[4.0a] Gwen Guide - Intro to Gwen: The Only Guide You'll Need

Aside from a few tanks/bruisers, Gwen has a great time laning against tanks. In fact, she's a great pick against tanks. She has true damage due to her passive A Thousand Cuts and can shred tanks. One of, if not, the easiest matchups for Gwen is Sion . His Q  Decimating Smash is easy to dodge and you can win trade simply by dodging his Q. However, if you get hit by his Q, you will have a harder time in lane. Once you are level 3, you can attempt to get good trades off of him. You can do this at level 1 even. Q  Snip Snip! or E Skip 'n Slash start against Sion doesn't matter. E start is the safer pick and Q start is to get better trading + maximizing your level 1 damage output onto Sion. Your W Hallowed Mist can "dodge" Sion's Q so don't be afraid to walk straight into his Q as long as you use your W.

Singed is a fairly straight forward matchup. He relies on flipping you with his E Fling and making you chase him while he leaves a trail of poison from his Q Poison Trail . You can use your W Hallowed Mist to mitigate some damage. You win trades easily, just don't actively run in his poison. As Gwen, a Q Snip Snip! start is perfectly fine in this scenario.

[mundo] is pretty straight forward just as Singed . You'll want to try to avoid his Q [mundo:1] which does % damage based on the enemies max health. You can simply dodge it or be immune to it using your W Hallowed Mist . Don't fight him until you reach level 5 for your ultimate Needlework or until you've gotten your first item, which if you've been following this guide, should be Riftmaker . [ignite] applies Grievous Wounds onto the champion in which the Ignite is applied to. This will minimize Mundo's healing as you all-in him.

Darius at level 1 typically starts with Q  Decimate . Therefore, you should take E  Skip 'n Slash at level 1. You can bait out his Q Decimate and dash out of his Q range using E Skip 'n Slash when he procs it and trade back because you have increased range on your auto attacks. This is honestly MUCH better than a Q Snip Snip! start where you have to stack up your Q and take damage in order to trade which is not a good idea because of Darius's passive, Hemorrhage . You can use your W  Hallowed Mist to "dodge" his Q  Decimate and E Apprehend as long as Darius is outside of your mist.

Garen is straight forward. In fact, I would say he's easier than Darius to an extent but can also be harder than Darius to an extent. You can start Q Snip Snip! for this matchup since he'll probably start with Q Decisive Strike . Keep it fully stacked and use your Q on him when he's charging you with his Q. It's important you do it before he gets the silence on you or else you just lost the trade. Don't stick around in lane when you're at approximately <40% HP. He can all in and use his R Demacian Justice on you. Just recall. Try not to recall at a bad wave state or he'll get plates off your tower but it might be inevitable. Wait for level 5 for your ultimate  Needlework .

Camille is a fairly moderate matchup. The main takeaways for this matchup is that you should try to avoid Camille's Q2 Precision Protocol , dodge her W Tactical Sweep by activating your W Hallowed Mist , and generally wait till you're level 5 so you can kill her with your ultimate Needlework .

Lucian is a marksman who has really good early game prowess with his Q Piercing Light . You will not beat him in the early phase of the game. Lucian requires high DPS and if he can't get his auto attacks off, you can absolutely beat him. Play passive aggressive in lane and punish any mistakes or over extensions that the Lucian may make. Build Frozen Heart against Lucian to slow down his auto attacks. It is recommended to build Frozen Heart for your third or fourth item. In no circumstance should you fight him pre-level 5 or without your Needlework .

For Yone , we can assume that he starts with Q Mortal Steel . There's no reason for him to start with W Spirit Cleave or E  Soul Unbound . This matchup is fine as long as you play it well (but that can be said for every matchup). Level 1, he has a cd on his Q (no way). Avoid his Q, let him use it. While it's on cooldown, you trade with him by dashing forward with E  Skip 'n Slash . It's kind of a bad trade if Yone is taking bone plating; therefore, you should take bone plating as well. Once he has his E, he'll probably attempt E + Q (tornado/wind/knockup). You can predict this and dodge with your E and trade. Same when he just has Q, you can predict and dodge with E. Wait till level 5 for your ultimate Needlework and attempt to dodge his ultimate Fate Sealed . Most of these matchups depend on who reaches the next level first.

