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Build Guide By gaarrett
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Sylas Build Guide By gaarrett Updated on April 23, 2024
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Recommended Items
Runes: The Usual
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10-180 Bonus Health
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10-180 Bonus Health
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+10-180 Bonus Health
Spells:
Flash
Teleport
Flash
Ignite
Flash
Scorchclaw Smite
Items
Ability Order read them notes
Petricite Burst (PASSIVE)
Sylas Passive Ability
Threats & Synergies
Threats
Synergies
Show All
Extreme Threats
Ideal Synergies
Aatrox
I'm gonna bring this up a lot, but Sylas does not do well into toplane champs unless he catches a significant lead. Save E for Aatrox's Q3 or W. [3/5] ultimate, boosts your healing and the movement speed is very nice.
Ahri
My ban for this patch. Outsustains you, shoves wave faster, and builds Malignance. Can completely negate your lane and prevent you from snowballing. If the Ahri is smart, she holds charm until you E and can land it without trying. Stand away from the wave so she has to choose to either shove with Q or poke you. Play off your jungler. [3/5] ult to take, dashes are nice but they don't reset like Ahri's. Each cast gives a passive stack.
Akali
Fun lane. Akali W prevents your passive autos or W from connecting. Hold E until she Q's at level one, then take the trade. [4/5] ult, great for single-target annihilation or extra mobility.
Akshan
Doran's Shield and Second Wind for sure. Akshan has a big spike at level 2, and if he takes Ignite he can and will kill you. The rest of the lane is just avoiding poke and attempting to get picks if your jungler rolls by. [2/5] ult, only really useful for securing kills in lane or jungle skirmishes.
Alistar
While Alistar gets tanky, he doesn't really outdamage you. There are definitely kill windows early but just harrassing with Q and playing off of your jungler should be good enough. [5/5] ult to take, it cleanses CC and gives you damage resist for seven seconds.
Amumu
Sylas has the tools to dodge most of Amumu's damage. If it is Amumu mid, he's likely going to build full AP and will therefore be squishy and easy to fight. [5/5] ult to take, scales with AP and a large AOE stun is very nice.
Anivia
Anti-fun lane, but still winnable. If she wants to throw out her stun on cooldown, E to the side and connect E2 to full combo. [2/5] ult, you only get one cast and the slow is mediocre.
Annie
Tough but winnable. If she ever throws out her stun on the wave you can look to engage. Annie has the second highest base attack range in the entire game, so you will constantly be eating poke. Doran's Shield and Second Wind are heavily recommended. [3/5] ultimate, useful for jumping someone but you don't get the stun.
Aphelios
Aphelios mid doesn't really do anything, especially not early. You have the opportunity to completely snowball out of control here. Play the standard melee vs ranged matchup for level one, burn his summoner spells whenever possible. [2/5] ult to take, you get whatever Aphelios currently has in his gun order so the ult can change depending on when you take it.
Ashe
Heavy poke lane, worth taking Doran's Shield if you're feeling iffy about the matchup. Save E2 for when she's trying to kite you out with her Q autos. [4/5] ult to take, useful for finding picks or providing peel.
Aurelion Sol
Free lane. Sylas gets outscaled but you should never be letting Aurelion Sol walk up to E the wave without giving him the full combo. [3/5] ultimate, you just get the base ASol ult, it doesn't get bigger and you won't get the knockup version even if ASol has it when you steal it.
Azir
Respect the poke Azir can lay down level 1 and trade when his soldier dies. If you time your E2 right when Azir ults, you can pull yourself through the soldier wall and get right in his face. [3/5] ult, useful in teamfights for all the same reasons that Azir is.
Bard
Bard has damage and people don't respect it which leads to him cheesing early kills that he shouldn't get. He can also itemize into an off-tank which makes him even harder to kill. The good news is that if you shove the wave after getting level 3 and fight at scuttle crab with your jungler, you should have a lead big enough to snowball your lane. Use E to dodge his Q stun. [3/5] ultimate, useful for catching people out or stasising yourself but if you use it wrong you will get flamed to death.
Bel'Veth
Bel'Veth mid is almost a non-issue. She's likely looking to take Void Grubs after hitting level 6 in lane, so shove and follow her up there. Save E2 for when she Es so you can cancel the ability. Her level 1 is honestly better than yours, she can use two Qs to chase you down after you E > auto E2 > auto and take favorable trade. [2/5] ult, goes up to a [3/5] if it's her enhanced true form from Void monsters. The true damage burst from collecting the coral scales with AP so it gets pretty funny in teamfights.
Blitzcrank
All Blitzcrank will ever be is a hook bot (literally). Full AP Blitz needs early kills to get ult one shots and Sylas will pretty much never let that happen. You trade better than he does and you have the mobility to dodge the one thing he has that will mess you up. [5/5] ultimate, does insane damage because you build full AP and will likely have a lead because it's Blitzcrank mid and whoever plays that is stupid.
Brand
Frustrating. Constant DOT poke does something to a man. Doran's Shield recommended, Second Wind is a must. Buffer his Q stun with your E2 whenever possible. [2/5] ultimate, you don't have Brand's passive so it does lackluster damage.
Braum
Beefy but doesn't really do damage unless he goes for a weird on-hit build. Nothing special about this lane, full combo whenever possible and play around your cooldowns. [3/5] ult, good for securing picks and engaging on fights.
Briar
Self-destructive, Briars in general will likely outplay themselves. Save E2 for when she Ws towards you and remember that her E scream is Unstoppable and will not end if you land E2. [2/5] ult, good for getting into fights that are too far away. You can cancel the frenzy with your E.
Caitlyn
Standard ranged vs melee matchup. E2 when she tries to E away, avoid traps, W her when she gets a headshot off. [2/5] ultimate, only really useful for securing picks on low health enemies.
