Syndra/Strategy

Skill Usage

 * It is recommended to get one of your spells to rank 5 as quickly as possible to benefit from its bonus.
 * Maxing first is highly recommended. This will increase the damage vs champions, while the other  bonuses offer improved utility but no extra damage.
 * It is also recommended that smart casting is used on all of Syndra's abilities except her ultimate. This allows for seamless transition between her abilities and faster combos, which is critical in team fights.
 * However, while and  are musts for smart casting, you may not want to smartcast  as you could end up grabbing a minion instead of an sphere or grabbing the wrong sphere. This problem disappears as you get used to Syndra.
 * To get out 4 bonus spheres (the maximum possible) you need more than 30% cooldown reduction and you can do this by using the following combo: Q, Q, W (targeting the first sphere), Q, Q, followed immediately by . However, the delay on her ultimate and the increased micromanagement requires a higher level of skill on an already difficult champion. For most players, it may be more efficient to try using Q and E, Q again and W on the first dark sphere, and then use - this sacrifices one or two dark spheres on her ultimate for a quicker, more reliable combo.
 * Four sphere combo  is mostly used to kill a very tanky champion, like a fighter.
 * Two sphere (assuming you actually hit the damage of the sphere summoning itself) is usually enough to smash a squishy target (Syndra decimates squishies) like a Marksmen or Mage.
 * One or no sphere is only used if you have everything else on cooldown and need to kill someone immediately, the damage is actually quite respectable with only one bonus sphere.
 * If you notice your opponent is easily avoiding all your try to become more conservative about it, the low cooldown makes it tempting to use continuously, but pushes the lane if you hit minions (and invites junglers) and drains your mana quickly at higher ranks.
 * has no channel upon cast, which means you can cast it without interrupting your movement. Take this into consideration when playing Syndra, since it allows you to kite and chase enemy champions easily.
 * During laning, keep Syndra always on the move, only stopping to last hit or kill someone. This way Syndra will be more safe from skillshots and delayed abilities and she will be free to poke with  while still moving.
 * To maximize your chances of hitting the enemy champion with, use it right when they last-hit.
 * After you hit an enemy champion with, follow up with ; they'll be slowed and have a hard time avoiding it. If you are confident enough in your own aiming, casting right after  will cause them to hit at the same time; this can save a few seconds if you are considering a combo for.
 * When being chased in the jungle, use on a nearby neutral monster to slow the enemy champion.
 * Thin choke points like most of the jungle will make it easier to use when an opponent gets too close.
 * can be used to throw enemy player pets such as to get them away from allies or yourself.
 * Be careful about grabbing as his damaging aura is still active while held by.
 * Even though it is possible to teleport while carrying a minion or buff with the link will break and it will be released from where you teleported from.
 * Placing a directly in front of yourself and then follow it up with a quick and well-aimed  gives you a long range stun.
 * Try using right after using  for an increased chance on stunning enemies for a quick follow up of  and.
 * will still stun a champion if they get between a and yourself, if they are in-line with the abilities knockback. Note that the stun occurs when the sphere and the enemy collide, therefore you do get a fraction of a second's length longer on your knockback-stun cc chain if you hit a nearby enemy into a farther away sphere.
 * When fleeing, creating a  and/or using  won't halt or slow your movement at all, making these good options for deterring chase or making it impossible to catch up to you, particularly if you have Rylai’s. 's cast animation may allow pursuers to gain ground necessary to use a targeted ability on you, therefore you should consider if this might be the case before using it to secure an escape.
 * Try to stay back in teamfights since Syndra is pretty fragile.
 * Her main damage abilities,  and  have good range so she can stay back.
 * You should only get close to use (before rank 3 the range is quite short) after you have summoned about two spheres.
 * If someone gets too close punish them with a  into a stun with . If the enemy is relentless drop another sphere, a  and a finishing ultimate.

Build Usage

 * Syndra's damage output is reliant on a high CDR build - it will provide stronger harass with Q and W combos, and being able to maintain more dark spheres on the battlefield will potentially increase the damage on.
 * She is extremely mana hungry.  provides every stat she needs; AP, CDR, and mana regen.
 * The passive on synergizes with all of her spells to varying degrees; however the bonus mana on  will help with Syndra's high mana costs and may be a preferable option depending on your runes and masteries.
 * Building a will help provide Syndra with more AP and CDR, as well as its active effect will help with her damage output and improve her burst.
 * Due to 's low cooldowns on, an early , and then an , can be charged quickly and therefore a viable item to have.
 * It has been debated that is a better purchase on Syndra due to the  active, which triggers per sphere during . With only Muramana for mana, the bonus damage per sphere at full mana is between 93-129 (level 6-18). This is the single most damage attainable from only a single item, and is the equivalent of having 465-645 bonus ability power. This is 279-387 bonus damage with only the minimum 3 spheres.

Countering

 * Get boots early when playing against, they'll help you avoid many of her spells.
 * Constantly moving or strafing unpredictably will make it much harder for to harass you with her s
 * Attack after she's used, it has a long cooldown, so she will be vulnerable.
 * With no reliable escape tool she is also easily ganked and weak against champions with gap closers and crowd controls.
 * When ganking her split up so she can't use and  to disable both you and your ally. If she manages to stun she will also easily get to slow you, and will likely escape if both you and your ally are affected by this.
 * If keeps creating s in a situation where she would be better off doing something else (like re-positioning or knocking back enemies), then she is likely preparing to use her ultimate.
 * But beware when she has 3-4 on the terrain during teamfights, because she can then deal massive damage with  (up to 1260+140% AP), followed by  to instantly kill a team member and stun the whole team if you're not spread out enough.
 * is a bursty mage, try to focus her down first if you are having problems with her damage.
 * ​In late game she can be very powerful with her spammable nuke. Try to deny her farming early game to cut down on her damage potential later on.
 * Be wary when dueling in a 1v1 with . If her ultimate  is available she can instantly burst you down before you are able to kill her.
 * The  and  stun combo can be very hard to land if enemy is too close to her, meaning bursty melee assassin can kill her with ease.
 * If using this method, beware her ultimate  since it has pretty short range, meaning she might use it on you, being the closest person. Try this plan when her ultimate goes on cooldown. (Warning: at rank 3 her ultimate's range is increased by 75)

Champion Spotlight


Syndra/Strategy