For Riven , this is a pretty straight forward skill matchup where you would want to play perfectly as Gwen. For runes, take bone plating. Riven has a nice time with combo'ing abilities and attacks. This will mitigate some of her damage. There isn't much to say about Riven, you win if you bait her W  Ki Burst and or dodge her Q3  Broken Wings (knockup). Wait till level 5 for your ultimate Needlework and be aware of her R + R2  Blade Of The Exile .

Teemo is a pesky little devil rat who will constantly pressure you under your own turret. If you want to avoid this from happening, then you best pray that the Teemo isn't so good. For this matchup, you will want start with level 1 E Skip 'n Slash to last-hit minions. You WILL NOT have control of this lane until you grab your first item. While under turret, you can attempt to push Teemo back as long as you time it correctly and dodge Teemo's Q Blinding Dart with your W Hallowed Mist . Ultimately, don't fight until you have your ultimate Needlework . Additionally, equip yourself with a control ward or sweeper lens to spot his shrooms Noxious Trap .

Irelia is a difficult matchup but if you understand her kit, strengths, and weaknesses then you can easily have a better time against her in lane. Irelia's passive Ionian Fervor allows her to gain up to 4 stacks, each stack increasing her attack speed. You NEVER FIGHT her when she has full stacks. You can use your W Hallowed Mist to avoid her E Flawless Duet and ultimate Vanguard's Edge . Use your minions' health bar to your advantage. Irelia likes to last hit minions with her Q Bladesurge so just wait for a minions' health to drop and get a good trade on her as she goes in to kill the minion. This is a hard matchup but can easier as long as you don't make any severe mistakes. 

Vayne is a marksman who can deal true damage and % damage. She is higher difficulty than Lucian because her kit is more annoying and complicated to deal with. Her ultimate Final Hour provides her with invisibility everytime she uses her Q Tumble . Additionally, her E Condemn knocks you back and can't stun you if you're against a wall. This is why this matchup is difficult. Just like Lucian, you'll want to buy Frozen Heart vs. Vayne.

What ability Jax starts on is kind of hard for me to determine honestly. It's one of Gwen's harder matchups. He gets a good trade on you no matter what. You COULD begin with a Q  Snip Snip! start but it's bad if Jax starts with E Counter Strike . You can deal damage to Jax with your Q while Jax's E is proc'ed, however, you have to do this before he stuns you and walks off with a won trade. You could also begin with E  Skip 'n Slash because you can dash out of his E. This gets tricky when Jax reaches level 2 where we can assume that he has both Q Leap Strike and E  Counter Strike . This will set him up with a E dash. When he dashes onto you with E proc'ed, E dash out of his range while using your Q if you can. You avoid the stun and have a window to trade while his E is on cooldown. Try to get a gank from your jungler, if not, just sustain in lane.

Fiora is a really good duelist and part of it is with her passive Duelist's Dance which deals true damage and hitting vitals. Overall, a way to play against Fiora is to hug the wall depending where the vital is. This is more effective when she has ulted you with R  Grand Challenge since you have at least one vital that she probably won't hit as long as you hug the wall. She pretty much wins level 1 because her Q Lunge is much more valuable than your Q Snip Snip! (would be too slow) and your E Skip 'n Slash (hard to trade) but I would go E start simply to last hit minions and possibly trade. You can use W Hallowed Mist to be immune to her W Riposte as long as she's outside of your mist. Use your abilities carefully, she'll use Riposte on one of them to dodge damage (either your R1, R2, R3, or Q).

A good Kennen will be able to shut down a Gwen from the second the match starts all the way until the match ends essentially unless the Gwen's team is able to help her out a little. Kennen has full control of the lane and will poke you out with W Electrical Surge and Q Thundering Shuriken . Once Kennen gets his ultimate Slicing Maelstrom , he will all-in you if you're low enough HP. You can try to dodge as much damage with your W Hallowed Mist but the main takeaway in this matchup is that Kennen will control you as long as they're good and know how to punish.