Syndra is dominating the meta right now and this guide will tell you how to play her. Although she has no dash, she does have a variety of spells that will allow you to one shot an enemy carry and peel for yourself. She can win lane and still have massive impact in the late game, she can single-handedly win your team the game.

Syndra's Kit

Transcendent (Passive): At max level, Syndra's abilities gain an extra effect. This means she has pretty big power spikes at level 9, 13, and 18.

Q: This does 15% more damage.
W: 33% increased slow.
E: Spell is 50% wider.
R: Range is increased by 75 units.

Dark Sphere (Q): This is a low mana low cooldown spell that is good for lane control and wave clear in the mid to late game. You can use it to one-shot the caster minions in the mid to late game. Dark Sphere can help you win lane because you can last hit with it and poke the opponent. It will spawn a sphere that will affect how much damage your Unleash Power will do and also determine if your Scatter the Weak stuns someone.

Force of Will (W): You can use this to position you spheres into position for a stun it can also be used to last hit cannons because it does more damage than an auto attack. You can also use it to kill the blue buff if you get leashed for it. When you get your Rylai's this increases the slow by quite a bit and if you hit your Dark Sphere, you can normally follow it up with Force of Will.

Scatter the Weak (E): The main use of this ability is for self-peel and if you know you can get the stun off you can easily use it to stun and win trades. It doesn't really do much damage so there's not really much point in using it for that, you should just use it for self-peel and stuns onto divers and carries. If you hit someone with a Dark Sphere, it will stun them for 1.5 seconds.

Unleash Power (R): The damage of your ult all depends on how many spheres you have out. If you have used Dark Sphere enough you can use it to one-shot a carry. Although it does have a max damage, if you land a full rotation of spells you can one-shot almost every ADC and mid laner.

The maxing order for abilities is Dark Sphere-Force of Will-Scatter the Weak and Unleash Power whenever possible.

Laning

Syndra is one of the most oppressive laners in the game right now. There are many factors that contribute to her being this strong such as her poke with Dark Sphere and her ability to trade without taking much or any return damage. She has good matchups against most champions and it is a good idea to just try to get even with her. Some champions to do this effectively are Vladimir and Fizz as these have abilities that will stop your burst damage. If you play against one of the champions who goes even it is a good idea to try to just push them under their own tower and roam to different lanes and get ahead this way. Here are some opponents you might face and how to play against them:

Fizz is the hardest matchup you will face as his Playful Trickster will stop some of your ult damage and knockback on him, so you want to save it until he has used his Playful Trickster. You should just try to go even with Fizz and make sure you always SS and even follow him when he roams.

Yasuo can go one of two ways. If you get a lead you can force him to play defensive or risk feeding you or you can be forced to play under turret and only fight when you get ganks. You should try to use your Scatter the Weak after his Wind Wall or if he dashes directly on you.

LeBlanc is actually a good matchup for Syndra, contrary to popular belief, because when she dashes toward you, Scatter the Weak will knock her back and stop a lot of her burst damage because she will have to ult to do it again. Much like with Fizz its key to SS and follow when she roams.

Here are some combos you need to know.

Level 2 Trade

This isn't your strongest point, but if you land a Dark Sphere and then use Scatter the Weak you will knock them away and stun them. This will also trigger Thunderlord's Decree for some extra damage. You can level 2 trade well with some champions but not with others. For example, Fizz will win the trade because his Playful Trickster will stop your Scatter the Weak.

Level 6 All-in

Syndra has one of the strongest level 6 all-ins when it comes to mages because of the damage her Unleash Power can add to a trade. You will want to use your Dark Sphere as many times as possible, as this will maximise your damage. To trade at level 6, you will want to land the Scatter the Weak and Dark Sphere combo then follow it up with Force of Will and Unleash Power if they're low enough for it to kill them. This will take some getting used to, but once you know the damage you can dominate most trades.

Team Fights

Syndra has one job in team fights and that's one-shot a carry, either the mid laner or ADC. If you do this, you have done your job and can continue to output damage with stuns and slows. To one-shot a carry, you want to hit them with a Dark Sphere or with a stun from Scatter the Weak followed by a Force of Will and Unleash Power. This should normally be enough to kill a carry unless you are too far behind, at which point you shouldn't really be fighting. You shouldn't go too far to try to get a one-shot. You should wait for the best time to strike and this is when they've just used a dash or Flash or when they are already stunned by something else. That's when you go for the all-in.