Camille
Toplaner vs Sylas doesn't usually play out well. Her passive shield kneecaps a lot of your burst, so play around it. You're likely not beating Camille out of lane unless you caught a big lead, so don't even bother. [3/5] ult, good for securing picks on enemies out of position or squishies who got too close.
Cassiopeia
In theory, this is Sylas's ultimate counter. Cassiopeia's Miasma prevents W, E, and E2 from being used, which is pretty much all of his damage. She can also kite you to hell and back and just ult if you try and engage when her W is on cooldown. However, I've personally won against most Cassio players because this is Gold and they are not that good. Play off your jungler and make sure you land Q to poke her down early. [4/5] ultimate, AOE stun or slow can turn teamfights or set up an easy pick for someone.
Cho'Gath
Cho'Gath mid is likely going to build AP, meaning he will be much squishier than the standard tank build. This means you can take favorable trades at almost any point in the lane. Avoid his Q with your E, W before you get silenced so you have a passive auto or two to work with. [4/5] ultimate, brings your kill window up and makes you tankier. Sylas with like seven stacks from Cho ult looks hilarious, you're a 30ft tall behemoth just dashing everywhere.
Corki
It's Corki. You have an early game and he does not. The one thing he can do is buy early MR, in which case your AD teammates can feast on him. [3/5] ult, lets you poke him back and can be used to soften people up from range before engaging.
Darius
Short, snappy trades. Do not let him get that passive stacked. E his E, proc Electrocute, and GTFO. [2/5] ult, because you don't have Darius passive to stack bleed means all you get is a 200 true damage dunk.
Diana
If possible, let Diana use her W shield before engaging with W or E2, as it will block most of your damage. Her trade pattern is similar to yours, she will attempt to E in if she marks you with her Q. [5/5] ultimate, AOE nuke.
Dr. Mundo
Picking up Liandry's Anguish either first or second isn't a bad idea here, but it's not really Sylas's job to kill Mundo. Your waveclear is better than his, especially early, so look to shove and roam. Dodge cleavers, E away when Mundo pops W so he won't heal as much. Land E2 to remove his passive and play off your jungler. [3/5] ultimate, more healing is awesome and the movement speed is very useful.
Draven
Respect his early game, especially those first few levels. Don't take any unnecessary poke so you don't get run down and take brief trades. [2/5] ult, similar to Akshan's in that its only use is securing kills at long range.
Ekko
Don't stand in his W and this should be a free lane. You technically get outscaled because Ekko has way better item spikes. [5/5] ultimate, provides an extra layer of security when you take risky plays. Remember to cast it before you get CC'd otherwise you'll die and your teammates will spam ping your ult.
Elise
Non-issue in lane, but can invade you if you choose to jungle. Dodge the stun and bait out her Rappel to make sure you can land Q or E2. [2/5] ultimate, can be useful for the single-use stun or to dive someone with Rappel.
Evelynn
Save E for when she puts her W on you, you can use it to dodge the Q that she's about to send out to in an attempt to proc the charm. Ward her camps, if you push the wave in drop a trinket on raptors. [4/5] ult, can be used to dive, run away, or soften up groups of enemies.
Ezreal
Play behind minions to prevent getting chunked by his Q. When you want to trade, walk at him and wait for him to use his E. You can then E or E2 after him and full combo. [3/5] ultimate, has an AP scaling and is average across the board.
Fiddlesticks
FIddle mid is a thing that was weirdly popular a couple patches ago, but has since fallen off. If he uses W, land E2 to cancel it. The middle of his E (the scythe swing) silences you, so dodge that. [4/5] ultimate, you don't get the fear but engaging over walls with 1K worth of magic damage is pretty great for Sylas.
Fiora
Let her come to you. Never fight on her terms. If Fiora ever uses W early, go in, full combo, and get out. Eventually she will pick a sidelane and sit there until she can just mow through your towers, not really your job to match her splitpush but be wary. [3/5] ultimate, you can proc the vitals and get some true damage out but the healing will be less than hers because the converted AD to AP ratio is less than Fiora's.
Fizz
Used to be worse but since the nerfs to Fizz and his items, this is an easy lane. Take Bone Plating because he can't poke it off all that well and fight him whenever you feel like it (provided you hit your abilities). [3/5] ultimate, AOE knockup and AP scaling make it useful.
Galio
You don't kill him unless he majorly screws up. Magic shield in his kit plus the taunt makes him a nightmare. Dodge Q, let him shove the wave, play off your jungler. [4/5] ultimate though, lets you get to fights in style.
Gangplank
Gangplank will press Q on you until he runs out of mana and then get Essence Reaver and then keep Q'ing you. Play the barrel minigame, keep in mind you get outscaled hard. [4/5] ultimate, has an AP scaling already and can be used to stack your Dark Seal when you're in fountain.
Garen
The silence really messes up your gameplan. If he takes Phase Rush you're not really going to get trades off and he will sustain any poke you throw at him. Shove and roam when you can. [4/5] ult, missing health true damage doesn't care if you have AP scaling or not. Killing Garen with his own ultimate feels very good.
Gnar
Don't get poked out, back up when he goes Mega Gnar. [5/5] ultimate, scales with AP and stuns for like six years if you're able to throw the enemy champs into terrain.
Gragas
Sustains through lane better than you can and gets really beefy with Rod of Ages. Shove and roam or fight with your jungler. [4/5] ultimate, can break up skirmishes or bring a key champion closer to you so your team can kill them.
Graves
Easy to fight in lane, will invade you if you're jungling. Graves stacks armor passively thanks to his E, which you don't care about very much because you are not an AD champ. Avoid standing next to walls so his Q doesn't pop faster, get out of the smokescreen, E/E2 to follow his E. [2/5] ultimate, long range kill securing is its only use.
Gwen
Not as weak early as people like to say. E out of her Q sweetspot, E2 only if you're close because she will go immune and you will look stupid. Bone Plating is useful here. [3/5] ultimate, good for dueling or running someone down with the slow.
