User blog comment:HeresyHorus/Syndra, a tale of a lost potential/@comment-9533487-20131103154311

I do think Syndra has some issues, but I think it is more in the dps department than anything else. Think about it--pretty much all of the popular ap champions either have unavoidable damage up close, strong dps which is easier to hit up close, or passives to improve their sustain/the damage on whatever they do hit. By easier to hit up close, I mean anything that goes in a line skillshot. People don't just go melee range on Lux if a single snare would kill them. Similarly, near-death opponents don't just go melee range on Karthus when his huge aoe field can put down guaranteed damage to them.

Syndra's Q, the only spell she has remotely approximating dps, is rather medium range in tandem with its unremarkable size. It is a difficult spell to poke with if your opponent has pretty much any bonus MS, considering it takes about the same amount of time to walk out of as it takes to appear and deal damage. Hitting multiple opponents with this spell pretty much doesn't seem like it's meant to happen because unlike your W's range, this puts you in immediate danger of dying to any gapcloser such as Jax, Lee, Talon, Zed, the summoner spell Flash...... Pretty much makes W or E her safe poke, but E won't do much damage, and W costs either a Q's mana as well, or pushes your lane from the minion you use. This isn't accounting for W having quite a cooldown compared to her Q, either--you won't accomplish much by only attempting to poke every 12-8s, depending on W rank.

With 40% CDR, you get a 2.4s Q. This is unacceptable dps by any standards, even if you hit every Q. In other words, you aren't worth much vs any bruiser, tank, or most assassins. You're pretty much anti-mage and anti-marksman, that's what Syndra can excel at.

One last thing: what's all this people are saying about Syndra's max ult damage? Do you really think you're going to get a 7-ball during any fight? Even if you wait in a bush, it's not like you can count on someone coming at the exact right time or sitting there for long enough for prep.