Hi, my name is Demonsedge, and I've been enjoying my time on league of legends. I can't say enough about this game.

When looking to make a splash in the mid lane I pick Syndra, since I have plenty of knowledge of how this champion feels and works. Concerning Syndra's team setup and itemization, I will provide a more in-depth look at all this information below as you read this guide.

I hope you enjoy this guide and follow my suggestions to understand how Syndra works optimally.

So let's kick things off in style with my guide on Syndra - The Dark Sovereign.

Syndra - The Dark Sovereign Mage, Mid Specialties: Damage, Range, Crowd Control Why choose Syndra?: - Has potent burst damage for fights and skirmshes. - Very impactful in lane and when getting objectives such as turrets / dragons or baron nashor . - While not the easiest champion to learn, but once mastered brings lots to the table in terms of damage and carry potential. I always enjoy taking her on the rift when playing league, and I hope you will too.

Pros + High burst + Strong late game + Good wave clear + Lane bully + Strong team fight + Good peel Cons - Immobile - Bad if behind - Skill shot reliant - Squishy - Positioning is important - Mana intensive

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Transcendent

Syndra collects splinters of wrath over time, enhancing each of her abilities and granting them new effects. She gains splinters of wrath from the following: - Dealing two instances of damage dealt by abilities to an enemy champion within 4 seconds grants splinters. It cannot occur on the same target more than once every 8 seconds. - Ranking up abilities beyond level 1 grants up to a max of 85 splinters. - Killing a large minion grants 1 splinter. Collecting a splinter of wrath from an enemy restores mana.

At 120 splinters of wrath, Syndra achieves Transcendence, gaining increased ability power.

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Dark Sphere

| Effect Radius: 210 | Target Range: 800 | Recharge: 7 | Static Cooldown: 1.25 | Cast Time: - | Cooldown: 6 | Cost: 40 / 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 Mana | Syndra conjures a Dark Sphere at the target location that appears after a 0.6-second delay, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies. Then remains on the ground for 6 seconds. This ability is your primary source of poke for Syndra. It's very effective for farming minions that you might otherwise miss with your auto attacks, but be mindful that this ability has an increased mana cost per rank. Instead, save it when looking to damage the enemy in short bursts. Dark Sphere will cast at max range if activated beyond its cast range and can be used while moving.

Transcendent Bonus: Collecting 40 splinters of wrath upgrades Dark Sphere to periodically stock charges, up to a maximum of 2 (charge uptime reduced by ability haste).

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Force of Will

| Effect Radius: 225 | Target Range: 925 (grab)/ 950 (throw)/ 500 (nearest target)| Cast Time: - | Cooldown: 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8 | Cost: 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 Mana | Syndra grabs the nearest Dark Sphere, enemy minion or non-epic monster, holding the target for 5 seconds. If grabbing a Dark Sphere, the duration refreshes, but if you select a minion or monster, it enters stasis until tossed. Syndra throws the grabbed target towards the target location, granting sight of the surroundings and then dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies. All targets hit are slowed upon contact. Force of Will's added slow effect is potent when looking to chain a Dark Sphere on the slow-down opponent. Very useful when looking to secure the cannon minions needed while farming splinters to evolve your skills and scale into the late game. - Nearby Dark Spheres will take priority when Force of Will selects its target before minions and monsters . - Force of Will can be recast while the target is being held and activated while moving.

Transcendent Bonus: Collecting 60 splinters of wrath enhances Force of Will to deal bonus true damage.

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Scatter the Weak

| Speed: 2,500 / 2,000 | Angle: 56° / (84° transcendent bonus) | Width: 120 / 200 | Collision Radius: 70 | Target Range: 700 / 800 / 1,300 | Cast Time: 0.25 | Cost: 50 Mana | Cooldown: 17 | Syndra propels a wave of force in a cone in the target direction that deals magic damage to enemies hit and knocks them away from Syndra, though not through any terrain. When one or more Dark Spheres in conjunction with this skill hit targets, they are stunned for 1.25 seconds. They are also revealed and are dealt Scatter the Weak's damage if not damaged by the initial cast. Using Scatter the Weak is very effective when knocking back enemies who get too close or on enemies who have to channel abilities ( Galio Shield of Durand, Samira Inferno Trigger, Katarina Death Lotus, Miss Fortune Bullet Time). Being your only form of disengage, I would strongly avoid using it to attack minions and save it for incoming dives or to save you from near-death situations.

