Welcome to my second guide on Mobafire, in this one I explain how I like to play Syndra, the Dark Sovereign. I consider Syndra one of, if not the hardest AP carry in the game to master in terms of positioning, Landing those dark spheres with great accuracy, and managing the cooldown on perfectly so it is always ready when needed. Well enough with the crazy intro stuff. More to the point.

Syndra is my main AP mid laner at the time being, have a good 200 games in with her. I may not be a super pro diamond 1 player or anything, but is that really a requirement? I hope not. Syndra is by no means an easy to play AP carry, she takes alot of time, effort, and patience to master. But is so worth it once you do manage to master her unique playstyle.

Pros High single target burst Can cast while moving. Low cooldown ult Long range stun

Cons Requires good positioning Early mana problems without blue Easily counter picked High cooldowns on Pushes lane with her poke

Primary summoner spells.

This spell is almost mandatory on most champions, it grants them an escape, initiation, and ability to jump over walls. Just don't blow it for something stupid because of its long cooldown.

Helpful for when you need to get that last bit of damage on an enemy, or shutdown the enemy , or

Other choices.

Not the best for Syndra, but it can help return to lane in an instant, sneak up on enemies top or bottom, and some intresting late game backdooring strategies. I rarely take this, because the combo is just to good at the moment.

If you are bad at mana management early, this can help. But I strongly recommend not using it. Isn't that good late game where Syndra shines.

Not all that useful for an AP carry due to the fact your only getting half the spells use early. Only take this if nobody else does.

Don't even joke...

Not any good on SR at the moment. So only take it if you want to troll.

Don't even joke...

I just use the basic rune setup for Syndra. Since it seems to work best with her.

More damage from your spells. meaning stronger poke, Increased burst damage. Not much to say here.

Since most mid laners take a few magic resist runes for each game, these help to nullify those and deal more damage. Also helps late game when some enemies start grabbing a few resist items.

Helps to survive the enemies poke easier. Flat or scalling is mostly personal preference. I take scalling due to them giving more late game.

Syndra wants more power, so these give more power. Not much to say here.

For masteries, I just stick to the usual AP related masteries under offense, with a few in utility.

Now onto explaining my reasoning behind a few of these choices. Most of these choices however are more or less mandatory.

Makes last hitting minions much easier, and allows some harder poke on the enemy.

A good early game boost with ignite, rather self explanatory.

Flash cooldown is a bit high, but this should help if you keep getting into situations where you need it.

That 1 second shaved off of recall is not to be underestimated. It really helps if your in a bad situation and have to get out of there soon.

These are almost mandatory on 90% of AP casters, that spell penetration really helps.

Charges up quite fast due to , solves mana problems a bit. Upgrade to when its fully charged.

Since Syndra has some really high mana costs early game, I consider this a really good purchase on her, Not much else I can really say.

This item is core on all AP burst casters, adds a large amount of AP to your damage, and boosts your AP from other sources up. If you don't get this on Syndra, your playing her wrong.

Since Syndra is primarly single target burst, the slow is really helpful and increases her kiting potential by alot. The bonus health is just a bonus.

Some extra defensive stats, a great active effect to use between spells or when your getting focused down, and some great AP.

This adds some extra damage by ignoring enemies magic resist, NEVER rush this item first. Early game it won't do much due to the fact most enemies don't have insane magic resist early. But late game it helps when they do start getting more.

Optional Items

Only a worth while purchase if the enemy team has alot of crazy healing on them like or .

If you need the extra tankiness, this is a good buy. But if you do decide to get this item, try and get it early for maximum bonuses.

The magic resist can be beneficial if your getting focused or they have a pesky AP assassin like , or

This spell is what makes Syndra a late game carry. With all of her spells becoming alot stronger at max rank, You will generally find yourself maxing out spells 1 at a time to rush the bonus from this. But you generally want to get your maxed out first since it adds alot to your burst damage. Maxing your first or depends on the how the game is going.

Your main poke, wave clearing, almost do it all spell. This is a relatively easy to dodge skill shot, so don't blindly fire it every time its off cooldown. Try and use some motion prediction for poking with this. This ability also sets up the stronger uses of your other spells.

This spell is what makes Syndra such a strong counter pick against some mid laners. Since you can throw many other things other then your spheres. Also has a nice slow to it which makes landing a easy. But a slight warning. This spell is really easy to dodge due to its slow travel speed.

Things Syndra can throw:
Dark spheres (unsure if you can throw enemy Syndra dark spheres)
Lane minions
Jungle minions
Zyra plants, but not the seeds.
Ancient golem: Removes 1 second off the cooldown when throwing it.
Lizard Elder: Applys the red debuff to enemies hit when throwing
Turrets
's bear Tibbers
ghouls. Unsure about throwing his ult though.
boxes
Voidlings

A spell you shouldn't abuse due to its high cooldown, But this spell makes escaping, combos, and saving your allies so easy if used right. Its your main CC ability if you can knockback a dark sphere and hit enemies with it, which then sets up the rest of your combos. And if timed right can stun the entire enemy team and assure a win in that team fight.

This is what makes Syndra's burst damage so high. It grabs all dark spheres you have planted and bombards a single target with them dealing tons of damage. So try not to blow this when you only have 1 sphere planted. Tie this up with a afterwards and you are doing great. Nuking the carry and then stunning the rest of the team. This is almost a garunteed win in a teamfight.

This is your basic harass combo if you can land both hits, you just took out 1/3rd of the targets health.


If you do this right, you can fire this off instantly and stun your target out of nowhere. Basic gank setup combo.


Your basic nuke combo, If you land those spheres it will chunk the targets hp down to the right amount to finish with your ult. Throw in a if you really want to cause damage.


