SO MUCH UNTAPPED POWER!

Introduction

　

Greeting summoners! At here I'm gonna show you my guide for one of my main champion: Syndra, the Dark Sovereign. Please forgive me if there are any point explained not clear enough cause I'm newbie on writing guide, but I hope this can be helpful enough for you to master her. If you wanna know how to kill all that b**tches with balls then please stay tuned.

Lots of summoners would be curious how Syndra becomes my main champion. In fact, many of you should be feeling the same with me when you are playing her first time: It's difficult to land her abilities efficiently. However, with more practice, Syndra is actually a champion fun to play.

Syndra has always been one of the most underrated champions in the league because of the harsh requirement of skills, and she used to be one of the least popular picks among queues. However, with tons of inborn crowd control as well as abilities with AOE damage, Syndra could be a hard bully in lane for early games. When played to perfection, she could be an easy one to comeback under most match-ups. Nevertheless, with her strong stun done by Scatter the Weak, Syndra could be one of the strongest initiator for team fights.

Lore

Born with immense magical potential, Syndra loves nothing more than exercising the incredible power at her command. With each passing day, her mastery of magical force grows more potent and devastating. Refusing any notion of balance or restraint, Syndra wants only to retain control of her power, even if it means annihilating the authorities that seek to stop her.

Throughout her youth in Ionia, Syndra's reckless use of magic terrified the elders of her village. They took her to a remote temple, leaving her in the care of an old mage. To Syndra's delight, the mage explained that the temple was a school - a place where she could develop her talents under his guidance. Though she learned much during her time there, Syndra no longer felt her power growing as it had in her youth. Her frustration grew, and she finally confronted her mentor, demanding an explanation. He revealed that he had dampened Syndra's magic, hoping to help her learn control and restraint. Accusing him of betrayal, she advanced on the mage, commanding him to lift the spell that was holding her back. He backed away, telling her that if she couldn't control herself, he would be forced to nullify Syndra's magic completely. Furious, she summoned her power and dashed the old man against the walls. With her mentor dead, Syndra felt the rush of her unbounded potential for the first time in years. Though she had won her freedom, she refused to return to the society that had tried to steal her gift. Instead, Syndra decided to claim her former prison as a stronghold. Pushing the boundaries of her magic, she tore the structure from its foundations and raised it into the sky. Free to delve further into her art, Syndra now aims to grow powerful enough to destroy the weak, foolish leaders of Ionia - and anyone else who would dare to shackle her greatness.

"Power belongs to those who can wield it.''

- Syndra

Pros and Cons

Pros

Can give out great burst together with Deathfire Grasp and Unleashed Power
Low cooldowns for damage
Numerous AOE crowd control effect dealt by Force of Will and Scatter the Weak
Easy for kiting opponent
Ability to initiate a fight with Scatter the Weak
Easy to farm with Dark Sphere + Force of Will combo
Girls with balls op

Cons

Lack of gap-closing abilities like Ahri and LeBlanc
Squishy like hell
High skill cap
Mana dependent
Not hard counter for many match-ups

Runes

Runes are expensive like hell so you could use whatever you've got for other AP casters.

MARKS

SPACESPACE

Magic pen marks are Recommended for all AP casters. Trust me, it helps a lot in early games, especially if your opponent is going for magic resist in early games like Chalice of Harmony for Lux and Orianna as well as Abyssal Mask for Diana or Katarina.

SEALS

SPACESPACE

Recommended Seals for [[syndra]] are scaling health seals, as Syndra is naturally squishy. With some extra health you could be more confident in trading with opponent in lane.

SPACESPACE

Alternative Seals for Syndra could be mana regeneration, which could allow you to spam more of your abilities to opponent.. I mean poke them more and scare them away.

SPACESPACE

Another alternative Seals for her would be armor, especially if you are not confident enough to play against with AD mids. But getting Cloth Armor would be a better choice cause armor seals are useless no matter in late games or playing against with AP mids.

Glyphs

SPACESPACE

Recommended glyphs for Syndra must be scaling ability power since it is standard for every AP caster like magic pen marks. Every single point of AP helps in early games.