Transcendent Bonus: Collecting 80 splinters of wrath enhances Scatter the Weak to have an increased scatter angle and slows enemies hit.

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Unleashed Power

| Effect Radius: 3,000 | Target Range: 675 | Cast Time: - | Cooldown: 113.21 / 94.34 / 75.47 | Cost: 100 Mana | Passive: Dark Sphere gains ability haste. With Unleashed Power, Syndra conjures three Dark Spheres and grabs up to four nearby Dark Spheres. Afterwards, the collected Dark Spheres thrown at the enemy champion deal magic damage per sphere hit. The Dark Spheres will then remain on the ground for a short time after the initial cast for you to manipulate with your other abilities. Unleashed Power is the only point-click ability in Syndra's kit, so you shouldn't have an issue missing this in fights (unless the enemy breaks vision with you). An excellent finisher option when looking to secure a kill or weaken an enemy for an ally to finish off.

Transcendent Bonus: Collecting 100 Splinters of Wrath enhances Unleashed Power to execute the target if they are below 15% of their maximum health.

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In this section, I will share some of the effective combos for Syndra that are simple to understand and that you can apply while playing summoners rift (draft and ranked) games.

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Playing As Syndra:
- To maximize Unleashed Powers damage use it when there are many Dark Spheres on the battlefield.
- After you hit an enemy champion with Force of Will follow up with Dark Sphere, they'll be slowed and have a hard time avoiding it.
- Get one of your spells to rank 5 as quickly as possible, they gain powerful bonus effects at max rank.


Playing Against Syndra:
- Get Boots early when playing against Syndra, they'll help you avoid many of her spells.
- Attack Syndra after she's used Scatter the Weak, it has a long cooldown so she'll be vulnerable.
- At max rank Syndra's spells gain bonus effects and change in appearance.

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- Ability Power: Best stat for Syndra, which can enhance all your abilities in combat. Always look to itemize for this when you can. - Ability Haste: Very important champion stat to acquire as Syndra. Look to itemize for this when available. - Health: This stat is essential in the grand scheme, but it's not something you need to focus on when playing as Syndra. - Attack Speed: Not something we focus on since our auto attacks are pretty weak overall, and the most you'll want is the rune shard we acquire (more to be explained down below). - Life Steal: I would skip this stat on Syndra. We don't apply much in terms of auto-attack damage, so it's best to avoid this at all costs. - Omni Vamp: Could work in theory, though we don't often stay in combat long enough to make it worthwhile. - Armor/Magic Resistance: Itemize for it only if the matchup you are dealing with deems it necessary for your survival. - Movement Speed: Great for kiting and escaping fights, but not as prioritized when compared with other stats listed above.

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Note that Mercury's Treads and Plated Steelcaps aren't as widely selected on Syndra when compared to the two other choices ( Ionian Boots of Lucidity & Sorcerer's Shoes). They can still be viable if you feel the extra armor or magic resistance could benefit you in fights or skirmishes.

The best way to know which starter item is more efficient depends on how you plan to build for each game.

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After examining each mythic item listed above, you need to decide which one offers the best impact in-game, compared to which mythic best suits Syndra in most of her matchups.

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The following keystone & rune choices are great for Syndra and will complement her in combat. Always pay attention to the enemy team comp, plus your item builds when selecting your runes to get the most value in each game.

- Electrocute is a great short trade keystone option for Syndra in lanes where you want to poke down the opponent. This keystone has excellent scaling into the late game for Syndra's overall play style. - Dark Harvest provides a soul stack after damaging a target under 50% health (45-second cooldown). If you score a takedown, the timer resets after 1.5 seconds you can repeat the process. Since the keystone stacking is indefinite, the potential to one-shot opponents becomes immense as you reach the late game. An excellent option on Syndra when combined with her passive. - Taking First Strike for Syndra is a reasonable means to gain more gold and extra damage in fights and trades. Effective in getting to item purchases faster. Always try to poke the enemy while this keystone is active to get the most out of the effect. - Standard mage keystone option for Syndra when playing mid-lane. Arcane Comet triggers when you land an ability on the enemy (the cooldown varies based on the type of ability effect used. Excellent in matchups where poke is the best form of consistent damage.

