One of the hardest matchups, she has high range and poke and disengage. These things all in one ADC are a major counter to kogmaw. You need to get push in a lane vs caitlyn, so she cant harass you as much. If you are getting pushed in, then there is little you can do so try and avoid leashing and go to lane level 1 and try to hard push the lane, you can start q if you need to in order to help push the wave faster.
Ezreal
One of the hardest matchups, he has high range and poke and disengage. These things all in one ADC are a major counter to kogmaw. You need to get push in a lane vs ezreal, so he cant harass you as much. If you are getting pushed in, then there is little you can do so try and avoid leashing and go to lane level 1 and try to hard push the lane, you can start q if you need to in order to help push the wave faster.
Miss Fortune
One of the hardest matchups, she has poke and can easily harass you through the minion waves with her q due to your low base auto attack range. She also has an ability which gives her movespeed (her w) and she has a slow (her e), which allow her to easily disengage or chase you. Ideally you need an engage or a poke support to have success vs miss fortune however if you dont, similarly to caitlyn and ezreal you need to try and avoid being pushed in, but you dont wanna push into her very heavily either. Try and setup a freeze as best you can or keep the lane neutral to limit her ability to harass you with her q through the wave
Senna
One of the hardest matchups, she has high range, a slow, and poke + sustain in one and disengage tools + cc. These things all in one ADC are a major counter to kogmaw. You need to get push in a lane vs senna if possible so that she cant harass you as much. If you are getting pushed in, then there is little you can do so try and avoid leashing and go to lane level 1 and try to hard push the lane, you can start q if you need to in order to help push the wave faster. Try and avoid trading with her unless its an all in as she will generally out sustain you no matter your support due to her q healing
Ashe
One of the hardest matchups, she has high range and poke and slows to help her easily disengage or run you down when your w is on cooldown. You need to be very careful of when you use your W vs ashe as you are most vulnerable when it is down against her and she can perma slow you and force an all in easily. Against ashe you can choose to get push in a lane but its not completely necessary, just try to avoid being harassed too much and only take good trades when your w and q are up and ideally your e to slow her so she cant outspace you with her slows.
Aphelios
Aphelios matchup is generally a skill matchup, you wanna try and avoid getting harassed through the wave by his green gun range, and his blue gun's aoe through the wave. Also be very careful of when he has purple gun as without cleanse you will be very vulnerable to getting stunned into death if ganked or not in a very ideal fight. When he has red white although he is strong this is when you are best vs him if you can outspace him during his red q and not let him gapclose with its movespeed as during red white his range is very low, so you can space him easily and outrange him so he cant fight back properly. Generally this lane try to keep in a neutral state you dont want to hardshove or get shoved in as shoving in aphelios doesnt provide alot other then risk for you for the most part
Corki
No current notes on corki as I have a low sample size playing against it
Draven
Draven matchup is primarily support dependent. If draven gets a lead early he will stomp you, however if you can make it to 1 item with a lead, you stomp him beyond 1 item until he gets about 3+ items and can start 2 shotting you. If you are even at 1 item its a skill matchup but slightly favoured for you, do not try and trade him if he has his w and your e is on cooldown, wait for it to negate his ability to w at you and run you down. Also be careful of his e it is often overlooked how easily this spell can allow him to force all ins, and draven will beat you in full blown all ins especially before 1 item. But again this is probably the most support/jg dependent matchup kogmaw has as it can go either way depending on your sup, and his sup and who's jungle plays more around botlane. Dont be scared to play agressive or passive early depending on what the support matchup is. If you are struggling alot vs this matchup you can build plated steelcaps (ninja tabis)
Jhin
Jhin is a skill matchup unless he has a extremely high damage poke support like zyra/velkoz. If he has these supports the matchup becomes extremely favoured for jhin and super hard for kog. If he has one of those 2 either dodge the game or try to go even or win within the first few levels through playing very agressive. If he doesnt have the support class previously mentioned as his sup, then its a skill matchup. Always be thinking about his w as you need to sidestep this. You can walk into his traps to bait his w and then sidestep accordingly. You beat jhin heavily in all ins, so try to only take all ins and dont get poked out.