SPACESPACE

Alternative choice for this could be magic resist glyphs, since it gives you more durability and it helps when you are playing in mid as most of the times you should be playing against an AP caster. Much more useful then armor seals.

Quintessence

SPACESPACE

NO DOUBT on this. Every AP caster should get this one.

Masteries

Though the masteries tree had been changed in Season 3, Syndra had been going with the traditional 21/0/9 masteries as other AP casters had. However, while picking Wanderer for movement speed, I picked Mastermind for cooldown reduction on summoners' spells so that ignite could be available more frequently. Remember to grab a point on Artificer for cooldown redution on items since Deathfire Grasp is essential when you are going to kill your opponent with your combos.

Spells

Recommended Spells

Ignite allows you to finish off your opponent after you have dealt tons of damage on them.

Flash could allow you escape from bad situations, ganks as well as closing the gap for you to pick up to kill.

Viable Spells

Barrier allows you to trade with opponents with high burst and close ranges such as Kassadin and Fizz.

Clarity provides extra mana and makes you feel better in laning. However, it isn't really useful in team fights, especially when you got a heavy AD team.

Ghost works similar to Flash, though Flash is more op, so take Flash if you can.

You could take this if you are extremely afraid of the stuns from champions like Ashe and Taric. Though you are sacrificing your damage output.

Take this if you are incredibly afraid of trading with your opponent. But I think a few more potions would be a better choice.

Take this if the opponent team got champions which can split push hard such as Jinx, Tryndamere or Master Yi.

Please don't take these

Seriously, you don't need this right? You are not playing Sona nor Soraka. Get a ward instead please.

Okay so if you are a good enough player you shouldn't be aiming to do something AFTER YOU ARE DEAD. Learn how to keep yourself alive first. You aren't Karthus.

Abilities Overview

Syndra is generally a powerful mage which possesses strong crowd control and potential burst.

Transcendent

SPACESPACE

This is the reason why Syndra isn't falling off in mid games and late games. Longer duration for slow and wider Scatter the Weak allow you to implant stronger crowd control effects on the enemy team. You know how important crowd control is in the world of League of Legends. So, take it.

transcendent

Dark Sphere

SPACESPACE

This is the main ability for dealing damage as well as implanting crowd control effects together with your other abilities. Therefore, always maxing this first for more damage. Try to learn how to smart-cast this ability so that you could keep poking your opponent while you can still farm.

Dark Sphere

Force of Will

SPACESPACE

This is probably one of the coolest ability in the game. With this ability, you could do it in either way: grab a Dark Sphere, throw it to your opponent to slow them and followed with an easy stun with Scatter the Weak and another Dark Sphere. Or you could do it like me, landing a Dark Sphere onto your opponent and stun them with Scatter the Weak, followed with Force of Will and one more Dark Sphere. Same with Dark Sphere, try to learn smart-casting this ability, it helps you to farm a lot easier.

One point should be noted that this ability can also be used on both red buff and blue buff for extra effect. Throwing red buff onto your opponent would apply the debuff on them while throwing blue buff would refund you 10 mana.

Force of Will

Scatter the Weak

SPACESPACE

This could be one of the most strongest crowd control ability in the game. Combined with other of Syndra's ability, this is how you bully your opponent in lane. Once you master how to land this correctly, you could easily make your opponent got caught and earn an easy 300 golds.

In laning, you should try to make use of this ability to zone out your opponent to deny their farming, especially when playing against melee champions like Diana, Fizz and Kassadin. Try landing this after using your Dark Sphere when they try to last hit minions, followed by Force of Will to drop their health bar low. If you landed all correctly, probably you can drop half of your opponent's health.

As always, smart-casting it allows you to land a smoother combo when you are going in to a fight.

Scatter the Weak

Unleashed Power]

SPACESPACE

Imagine like you are playing with your siblings and you throw all the balls to him/her when you get angry. YES! Exactly! This is why Syndra could be dealing a great burst. However, you should be always aware of your opponent's health bar. This ability should be used at the last moment to pick up the kill, or stealing kills from your teammates if you want.