Summoner Spells

Flash: Flash is a must have Summoner spell on Syndra as she has no dashes or escapes and if she gets dove onto you will most likely need this to escape. It is also very good for avoiding ganks as you can get away from things like Elise's Cocoon and Gragas' Body Slam. Flash is essential for this reason.

Ghost: You will want Ghost in even or winning matchups as it gives you good chase potential. It is also good for roams as it has a low cooldown and can be used to get to other lanes faster.

Cleanse: This is good when playing against a team or a laner with lots of CC as you can escape it. I would recommend it against Varus and Cassiopeia. You can also use it to escape ganks, mainly against Elise as you can Cleanse to get out of her Cocoon. However, do not be fooled! It cannot get rid of Warwick or Malzahar suppression like Quicksilver Sash can.

Barrier: Mainly take Barrier in losing lanes or if you think you will get ganked a lot and you want to be able to survive as it can stop some burst damage. I would recommend this over Heal because Ignite stops Heal but not Barrier.

Runes and Masteries

If you are against an AD champion, I would recommend these Runes:

However, against an AP champion, I would recommend these Runes:

For Masteries, you want to go a 12/18/0 that looks something like this:

Build

Core Items

Morellonomicon: The mana regeneration and cooldown reduction is the main reason to buy this as Syndra has high mana costs at early levels and the regeneration helps to mitigate these costs. It also needs a Lost Chapter to be completed and this is a good early item because it gives you 200 mana per level up and you will be levelling up quite a bit early game. The cooldown reduction also helps your Unleash Power come back up faster and you can be ready for most trades or all-ins.

Sorcerer's Shoes: These are the main boots you will buy as they help if your lane opponent buys an Abyssal Scepter, as they will penetrate the magic resist the Scepter gives them. It will also help against tanks early on so you can be ready for them to build magic resist.

Rylai's Crystal Septer: This item is really strong on most mages and Syndra is no exception. Her Dark Sphere having a slow makes her kite and chase potential insane. It also gives you 400 health so you can have a lot more survivability in team fights and can slow people trying to dive onto you.

Situational Items

Abyssal Scepter: If you are laning against an AP assassin or an AP champion with lots of burst damage, you should buy this item as it will help you survive some burst damage and mean you can stay in lane longer and farm without as much pressure.

Rabadon's Deathcap: This will up the amount of burst damage you do substantially as it gives you 120 AP base and 20% of your current AP added on. It will give you enough damage to one-shot most enemy carries or threats. It should be brought pretty late, probably as a 4th or 5th item, as it costs a lot and early on you don't just want to have lots of parts if your team is behind or you're not generating a lot of gold.

Zhonya's Hourglass: Assassins can be a big problem for Syndra and Zhonya's should help you deal with them and survive most burst damage. It also gives you cooldown reduction. I recommend getting this early against champs like Zed and Fizz as it will give you a lot more survivability in lane and team fights.

Void Staff: This will make you do damage against tanks. The only time you should not be building this is if they have no tanks. Otherwise, it is a necessity and will give you the damage you need to take down those tanky frontliners.

Luden's Echo: Luden's Echo isn't something I would recommend buying but it can be useful if you are playing against a lot of skillshots and you have trouble dodging them normally. The movement speed from will help and it also gives a decent amount of AP, but this is the only time I would buy it over anything else.

Liandry's Torment: This is another item that helps you with backline divers as it also gives you HP the passive doesn't really help you as much as you would like but it has good synergy with Rylai's because your slows will now burn.

Ionian Boots of Lucidity: You always want to finish with 40% cooldown reduction on Syndra and this will help you reach that goal if you can't do it with your build. That's the only time I would bother buying these over Sorcerer's Shoes.

Conclusion

Syndra is a strong pick to always have up your sleeve and hopefully this article helped you understand how to play her. She can be one of the most oppressive mid laners in the game and can solo win your team a game so go out there and win some games!

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