Tank/Support Kennen is something that I've been doing for quite a while and never got around to writing about. He was my first legitimate main, and one of my favorite characters to play. I've experimented with AP Kennen, and found that his burst wasn't worth missing out on the beefiness that tank Kennen provides. I tried AS Kennen, and found that his general lack of defense doesn't allow for constant auto attacking. Let's take a look at what you stand to gain, and what you stand to lose as a tank-centric Kennen.
You Gain..
Initiation capabilities
Better positioning on your ultimate without killing yourself or relying on hourglass.
Anti Carry Capabilities (Constantly stunning one target whilst being nearly impossible to kill)
Better early to mid game potential
You Lose..
Mediocre burst damage (Compared to other nukers)
A slow (Assuming you get a Rylais, although a tanky Kennen can fit a rylais/frozen mallet into their build with ease)
Carrying Capabilities (Not that I believe that an AP Kennen can carry, although some people seem to)
Farming Capabilities (Although building AP is more expensive than building tanky)
So as you can see, the role of a tanky Kennen changes drastically once he switches his gear up. Before we go any further, I'd like to discuss leveling order
More Stuns
Level 1: Electric Surge
Level 2: Lightning Rush
Level 3: Thundering Shuriken
Level 4: Electric Surge
Level 5: Electric Surge
Level 6: Slicing Maelstrom
Level 7: Electric Surge
Level 8: Thundering Shuriken
Level 9: Electric Surge
Level 10: Thundering Shuriken
Level 11: Slicing Maelstrom
Level 12: Thundering Shuriken
Level 13: Thundering Shuriken
Level 14: Lighting Rush
Level 15: Lighting Rush
Level 16: Slicing Maelstrom
Level 17: Lighting Rush
Level 18: Lightning Rush
OMG WTF YOU LEVEL ELECTRIC SURGE OVER THUNDERING SHURIKEN??
Yes, I do. Leveling shuriken first is a common misconception that bad or new Kennen's make. If you use the passive of electric surge + it's active, you can double your harassment and be able to stun easily by level 2. Maxing out electric surge over thundering shuriken is what gives you a lot of damage output and the ability to stun early on.
More mobility + Better Initiation
Max out Lightning rush instead of Thundering Shuriken first.
Items
Boots + 3 HP pots is my personal favorite starting set for Kennen, although Doran's Shield is a good choice also. It depends on what you are looking for.
The first thing that I invest in is a pair of mercury treads, and I follow through with an Aegis, just because of how amazing it is early on. A lot of people doubt the potency of an Aegis because the stats don't seem that high, but it in fact gives you...
270 HP
30 Armor
39 Magic Resist
8 Damage
It's an amazing item and allows you to reach just about 100/100 on both of your defensive stats whilst giving you an amazing damage aura. A lot of people doubt the potency of it and fail to realize that it adds 8 damage to EVERY friendly unit around you, including creeps. Aegis is probably the most cost effective item in the game and that's what we are looking for in a support/tank Kennen.
Past that it depends, although I will list a bunch of choices that I find to be useful and why.
Randuin's Omen. Awesome item for Kennen, especially when trying to keep people inside of your ultimate.
If you're looking for heavy duty MR, a couple Force of Natures can help you out (The mobility is extremely useful for you as well.) I wouldn't suggest banshee's veil unless you absolutely need it, as the mana doesn't help you in the slightest and that lowers the cost effectiveness a bit.
Spirit Visage/Wits End/Hexdrinker/Abyssal scepter can be decent choices if you don't need a lot of MR, but still want a bit.
Guardian Angel is more of an mid/end game oriented item. I wouldn't get it until you have some form of health under your belt.
Speaking of HP, Frozen Mallet is an amazing choice if you are looking for general survivability / a constant slow. You can do a lot to fuck someone's day over with your stuns + slow
Redefining Kennen's Role
When you decide to switch it up and go for a tanky Kennen, his role changes drastically. He goes from being a soft carry with decent AoE potential and his stuns for utilities, to being a hard support with amazing carrying potential in the early game before he transitions into an anti carry and a CC god. Your new found beefiness gives you the ability to initiate amazingly, and stick on a certain target throughout the fight with little worry about things like dying easily or being targetted constantly.
While you do miss out on his burst, I think we can all agree that Kennen's burst is nothing to write home about, and if you are looking for a burst character, there are many choices that you're better off with (Anivia, Annie, Veigar, etc.), and if you are looking for a poker, there are better pokers out there as well. Kennen's AP ratios aren't anything to write home about, and investing in tanky gear not only helps his amazing early game become even more stable, it helps make sure his usefulness in the late game isn't diminished.
Runes
I tend to leave runes up to the reader, although my personal favorite is a magic pen/CDR focus.
Masteries
This is what I use, with Flash and Ignite as my preferred spell combination.
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