Mastering how to synergize her abilities set you from the good Syndras. Try to land several Dark Spheres before using Unleashed Power, as every extra sphere is dealing one-third more damage. For most cases, try dropping your opponent low by spamming your standard abilities followed by Unleashed Power. By the time using the ultimate, there should be few Dark Spheres around you.

Unleashed Power

Ability Sequencing

This is most likely how I recommend you to get your ability. Obviously Dark Sphere should be maximize first since it is your major damage dealer. I recommend maxing Scatter the Weak second since leveling up provides your longer stun duration as well as lower cooldowns, which allows you to stun more frequently. Moreover, taking a point early can save you from ganks since you can stun all of them wahahaha. However, if you are not confident enough to land your stuns, you are always felt free to max Force of Will first for more damage.

Items

Starting Items

This is the most standard start for Syndra since Boots gives you higher mobility to dodge the pokes from your opponent while Health Potions give you enough sustainability. If you want feel free to swap few Health Potions for some Mana Potions, or few a sight ward.

This is another viable start for Syndra for more sustainability. Crystalline Flask provides both health and mana regeneration which is very useful for early trades in lane. Though since the price for it is rised, it becomes less cost effcient. Again, you could swap few Health Potions for a sight ward.

Getting a doran's ring could let you do lots more damage in early laning which is a nice option, espeically when you are playing against champions that are not mobile enough such as Karthus. Also, it gives you more health and mana regen for a better trade with your opponents.

Pick this when you are playing against AD mid such as Zed or Kha'Zix. Cloth Armor could let you hurt less and you should be more comfortable in laning.

Boots and Enchantments

This is the standard boots option for AP caster to amplify your damage. Get this for most of the game to allow you dealing some burst damage. However, I would suggest taking tier 2 boots after getting one or two core items first.

Mercury's Treads are your fallback option when you are playing against opponent with insane magic damage or abilities with reducing your magic resist, such as Morgana or Veigar. Nevertheless, tenacity also allows you escape from crowd control more easily and you should be more comfortable in fights.

Enchantment: Alacrity does not give significant benefits but it does help a lot since it gives you more mobility, especially in late games when turrets are pushed. This could allow you to catch an split pushing opponent quicker, or allow you to chase down a low-health enemy.

Enchantment: Distortion reduces the cooldown of Flash by 75 seconds. That helps a lot if you found your opponents are getting better senses for positioning than you and you need to get away from frequently being caught. A Flash being more frequently available does help.

Enchantment: Homeguard is really essential especially when you are losing your fights. This item can allow you to get to the battlefield once you are respawn. Get this when you are gonna lose your game.

Early Game Items

Doran's Ring is always a good item for AP caster since it gives ability power, extra health and mana regen for more sustainability. Feel free to grab one (or two) especially you feel like you are having difficulties in laning.

This could be the must-have item for Syndra. It gives you a lot of mana sustainability which can allow you using your abilities especially since Syndra is mana-dependent. It also gives you some magic resist so that you could stand in lane longer despite of harass by your opponent. Getting a Chalice of Harmony early could allow you building Athene's Unholy Grail later.

If you are playing against an AD mid and you have got Cloth Armor for starting item, you would probably building the Cloth Armor into Seeker's Armguard since this gives you some ability power together with some armor. Moreover, this builds into Zhonya's Hourglass which is a must-have item for every mage in late games.

Some players may find this useful on Syndra since it gives her a larger mana pool and hence eliminate the problem of being mana-dependent. However, I found this doesn't work well with Syndra since this item requires time to snowball while Syndra isn't really a champion rely on snowballing like Kassadin.

Late Game Items

For every mage this could be the must-have item every game. Apart from the 20% cooldown reduction which can allow you to create more Dark Spheres for damage as well as dealing more stuns with Scatter the Weak, the amplification of magic damage dealt by this item can allow you quickly burst down the enemy carry with a set of combo. Every Syndra should be rushing this for the first item.

