Swain Build Guide by

[13.5] Swain Support Build/Guide

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Choose Champion Build:

Utility (Default)
Battlemage
Drain Tank

Runes: Double Range Matchup

1 2 3

Domination

Electrocute

Cheap Shot

Eyeball Collection

Treasure Hunter

Precision

Presence of Mind

Legend: Tenacity

Bonus:

+8 ability haste
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

1 2

Flash

Ignite

Items

Build Path

Start

Rush

Snowballing

Core

Secondary

Full Build Example #1

Full Build Example #2

Ability Order

Swain Passive Ability

Champion Build Guide

Introduction

Swain, The Noxian Grand General

This guild will cover Swain's function in the support role. Swain is a mage support but he has quite a different playstyle from the average mage support. He doesn't have much burst in his kit, however; in exchange, he has a lot of sustain and can sometimes be quite tanky. Ultimately, Swain falls into three main archetypes which are Battlemage, Drain Tank, and a more utility-focused build. The particular game you are in and your own playstyle will influence which build is best. Hopefully, this guide will help point you in the most optimal direction for you.

Pros / Cons

PROS

+ Flexible Build
+ Cheap Fallback Build Paths
+ Can Carry with a Lead
+ Large AOE
+ Can Fill Different Roles

CONS

- Weak to High DPS
- Low Range
- Can't Carry from Behind
- Passive is so Bad its Wasted Value
- Linear/Telegraphed Abilities

Team Composition

SYNERGIES


Ashe Expand Ashe works very well with Swain in bot lane mainly due to her ult Enchanted Crystal Arrow. It just pairs very well with Swain's own cc Nevermove. The two champions also have incredible peel or kiting abilities with Ashe's Frost Shot and Volley; and Swain's Vision of Empire and Demonflare.		Jhin Expand Jhin works very well with Swain due to the huge range the two champions have for certain abilities. Swain can hit champions from a great distance with Vision of Empire which Jhin can then follow up with Deadly Flourish for long-range cc. This combo can then be used with Swain's Nevermove for even more cc. Finally, Jhin also has very high damage to complements the all-in playstyle.		Kai'Sa Expand Kai'Sa works very well with Swain due to an interesting interaction with their long-range abilities. Swain can cast Vision of Empire to slow or herd an enemy in a particular direction which will allow Kai'sa to easily hit Void Seeker and therefore ult with Killer Instinct. Kai'sa also has a lot of damage if she hits all missiles of Icathian Rain which complements the all-in playstyle.

COUNTERS


Vel'Koz Expand Swain struggles against champions with very high range. Vel'Koz's main poking ability Plasma Fission outranges Swain by quite a bit, which will make it very difficult to ever engage or even poke.		Xerath Expand Swain struggles against champions with very high range. Xerath's main poking ability Arcanopulse outranges Swain by quite a bit, which will make it very difficult to ever engage or even poke.		Heimerdinger Expand Heimerdinger is a good counter to Swain just due to the fact that he is one of the best anti-engage champions. During laning phase Swain just wants to catch an enemy and then all-in them, which will be very difficult when running into Heimerdinger's turrents H-28G Evolution Turret.

Runes

is one of the best keystone runes for support. Swain is a mage support so your goal should be to gain a lead during laning phase, which you can use to purchase a more expensive carry-oriented build. Electrocute will enable you to have more burst which you can use to gain the needed lead. You will typically want to take electrocute into a double-ranged matchup.

is one of the best keystone runes for support. Swain is a mage support so your goal should be to gain a lead during laning phase, which you can use to purchase a more expensive carry-oriented build. Conqueror will enable you to have more damage and sustain which you can use to gain the needed lead. You will typically want to take conqueror into a matchup with at least 1 melee champion or if you are the solo front-line tank.

is an interesting keystone rune for support. There are really two cases where you should be using this rune. First of all, it's the only viable rune for Swain in higher elo's (Diamond+). The main reason it's the only viable rune in higher elo's is because your team will have the damage and coordination to follow up on your picks. You will end up dealing less damage however in this case damage isn't your job. Swain has a pretty simple kit and it's very obvious what you are going to do in a fight to any good player. Meaning extra utility is going to basically be necessary. All that being said if you are in lower elo's you will basically never want to take glacial. You will have to assume your team will have less coordination and not be able to capitalize on your picks without you also dealing most of the damage. You will likely also have to hard carry most games meaning you need a lead which will be harder to generate with a more passive rune like glacial. However, if you were counter-picked regardless of elo you should take glacial because you will have a very difficult time gaining a lead in laning phase if you can never get a pick.

Summoner Spells

SUMMONER SPELLS
-

FLASH: Not much needs to be said about . Take it 100% of the time. is immobile so it's very necessary to sometimes last hit or escape.

IGNITE: should be your default second spell just because it's more damage and kill pressure. Ignite is sometimes necessary against certain healing enchanters such as .

EXHAUST: can be used against high-damage lane opponents such as . It can also be used in situations where the other team has high damage aoe champions that can carry team fights such as .

GHOST: The only time you should be taking is as the solo front-line tank with the drain tank build. It's not optional your spells should be flash and ghost 100% of the time in this case.

Build Archetypes

UTILITY

A utility-focused build is what you are going to want to play the majority of the time. The main reason this type of build works well is because it will allow you to build a little tanky and get many debuffs for the enemy team. Common items for a utility build are usually , , and .

BATTLEMAGE

A battlemage build is the most AP heavy build for . You usually will only want to build as a battlemage when you are the sole AP damage for your team, your team's AP damage carries are failing, or if you get a large lead. The first two situations are pretty basic so your team can have balanced damage. The reason this build works great with a lead is just simply because, with an item/level lead, you can afford to build greedy and don't have as much need for tanky items. Common items for a battlemage build are usually , , and .

DRAIN TANK

A drain tank build is probably what you will be doing the least often. The utility build still makes you decently tanky while providing lots of additional benefits to your team. The only time I would really recommend building drain tank is if you are the solo front-line champion for your team. Common items for a drain tank build are usually , , and .

Items

UTILITY

BATTLEMAGE

DRAIN TANK

Rylai's Crystal Scepter

is a core item for every build. Rush every game!

Imperial Mandate

is a backup item for every build. It's worth taking over any other Mythic if you are behind.

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[13.5] Swain Support Build/Guide

Runes

Items

[13.5] Swain Support Build/Guide

[13.5] Swain Support Build/Guide

Choose Champion Build:

Recommended Items

Runes: Double Range Matchup

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Exhaust

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Ravenous Flock (PASSIVE)

Death's Hand (Q)

Vision of Empire (W)

Nevermove (E)

Demonic Ascension (R)

Recommended Items

Runes: Double Range Matchup

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Exhaust

Flash

Items

Ability Order

Ravenous Flock (PASSIVE)

Death's Hand (Q)

Vision of Empire (W)

Nevermove (E)

Demonic Ascension (R)

Recommended Items

Runes: Standard

Spells:

Flash

Ghost

Items

Ability Order

Ravenous Flock (PASSIVE)

Death's Hand (Q)

Vision of Empire (W)

Nevermove (E)

Demonic Ascension (R)

Champion Build Guide

[13.5] Swain Support Build/Guide

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