Hi everyone. My name summoner name is Honkinstein and I wanted to show you how I play Leona. She is a great tank if you play smart and have a good team behind you. Now League of Legends is an ever changing game and you should try and adapt to the team your playing. So what im saying is don't follow my guide to the T. If you see something on the other team such as a heavy AD team then get more armor than what it says in my guide.

Enjoy my guide and please try it out before you rate.

On the upper slopes of Mount Targon, the warriors of Rakkor live and breathe only for war. However, Targon's peak is reserved for a special group of Rakkoran who answer to a ''higher'' calling. Members of this group, called the Solari, retire their mantles of war, choosing instead to devote their lives to reverence of the sun. According to legend, the Solari were formed by a warrior who could call the raw might of the sun down upon his enemies in combat. He claimed Mount Targon's summit, the point on Valoran closest to the sun, for his solar devotion, a tradition which generations of Solari have preserved to this day. Though they maintain their reverence, no other warrior possessed the gifts of the founder -- until Leona.

Leona's parents were traditional Rakkorans, both bred for the heat of battle. To them, Leona was a problem child. She was capable of fighting as fiercely as any other -- including her childhood friend, Pantheon -- but she did not share their zeal for killing. She believed that the true worth of a soldier lay in her ability to defend and protect. When it came time for her Rite of Kor, a ceremony in which two Rakkoran teens battle to the death for the right to bear a relic-weapon, Leona refused to fight. For this, the Rakkoran leaders ordered her execution, but when they tried to strike the fatal blow, sunlight burst forth, bathing Mount Targon in light. As it faded, Leona stood unharmed and her executioners lay unconscious around her. The Solari immediately claimed Leona, demanding that her sentence be repealed. She donned the golden armor of the Solari and they bestowed upon her the sword and shield passed down from the ancient sun-warrior of legend. The Solari helped Leona focus her abilities, and when she was ready she left to join the League of Legends.

''The sun's rays reach all of Runeterra, so too must the image of its champion.''
-Leona

Pros:

-Great Disabler
-Great at ganking
-Added armor and magic resist with Eclipse
-Awesome Ult
-Great Initiator

Cons:

-You have to know when to use Zenith Blade or you can get thrown in the middle of everything when you don't want to be there
-Squishy early game if you don't have runes

I chose these runes for the non-squishyness early game. They add a lot of magic resistance and armor. The added health is great combined with your masteries.

Offensive Tree:

The reason I put 8 points into the Offensive Tree is because of the added cooldown with Sorcery. Leona's cooldowns are high so she needs more cooldown reduction to be more effective with her laning partner. It is also nice to have a bit of ability power and a debuff with your exhaust. I felt like I didn't need the point in magic pen and I could put more use to it putting it in the Defensive Tree.

Defensive Tree:

Since I play Leona as a main tank I speced all the way into the Defensive Tree. The added armor and magic resist is great early and and the health regen helps a lot. I have been at 100 hp and regenerated it all back because of my pendant and because of the added regen in the tree. Leona is one of the slowest champions starting out in the game so its nice when she dodges to get that added speed. Having the 4% reduced damage and all of your resistances makes you a hard champ to harras early game because they don't do much damage to you or you regen it all back very easy.

The reason I build my items this way is for the insane amount of resistances. You have so much resistance that late game you can soak up a lot of damage.
Regrowth Pendant + Mana Potion
Early game these two items make it so you can stay in lane for a very long time. When you run low on mana you can pop your potion and with your masteries you regenerate it very easily.
Philosopher's Stone + Mercury's Treads
I usually buy my Philosopher's Stone and Boots together and head back to lane. The 5 gold per 10 seconds is great for saving up to finish the Boots into Mercury's Treads. It makes it so you can stay in lane for as long as you want. I try to buy boots quickly because she is sooooo slow.
Sunfire Aegis + Banshee's Veil
These two items add a lot of health and a good amount of resistances. When you get these two items you are very hard to kill.

THESE ITEMS ABOVE ARE YOUR CORE. ALWAYS TRY TO GET THESE ITEMS.

After the core you need to decide who is doing the most damage to you and your team. If it is an ability power champion get a Force of Nature. If it is an attack damage champion get a Thornmail.
And to finish it all off I like to get a Shurelya's Battlesong. The added CD and movement speed buff are awesome.

Exhaust:

A great spell for shutting down their carry or chasing an opposing player. With Cripple it makes it even easier to kill a champion.

Flash:

Flash is an awesome skill. You can use it to escape and to chase someone down. This is the best summoner spell in my opinion.