shield of Durand. As soon as Alistar hits you with his Headbutt, the taunt drops, instantly Crowd Controlling him and not allowing him to use his Pulverize. Additionally, you can buffer your Justice Punch. By pressing E as soon as Alistar begin his combo, your dash will still go off, thus knocking Alistar into the air for as long as you are crowd controlled. Team Fights: your job in team fight is to allow Alistar to engage first. Once he combos, you superimpose yourself between their backline and your front line which allows for the Alistar combo to stall out, thus mitigating the engage.

Blitzcrank Galio serves as a counter to Blitzcrank if you can get the timing of your Justice Punch down. With good timing, you can take every Rocket Grab to the face and dash away to safety, or Justice Punch buffer to knock him up immediately and dodge his Rocket Grab. See my youtube video in this guide for how that interaction works - linked above in the chapter labeled "Abilities - Leveling and Using." Laning: Sit on your ADC. Take every hook for them. If Blitzcrank uses his hook, immediately turn on to the enemy ADC, whether Blitzcrank misses or hits. Blitzcrank provides nothing if he doesn't have his Q ability up. As long as you turn on the enemy carry when Blitzcrank you or your carry, you should win the fight.

Braum This guy does a good job in making Galio life difficult. His slow negates your engage and catch potential, and his stun renderes you dead. But piece of advice here - if you get marked, run, if he missed his Winter's Bite, look for the fight. Past that, look to peel your. Don't engage first, reactively engage. Laning: Be patient and don't force things. His early game is a bit better. Call for jungler ganks - with a jungle the fight becomes easy. Try not to roam too much or your ADC is possibly going to be dove.

Shen This is going to be the same guidelines as Leona. Wait for him to make the first move, then make yours. If this is a game where you go go Predator (such as you have 1 or 2 tanks on your team already), go Ultimate Hunter for your ult cooldown. Helps you match the Shen cross map plays. Don't stress about chasing him though if you don't have to - if Shen leave botlane, it's DIVE DIVE DIVE onto the enemy ADC and punishes.

Nautilus This is a very difficult matchup if you don't have the Justice Punch mechanics down. It is possible to buffer the Dredge Line with Justice Punch, but the timing is tough. Instead, whenever the Dredge Line comes to you, simply Justice Punch right into him. The interaction knocks up Nautilus enough to where you can walk away before he auto attacks you. See clips below. As always, save your cooldowns until Nautilus engages. If he missed his hook, gogogogogogogo!

Poppy A very touch matchup. you can NOT Justice Punch around her unless you know for sure her Steadfast Presence is off cooldown. Use the same logic at Leona to buffer her engages, and go from there. Play reactive.

Sett Decently easy matchup. Wait for his engage, then turn. He's a sitting Duck and can't probvoide anything past his intial burst.

Janna This is an annoying matchup, though not impossible. She's very good at stopping your engage, meaning you shouldn't try. Go Second Wind or even Predator and look for roams. If you get close enough to taunt her, she dies, but that probably won't happen. Look for opportunities on the map to roam - she has low kill pressure which means your ADC is able to 2v1 the lane while you get river control, roam with jungler, or gank mid. Highly recommend Predator.

Galio is inherently at a disadvantage when it comes to enchanter supports due to their range, sustain, and shielding in lane. This does not mean these are losing matchups by any means. Second Wind will be your go to rune with Aftershock. If you got Glacial Augment (which you can) be sure to go Hextech Flashtraption and Nimbus Cloak so as to gap closer and be able to engage on them. In these lanes, you want to be looking for the engage. Go Sweeping Lens to start and take control of the bushes in lane. By sweeping their wards, you are able to stay as close to them as possible without taking any poke or harass from them. Additionally, your team fighting early is stronger, meaning you should be calling for ganks, fights in river, fights around objectives, and roams where you can.
Laning: Be sure to focus down the ADC UNLESS it's a Soraka lane, where you will focus down Soraka.
Team fights: You offer more in terms of crowd control and team fight capabilities. Don't be shy to start fights.
Specific matchup details are below.

Karma One of the more brutal matchups. Her mobility keeps her ahead of your engages, while her short cooldowns and decent range keeps you off the wave and poked down. Second Wind is a must. If you have an Ezreal, Vayne. or Jinx that scale really well, consider leaving lane often to help your team on the map. Without jungler help, the odds of you getting kills in lane is low. For the times you are in lane, get a Sweeping Lens and control the bushes on the side.

Renata A rough matchup. Renata's Q Handshake does very well at thrawrting your engages. If it's on cooldown, that's your window to engage. If not, just wait and play safe. Second Wind is a must. If you have an Ezreal, Vayne. or Jinx that scale really well, consider leaving lane often to help your team on the map. Without jungler help, the odds of you getting kills in lane is low. For the times you are in lane, get a Sweeping Lens and control the bushes on the side.

Lulu Brutal matchup. You can't charge your Shield of Durand unless her polymorph is down. If you are in melee range you CAN charge it, though, because if she Whimsy you, the taunt automatically drops and crowd controls her. Past that, focus her in team fights, but leave her alone in lane and try to poke her for with Winds of War - you should have 3 points in the ability in this lane. Morgana - All you can do in this lane is take Dark Binding by standing in front of your ally and press your E [[justice punch] before point of impact, so you still dash away while take the root. Nami - If she E's her ally, back off. If any of her cooldowns are down, looks for a fights. She's very squishy. It's ok to focus her over the ADC because of how quickly she dies. If you think her Aqua Prison or Tidal Wave is going to hit you, use your Justice Punch right before impact to buffer the crowd control and dash away.

