Swain Daddy walks down the lane...
Stuff dies.

This is my first guide (be gentle with me) for a champion I really enjoy playing, especially since Swain is not played much. Many people in lower tiers of play do not know how to properly handle a Swain.

Swain is a champion who lacks high early game burst like or

Nor is he a champion who is totally a face roll, i.e., mash all four buttons at once and stuff drops dead: or

Overall, Swain is a more defensive champion and through his ability to sustain can maintain his presence within the lane for very prolonged periods of time. Swain is also a great champion for when team fighting begins to occur, he walks into team fight and everyone either runs away screaming or they have the audacity to look at him funny.

Those people die. One way or another.

Like I mentioned earlier, Swain is a mid laner who has been forgotten and is rarely seen on the Rift. He is worth picking up as he is not only a fun champion but he also a great asset to the entire team.

There are two ways, that I know of, that you can play the Swain Daddy.
1. The Pusher
2. Burst Sustain

I will go in detail on these two play styles, both of which are covered within the guide.

1. The Pusher

This is exactly as it sounds. You continual pressure your lane, which is why you put two points into your ability Nevermove first, to assist with farming and harass. This allows you to keep your lane pushed by rooting minions and the enemy champion. Swain's W is his highest damage skill; however, his snare does take some skill in landing due to the delay before it actually snares the enemy.

Early lane phase should consist of focus lying on last hitting and harassing the enemy with Nevermove. Nevermove is the highest damage skill, but it does have relatively high mana costs, so be careful! Once you hit Level 4 you are then able to combo with all four skills, and this carries over to when you hit Level 6.

For both mid to late game, you should be prepared to team fight. Especially when you have Zhonya's Hourglass. Rush into a team fight and activate Zhonya's to show them you mean business.

2. Mr. Burst Sustain (The 2nd build)

Now, you are probably thinking, wait! Didn't you just say that Swain is not bursty? Yes, I did, Swain has moderate burst, but his strength lies in combination from that and his sustained damage from abilities like Torment and Ravenous Flock.

The variation from the previous build lies in more emphasis on increasing AP and your overall burst on solo champions. The two optional burst items I listed are Void Staff and Deathfire Grasp. These two items make Swain a better duelist as opposed to focusing on his team fight capability. Another variation from the build is the change in mana item, i.e., Chalice of Harmony versus Catalyst the Protector. Athene's Unholy Grail gives Swain magic resist and a passive focused on mana regeneration, which in the case of the Swain Daddy are both pluses. Traits that allow him to duel better and give him greater presence within fights.

I personally play the push Swain solely because landing his snare has become semi-easy, and I prefer being able to help the entire team.

Pros:

+ High Sustain
+ Heavy CC in the form of a snare/root
+ Incredible team fight potential
+ AP Off-tank, i.e., a durable mid laner
+ Jungle pressure nonexistent after level 6
+ High Dueling Potential from ridiculous sustain
+ Demon bird transformation

Cons:

- Slow, low movement speed. (He waddles)
- Difficult early game, susceptible to early game high burst
- CC is hard to land from a long range
- Does not handle ranged champions well
- Healing debuffs will cause his ultimate Ravenous Flock to lose effectiveness
- Blue Buff Dependent!

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Passive Carrion Renewal

Swain's Passive. Killing an enemy he regains 9 Mana, +1 each level. Upon killing an enemy champion Swain restores 9% of his maximum Mana. His passive gives incentive to last-hit minions to not only regain Mana but also gold. Allows for harassing enemies with abilities before hitting level 6. With Carrion Renewal Swain can push with Ravenous Flock + Nevermove

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Decrepify

Swain's Q, a damage over time, also slows target while being hit. Excellent followup after landing Torment Setting up a Nevermove Chasing or slowing a chase The abilities full duration does lots of damage, as such if you land Nevermove before casting it the damage is maximized. The Laser Bird will continue to hit targets even if they are untargettable/stealthy

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Nevermove

AoE Nuke, a high damage ability, which snares targets within the area of effect (Champions are still able to use non-mobility abilites/auto-attacks). This skill is Swain's best form of CC; however, it is difficult to land. Nevermove can be used to snare enemy junglers, lane opponent, and saving allies from chases.

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Torment

Deals damage over time and increases the damage coming from him by a percentage. In combination with all his other abilities this makes Torment Swain's best ability. Damage is also includes active item abilities, e.g., Deathfire Grasp and auto-attacks. Use Torment is a great harass to enemy laners at early levels, pepper them with a few auto-attacks and show them that Swain Daddy means business. When used in combination with Ignite an unprepared enemies health will melt.

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Ravenous Flock

The demonic bird transformation that makes Swain an absolute terror once he hits level 6. At least three different targets can be hit by a raven dealing damage, 75% of that damage to champions heals you, and 25% is healed from hitting minions/monsters. A mana regeneration item paired with his ultimate will allow Swain to sustain himself both in lane and in a teamfight. The best way to utilize Ravenous Flock is to pair it with Zhonya's Hourglass, walk into a teamfight with your team behind you and before people can turn on your use your ultimate in conjunction with Zhonya's active to deal major damage to the enemy team.

Flash and Ignite are, in this Meta, standard. So take them. Lest you be the odd one out.

For the instances where you find yourself in these situations:
1. "****, Jungle is ganking and I am very much out of position"
2. "Enemy MID has low health, flash to secure kill"
3. "WE WIN, TIME TO FLASH INTO ENEMY FOUNTAIN!"

Ignite is an extremely useful summoner's spell, especially during the laning phase.
Nevermove + Torment + Decrepify + ULTI + Ignite = A dead champion!

Another possible spell:


The only possible use for TP is to simply give you more map control, and more control over creeps. A scary thought, eh?