Talk:Swain/@comment-25325968-20150924040112/@comment-24882239-20151003051554

The change to Roa was a buff to him. The extra AP and Mana is very big, and the loss of health is Ok since he can make some of it back with his ult (with the extra Ap it grants I mean). Zhonyas is the only thing which you may consider a nerf, but it is also cheaper so he can get that spike earlier, which is huge. Most important though was the change to Liandries, which is a rediculously big buff, and since that was already an item for him, it just became more slot effecient. You should not be getting Frozen Heart on Swain. Really want CDR and mana that badly, get morellos or athenes (which I also do not reccomend, but they make more sense). The extra armor isn't worth the slow considering how it gives no AP, zhonyas armor and active should be enough for whatever AD opponent you are dealing with,

And I agree that he is not quite OP, but he is strong with too little counter play, which is a problem. The counter play is basically: Outrange him or beat him really hard early. He doesnt need much to be strong (ROA or Tear and Zhonyas) and he can snowball really hard and can easily win fight out numbered, compared to other champs thanks to the extra sustain from his ult.