Kai'Sa
One of kogmaws best matchups, you outrange her and outdamage her if she cannot get isolated q's on you/free poke with her w. If you fall behind it can be hard but just try and space her at your max w range and use your e to counter her e and you should be fine and not find much difficulty as you heavily outrange her and she cant easily gapclose on you until mid-lategame with enough damage to 1shot you
Kalista
Kalista is a skill matchup, if you go even you generally outscale her but winning early can be tricky. Try to play safer in this lane and only play agressive if she makes mistakes
Lucian
Against lucian if possible i often run ghost barrier as barrier severely negates his all in potential and burst trade pattern. Dont be afraid to use barrier even at high HP if he e's into you. You do not want to let him repeat his e burst trade pattern and poke you out into lethal range. You want to take all ins when you are above 70%hp and dont let him freely e in without getting ran down
Nilah
Nilah matchup is hard as she can use her w to block your w auto attacks. You ideally want to zone her off the first few waves if possible to deny her xp as she is weak level 1. Constantly harass her with poke but be aware of her all in potential as she will destroy you in all ins if she can get in range of you. Space very well and poke/harass
Samira
Samira matchup is generally easy if you dont get engaged on, you outrange her. Constantly harass her with your w and look for all ins if she is below 50%hp. Be careful of her windwall and note that your R can go through her windwall so try and time your R when she windwalls but be careful of her dashing out of your R with her e. You win this matchup extremely hard pre-6. At 6 it can become difficult if you struggle to poke her out, but just make sure you are always trying to harass her at your max w range and using ur r/q to poke
Sivir
Before sivir gets atleast 1000+gold you beat her extremely hard. Once she gets some AD however she can easily spam clear the wave and you must accept this. Try and force all ins and play very agressive in the first few levels. Do not level E against sivir as she can block it with her spellshield, and never use your q until she has wasted spellshield. You do not need to unlock R against her either you can just put points into q and w strictly until midgame
Smolder
One of kogmaws best matchups, you simply outdamage and outrange smolder, the only thing you need to worry about is not getting hit by his w as it will slow you and if you try to trade you may get slowed and then harassed by the enemy wave/support but you beat him at all stages of the game damagewise until very late when hes max passive stacks with alot of items
Tristana
Tristana counters kogmaw as she outdamages him at basically every stage of the game, and can force all ins into you and then at 6 she can R you away if she is going to die and force your W to go onto cd. Against tristana try and be very careful with how you use your spells because if you miss one q or waste w once she will jump onto you and destroy you. Certain sups like lulu/braum/naut make this matchup more tolerable
Twitch
Pre-6 kogmaw is slightly stronger then twitch however twitch can use his w and q both to disengage from you when you use your W which generally allows him to get through the early levels easily. Past 6 twitch generally just outdamages you and outranges you slightly and can come out of stealth at any time. Be respectful of this. Vs twitch try to win the pre-6 or atleast outfarm him and zone him well without getting poked and then past 6 make sure any fights you take with him are all ins from 100% of your hp. Any less then 100% and you will likely lose the all in even if you are even or slightly ahead of him. AGAIN ONLY TAKE FIGHTS FROM 100%HP PAST HIS LEVEL 6 AS ALL INS, nothing less then 100%hp is winning for you for the most part.
Varus
Lethality varus heavily counters kogmaw, and you should treat that matchup like the ezreal matchup so refer to that. Onhit varus however is a skill matchup, you should win 100%hp all ins however below this hp threshhold is less ideal. Not much to say about this matchup other then only take good trades and dont get poked out too easily, and if he has an engage sup do not get engaged on as varus even onhit varus is a strong earlygame bully however its not as bad as like a kalista/draven early all in so just play smart.
Vayne
Kogmaw generally counters vayne however she outscales you so dont fall behind earlygame. Try to harass her from your max w range and force her to tumble in and then look for all ins. She will try to poke you out with pta procs and tumbles similarly to a lucian so just try and force all ins if she dashes in.