Hecarim
Runs out of mana like crazy early game, but when he gets Manamune it doesn't matter. Fight early, fight often, try to roam. [3/5] ultimate, you're mainly taking it for the AOE fear. Remember that the fear duration scales with the distance you traveled.
Heimerdinger
Second Wind, Doran's Shield. Learn patience. Poke with Q if he's in range, dodge the stun with E. You can attempt to E2 but he will likely just Flash or put a turret down to catch the chains. [2/5] ultimate, you get Heimer's empowered Q/W/E but only one.
Hwei
Dodge the fireball and the lightning bolt, don't stand in the lava. Hwei's fear travels in a straight line so he will likely save that for when you E/E2. Poke with Q, pretty standard stuff. [4/5] ultimate, AOE slow and nuke is always appreciated.
Illaoi
Dodge the E or dodge the game, except she can still beat your skull in because she's a toplaner and you are a squishy little mage boy. Bone Plating, pray for jungle intervention. [1/5] ultimate, DO NOT TAKE. You spawn tentacles but can't control them so it does nothing.
Irelia
E out of her stun, after you full combo walk away because she will attempt to run you down with her passive. Out of lane she doesn't do a whole lot so you can attempt to be more useful in teamfights. [3/5] ultimate, scales with AP so it does respectable damage.
Ivern
Dodge the Q, don't stand next to him when his shield is about to blow up. Any meaningful damage Ivern has comes from his ultimate. [3/5] ult, creates space but there is typically better options to steal instead of Daisy.
Janna
Sidestep her tornado, throw Qs out when she gets close. [3/5] ultimate for peel, the heal scales with AP so it's a great ult to take when you need to fill a more supportive role.
Jarvan IV
The few Jarvan mids I've seen go a lethality build, so he ends up being an early game assassin in this case. In general, poke with Q and attempt to dodge his knockup with E. His shield will soak most of your damage so play for shorter trades. You can E out of his ult, so keep that in mind. [4/5] ultimate, can make plays and get picks fairly easily.
Jax
Tough but winnable. Jax thrives on extended trades because of his passive and (usually) Lethal Tempo/Conqueror. Poke down with Q, E out of his stun or throw E2 to buffer it. Bone Plating can help here. [3/5] ultimate, the initial cast damage scales with AP so it can be helpful in the start of a duel to activate it.
Jayce
Avoid poke early and attempt to buffer his knockback with E2. In most cases he will outscale or at the very least be able to deal damage safer than you can. [2/5] ultimate, transformation ults are kind of garbage on Sylas. You only get one cast of one of his abilities, ranged form Q can be used to secure low health kills at range.
Jhin
Buffer W root with E2, full combo should take care of him fairly easily. [2/5] ult, good for wrapping up kills or slowing enemies at range for teammates to kill.
Jinx
Will poke with rockets, wait for her to auto a minion and E --> W to close the gap. [2/5] ultimate, cleans up long range kills nicely.
K'Sante
Dodge K'Sante Q3 and W dash with E, poke with Q. He will stack MR and you will be effectively useless against him, shove and roam. [2/5] ultimate, all you get is the wall drag, no Omnivamp or anything.
Kai'Sa
Try to stay next to minions so Kai'Sa doesn't get an isolated Q. She will try to E away from your E, save E2 for when she's done being fast. [3/5] ultimate, the shield scales with AP and can be used for long range engage off of a teammate's CC.
Kalista
Stronger than you early, don't take extended trades. Slippery with the passive dashes, E2 when she's trying to run away. Remember to use Black Spear when you first spawn in the game, probably on your jungler. If you don't do this then you can't use Kalista R. [3/5] ultimate, can either save whoever you used Spear on or give them a free engage.
Karma
Annoying and unkillable. Pokes constantly so Second Wind and Doran's Shield recommended. Slightly less mind-numbing after nerfs, but still not a fun lane. Use E to escape her root, poke with Q. [2/5] ultimate, you only get one cast of either Q/W/E.
Karthus
Fight him early and often, burn his summoner spells. Kill him when they're down. [3/5] ultimate, global ults are fun and can be used to assist teammates, secure kills, and stack Dark Harvest or First Strike.
Kassadin
Outscales Sylas, but you have a much stronger lane. Trades before level 6 are very much in your favor. [2/5] ultimate, you only get one cast.
Katarina
Katarina has a very weak lane. Force trades and keep her low. Ping any roams she tries to get off and follow. [3/5] ultimate, AOE and scales with AP already.
Kayle
Lane-wise, Kayle isn't a problem. She has very low base Magic Resist and Sylas can certainly capitalize on that. Levels 1-5 are entirely in your hands. [5/5] R, whoever uses it first loses.
Kayn
Force trades, regardless of what form Kayn chooses you need to dodge his W. If he tries to run away through a wall use E2 to get after him. [3/5] ultimate, mostly just because it lets you take a breather and get your cooldowns back up. Sylas gets either Shadow Assassin or Darkin ult depending on what form Kayn chose. SA ult has a longer exit dash and Darkin ult heals for a decent chunk of health.
Kennen
Poke and CC lane. Second Wind and Doran's Shield, Tenacity runes might be worth looking at if you're feeling a little iffy about the matchup. Throw Qs out when he gets close, engage with your jungler. [4/5] ultimate, you get the stun even though you don't have Kennen passive.
Kha'Zix
If Kha'Zix ever uses his jump to go in, you have the opportunity to trade twice before it comes back off of cooldown. Sylas has the option to build Zhonya's if Kha'Zix gets too far ahead, but in lane he shouldn't be an issue. [3/5] ultimate, the invisibility is good for repositioning. Sylas gets the evolved version as well if Kha'Zix evolves R.
Kindred
Fairly strong early but only because it's melee vs ranged. Deny marks, if Kindred tries to shove and get whichever scuttle has the mark, spam ping and follow her if your jungle is on the same side. [4/5] ultimate, remember that NOTHING dies in the field including objectives.