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- When looking for a decent sustain option for Syndra, look no further than Taste of Blood. Damaging an enemy champion heals you for a small amount of health during combat with the enemy. Very effective when looking to get through the early game laning phase. - Syndra is a scaling champion, and Eyeball Collection will do everything you need to make her more powerful. When looking for more potency in fights, consider this rune to help scale your total damage with autos and abilities, giving you more threat in team fights and skirmishes. - With Syndra's ultimate granting an execution on its target, this rune is a fantastic option for her going forward. Grants ability haste on her ultimate, giving more chances to dominate in team fights & potentially shift the tempo of the game. Very strong when combined with mythic items or runes that offer ability haste.

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- Perfect Timing option for Syndra when looking to build Zhonya's Hourglass early on. The Commencing Stopwatch is a great way to give you early dodge potential from ultimates such as Zed or Pyke for a limited time. Once it is in your inventory, you have 250 gold towards Zhonya's Hourglass's completion. - Minion Dematerializer is reliable for dealing extra damage to minions, dealing up to 9% more damage to any of the three minion types ( melee minion , caster minion or siege minion ). Very helpful when looking to clear waves quickly and roam or to snowball your matchup much easier. Also great for Syndra when getting splinters from siege minion s. - Cosmic Insight provides more summoner spell ( Flash, Ignite, Teleport) and item/ward trinket haste. This rune is great when paired with items like active items effects you may have in your inventory. Also very helpful for increasing your vision score.

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- Triumph restores a % of your missing max health and provides additional gold per takedown. A great rune option for getting your items quicker and excellent for Syndra when looking to recover health after combat. - Coup de Grace is fantastic for Syndra offering more damage to champions under 40% health. Strong rune option with that couplse nicely with her overall high burst play style. - Cut Down is good against tanks/bruisers, also very efficient against targets with more health than Syndra.

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- Mages love mana and Syndra is no exception. With Manaflow Band you get to increase your maximum mana pool by an additional 250 mana, then you begin to regenerate 1% of your missing maximum mana over 2 seconds. - Transcendence provides Syndra more ability haste during fights, thus increasing your damage per second to enemies and objectives. A rune that meshes nicely for Syndra, providing more access to her abilities, thus granting more impact in fights and objective control. - Scorch can be effective for Syndra when playing a poke-style lane. When damaging a target with an ability, you deal additional bonus magic damage. Only grab this rune for games you believe will end in the early to mid-game because if the game gets drawn out past that point, this rune won't be as effective. - Gathering Storm is formidable for Syndra by increasing your overall damage (autos and abilities) against targets every 10 minutes and scales indefinitely. This rune works exceptionally well in unison with Syndra's splinter mechanic, meaning you'll deal large amounts of damage should you have long games.

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When deciding on what rune shards (whether offensive or defensive) to pick for Syndra in each of your games, you have to factor in a few things in champion select: Offensive Shards - Do I need extra attack speed? This shard makes farming a little easier during the lane phase. - Do I need additional damage? For Syndra, we always take at least one adaptive damage shard. - Do I require any ability haste? We can take this option, but compared to other selections, we should skip it. Defensive Shards - Do I require more armor? We grab the shard only when dealing with physical damage opponents. - Do I require magic resist? Your default choice for most games when playing in the mid-lane. - Do I require more health? We tend to skip this option as Syndra, but still viable against mixed damage team comps.

Always pay attention to the team compositions you are fighting when mixing and matching the rune shards listed above, in conjunction with your Boots & items. It's a sure way to improve your overall survivability in games.

There are plenty of ways to build Syndra, but hopefully, this guide made it easier for you to understand what abilities/items and runes work well together and how to make the most of her kit.

I hope you enjoyed this guide and will refer this to your friends and fellow gamers looking for tips & tricks.

For any questions or thoughts, you wish to share, contact me in the discussion section. I'll be happy to talk things over with you and see how I can make sense of anything you need answers for to the best of my ability.