Cho'Gath is the ultimate scaling tank. Your job in laning is to survive, Feast everything in sight, and become literally unkillable by the time teamfights start. He's extremely easy to play at a basic level — land Q, W, and auto-attack.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Carnivore
Passive
Whenever Cho'Gath kills a unit, he recovers Health and Mana. The values restored increase with Cho'Gath's level.
Q
Rupture
Rupture — Delayed AoE knockup on the ground, slows enemies
Ruptures the ground at target location, popping enemy units into the air, dealing damage and slowing them.
CD: 6 · Cost: 50
Q under enemy feet — the delay is short. Use Q on fleeing enemies or enemies moving toward you.
W
Feral Scream
Feral Scream — Silence cone that also deals magic damage
Cho'Gath unleashes a terrible scream at enemies in a cone, dealing magic damage and Silencing enemies for a few seconds.
CD: 11/10.5/10/9.5/9 · Cost: 70/75/80/85/90
W silences prevents enemy spellcasting — use it when enemies are trying to escape or use channeled abilities.
E
Vorpal Spikes
Vorpal Spikes — Passive AoE magic damage on autos, toggled active
Cho'Gath's attacks release deadly spikes, dealing damage and slowing all enemy units in front of him.
CD: 8/7/6/5/4 · Cost: 30
Toggle E on during fights and off when wasting autos on minions — maximize its uptime against enemies.
R
Feast
Feast — Execute an enemy for massive damage, gain permanent HP on kill
Devours an enemy unit, dealing a high amount of true damage. If the target is killed, Cho'Gath grows, gaining maximum Health.
CD: 80/70/60 · Cost: 100
Feast minions freely to stack HP. Save R for champions at low HP — each champion kill gives more HP than minions.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q for knockup pressure and damage. Then W for silence duration, last E.
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Itemization
Recommended Builds
Starter
Doran's Shield
HP sustain to survive early poke and reach Feast stacking phase.
450g
Core
Sunfire Aegis
Burns nearby enemies — synergizes with Cho's large size and E passive autos in extended fights.
2700g
Spirit Visage
MR and HP regen. Cho'Gath's passive healing from kills synergizes with healing amp.
2900g
Warmog's Armor
Enormous HP pool combined with Feast stacks makes Cho'Gath reach 8000+ HP — Warmog regen activates.
3000g
Situational
Thornmail
Grievous Wounds and reflect vs healing comps — Cho's large HP pool amplifies Thornmail procs.
2700g
Dead Man's Plate
Move speed to close gaps and land Q on mobile targets.
2900g
Force of Nature
Heavy MR vs AP-heavy comps. Move speed after taking magic damage.
2900g
Feast everything — minions for free stacking, champions for massive HP. With full stacks and Warmog's, Cho'Gath becomes nearly unkillable.
Runes
Resolve Primary
Grasp of the Undying
Permanent HP from every 4-second proc — massive scaling combined with Feast stacks.
Demolish
Tower damage with Cho's large HP pool amplifies Demolish. Synergizes with Feast stacking HP.
Conditioning
Free armor and MR at 12 minutes — amplifies his already enormous tankiness.
Overgrowth
Permanent HP from minions in addition to Feast stacks — double HP scaling synergy.
Sorcery Secondary
Manaflow Band
Cho'Gath burns through mana with Q and W — Manaflow solves laning phase mana issues.
Scorch
Extra burn on Q poke — meaningful over a full laning phase of Q harassment.
Shards
Health · Armor · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Cho'Gath
01
Early Game
Early Phase
- Q under enemy feet for knockups during trades.
- W silence prevents them from using abilities after.
- Feast minions every time R is available to stack HP.
- At 6, R the enemy laner below 50% HP for a kill and massive HP gain.
02
Mid Game
Mid Phase
- Keep Feasting minion waves, cannon minions, and any isolated kills.
- Your item spike at Sunfire Aegis makes you a frontline presence in every fight.