Xayah
You want to try to poke out xayah and harass her with your w but be extremely careful. If you get rooted by her e she will all in you and win most likely. You want to try and poke her out and then look for an all in but always be very careful of her e and try to avoid getting hit by too many feathers with it ESPECIALLY if she has an engage sup like rakan. You can also just go even and somewhat outscale in the mid-lategame if the rest of their teamcomp is good for you. Play at your max w range ALWAYS and try to poke. Xayah suffers vs heavy poke as she is designed to excell in all ins especially past level 6
Zeri
Kogmaw generally tends to statcheck and outrange zeri. Harass with your W, the only way to lose this matchup is to find yourself poked out and then bursted by her R and auto e auto + w combos, however any full hp all ins you should win. Try and avoid chasing her unless you can gurantee forcing your autos with w as when zeri is kiting backwards she essentially has higher range then you due to how her q functions. You wanna force all ins where your dps is constantly outputted and not negated by her kiting away.
Ziggs
dodge the game. This champ will make you wanna break your monitor
Jinx
One of kogmaws best matchups as long as you don’t get hit by her w and then spaced you will win every single trade. You match her range with w and significantly outdps her early-midgame
Lulu
Lulu provides peel, shields, movespeed, onhit affects, and healing (her r) and is the perfect syngergy for amplifying a kogmaw to do what he excels at. PLEASE ASK YOUR LULU'S TO RUSH STAFF OF FLOWING WATER, AND NEVER BUILD ARDENT. ARDENT IS A BAIT ITEM, STAFF IS JUST BETTER
Milio
similarly to lulu, millio provides peel, shields, movespeed, damage, and healing with a cleanse (his r) and is a great blind-pick with kogmaw as he can sustain you, and give you range to deal with some of the more difficult pokey matchups whilst also being good against other enchanters and engage supports. PLEASE ASK YOUR MILLIO'S TO RUSH STAFF OF FLOWING WATER, AND NEVER BUILD ARDENT. ARDENT IS A BAIT ITEM, STAFF IS JUST BETTER
Brand
Useless with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios
Braum
The ideal support especially in higher elos if your team needs more frontline, and he heavily counters virtually all engage supports. Braum makes kogmaw super strong in the earlygame due to his passive, do not be afraid to play extremely agressive earlygame with a braum especially vs melee supports/adcs that lack disengage
Yuumi
Yuumi is pretty much just a worse version of lulu with kogmaw but can be situationally better as yuumi provides more flat survivability but less peel. PLEASE ASK YOUR YUUMI'S TO RUSH STAFF OF FLOWING WATER, AND NEVER BUILD ARDENT. ARDENT IS A BAIT ITEM, STAFF IS JUST BETTER
Soraka
Nothing specific to say about soraka, shes an enchanter that sustains and funnels kogmaw which is always good for kogmaws hypercarry playstyle
Renata Glasc
Renata is good with kogmaw as she helps with his weakness of getting bursted with her w, and allows you as kogmaw to just full send it forward into the enemy until you get that w reset from renata through a kill.
Rakan
Rakan has good setup and peel for kogmaw and is always a strong pick
Zyra
Useless with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios
Zilean
Nothing specific to say about zilean, hes an enchanter that can give you MS and funnels kogmaw which is always good for kogmaws hypercarry playstyle
Xerath
Useless with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios
Thresh
thresh has good setup and peel for kogmaw and is always a strong pick
Taric
Only really good vs melee sups, but braum is just a better version of taric with kogmaw to be honest
Swain
Not really specifically good with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios, but he does have some cc and slows which can give you some setup/peel
Sona
Probably one of the less synergetic enchanters with kogmaw as she has limited cc and has the same vulnerabilities that kogmaw does vs burst/poke/assasins other then her R being good vs assasins she kinda is just a 2nd free to dive target
Seraphine
Not really specifically good with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios, but she does have some cc and slows and shields/heals which can give you some setup/peel
Senna
Senna isnt very useful for kogmaw, but earlygame you can fight really hard 2v2 with a senna vs most lanes but past the earlylevels and especially mid-lategame she is kinda useless for kog and provides 0 synergy
Rell
Has engage and cc, but thats about it. Her cc is used for engage or for peel she generally has to commit to one or the other so you can be left vulnerable when she engages sometimes, but she does have good setup and engage is never bad with kogmaw
Pyke
Pyke and kogmaw is a suprisingly strong combo earlygame skirmishes/2v2s and is actually one of the best supports you can have in the earlygame. He generally sets you up for success but provides less usefulness mid-lategame so make sure you perform early!