Kled
Poke with Q, E out of his tether. You don't really win trades unless you get pretty far ahead, and he will probably still beat you in a sidelane 1v1. [3/5] ultimate, good for ganking or initiating fights if your team is ahead.
Kog'Maw
Will try to poke you out of lane, but if he ever gets within E + W range you can put him low enough to think twice about staying. [2/5] ultimate, you only get one cast.
LeBlanc
Slippery and hard to hit an E2 on. If she starts immediately blinking back after going in, button mash W to get some guaranteed damage at the very least. If she doesn't get fed in lane then you can kill her on repeat midgame. [2/5] ult, you get whatever ability she used last.
Lee Sin
More mobile than Sylas but has less burst. E2 when he casts Q2 for a guaranteed stun. [3/5] ultimate, can be used for both engage and peel.
Leona
Lot of CC, not a lot of damage without her jungler. Dodge her E with your E and poke constantly with Q. Sylas has much better waveclear so roam often. [4/5] ult, AOE CC that scales with AP is obviously pretty great on Sylas.
Lillia
Lillia likes extended fights, Sylas is all burst. Full combo and back out before she tries to kite. [3/5] ultimate, you can apply the mark with any ability and passive autos so you can actually use the ult.
Lissandra
Not dangerous by herself unless fed. Prevents you from snowballing though and has great gank setup, so pretty annoying. You can try and predict her E2 with your E2 and get a stun off. [4/5] ultimate, good for either the point and click stun or healing yourself and waiting for cooldowns to come back up.
Lucian
Strong early and mobile enough to dodge the most damaging parts of Sylas's kit. If Lucian ever uses his E before yours, you can take a much better trade. [3/5] ultimate, useful for cleaning up low-health champions at range or trying to shove the wave faster.
Lulu
Polymorph is not kind to melee all-in champs like Sylas, but at least you can kill her on repeat when that's down. [4/5] ultimate, can buff either yourself or an ally that needs help.
Lux
When she throws out her E, walk forward. Lux players love tossing E at max range every time, I'll never understand it. Hold your E to dodge her Q, she will panic after the E misses and try and root you. Full combo and repeat this cycle until she decides to start holding Q or hitting E, whichever comes first. [4/5] ultimate, massive range AP laser that will almost always be up for you to take because Lux R has no cooldown.
Malphite
Sylas is a nightmare for Malphite. AP Malphite will get outsustained and tank Malphite will have to build MR, which he really doesn't want to do. Poke with Q when he does. [5/5] ult, no explanation needed.
Malzahar
Eye-roll matchup. Won't kill you unless you screw up but Malignance and Malzahar waveclear means some CS will be lost if you roam. Dodge his silence with E. Make sure to remove his passive shield before trying to grab his ult or else it will go on cooldown and you will be left with nothing. [4/5] ultimate, can peel for teammates, lock down an important target, or just show Malzahar what it feels like to not be able to do anything when your jungler rolls around.
Maokai
Poke with Q, nothing to really dodge here except his ult which takes up an entire lane's width worth of space so good luck. [5/5] ultimate, great engage or peel tool.
Master Yi
Can dodge both Q and E2, which Sylas relies on for the majority of his damage. E2 can cancel Yi's meditation though, so keep that in mind. Trade, proc Electrocute/Dark Harvest, and get out before he gets his Lethal Tempo stacked. [2/5] ultimate, good for chasing or running away. It also ignores slowing effects.
Milio
E2 when Milio Q's and you can ignore his only peel tool. Nothing much to say about this matchup, kill him on repeat and roam after shoving. [5/5] ultimate, the sheer utility in one ability PLUS an AP scaling is fantastic. AOE heal, cleanse, and grants Tenacity for a little while to nearby teammates? Yes please.
Miss Fortune
If it's Lethality MF, stay back from low health minions so you don't get half your HP removed in a single Q. If it's AP MF, E after she uses E to run her down. [4/5] ult, AOE damage scaling with AP is great if your team can get enemies clumped up together.
Mordekaiser
Beefy and Sylas has no real way of dealing with him. Stand in your minion wave so he doesn't get isolated Q's, save E for when he E's, [4/5] ultimate, can use it for a forced 1v1 against a squishy target for better stats. Only ult Morde until after he ults you so you can take the stats back.
Morgana
Play in your wave to give her a hard time when she's trying to land Q. If her shield is on cooldown, you can look to trade as she can't block any of your burst without it. If she decides to hold Q until you E, just ignore fighting her altogether and just shove and roam. [4/5] ultimate, AOE stun and the movement speed it gives lets you chase harder or turn fights.
Naafiri
Most of her damage comes from hitting Q2, save E to dodge this. If the Naafiri is good, she will walk backwards when you throw out E2 so one of her dogs eats the stun instead of her. Poke with Q, if you have an opportunity to full combo do it. [3/5] ult, great for roaming or to look for a pick in lane because the shield makes you tankier for a little while.
Nami
Dodge her Q and prepare to be slowed every time you want to get near her. Your Q is roughly the same range as her kit so you can look to trade poke with that. [4/5] ult, great peel or engage depending on situation.
Nasus
AP poke Nasus is a major pain in the rear and regular Nasus will never die to Sylas. Take a strong level one trade, shove whenever possible, and look to impact the other parts of the map. He will inevitably stack for free but it's not your job to kill this guy. [4/5] ultimate, gives you a chunk of health and boosts your resistances so this is good for being a pseudo-frontline for a little while in a fight.
Nautilus
People who play this will attempt to be pure setup for their carry jungler, but it inevitably fails because we are in Gold. Sylas has the mobility to dodge the one thing Nautilus has that can actually mess up his lane. The full combo gets Nautilus pretty low, keep doing that and then he dies. [4/5] ultimate, point and click CC is always useful.
Neeko
Can poke you, but you can either respond in kind or get in her face and full combo. Dodge the root and land E2, the matchup is fairly similar to Lux in all honesty. Any minion that moves weird is Neeko, throw Q at it until she shows herself. [5/5] ultimate, AOE knockup scaling with AP is awesome.