- Look for R executes on low-HP champions.
03
Late Game
Late Phase
- You are unkillable.
- In teamfights, walk into their team, Q for knockup, W for silence, and absorb all the damage while your team kills them around you.
- R any carry who drops below your execute threshold.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Cho'Gath
Cho'Gath is a CC frontline who soaks damage and controls fights with Q knockup and W silence. His R execute on low-HP carries is a fight-ending tool.
1
Engage — Q Knockup onto Carries
Fight opener
01
Walk into the enemy frontline — your HP pool absorbs massive damage.
02
Q under the enemy carry cluster for the AoE knockup on multiple targets.
03
W silence immediately — prevents carry abilities from firing during the knockup.
Q has a delay — aim it under where enemies are running toward, not where they currently stand.
2
Mid-Fight — Absorb and CC
Sustained presence
01
Activate E (Vorpal Spikes) for AoE magic damage on all autos during the teamfight.
02
Stay in the center of the fight — your size and HP pool force enemies to deal with you first.
03
Track low-HP carries for your R execute threshold.
3
Execute — R the Carry
Fight ender
01
R the lowest-HP priority target — ADC, fed mid, or any carry below execute threshold.
02
Each champion Feast gives significantly more HP than minions — always prioritize champion R.
03
Q and W have reset by now — CC any remaining targets trying to flee.
Feast minions freely between fights — there is no reason to save R for champions if no champion opportunities exist. Stack constantly.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Cho'Gath.
Basic
Feast minions every time R is available
never let R sit idle. Stacking HP is your win condition.
Intermediate
Q has a delay
aim it under where enemies will be, not where they currently stand.
Intermediate
W silence prevents enemy escape abilities
use it when carries are trying to Flash or use dashes.
Advanced
Toggle E on during fights and off on minions to manage mana
it costs mana per auto when active.
Basic
Warmog's regen activates above 1100 bonus HP
stack Feast early to trigger it by midgame.
Intermediate
R champions below 50% HP for both the kill and permanent ...
always prioritize champion Feasts.
Advanced
Your size makes you a massive Q target zone
learn to position so Q hits multiple enemies simultaneously.
Advanced
Grasp + Overgrowth + Feast stacks make Cho'Gath th
Grasp + Overgrowth + Feast stacks make Cho'Gath the highest base HP champion in the game at full build.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Cho'Gath is countered by true damage champions who bypass his enormous HP stack and high-mobility champions who dodge his delayed Q.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
True damage scales with Cho'Gath's enormous HP — Silver Bolts deal more damage the more HP he has. His entire stacking strategy is countered.
Avoid long extended fights vs Vayne. Use Q knockup immediately to prevent her from proccing Silver Bolts repeatedly.
Fiora's Vitals deal true damage that bypasses all of Cho's armor and MR. Her W parry blocks Q knockup timing.
Bait Fiora's W before throwing Q. Without her Parry, landing Q knockup sets up W silence for a clean trade.
Gwen's W Hallowed Mist makes Cho'Gath's Q and W miss — she can negate his entire CC kit by standing in the mist.
Force Gwen to use W then immediately follow with your combo. Her W has a long CD — punish the window.
Wins Against
Cho'Gath's Q knockup and W silence interrupt Darius's pull combo. His HP pool shrugs off Hemorrhage bleed.
Q when Darius tries to E pull. W silence prevents him from using his Q heal. Your HP pool wins extended fights.
Garen's E damage is meaningless against Cho's tank stats. Q knockup prevents Garen from walking up for his kit.
Q poke denies Garen's short-range trading pattern. At 6, R Garen when he's below 50% for the kill.
Both are tanks but Cho'Gath's Q poke breaks Malphite's passive shield. Cho's Feast HP scaling outpaces Malphite's armor scaling.
Q poke every time Malphite's passive shield charges. At 6, both R — Cho'Gath's R execute wins the trade.