Pantheon
kinda just a worse version of pyke with kogmaw other then the fact that he's more reliable due to he just needs to point and click w. But a pyke is pretty much always gonna provide what a panth support does except pyke just does it better
Neeko
Not much to say about neeko, has some cc and setup but cant really keep you alive but isnt the worst sup with kogmaw
Nautilus
Not as good as rakan/thresh/pyke but is a reliable source of engage and has pretty good peel and setup. Overall a solid pick and falls under the same tier as alistar
Nami
If you snowball with a nami, you will be deleting people. Her E synergizes well with kogmaw's w and she provides movespeed/sustatin which help kogmaw. The only issue with nami is her peel is not very reliable and assassins will heavily counter kogmaw + nami
Morgana
Has cc and blackshield but this champ is kinda just useless.
Maokai
Probably the worst engage support you can have
Lux
A bit better then the poke sups such as velkoz/zyra/xerath but only barely. Lux is not very good with kogmaw at all but she isnt the worst
Leona
Good engage and cc, nothing too much to say shes a solid pick but nothing special
Karma
Karma is quite good with kogmaw, she provides movespeed poke and good setup for all ins with her w. She makes kogmaw stronger earlygame however she falls off later
Janna
Janna provides alot of what kogmaw wants, cc, healing, shielding, setup, however shes a bit worse then the top tier enchanters with kog (lulu/millio) as the AD her shield provides isnt the best on kogmaw as kogmaw doesnt utilize AD that well, and also she doesnt provide any movespeed unless she builds staff of flowing water
Blitzcrank
Good engage and cc, nothing too much to say shes a solid pick but nothing special
Ashe
Ashe isnt very useful for kogmaw, but earlygame you can fight really hard 2v2 with a ashe vs most lanes but past the earlylevels and especially mid-lategame she is kinda useless for kog and provides 0 synergy other then she has cc and setup and her e is good for vision scouting
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Lulu
Lulu provides peel, shields, movespeed, onhit affects, and healing (her r) and is the perfect syngergy for amplifying a kogmaw to do what he excels at. PLEASE ASK YOUR LULU'S TO RUSH STAFF OF FLOWING WATER, AND NEVER BUILD ARDENT. ARDENT IS A BAIT ITEM, STAFF IS JUST BETTER
Milio
similarly to lulu, millio provides peel, shields, movespeed, damage, and healing with a cleanse (his r) and is a great blind-pick with kogmaw as he can sustain you, and give you range to deal with some of the more difficult pokey matchups whilst also being good against other enchanters and engage supports. PLEASE ASK YOUR MILLIO'S TO RUSH STAFF OF FLOWING WATER, AND NEVER BUILD ARDENT. ARDENT IS A BAIT ITEM, STAFF IS JUST BETTER
Brand
Useless with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios
Braum
The ideal support especially in higher elos if your team needs more frontline, and he heavily counters virtually all engage supports. Braum makes kogmaw super strong in the earlygame due to his passive, do not be afraid to play extremely agressive earlygame with a braum especially vs melee supports/adcs that lack disengage
Yuumi
Yuumi is pretty much just a worse version of lulu with kogmaw but can be situationally better as yuumi provides more flat survivability but less peel. PLEASE ASK YOUR YUUMI'S TO RUSH STAFF OF FLOWING WATER, AND NEVER BUILD ARDENT. ARDENT IS A BAIT ITEM, STAFF IS JUST BETTER
Soraka
Nothing specific to say about soraka, shes an enchanter that sustains and funnels kogmaw which is always good for kogmaws hypercarry playstyle
Renata Glasc
Renata is good with kogmaw as she helps with his weakness of getting bursted with her w, and allows you as kogmaw to just full send it forward into the enemy until you get that w reset from renata through a kill.