Nidalee
Dodge the spear and let her come to you. If she wants to roam, shove and follow. Sylas has much better waveclear so you can easily put her a wave or two behind just by crashing the wave and forcing her to either commit to a roam to get fed or come back to the lane where you can just kill her. [2/5] ultimate, transformation ults are always kind of mid. Good for using her spear to kill secure or to heal up a little.
Nilah
The lane is yours to do with as you please, but she scales to the moon if given gold. Her W will dodge your passive autos, so keep this in mind when trying to full combo. [3/5] ultimate, AOE pull kind of like Diana's but the healing scales with crit, so the conversion is kinda weak on Sylas.
Nocturne
Short trades as usual, avoid longer fights because he probably has Lethal Tempo and will win those. Shove, roam, use E to get out of his fear tether. His W will block your E2, so hold onto the recast until you bait out the spellshield. [3/5] ultimate, good for jumping on out of position targets.
Nunu & Willump
If Nono and William have Ghost and Cleanse, let him disco his way down midlane and just play the 5v4. If it's a legit Nunu and Willump midlaner, full combo at level 3 and spam ping the river when he decides to go gank one of your sidelanes. [4/5] ultimate, great for teamfighting or bush cheesing and the baked in AP scaling makes Sylas's version hit way harder.
Olaf
Shove, roam, ignore. Don't get run down level 1. Do not interact with Olaf by yourself under any circumstance, he will kill you without trying. [3/5] ultimate, you get an initial burst of CC immunity which is useful but because Sylas doesn't auto attack very much outside of his passive autos, you won't keep the ult up very long.
Orianna
Surprisingly, Orianna is somewhat of a lane bully. Winning this lane hinges on you hitting tough E2s, as she will shield and amp her movespeed to avoid you. Don't take too much poke and you should be fine with a Doran's Ring. [4/5] ultimate, Sylas doesn't have the ball so the shockwave casts around you. Good for chasing or diving.
Ornn
You shove faster than he can, put the wave under his tower and ignore him. Sylas does not kill tanks. Don't stand next to terrain when his jungler rolls around or you will get chain CC'd and probably die. [4/5] ultimate just because of the utility, great teamfighting capabilities.
Pantheon
Pantheon just eats you alive during lane and can match your roams with his ult. Poke with Q, do not fight him alone ever. Fall back on your team and try to trade objectives/kills from the other side of the map if he roams. [4/5] ultimate, great roam and rotating potential.
Poppy
Unkillable tank with the damage to actually trade with you. Can deny your W, E, and E2. Shove, roam, poke with Q. [5/5] ult, the greatest "get off me" button the game has to offer.
Pyke
Pyke mid players are unironically some of the coolest people. He sucks mid and anyone still playing it in 2024 needs to be given a medal. Dodge the Q and you can facetank his E. Follow his roams, poke or trade with him any time he wants to farm. [5/5] ultimate, Sylas has the mobility to get in range to use it and the combat sustain to survive after using it.
Qiyana
Qiyana favored but thankfully her champ is harder to play so there's opportunities to win here. Try to land E2 when she's in grass Q as that will remove her invisibility and open up for a full combo. [3/5] ultimate, really only used for the stun. Remember that river counts as terrain so you don't need to line people up against a wall when fighting in baron or dragon pit.
Quinn
Will poke constantly and roam faster than you can. Play off your jungler. When she uses her E, you can buffer the knockback with your E2. [3/5] ult, useful for either following her roam or just rotating faster.
Rakan
E away from his W and this is a completely stress free lane. [4/5] ultimate, lots of applications and is always useful.
Rammus
Taunt does nothing because Sylas is an AP champion and does not care about his weak little auto attacks. Can roam, but you have actual waveclear so you can just follow him. [2/5] ultimate, has an innate AP scaling so it can actually do damage but there's probably better stuff to take.
Rek'Sai
Save E for her knockup and remember that she's just going to go underground and sustain through the lane if you take good trades. You can clear faster than her so look to gank bot often. [2/5] ultimate, can be used to clean up really low health enemies or jump on top of someone but doesn't really do a whole lot besides that.
Rell
Her Q and W knockup are on a shorter cooldown level one than your E. Dodge the knockup and attempt to sidestep the Q stun. [3/5] ultimate, good gank setup and teamfighting potential.
Renata Glasc
Buffer her Q knockback with E2. Not a whole lot of important stuff to worry about in this lane. [4/5] ult, great utility. Doesn't scale with anything except ult level.
Renekton
You do not win a fight against Renekton in lane ever without tower shots or your jungler. Let him shove, get farm where you can, play for midgame. [3/5] ult, useful for the initial burst of HP and the damage field has an AP scaling already so it's not the worst ultimate on the field.
Rengar
Every bush has a Rengar in it until proven otherwise. Not a problem in lane but if he decides to roam, do be cautious. He's probably just sitting in the river bush waiting for you to follow him. Dodge E with your E, throw Qs at him when he walks up to farm. [2/5] ult, can be used to jump on someone by themselves or just get vision of who's nearby.
Riven
Bone Plating, toss Qs at her when she wants to last hit. This is one of the only lanes where you want to avoid a level 1 trade because Riven also wants to take that fight and she's gonna win it. Buffering her CC with E2 is kind of a nonfactor here because if you use it on the Q3 knockup, she's just going to press W and vice versa. Fight 2v1 with jungle, constantly poke with your better Q range. [2/5] ultimate, increased range for your autos, Q, and W is sort of useful on top of the ranged attack but there's probably better ults to take.
Rumble
Second Wind, Doran's Shield, poke with Q and don't stand in range of his flamethrower. You want to be fighting when he's not overheating and disengaging when he is. [3/5] ult, has a way longer range than you might think and can help set up kills when you're not even close to the target.
