Kennen Mid Lane Wild Rift overview and best build snapshot
Best Build
Quick snapshot of the default setup for this guide.
Items
Summoner Spells
Spell 1
Flash
Spell 2
Ignite
How to play
Poke and stun before backing away Land your 1st ability, then use your 2nd ability to add another mark. Three marks from abilities or empowered attacks stun the enemy, giving you time to back away.
Push your wave before joining fights Move toward your jungler or a side lane when your ultimate is ready.
Reach the enemy team from the side Look for an ultimate that catches their damage dealers, with your teammates ready to follow.
Guide author
Royal
Royal has reached Rank 1 in EU and NA, and Legend and Sovereign on the Chinese server. Created by Royal with input from high elo and professional players and the WildRiftGuides Discord community.
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Strengths
- Fast energy regeneration and the refund from completing three marks support sustained pressure when he manages the bar well.
- Slicing Maelstrom (Ult) is a premier teamfight ultimate, applying up to three marks and stunning each clustered enemy once by itself.
- Shuriken (1st) poke and electrified attacks give him strong reach and waveclear, letting him shove and leave for plays.
Weaknesses
- Very squishy with no second escape, so once he commits he is stuck and easy to punish if the flank is read.
- Low burst before items means his solo kill pressure in lane is weak until he buys some power.
- Relies on landing the third mark for the stun; if enemies spread out, his lockdown threat drops hard.
Kennen Mid Lane Wild Rift best build, items, runes, summoner spells, and skill order
ITEM BUILD
Best Wild Rift build for Kennen Mid Lane, including items, runes, summoner spells, and skill order.
STARTING ITEM
Early ability power. He uses energy rather than mana, but repeated casts can still empty the bar, so land the third mark to recover energy and keep pressuring.
BOOTS
Magic penetration increases the damage of the abilities and empowered attack that apply Mark of the Storm (Passive). The marks themselves deal no damage; the third consumes all three to stun and restore energy.
CORE BUILD
One ultimate into a grouped fight easily does enough damage to trigger the mark, and the speed carries him back out.
Crits against low health targets, which turns the team his ultimate left low into kills.
Multiplies his ability power, and every tick of his ultimate scales with it.
Cuts the magic resist that lets enemies endure Slicing Maelstrom (Ult) long enough to escape or retaliate. Choose it over Cryptbloom when heavy magic resistance makes maximum ultimate damage the priority.
His ultimate keeps striking while he is untargetable, so stasis buys its full duration. Buy Seeker's Armguard early for the armor and ability power.
SITUATIONAL ITEMS
A second gap closer next to his E (3rd), so he reaches the backline and still has a dash to leave with.
Choose this when enemies have only moderate magic resist. Compared with Void Staff, Kennen trades some ultimate damage for haste that builds marks more often and an area heal after his engage earns a takedown.
Build this when the enemy has shields that keep absorbing the ultimate he dashed in to land.
Build this when the enemy heals through his ultimate. Buy Oblivion Orb early, since the anti-heal works from the component and the full item can wait.
Build this when crowd control would stop Kennen before he casts Slicing Maelstrom (Ult) or hold him away from priority targets. Once the storm is active it is not a channel and crowd control does not cancel it, though Kennen can still be displaced or killed.
RUNES
KEYSTONE
His shuriken, W (2nd) and an empowered attack are three separate hits, which is also three marks and a stun.
PRIMARY
His passive already builds toward an empowered attack that applies a mark, so another one fits directly.
His stun mark needs three hits on the same target, so the combo this rewards is one he is already doing.
His ultimate usually catches more than one target, so teamfights stack it several at a time.
SECONDARY
His trades happen at melee-ish range, so blunting the return burst is what keeps him on the wave.
SITUATIONAL RUNES
Fleet Footwork heals Kennen during ranged basic-attack poke and speeds the retreat, helping an energy-based lane bully preserve health for the eventual lightning-rush engage.
Take this over Bone Plating in safer lanes when grouped fights are the priority. Shorter Electrical Surge (2nd), Lightning Rush (3rd), and Slicing Maelstrom (Ult) cooldowns help Kennen prepare another stun sequence and keep an escape available between engages.
SUMMONER SPELLS
MAIN SPELLS
Flash
Must take. He has to walk into the enemy team to use his ultimate, so Flash is both the way in and the way out.
Ignite
Take this for early kill pressure in lane and on roams, since kills are what turn a mid lead into pressure on the rest of the map. The Grievous Wounds also makes it strong into champions with a lot of healing.
SKILL ORDER
Skill Priority Order
- 11st Ability
Q - 22nd Ability
W - 33rd Ability
E
Kennen Mid Lane Wild Rift matchups and counters
Wild Rift matchup guide for Kennen Mid Lane, covering favorable lanes and difficult counters to prepare for in ranked.
Good Matchups
These champions are favorable matchups for this pick in Wild Rift. You have advantages against them and can play more aggressively.
Ziggs
Ziggs has longer spell range and can force Kennen to spend energy clearing from a distance. Shove only when it is safe, dodge his poke, then exploit his lack of sustained mobility by flanking or committing after Satchel Charge (2nd) is used.
Annie
Annie is most dangerous with Pyromania (Passive) loaded, but Molten Shield (3rd) still grants a shield and decaying movement speed, and Tibbers (Ult) can Pounce (Ult) for a knockup after being summoned. Poke outside her short range, then commit after both the loaded stun and pet recast are unavailable.
Akali
Kennen's ranged attacks can punish Akali before she has reliable access to him, but both champions must manage energy rather than one automatically outlasting the other. Her shroud breaks targeting, while Thundering Shuriken (1st) and Slicing Maelstrom (Ult) can still hit its area.
Syndra
Syndra can control the lane with Dark Spheres (1st) and Scatter the Weak (3rd), but she has no dash. Avoid the sphere-to-stun line, manage your energy instead of assuming it wins the resource war, and flank once her peel is unavailable.
Mel
Mel out-ranges you and her reflect punishes anyone who commits a big combo into it, but she has no dash and her snare is her only peel, so she cannot escape once you close.
Kennen Counters
These champions counter this pick in Wild Rift and can be difficult matchups. Learn how to play against them or consider banning them.
Zed
Zed is the classic squishy-mage killer, and you are the target he wants: no burst defense and one dash. His shadow baits out Lightning Rush (3rd), and his ultimate marks a kill you cannot survive.
Fizz
His pole vault and trickster dodge sidestep your shuriken and your ultimate, so landing marks on him is frustrating. He all-ins through your poke and you have nothing to disengage with once he commits.
Ryze
His targeted root catches you out of Lightning Rush (3rd) into a combo your thin frame cannot survive. His health, itemization and movement-speed proc also help him manage your shuriken poke, and he out-scales the lane.
Ahri
Her charm and three dashes let her dodge your marks, pick every trade, and delete your squishy frame. You cannot reliably stack the storm on a target that slips each commit.
Galio
His periodic magic-damage shield absorbs your shuriken and storm, and he is too tanky to kill easily. His taunt and knockup punish your committed dive, while his long-range but limited Hero's Entrance (Ult) can counter a roam by targeting an allied champion within range.
Kennen Mid Lane Wild Rift game strategy and teamfighting guide
Wild Rift game strategy for Kennen Mid Lane, from early lane control through mid and late game map play to final teamfights.