Rakan
Rakan has good setup and peel for kogmaw and is always a strong pick
Zyra
Useless with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios
Zilean
Nothing specific to say about zilean, hes an enchanter that can give you MS and funnels kogmaw which is always good for kogmaws hypercarry playstyle
Xerath
Useless with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios
Thresh
thresh has good setup and peel for kogmaw and is always a strong pick
Taric
Only really good vs melee sups, but braum is just a better version of taric with kogmaw to be honest
Swain
Not really specifically good with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios, but he does have some cc and slows which can give you some setup/peel
Sona
Probably one of the less synergetic enchanters with kogmaw as she has limited cc and has the same vulnerabilities that kogmaw does vs burst/poke/assasins other then her R being good vs assasins she kinda is just a 2nd free to dive target
Seraphine
Not really specifically good with onhit kogmaw in most scenarios, but she does have some cc and slows and shields/heals which can give you some setup/peel
Senna
Senna isnt very useful for kogmaw, but earlygame you can fight really hard 2v2 with a senna vs most lanes but past the earlylevels and especially mid-lategame she is kinda useless for kog and provides 0 synergy
Rell
Has engage and cc, but thats about it. Her cc is used for engage or for peel she generally has to commit to one or the other so you can be left vulnerable when she engages sometimes, but she does have good setup and engage is never bad with kogmaw
Pyke
Pyke and kogmaw is a suprisingly strong combo earlygame skirmishes/2v2s and is actually one of the best supports you can have in the earlygame. He generally sets you up for success but provides less usefulness mid-lategame so make sure you perform early!
Pantheon
kinda just a worse version of pyke with kogmaw other then the fact that he's more reliable due to he just needs to point and click w. But a pyke is pretty much always gonna provide what a panth support does except pyke just does it better
Neeko
Not much to say about neeko, has some cc and setup but cant really keep you alive but isnt the worst sup with kogmaw
Nautilus
Not as good as rakan/thresh/pyke but is a reliable source of engage and has pretty good peel and setup. Overall a solid pick and falls under the same tier as alistar
Nami
If you snowball with a nami, you will be deleting people. Her E synergizes well with kogmaw's w and she provides movespeed/sustatin which help kogmaw. The only issue with nami is her peel is not very reliable and assassins will heavily counter kogmaw + nami
Morgana
Has cc and blackshield but this champ is kinda just useless.
Maokai
Probably the worst engage support you can have
Lux
A bit better then the poke sups such as velkoz/zyra/xerath but only barely. Lux is not very good with kogmaw at all but she isnt the worst
Leona
Good engage and cc, nothing too much to say shes a solid pick but nothing special
Karma
Karma is quite good with kogmaw, she provides movespeed poke and good setup for all ins with her w. She makes kogmaw stronger earlygame however she falls off later
Janna
Janna provides alot of what kogmaw wants, cc, healing, shielding, setup, however shes a bit worse then the top tier enchanters with kog (lulu/millio) as the AD her shield provides isnt the best on kogmaw as kogmaw doesnt utilize AD that well, and also she doesnt provide any movespeed unless she builds staff of flowing water
Blitzcrank
Good engage and cc, nothing too much to say shes a solid pick but nothing special
Ashe
Ashe isnt very useful for kogmaw, but earlygame you can fight really hard 2v2 with a ashe vs most lanes but past the earlylevels and especially mid-lategame she is kinda useless for kog and provides 0 synergy other then she has cc and setup and her e is good for vision scouting
Who am I?
My name is Avxm or you may know me as "German KogMaw" and I am a high elo Kog'Maw one trick who has played in both NA and EUW. I have peaked rank 1 Kog'Maw in the world with on numerous sites (leagueofgraphs.com, onetricks.gg, op.gg, etc) and can always hit it easily whenever I put in the time to do so.
Why read my guide?
With this guide I hope to show you all how I hit 90% winratemasters one tricking Kog'Maw, and how I reached grandmasters 530lp in 200 games so that way you can do the same and find major success playing Kog'Maw.
Too lazy to read?