A really hard to pull of combo, but also your most devastating. If you land all of those shots, this will pretty much auto kill anyone. You will also need some cooldown reduction to do this right.

This matchup is so easy for Syndra, just throw his turrets around whenever he places them, In most cases you will force him to hug his tower and allowing yourself to free farm.
/5 Difficulty

This matchup is horrible for Syndra, He can litterally dodge all of your harass, get in your face, and get out without you being able to counter attack. This is not a favorable matchup.
/5 Difficulty

More of a skill matchup. If you can dodge her charm, your in a perfect position to combo her. But if she lands it, your in trouble.
/5 Difficulty

Another painful matchup for Syndra, his Cutthroat has a much lower cooldown then so play safe and call for your jungler if it gets bad enough.
/5 Difficulty

Not much involved here, Syndra can't do much to deny her pre 6 due to her high cooldown, and easy to dodge abilities. Just watch out when she hits 6. It'll turn into a "who can combo first" match. Make sure to call those "mia's" often if your sure she leaves lane. Akali roams alot.
/5 Difficulty

This is basically a game of dodgeball. You outrange her by a good amount, and have safer poke. If your ahead at level 6, just land a stun and its a free kill.
/5 Difficulty

Mostly a skill matchup here. Just dodge her
and try to bait her . And when she hits 6, dodge her at all costs. She has some insane burst and can just dash to you again if you knock her back.
/5 Difficulty

Rather easy lane for Syndra. you have stronger poke early, and can shut down her completely with . Most Katarina players will try and bait your before attempting a full engagement, so don't let this happen.
/5 Difficulty

Take advantage of his weak early game and poke often. Syndra dominates enemies who have to sit still for their combo also, so go crazy on him if he tries to combo you.
/5 Difficulty

A very easy matchup for Syndra, you outrange her and have safer poke, just don't let her stun you! Also be wary of where you throw Tibbers, Its best to throw him over a wall just to get him out of the teamfight for awhile.
/5 Difficulty

Easy laning, rough late game matchup for Syndra. You have alot more poke then Karthus, and take advantage of his weak early game and go crazy on him. And always good to keep track of when his ult is ready and give a warning to your team.
/5 Difficulty

Another easy matchup for Syndra. You have more damage then him, and a longer range stun. Just watch out when he hits 6, he will start roaming alot. But if you can catch him trying to ult somewhere, him to stop it.
/5 Difficulty

You have 5 levels to shut him down completely or you lose this lane. Kassadin is a complete pain in lane once he hits 6. He will also roam alot so call those missing pings.
/5 Difficulty

Not a fun matchup. LeBlanc's early game is ridiculous. So play safe, and don't let her 2 shot you with a Sigil of Silence combo.
/5 Difficulty

Lux has alot more poke then you, so try and play safe and dodge her . And be ready to dodge if your recalling under the tower. It hurts.
/5 Difficulty

A purely skill based matchup/ You counter him early, but late game it's a "who can combo first" match. You can freely toss his voidlings around. But his burst combo hurts alot.
/5 Difficulty


Another skill matchup. You outrange him, but he has ridiculous sustain.
And he can deny your ult just by troll pooling at the right moment, Try and bait it out if your going for the kill.
/5 Difficulty

This lane is not in your favor. He can easily dodge your and return fire with a . But you beat him late game, so try and safely farm and come back later to dominate him.
/5 Difficulty.

Mostly seen bottom lane as an AD carry, but he is still viable mid. Just keep moving and stay behind minions to avoid to much damage. Also take advantage of your spells being able to be cast on the move.
/5 Difficulty

A very easy matchup for Syndra since you can throw around a good chunk of her damage. But she has ALOT of CC so watch out if she calls for jungler help.
/5 Difficulty

About once every few hundred games you'll see him sometimes. But don't underestimate him, his burst combo is very painful if pulled off right. The other thing with this matchup is his gravity field, he sort of counters movement if he can place it right. So play carefuly if its a good Viktor. But if he's bad, stomp on him hard.
/5 Difficulty

Can be quite a lane bully early game, but he is mostly skill shot dependent also. If your affected by his passive, Dodge his at all costs, He will most likely kill you if it lands.
/5 Difficulty.

The definition of ranged poke. Xerath outranges you by alot, A good Xerath player will never be in range for you to counter harass him so play safe and call for jungler help if needed.
/5 Difficulty

Take advantage of his weak start and go crazy on him with your far superior range. But once he hits 6 he will be able to nearly 1 shot you with his full combo, so watch out.
/5 Difficulty

Fairly easy matchup, Anivia's movement speed is terrible making her easy to hit with your abilities. Just avoid her stun ball and it will be an easy lane. The other thing is she is really good when her jungler shows up to gank, since she can block your escape really hard.
/5 Difficulty

Take advantage of her weak laning phase and play aggressively often. Even if you do shut her down in lane, she still brings a ton more to teamfights then you do. Also be careful when her jungler comes to gank, she is one of the best champions for gank setups mid.
/5 Difficulty

Extremely short range. Take this to your advantage and you should have an easy laning phase. Just dodge her noxious blast and you just denied 80% of her damage.
/5 Difficulty

With her rework going, she can be rather annoying to lane against in most cases, her shield will just block all your harass, and she'll just you a ton. Very annoying matchup, but not much else.
/5 Difficulty

Anyone I didn't list is either someone I never faced as Syndra, or is a relatively even matchup.

Syndra is a really fun, but hard to master champion so don't get angry if you can't master her in 2 games. She requires patience, and possitioning, and a good team setup to really shine. Syndra is mostly used as a counter pick to several mid lane champions, because she is easily counter picked.
She is also heavily underated so some people may dislike the idea of you using her.

But if you liked my guide, feel free to check out my other guide for Karma, the enlightened one.

Mantra for Dummies