Talk:Swain/@comment-1920011-20130402220938/@comment-7145241-20130405085541

I tried him without RoA, and I sucked. The health keeps me from getting nuked, especially in mid against another AP. A full RoA also gives me the mana for 10s ult, and I need that for my playstyle.

Normal build: lvl1 shoes, RoA, Chalice, Sorc boots, Hourglass, Athene's, Abyssal, and situational (Lyandries, Deathcap or defensive)

Play: Follow the Tank, snare as many people as you can, kill the Carry, kill the AP Carry, snare as many people as you can, slow fleeing enemies. When focused pop Hourglass.

As OP said, this works only if Swain is ahead in terms of Items. Plus the ulti has to be at least LVL2 and you need the MR reduction from shoes and Abyssal