If you do not wish to spend the time reading the remainder of this guide, you can always come talk to me on my stream at twitch.tv/avxm1v9 where I am currently attempting to climb to challenger with Kog'Maw only.
This remainder of this guide will be split into the following different sections:
1) My credentials for teaching you Kog'Maw
2) What is Kog'Maw's champion identity?
3) When is Kog'Maw good/bad? (all matchups)
4) Tips and tricks to succeed with Kog'Maw
5) How to climb with Kog'Maw at all ranks
1) My credentials for teaching you Kog'Maw
Achievements
Elo?
s10-s12: played toplane unranked
s12: First szn learning ad/kog, 70wr d4
s13 s1: Grandmasters 530lp
s13 s2: 90%wr masters, and low gm peak
s14 s1: 80%wr 200lp (430lp overall)
Soloq? or duoq abuser?
90%wr masters duoq lulu
81% wr masters soloq
200lp 80%wr soloq d1/master mmr start
46W-0L soloq iron start in s12
How old am I?
21 years old
2) What is Kog'Maw's champion identity?
Kog'Maw is a high-range onhit adc capable of some of the highest dps possible in league of legends. Kog'Maw is a hypercarry that can kill an entire team in the blink of an eye through the use of his strongest spell Bio-Arcane Barrage whenever he is allowed uptime during a fight. The reason Kog'Maw] is able to output so much damage is due to an interaction between Bio-Arcane Barrage and its synergy with Guinsoo's Rageblade. The percentage health magic damage from Bio-Arcane Barrage is an on-hit affect which can be procced 2 times instead of once every 3rd auto attack with Guinsoo's Rageblade once the item is stacked. This makes it extremely difficult to itemize defensively to survive against a Kog'Maw and makes him one of the best, if not the best tank killer in league of legends.
Kog'Maw excels especially when paired with enchanters that help keep him alive and allow him to force his dps. The most common examples of these enchanters that help Kog'Maw excel are Lulu , and Milio.
However, Kog'Maw is one of the most immobile and easy to kill champions in the game, as he has no real way to defend himself other then his massive raw dps output and lategame itemization. Kog'Maw lacks proper cc, movespeed, and many other essential things to help adc's survive their biggest threats.
The removal of Lethal Tempo has also hit Kog'Maw quite hard as your itemization has become much more limited due to the amount of attackspeed you can stack becoming more and more restricted, however I have found ways to work around this, ways which are shared within this guide.
Still want to learn Kog'Maw? If so, continue reading :)
3) When is Kog'Maw good/bad?
Kog'Maw thrives primarily into melee champs with low mobility, low range champs, and bruisers/tanks. Bio-Arcane Barrage gives you an 8 second timer to put out massive dps from very high range. However, as strong as Bio-Arcane Barrage is, it is essentially 80% of Kog'Maw's power which is a good and bad thing. This means when you are able to get full value out of it, it can be one of the most broken spells in the game, however if the enemy team is mobile or can prevent you from properly dps'ing with Bio-Arcane Barrage you become very vulnerable
This is why Kog'Maw does best into melee champs with low mobility, low range champs, and bruisers/tanks. These type of champs cannot easily escape Kog'Maw and unlike most adcs which take alot longer to kill a tanky champion compared to a non tanky champion, for the most part Kog'Maw essentially kills tanky champions almost as fast as non tanky champions, making Kog'Maw what I like to call the bane of all toplaners
The video below explains how kog functions into EVERY CHAMPION IN LEAGUE OF LEGENDS, including which champions Kog'Maw completely counters, and which champions completely counter Kog'Maw. It is primarily for those who are curious about any specific matchups that were not previously listed in this guide. A shorter more detailed video will also be coming soon with proper timestamps for all champions, however for now this has most of the information you will ever need on all of Kog'Maw's matchups. Whether you want to learn how to play Kog'Maw into certain champions, or how to beat Kog'Maw as a certain champion, this video is for you.
Rest of guide in progress
Rest of guide in progress, but the major details for builds and such are listed with major detail<3
S14 | Avxm/German KogMaw's Kog'Maw Guide | Grandmasters KogMaw |
Build Guide By Avxm
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