Rakan Rakan is tough. You can taunt him out of the air with your Shield of Durand, but it takes perfect timing which is rough. General rule - if he uses The Quickness and starts running at you, immediately start charging your Shield of Durand. The moment you are charmed, the taunt drops and both of you are stunned for a second to 1.5 seconds. It slows down his engage and can even cancel his Grand Entrance. Sona - You win lane hard. Be agressive - if you taunt her she dies. She out scales and becomes very powerful alte - if you ever see a chance to crowd control her, go for it. Could when you the fight. Focus her in lane, your full combo will over half hp her.

Soraka Rough lane - You can't charge Shield of Durand unless she uses your silence first. Look for jungle ganks or to roam on the map. A great game to go Predator. Yuumi - Galio counters Yuumi at the start of the game, but once she gets 1 item it's kind of doomed. To combat this, you have to win lane. Anytime Yuumi is out of their ADC, consider flashing or engage. Don't need to charge you taunt long - any Crowd control make it to where she can't rejoin an ally for 5 seconds. Consider going Glacial Augment and Hextech Flashtraption.

Bard Bard serves as a counter to Galio. He out roams, out ranges, and has better mobility. Best thing to do here is to keep your waves pushing in as much as possible to keep bard in lane. If he's ever gets in range, go for the engage. If he roams, push your lane and dive their ADC. Unless you have Predator, you can't match his roams so don't try. Win bot. Bonus: Here is a clip of Galio Justice Punch interaction with Bard Tempered Fate. See my Youtube video in this guide explaining how to buffer Crowd Control with Justice Punch. Even in stasis, you can still dash forward, knockup, and apply damage.

Pantheon He is not a great support, but he can snowball a game if you aren't careful. He will either look to roam all game or fight non stop. If he roams you HAVE to call out each roam for your team. You do not need to follow - simply kill the ADC left behind. If he stays and fights, you HAVE to safe your cooldowns until AFTER he jumps on you or your AD. Follow the guidelines mentioned with Leona in this situation. You outscale and he falls off if he can't get kills early. Pyke - This is a fun matchup because Galio counters Pyke hard. Your Justice Punch can nullify his Bone Skewer, and even allow you to hijack the hook for and coutner engage. See my youtube video on how to properly use Galio Justice Punch above in the Chapter titled: Abilities: Leveling up and Using. Highly recomend going Zhonya's Hourglass in this lane as a support.

Senna one of the worst matchups. Don't trade or walk up - letting her farm souls off you will cost you the game. Go Predator and roam mid and with jungler to win the game. Shaco - Start Sweeping Lens and you win. Taric - At the moment, the champ is awful. Just ignore him and focus the enemy carry and you'll when every fight. Thresh - Never engage first on Thresh. His Flay makes that impossible. Stand on your ADC and take every [death sentence]] to the face while using Justice Punch to buffer it. See my video on how to use Justice Punch correctly. You may not be able to kill him in lane, but get to make him incredibly useless the whole game. *

If any of the above champions ever uses part of his combo and misses, look for the engage. It's the best way to counter mage supports. Make sure you are playing on a parallel line or in triangle (see picture) with your ADC so they aren't stuck taking all of the skill shots. More information on that type of positioning below. Mage support are very easy to deal with if you capitalize on their cooldowns. If they miss a skill shot, you pressure and play up and look for a engage.


Take bush control. Looking for opening when they miss their abilities. Past that, go Second Wind and chill. Additionally, this is a fine time to bring out the Predator Galio. In this lane, you typically get poked down and can't do much unless the enemy mis plays. Counter this by playing the map, roaming, following your jungler around, securing objectives, and ganking mid.

- If he misses any part of his combo, go in. - If her Light Binding is down, go in. - if his Nevermove is down, go in. honestly, even if it's up, go in anyways. He's very weak in lane. - Rough lane. If he misses his abilities, go in. With their short cooldown, it may be best to roam and play for the jungle. - If he ever gets close enough to engage on, go. He melts. Otherwise, look to roam and make plays on the map. Predator is good here. - His Time Warp is a massive counter to you. Ask for your jungler to gank often or just roam. - If her Grasping Roots are ever off cooldown, GOGOGOGOGOGO. Free kill. Otherwise, just chill and scale.

Please comment

on this guide with any questions or clarifying points!
If you disagree or don't understand or if I missed something, I will add it here or in the guide! I want to be constantly updated this guide.

Any reason you don't take Shield Bash? With your w passive you constantly have the increased mr and armor from Shield Bash and a little bit of extra dmg. Let me know!

Ya! I talked about it very briefly, happy to elaborate. I very much like going Shield Bash into double AD botlane, or champs like Leona, Alistar, Sett, Nautilus, and Blitzcrank. Shield Bash, I've found, with Galio isn't about the extra damage - it's really hard to get that extra damage consistently with the cooldown. It's best for the small resistances it gives, which is only worth it if it STAYS on, which it will for the most part in the above matchups. I compare Galio going Shield Bash to Bone Plating - use is similar situations.

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