Galio

Overview

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Galio! Best known for his ultimate allowing him to drop from the sky onto a teammate from across the map, Galio is a tanky mid laner that brings both damage and frontline to your team. Click here for the latest data on his best builds, including Runes, Items, Summoner Spells, and more. 

Top 3 Things to Remember About Galio

1. Hero’s Entrance can easily turn a fight in your favor as long as you are proactive -- using it on a low health ally only for them to die while you’re still in the cast animation could mean you’re just donating a kill to the enemy. 

2. While Galio can deal big chunk of damage, he’s typically better suited at providing support damage and utility as opposed to beelining for an enemy carry. Play more to disrupt enemy positioning in team fights! 

3. Between his passive and Winds of War, Galio brings a good amount of wave clear to the table that will enable you to lean to the sides of the map in the early game with your ultimate at hand.

Strengths

Galio brings a lot of CC to the table, and if you are able to land everything, it can be really easy for your team to follow up and finish off opponents. This is coupled with the fact that Galio also brings an unexpected amount of damage to the table, depending on what items he leans towards. In a pinch, you can also lean more towards tank items to give your team some extra front line if that’s what they need. Ultimately, though, having an ultimate ability that can come in from across the map means you’ll have more leverage on side lanes and make it much harder for the enemy team to find a pick. 

Weaknesses

As a melee champion, he can be extremely susceptible to being kited out if he’s unable to land his Justice Punch. There will be times where you try to go in and the opposing team will side step it or use Flash, and then you will feel like a sitting duck. Galio is also a bit reliant on his team being able to properly play with him -- sometimes you’ll ult onto someone and they will abandon you instead of turning to fight. 

Game Plan 

1. Early Game: As a melee champion, you need to be wary of being poked out until you’re able to threaten a trade with all your abilities online. Once they are, though, you can find favorable trades with Justice Punch. 

2. Mid Game: Clear your wave as quickly as possible and then lean towards where you think action might happen. Following up on a Jungle gank or countering the enemy is where Galio truly finds value. 

3. Late Game: Look to keep side lane waves in pushing in your favor while always being ready to jump in with Hero’s Entrance to support your team.