Hi everyone, I'm Qurolix from Singapore, I'm playing in the South-East Asia server.

There are many guides out there, however, mine is unique mainly due to my playstyle. As a result, I have different item build from other guides. I will give a thorough analysis on my item build, and hopefully I can convince you that it works.

I'm sure you have seen many mages who don't care about defense. They are thinking "I'm a burst mage, it doesn't make sense to build defense." If opponent team is not strong, then this strategy may work.

However, if opponent team is very strong, she will die so quickly, she doesn't have time to damage. She will end up with lower damage than if she build some defense. This is why defense is important, it's not just for tanks! This is where my playstyle differs from other guides.

I believe there are some core items for every champion. These are the items which I feel a player must get, because they are just awesome.

Eye of Ascension is self explanatory, you need to ward. It's better in the long run than Eye of the Watchers, since you don't get to poke much in mid and late game.

Sorcerer's Shoes is self explanatory, you need the mobility.

If you agree that defense is important, then Zhonya's Hourglass is the logical choice for you. It gives you armour but that is not the main thing. The main thing is the passive, stasis (wow it rhymes).

1. It counters melee diving champs
   Most of us know that Zed is very irritating, he can dive at you easily and get away easily after that. We will get Zhonya's Hourglass to counter that. However, it's also applicable to many other champs who can dive at you easily. Once opponent dives at you, just use Zhonya's Hourglass, you will be untargetable for 2.5s.
   
   During this time, firstly, since your opponent dives in, he will be ganked by your teammates. Secondly, he will be forced to change target, who may be a tank. It will not be ideal for him since he need a long time to kill the tank.
   
   
2. It counters ranged burst mages
   If you get snared by Lux, you will be bursted down by her. Once you get snared, just use Zhonya's Hourglass. You can dodge her skillshots! She would waste her skills targeting you.

In some situations, if you are still in a dangerous position after 2.5s, just use your flash. It would put you in a safer position since your tank can help you to tank opponents' skills. It would also buy you time from diving champs who wants to dive at you.

Normally Zhonya's Hourglass will save you 1 or 2 times in a game. If you are still not convinced, I will show you a game in which it saved me 4 times! I got lucky in that game.

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Next item you should get is Luden's Tempest, to max your cdr. It's important to max your cdr so that you can spam your skills. This is how you get high damage and cc. By the time you finish building it, you would get 20 ap from an excess of 10% cdr from Transcendence.

After getting your core items, you just build damage. Rabadon's Deathcap gives you a huge burst of damage once you get it.

Liandry's Torment is good since it gives you some hp for survivability other than damage.

If your opponent's team has Soraka, then you can get Morellonomicon to counter her. The opponent you are targeting will get Grievous Wounds, which means they receive 40% less from heals.

Sorcery rune is your main rune. As the name implies, it's meant for sorcerers.

Arcane Comet gives you good damage, especially when poking.

Manaflow Band is self explanatory, you need lots of mana to poke.

Transcendence is important in getting cdr as quickly as possible.

Gathering Storm is self explanatory, it gives you so much damage, especially in late game.

Domination is a good secondary rune to increase your damage.

Cheap Shot and Eyeball Collection gives you additional damage.

1. Her skills are multi target!
   There are some champs whose skills only hit the first enemy. They have to make sure that minions don't get it their way before they use.
   
   However, all of Zyra's skills are multi target! You don't have to care about minions getting in your way. When opponent's adc go for the last hit, just use Grasping Roots to snare, and if it hits, spam the other skills. If your opponent's support has single target skills such as Blitzcrank, you would be at a huge advantage. You can hide behind the minions safely while poking adc, whereas opponent cannot hook you until the minions are cleared.
   
   
2. She has very long range
   She can catch opponent's adc from a very long range of 1100 with Grasping Roots. Once he's snared, you use Deadly Spines and Rampant Growth at a range of 800. Most adc's base aa range is 600, so he cannot aa you back. You use your long range to counter him.
   
   
3. She has good cc
   Once you max Grasping Roots, the snare is 2s. This means that Thorn Spitter will have much time to hit your opponent. Your teammates can also have more time to gank the opponent.

Compared to the popular guide, my guide has a few differences.

I emphasize strongly on getting the Zhonya's Hourglass as a core item, reasons are stated above. I would recommend you to try it if you have haven't.

His guide also recommends getting defense from items such as Liandry's Torment and Rylai's Crystal Scepter. With this build, you lose out on damage because these items are semi tank. It's better to get just one good defense item, Zhonya's Hourglass. After that, you can build your cdr and your damage. After your core items, you can get Rabadon's Deathcap to boost your damage.

I recommend you to max Grasping Roots first, because her snare duration increases with level. It's always good to have high cc. Some adc has skillshot which has some delay. If you cc your opponent, your adc can land his skillshot. It's also very good in a teamfight.

I hope you have learnt a new playstyle with Zyra. My item build is also suitable for many other support, including Brand, who is also my favourite support. If you feel that it sounds good, feel free to try it. It works very well for me, so I hope it would be the same for you too. It's satisfying for me if I manage to help you with my guide. Thank you for reading.