Ryze
Ryze has to either use his mana to fight you early or farm, and he's probably gonna choose to farm. Trade often but keep in mind his waveclear is better than yours unless you start getting fed. [2/5] ultimate, can be used to roam, flank, or get back to lane. Play it safe with the placement, a bad Ryze ult will get you picked off and leave your team 4v5.
Samira
Samira needs setup so expect to see the jungler or support in your lane pretty often. Her W blocks both your E2 and ult cast, but not Q. [2/5] ultimate, you don't have to stack the Style meter to cast it. The damage is negligible, it's mostly just a cleanup tool.
Sejuani
Gets tanky but doesn't really do damage. You can E away from her Q dash to avoid the knockup. [4/5] ultimate, innate AP scaling is nice and Sylas has the mobility to follow up on his own Sejuani ult.
Senna
Constant poke but if you get in close you can take a very favorable trade. Dodge the W root, land E2 and you can really mess her up. If she wants to play safe, you can shove faster than she can and head to other lanes to make plays. [3/5] ultimate, the shield scales with AP and you can pick up Dark Seal stacks from across the map.
Seraphine
Lots of poke and she scales into a teamfighting monster. Avoid her enhanced E, land your E2 for an opportunity to full combo. [4/5] ultimate, remember that the range gets increased for ANY champion hit, not just enemies.
Sett
Bone Plating for sure. Sett usually starts E level 1 for an advantageous trade. E his E, E2 after he whiffs it and get out. The rest of the lane is constantly using Q when he farms and not eating his true damage W. [3/5] ultimate, can use it to insec a key enemy into your team or buffer CC because you're unstoppable during the cast.
Shaco
Shaco's entire MO is being annoying, don't bother fighting him during lane because he's probably got a box setup that will make you want to tear your hair out. Shove, roam, et cetera. [3/5] ultimate, to use a fighting game term you can time the invincibility frames of the cast to dodge an important ability.
Shen
Will stack MR and become untouchable, by you at least. The upside is that he has no waveclear, so early roams are the ticket to getting yourself in the game. Unfortunately, he will eventually hit level 6 and start ulting whoever you want to kill. Speaking of, [4/5] ultimate. The shield scales with AP and bonus health so items like Liandry's Anguish will add a little more to it.
Shyvana
Depends on the build she's going, but if it's AP Shyvana all you have to do is dodge the E. AD Shyvana can be dealt with by poking with Q and avoiding extended trades. [4/5] ultimate, if you employ Dark Harvest technology you can nuke people with the dragon form E.
Singed
Singed is weird and Singed players are weird. Don't worry too much about fighting him and remember to never chase a Singed. You can dodge his E toss with your own E and recast E2 to get a trade off. [3/5] ultimate, the stat boost is more useful than people think.
Sion
Take the level 1 trade, fight at level 3. Dodge Q with E. If you manage to kill him in lane, RUN. He will build one MR item and you will likely never kill him again unless he wants you too. Liandry's Anguish could get some use this game if they have one more health stacker on their team. [3/5] ultimate, remember to hold R until you're ready to stop. First time I took Sion ult I tapped R and went nowhere with the charge.
Sivir
Sivirs like shoving the wave at every given opportunity. Let her. Ping your jungler and you can either get her Flash or the kill. Delay your E2 cast to bait out her E and then you can look to trade. [3/5] ult, you can use it to bail on a fight or get to one faster.
Skarner
New Skarner, new matchup. Bone Plating can be taken if you're looking to fight more often than not, but Second Wind will let you sustain through his DOT passive. Let him use his W slam before you look to trade level 1 so his shield doesn't eat all your damage. You can E away from his Q2, E, and ult. [4/5] ultimate, great utility and can drag half the enemy team to yours for early kills in a skirmish.
Smolder
After nerfs, Smolder is a horrible champion. He has no lane presence and this can be turned into free Dark Seal stacks. Hit E2 when he tries to E away from you. [4/5] ultimate, good AOE and it has an innate AP scaling. Remember that the middle heals you if you stand in it.
Sona
No lane but scales like crazy. Can reduce your damage and if her jungler or support shows up they can probably kill you. [4/5] ultimate, range is kind of short but can still be used to jump someone.
Soraka
Soraka has more damage than you might think and she ends up outsustaining you anyway because Sylas is all burst. Get out of the silence field and you can look to fight her, she should go down pretty fast if she's already used W.
Swain
I will never understand it but statistically, this is a Sylas counterpick. Stand a little in front of your minions to avoid getting hit by his root. [5/5] ultimate, as long as an enemy champion is in the radius it won't end. It also reduces your E cooldown by 20%. Save the recast to kill a low health enemy and you kind of turn into a raid boss.
Syndra
You can either E away from the stun or time E2 to pull yourself through Syndra's E knockback. [3/5] ult, you only get three balls and you won't get the execute even when she gets enough stacks.
Tahm Kench
Gets extremely tanky and can do some real damage during lane. Outside of lane you will likely never kill him. Use your better waveclear to make him deal with the wave under tower and go elsewhere. [4/5] ultimate, the shield scales with AP which is helpful. Remember that you have to get three stacks on an enemy to use it on them, you can apply stacks with auto attacks or your Q. For allies, you can just press the button on them.
Taliyah
Taliyah is weirdly strong right now, and with Seraph's Embrace she gets kind of beefy. At level 1, E to the opposite side when she starts tossing rocks and connect E2. If your Internet is good enough, you can dodge her E field with your E on reaction. [3/5] ultimate, good roam potential and can be used to block off people trying to escape from your team.
Talon
Take the level 1 trade, E to dodge his W when he tosses it out. When Talon hits level 2 back WAY up and do not fight until the wave is closer to your tower. His kill pressure at level 2 with Ignite and his passive is only rivaled by Akshan, you will not win that unless your jungler ganks early. Spam ping his roams, make him miss CS by shoving as fast as possible. Play for midgame when you have numbers and you can look to jump him. [2/5] ultimate, the stealth is useful but the damage is negligible.
