Team Synergy

Kennen is an initiator who needs a stage to perform. In Mayhem, where cooldowns are short and damage is high, he excels at starting fights that others cannot. He provides massive area-of-effect crowd control and burst, but he lacks the durability to dive alone and often struggles against disengage or long-range poke. He functions best as a follow-up threat for heavy engagement or as a setup tool for combo mages. His ideal team gives him the time to channel Slicing Maelstrom or the protection to survive after teleporting in.

What Kennen Needs Most

  • Hard Engagement: Teammates who can start a fight from long range, forcing enemies to burn cooldowns before Kennen commits.
  • Follow-Up Burst: Mages or assassins who can instantly capitalize on his stun stacks.
  • Disengage Support: Allies who can peel bruisers off him after his ultimate ends.

Top Synergy Pairings

  1. Amumu – The ultimate wombo-como partner.

    • Synergy Mechanism: Amumu lands Bandage Toss and follows with Curse of the Sad Mummy. This holds enemies in place for Kennen’s entire ultimate duration.
    • Combo: Amumu engages and ults. Kennen uses Lightning Rush or Mark to enter the cluster and pops Slicing Maelstrom immediately.
    • Best Scenario: The enemy team is grouped near a tower or objective. Amumu traps three or more targets, and Kennen deletes them before the stun ends.
    • Enemy Answer: Quick reaction crowd control like Janna’s monsoon or Alistar’s headbutt to cancel Kennen’s channel or push him away.
    • Failure Risk: If Amumu misses his Q, the engage falls apart. Kennen diving alone into a grouped enemy team without the setup usually results in instant death.
    • Recovery: If the combo fails, Kennen must flash out or use Zhonya’s immediately. The team should kite backward while his cooldowns reset.

  2. Malphite – The unstoppable force.

    • Synergy Mechanism: Malphite’s Unstoppable Force cannot be interrupted. He creates a perfect landing zone for Kennen’s area-of-effect damage.
    • Combo: Malphite R’s the backline. Kennen follows the slam with his own R, layering stuns on top of the knockup.
    • Best Scenario: Enemies are hiding behind minions or tanks. Malphite ignores the frontline and crashes into the carries, and Kennen cleans up.
    • Enemy Answer: Flash or mobility skills to escape the impact zone. A support with a shield like Lulu can mitigate the burst if they react fast enough.
    • Failure Risk: Malphite goes in too deep without backup. Kennen might be too far away to assist in time, leaving Malphite to die for nothing.
    • Recovery: Kennen should hold his ultimate if he cannot reach the fight. Use it defensively to stun divers chasing the backline instead.

  3. Yasuo – The windwall and steel tempest synergy.

    • Synergy Mechanism: Kennen’s ultimate applies multiple stacks of Mark of the Storm rapidly. This sets up Yasuo’s Last Breath perfectly on multiple targets.
    • Combo: Kennen engages with R and stuns the group. Yasuo uses his own R on the suspended targets. Yasuo’s windwall also protects Kennen from incoming projectile damage during the dive.
    • Best Scenario: A chaotic melee in the middle of the bridge. Kennen’s stuns keep enemies still long enough for Yasuo to weave through them with his blade.
    • Enemy Answer: Hard crowd control on Yasuo before he can ult. Knockbacks like Tristana’s Buster Shot ruin the combo.
    • Failure Risk: Yasuo gets caught out early and dies. Kennen is then left without a finisher, turning a potential team-wipe into a trade.
    • Recovery: Kennen should play more conservatively, using his stun to peel for the remaining carries rather than looking for a risky engage.

  4. Leona – The chain-CC lockdown.

    • Synergy Mechanism: Leona offers extended crowd control with her passive and abilities. She can hold a single high-value target in place indefinitely.
    • Combo: Leona lands her E, Q, and R on a priority target. Kennen adds his own stun chain, effectively removing one player from the game for four or more seconds.
    • Best Scenario: Picking off an enemy who overextends for poke. This creates a 4v5 advantage before the main fight starts.
    • Enemy Answer: Cleanse or Quicksilver Sash on the target. A dedicated peeler like Braum can also block Kennen’s passive procs.
    • Failure Risk: The target is too tanky to burst down. The team wastes all cooldowns on a support or tank while the enemy carries deal free damage.
    • Recovery: Disengage immediately. Kennen and Leona have expended their major cooldowns, so the team must reset before re-engaging.

  5. Orianna – The ball delivery service.

    • Synergy Mechanism: Orianna can place her ball on Kennen before he dives. When Kennen engages, she activates Command: Shockwave for a double-ultimate combo.
    • Combo: Kennen uses Lightning Rush to speed into the enemy team. Orianna ults the moment he arrives, grouping enemies for Kennen’s storm.
    • Best Scenario: Enemies are scattered. The combined pull and stun forces them into a tight cluster for the rest of the team to hit.
    • Enemy Answer: Killing Kennen before he reaches the ball’s trigger point. High burst damage or instant crowd control stops the delivery.
    • Failure Risk: Kennen dies instantly on entry. Orianna wastes her ultimate on a dead body or holds it too long, missing the window.
    • Recovery: Orianna uses her speed boost to help the team retreat. Kennen’s death buys time if he managed to burn enemy cooldowns.