Another must-have item for every AP caster. 120 ability power + 30 % extra AP = 156 AP by a single item already. This can allow you to deal tons of damage to the enemy team. No explanation is needed.

This is the defensive part of Rabadon's Deathcap. Tons of ability power together with strong active when can help you surviving tough situations. You can use this to dodge all the things you like: Caitlyn's Ace in the Hole, Ezreal's Trueshot Barrage or even Fizz's Chum the Waters. Trust me, you will thank this item when you get it for team fights.

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE SITUATIONAL

I used to rush this for my first item. However, I feel like the stat brought by this item falls off heavily in late game, especially when you got blue buff from your jungler constantly, the mana regen passive and active seems to be a little bit not as useful as that by Deathfire Grasp. Still this is a great item for defensive players as it gives much magic resist.

This is also a great item for Syndra since it provides extra health which is beneficial for Syndra as she is naturally squishy. The passive also enhance the crowd control effect dealt by Syndra as it applies slow whenever your abilities hit the enemy. However, since most of the Syndra's abilities are AOE damaging, it only applies a 15% slow which is relatively weak. I mean, your Force of Will could be dealing stronger slows. But you could still get it if you feel more comfortable with some more health and kiting potential.

This is an awesome item since it gives you decent ability power and cooldown reduction. Feel free to get this if you feel you need some more cooldown reduction. This item is also great for playing against with champions wit high sustainability.

This could be a powerful item for late games when your opponents start to stack magic resist. With flat percentage magic penetration, this can really magnify your damage. I would suggest taking this item for your 3rd or 4th item if possible.

This could be a viable build if you got Tear of the Goddess in early game. The active part could be useful if you feel uncomfortable in trading with your opponents. In team fight, you could use the active to block damage from the enemy carrys. Use this together with Zhonya's Hourglass to survive in fights.

You may find this helpful if you are playing against champions with a single ability that can deal very high burst damage, such as Veigar's Primordial Burst. The passive could let you survive these situations. It can also allow you to avoid some hard crowd controls such as Taric's stun. Grab this if you feel like you are being burst down.

Items that are NOT for Syndra

Ionian Boots of Lucidity seems to be a great item on Syndra because of the cooldown reduction. However, this isn't the best build for her since you could still get enough cooldown reduction from Deathfire Grasp, Athene's Unholy Grail or Morellonomicon as well as your blue buff. Sorcerer's Shoes definitely could be a better choice.

Will of the Ancients could give you more sustainability as it provides significant spell vamp. However since most of the time Syndra should be dealing burst damage, not DPS, and hence spell vamp doesn't help much.

Rod of Ages seems great since it provide lots of health for Syndra who is naturally very squishy. However, Syndra's play is not focused in snowballing and hence getting an item requires snowballing would make you dealing less damage you should be doing. Get Rylai's Crystal Scepter or even Sunfire Aegis if you need some tankiness.

Laning match-ups

Syndra has a relatively strong laning due to her high-damaging abilities together with crowd control effects, as well as the ability for her to deal combos. In early games, you should have 3 goals:

[*]Last hit minions with your auto attacks for most of the time instead of using Dark Spheres.
[*]Try to land Dark Sphere when your opponent is last hitting minions. It would be easier to hit them with the ability.
[*]Dodge all those pokes from your opponents.

When you are doing the right thing, you should be able to get 880 golds for Chalice of Harmony at the time being your first recall to home.

In case you are playing with an easy match-up, or you are playing against melee champions like Diana and Katarina, try landing your combos when they are attempting to farm. You could do this is either way:

>> >> >>

Or in case if you are playing against a hard matchup, you could sometimes use Dark Sphere to get minion kills. However, you should always be aware of your mana since mana should be reserved when once you got ganked you could still get away with Scatter the Weak.

When you are reaching level 6 and you get back to lane from your first recall, try playing a little bit aggressive by landing your combos if you get the opportunity to drop your opponent low. Once your opponent's survivability is low, try finish them off with your full set combo:

>> >> >> >> >>

Remember to walk around to dodge those counter attacks, especially if your opponent's abilities are dealing damages in a line, such as Ahri and Lux.