Taric
Sylas has the mobility to dodge Taric's stun, hit Qs and this lane is pretty easy. Shove, roam when you can, kill him when your jungler rolls around. [4/5] ult, can make your entire team invincible for a fight.
Teemo
Teemo blind blocks passive autos which is kind of annoying, but you can just press Q and hit E2 to wait it out. Doran's Shield can make this lane slightly easier if you're worried about getting poked out. [3/5] ultimate, Sylas doesn't really build DOT items like Teemo's core set of Malignance and Liandry's Anguish so the damage isn't as much but the zone control is still welcome.
Thresh
Dodge hooks, throw Qs at him, respect his E passive auto damage. Thresh might go for a gimmicky build that lets his E auto really chunk you, so just keep this in mind. [3/5] ultimate, scales with AP and is useful in choke points.
Tristana
Doran's Shield if you're not confident. The consolation in this lane is that Tristana will always be pushing the wave because of her E passive. Roaming is advised, except she can take your turret without even trying. E2 can catch Tristana if she tries to W away, but the timing is pretty tight. [3/5] ult, has AP scaling so you can use it at the end of your full combo for extra damage.
Trundle
Short trades. E through his pillar when he tries to run you down. Poke with Q. [3/5] ultimate, stealing resistances and healing for a little bit can be useful to facetank extra hits when fighting.
Tryndamere
Short trades, level 1 fight might be a little coinflippy because Tryndamere could diceroll three crits in a row and force you into an early retirement. E2 is your only CC so if he ults to run you down it might be a little scary. [3/5] ult, like Kayle and Mordekaiser you should aim to use it after they do so yours ends last.
Twisted Fate
AD Twisted Fate got nerfed which was the more annoying version of him to fight. Trades are in your hands, if you can land E2 when he uses gold card then you can deny the majority of the damage he was going to lay down while you were stunned. [4/5] ultimate, like Ryze ult but better.
Twitch
Hang back a minute until Twitch shows on the map, he might be in Q and is waiting for you to step up so he can take a trade on his terms with Hail of Blades. [1/5] ult, DO. NOT. TAKE.
Udyr
You have a better early game but Udyr's build is so flexible he has a lot of opportunities to fit in MR. Buffer stun with E2, poke when possible. [2/5] ultimate, the slow can be useful and it scales with AP but there are probably better options to waste your ult cooldown on.
Urgot
Dodge Urgot's E with your E, poke and stay out of his auto range. Take short and fast trades so he doesn't get to shotgun leg you all he wants. [2/5] ultimate, falls into the same category as most other ranged AD ults, which is kill cleanup.
Varus
Dodge Q poke, land E2. Doran's Shield if you're feeling iffy. [4/5] ultimate, great for CC and kill pressure during lane.
Vayne
Respect the W damage and do your best to prevent her from running you down with her passive and Lethal Tempo. Vayne will probably just Q dodge your E2 so let her push the wave early so your jungler can hopefully swing by and help you out. You can buffer her E knockback with E2 and use your better waveclear in the midgame to get roams off. [2/5] ult, your Q during ult makes you invisible which is kind of gimmicky but somewhat useful. You're probably better off taking the enemy support's ult and playing more to peel instead of taking Vayne's ult in all honestly, but if it's the only option why not.
Veigar
Outscales but has no lane, so this is pretty fun. Level 1 trade should set up a kill at level 3 or at the very least his Flash. E2 cannot be buffered through Veigar's cage stun, so just play dodgeball when you're in there waiting for it go down. [3/5] ult, Sylas doesn't really get to the levels of AP that Veigar does so it won't nuke people but it's still a nice point-and-click missing health button.
Vel'Koz
Dodge skillshots, hit E2, win every trade because Vel'Koz is not very good unless the guy playing him is in the Matrix. [2/5] ult, you don't get Vel'Koz passive so the damage isn't really there.
Vex
Vex is designed to counter mobile champs unfortunately. She can stack her passive off of your W, E, and E2. If she uses her passive to waveclear, you can take trades. If she wants to use it to trade, shove and roam. Hit Qs. [3/5] ultimate, if you can catch resets it lets Sylas fly around teamfights like a demon.
Vi
Wait out the passive shield to start trading. Harass constantly with Q when she steps up to farm. [4/5] ultimate, lets you single an enemy of your choice out for your team to blow up.
Viego
The only thing to keep in mind about this matchup is that you are both very attractive shirtless men and should grab a beer together instead of fighting in midlane. That and Viego fully stacks Conqueror in under two seconds with W --> auto --> Q --> auto. Avoid the extended trades like usual and land repeated burst to get him within kill range. [3/5] ultimate, grants good mobility and a slow which lets you either chase a kill or get out. When you think about it, Sylas with Viego ult is the same champion as Viego possessing Sylas. The more you know.
Viktor
Respect the Q --> auto poke Viktor wants to do all lane and let him shove early. Any E2 you hit will result in him putting down his W cage or Flashing if he's low enough and that's on cooldown. [2/5] ult, the damage is alright and it silences for a split second on the initial cast, which can be used to mess up an engage in the early stages of a fight. When Viktor upgrades his version, any version Sylas steals thereafter will also be upgraded.
Vladimir
Never had an issue with this lane, although I've also never had to deal with lategame Vladimir. If you take good trades early, he will probably resort to sitting under tower and sustaining off the wave. This is your cue to roam. [4/5] ultimate, it's like a Zed ult that heals you. Great to throw out when enemies group up so you can soften up a whole bunch of them before you go in.
Volibear
Outsustains and outtrades by virtue of being a toplaner. Back up when he gets his E shield. Harass with Q when possible. [3/5] ult, can be used to turn off enemy tower for a quick dive as well as giving you a chunk of HP and increasing W range for the duration.
