Talk:Swain/@comment-34728176-20180217183736/@comment-34825222-20180226224247

While he is similar AP brawler like Vlad and Kennen, he's a lot less squishier than them since he doesn't have the defense of or the easy-to-proc stun of. He can't just jump into the middle of a fight like they can, as he'll be easily bursted down before he absorbs enough health for Demonflare.

But Swain has other tools to help him in teamfights. At first, (W) seems like a weak, easy-to-dodge skillshot, but its true value lies in its range, vision, and slow. A well placed W will likely be dodged by the enemy team, but it cuts off access to some areas and can separate the enemy team, like, while also granting valuable vision of key members of the enemy team.

When the enemy team is separated, Swain can force a skirmish with (E) and pull a target into his team. These small skirmishes are where Swain shines the most; since the enemy team doesn't have all their members, they don't have the damage to burst down Swain. (R) can be used to drain 2 or 3 enemy champs (remember, it can only drain a max of 3 targets) and eventually (R) to finish the fight. Since (Q) is so low(2.5 seconds at rank 5!), it's great for long teamfights where you can cast it 5 or 6 times.

I agree, Swain needs some tweaks, but I think Riot is being very careful with how they tweak him since he has some extremely powerful elements if used correctly. One change I'd make is to give him a little more waveclear, it's difficult to clear waves without using all your mana at early levels.