In laning, buy wards if you can since a little more vision helps a lot, especially you are starting to push your lane. Preventing early games can put your team in advantages. Also, vision can allow you to make sure your opponent are not ready for ganks, which can let you easier to get kills.

Match-ups

The only point that Ahri exert pressures on Syndra is her Spirit Rush, which can be used to closing gap as well as dodging scatter of the weak or Force of Will. Try harass her more with your combo in early levels to deny her farm. Remeber to get a better position as well as anticipating her path to land stuns. You should be easy to outplay her.

Get Boots for your starting items to get yourself more mobility. Since she is melee, try denying her farm in early levels. If possible get a Vision Ward to deny her stealth from her Twilight Shroud. At level 6, she may start playing offensively and rush to you with her ultimate. Try to stun her after she rushed to you and make your counter attack. Grab a Zhonya's Hourglass would help you to counter her in late game too.

The scary point is that she can Flash in and make a stun to kill you. Hence you should keep an eye on her when she tries to approach you. Land your stun before hers so that she would not be able to burst you down.
Remember to stay at the back line in team fight so that you could dodge her stuns in the fight. Focus her and burst her down after she has used her combo. This should be an easy kill for you.

He works more or less similar with Annie. Of course try to dodge his pokes so that he wouldn't be able to stun you. Trade back with your Dark Spheres if you can and burst him down once you got level 6 before he can burst you down.

While Cassiopeia can burst you down with her poison and Twin Fang, her abilities got shorter ranges than yours. Hence try to dodge all those her pokes and harass her from distances. Once you are level 6 try to burst her down before she can get close to you.

I consider Syndra as the ultimate counter from Diana. Since she is melee, just keep poking her with your Dark Spheres and Scatter the Weak to deny her farm. Remember to dodge her cresent strike, you would be a bully in lane.

She got insane mobility with her dary frenzy. Therefore, try to keep a distance with her in lane to avoid taking unnecessary damage. Buy a Vision Ward and place it in lane to keep an eye on her. Once you get level 6, try to burst her down since she is very squishy before getting enough ability power.
Once you are winning in lane, remember to call mias when she leaves her lane. Your teammate would thank you a lot.

A good Fizz would always keep an eye on you when you are going to use your ability and use playful/trickster to dodge your spheres. Therefore, try to poke him either when he is last hitting minions or his playful/trickster is on cooldown. At level 6, you should try to dodge his ultimate and burst him down at a right position.

Gragas could be a hard one for you since he got Body Slam as a strong gap-closer as well as an ultimate to make you out of your right position. Therefore, you should try to harass him before level 6 when he is last hitting minions as well as burst him down before he could hurt you once you got level 6.

This is another counter since you could throw his turrets with Force of Will, which then make his turrets useless. Therefore, try harass harass and harass him. Denying his farm and burst him down once you are able to do so. You would be a bully in lane.

This should be an easy match-up since Karthus is low in mobility. Try avoid his Lay Waste and harass him to deny his farm. Once you are level 6 burst him down quickly to earn the 300 golds. Remember you could always stop him using his Requiem by stunning him with Scatter the Weak, or taking an Zhonya's Hourglass to dodge the damage.

With the recent buff, he is honestly the stronger mid-laner currently. He could easily dodge your Force of Will and scatter the weal with his Riftwalk. Therefore, you should try to turn him down in early levels. Harass him hard before level 6 since he is low in mobility. Calls for junglers for early ganks help too.

Similar to Diana, make use of your range to harass her much. She would be trying to harass you with her Bouncing Blades, but sometimes she would also dodge your abilities with her Shunpo. Always try to position yourself to land your combo when her Shunpo is on cooldown. Once you are level 6, try to burst her down before she does that to you, as her Death Lotus deals a larger burst damage then yours.

The most annoying part is that she got her ultimate which can avoid all your damage. Therefore, try to keep an eye on the cooldowns of her abilities and burst her down before she could react.