Warwick
Warwick also likes fighting when he's at low health, except he heals a lot more than you do and takes runes that amp his ability to take longer trades. E away from his E fear and then E2 to take a quick trade and then run away. He'll probably just heal back up off the minion wave so just smile and nod and attempt to roam when possible. [3/5] ultimate, useful for the dash to run away or the suppression and healing if you hit someone. Aim for ADCs.
Wukong
Simply put, Wukong fistfights better than you do. Poke with Q and follow your jungler around to get fed on other places on the map. E away from the R. [2/5] ultimate, the AOE knockup can be situationally useful.
Xayah
Xayah disengages pretty well, odds are if you used E to get in she's going to get a free root off because you can't dodge it. Landing E2 is crucial, like all ranged matchups. [2/5] ultimate, going untargetable can be useful in the right situations, especially after diving.
Xerath
Doran's Shield if you're not in the mood to play bullet hell for the laning phase. E2 can pull you through Xerath's stun bubble if you land it before he casts it. [3/5] ultimate, long range kill securing tool has many applications.
Xin Zhao
Likes those extended fights where he can get multiple procs of his passive off to heal. Deny him this luxury. Count the autos after he uses Q, E2 on the third one to deny the knockup. [2/5] ultimate, Sylas is all burst and this forced 1v1 isn't too kind unless they're low health or you're fed. However, it can also be used to stall as you are not able to be damaged by anyone not marked. Remember to mark the target you want to fight with either an auto attack or your E to get the cast.
Yasuo
Extremely annoying after his passive shield was changed to only proc after Bone Plating falls off. Takes Lethal Tempo, can fight completely on his terms, and his W blocks E2 and ult. Poke either Bone Plating and/or the passive shield off with Q before attempting a trade. [3/5] ult but can be better if your team has setup à la Malphite or Rakan. If you want to use it by yourself, you have to hit E2 and ult almost instantly afterwards as the window is only half a second long.
Yone
Way more fun to fight than his brother. Even before the Lethal Tempo nerfs, his lane was always weaker than Yasuo's. Gold Yones want to do the same thing pretty much every time, which is the tried-and-true stack Q, press E, and attempt a stress-free trade. Dodge Q3 with E, take the burst trade, and wait for your cooldowns to come back up. Out of lane he can kill you but you won't let him get to that point, will you? [4/5] ultimate, AOE knockup engage, long range gap closer, or running away tool depending on what you need.
Yorick
Probably going a gimmicky lethality build if Yorick wants to play midlane. E away from his E or to get through his W cage, although E2 can get that job done just fine as well. Toss Qs at will when he wants to farm. [2/5] ultimate, the damage the Maiden does is whatever. She's useful to just send down a sidelane and whale on towers until she dies.
Yuumi
Kill the cat on repeat if she steps up. When she attaches to one of her teammates like the parasite she is, ignore her and jump someone else. [3/5] ultimate if you can get your hands on it, you can take it in lane but once she chooses her victim it's not likely you'll get it again.
Zac
Outsustains you at every point in the game except for maybe the first six levels or so. Use E to dodge his Q. Roam after shoving because at least his waveclear is weak until he gets Sunfire. [4/5] ultimate, the damage is more than you think because you build AP and the CC it provides is always appreciated.
Zed
Historically a free lane for Sylas. Dodge Qs and Zed has no damage. Zhonya's Hourglass is a nightmare for any Zed player and Sylas will gladly take any excuse to pick that item up (but not first, please don't rush Armguard unless you really want Zed to suffer). [2/5] ultimate, makes turret diving a little easier but that's about it. After Zed ults you, use your copy on him so he loses some time to get his abilities off.
Zeri
She's fast, but she's also the only champion who has to aim their auto attacks. Stand behind minions and throw Qs at her head. If she's close enough when using her E on terrain, you can E2 and attempt to pull her off of the wall. [4/5] ultimate, like always Sylas appreciates giant AOE ults that scale with AP.
Ziggs
Can keep you off of him and will constantly be poking you down. If you roam, he takes your turret without trying. You can E2 if he tries to jump away and it'll catch him, giving you a chance to trade. [4/5] ultimate, I always forget how insane the range on this thing is.
Zilean
Avoid getting double Q'd. Zilean will push the entire wave if he wants to spam Q so jump him with your jungler, provided he just doesn't speed himself up and run away. Use E2 to get back on him. [4/5] ult, a second life if you time it right is never bad and the health amount you spawn back in with scales with AP.
Zoe
I despise the child. The only chance you get to trade is if her sleep is on cooldown, which it won't be if she's smart. She will hold it until you dash forward and then get to sleep you for free. Her poke and utility with item actives and summoner spells is never fun to deal with. Try to feint and get her to throw the bubble early and you can look to fight then. Shove, roam, pray. The only saving grace is that Zoe players are few and far between. [1/5] ultimate, you can cast E2 right before you port back to drag yourself across the entire lane but all that does is look cool.
Zyra
E her E, full combo, rinse and repeat until you get her Flash or a kill. And then do it again. Her poke with her plants gets rather annoying but that's about it. [4/5] ultimate, great teamfighting potential and if you have champions on your team that thrive on knockups (Yasuo, Samira) they will love you forever if you hit multiple people with it.
Sylas
In general, Sylas is never going to be the worst pick. He provides a strong earlygame, good skirmishing, AP damage, and very good flexibility with ult. His worst lanes are champs that can keep him at range and have bad ults to take, but those picks usually end up being less impactful. When behind, he can act as a pseudo-support by stealing the enemy support's ult, especially if it's an enchanter. Learn matchups and Sylas's limits and I promise that you will very rarely lose lane.
Synergies
Sylas
In general, Sylas is never going to be the worst pick. He provides a strong earlygame, good skirmishing, AP damage, and very good flexibility with ult. His worst lanes are champs that can keep him at range and have bad ults to take, but those picks usually end up being less impactful. When behind, he can act as a pseudo-support by stealing the enemy support's ult, especially if it's an enchanter. Learn matchups and Sylas's limits and I promise that you will very rarely lose lane.
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