LeBlanc could be one of the most difficult match-up for Syndra because of her extremely her burst and mobility. A good LeBlanc could be dodging all your abilities like a ninja. Try harass her before 6 since she is mana-dependent and the cooldown for her Distortion is high. Also, build some more magic resist in early game for you to survive her burst. Once you are level 6, try to catch her in bad position and burst her down if possible, or call for junglers to gank. If you are not confident enough trading with her, feel free to get Barrier for summoners' spell instead of Ignite.

Though she got longer ranges than you, her abilities are mostly dealing damage in a line, so try dodge them as much as you can. Once you are 6 try burst her down with your full combo. That should be an easy kill.

This guy is annoying because of his Malefic Visions which deals damage over time. Try harass him in early levels to deny his farm and burst him down once you are 6. Call for junglers to gank could be a good option too.

Morgana's skills kit is similar to that of Lux's, but her Black Shield can avoid any of the crowd control. Therefore, try to bait her to use her shield before using your combo. This should be an easy match-up for you.

This is a very easy match-up since your abilities outrange hers. Therefore, try to poke her as much as you can and burst her down once you can do so.

Ryze is considered as a medium-ranged champion so you should try to harass him at distance. Meanwhile as he's low in mobility, try to deny his farm by stunning him frequently. Burst him down once you get 6. Remember kill him before he can burst you down as always.

Twisted Fate is a mid-laner about pushing and roaming. While you can push as fast as he can, remember to call mias once he got level 6. While in lane he should be an easy match-up because he is so squishy.

All you need to do is to dodge his Event Horizon. Keep an eye on the time when he tries to approach you. Once his used his stun get yourself in good position and burst him down as quick as possible. At level 6, his ultimate would be a disaster for you. Burst him down before he can use it.

Zyra is relatively an easy match-up. Though her pushing could be insane with her plants. Try harass her as much as you can and get a distance from her plants. Burst her down whenever you can do it.

Team Fights

In team fights, always remember to stay at the backline of your team. You are NOT the tank and you should never be the first one going into the fight, unless you are super fed like 10/0/0 in 20 minutes. While you should always try to land your ability to the crowd or to their carry since yours are AOE damaging abilities.

Once you found any enemy, especially their carrys getting low, just feel free to rush in and burst them down. In case their tanks are peeling their carrys hard, use your slows and stuns to create maximum destruction to their team. Get an eye on any enemy which is out of their position and burst him/her down as quick as you can.

Synergy with Syndra

Champions with AOE abilities incorporated with crowd control would work well with Syndra since it can maximize the chance for Syndra's abilities to deal damage on them. Meanwhile, tanky champions can peel her hard and hence allow her to stand on the battlefield a lot longer.

Champions that synergize with Syndra:

Summary

Syndra is really a fun champion to play with since her capacity is far beyond your imagination. Get ready summoners and have fun playing with balls. Please upvote this guide and I'll be updating this guide continuously.

- I love to watch them fly.

SO MUCH UNTAPPED POWER!

SO MUCH UNTAPPED POWER!

Recommended Items

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Items

Ability Order

Transcendent (PASSIVE)

Dark Sphere (Q)

Force of Will (W)

Scatter the Weak (E)

Unleashed Power (R)

Introduction

Lots of summoners would be curious how Syndra becomes my main champion. In fact, many of you should be feeling the same with me when you are playing her first time: It's difficult to land her abilities efficiently. However, with more practice, Syndra is actually a champion fun to play.

Lore

"Power belongs to those who can wield it.''

- Syndra

Pros and Cons

Pros

Cons

Runes

MARKS

SEALS

Glyphs

Quintessence

Masteries

Spells

Recommended Spells

Viable Spells

Please don't take these

Abilities Overview

Transcendent

Dark Sphere

Force of Will

Scatter the Weak

Unleashed Power]

Ability Sequencing

Items

Starting Items

Boots and Enchantments

Early Game Items

Late Game Items

Items that are NOT for Syndra

Laning match-ups

Match-ups

Team Fights

Synergy with Syndra

Summary

League of Legends Champions: